Shy little Eloise Moreau found herself the proud owner of Ollivanders after his death in the war. Now she's left to cope with the loss of her mentor while attempting to run a business.
When Charlie Weasley drops by one day in hopes of buying a new w...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
After spending who knows how long helping the Weasleys carry the many plates inside to the cluttered kitchen, she let Charlie guide her away from the chaos and back out into the garden. The tables had been cleared and the area was now deserted, but it appeared Charlie had somewhere else in mind.
She followed him as he opened the gate and headed out to the large orchard behind the Burrow, trying to match his quick pace and walk beside him.
"I hope that wasn't too overwhelming for you," he said quietly. She looked up at the man, bewildered. While it was exhausting, she was glad that she finally got to meet all of his family after hearing so much about them in the past couple of months since she met Charlie.
"No, of course not," she reassured him, poking him in the side and making him shy away from her. They slowed down a bit, and she looked back up at him to find him already looking at her.
"That's good, I guess. I think they like you," he claimed, and she reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop.
"I think they like you too," she said, and before he could interrupt her to make the smart comment she knew he would have, she continued, "So why haven't you told them about that Ministry offer?"
He groaned. "I don't know, Ellie."
She waited for him to go on, deciding to sit down at the base of one of the tall trees. When he joined her, he finally said, "I thought about telling Bill."
"But you didn't," she pried. Maybe it wasn't any of her business, but not only did she wish Charlie could be open with his family, she wanted him to feel like he could talk to her about it.
"I don't want them to talk me into any decisions I'm not ready to make," he said after a beat. He looked somewhat guilty at his response, so she tried to be understanding.
"So you don't want them to guilt you into staying if that's not what you want," she tried to comprehend what he was feeling.
"Yeah," he said simply, leaning back and resting his head on the rough bark of the tree trunk. She reached down and clutched a fistful of tall grass. "I don't know what I'm going to do."
"I think that's okay for now," she reassured him. "You have some time to choose, right?"
"They won't need anyone permanently for a few months yet. And I've been at that sanctuary since I left Hogwarts, they owe me a vacation."
"Great! Then no more worrying about it, Charlie!" she decided, yanking the grass out of the earth and tossing it over him like confetti.
"Oh really, you're playing that game?" he joked, throwing his own handful of grass at her. She leapt up, shaking the greenery out of her wavy hair, beating Charlie to their feet as he scrambled up as well. His handsome face had gone from uncharacteristically solemn back to the normal cheerful expression she liked much better. "Yeah, you better run, Ellie!"
