We're Simply Meant To Be

This is the collection written for the Christmas Challenge on the HPFC. 31 chapters dedicated to soulmate!AUs

Christmas Collection - Prompt: House-elf

Bad Movie Tuesday - [dialogue] "No, I've never done this."

Hogwarts Assignment - Arithmancy Classroom - Go Wild

Hogwarts Games - Prompt: Sirius/Remus, Token: Soulmate!AU

Ultimate Chocolate Frog Challenge - (Gold): Erkling: Challenge:Write about an unsettling childhood trauma or experience.

The Missing Name

Warning: mention of self-harm

Regulus grabbed his brother's arm, pushing the sleeve back up. "Sirius, did you write this name on yourself?" he asked. His eyes moved down to the dried ink. "Just who is Remus John Lupin?"

~0~

Sirius stood up, his eyes moving around the support group nervously.

"I'm Sirius Black," he began. "My story is a little bit different. You've all lost your Soulmates, whereas I don't have one."

"What do you mean?" a blond man called. "Everyone has one."

"My arms are blank," Sirius replied defensively. "I'll never have a Soulmate. There will never be someone for me. My life has been a string of failed relationships with men who have insisted that the names on their arms don't matter, only to find out that I was just a bit of fun until they met their Soulmate. More recently, I've taken to one-night-stands because it stops me getting attached to anyone. My brother and his Soulmate held an intervention this morning - I've agreed to come to one meeting, that's all."

~0~

For a long time, Sirius suspected his parents were behind it. After all, people generally weren't born without a name on their arm. In fact, he didn't know a single person who had a blank left arm. It wasn't until he met James Potter and introduced him to his younger brother, did he realise that his brother's name was intact.

He realised that if his parents had removed his, they would have certainly removed Regulus' too, rather than see him end up with somebody male. It was that day that Sirius had to face the fact that his parents weren't responsible the missing name.

So, where the world was out meeting their Soulmates, Sirius realised he was destined to be alone.

~0~

A tall man, around Sirius' own age stood up as Sirius took his seat again.

"I know it's not often I contribute," the man began. "But I think maybe I can relate... somewhat. My name is Remus Lupin, and it's been five years since I took a cursed knife to my arm and carved the name from it."

~0~

Sirius pulled his sleeves down nervously as he stepped outside. He hated when people stared at him, their eyes full of pity, pretending they understood 'just how he felt'. No, it wasn't the same, just because those people hadn't met their Soulmates yet. The difference was that they all knew there was someone out there for them.

There was no-one for Sirius.

~0~

Remus' eyes were fixed on Sirius' and he ignored the gasps from those that didn't know his story.

"Not every bond is perfect," Remus said. "It's not all happily ever after, sometimes the world does get it wrong. It gave you no name, it gave me the name of a monster. The name that had been on my arm until I removed it at fifteen, was Fenrir Greyback."

Sirius gasped at the name. There wasn't a person who didn't know that name.

"He found me first when I was five. He broke into my house and bit me during the full moon. My life following that was hell, no matter where we went, he followed. He wanted me to join his pack, to be like him. It only ended when he decided my father was in the way and tried to kill him, only to end up with six pure-silver bullets in his head and heart. I was left with the scars and the curse."

Remus rolled up his sleeve, revealing a wide, jagged scar across his arm. "Covering the name stopped being enough," Remus added. "I actually envy that you have no name."

Sirius knew in that moment that he would be returning. Though their circumstances were different, Sirius could tell that no-one would ever understood him as well as Remus did.

~0~

"Sirius, we have to end this."

"End this?" Sirius repeated, watching Benjy get up from the bed. "Why?"

"Because..." Benjy's gaze moved to the blue band on his arm.

"You found… I thought you said that you weren't going to be defined by a name on your arm? I thought this was different!"

"I wasn't, I just didn't realise until I met her, that I would feel so... complete."

"Complete?" Sirius whispered. "How long... when did you..."

"A couple of months," Benjy admitted, pulling on his clothes. "Sirius…"

Sirius just shook his head. He didn't want to hear anything that Benjy had to say.

~0~

"Remus?" Sirius whispered, dialling the number that had been stored on his phone for a few weeks now.

"Sirius?" came the reply. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I... I don't know how this 'partner' thing works, I just know that I'm about to mess up, about to do something stupid... and for the first time, I've been able to stop myself before it's actually happened. I don't want to be this person anymore. I don't know... Remus, what should I do?"

"Where are you?"

"The Flying Hippogriff," Sirius said.

"Stay right there, I'm coming to get you right now," Remus promised.

~0~

Sirius woke up, his head pounding. He had long stopped caring about how much he had drunk the previous night, instead he gathered his clothes and put them on quickly.

He looked at the body in the bed, his gaze falling on the revealed name, and he felt anger flare up. He knew the name of the man's Soulmate, but he didn't know the name of the man himself.

It wasn't long before he arrived home, standing under the burning hot water and feeling just as awful as he had before he had gone out.

But he didn't know how else to handle it anymore. He was completely lost.

~0~

Sirius gripped the quill in his right hand. How would it have felt had he been born with Remus Lupin's name on his arm? He could only pretend to know how perfect that would have been.

He wouldn't have ever hurt Remus, he would have sought him out, bought him dinner and done everything for the other man. He would have given him the world.

Before Sirius realised what was happening, three words found their way onto his arm in black ink.

Remus John Lupin

He couldn't bring himself to wash it off.

It just felt right for it to be there.

~0~

"What's this?" Sirius asked, staring at the address on the paper James had handed over.

"It's a support group," James replied. "For people who have lost their Soulmates."

Sirius screwed the address up. "Well, I haven't had one to lose."

"They'll accept people without Soulmates too, we called ahead."

Sirius began to shake his head.

"Sirius," Regulus began. "I asked James to do this - to find someone to help you, because I can't see you destroy yourself anymore. You either get your heart broken, or have one-night stands. Maybe just give it a chance... for me?"

Sirius hesitated for a long time, before reaching for the paper and picking it up.

"For you," he repeated.

~0~

"Sirius."

"Remus," Sirius said, jumping up. "What are you... hi, would you like a drink?"

"Your brother called, he said you lot were having drinks and invited me," Remus replied with a smile. He didn't feel the need to tell Sirius that Regulus had explained about Sirius writing Remus' name on his arm, and that Remus needed to decide what he wanted from Sirius, because Regulus wasn't about to let him get hurt again. Remus, after the initial shock that Sirius was falling for him had passed, assured Regulus that he would never hurt Sirius.

His gaze moved to Sirius' arm. "Your arm -"

Sirius quickly pulled his sleeve down. "It's nothing."

Remus reached for his hand and pushed his sleeve back up, his gaze falling on the ink. It was just as Regulus had said.

"Did you write this?" Remus asked softly.

"I just... wanted to know how it felt," Sirius admitted.

"But... with my name? Do you do this a lot?"

"No, I've never done this," Sirius replied, blushing. "Yours is the first name I've written there. The truth, Remus, is that if I did have a name on my arm, I imagine it to be your name. I know it's not possible - I won't ever get a name, and your name was on someone else-"

"Sirius," Remus interrupted. "I no longer have a name on my arm." He reached for the quill, dipped it in the ink and brought it to his own arm. After a few seconds he put the quill down and looked at his arm again. It wasn't quite as elegant as Sirius' writing, but that didn't matter.

"You know, this is the first time I've actually been happy with the name on my arm," Remus whispered. "It's a shame it's not permanent." He held his arm out for Sirius to see.

Sirius Orion Black

Remus wasn't surprised when lips pressed against his, he was only surprised at how perfect and right it felt.

As though they were made for each other.

"So, this is what it's like to feel complete?" Sirius whispered against his lips.

~0~

Sirius walked into the room, his hand clenched tightly in Regulus' own hand and his heart pounding hard. He didn't know why he had allowed his brother and his friend to convince him to come.

Regulus pulled away from Sirius, heading over to a woman with a clipboard. "Hi, we called this morning about my brother, Sirius Black."

"Oh yes, I'm Mary," the woman said, smiling between them. "Mr Black, my house-elf is in the corner, serving up hot cups of tea. Why don't you help yourself to a cup of tea and take a seat? We'll be starting soon."

Sirius nodded. "I'm only here for the one meeting," he insisted.

Mary only smiled. "As long as we can assign you a partner. Someone you can call and talk to should you be having a rough day."

Sirius nodded his head - if that's what it took to only have one meeting.

"See me at the end and I'll give you the details."

~0~

Remus stood next to Sirius' chair, ignoring how tightly Sirius was squeezing his hand through the pain, though the man didn't utter a single word of complaint, instead choosing to smile as though it was Christmas.

Then it was over and Sirius was up from the chair, leaving it vacant for Remus. Remus promptly took a seat, presenting his right arm, and examining Sirius' left. The skin was red-raw. He winced slightly as the tattoo-artist began tattooing his own skin. He caught Sirius' eye and they smiled excitedly at each other.

On Sirius' arm, three words proudly sat.

Remus John Lupin

And it wouldn't be long before Remus could proudly show off the name on his arm.

Sirius Orion Black

It didn't matter that the names were tattooed on, rather than possessing the magical shimmer that original Soulmate names had, because they both had the name of the person they knew they would spend the rest of their life with.

They had the joy of being able to choose their own Soulmate.

~0~

"I'm Sirius Black and it's been four days since I started dating my Soulmate, Remus. One day, I plan to have his name on my arm."

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