The castle's halls felt different now. They felt lighter somehow, as if the oppressive shadow that had once loomed over them had been lifted. Students whispered in the corridors, and relieved laughter echoed through the classrooms. Theodore smiled as he compared his marks with Lorenzo's, while Draco and Blaise exchanged smirks.

But in the corner of the courtyard, standing under the shade of an ancient tree, someone didn’t seem to notice any of it.

Mattheo.

His dark eyes were rimmed red and his hands were shaking slightly as he clutched the folds of his robes. He barely blinked at the sunlight filtering through the leaves or the playful chatter around him.

He had tried to leave the castle, tried to walk away from the whispers and cheers, but grief clung to him like a second skin. Everyone else was celebrating the d!sappearance of his older brother, Tom. The boy who had terrified the wizarding world. Everyone except Mattheo.

“Mattheo…” a voice called hesitantly. It was Lorenzo, standing a few feet away. “We… uh… we’re all happy, you know?”

Mattheo shook his head, his voice barely a whisper. “Happy? How can anyone be happy? He’s… gone.”

Theodore stepped closer, frowning. “The war is over. That’s good, right?”

Mattheo’s laugh was bitter, broken. “You think it’s that simple? You think it’s just about what he did to others? I… I loved him. I always-” His words caught in his throat, and he pressed his face harder into his hands.

Draco and Blaise exchanged a glance, their usual smirks replaced by awkward discomfort. Even they didn’t know what to say. Everyone else had moved on to relief, to celebration... but not Mattheo.

You finally approach him. "Mattheo," you say gently, lowering yourself down next to him. At first, he doesn't look up. "Hey… it's okay to feel sad. You don’t have to pretend to be happy with them if you’re not.”

He sniffles. “I… I feel like I shouldn’t be like this. Everyone’s celebrating, and here I am… crying.”

You place a hand on his shoulder. “It’s not wrong. He was your brother. You can feel whatever you need to feel. Anger, sadness, confusion… All of these feelings belong to you, not anyone else.”

Mattheo finally lifts his tear-streaked face, his eyes glimmering with a storm of emotions. “I… I don’t know how to move on,” he admits.