lost cause ϟ george weasley

006

"LATELY ALL I WANNA DO IS LAY AROUND WITH YOU AND COMPLAIN ABOUT THE YOUTH."

—

EVERYBODY was gathered in the great hall to find out who the TriWizard Champions would be. Arden was seated beside a student from Beauxbaton and she wasn't paying any mind to anything happening around her. She was skimming through a book while waiting for the event to be over so she could go to bed. George on the other hand was loudly goofing off with his friends, not glancing at Arden once. He had found out that his friends were desperately trying to figure out who he was spending a lot of his free time with but he couldn't risk them learning who and so avoided looking at Arden in case they caught him — which was really hard because George loved looking at Arden.

"Any of you got a date to the ball?" Katie asked as the group settled down.

Angelina grinned, "Fred is taking me."

A wolf-whistle came from Lee, followed by chuckles.

"Thomas is taking me." Katie shrugged.

Lee raised his eyebrows. "He's taking you to the ball yet you two aren't on first name basis?" Katie threw a paper ball at the dark-skinned boy and stuck her tongue out. "Hey! Just an observation. Anyways, I think I'm going to ask Arden Gosse to go with me."

George almost choked on air as everyone else just laughed at Lee. "Wh-what why?!"
The younger twin asked, eyes wide. He played it off by laughing but it sounded nervous.

"Because it'll be a challenge. I like feisty girls and she's got a smashing body."

For some reason, George was uncomfortable with the way Lee talked about Arden. He wanted to put Lee in his place but he knew it would seem suspicious so he didn't say anything.

Before the group could discuss the matter further, Dumbledore spoke up to announce the chosen tributes. George sat quietly as his friends continued to joke around. Two tables away, Arden was mindlessly watching everything, unaware of the conversation George's friends were having about her.

+

Once again, George was laying underneath a tree with Arden. His head rested on his bag and surprisingly, Arden's head rested on his stomach. She was rambling about the awfully rude kid in her Arithmancy class but all George could do is admire the girl's honey coloured skin.

Arden's voice was silky and he was sure he would listen to her talk all day.

"Hey," George interrupted. He sent her an apologetic smile when she turned her head to look at him and she couldn't help the giggle that came out her mouth because the angle she was looking at George was funny.

She hummed in response, waiting for George to continue. "Do you have a date to the Yule Ball?"

Arden shook her head, dreading what was bound to happen.

"Good. Me either. Guess we're going together now."

"Okay." Arden shrugged, though she was cringing internally. "Can I finish my story now?"

George nodded.

He didn't think it'd be that easy; he thought he'd have to convince her. Arden was clearly trying her best to open up even if it meant going to a silly ball where she'd most likely have to slow dance. She just hoped George's feelings towards her were nonexistent.

The two continued to talk, gathering laughs from each other. It wasn't until Arden glanced at the shiny watch on her wrist did they realise how late it was. Dinner was starting in less than ten minutes and neither of them had cleaned up. In fact, they were still laying on the ground, not moving to make it in time for dinner. It was quieter outside anyways and they could talk more, so they stayed put for a little while longer.

On the other hand, George's twin was impatiently waiting along with Lee, Angelina, and Katie at the Gryffindor table. "He always comes to dinner. How's he gonna ditch dinner?!" He questioned out loud, resting his face on his cheek angrily.

The Great Hall got louder as it began to fill with hungry students. Among the many chatty teens, Fred caught his twin's name in another Gryffindor's mouth as she gossiped with her friend.

He didn't quite catch the whole phrase, but he did catch the end of the sentence —"and George were cozy outside. If it was anyone else with Weasley, I'm sure it would've been cute."

Fred leaned closer to the two teens, wanting to hear the reply and hopefully catch the name of the other person George was 'being cozy with' outside.

"Yeah, anyone and that girl are an awful combination. She's pretty though, her personality is just shit. No wonder why her mum left."

Hearing the crude words come out of the mouth of a fellow Gryffindor disgusted Fred, and he was tempted to say something, but he couldn't defend who he didn't know. So he stayed quiet, continuing to eavesdrop.

The pudgier student opened her mouth to speak again. "Last year she was with a Slytherin and now she's trying to mix with our house? Gross. She should just be alone in her own house."

Her friend laughed, "Yeah, but poor Ravenclaw! Must be awful having someone like her in that house."

"Right? I don't know how she got George Weasley around her finger, but Merlin, if I was her I would have pounced today— that boy looked so good at lunch. She had the perfect opportunity in the courtyard to do it, too. She was practically laying on his stomach, what I'd give to be in that position." The fourth year sighed dreamily, pushing her hair over her shoulder with her chubby hand.

Fred crinkled his nose in disgust. Did fourth years really talk about them like that? It was oddly offensive to Fred, and he knew if George was there he'd say something about being against sexual objectification. He changed an awful lot.

A cackle came out of the taller girl as she scraped her plate clean. "It's Arden Gosse!" She said snottily. "Every guy wants to get in her pants, Weasley probably wasn't any different. You think she's a virgin?"

Pudge shook her head no, a crooked smile forming on her face as she burst into laughter with her friend.

"George is ditching me for Gosse?" Fred said to himself, shock evident on his face. Not that his friends were paying attention, they were too engulfed in their own conversations and stopped trying to get Fred's attention minutes ago.

He mumbled profanities under his breath, eyes wide. He couldn't believe it. George was really trying to get with the girl who couldn't love.

"Aw Georgie, why do you always gotta do this to yourself?"