Valentine's Day 1999

Eloise woke up feeling quite anxious this morning. Although she clearly had already been hired and was on her way to her orientation day at the Ministry, that didn't stop her from feeling quite nervous about whether she was a right fit for the job or not. Luckily, with it being a Sunday, Percy would be the only one in the office there to train her. Though the two didn't know each other very well, they definitely got along and she felt much more comfortable learning the ropes from him rather than a complete stranger.

Before heading into the office though, she decided to stop by Night Owls' for tea. There was only one remedy that worked without fail to help Eloise's anxiety, and that was a warm cup of black tea with extra sugar.

As she walked into the cafe she was greeted by the strong scent of chocolate and strawberries that hit her like a ton of bricks. The entire cafe was decorated with red and pink hearts and there were several Valentine's Day themed treats in the bakery display case next to the counter.

With all her worries about her new job, she had almost forgotten that it was Valentine's Day. She knew people could be quite cynical about the holiday, but she wasn't one of them. As a hopeless romantic herself, Eloise always found it to be quite sweet. Even though she was single, she would never complain about an excuse to read romance novels, eat chocolates, and drink wine on her own.

As she made her way into the cafe, she noticed a familiar tall ginger man wearing a deep maroon suit waiting in line. The sound of the door opening earned his attention for a brief moment and George gave her a quick smile before turning back to the barista and pointing over his shoulder at her. The witch behind the counter quickly glanced at Eloise before returning her attention to George and nodding with a smile.

When it came time to place her order, the barista greeted Eloise brightly, "Happy Valentine's Day! What can I get for you today?"

"Just a black tea with three sugars, please."

"You got it! I'll have that ready for you down at the end of the counter right away. Also, no need to worry about paying, the tall one over there said he would take care of it."

As soon as Eloise looked over to her right George was already walking up, reaching into his back pocket, "How much do I owe?"

"4 Sickles." the barista smiled, probably thinking she was witnessing Valentine's Day magic playing out before her eyes.

George paid the witch and the two of them walked to the end of the counter to wait for their drinks.

"You didn't have to do that." Eloise started.

"I heard from Perce that today is your orientation, so I figured I'd do something nice for you. It's not a big deal." he shrugged, smiling down at her.

"Well, it was very kind of you. I appreciate it."

"Do you have any plans this evening?" he asked casually, almost as if today truly had no significance, and maybe it really didn't to him.

"No plans for me, I might end up rereading Sense and Sensibility for the eightieth time." she chuckled lightly.

"Sense and Sensibility?"

"A muggle book." Eloise replied nervously, tucking a blonde curl behind her ear.

"What's it about?"

"It's just a romance novel." she laughed lightly, feeling slightly embarrassed to confess her affinity for reading muggle love stories to the man she was attracted to.

He nodded as he casually scratched at the stubble on his face, seemingly trying to look somewhat interested. But Eloise didn't take it to heart, she never really tried to discuss muggle literature with anyone, as most people she knew typically found it boring.

The barista called out her order from the end of the counter but before she could pull herself away from the conversation to retrieve her tea, George lightly grabbed her wrist, "Well, if you don't feel like rereading an old book, maybe I could take you to dinner tonight if you like?"

Dinner? Tonight? Eloise's mind was racing. Was he asking her out on a date on Valentine's Day of all days? She must have hesitated a bit too long because she noticed George's expression fall slightly in the silence.

"Charlie invited Verity over to that flat, he says he's going to make her dinner. It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but mum spent the last weekend trying to teach him to cook. Anyway, I didn't want to be shoved away in my room the entire night, so if you're not busy I figured we could go out. Only if you want to, of course." he clarified.

A confusing mixture of relief and disappointment washed over her. There was no doubt she was smitten with George, but something about the idea of him asking her on a real date gave her immense anxiety. Going out for dinner as friends was much less intimidating.

"That sounds lovely."

"How does five sound? You can stop by the flat after work."

She smiled sweetly, "I'll be there."

She cursed herself for wearing a plain white button down blouse with her old pair of grey slacks for work. Of course it didn't really matter what she was wearing since it was just two friends getting dinner, but she would have much rather worn something slightly cuter.

The barista called out her order again and she quickly picked up her tea before turning back to George, "Thank you again."

"Don't worry about it. Have a good day at work, and don't let Perce boss you around too much."

Eloise chuckled, "Will do, I'll see you at five."

"Five on the dot." he nodded with a grin.

She gave him a small wave and a shy smile before turning to leave the cafe. The anxiety she felt about her new job was replaced with nervous butterflies in anticipation for her evening with George, but she just couldn't wipe the excited smile off her face.

-

Eloise felt like her orientation dragged on, but that was only because she was looking forward to her evening plans. Percy only asked her once why she kept looking at the clock, but she did her best to focus on everything he was teaching her.

By far her favorite part of the day was taking a tour of the Ministry. With only a few workaholic witches and wizards clocking in overtime this weekend, Eloise and Percy were able to explore the building with much more ease than they would have been able to during a weekday when it would be much more crowded.

But soon 4:30 rolled around and Percy came over to her desk to let her know she could leave for the day. Her first real day of work would be in a few short weeks, and it would be much different with everyone else present in the office. She was quite anxious to meet her other coworkers but Percy let her know that she did wonderfully during the training and he had no doubt that everyone in the office would love her.

Before heading for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Eloise decided to stop in the restroom to gussy up a bit. She decided to take her blonde curls out of her bun and tousle them around a bit and she rolled up the sleeves of her blouse to look a bit more casual. It wasn't perfect, but it was much better than looking as prim and proper as she had that morning.

As she passed the security wizard in the lobby she wished him a nice night, though he looked quite grumpy. She didn't know if it was just his normal expression or if he was one of those cynical Valentine's Day haters, or maybe he just didn't enjoy having to work weekends when so few witches and wizards seemed to come through the building. But whatever the reason was, she decided to not think about it too much as she was much more focused on making her way to George's flat.

When she arrived, Verity was still behind the till, counting that day's earnings. Their eyes met when the bell above the door rang upon her arrival. A knowing look formed on Verity's face immediately.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Eloise. What brings you in?" she asked with a smirk.

"I know what you're thinking, I'm just here to rescue George from being banished to his room this evening."

Verity laughed, "Fair enough. The boys are upstairs, you can head on up."

As Eloise made her way to the stairs she paused for a moment next to the counter, "Have fun on your date."

"I will, as long as he doesn't give me food poisoning." Verity replied with a laugh.

"Maybe he ordered take-away and is just plating it up to look like he made it." Eloise suggested.

"That still wouldn't be the worst date I've ever been on."

"You'll have to tell me about that horrible date someday."

Verity nodded with a smirk, "We'll see how this one goes first."

The sudden sound of a loud crash of pots and pans coming from upstairs distracted the girls for a moment before they looked back at one another, bursting out into laughter. As smooth as Charlie was when he was flirting, when it came down to actual serious romance he was quite inexperienced. Why he chose to make their first date a home cooked meal was anybody's guess, but being a Weasley usually meant things like handmade gifts and home cooked dinners were more personal and meant more to them than anything extravagant and expensive.

Eloise climbed the spiral staircase and knocked lightly on the door of the flat. Charlie opened it with a worried look in his eyes, wearing a ruffled apron he had clearly borrowed from Molly.

"Oh thank goodness, I thought Verity was already done closing up." he let out a sigh before stepping aside to let Eloise in.

"Is everything going okay? Can I help?" she paused near the door, watching Charlie rush back to the kitchen.

"Have you ever made beef wellington?" he asked, not breaking his eyes from the instructions his mother had written for him.

"No, but I've had it before so I know what it should look like. Which part is confusing you?" she asked, walking up behind him and looking around his shoulder.

"Uh, all of it." he laughed nervously.

"Well, I think you need to chop the mushrooms a little finer" she said as she flicked her wand to the cutting board, "And I think it'll be easier if you measure out all the ingredients before you go any further. It's easier to do it before you start cooking, it's called 'mise en place'"

"Okay, okay," he sighed, trying to calm his nerves, "Thanks Eloise."

"No problem, everything will be fine." she smiled before turning around to see George leaning against the doorframe of his bedroom smiling at her.

"Do you still want to go to dinner, or should I go put on my nicest suit? I can be the waiter if you want to be the chef." he asked.

"Absolutely not, the options are your room or leaving." Charlie interrupted without turning his eyes away from the spices he was measuring.

"Can't believe I'm being kicked out of my own home." George scoffed sarcastically.

"Well, I did mention you two could stay in your bedroom." Charlie teased.

A warm blush grew over Eloise's cheeks and she hoped neither of the Weasley men would notice.

"Very funny. I'm ready when you are." George said, bringing his attention back to Eloise.

He held his arm out for her to take and she gently rested her hand in the crook of his elbow. The two had nearly made it to the door of the flat when George paused to look back at Charlie.

"Try not to burn the place down, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Charlie waved his hand dismissively at his younger brother.

As they stepped out into the hallway they came face to face with Verity who looked uncharacteristically nervous.

"How's he doing?" she asked the two of them.

"He's all over the place, but I bet it will make for a good story in the end." George smirked.

Eloise nudged him with her shoulder and shook her head at him, as if she were silently scolding him for his comment.

"It'll be lovely, I'm sure of it." Eloise reassured her.

Verity took in a deep breath and let it out a sigh, "Well, you two have fun doing whatever it is you plan on doing."

The petite witch walked by the two and stepped straight into the chaos Charlie was creating on the other side of the door. George was right when he said it would make for a good story, but they'd have to wait until later on to hear about it.

"What is our plan exactly?" Eloise asked.

"I was actually thinking about just going to a fish and chips shop down the block. I figured it wouldn't be very busy. Anyone taking a date there for Valentine's Day probably wouldn't be getting another date any time soon after that."

Good thing this wasn't a date, because Eloise couldn't help but agree. But with George, the two could probably have a disaster of a date and she would still agree to see him again, there was just something about him she couldn't give up.

"Sounds good enough to me." she said kindly.

It didn't take long for the two to arrive at the fish and chip shop, and George was right, it was nearly dead inside. The man behind the counter seemed surprised as they walked in and Eloise swore he had a slight look of sympathy in his eyes. He seemed to think that George was her boyfriend and he pitied her for the horrible choice of venue for the romantic holiday.

Eloise slid into a booth near the back of the small restaurant, idly picking at her chipped nail polish as she waited for George to order for them. After a short period of time he found his way to her, carrying the tray of food. As he set down their meal and slid in across from her, his eyes fell to her hands.

"Do you do that a lot?"

Her eyes followed his gaze to her hands and she nervously tucked them under the table in her lap, "Only when I'm anxious." she confessed.

"I don't make you nervous do I?" he asked with a raised eyebrow before putting a chip in his mouth.

Yes you do, honestly. She thought to herself, but instead Eloise merely shrugged, "Lots of things make me nervous."

George chuckled slightly, "Fair enough."

A brief moment of silence fell between the two of them as they ate, but it didn't feel awkward, it was a comfortable silence between friends.

"Think you could make a nail polish that doesn't chip?" Eloise asked suddenly.

The corner of George's lip quirked up slightly, "That could be done. Though I may have to make it so you can't remove the polish, gotta keep it within the Weasley brand."

"And what if I wanted to switch colors?"

George merely shrugged, "Suppose that's the price you pay if you want no-chip nail polish."

Eloise glanced at her nails, as if she were weighing the pros and cons of using this hypothetical product.

"Got any other product ideas? My creativity tap ran dry months ago." he asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Eloise leaned an elbow on the table as she tapped thoughtfully on her chin, narrowing her eyes at him. George leaned back in the booth, crossing his arms over his chest with a smirk on his face.

"I'm sure any idea I have will probably be spun into a horrible prank."

"Now you're getting it." he replied with a laugh, "Though if you really want me to, I could try to make you a nail polish that doesn't chip and that isn't permanent."

"And how would I know it's removable before using it?"

A mischievous sparkle glinted in George's eye, "I guess you'll just have to trust me."

"Maybe trusting you is a mistake." she said sarcastically before taking a sip of her drink.

George's face fell into a slight frown causing Eloise to instantly regret her comment. Though she only meant it as a joke, it had apparently hit George harder than intended.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." Eloise said quickly, trying to salvage the conversation.

"No, I know." he glanced down at his watch for a moment, trying to see if they had killed enough time for Charlie and Verity to finish their date. Though he hadn't really considered the possibility of Verity staying the night until this particular moment.

Eloise got the sinking feeling that George was searching for an excuse to leave as she watched him looking at his watch and began picking at her nail polish again.

"What's wrong?" George asked, glancing up from his watch to her hands.

"I just feel like I ruined the nice time we were having."

George reached across the table and grabbed both of her hands, preventing her from continuing her nervous habit.

"You didn't ruin anything, I promise." he reassured her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, trust me." he said with a smirk.

The return of George's slight playfulness helped ease her nerves, as well as the feeling of her hands in his. They were surprisingly soft and the warmth of his skin had her feeling like she was being wrapped in a blanket by a fire. His touch made her feel comfortable and safe and as she felt more at ease, she gave him a soft smile.

"There's that smile." he praised as he let go of her hands. "I really do appreciate you coming out with me, you're a good friend, Elle."

Friend. The word echoed in her mind, taunting her for wanting to be more. Is that all she would ever be to him?

"It's no problem. Like I told you this morning, the alternative was rereading a book I practically have memorized already."

"You're telling me you enjoy spending time with me more than with the characters in that book?" he asked, holding a hand to his chest dramatically.

"Don't let it go to your head." she laughed.

George smirked before glancing at his watch again and decided it was probably safe to head back to the flat now, "Are you about ready to get going?"

Eloise nodded and slid out of the booth, interlocking arms with George as they walked back to the Leaky Cauldron. For some reason spending the evening in muggle London felt like they were escaping from their lives for a while. Between Eloise's anxiety surrounding her new job at the Ministry of Magic and the horrible depression George had been going through since the Battle of Hogwarts, it was nice to step away from magic, even if only for a few hours.

When they arrived in front of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes they found themselves in the awkward predicament of figuring out how exactly they should say good night to one another.

"Well, thanks again Elle. It was fun." he said, resting his hands in his jacket pockets as they pulled away from one another.

"Anytime you need an excuse to escape from something, I'm your girl." she replied with a sweet smile.

She reached around to her back pocket to pull out her wand, preparing to disapparate when George took a step towards her. Before she had time to react, he had fully enveloped her in a tight hug. Her head pressed against his chest and the smell of smoke, brown sugar, and cinnamon entered her nose. The sound of his steady heartbeat and the warmth of his body instantly felt like home to her, like she was made to be held in his arms. She snaked her arms around his torso and relaxed into the embrace.

Though she probably hadn't really intended her words to affect him like this, George did need an escape. The only thing that kept him going each day was pushing away painful thoughts and shutting down his emotions to avoid all of his problems.

But as he rested his chin on top of her head and let the smell of lavender and sea salt encompass him, he felt safer. Eloise made him feel safe. She pulled him in like a magnet and he just needed to hold her, to feel something other than the numbness inside himself that he used to cope. In that moment, to George, there was nothing else in the world other than Eloise and he didn't want to let go.

-

A/N: Hi everyone! Just wanted to make a little note here saying that I want to start updating twice a week, rather than once!

Right now, I'm aiming for an update schedule of Mondays and Thursdays at around 12pm (CST). We'll see how it goes! Though I do ask that you be patient with me if there are weeks that I'm unable get two chapters out, which I know is probably bound to happen eventually since I work a full time job 😅

Love you all, and thank you so much for 10,000 reads! Your support of this story truly means the world to me. 💕

- Andi