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.

'There is something wrong with Malfoy," she whispers to Harry instead, touches his shoulder instead of Theos who stands so far away. Winnie knows Harry already believes this, but she feels his relief trickle over her far greater than anything she has ever felt. Someone believes him, they are not discarding his worries with their own, she believes.

"What happened?" Harry whispers, they heads close together as the words from the Ministry Wizards falls upon unlistening ears. Winnie, who forces her lips into a thin line as she eyes the line of Professors before looking back at Harry who is watching her with wide green eyes.

"I'll tell you later, I promise. Now isn't the time," she swore, and Harry, who she has never given a reason not to trust her, nods, leaving it at at that. Their conversation finished just as people started scrambling, separating themselves five feet apart from others. Winnie, who felt suddenly bare, shifted awkwardly, pushing her side bangs in front of the scar on her face.

Appiartion was a failn at best, which to be granted was to expected, didn't mean Winnie didn't grit her teeth in annoyance all the same as she held her aching elbow. She had spun while trying to get into her tiny hoop, causing her to fall over on her elbow. It hadd been enough to send shocks through her teeth as she gripped her elbow, grateful that their lesson was over for the day. The blonde looked around for Harry, who had gotten lose from her eye sight throughout the hour. Needing food and a bruising paste, she grew tired of looking for her scared friend.

Taking her leave from the Great Hall, she turned down an empty corridor towards the Hospital Wing, only to be pulled back by someone gripping her aching elbow. Winnie yelped, slapping the hand against her elbow as she tugged into an alcove.

'Let me go- Theo?" Winnie quetsioned, her anger momentarily paused as she stared into the green eyes of Theo Nott. Who tore his hand away from her, eyes staring down at her elbow she kept close to her chest.

"What happen-"

"What in Godrics Gryffindor do you want?" She snapped, the concern that trickled in his voice was a cruel tactic, a reminder of the knife that he plunged in her heart that night at the Black Lake. Theo, who seemed suprised for a moment from the harshness of her words, blinked, before he straightened, clicking his tongue at the roof of her mouth.

"You need to stop reaching into Malfoys' emotions," Theo all but demanded, eyes hardening, which only seemed to fuel that anger in Winnie's heart, for she laughed bitterly.

"You don't get to tell me what to do Nott," she siethed, mouth twisting into a snarl. "Besides why do you care?"

'I do care, I just-"

"Funny way of showing it,' she snapped, cutting him off. Tasting bitterness in her mouth and warmth fill her cheeks. "You don't get to do this to me. Go to you bloody finance Nott, stay the hell away from me." She glared at him once more, watching the thin line of his lips, teh emptiness that flickered in hsi eyes. She yearned to see any sign of emotion in his eyes, even anger would be a sign that her Theo was still in there. Instead there was nothing, just a boy who would marry her sister, a boy who itched his left arm and sniffed.

"Fine, your funeral then," he mumbled bitterly, turning on his heel and swiftly walking away from her. Winnie, who watched him leave found her anger leaving with him, as she sighed, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her back into the rough surface of the castle.

Pretending to hate and not care for him was tearing every piece of her apart, but she would not be played with, she will never allow that to happen again. No matter how much it would kill her inside.

༺♥༻

         Soft snores fill the air in the Gryffindor Common Room, filtering from a redhead's mouth as he slumps forward against his parchment. Winnie sits across from the boy, stifling a sigh as she raises her wand, muttering as Ron Weasley's snores drift away to nothing.

Three Gryffindors sit peacefully amongst each other, Ron sleeping like the dead. Hermione chews on the corner of her lip, eyebrows furrowed over her homework. Winnie, who wishes to forget ever knowing Theo Nott, reads through pages of her essay. There is a quietness of a crackling fire and smells of wood filtering around them. It is a rare silence in the common room that is usually bustling with laughter and joy.

It is not a bitter or solemn moment, but a gentle moment that isn't hated between the two females that sit awake.

Harry Potter strolls in after a moment, disrupting the peace for only a moment with the shutting of the door. Winnie's eyes trickled towards him, watching the frown pierce his lips and the worry that grew in his eyes. The boy was never good at hiding his emotions, they shimmered off of him like trickling water. His leg bounced as he sat, making the table shake with vibrations. Dumbledore had sought him out once again, making it the fourth night this week that Harry had endured Godric only knows what in the hands of the headmaster and the upcoming war.

Winnie's finger slips around the silver of her ring, a debate raging in her mind as she watches the anxiety ridden boy across from her. Her fingers itch, and despite her best judgment, she is standing. Walking slowly behind the boy, fingers bruising against the back of his neck. She thinks of yule break and the feeling of warmth trickling from Lupin onto her; she thinks of laughing with Cordelia, their times in a tree surrounded by a dying sun. The happiness in her heart settles into Harry's bones while the apprehension in his bones twists into her.

She feels the moment Harry calms, feels the moment his shoulder is intense and his eyes fall onto her as she wrings her hand against her chest. A hundred thoughts eat away at her mind, and with Harry's eyes of confusion staring back at her, she forces a smile upon her lips. An unspoken word of explanation on her lips as she turns and makes her way out of the common room; it isn't until her feet lead her to the steps to the Astronomy tower that she slows to a crawl.

Harry's anguish is deep inside of her, bumping through her veins as she stills herself against the open balcony of the Astronomy tower. Chilled bitter air eats away at the touches of her cheeks, flushed with the winter cold as she lets the air from the lungs twindle out. His exhaustion runs down her shoulders and Winnie feels herself shag forward with the weight of it all.

It was foolish, she knew he would ask questions later, and she knew she could not lie to him. Perhaps she wouldn't mind speaking the truth to him, she is not so afraid of her gift anymore as she is of the wolf that lives inside of her.

You shouldn't be.

Winnie ignores the growl with a simple sniff from her nose; she does not fight anymore or grind her teeth so sharply in her mouth that there is a pain so great it silences the wolf in her brain. She hears her wolf every now and then, a reminder that she is never truly alone but is not comforted in that way.

She finds comfort in people's arms brushing against her own or feeling the warm breath of someone else mouth as they speak in low tones just for her.

As she breathes in a mouthful of cold air, Harry's feelings leave her slowly, leaving nothing but a trail of emptiness in its wake. Winnie takes in comfort, her finger trailing against the stone railway of the balcony, the night is dark, and the moon above her is bright. She takes this moment to truly stare at the moon, a half circle that smiles greedily down upon her; soon enough, her body temperature will decrease to a heightened peak, and she will grow uncomfortable in her skin. Winnie would wear nothing but thick sweaters and wrap herself in the warmest of blankets, her eyes would sink into her skull, and she would become a lesser beauty of herself now.

She can hear her wolf howl in her head, and she feels herself heave a heavy sigh. It was deafening at times, hearing her wolf speak or howl that can no longer hear her own. She had started to find it in her best nature to try her best to ignore it, bringing attention towards it only makes it worse.

Her wolf likes attention it seems.

Winnie turns, deciding now was a good enough to try and sneak back, she could perhaps avoid Harry for the night if she was quiet and quick enough.

An owl interrupted her process, however.

Winnie finds herself freezing, golden hair shimmering white under the light of the moon and blackend sky as a tawny owl swoops down near her. Landing with a perch against the railing, black spots covered its face, it's wings tiny as it ruffled out it's wings. Wide, beady yellow eyes star expendectly at her, while Winnie's own hazel eyes glance towards the letter that tied against his leg.

A hoot filtered through the air and she realized with a start, that the owl is waiting for her to move forward and take the letter. Feeling hopeful that perhaps it's Remus, she quickly walks towards the waiting owl, being careful not to brush against it's face as her nimble fingers untie the black string tied to it's leg. Holding the letter close to her chest, the owl hoots once more, tiilting it's head towards her.

"I have nothing to give you," Winnie spoke harshly, crinkling her nose as the owl simply blinked its yellow eyes toward her. "I'm sorry, perhaps you could fly to the-" Her words fell silent, for the owl seemed to not wish to hera the rest of her sentence, for it ruffled it's wings once more and flew high into the air. Leaving her alone with questions and the letter pressed against her chest.

Walking closer to the railing in hope sof gaining some light forn the bright moon, she fingers the letter. It's wrapped in an yellowed envelope, no sigil to represent a house of who it belongied to. Not even a name inked across the front, nothing but an empty slate staring up at her waiting to be opened. Curious, she smoothed her tumb against the surface of her grandfather's ring, before slipping her finger in under the opening of the envelope and feeling the glue slip away.

Winnie wans't sure what she expected when the letter was revealed to her, perhaps some secrerey from Remus for a reason she was not behold to understand. A father protecting his adopted daughter from all the harmful people in the world that could fall upon her shoulders, or worse, his.

It was not her mothers writing she had expected to see staring back at her. Elegant and black ink trained from years of finishing school as a child. Imogen Buldstrode was a woman whose thoughts had not fallen upon in ages, perhaps not for the tiniest minute when Millie admitted to their father being dead. Winnie's blood mother and face were not a sight she thought she would ever see or think about again, yet her writing stared up at her. Reminding the young girl of her mother's own hair, mirroring the hair that grows upon her skull. Her eyes were as bright as the midday sky that blessed summer days, cheekbones flushed with perfection, and lips sharing cruel words.

Winnie has not forgotten the last moment she had shared with her mother, the feel of her mother's arms wrapped around her body and the furiousness that trickled into her eyes. No. Winnie has never forgotten.

Winnie's eyes trail the letter without truly processing the words written back up at her, she finds herself unable to do anything but stare in disbelief. A part of her that outweighs every other feeling she could muster wishes to burn the letter without ever reading it, and her mother does not deserve the luxury of any amount of her time.

Yet, no matter how angry or bitter her feelings may be, Winnie cannot pretend this letter does not exist.

My daughter,

I'm afraid an awful life has befallen you. I am privy to the responsible, and at times I find myself wishing to go back and return to the moment you were ever sorted into an awful house. But we both know the past is not changeable, and dwelling on such things will cause wrinkles. I taught you that, and I hope you are not haunted by the past. I know of the curse that has fell upon you, and I yearn for you to understand that I have had nothing to do with it. This is a dangerous time, Winifred, and I'm sure you understand. You were always so intelligent. Even as a young babe, you were far too intelligent for your good, and I envied you. You grew too fast, my first born and my child who has left me at my own doing. There are still things you do not understand, my intelligent girl. With your father, dad, I need you to be closer, and there are things I cannot speak of here now or even before in the quietness of that room. My duck, you are better than this entire house, and I wish you no harm. I ask one thing of you, a branch reaching out as you know you loved trees as a child. Meet me on the first of march, at noon, when the children eat lunch at Hogshead. Believe me when I say nothing will harm you; I hope to see you there, my duck.

Winnie's cheeks and heart had grown cold as she clutched the letter again to her chest. There is a sour taste growing in her mouth as she chews unforgiving on the inside of her cheek.

Her mother, her mother only through blood, calls upon her, and she finds herself unable to find the bravery in her to go. Winnie had answered a letter form her blood family before and a curse had fallen upon her greater than anything she has ever delt with, and she wonders what could fall upon her now.

Perhaps it is another a trap, certainly would not be surprising if it was. Her chest heavy with the words of ehr blood mother, she turns and walks quicker towards the common room than she had when she elft. Her socked feet rushing against the stone floors, candlelight flicking form fire lamps above her as portraits watch her go with whispers and concerns of their own.

Winnie finds herself unable to be surprised when she finds Harry awaiting her return, he is always sitting, waiting, there when she needs. She goes to him now, her hands outstretched, pushing the letter into his chest as green eyes wash over with wide and a worried reflection. He reads with a furrowed eyebrows across his head, and she watches him with her hands clutched close onto her lap, their knees are brushing and there is a dying fire laying in front of them.

"It could be a trap," Harry whispers, Winnie feels it in herself to snort softly, she know sthis, she has already thought about this. Harry sees this, for he rolls his own eyes as he folds the letter, tossing it aside onto the small, wooden table besides the couches before he turns to face her. Pressing his knee deeper against hers, 'what would you like to do?

"I- I don't know Harry," she admits, running a hand through her wavy locks, she knows it would perhaps be safer to not go. To burn the letter now and let her mother rot in her guilt, but she knows there are things she does not understand and knowledge is power, it's a gift iof choices. Choices that some people may not be able to have.and she yearn to know everything.

Harry must see her resolve written across her face, for he sighs, and draws her closer so her head rests against his chest. Winnie settles against him, listening to the thumping of his heart as she speaks, "you know I will not let you go alone-"

"Harry! You can't what if-"

"Winnie, you are my best friend, my family," he speaks urgently, twisting so she faces him as he hold sher face in his hand. Winnie feels a small smile fight its way onto he lips as she reaches up to hold onto his hands against her face. 'If anything happens to you and I was not there, I will not be able to live with myself. Yous eem to forget that your body came to me when you were dying, I had my blood on your hands and your life tied to the chain around my neck. I will not let that happen again." Winnie frowns, intertwing her arms around him, hugging him furiously.

She knew, without a shadow of a doubt that Harry would not leave her. She only hoped that her mother would come in peace, and not with claws striked out to kill.

— when i said slow burn ..... i meant slow burn for real. i actually never intended for winnie & theo to take this long, but i'm kinda vibing. they are both complex individuals and stubborn in their own rights.
— i also feel like i'm pushing harry x winnie vibes, and i can fully tell you that i have no intention to make them romantically involved in any shape or form. they are beyond my favourite relationship in this book, but they are strictly platonic. i'm pushing the idea that men & females can be friends agenda strongly in this one
— i've also been obsessed with editing theo x winnie on tiktok lately like ??? idk but if you wanna see edits its under the account salemologywp !! i love you all xo