Learn to Love Again | George Weasley

58. Wedding Bells - PART I

A week and a half had passed since Eloise's twenty second birthday. Ten whole days of George trying to convince himself he hadn't actually heard Eloise say she loved him in her sleep.

Truly, the rest of the trip to Paris was wonderful. The two walked hand in hand as she showed him all of her favorite cafés, they strolled together through parks she visited growing up, and she took him to the bookstore she worked in just before moving to England. All of the memories she wanted to share with him, as if she was making up for all the lost years of not knowing each other.

Despite this, what George thought he had overheard Eloise say in her slumber was constantly in the back of his mind. He tried to keep the thought closed behind several locked doors, attempting to make it more difficult for himself to dwell on it.

It was self preservation, in all honesty. Things with Eloise were going so well, he didn't want anything complicating it so early on. The truth was far too scary for him to face. If she did truly love him, he honestly didn't know how he'd react.

Of course deep down he knew he loved her too - perhaps more deeply than he'd ever willingly admit. But the thought of acknowledging it when he had no idea what their future held felt far too dangerous. It was as if they were both balancing on a tightrope, trying to keep the other steady. A profession of love felt like it might be the one thing that would force them to topple over.

So instead, he never inquired and it remained a mystery. It was a case that George willingly let grow cold as his curiosity only peaked when he allowed his thoughts to fester in the middle of the night as she slept soundly beside him. Countless nights were spent staring at the ceiling, thinking. He couldn't decipher whether it was his body becoming immune to the sleeping draught or his fear of hearing the words leave her lips once more that kept him up.

Ten days, and life had since returned to relative normalcy. The only notable blemish on their quite ordinary return to England were the panicked letters George had occasionally received from Ron - which he was almost certain were actually dictated to him by Hermione.

The occasional thought of Eloise's potential love for him as well as his younger brother's upcoming nuptials had him feeling even more on edge than normal recently.

"He's asking me if I've picked up my suit from Madam Malkin's again." George huffed on the Thursday evening before the wedding, "I already told him I picked it up on Monday."

Eloise looked up from the book she was reading, seeing George frown at the parchment in his hands as he read over the letter once more, "I'm sure he just wants to make sure everything goes right on Saturday."

"Yeah, well, he'll be lucky if I even show up at the rate he keeps bothering me."

A frown fell on Eloise's face as she closed the book and set it aside, "Don't be that way."

George mumbled something unintelligible under his breath before glancing up at Eloise, "I'm kind of dreading this whole thing if I'm being honest."

She furrowed her brows, "It'll be a lovely day, by what Fleur has told me. A beach wedding in the middle of June sounds perfect."

George didn't respond right away, of course Eloise wouldn't understand. The woman was a hopeless romantic. She didn't have any hang ups when it came to commitment like he did. A bitter jealousy grew inside George's heart, jealous of Eloise's ability to see the bright side of things when, in his mind, the upcoming ceremony filled him with nothing but dread. Resentment taking control of his fingers caused George to crumple up Ron's letter. Without another word to Eloise, he quickly disappeared into his bedroom.