Unseen Bonds
The cold January winds howled through the Forbidden Forest, rattling the bare branches and sending leaves spiraling into the night sky. Harry sat alone on the edge of the Black Lake, his cloak wrapped tightly around him. The faint, distant calls of the Thestrals echoed through the trees. He found their presence comforting, though they often stayed just out of reach, like ghosts lingering on the edge of his reality.
Hogwarts was quiet tonight, save for the occasional distant murmur of laughter spilling from the common rooms. Most students were inside, enjoying the warmth of the fireplaces and the camaraderie of friends. But Harry wasn’t like most students.
He stared into the dark waters, lost in thought, his detached expression softened by a faint flicker of longing. The lake reminded him of home—not the home he’d escaped from when he was six, but the one that mattered. The one he’d chosen. He thought of Teeth, of the way the creature lurked silently in the woods, its hulking form somehow both terrifying and comforting.
The sharp ache of absence pressed against his chest, unfamiliar and unwelcome. Teeth had never been far from him before. Even now, miles away, Harry could almost feel it—its presence like a phantom, lurking in the shadows of his mind.
Suddenly, a faint crack echoed behind him. Harry’s senses sharpened immediately, his head snapping toward the source of the sound. His hand instinctively reached for his wand.
From the darkness, a familiar figure emerged, its gait loping and fluid, its eye sockets visible faintly in the moonlight. The air seemed to shift around it, the wind stilling as if in deference to its presence.
“Teeth?” Harry whispered, his voice almost breaking.
The creature stepped closer, its massive frame blending seamlessly into the shadows until it was right in front of him. Its maw opened slightly, revealing rows of jagged teeth, glinting like silver knives under the pale light.
For a moment, Harry simply stared. Then, with a shaky breath, he let out a laugh—a quiet, disbelieving sound.
“How did you even—?” He stopped himself. Of course Teeth would find him. Teeth always found him.
The creature crouched low, its non existent eyes locking onto Harry’s. For all its monstrousness, there was something deeply familiar in its gaze, something Harry had always understood without needing words.
“I missed you,” Harry admitted softly, his voice barely more than a whisper. He reached out a tentative hand, and Teeth leaned forward, its head bowing slightly. The boy’s fingers brushed against its rough, mottled skin.
Teeth made a low, rumbling sound, almost like a purr, its chest vibrating with the noise. It was an oddly tender gesture, one that Harry had come to associate with safety.
“I’m fine,” Harry said, as if answering a question Teeth hadn’t spoken aloud. “It’s... different here. But I’m managing.”
Teeth tilted its head, the faint outline of its eyes narrowing slightly.
Harry laughed again, a sound tinged with both amusement and sadness. “I know. You don’t trust them. Neither do I.” He leaned back against the stone, his hand still resting on Teeth’s head. “But I have to stay. At least for now.”
The creature shifted, settling its massive frame beside him. It seemed almost protective, its hulking form curling slightly around the boy.
For a long time, neither of them spoke—or moved. The silence was companionable, filled with an understanding that didn’t need words. Harry closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax for the first time in weeks.
“Sometimes,” he murmured, “I wonder what you’d think of this place. All the people. The magic. I think you’d hate it. Too many rules, too much noise.”
Teeth let out a low growl, as if agreeing.
Harry smiled faintly, his hand still resting against its coarse skin. “Yeah. I don’t like it much either.”
The minutes stretched into an hour, and still, Teeth didn’t move. It stayed with him, its presence as steady as the heartbeat Harry could feel vibrating through its chest.
“I don’t know how long I’ll stay here,” Harry said quietly, his voice tinged with uncertainty. “But I’ll come back. You know I will.”
Teeth rumbled again, and Harry felt its massive head press gently against his side—a rare, almost affectionate gesture.
For the first time in a long while, Harry felt something warm settle in his chest. He wasn’t alone. No matter where he went, no matter how strange or alien Hogwarts felt, Teeth would always be there, waiting in the shadows, watching from the darkness.
And for Harry, that was enough.