January 1994

Beauxbatons was marble staircases and immaculately pressed skirts. It was 'Oui, madame' and polite smiles. It was walking in perfect step, not taking strides that were too small nor too wide. It was sitting with perfect posture and tucking one ankle behind the other. It was blue silk and 'speak when spoken to'. It was strict, and stuffy, and...

Beauxbatons was everything Eloise Laurent wasn't.

Eloise wasn't wild by any means, not at all. She was kind and shy and quite the bookworm, but somehow she seemed to have a knack for doing things in ways that a select few of her professors and classmates didn't like.

She was a bit awkward and a bit clumsy. Her frizzy curls made her stand out amongst the girls with silky straight hair. The sense of humor that she had inherited from her father didn't always land, nor did her laughter - which would occasionally result in an embarrassing snort that some of her classmates turned up their noses at. Perhaps worst of all, her love for muggle literature that had been part of her since childhood thanks to the many nights spent being read to sleep by her grandmother was deemed as 'less than' by some of her peers.

After a while, rather than finding solace within the company of others, Eloise often found joy in books - in characters who couldn't judge her for things she couldn't help. From the outside it may have seemed a bit sad but the introverted girl didn't see it that way. Loneliness didn't always have to be a bad thing. She was used to it, being an only child and all.

However, there was one thing Eloise did love about Beauxbatons - or rather, one person.

Fleur Delacour.

The older girl had a way about her that Eloise always admired. She was elegant, charming, strong-willed, incredibly brave, and more beautiful than anyone else Eloise had ever seen in her life. Fleur was everything she wanted to be, but she never felt jealous of the girl. Instead, she felt drawn to her, like Fleur had a magnetic pull she just couldn't fight.

Of course, Eloise learned later on that the girl she was so drawn to was quarter-Veela, but she remained adamant that she would have found herself drawn to her regardless.

Fleur was so much more than her beauty. In Eloise's eyes she was the most kindhearted person - albeit a bit blunt - she'd met in that grand chateau in the French countryside. Fleur was protective and selfless, she was Eloise's saving grace in that school.

But it was more than four years ago now that the two met for the very first time. They had been inseparable ever since their first encounter in the girls' wing of the castle during Eloise's first term.

It all started when Eloise had been punished by Madame Lafléche, her Transfiguration professor, for her unruly curls causing a 'distraction' to her classmates. The scene resulted in the girl having to write lines after dinner that evening.

'I will not cause a distraction in class. I will adhere to the dress code.'

It all felt rather unfair, how was she supposed to control the way her hair grew out of her head? She never asked to inherit that particular trait from her father.

The girl had been insecure about many things growing up, from her round cheeks that were a little too rosy for her liking to the smattering of freckles over every feature that she desperately wished to wash away. But her curls? That was one of the things Eloise did like about herself and suddenly they were deemed as a bad thing.

The young eleven year old blonde found herself staring into the mirror of the girls' common room with a frown, fiddling with the ends of her hair as her brows furrowed in concentration. It was almost as if she was trying to pull the strands taut until they remained straight, as if they wouldn't immediately bounce back into their frizzy coils upon being released from her tiny fingers.

Lost in thought about what she would look like if her hair was as soft and silky as the other girls in her year, she didn't even notice a slender second year girl waltz up behind her.

"I know a smoothing charm if you'd like me to try it on you. I read it in a magazine once."

With widened eyes, Eloise turned around to see a girl with perfect hair - perfect everything really.

Eloise shook her head, "I like my curls, it's just that no one else seems to."

"Do you like them? Because it doesn't really look like it." the girl said bluntly.

"I do," she insisted, "Madame Lafléche just called them a distraction."

"Well, Madame Lafléche's nose is a distraction, don't you think?"

This earned a soft giggle from the freckled girl, to Fleur's delight.

"I'm Fleur Delacour, by the way." she said, extending her hand.

"Eloise Laurent." the shorter girl smiled, accepting her hand.

Just like every evening after that day, Eloise found herself sitting on the floor of Fleur's dorm in front of the girl as she plaited her hair with delicate fingers.

At first, it started out as the older girl being adamant that it would prevent Eloise's hair from becoming a frizzy mess as she slept, but now it had merely become part of their nightly routine.

The two would sit, catch up with that day's happenings, occasionally talk about boys they were fancying, and overall simply enjoy each other's company - all while Fleur took care of Eloise as if she were the older sister she never had.

"I am absolutely positive I'm going to fail my Divination O.W.L." Fleur mused from behind her.

The holidays had come and gone and it seemed as though nearly every sixth year student was already on edge for their upcoming Ordinary Wizarding Exams at the end of June. Eloise was just thankful that she had another whole year until it came time for her to no doubt have a meltdown as her future held in the balance of her ability to do well during one week of exams.

She heard a boy in the corridor earlier in the week discuss how some schools administer their O.W.L.s during the students' fifth year. While there were many things about Beauxbatons that Eloise didn't care for, being giving an extra year to prepare for the life changing exam was something she was grateful for.

It all seemed so ridiculous to her that their entire future weighed so heavily on one moment in their life. What if she'd had bad salmon at dinner the night before her exam and was too sick to take it? Was she simply meant to give up on her dreams of working at the Ministry in England? All thanks to that bloody salmon... hypothetical salmon, that is.

Eloise shook the thoughts from her mind, she was only in her fifth year and yet she was already worrying about it as if she would be the one taking the exams rather than her older friend. All Eloise had to worry about in June was turning sixteen years old which had its own set of challenges outside of the realm of academics.

"You said that last week about Charms as well." she replied to Fleur's endless worries.

Eloise felt a slight tug on her hair but she pretended to not notice as Fleur continued, "I mean it this time. My crystal ball reading was complete nonsense today."

This was not Eloise's first time hearing her friend complain about this class in particular, why Fleur decided to take the elective each year was beyond her but she never questioned her choices.

"What was it this time?"

"All I saw were dragons, water, and a maze. What am I meant to make of all that?" the girl huffed as her dainty fingers snagged a particularly tender tangle in Eloise's curls.

The girl let out a slight yelp to which Fleur chuckled slightly before apologizing, "I'm sorry, mon amie."

"It's okay." she assured her before pausing for a moment to hypothesize, "I'm sure your reading wasn't meant to be taken literally, anyway. Maybe the dragon means warmth and the water is the ocean... maybe your family will take a holiday to Monaco!"

"And what about the maze?" Fleur asked as she finally secured the plait in her friend's hair.

Eloise pondered for a moment before scooting around to face Fleur, "Maybe you'll get lost while you're there, but it's Monaco so it couldn't be that bad. There are worse places to get lost than on the beach, right?"

The girl smiled and shook her head at her friend's creative interpretation of her reading, "I wish I could have seen something else in my future, like my wedding."

"Oh, that would have been romantic!" Eloise beamed clapping her hands together, "What do you think your husband will look like?"

"It doesn't matter what he looks like, as long as we love each other." Fleur said matter-of-factly.

"Well, I hope my husband is tall." Eloise giggled.

"Tall? Is that all it takes?"

"Tall and funny. That's all I want." she mused, closing her eyes to imagine her dream man waiting for her at the end of the aisle.

"You'll be my maid of honor won't you?" Fleur asked.

Eloise opened her eyes and looked at her friend as if she was mad, "Is that even a question? Of course I will!"

Fleur nodded, "You and Gabrielle. I figure I can have two maids of honor, seeing as it is my day."

"And you'll be mine, of course. Wearing burgundy chiffon and holding a bouquet of lilies." Eloise said dreamily.

Fleur crinkled her nose, "Please not burgundy, it goes horrible with my complexion."

"You look beautiful in everything," Eloise replied with a roll of her eyes, "Besides, I've always wanted a fall wedding. Burgundy seems like the obvious color, unless you'd rather wear brown or maybe green."

"I'm suddenly busy on your wedding day." Fleur said with pursed lips.

Eloise laughed and shook her head at her friend, "Let's hear about your wedding then, if it's so perfect."

Without answering Eloise, Fleur stood up and walked over to her nightstand to pull out an old sketchbook. The girl returned to her seat on the floor across from Eloise as she hastily flipped through the pages before landing on a sketch of a dress. It was a long simple dress, exactly Fleur's taste of course. But Eloise's eyes were immediately drawn to the details of the bodice where Fleur had drawn two phoenixes facing each other, creating the shape of a heart between them.

"Fleur, it's beautiful! What inspired the phoenixes?"

"They are eternal, never ending, forever. Just like love." Fleur stated as if it was obvious.

"Maybe I will let you plan my wedding after all." Eloise smiled.

"It will certainly not include any burgundy if I have a say in it."

"Yeah? Well, what colors will your wedding be?"

"Purple and gold, maybe black as well. Elegant and regal of course."

Eloise gazed back at the sketch of Fleur's dress, "I can't wait, it's going to be absolutely perfect."

"With a little work, I'm sure your wedding will be just as nice."

Many people found Fleur's comments to be a bit harsh at times, but Eloise always found the humor in them. The girl laughed as she laid back on the ivory colored rug beneath her and closed her eyes, imagining her perfect wedding.

Of course she'd thought about the dress she'd wear and the flowers she'd carry, just like every little girl does. But she'd never thought about her wedding day as a whole, let alone who she would marry one day.

In her ideal world, she'd marry someone who made her laugh, someone who loved every single thing about her - even her too rosy cheeks and her too frizzy hair. She'd marry someone who made her heart flip like a little pancake every time she looked into his eyes. He would be kind, and smart, and have a big family because she felt entirely too lonely at times having grown up as an only child. He'd be brave and ambitious and encourage her to do the same and follow all of her dreams, no matter the risk.

One day she would marry someone completely perfect for her, and even just imagining him now, she couldn't wait until the day when she'd finally meet him.

"What are you thinking about?" Fleur asked as she tucked away the sketchbook safely inside her bedside drawer once more.

"My future husband, of course." Eloise said with a smirk, still keeping her eyes closed to not lose the vague image of him she had built in her mind.

Fleur laughed, sitting on the edge of her bed as she gazed down at her friend, "Maybe you shouldn't have dropped Divination this year, that way you might've been able to see him sooner."

Eloise finally opened her eyes and propped herself up on her hands, "If you've been seeing dragons I'd probably see something like... a man with one ear or something."

Fleur couldn't stifle the laugh she'd tried to hold back at Eloise's remark, "Why one ear?"

"I don't know, it's the craziest thing I could think of."

"I'd love to live inside your mind for a day." Fleur mused with a smirk.

"You already judge me enough as it is, you don't need to hear my thoughts as well." Eloise dismissed immediately.

"I judge you because I love you, mon chérie."

Eloise rolled her eyes before looking back at her friend with a soft smile, "I love you too."

A/N:

Thank you all so, so, SOOO much for 100,000 reads and 5,000 votes on 'Learn to Love Again'!

I just wanted to write this short and sweet one-shot of Fleur and Eloise back in their Beauxbatons days as a thank you gift!

I truly never imagined I'd reach this milestone, it really is a dream come true and I owe it all to you. Everyone who has come on George and Eloise's journey with me has a special place in my heart forever and ever. Whether you comment on every chapter or you are a silent reader, I love each and every one of you.

Okay, that's enough of me being sappy. I'm just gonna go cry tears of joy for the rest of the day now and try to not look like a crazy person at work hahaha

THANK YOU AGAIN! 🥺🧡