Eyes on the Stars Feet on the Ground

The Grim Reaper

"I'm sorry about that," Lupin sighed as soon as everyone left the room, "I should have realized that some people would have more intense fears than others. I'm sorry you had to do that in front of the whole class."

"It's alright, Professor," Cielo told the professor quietly, his energy for the day wiped, "you couldn't have known. Neither did I. If we're being honest, I think Boggarts would fascinate psychologists. A person's deepest fear says a lot about how they are as a person. I wonder what this all says about me."

Remus considered the young boy in front of him. He, until recently, had been unaware that Sirius was an uncle. Cielo was nothing like Sirius; in fact, he was nothing like any Blacks he knew. Regulus and Bianca had been quiet, a stark contrast to their older brother. Cielo was neither quiet nor loud, he was a perfect balance between his mother and younger uncle's reserved and dignified nature and his older uncle's brash and mischievous tendencies. However, at the moment, he was simply a child who had seen a nightmare. There was no calculations to be made. There was no more considering if evil is inherent, a fear he had had since Sirius had deserted to the side he had sworn to hate. This kid wasn't supposed to be studied, he was supposed to be helped.

"I don't know how to answer that," Lupin tells the child before him, "in fact, I think the only one who can answer that would be you. How does this make you feel?"

"I'm not sure," Cielo answered truthfully, "however, I have a strange feeling that time will tell."

Barty shook his head. Why was his son so soft in the past? He couldn't help but feel that Bianca had erred in sending their child to live with the Lovegoods. The only comfort he had was that his son was clearly powerful, and with the right motivation, would be motivated to serve his grandfather.

Cielo couldn't shake his ill feelings, so he decided to take a walk near the Black Lake. As he walked, he encountered a strange dog eating scraps of meat. Cielo approached the poor thing, concerned for its health. It seemed to have large gashes around its paws and chest, and Cielo couldn't bear seeing the creature in pain. 

"Poor thing," Cielo whipped out his wand, muttering a simple healing spell. He was no medi-wizard, it wouldn't heal much, but he was hoping it would be enough to heal the large dog.

"Look Pads," James nudged Sirius, "its you."

"I have eyes, Jimmy Jam," Sirius rolls his eyes, "no need to point out the obvious. And keep it down, will you? They don't need to know we know its me. They know that in the future I'm an animagus, but they are unaware that I am already one."

"Sorry," James apologized, "I forgot."

"You look much better," Cielo ran his hand through the dog's fur, which caused it to wag his tail excitedly, "and happier too. Should I give you a name?" Cielo contemplated what he would name this strange dog he'd encountered, "How about Noir? It seems fitting."

The dog barked, seemingly in agreement. Cielo decided he had nothing to lose, and sat beside the dog. The dog pushed closer to him, and Cielo ruffled the fur on his head. 

"Is it weird that my greatest fear is being a puppet?" Cielo asked the dog, trying to get his feelings of his chest, knowing the dog couldn't judge him for it. "I've never felt used before, so it's just really random. Can a Boggart be so powerful as to reach fears and insecurities deep buried that you never even realized you had?" Cielo paused to observe the dog, noticing that he reacted strangely for a dog. It seemed as if he fully understood what he was saying. Cielo brushed it off, noting that he was close to the Forbidden Forest, where strange magical creatures lurked. This dog could be some strange sort of crossbreed.