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

chapter fifty two

The snow melted as February rolled in, the air a bitter coldness upon the faces of students who walked across hallways and the grounds of Hogwarts.

Winnie Buldstrode has been a woman of silence as of late toward Theodore Nott. Only acknowledging him in hums or mute words. The heartache he forced upon them made her cold, and she could no longer muster kind words towards him, especially when all she saw was a hollow green glass in the shape of his eyes. Empty of emotion, empty of the kindness he once shared with her.

He shared it with her sister now, and she pretended not to care.

Winnie spent her days in the presence of her wayward cousin, who often spoke of things she couldn't properly understand, but Cordelia's presence was a comfort for her. She shared her hatred for Winnie's sister and the red-eyed demon who both plagued and stole from them.

The blonde's evening was spent with Harry Potter. They were conjoined as of late; whispers followed them around the castle, rumours of lovers licked at their heels, but they were deaf to them all. They needed someone to care unconditionally for anyone else, and they received it from each other without reservations or lies.

Winnie was next to Harry now as they joined others from their year in the Great Hall. The long house tables they sat at every day disappeared, replaced with black mats as rain splashed against the windows. Above them, the enchanted ceiling swirled in deep black, puffy clouds that would strike white as lightning pierced the skies outside.

There's a Ministry Wizard speaking loudly and monotone, their voice drifting around the room to bored ears. Winnie stands, arms crossed, her hair pulled back against her head, waving blonde curls ticking the nape of her neck and skin. Harry and Ron whisper beside her, and she tunes them out as she stares at the tiny, skinny little Ministry Wizard. Apparition was something she was rather excited to learn, much despite the frown that laced her lips.

She told herself she yearned to learn it for excitement when in reality, she knew she wanted the knowledge in case she couldn't defend herself and needed to get away quickly.

"Malfoy! Be quiet and pay attention," Professor McGonagall's sharp voice drew her amber eyes away from the wizard and towards the platinum blond boy. Winnie watched, frown deepening as he stepped away from Theo, but as people around her focused on Malfoy, she was focused on the boy she tried so hard to ignore. Theo's frown was scowl deep and prominent on his features, stepping away from Malfoy, who he seemed to have been arguing with.

The desire to know was deeply routed in her stomach, and as she watched her sister whisper to Theo, she forced herself to look away from him and towards Malfoy instead. There was a bitterness to him that grew each day, and she watched, perplexed, as he whispered in Cordelia's ear. Her cousin shook her head in reply to whatever he said. As Harry shuffles beside her, Winnie lets go of the magical cord inside her, feeling her fingers touch as she reaches out to brush Malfoy's magic with her own.

Winnie knows this is perhaps a stupid idea, but the need to know is far greater than her need to stay alive or whole. There is a deep anguish that settles upon her shoulders, causing her to stifle a gasp and stumble slightly. Unaware of Harry's hand on her back or the weary way he stares at her face before looking toward Draco, Winnie is trapped. Her heart squeezes painfully with anger and pain so deep, it burned greater than the last time she had reached out.

Severing her connection with a deep inhale, she comes back to herself, only now she sees Theo Nott staring coldly at her, jaw clenched as Draco whispered to him once again. He knows what she has done, and she feels a sense of carelessness as she glances away. She is not his to keep anymore, not hers to protect her to defend.