lost cause ϟ george weasley

028

"FLAMES JUST CREATE US BUT BURNS DON'T HEAL LIKE BEFORE."

—

BEING holed up in a dusty home with nothing to do wasn't something the twins enjoyed. Many days they just watched Arden clean, as if they were interested in her need for an organised and clean area. The characteristic certainly made Molly enjoy Arden's presence much more and she often helped the girl clean. Other than that, life at Grimmauld Place was pretty boring.

The twins sat on their beds, watching Arden tidy up their room. They told her she didn't need to do that but she just shrugged and said cleaning kept her mind off the fact her father was dead and everyone was in danger. They shut up and let her clean after that.

Today, however, Harry Potter arrived. The twins eavesdropped and learnt he cast a Patronus in order to scare Dementors away from him and his cousin, a fat boy named Dudley. They relayed the news to Arden as she dusted one of the rooms down. She nodded along, but the two redheads knew that Arden was in a daze, in fact, they realised she's been in a sort of daze for awhile now.

"Hey," George spoke up. "Is everything alright?"

A short "hmmph" came from Arden's lips as she nodded again. Her answer didn't satisfy them and she sighed, turning to look at them. "I want to go back to my house." She said quietly. "Like, just to visit. I just need to see everything, let it set in you know? See it as some sort of...closure."

She didn't expect the twins to agree. George was uncomfortable with the idea of Arden returning to her home, knowing it could trigger her. He wasn't aware if there were any dangerous things in the house either, which was worrying. But he knew if he didn't agree, she'd go anyways – without him.

So they waited, knowing that nobody would really keep an eye on them as they were all too busy focusing on the Boy Who Lived. From the bedroom, the three teens apparated to Arden's previous home.

The outside of the house looked pretty normal. However, the second you stepped in, you could see very obvious struggles. The house still smelt of smoke, presumably from the blasts of magic. The living room was still untidy and the mug that was knocked down on the table was still there, along with the puddle of tea that was spilt. The twins stuck close to Arden, preparing themselves in case danger was still lurking in the shadows. They followed her through the house, uncomfortable at the sight of Arden's home in shambles. Suddenly, the three heard shuffling, making them all stop in their tracks.

"Shit, maybe we should go..." George suggested, grabbing Arden's arm protectively.

Arden shook her head no. "I'll go check it out, I'm sure it was nothing." She murmured, holding her wand up. However, she was pulled back by George. Fred volunteered to check things out since Arden was in more danger than them.

Another noise emitted from the bathroom, and George glanced at Arden cautiously. "I'll be right back, I'm going to check out the bathroom. Keep your wand up." He ordered before turning to leave as well.

This left Arden alone. She glanced down the hallways and noticed her bedroom was still wrecked. The girl disobeyed George's wishes and walked towards her bedroom, noticing that her father's body was outlined on the ground.

The girl jumped when she was grabbed. Strong arms curled around her waist and covered her mouth. Arden struggled, attempting to shout and thrashing in the person's arms.

"Hey, Arden calm down! It's me, it's just me."

Immediately Arden calmed down. She turned around and gasped at the sight of Leviathan. She threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"I'm so sorry," Leviathan whispered, staring at the outline of Neil Gosse's body over Arden's shoulder. "I'm so so sorry. Please forgive me."

Arden pulled away, looking up at Leviathan. He had dark bags under his eyes and he looked stressed and sleep deprived. His hair was messy and his eyes were red. "It's okay. It's not like you killed him." Leviathan frowned, making Arden's eyes widen. She pushed him back, stepping back into her desk. "No!"

Leviathan immediately started shaking his head. "I, I didn't do this. It was them. I wanted to stop them but they would've killed me. I'm sorry, Arden. I'm so sorry. I swear I didn't do this."

"Alright," Arden whispered. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I don't have time to explain it all. Is Perrie okay? Are you okay?"

The girl nodded, saying that Perrie Wood was on vacation somewhere nice with her family in attempt to get her mind off of Cedric Diggory's death.

George and Fred were heard outside, calling for Arden frantically. Of course this made Leviathan nervous and he hurriedly grabbed Arden's wrists. "Listen, they will come for you. Please, I need you to get away. Here, take this. It'll explain everything. Be safe, please. And whatever you do, don't cave in."

As fast as he appeared, he was gone. The twins barged into the room, confused as to why Arden was standing in the middle of the room. Then they realised this was her bedroom and then they noticed the outline of a body on her floor. George wrapped his arms around Arden in hopes of it comforting her. He was unaware of the letter that she had shoved down her pants hurriedly.

"Come on," Fred urged. "Let's get out of here."

No arguments were made and the three apparated back to Grimmauld Place. Fortunately, no one noticed their disappearance. They easily weaselled themselves into the kitchen and sat at the table, jumping in on the conversation.

Nymphadora Tonks noticed them and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. She winked and flicked her tongue out; it was like a snake's tongue and it made Arden smile slightly. They were indeed sneaky snakes at the moment.

Dinner was served courtesy of Molly Weasley. She barely noticed the three, briefly skimming over them. The twins were used to it; their own family couldn't tell them apart. They weren't the oldest or the youngest boy or the only girl or anything like their siblings; they were Fred and George and they were often overlooked. Their jokes were the only thing they really had, and the joke shop was their dream. And thanks to Harry Potter, they could start it up.

Throughout dinner, Arden laughed along with everyone. She admired the family, even the ones who weren't related by blood (though technically they all were related somehow.) They didn't let the stress of the world stop them from enjoying dinner and having a good laugh. Unfortunately, Arden couldn't stop thinking about Levi's warning and the envelope that was poking her stomach.

Arden Gosse was terrified, but she hid it quite well from the ones around her.