Learn to Love Again | George Weasley

50. Cards on the Table

Percy kept his eyes locked on Eloise's hand, watching with a frown as she used her fork to idly push around the lettuce on her plate, refusing to take a single bite of the salad she had ordered. Over the last few weeks he noticed she had been extremely focused on work. In the beginning, he decided to mind his own business as he too had been known to be quite the workaholic, but this seemed different.

Her blue eyes seemed dull and gray, she barely spoke a word to anyone other than Audrey, and that was only to ask her for more work. And now here she was, sat with him at the cafe as usual, refusing to eat.

To say he was concerned about her was an understatement. Percy was worried sick, and rightly so. Worried that something was going on that she refused to tell anyone about, worried that she was slowly working herself to death, worried that she would begin to isolate herself from the people she loved, just as he had done years ago.

"You alright, Eloise? You've barely touched your food."

The girl shrugged, keeping her eyes glued to the wilting romaine on her plate, "Just not very hungry."

Percy's brows knit into a frown, "Are you sure it's not something else? If you're too stressed with work just tell me and I'll talk to Audrey."

"It's not work. Work is the only thing keeping me sane at the moment."

Percy had a hard time believing her. But if work wasn't what was driving her to seem like a shell of herself, he'd hate to know the real reason. Instead, Percy tried to pull the focus of the conversation off of her to see if it would help.

"I'm transferring departments at the end of the month. I've been promoted."

Finally Eloise brought her eyes up to her friend. For the first time all day, Percy finally saw a familiar spark light up in her eye, the first hint of the Eloise he knew and loved returning.

"You have? Percy that's amazing! Which department?"

"They've made me Deputy Director of the Department of Magical Transportation. Rumor has it the Head of the department is thinking of retiring soon, so I'm hoping the climb up the ladder will be a swift one." he said proudly.

"I'm so proud of you, Perce. I know you were feeling trapped in our department."

A hint of sadness glazed her voice, purely due to the fact that she suddenly felt as though she'd be losing the opportunity to see him every single day. They had grown quite close and she'd become accustomed to their daily lunch dates. Even on the days when she felt like she didn't want to speak to anyone, Percy still joined her and sat with her in comfortable silence.

"There's something else." he added, hoping the news might cheer her up.

"What is it?"

"I've put in a good word for you to get my old position. I know you've wanted more of an opportunity to travel and I hope this is the first step in that direction for you."

Eloise was elated that he'd do that for her, she really was. The idea of a promotion thrilled her to no end. Hopefully the days of endless paperwork would be a thing of the past and she'd be able to actually get out there and do something to make a difference. But still, even the greatest news couldn't fully take her mind off of what was actually bothering her.

"You don't look very pleased." he observed after a moment.

"I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind."

"Are you happy?"

"I am happy, really." she assured him, "A promotion is just what I've wanted."

"No, Eloise. I mean, are you happy?"