Theo's ears perk.

He hones in on the sound of the name that was just announced as the new Astronomy professor to the whole Great Hall, his attention shifting from Mattheo and Draco in favor of turning to the front.

Nothing prepared him for this.

As he watches the familiar figure glide through the middle aisle to the front, he can do nothing but stare with slightly parted lips and an ache so intense that it ripples through his entire body. Suddenly, he's a child again, looking at and laughing with his best friend. He's a teenager again, yelling and fighting over a war fought between adults that still poisoned the world and the minds of the young ones, ripping that dear friendship from his hands and his heart. He's fifteen again, hearing the rumors of that now foreign presence moving across the ocean and pretending it didn't shatter him that he'd never have a chance to make amends.

No chance to repair the wounds that have plagued his entire being since the day that door slammed in his face.

Until now.