lost cause ϟ george weasley

034

"I HEAR YOUR VOICE IN THE SILENCES"
—

SCHOOL has never been tough for Arden till this year. What much could have been expected, though? The girl lost nearly everything. She was only holding on for one person, and she still had the chance to lose him as well.

What was getting Arden through the tedious, aggravating, and unpleasant school year? What was it that was worth Arden putting up with Dolores Umbridge's unjust treatment and cruel abuse? What kept Arden going through the night terrors and sudden change? The answer could easily be split into pieces. She was just trying to escape from everything.

Arden was only getting by, doing the bare minimum. It was very odd and a huge change. But when put in a situation that constantly changed at alarming rates, you are forced to change with it. Arden's life made a complete 180 degree turn. Although life after Hogwarts wasn't exactly promised, with an upcoming war brewing in the distance, Arden was looking forward for the chance to get away. She would disappear, she would never have to speak to anyone she knows now. Except for George Weasley, whom she agreed she'd send letters to once a month. But a fresh start in a new place where no one knew her and she wasn't reminded of the horror of reality every single day by the people she's aquatinted with seemed like a paradise. She could truly stop existing and become an entirely new person.

Who knows, maybe she'd stumble across a cure for her inability to love and then "accidentally" bump into George Weasley at the grocery store one day.

Getting through the year was crucial for Arden's mental health. So naturally she shut down during the school year to avoid being affected. She barely flinched when Umbridge shouted at her, she stayed quiet and out of everyone's way. She only appeared to be where she needed to be, and for the remainder of the day she was locked in her room. The behaviour affected her acquaintances, more specifically, George Weasley. He knew the girl was always very private, but he was unprepared for her to shut down the way she did. He was unsure of what to do or how to handle the situation.

His mother suggested candy, but George always found his gifts unopened on his bed despite leaving them for Arden. George's heart was breaking and he didn't know how to cope. He felt like he was going crazy. He acknowledged Arden's pain, but he couldn't understand why she would push him away so quickly and without much thought.

Watching Arden walk to class silently and expressionless while staring straight ahead hurt. Watching her barely blink when Umbridge slammed a ruler down on her desk concerned him. Watching her zone out and snap herself out of it made his heart ache. He just wanted to help her, to be there for her. But she wasn't letting him in.

George couldn't force Arden to let him in. He couldn't force her to let him help. Arden was doing whatever the hell she wanted at this point. She was slowly erasing herself and George was dying at a distance because he could only watch.

Can you even imagine the pain of watching someone that will never completely be yours slowly kill themselves yet still breathe? To watch the person you love destroy themselves while you remain powerless? It's like a garden that isn't yours. It's your favourite flower wilting because it isn't being taken care of properly and you can't go care for it because it isn't your garden. All you can do is watch your flower wilt from a distance.

Everything that George tried, Arden pushed away. She was becoming a ghost, and he wasn't the only one that noticed. George realised he had to come to terms with the fact Arden was slipping away, out of his grips.

That was until the first time Arden got detention with Umbridge for remaining quiet instead of answering a question. It seemed Arden had detention nearly everyday after that, for small things.

And then the Weasley twins began to hear of the cruelty of Umbridge's detentions. At the news, they began to try their best to uplift those around. Whomever needed a smile found one immediately within Fred and George's vicinity. They became so caught up that it wasn't until a couple of days later that George remembered Arden had detention nearly every night with Umbridge, and that she was facing the same abuse.

At the realisation, George was up and sprinting, frantically looking for Arden, ignoring the fact if he was caught running he'd land his own detention. He found her in the fifth floor girl's lavatory. She was healing her own wounds, making George's face contort in horror. He slowly walked towards her and dropped to his knees, grabbing her arm. The girl's forearm was covered in carved phrases.

I will not be disrespectful.
I will apologise for my mistakes.
I will not talk back.
I will speak when spoken to.
I will do what authority tells me to do.
I will not question authority.

George looked at Arden, who just numbly stared back. He could barely form any words. The Ravenclaw looked so broken, so fed up. It was a depressing sight.

"Why?"

Arden blinked once, twice. She looked down at her wrist and then up at George.

"I hear him while I'm writing."

"Who?"

"My father, George. I hear his voice in the silence of the ringing in my ears."

The lanky boy just stared, unsure of how to approach this situation. He was getting blood on his own wrists, on his fingers and his hands. He was getting Arden's blood all over himself and he quickly began to try to heal them and stop the bleeding.

"You think I'm crazy." Arden muttered. "You think I'm crazy for putting myself through this self-harm just to hear a dead man's voice. He thinks I'm crazy too and tells me to just stop. I can't, it's something about Umbridge's office. All the cats, the pink, the blood. It's the only place I ever hear him."

George's fingers stopped moving and he looked up at Arden. "That bitch." He mumbled too softly for Arden to catch. "Arden listen, she's playing mind games. She's using your father's death to keep you coming. She's trying to isolate you, she's trying to take you away. She's trying to erase you. Don't let her destroy you, don't let her do this to you. You can stop this."

Arden shook her head.

"No George, I can't."

"Why?"

"Because Levi is always in the room with us, physically in the room. He watches me, he isn't allowed to speak with me though, only to Umbridge."