Eyes on the Stars Feet on the Ground

Joy and Bureaucracy

"Did he testify in the end?" Kingsley inquired of his niece.

"It's complicated," Eleanor winced, "I assume that you'll see it soon."

"Posture straight!" Professor Moody lectures, poking his wand into Cielo's back, "you can't cast a patronus with such an abysmal form."

"Sorry," Cielo straightened up, "how many times do I have to cast?"

"Until I see some improvement from your last try," Moody replied, "now, let's see it."

"Expecto Patronum!" Cielo cast the spell, its silvery glow filling the room. Similar to his original casting, back when he was attacked on the train, it was mere wisps of a complete form.

"Again," Moody pounded his walking stick, "try thinking of a solid memory. Thought and instincts won't be strong enough. You need something substantial in order to power a patronus."

"You're holding out on us," Alice pouted, turning to her mentor, "why didn't you teach us how to cast a patronus?"

"I've never taught any student before," Moody answered, "I wonder why I'm teaching him how to cast a patronus at all. I've long considered the idea, but it's too finicky a spell for me to teach. It relies on memories and happiness, something that can be very hard to find. Besides the spell being hard to cast, it's also hard to teach. You have to be able to walk a person through their memories to develop it. It was never worth my time."

"Guess retirement changed your mind," Frank smirked, "now that you've seen yourself do it, how about you go ahead and teach us as well?"

"No" Moody cut off the idea before it could develop into something that would bite him in the back, "not happening."

"A patronus isn't nearly important enough for him to learn," Rodolphus wondered, "what's the chance he'll encounter a dementor? Why would a world-class auror choose to teach a thirteen-year old such a complicated and nearly useless spell?"

"Maybe because of Sirius," Bianca suggested, "Moody probably knows that Cielo was attacked the year before; he's Dumbledore's friend. Maybe he's worried that the dementors will come and find Cielo again?"

"Maybe," Rodolphus conceded to Bianca's theory, "though that just doesn't feel quite right."

Cielo thought long and hard. Everytime he cast this spell, he allowed his thoughts to fill with thoughts and images of Luna, Pandora, and Xeno. Now, he tried narrowing those thoughts down. He remembered days as a young child, sitting in Auntie Dora's lap, pulling on her hair as she brewed a potion. He remembered the nights he and Luna would sneak out of their bedrooms, "stealthily" grabbing dingleberry cookies from the counter. He recalled Xeno trying to teach him how to shave, resulting in a horrible haircut that lasted months. The two of them had laughed so hard that day.

"Expecto Patronum!" Cielo shouted the spell, confidently squaring his shoulders. Thick wisps of silver light formed out of his wand, a complete form nearly appearing.

"Excellent," Moody praised him, clapping him on the back, "you're nearly there, lad. Let's try that again. At this point, there's nothing I can do to help you; it's all in your hands."

Cielo steeled himself up and braced for another attempt. Just as he raised his wand to cast, he suddenly stopped. At first he had relied on feelings and emotions, attachments that he had to people. He'd spent nearly four hours, over the course of a week and a half, concentrating on the love and happiness that he derived from his family. Just a minute ago, with the power of distinct memories, he had produced his most powerful attempt. He had to combine the two lines of thinking.