Learn to Love Again | George Weasley

54. Blue Skies, Sad Eyes

May 2, 2000

Victoire's first birthday fell on a beautiful, warm day in early May. The first hint of the summer sunrise glared through the blinds of George's bedroom like a harsh spotlight on their pillows and just like every other morning, Eloise and George awoke along with the daybreak.

George had pretended for nearly two years now to be a morning person, but in reality he simply didn't have the energy to battle his body and mind in order to get that extra hour or so of sleep he desperately wanted. Besides, today - no matter how bright, blue, and hopeful the Taurus sky was - to George, it felt like the sun never truly came up at all.

Eloise could tell that he was feeling the weight of the day from the very moment they awoke. No matter how joyful his niece's birthday was meant to be, it would always be marred by the constant reminders of the battle - of the worst night of his life.

The air around the flat felt thick with tension as the two of them got ready to head to Shell Cottage to celebrate. With worried fingers, the blonde plaited her hair beside him as she watched him shave his face only to become frustrated with his own reflection halfway through.

She frowned, trying to see what he saw when he gazed at himself. The man she adored scowled at his own face as if it were his enemy, eyes glaring at the lost half of himself that haunted him from the glass.

All she saw was a beautiful man with a broken heart, a man who somehow had a gentle hold on her soul when he couldn't even love himself. But instead of focusing on that, she merely took the razor from his grasp and softly beckoned him to turn and face her instead of the reflection that was causing him so much distress.

In silence, Eloise finished the task for him as he continued to do everything in his power to avoid her eyes. Running the razor delicately over his sullen features, his gaze remained firmly planted on the wall behind her, hazel eyes running over the tiles of the shower like droplets of water. No matter how much she wanted him to just look her, he refused. All she wanted was to tell him within the silence of their gaze that he would be okay, she would make sure he would be okay.

When she finally wiped away the last remnants of shaving cream from his beautifully forlorn face, she laid a hand on his shoulder to ask if she could do anything to help make his day better. For the first time that morning, he finally looked into her eyes for a fleeting moment. But rather than opening up to her as she desired, he merely shrugged her hand away and left the bathroom without a word.

It ached in her very soul to feel so helpless as she observed him become completely consumed by his grief. As difficult as it was, she didn't want to let his demeanor crush her spirits. Deep down she knew he wasn't upset with her, even though enduring the relentless frost of his cold shoulder certainly made it feel that way.

If anything, she simply wanted to stay strong for him just so he could hopefully see the hazy light that had been eclipsed by his immense sorrow. Behind the dark cloud that hovered over the entire Weasley family that day, there was the bright sun that was little Victoire whose birth had been a saving grace for all of them.

In hopes of making his day a bit easier, she went out of her way to make them some tea rather than expecting George to do it as usual. It was the most minuscule of gestures, but Eloise was grasping at straws at that point. Any attempt at all to bring back the crooked smile she longed for, she would try without question.

But when he entered the kitchen after getting dressed, he didn't even utter so much as a thank you as he passed her by as if she wasn't even there. Still remaining completely silent, George grabbed one of the mugs from the counter beside her before taking a seat at the table to read the paper.