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

chapter fifteen

    𝖂hen Winnie was a child, she believed her home to be the safest place on earth. It's where she was born, in the halls of the tainted green walls, black leather and fireplaces coating it with warmth. It's where she broke her wrist at four when her father insisted that she and Millie learn how to ride a broom ( he didn't have a son of his own to chase around with such things, so the girls worked out just fine. ) It's where she would have nightmares created by stories told in the light of day, where her mother would smooth her hair back and kiss her gently.

Whispering words of comfort while tiny tears kissed the apples of her cheeks.

It's just a dream.

You're safe.

No harm will come to you here.

Many times in her life, she wished for that comfort. She would stare at her mother, missing the smiling comfort and the gentle touch of her hands against her cheeks. She missed the way her mother would comb through her hair, telling her of ways she would help dress her for balls, telling her ways she would help teach her everything she had to know for Hogwarts.

Imogen Buldstrode only looked at her with disdain now.

She was giving her daughter the same look as they stood in the main dining area. Every time the Bulstrode siblings came home, the family would greet each other in the dining area. A small feast was prepared by the house elves as they conversed over the events that took place over the months they were gone, which more or less meant Imogen and Elijah got a free pass to point out Winnie's failure.

As if they didn't take every chance they had to do so anyway.

"Mother, Father, lovely to see you again," Millie beamed, her face wide with a smile as the siblings walked in through the opened doors. They had arrived through the floo network at the train station-- their family couldn't be bothered to greet them. Millie's heels clicked against the stone floors, arms outstretched to greet her parents.

Winnie couldn't be happier to know; she didn't know if she could publically deal with her family's hate towards her. At least at home, she could hide it away.

Winnie blinked, watching the pride that blossomed in her parent's faces as they took in her blonde sister. It rolled into her body in sweet waves of peaches, creating an odd mixture of pride and envy in the young brunette's chest. As her father swiped a gentle hand against Millie's shoulders, Winnie turned her gaze away. Jaw locking as she swallowed thickly, hating herself for the sudden need in her that grew.

"We heard you're a part of Umbridge's special club; we're so proud of you," Imogen's voice beamed, her voice a twist of honey and chalk. Scraping against Winnie's ears and causing her skin to crawl.

"She's a brilliant Ministry worker; it's about time they change things at Hogwarts," Elijah added in her, her father's voice added in on the conversation that Winnie was pointedly left out of. Nobody had even spoken to her since she entered the Manor; her sister had simply flickered her blonde curls over her shoulder and walked towards their parents with a head full of air.

Winnie scuffed slightly, picking at her nails as she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she's a peach," she muttered, placing her hand back on her arm, and she leaned her head back against the door frame. Suddenly wishing she didn't take for granted the silence that she existed in with Hermione in their train cart. Even if the blonde kept looking at her every five minutes with anxiety and pity, it was better than this.

"Oh, what do you want?" Imogen's voice twisted from honey and straight chalk, scraping against her skin harder as her word adjusted towards Winnieow. The blonde looked up, her eyes meeting her mother's, desperately wishing to see the warmth that once was there, the calming flicker she would receive when nightmares ate away at her dreams. Instead, she was greeted with bitterness, blue eyes dark like a storm, uninviting and unforgiving.