Wolves Without Teeth ── theodore nott ¹ ( UNDER EDITING )

chapter forty six

A sudden heaviness falters around her shoulders one evening as she sits alone in the Great Hall. It tingles down to the tips of her fingers, causing her hand to stiffen and drop the cheese toastie she was about to eat. It grows more potent, feeling like too heavy cream is sitting on her. There is a tug, her senses kicking in higher as she turns her head to the side, seeing Harry Potter rush towards her. The anxious feeling trickles out of him and into her with every step he takes closer.

Winnie shifts, wiping the crumbs off her fingers as she clears her throat, hazel eyes pierced to Harry with her concern as she swallows his feelings and pushes her own on top.

"Harry, what's the matter?" She questions, concern seeping from her tongue as he sits beside her. He runs a hand through his tangled raven hair, his body half leaning into her as he sits with his back against the table. Winnie faintly remembers all of those evenings at Grimmulad Place together, where she would be the one buzzing with anxiety and leaning on him for support. It makes her lips threaten to pull into a smile as she places her hand on his forearm reassuringly.

"Can you come to Slughorn's party with me?' Harry questions quickly, causing her hand to still and her eyebrows to knit against her forehead. Harry's emerald eyes flicker to her, cheeks flushing slightly as he clears his throat. "I - I have no one to go with, and well, you're one of my best friends, and I can't go with the person I wanna go with, so-"

"Wow, you know how to make a girl feel special, Potter," Winnie teases, pouting falsely as Harry's eyes widen two sizes too big.

"What? No, I- erm-" his rushed words cut off as Winnie snorted, shaking her head at him as her lips pulled upwards into a smile.

"You're okay, Harry. I was joking. I'll go with you, I probably will hate it, but I'll still go," she assured, taping his scarred hand two times as the male relaxed against the table. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Winnie grabbed a piece of her cheese toastie and held it out for him. "Now relax and eat; your worries are giving me a headache," she chastised, grinning as he took half her food with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey, it's not my fault you have freaky emotion-sucking powers," Harry mumbled as Winnie snorted again, covering her mouth with her hand as she swallowed the food she was chewing on.

"Freaky emotion-sucking powers?" She questions, tilting her head to the side as the corner of her lips titled to a smile. Harry shrugged, taking a bite of the food in his hand as Winnie rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Harry was an odd friend sometimes, but the blonde couldn't imagine her life without him.

༺♥༻

Winnie has never enjoyed parties much; she had endured too many as a child. She was forced to wear too many dresses that were always too itchy and caused hives to break out around her skin. By the time she was six years old, she knew how to smile politely and fake it for hours on end.

When Winnie returned for her sixth year at Hogwarts, she never imagined she would need a dress, nor did she desire to wear one. So when she returned to the Common Room to prepare for Slughorns Party, she realized how royally fucked she was. She had almost torn apart her whole trunk trying to find something appropriate until she remembered that she was, in fact, a witch and could perform magic.