lost cause ϟ george weasley

001

"DON'T PRAY FOR LOVE."

—

WORDS rarely made Arden Gosse uncomfortable unless you were telling her you loved her. This was because it was always awkward afterwards. She never repeated the three words to anybody — not even her poor father.

The reason behind this is so simple that it's almost laughable. Arden's father, Neil Gosse, was given chocolates laced with a love potion, courtesy of Elle Darden, otherwise known as Arden's mother. Under the influence of the potion, Neil fell in love with Elle and the two had a child — Arden. Unfortunately, Elle fled a few months after Arden was born, abandoning Arden and leaving Neil to raise his daughter on his own.

Neil was prepared for everything including her acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, he was not prepared to find that his daughter was incapable of loving.

The guilt ate at Arden every night when her father would kiss her forehead and tell her he loves her before he went to sleep. She would stare at her ceiling, wondering why she was met with this unfortunate fate. She wanted to love her father. She wanted to love in general. But she couldn't.

So when she stood at King's Cross Station with her father, she was stumbling on her words. She wanted to choke out that she loved her father dearly, but she couldn't lie to him.

"Be good," Neil Gosse ordered. "Don't let anyone ruin your shine, sweetheart. Don't let them make you feel weak." He took a deep breath. "I love you to the moon, sweetheart. I'll miss you."

Arden nodded, searching for the right words. "I'll miss you too papa, but I—"

Neil cut his daughter off, "I know Ardy. You can't, but I know what you mean. Now go, before you miss the train."

The honey coloured skin girl nodded again, hugging her father, and stepping onto the train. She took a deep breath and made her way through the students, finding an empty compartment and sitting down. She propped her feet up and stared out the window, silently beating herself up for not being able to love her father or anyone else for that matter.

Her deep concentration was broken when a boy tumbled into the compartment, his head landing in her lap. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" He sat up and glared at a boy identical to him who was standing outside the compartment with a dark-skinned boy. The three of them had Gryffindor robes on and they each had a sparkle in their eyes.

"I'm George Weasley," The boy who fell into her lap smiled, sticking his hand out to her. "Sixth year. And that's my twin, Fred. And our friend Lee. They're also sixth years."

Arden raised an eyebrow. "Arden Gosse, sixth year as well."

"What house are you in?" Lee asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Ravenclaw." The girl answered shortly.

Fred grinned. "Sick! You must love the view. Honestly, I've always been a little envious of the Ravenclaw common room, but Gryffindor's got it good too."

Arden visibly cringed as Fred said love.

"I'm sorry, did I say something?" He frowned, noticing her cringe.

The Ravenclaw smiled uncomfortably. "No, sorry. I just, I got a shiver." She lied. If she was going to make some more friends then she couldn't spill her entire life story to three sixteen year old boys she just met.