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

chapter six

           𝕿he streets of Hogsmead were filled with droplets of white, trickling down the roads and making the scene appear like an early Christmas. Winnie had tugged the hair tie out of her hair, letting her honey locks float around her shoulders. Her cheeks rubbed raw from the wind slapping against her fair skin, making her appear with a red-tipped nose and blushed cheeks. While she desperately wished she had stayed at Hogwarts longer, Cordelia Flint was smiling at least, and that made the bitter chill all worth it.

          The cousins entered the tiny, dusty bar of Hogs Head. Their arms linked as Winnie's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, inspecting the grim piled up along the windows, blocking natural light from seeping into the darkened pub. She felt Cordelia's fingers dig further into Winnie's forearm, causing the blonde to become acutely aware that everyone had stopped talking, gawking at Cordelia Flint with mixed looks of distrust and confusion.

       Winnie scrunched up her nose, rapping her fingers around Cordelia's and squeezing reassuringly before ignoring everyone else and instead looking for the reason why she was there. She spotted Hermione sitting next to Potter and Weasley. The female waved with her free hand, watching as the curly-haired brunette returned the gesture. Potter glanced up, his eyes zoning in on Cordelia, who glared around the room with her chin raised high. Winnie's eyebrow raised slightly as his eyes turned onto her, his cheeks flushing as she inclined her head slightly towards Cordelia. She snorted, giving him a thumbs up before her eyes traced the rest of the room.

       Padma was sitting with her twin sister, Parvati, who waved slightly toward her before returning to the conversation with her sister. Cathy Chang and her girlfriend Lucy Weaver were taking a seat in the far corner. Next to them sat Luna Lovegood, who was sitting and smiling softly as if the room was locked into a soft melody. Ginny Weasley sat beside her, red hair tied into braids with a butterbeer in her hands. The rest of the room was sorted out between people of the Gryffindor quidditch team, a boy with a camera in his hands that he was holding tightly, and then an assortment of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Winnie jumped slightly as Cordelia elbowed her in the gut, whispering something along the lines of 'A few people?' which Winnie only shrugged in reply before moving to find seats.

         Winnie sighed, grateful she was out of the cold, and her cheeks could finally return to normal. Winnie eye's eyes widened slightly as she heard Cordelia tell everyone off for looking at her, which — for the record — Winnie thought that her point was, in fact, true, but she still elbowed her anyway. "Don't be so aggressive," she growled slightly, narrowing her eyes at her cousin before looking to see Zacharias Smith looking at them. The blonde narrowed her eyes further at the Hufflepuff boy.

          "They were staring at me. It's not my fault—"

            "Behave yourself," Winnie warned, looking back at Cordelia as she pursed her lips, wagging a finger in her face. "Please."

           "How do you expect me to behave myself when he's here, and all these people are staring at me!" Cordelia argues, making a face as Winnie sighs. Pinching the bridge of her nose and breathing out heavily, in hindsight, Winnie should've known this would've happened. Perhaps if her week wasn't constantly being pulled apart by a witch with a pink obsession and her head wasn't pounding from her interactions that morning, she would let Cordelia be. But right now, she needed some peace, which would give her some of it.

          "Just try, okay? Now, shut up." Winnie frowned before turning and looking ahead, sitting straight and determined to pay attention to whatever hell broke out here next. She briefly heard her cousin argue but was cut off quickly by someone clearing their throat. Hermione had gotten to her feet, her wild hair pulled into a ponytail at the top of her head as her eyes looked around the room. She shifted her feet, awkward nerves wavering off of her. Hermione's eyes met Winnie's for a split moment, and the Gryffindor girl found herself doing the same thing she did for Harry. Her thumb went up in the air slightly as she turned her lips to a smile.