Learn to Love Again | George Weasley

63. An Inconvenient Invitation

August 2000

It wasn't Eloise's fault that things got a little out of hand. Honestly, it wasn't. Okay, maybe it was - but just a bit!

What was entirely her fault was the fact that she hadn't considered stopping by the apothecary down the road earlier in the week to get another vial of the clear potion that tasted like pure acid but cured hangovers in a single sip. Matters were only made worse when she awoke the following morning and remembered that they just so happened to be closed on Sundays, leaving her to suffer with no solutions.

Now, she was facing the direct result of her actions and she was miserable. It certainly didn't help that George was sitting on the edge of her bed, seeming to be highly amused by the grumpy state of his girlfriend.

"I think I'm dying." she mumbled into her pillow at half ten that bright and otherwise beautiful Sunday morning.

George laughed, and while the sound of it usually made her heart flutter with pure joy, this morning it only made her mind-splitting headache even worse. The sound of her groaning in pain served as a hint for him to quiet down, yet the smirk on his lips never faded.

"How much did you even drink?" he asked softly as he scooted closer to rub her back.

"Too much." was all she said, as if that wasn't already obvious.

The night before, Eloise was roped into going out to a muggle nightclub for Verity's twenty-second birthday. There was no way she'd tell the birthday girl no, but if she was being honest, a wild night out on the town with the girls wasn't at the top of her list of things she wanted to do that night. A nice dinner or a casual night in together would have been more up her alley. But Verity wanted to have fun, and have fun they did.

The evening started out tame enough, they all met at Eloise and Verity's flat to get ready before heading out into London.

Katie Bell had been the one to suggest the night club in the first place. Apparently she had frequented it when the war had reached its peak and all but left Diagon Alley in ruins. Although she wasn't too directly involved in the war, outside of being a member of Dumbledore's Army, Katie still needed a way to unwind - everyone did. Between the morbid headlines in The Daily Prophet and the knowledge that things were going from bad to worse, a little night out every now and then to have fun and forget worked wonders.

So, to the club they went. Between Verity, Angelina, and Katie, there wasn't a single good influence to be found and before long, the girls were acting as though it was their eighteenth birthday and they hadn't learned over the years that drinking in excess would only lead to feeling like rubbish the following morning. But it was fun and the consequences of their actions would be their future selves' problem.

George had arrived at Eloise's shortly after they returned home from their night of reckless indulgence. It wasn't originally part of his plan that evening. He only showed up because when Verity arrived at his, she ended up puking on Charlie's slippers the moment she stepped through the Floo. As his brother promptly took care of Verity and got her to bed, George thought it best to go and check on Eloise.

When he emerged from the fireplace in the girls' flat, he found her asleep on the couch still in her cocktail dress. After coaxing her awake, he helped her get ready for bed and stayed the night with her to make sure she was alright. It was the least he could do, after all. She'd taken care of him numerous times. Not even just after a heavy night of drinking, but through his anxiety attacks and vivid nightmares as well. He owed her, although he would have taken care of her regardless of those feelings because he simply cared about her too much to let her suffer on her own.