lost cause ϟ george weasley

027

"WE AREN'T EVER GETTING OLDER."

—

SINCE Summer was coming close to an end, the Weasleys said it was fine that Arden stayed the rest of the season. Albus Dumbledore had returned to the Burrow with Arden's trunks, further confirming the fact her father was murdered and she was now an orphan with no home.

"This is everything that wasn't destroyed. Again, I'm sorry for your loss, Ms. Gosse." Dumbledore said, patting Arden's shoulder before disappearing into the kitchen to talk some more with Arthur Weasley.

The twins appeared by Arden's side, looking at the three trunks Dumbledore had brought. The three trunks contained her belongings. Everything else was destroyed. Shameful.

"Come on," George muttered, walking to pick up a trunk. "Mum said you can stay in Bill's old room for the rest of Summer." He smiled softly.

Fred grabbed the other trunk and Arden grabbed the last one. "Welcome to the Burrow, Arden."

Oddly, the words were comforting to Arden. She felt safe with the twins, but then again she felt safe in her home. She was just afraid that whoever killed her father wouldn't return to kill her and end up hurting the Weasleys.

Bill Weasley's room was neater than she had expected. Maybe it was because the boy no longer lived at home so didn't have any chances to make messes, or maybe it was because he was an adult now, but everything was so neat. It didn't look like a typical male room; there were no posters or trophies. There was a painting that hung on the wall and a bed in the centre, adorned with boring navy blur sheets. It was a very sophisticated room, one that she assumed Percy would have from all the things the twins said about their brother. This seemed like such a boring room compared to such an adventurous man like Bill Weasley; for Merin's sake, he broke curses for a living! Despite the fact he was adult, she had assumed they didn't have time to remodel his room or anything like that.

The twins set the trunks down and Arden followed, sighing. She wouldn't unpack because it felt wrong to do so, besides, why would she unpack when there was only weeks left of summer? She looked up at the two boys, offering a small smile as a thanks. They replied, saying it was no big deal, and Fred turned to leave. George stuck around however.

"Hey," George said softly. "If you want to talk about it, I'm here for you. My promise doesn't just cover the whole love thing, you know? Whatever you need, I'm here."

Arden inhaled deeply and nodded, sitting down on the bed. It creaked, but was still comfortable nonetheless. George followed, sitting beside her and grabbing one of her hands. "I know things are scary for you right now–"

"Scary?" Arden scoffed, before silently apologising with her eyes. "George, my father was just murdered..." She said quietly. "And Levi has disappeared somewhere and got himself mixed up in dark magic and Cedric Diggory is dead and Harry Potter said He's back. And I believe it, I believe that Voldemort is back and he sent one of his goons to murder my dad. My dad is dead. Scary doesn't begin to cover it."

No words came from George for a minute. Instead, he just gave Arden a slightly awkward side hug. He wasn't sure how to respond; he didn't think anything he could say would make Arden feel better. "I'm scared too." He mumbled. He was afraid for his family and for his friends and for Arden.

"I don't think I should stay here," Arden finally admit, looking at the redhead. She saw George's face drop and he began to protest, claiming it was the safest place for her. "Maybe," She smiled weakly. "But it's not the safest place for you. Whoever murdered my father had plans to murder me too, that's why my room was destroyed. Staying with you all just risks all of your safety and I can't do that to such an innocent and selfless family. You guys don't deserve my trouble; I refuse to be a burden to you all."