"Perhaps. But not like you say it. I think you have a rather good view from up there," he answered.
"Someday you may. I did not know you much, back then."
The girl she was alluding to was not entirely foreign to his memory; they were familiar with each other for a long time, albeit from afar and in passing. She had been sitting at the Gryffindor table the day the Sorting Hat placed Samuel into Slytherin.

He laughed. "Classroom antics. Did we put so many years and so much effort into growing up and mastering this and that, only to end up where we began?"
Samuel drank his wine. The fact they were sitting here and looking out on the castle grounds they had roamed in their youth spoke for itself.
"Could be worse," he assessed. "My younger self would abhor me for my decision to return."
Even so, these days when he walked down to the lake for a swim in the late evening, he felt content.

"I suppose for the stars, it does matter which place you choose for gazing at them."
Samuel looked over at the astronomy tower. From his windows viewpoint, it loomed tall and dark over the landscape.

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