I Wanna Be Yours; Tyler Galpin

1: Broken Strangers

Addiction is mainly seen as a bad thing. Yet it can take many forms and you wouldn't know it, even if it was laughing right at your face. On the other hand, some acknowledge it and choose to let it control their life to keep themselves happy.

Victoria Halliwell, a seventeen year-old girl who once attended the magical school of Beauxbatons, finds herself in that very same situation. Who'd have thought that you could attend the most prestigious school of the Wizarding World without knowing your self-worth? With a school of high standards–educationally and cosmetically–she'd never thought she'd grow to only dislike herself more.

It was hard to not compare herself to the beautiful girls of Beauxbatons, as it was a challenge she had to face everyday–in person and on the internet. This became a large toll on her starting from a young age, only to be the beginning of how much she'd let others control her.

"To let a flower grow is to move it from its toxic environment," Victoria's mother said to her on the phone as the young girl sat in a taxi car, strolling through the little town of Jericho.

"And you really believe Nevermore is supposed to be the solution?" Victoria asked her mother with a begrudging sigh. "Could I have not attended another magical school? Hogwarts seems to-"

"That school has changed so much since Headmaster Dumbledore died," her father interrupted her through the other end of the phone.

Her mother seemed to hush her father and continued. "At Nevermore, you don't have to rely on your abilities with a wand. I want you to bloom somewhere you'll be happy, just as I was at Nevermore. And you can't bloom if you keep on holding yourself back..."

"...Which is why we took the initiative to find you a therapist," her father added.

"What?" Victoria exclaimed, taken aback by this surprising news, frightening her taxi driver to swerve a little before getting back on the road.

"Cole! You weren't supposed to tell her yet!" her mother whisper-scolded her father.

"She was bound to find out sooner or later, Phoebe," her father said before her mother continued. "You'll be seeing Doctor Kinbott once a week. So your student taxi pass will come in handy."

"There's only one taxi driver in this puny town anyway," she thought. Victoria dreaded the thought of therapy already. She didn't understand why her parents were so concerned. "Why though? It's not like I'm on any drugs or an addict."

Her mother seemed to have disagreed. "I'm not concerned that you're on drugs, I'm concerned that you lost twenty pounds just in the past month. Your previous doctor stated that you seem to be very self-conscious and you're losing weight the wrong way. You should stop letting what others think get in your way before you become more sick."

Victoria felt a bit irritated, seeing that she was of age and not at the same time–meaning her decisions were not very her own. She knew that there was no arguing with her mother.

Despite having lost twenty pounds, she felt the need to keep going. She was not yet the image she wanted to achieve. She only stayed quiet on the other end of the phone, refusing to talk to her mother.

"The next time we'll get to talk is in a week," her mother said, understanding that Victoria wanted nothing more than to end the conversation. "I know you'll grow to love Nevermore, as much as you'll grow yourself."

"Mhm," Victoria hummed expressionlessly.

Her mother held in a sigh on the other end of the phone. "I love you, my little flower."

"I love you too, mother," Victoria said before hanging up.

Before she had time to rethink their conversation, the taxi driver came to a stop, skidding along the road. Victoria yelped as the car seemed to veer to the side of the road unexpectedly.