Chapter 20
The dog laid on the sidewalk, panting and whimpering. He had been hit by a car, and his leg was badly injured. For months, he had wandered the streets alone, is this really how his life would end? A stray dog, who get's hit by a stupid Muggle cars and dies, alone in the dead of night. He looked up , at least he could still see the stars. Ophiuchus was just laughing at his face. So perfectly visable, Ras Alhague, maybe if he'd been sorted into Slytherin his life would't end up like this.
But then, he had met Jack, a kind-hearted homeless man who took him in and cared for him.
"What are you doing here little, buddy." The man squatted next to him. "Oh, turns out you are not so little after all, are you?" He patted him. The dog was stunned, he didn't know what to think of this man. He'd only been touched to be kicked out of somewhere or to be hit. A first gentle touch he felt since hugged Remus.
Oh Remus. He suddenly remembered. Right, he can't die. He didn't know why the name popped up in his head. Or why he can't die because of him. But he decided to cling to it. He needed something.
Jack didn't have much, but he gave the dog all the love and affection he could. Ever since that day they slept together in alleyways, and Jack would share his meager meals with the dog. Life was tough, but they had each other, and that was all that mattered.
"You know what I realized, buddy?" The man spoke to the dog. "I didn't tell you my name. So my name is Jack, Jack Nowak what's yours?" Jack took the dogs paw and shook it.
The dog barked in response.
"Oh, you're a smart one, aren't you." Jack scratched the dog behind it's ears. "What if I call you Grim, huh? Or Reaper? Since you were half dead when I found ya." He patted him again. "Haha, I am talking to you like you could understand me. You know sometimes I feel like you do. Thank you for staying with me, buddy."
Reaper felt a sense of warmth spread through him as he looked up at Jack with gratitude. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he belonged somewhere. Reaper and Jack became inseparable, and they built a life together on the streets. They found a routine, scavenging for food and shelter and relying on each other. As it turned out Reaper was a great companion for keeping people away, he was a big black scary looking dog. Sometimes he would stay behind to guard Jack's stuff and other homeless tried to approach him they would walk away with one or two finger missing. He would give his life for Jack's, because Jack made him feel human. Jack would also tell him stories. About his wife Ellie and daughter Maya.
"It was the best thing in my life, you know, Grim? When I walked her down the isle, with her beautiful white dress. She looked so much like her mother that day. She even wore her dress." Jack teared up. "After her wedding it felt like I had everything in life. A wonderful job, happy child, happy wife. But then it all went to shit. After my Ellie died." As Jack started to cry, Reaper put his jaw on the man's lap. "I've lost everything. It was the worse day of my life. I started to drink and gamble. I just miss her so much you know." He petted the dog's head. "Her smile, her eyes. I started to drink... and you know the rest. It's been the same until I've found you." The man smiled kindly. It was a kind man. Reaper got lucky. He was prepared to protect him at all cost.
Their rutine continued on daily baises. But one day, everything changed. As they were walking down a dark alley late at night, they stumbled upon a group of men who were fighting over something. Jack tried to break up the fight. He always tried to help. But it was a mistake one. Reaper watched in horror as Jack fell to the ground, blood pouring out of his wounds. He wanted to do something, to help Jack, but he was just a dog. He barked and growled at the men, but they paid him no attention, until he jumped at one of them and bit off the meat of hid right hand. As they ran off, Reaper ran to Jack's side and licked his face, trying to wake him up.
But Jack didn't wake up. Reaper was alone once again. He howled into the night, grief overwhelming him.
As he lay next to Jack's body, devastated, something strange started to happen. The grief was so intense that he could feel his human self trying to break through. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he doubled over, whimpering in agony. The fur on his body disappeared, and he began to shrink. His muzzle elongated, and his paws became hands. Reaper was no longer a dog but a human. He looked down at his hands in disbelief, wondering if this was some sort of dream.
But the pain in his heart reminded him that it was all too real.
A sudden wave of rage came over him. It felt like it wasn't himself. It was something primal, an animal.
Reaper forgot about everything, he set out to find the men who had killed Jack. He sniffed and followed their scent, his senses honed in on the task at hand. He must have looked like a madman. Walking at all fours sniffing the ground in his human form. But it didn't take him long to find them like this. They were holed up in a rundown apartment building, drinking and celebrating their victory, it smelled horrible, like sweat and piss and drugs. Reaper crept up to the window, watching and waiting for the right moment to strike.
He changed back into an animal and then he pounced. With a growl that shook the building, Reaper burst through the window, his claws slashing at the men as he tore through them like a hurricane. They fought back with knives and guns, but Reaper was too fast and too driven by rage.
In the end, only one man was left standing. He cowered in a corner, his hands held up in surrender. Reaper approached him, his eyes glowing with a fierce intensity.
"You killed Jack," he growled as he changed back into a human. "You will fuckin' pay." The man shivered in fear covering his sight pleading for his life, but Reaper didn't care.
And with that, he lunged forward, sinking his claws into the man's throat. It was a quick and painless death, one that he deserved.
As he stood there, surrounded by the bodies of his enemies, Reaper felt a sense of satisfaction wash over him. He had avenged Jack's death. Satyfied. And with that, he turned and walked away, ready to face whatever came next. He was no longer just a hurt dog. He lived up to his name. Grim Reaper. How fuckin' ironic.
He had transformed back into his human form, hit by grief and sadness, Reaper stumbled to his feet, unsure of what to do or where to go. He wondered aimlessly and he felt lost in this new body that he hadn't occupied in so long. He was lost wondering through the night until the exhaustion got the best of him. Completly forgetting about everything he had done. Catching glimpses of the stary sky.
""I might as well try my luck one more time." He pleaded to the stars. "Please just this once."
And maybe it was his lucky day. As he wandered the streets, he came across a neon sign that read "Vega Tattoo Studio".
"Right, maybe the starts don't hate me after all." he smiled. Vega, the Falling Eagle, it strangely reminded him of his current situation. He knocked on the door wondering if he's going to get an answer. And he did.
"Stupid homeless idiots." He heard a string of swearwords coming in from the shop. "I told you, so many times! We don't have any food!" The door sung open. Hitting the boy in his face.
"HOLYSHIT! I'M so sorry." The man who opened the door was very tall and lanky, with long brown hair, coming all the way to his shoulders. The tone of his voice changed as he apologized to the boy, it almost sounded kind, familiar. But the boy couldn't come up with a response, his vision became blurry. And he passed out, the man managed to catch him just in time before he hit the ground.
"What the actual fuck!" The man shook his head. "Jimmy!" he shouted for his friend. "What the fuck should I do?"