Learn to Love Again | George Weasley

26. Pumpkin Juice, Butterbeer, and a Shot of Firewhisky

June 1999

June 5th rolled around much faster than Eloise had expected. Of course she was excited to turn 21, but the last few months of her life had been such a whirlwind of emotions, her birthday was the last thing on her mind. Thankfully Bill and Fleur had planned out everything for her in advance, all they needed to know was who she wanted to invite over for the beach bonfire celebration.

If Eloise had it her way, George wouldn't have been on the guest list. She had been deliberately putting space between them since the last time he visited, and he hadn't gone out of his way to see her again either. But she knew deep down that if she invited the rest of his family and not him, it would have raised some questions.

That's the main reason she hadn't confided in her best friend at all. For all Fleur knew, everything between Eloise and George was just as it always had been, a mild flirtation between friends that could potentially become more one day. If only she knew everything that had happened over the last few months.

When Eloise met the Weasley family last summer she never thought there would come a time where she could potentially drive a wedge between any of them. She certainly didn't want to be the cause of a family rift or cause them to have to pick sides. Eloise already knew that Fleur would side with her on nearly anything and in doing so would try her best to drag Bill along as well. So she kept up appearances and allowed Fleur to send an owl to him on the Wednesday before her birthday, just so she could say she did.

The ball was in his court now, if George decided not to come then that would be his own choice and she wouldn't be at fault for it.

Part of her was hoping he would decide to come though, if anything it would show that he still somewhat cared for her after weeks of radio silence. But she felt so confident he'd reject the invitation that she decided to take a risk and invite someone she had recently reconnected with.

Dhani had reached out to Eloise at the beginning of May, shortly after Victoire's birth. At first it seemed rather out of the blue, they hadn't talked since their 'break up' in the beginning of November (if you could really even call it a break up). But when Eloise opened the letter from him she couldn't deny that she was glad to hear from him. His nephew had been born coincidentally the day before Victoire, he attached a photo for her to see him because he had remembered how excited she was for him to be an uncle.

From then on the two had continued writing back and forth. Surprisingly there was no awkwardness, it was as if they picked up right where they left off months ago. But this time there was no pressure of being romantically involved, they were finally able to truly bond with each other in the way that felt much more natural to them, as friends.

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited to see him tonight. Although they didn't work out as a couple, Eloise really did love being around Dhani and felt guilty about cutting off contact with him.

If she could turn back time, she would. The fact that Eloise used Dhani as a distraction from George ate away at her a lot, and she'd considered apologizing to him several times but was never brave enough to admit that's what she was doing. But he was always so patient and kind and she knew he was always incredibly in tune with how she was feeling. Part of her assumed deep down he knew about her feelings for George from the start.

But she decided to put those thoughts out of her mind for now. She wanted to be able to enjoy her birthday without any awkward tension, so she focused on the positives. Verity would be coming with Charlie and she was excited to finally be able to spend more time with her outside of the shop. She was also looking forward to seeing her parents who she hadn't seen since New Year's. Everyone she loved being together in one place was exactly what she needed.