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

chapter thirty nine

Winnie had hoped that sleep would've helped the buzzing in her ears, unfortunately it did nothing to help her. She had sat all through breakfast, eating a slice of toast while trying to silence every sound around her. It didn't help that people seemed to be interested in how exactly she got the scars on her face, really, she wanted to punch them all for staring or whispering behind her back as if she couldn't hear them.

Okay, in their mind, they didn't think she could hear them. But she could, she heard everything.

'She looked so pretty before.'

'Oh Godric! Her face is ruined.'

'Reckon her parents did it? They kicked her out last year...'

It took everything in her not to scream at them all, not to ask them to say it to her face if they were so confident in whispering behind her back. It wasn't as if she was showcasing the lines off, she had braided some pieces of her hair that morning. letting them rest against the unbrushed locks of her hair. They were hidden for the most part by her hair, one would think that would be a sign that perhaps she doesn't want people to stare.

Perhaps the rest are simply too dumb to realize that. She could feel their curiosity burn like bitter coffee grinds on the surface of her tongue, her breathing would simmer out of control while she would curl her fingers tightly together on her lap. The curse she possessed last year mixed sourly with the curse in her veins this year, and while it had taken her nearly all summer to try and balance the two, it seemed students were determined to inflame it even more.

That isn't the only problem that follows her that day either, it's Theo Nott as his insufferable need to be everywhere she is. Really, she knows she is being immature by avoiding him, but she just can't find the strength to face him and to know he'll question her face just like everyone else.

Winnie isn't mad at him for it, no she understands and that's the worst thing. She knows that if the situation was reversed and he showed up with a fresh set of scars across his features, she wouldn't rest until she got answers, until she got the truth.

But sometimes the truth isn't pretty, and she doesn't know how to admit it to him.

He's watching her now, while she stares at the runes teacher, her finger holding the quill between two fingers as she taps her foot. Leg jiggling uncontrollably, she knows he is watching her because Hermione had pointed it out ten minutes into class.

"You know he's looking at you right?" The bushy haired girl whispered, her lips pressed into a line as she leaned over next to her, their desks near the back of the room. Shoved together for the purpose of being able to talk if needed.

"Who?" Winnie questions, eyebrows creased as she flicks her gaze over to Hermione who gives her a knowing look. The blonde already knew who, but playing dumb felt like a pretty good option to go with at the time. Winnie pretends to lean down and scratch at her leg, glancing over to where Theo sat next to Blaise Zabini. Their eyes locked for a sliver of a second, long enough for her world to slow and the loud whispers of her mind to silence off.

Just as she looks away, it's back on again, the silence only staying as long as she glances at him.

That had been the single thing floating around her mind all class, wondering why the world seemed to come to a sudden silence whenever she looked at him. Whenever he looked at her, it made no sense, whenever she would lock eyes with anyone else, she could still hear the murmurs. Still hear the loud rampling of one's heart.