Ripples in the sky [Theodora].

Every step Theodore made sent a thousand tingles upwards from his feet and legs to every part of his body, causing every breath to become more precious and different, as if he was aware of his own lungs moving and dancing to the silent humming of the castle walls he was surrounded with. Theodore founds himself in Hogwarts again, somewhere he never thought he'd be again. It was comforting to see that it still stood proud near the lake and the forest he adored so much, disbelieving that 10 years had already passed, and that he himself formed in a way his past self would've never guessed or expected. Yet, by taking a deep breath and sticking his hands into the pockets of his brown trousers he felt at peace, at home.

He had already unpacked, every possession of his found its place in the small room he was appointed with and would probably stay in that state for a long time or he hoped. Gazing through the window, Theo smiled when his blue eyes fell onto the calm surface of the lake which guarded this castle for hundreds of years. Deciding it's a nice morning for a stroll, he quickly put his sneakers on, along with a simple blue t-shirt, stuck a pack of cigarettes in his pocket; and he headed out. It didn't take long for him to reach the ground floor, luckily guessing right every of the moving staircases which used to get on his nerves far too often, and there he headed to the kitchen to ask for a cup of coffee.

The house elf apparated immediately, before he even had the chance to speak, and welcomed him to Hogwarts before offering his services. Theodore asked for coffee, and was given a small black and white mug with enchanted surface; it seems there was a picture of deer running through a forest by an artist unknown to him. Perhaps even the house elves prepared it for him, which enticed a smile at the corner of his lips. As soon as his foot stepped on the grass in front of the grand entrance, a gentle breeze ruffled his blond hair which was always unkempt, and he could feel the sunrays playing on his cheeks, between the rough strands of the beard for which he never had the patience to shave regularly, even spells annoyed him far too much.

After several minutes of walking, he sat beneath a tree not far away from the lake, before procuring a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it by flicking his fingers. He took out his wand and enchanted the cigarette to create different shapes from the smoke he exhaled, in order to enjoy himself more and see if he can notice anything he's been bottling inside for too long from the shapes that would appear. Gazing to the lake, Theo started remembering his childhood, accompanied by several grins and smirks, then came to a conclusion he is really excited about this new position, and to be able to work with passion in the field he adores; transfiguration.

He threw his head back; let the wind caress his hair and soaking up the sun, diving into the sounds of the forest rustling in the distance and the waves hitting the lakeshore.

Exhaling the smoke into the sky above him, a small, barely visible rabbit started pouncing about before it vanished in the wind, Theo meditated and tried to feel every bone in his body, relaxing his muscles and simply daydreaming. He extinguished the cigarette on a nearby rock, then went back to gazing at the sky, when suddenly, he sensed a thud although it was barely audible, his eyes jolted wide open to see what has been thrown beneath his feet. And there it was, a bright yellow bag, exploding with colour surrounded by green grass and the faint blue surface of the nearby lake. Although at first he frowned, causing the creases on his forehead so mix together and join at the bridge of his nose, a smile appeared on his lips, pulling the corners of his mouth to the center of his cheeks and emphasizing his cheekbones even more.

He put his hands behind him, leaning on the ground, and raised his head to see who has joined him. A pink haired girl with a rather quaint style was leaning towards him, awaiting his reaction. Through his head, probably because of how he had spent several minutes prior, ran only a few thoughts, mostly conclusion such as those that she’s probably a student in her higher years, and maybe a Hufflepuff because of the colour of her bag. Although, he has never been good in guessing people’s houses, despite him being a quite good example of Gryffindor.

While he never considered himself a lady’s (or gentleman’s) man, people did approach him and tried tickling his fancy due to his good looks, although he’s hard to enter a relationship as such. He’s had various partners in his short adult life, yet only a few relationships which were more serious. Luckily, this was the last thing on his head currently, so without trying to pull any moves and risk getting punished for hitting on a student, he merely responded with a smile, “Good morning. Would you like to join me?”He patted the ground with his right hand next to him, before slipping his hand into his pocket.

He opened the cigarette pack, took one cigarette for himself and put it between his lips, letting it hang there and then and pulled out one cigarette so it’s easier for her to take it she wanted to. “Care for a smoke?”

As the girl sat down Theodore couldn't help but get a feeling that she isn't the brightest of them all, or maybe that was the general opinion about girls who liked to dress too colourful and seem a bit clumsy. Yet that first impression was quickly erased when he realized they share the same nickname, which brought a smile to his face.

He never had many nicknames, he would usually introduce himself as Theo, except at work, where he was Theodore, nothing more, nothing less. When he was younger he used to have the nickname „Little“ since he was of small stature and liked to provoke fights due to it. Later on, puberty kicked it and now he's of average height, but that nickname stuck with the closest group of his friends.

The girl seemed tempted by the cigarette and refused to take it, her hands in her lap slightly moved as her thoughts buzzed while waging the options and consequences. The question if they'd get in trouble hovered in the air, but Theo didn't really think anyone would take a smoke so seriously. He, for one, used to do things far more worse than that.

He watched as the girl was deciding whether to take it or not, while smiling, before he noticed the final moment in which she decided to take it after all. Her lips formed a line, both angry and sad at the same time, and Theodore knew his first impression was wrong after all. He'd often forget that we all carry different baggages with us, and they're never exactly light.

Theo shook that thought of his mind and when the girl said light, he slowly leaned towards her, extended his arm and hovered with his fingers in front of the cigarette that was in her lips. Then, he suddenly flicked his fingers and the cigarette started to smoke, before returning to his position and doing the same for him.

“Lovely name, Theo. I'm Theodore, or Theo, as well.“ he smiled, and exhaled the smoke from his lungs which turned into a whale in the air, diving and jumping, slowly vanishing as the gentle breeze shook the grass around them.

He continued, before bringing the cigarette back to his lips, „Well, if you're worried about getting in trouble so much, we can always transfigure the cigarettes into something more unnoticeable. A carrot? Or a popsickle? Which would you like? But for now, this has always been awfully annoying to me,“ He took out his wand and enchanted his cigarette to levitate next to him, so he can have both of his hands free to lean on the grass and sit more comfortably. “There, better. Mind if I ask which year are you?“ his husky and deep voice was always giving out that he was a smoker indeed, yet people found it quite appealing, most of the time.

As he inhaled the smoke and it expanding his lungs, filling it with the substance which made him feel more awake, coiling in it and spinning and turning; Theo smiled at the girl's laughter and her brightness. She seemed rather bright-spirited, if one could say that, not many people would compare things to cupcakes. Not many people over the age of 13 at least.

It seemed Theodore was the opposite of the girl; he was never good at theoretical magic or potions or herbology even. Recognizing potions and plants, okay, but anything more than that would give him a headache. "I myself was never good at Potions. I hold that as the reason to why I can't bake either; I couldn't mix a batter properly even if you held me at wand-point..."

Now that she said that it was her sixth year at Hogwarts, he could see it somehow, as if she's become more mature in that split second. Funny how our brain serves us what we want to see. "Actually, it's my first year here." He started, awaiting her reply by taking another huff of the cigarette. "But obviously not as a student..." he smiled as he inhaled a wolf made of smoke, which howled at the sky and started running on the breeze.

Theodore felt oddly calm and serene conversing with the young girl, although they only shared a few lines and only about 10 minutes have passed. Perhaps that was what calmed him down, he never was a person to rush things and had his own pace of doing things; and today, more than ever, he really enjoyed in simply sitting and exchanging a few strings of words, lined up next to one another, falling down into reality in the physical form of a breath, syllables, sentence.

He nodded at Theo's comment about Potions, he could remember numerous explosions which occurred in the potions' classroom; luckily he never made one. We could say although he wasn't very apt at theory and ingredients, common sense was never his weak side. If your gut told you "If you mix that, it will blow up in your face", you'd better listen to it.

Theodore extinguished the cigarette on a nearby rock, before reaching to take a sip of coffee and letting his blue eyes gaze again on Theo's lips as she spoke again, this time with a far more serious expression and careful phrasing of her sentence. He took a sip of his coffee, when she added 'Sir' to the end of her sentence, which made him gag onto the sweet taste of the liquid, slowly turning into something sour as he began to cough. When he finally reached for breath, a loud laugh broke through. His friends, but he himself at times, were never sure if he was laughing out of pure joy or if something else was mixed in those few moments when his lungs filled with air and exhaled gusts of air one after the other.

His laugh was deep, echoed on the wind, and it seemed like he laughed with his whole being. His shoulders were brought up closer to his neck, shaking rhythmically with the sounds he made, he grasped his knees with his big hands, making his knuckles more prominent and every little scar or cut he had on his fingers and the back of his hand a little more visible. When he finally collected himself, after good 10 seconds of laughing, he remembered he might've scared Theodora, so he cleared his throat "I'm sorry, it's just that I've never seen anyone being afraid of me, as a figure of authority." with his right thumb he wiped his lips, letting it slide slowly on it, collecting his thoughts "I doubt I'll be a strict professor and request respect with every sentence directed at me, so please relax. Maybe when we're in the classroom you'll have to bow with every step I take, but for now, here, let's just be" he took a breath and look straight at Theo, searching for any sign of discomfort, then let a wide smile take over his lips and sighed out "ordinary."