The morning light seemed brighter than usual, a sharp contrast to the heaviness that had lifted from my chest. After everything i'd shared with Theo, the castle felt less like a labyrinth of secrets and more like a place where i could finally breathe. It was surreal - almost like the silence after a storm. But even though the worst of my confessions were behind me, the shadows of my past still lingered, waiting to be confronted.
When Theo and i finally left the Astronomy Tower, the corridors were beginning to fill with students, their laughter and chatter echoing off the stone walls. It was as if life in the castle was going on without a hitch, oblivious to the turbulence of the night before. I envied them in a way - their lives seemed so blissfully simple, while mine felt like a tangle of secrets and fragile promises.
Theo walked beside me, our shoulders occasionally brushing. We didn't speak, but the silence between us wasn't strained. It was the kind of silence that felt comfortable, secure - a reminder that the worst of my fears hadn't come true. But there was still a lingering uncertainty in my chest, a nagging feeling that telling Theo was only the beginning.
"Are you alright?" Theo asked quietly as we reached the entrance to the Great Hall.
I stopped and turned to face him, trying to find the words to describe the swirl of emotions inside me. "I think... I'm better than i was before," i said, and i meant it. The weight of my secrets had lifted, but i could still feel the remnants of that burden, like the echo of a bad dream.
He gave a small, understanding nod, but i could tell from the tightness around his eyes that he was still worried. "I'm glad," he replied softly, "but if you need to talk more, or if things get hard... you know where to find me."
There it was again - that quiet patience that both reassured me and made me feel more vulnerable than ever. Theo's constant presence wasn't something i had grown used to yet, and part of me wondered if i ever would.
"Thank you," i said, my voice barely more than a whisper. I glanced at the students filing into the Great Hall and made a quick decision. "I need some air. I'll meet you in class, alright?"
He hesitated, clearly torn between wanting to stay and giving me space. But in the end, he just gave me a small, reassuring smile. "Alright. But don't be too long, or Pansy will think i've stolen you away."
I managed a weak laugh, grateful for the small moment of levity. As Theo headed into the Great Hall, i turned and made my way towards the castle grounds.
The cold air hit me as soon as i stepped outside, but it wasn't the biting chill of winter- it was more like a sharp, refreshing slap to the face. I took a deep breath, savoring the crispness of the morning, the way it seemed to clear my mind in a way that nothing else could. The lake was still partially frozen, and the snow crunched beneath my boots as i walked along the edge of the water.
I had been coming here often lately - when the walls of the castle felt too confining or when the whispers in the common room grew too loud. It was one of the few places where i could think without the constant noise of the world pressing in on me.
But today, the silence wasn't as comforting as it used to be. It only seemed to amplify the thoughts swirling in my mind, the uncertainty of what came next. Telling Theo had been the first step, but it wasn't the last. I knew that much.
The real challenge was figuring out where to go from here - how to reconcile the person i wanted to be with the person my family expected me to be. And there was a new fear creeping in, a fear that wasn't just about Theo or my family or even myself.
It was about the future.
I had always known that there would come a point where i'd have to choose between my family's expectations and my own desires. But i hadn't expected it to come so soon, or to feel so final. And the more i thought about it, the more i realized that i wasn't just afraid of losing my family - i was afraid of losing myself.
