"Everything alright?" Percy asked as he approached Eloise's desk.

She had been peering over the same report all morning and had made very little progress, which was very out of character for her. For at least the last ten minutes she had been reading over the same three paragraphs repeatedly and registering none of the words on the page. Her mind was elsewhere, she was too focused on a particular redhead and their relationship - or lack thereof.

"Yeah, sorry. Just a lot on my mind."

"Why don't you take an early lunch?" Percy suggested.

She glanced at the clock over his shoulder and noticed it was already half past eleven, she truly had accomplished nothing that morning. Typically she and Percy would have lunch together in the Ministry cafe, but being around any member of George's family wasn't something she was interested in this afternoon. Instead, all she did was give him a simple nod as she quickly picked up her purse to leave the office.

Ever since her birthday party, her mind had been racing, wondering what she should do about George. It had over a week at this point and the only thing she had been able to decide on was that she wanted to keep him in her life no matter what, there was no question about that.

But she knew she needed to sort out her feelings for him and still hadn't been able to come to a conclusion on what to do. Confess and hope one day he'd be able to reciprocate? Or try and move on, keeping him at arms length as their relationship never moved beyond that of friendship?

Weighing the options on her own, trying to decide on what the right thing to do was only taking her in circles. Right when she thought she'd decided it was best for her to move on, she'd just end up changing her mind the very next day and go right back to pining for him.

She desperately needed to confide in someone, but nearly everyone she had become close to since moving to England was a member of George's family, and that made things all the more complicated. But out of all the Weasleys, only Fleur and Charlie had any sort of grasp on the situation between the two of them. It's not like she could go to Molly for help, Merlin knows how she would react.

The only unbiased opinion she had was Dhani's, and he didn't really know George all that well (not to mention George was clearly not very fond of him to begin with). That only left one person Eloise could think of that knew both of them well enough to understand the situation, but who wasn't a member of his family. Someone who could hopefully be more level-headed with their advice.

She needed to talk to Verity.

Making her way down Diagon Alley, Eloise played through different scenarios in her head, trying to prepare herself for what Verity could say to her. But none of that really helped her, if anything it made her feel more anxious. She just needed to get everything off her chest. No matter what Verity's advice was, venting to an actual person rather than her journal had to bring her some sense of relief, right?

It hadn't occurred to Eloise that there was a chance she'd run into George when she entered the shop that day. She had grown so accustomed to the idea of Charlie and Verity being the only employees working that she didn't even hesitate to push the door open.

A bell chimed through the store as she stepped inside. Standing near the entrance Eloise scanned the sales floor looking for the short platinum blonde witch. She noticed that it was steadily busy, and although it wasn't too hectic, trying to spot the short woman in the sea of taller customers wasn't working out.

That's when her eyes fell on him.

George had his hands tucked in the pockets of his maroon colored slacks as he was chatting with a customer. Thanks to the summer heat, he had decided to ditch his blazer and rolled up the sleeves of his dark purple button-up shirt, deliberately leaving the top couple of buttons undone.

Merlin, he looks good, she thought to herself.

He almost looked like a completely different person as he confidently chatted away with the stout older wizard in front of him. She just couldn't tear her eyes away from him. Ignoring the rest of the customers brushing past her to do their shopping, she watched for a moment as he nodded at the customer with a smile and let out a laugh, he looked happy.

Before Eloise had a chance to continue her hunt for Verity, George had spotted her and she felt herself turn into putty in his hands at the mere eye-contact.

I needed to find Verity as soon as possible, she thought as she quickly realized how deep she was in her feelings for him.

He gave her a smile and a short nod to greet her before returning his attention to the customer in front of him. The short plump wizard shook George's hand as he excused himself from their conversation to make his way over to Eloise with a wide grin on his face.

"You're in a good mood." Eloise remarked.

"First day back, it's actually been pretty fun." George replied as he brushed his already perfectly coiffed hair back with his hand.

This man will be the death of me, she thought as she watched his fingers lace through his fiery red locks.

Eloise couldn't help but smile at his demeanor, especially after witnessing how hard the last few months had been for him. But part of her worried that this was only temporary and he'd find his way back into a depressed rut eventually.

"Happiness looks good on you, Weasley."

"Are you flirting with me, Laurent?" he asked as his hands came to rest in the pockets of his slacks.

Butterflies grew in her stomach as he smirked at her. It was almost as if they were the only two people in the entire store, she'd completely tuned out the sounds of screaming and laughing children as well as the occasional explosion from across the shop. There was only George, and she could definitely get used to this side of him.

"No, I'm just being kind." she said innocently.

"Yeah? Well, if you're not here to flirt with me, then what brings you in?"

Suddenly she remembered why she had even visited the shop in the first place, and it certainly wasn't to fall even more head over heels for George.

"I was actually looking for Verity."

"Oh really?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I was going to ask her to lunch."

He narrowed his eyes at her slightly but the smirk never left his lips, almost as if he didn't quite believe her but wasn't going to object.

"Last I saw, she was cleaning out the Pygmy Puff cages." he informed her as he gestured in the general direction with his thumb.

"Thanks, now get back to work, Weasley."

"Yes, ma'am." he saluted playfully before she made her way across the store.

When Eloise came upon Verity, she was wrestling with a rather rambunctious purple Pygmy Puff that really did not want to get back in it's cage. It was running about and jumping from her grasp onto nearby shelves as she muttered curses under her breath. A few minor threats left Verity's lips that Eloise didn't quite catch beyond 'you little...I swear to Merlin if you don't...' before she finally managed to get it back inside and locked up. Eloise tried to stifle a giggle as Verity spun around to see her, looking quite unamused.

"Enjoying the show?"

"Yes, actually." Eloise replied with a smile before walking up to the cages, admiring all the small creatures.

"This is usually Charlie's job, but he got wrangled into clearing out the storage room today, so I got stuck with it."

"Well, would going out to lunch put you in a better mood?"

"Absolutely! Let me just tell George that I'm stepping out." she replied, her mood shifting instantly.

Anything to get out of the chaos of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes for an hour was very welcomed in Verity's eyes, especially after the Pygmy Puff fiasco. Eloise followed the witch as she sought out George to let him know she'd be stepping out for a while, to which he didn't object.

"Have her back in an hour, would you Elle?" he requested with a wink before turning his back on them to continue helping customers.

Eloise could have sworn all the air had just been knocked out of her lungs and if Verity hadn't been there to snap her back into reality, she might've passed out right on the spot.

"Bold today, isn't he?" Verity laughed.

"Yeah, something like that." Eloise breathed as she came back down to Earth.

"So, where were you thinking for lunch?"

"The Leaky Cauldron is fine, or maybe Night Owls."

"Let's do Night Owls, the barista there is kind of cute." Verity smirked as she wiggled her eyebrows before walking towards the door of the shop.

"Would Charlie be happy about that?" Eloise laughed, following close behind.

"There's nothing wrong with admiring a beautiful woman, plus he knows I'm loyal. He'd probably agree with me anyway."

The two of them took the opportunity to catch up a bit on the short walk to the cafe. They discussed Charlie, work, and Verity's cat, Thomas, before they finally arrived.

The cute redhead behind the counter named Stephanie greeted them and took their orders. Eloise offered to pay for both of their meals as she dug through her handbag to retrieve her coin purse. It was the least she could do knowing the mountain of baggage she was about to dump on her unsuspecting friend. Verity made polite small talk with Stephanie as she made change for Eloise before the two of them left the counter.

"Told you she was cute." Verity said once they were out of earshot.

"Is it the red hair?"

"I'm not saying I don't have a type." she laughed.

Eloise rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile as they made their way to a table situated right next to the front window of the cafe.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of a free meal with a friend? Trying to bribe me for something?" Verity teased as the two of them found their seats.

"Not quite, but I did ask you out for a specific reason."

"Oh?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Stephanie came by with their drinks before Eloise had a chance to start explaining. The cute barista set down Eloise's tea in front of her without a word, but smiled at Verity as she placed her latte on the table. Verity thanked her kindly before bringing her attention back to Eloise, watching as she added three sugar cubes to her mug.

"I need your advice." Eloise started, bringing Verity's gaze back up to her eyes.

"Okay?" she replied cautiously as she took a careful sip of her scalding hot coffee.

"And I need you to be unbiased." Eloise clarified.

"Lucky for you I was in Hufflepuff during school, I'm probably the most fair person you'll ever meet." she smirked as she set down her mug.

Eloise took a large sip of her tea, hoping that the warmth of the drink would somehow calm her nerves.

"So, you've known George for a long time." she started.

"Since we were twelve." Verity nodded.

"Am I wasting my time?" Eloise asked, getting straight to the point.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific." she replied with a chuckle.

At that exact moment Stephanie was back, placing their sandwiches in front of them, asking if they needed anything else.

"We're great, thanks Stephanie." Verity smiled brightly before returning her full attention to Eloise as the redhead walked away.

"I just need someone to tell me if I'm out of my mind." Eloise continued once they were alone.

"Because you're interested in George? I think almost anyone would call you crazy for that one, even him." she teased as she picked up her sandwich to take a bite.

"I'm being serious, Ver." Eloise groaned, quickly realizing that she didn't even have an appetite as she glanced down at the plate in front of her.

"I know, I'm sorry." Verity started, her tone slightly more serious now, "But if I'm being honest, the older we get, the less I understand him."

"What do you mean?"

"I felt like I had him and Fred figured out. We were attached at the hip for what...eight years before Fred died? But after the battle and everything that's happened since then, the less I feel like I know him. I wouldn't say he's completely different, but he isn't the same as the boy I grew up with, if that makes sense."

"Fleur sort of said the same thing a while ago." Eloise muttered.

"But, I wouldn't say it's all bad. I think you are someone he needs."

"You think he needs me?" she replied, the shock in her voice was evident.

"No one gets through to him like you do, even Charlie says so. But I suppose that's not really answering your question is it?"

"Not really, no." Eloise smiled slightly.

"He needs someone who won't abandon him just because he isn't the same silly George all the time anymore. You saw him today, that side of him is still in there, but it isn't the only part of him."

"Well, I never knew him before. So I have nothing to compare to."

"I think you not knowing him when Fred was alive is almost a good thing, as horrible as that sounds."

"Why do you say that?"

"You get to know George, not Fred and George. I think a lot of people had this impression of the twins growing up that made them seem invincible, as if nothing could ever get to them. Lee, Angie, and I knew that wasn't the case though. But I also thought Alicia knew that too..." she explained before trailing off, realizing she may have said too much.

"Alicia?"

"George's ex, sorry." she clarified, hoping Eloise would drop the subject.

"Oh, right." Eloise muttered.

An awkward silence fell between the two. Out of everything Eloise could have imagined being brought up today, she naively never considered any of his exes to be a topic of discussion.

"Were they together for a long time?" Eloise asked, despite knowing that keeping the conversation on Alicia may have been a bad choice.

Verity nodded slightly, "Three years."

"Oh." was all Eloise could mutter in response.

"She was his first serious girlfriend, they seemed so inseparable at the time. I sometimes wonder why she never reached out to him after the battle, she didn't even go to the funeral. But maybe she was afraid of how much he'd changed."

The cogs in Eloise's brain started spinning in overdrive. Perhaps it wasn't just the loss of Fred that had closed off George's heart, maybe the fact that his first love hadn't been there for him in his darkest moment was what left irreversible damage.

"Has he talked to you about her?" Eloise asked, edging more and more into dangerous territory.

Verity shook her head, "Oh Merlin no, you'd almost think she never existed. I know he loved her, so I don't doubt it affected him. But he never talks about her and no one ever asks."

"Did they break up for a specific reason?"

"They decided to take a break right before George's family went into hiding because he wanted to keep her safe. But then she just never went back to him after the battle. She didn't even send a letter or anything to him or his family with her condolences."

"Wow..." Eloise frowned.

The idea of simply abandoning someone she loved just because things got difficult made no sense to Eloise. She could understand being scared of how much a person had changed, but to never bring closure to something and to just run away instead made her feel resentful towards a woman she had never even met. But that may have just been her overly protective side taking over.

"So, what do you think I should do?" Eloise asked as she tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

"Personally, I think it would be good for George if you stuck around. He's lost a lot and I don't think he'd react very well to losing you. But you also need to consider what's good for you. If it's not a healthy relationship, then it's not worth keeping. And maybe that's what Alicia sensed, but I really only know his side of things." Verity replied in an uncharacteristically serious tone.

Based on the look in Verity's eyes, Eloise knew she cared about her and really wanted her to consider what would be best for her own happiness. But what would be good for her and what she wanted felt like they fell on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Holding out hope for George to come around and want to be with her felt draining, but she cared about him so much that she was almost willing to ignore how miserable it made her feel at times.

She quickly realized that she'd do anything for him and that thought scared her, perhaps her feelings for him were much deeper than she was willing to acknowledge.

Verity had been studying Eloise's face as well as the way she had barely touched her food.

"Eloise? You have told George how you feel, haven't you?"

"Well, not directly, no." she replied with a nervous chuckle.

"I'm not following." Verity said as she shook her head with her brows knit together in confusion.

After all this time Verity always assumed that George and Eloise had already confessed their attraction to one another, just based on how they acted around each other. They both seemed so smitten that she'd never considered it to be a possibility that they were keeping their feelings to themselves.

Eloise glanced out the window to watch a few passersby as she tried to get her thoughts in order, "We kissed on his birthday, but then he told me didn't want a relationship." she brought her eyes back to Verity before continuing, "Then he slept with someone and confessed to me as if he thought I'd be hurt, like it should matter to me what he does on his own free time."

"But it did matter to you, didn't it? Charlie told me about that girl." Verity asked with a knowing look on her face.

"It did, but is that even fair? He's not mine, so why should I be jealous? I just- it's confusing."

"I think you had every right to be jealous, and I know it's confusing. George just needs time."

"All I've done is give him time." Eloise muttered under her breath.

Verity looked at the girl with pity in her eyes, "I think it would be best for you two to have an honest discussion where you tell him everything. About your feelings for him, the jealousy, your fears, all of it."

"I feel like I haven't really been hiding how I feel from him though, I assume he has some sort of idea how I feel."

"Never assume anything with George Weasley." Verity said with a laugh.

"You think he really doesn't know?"

"I'm sure he has a hunch, I just think that you'll have to be absolutely honest with him eventually. Especially if you want to be with him. You'll probably have to be the one to make the first move."

"I've never been outgoing enough for first moves." Eloise muttered as she idly traced her finger over the rim of her teacup.

"It doesn't have to be a grand gesture. But I think part of him is still pretty insecure and unless he hears it coming straight from you, he won't believe you really have feelings for him."

Eloise couldn't fault him for that, her own insecurities played tricks on her mind in similar ways. After everything that had happened since George's birthday, part of her brain still doubted that he really had feelings for her, especially when he never explicitly said so.

But her doubts were even more loud now that she had learned about his ex-girlfriend. Maybe all of the affection he'd directed towards Eloise over the last year had been a way for him to deal with a relationship he'd never gotten closure on. All she could think about was the fact that she might be the rebound. Maybe that's why he would act so distant towards her at times. Because perhaps part of him felt guilty for it, knowing deep down that her feelings for him were genuine while his were just some sort of coping mechanism.

Her toxic thoughts were taking over and she felt herself grow more hopeless, like she had asked for Verity's opinion for absolutely no reason.

Why was she asking his best friend for advice when there's a good chance he'd never truly want to be with her anyway? Despite what he said about not being ready for a relationship, her mind was twisting his words. She was convincing herself that it's not because he wasn't emotionally ready, it's because he'd never stop loving Alicia.

"I wish things with him were easier." Eloise replied eventually.

"I know, but if it makes you feel better part of George has sort of always been this way. Maybe not to this degree, but at least a little bit."

"He has?"

"Compared to Fred he was always more insecure, and quite honestly pessimistic at times. George has always sort of shut down when things got too real, he just needs someone who is willing to listen to him while also not being afraid to be honest with him. No matter how hard it gets, he needs someone who won't run away. Fred was always that person for him, and I think he's been kind of lost for a while."

"That's daunting though, trying to fill the void Fred left."

"I don't think he'd want you to try to do that. It's just that everyone tries to skirt around the tough topics with him, I'm guilty of it as well. But he opens up a lot to you, I think you've already gotten further with him than any of us have."

Eloise knew that Verity and George were close friends, but she didn't realize she would get this much insight. If she knew, she would have confided in Verity months ago and it might have saved her so much time. But she couldn't shake the thoughts of Alicia from her mind, curiosity was getting the best of her.

"Do you think he still has feelings for Alicia?" Eloise asked suddenly, causing Verity to choke down her latte with widened eyes.

She paused for a moment to consider the question, "I honestly never really thought about it. He never talks about her. I think if anything he'd just want closure. But if they crossed paths I highly doubt that anything would happen between them."

"Can you tell me about her?" Eloise continued asking questions she knew she probably didn't want to know the answers to.

Verity's face twisted into a frown, she didn't like the direction the conversation was going, "Why? She's in the past now, I don't want you to compare yourself to her."

"I'm not! I'm just curious." she insisted, though she knew subconsciously she'd end up comparing herself regardless of what Verity told her.

Verity sighed and set down her mug, knowing Eloise would keep insisting if she didn't answer, "She was a Gryffindor in our year, played on the Quidditch team with the twins. Angelina originally set them up so she and Fred could go on a double date with them. I think Angie is still friends with her, I honestly don't know. But the rest of us stopped talking to her when she cut George off. She's pretty, athletic, curly brown hair, tall. But none of that matters because she's not who I thought she was in the end. I promise you don't have to worry about her."

"I wonder why Fleur never told me about her."

"All of the Weasleys resent her for how she abandoned him after Fred died, I'm sure she wasn't doing it to hide anything from you. Knowing Fleur, she probably just didn't think it was relevant." Verity shrugged.

Eloise tapped her fingernails mindlessly against the mug while her mind was completely consumed by thoughts of George's ex-girlfriend. Of course she assumed he'd had girlfriends before she came around, she'd had her fair share of boyfriends after all.

But the idea of there being no closure in their relationship was eating away at her, as if it was some ominous threat looming in the distance.

Verity was studying Eloise's body language and decided to speak up once more when she realized Eloise had nothing to say, "I'm really sorry about bringing her up. I swear to you she's not in the picture, I just think how things ended between them contributes to why he can be so guarded sometimes. Now, would you please eat?"

"Don't apologize, I appreciate your honesty. It puts some things into perspective for me." Eloise smiled rather unconvincingly as she finally picked up her sandwich.

Verity didn't know exactly what that meant, but she was just happy the girl had finally relaxed enough to eat something.

"My birthday is at the beginning of August. We're having a party at the flat, you'll come won't you?" Verity asked, attempting to switch the conversation to something more casual.

"Of course!"

"You'll finally get to meet some of my old school friends, I'm sure lots of them will have embarrassing stories about George if you ask. Especially Lee."

"I'm not sure he'd be thrilled about that." Eloise laughed.

"Well, I have my own fair share of stories I could tell you too. But we'll save that for another time." she smiled devilishly.

As the two of them finished their lunch, making small talk about various much more light-hearted subjects, Eloise allowed her mind to wander back to George.

The obvious next step would be to just put everything out on the table and confess her feelings to him like Verity advised. Whether that was so she could move on from him, or to tell him in hopes that he felt the same way for her, she didn't quite know yet.

Part of Eloise was glad Verity was willing to share so much about George with her. She knew the two had a close bond with one another and being so open meant she trusted her with her best friend's heart. But as much as Eloise wanted to promise her that she'd always be there for him, she couldn't. She felt herself pulling away from him as the fears of him being in love with someone else flooded her mind.

Alicia was living in the back of her mind now and she was much too nervous to come right out and ask George about her. The topic seemed far too personal and she knew she'd have to tell him that Verity was the one who told her, and Eloise really didn't want to cause another fight between them.

Confessing to George would have to remain on the back burner, at least until she had a chance to find out more about the situation with Alicia. She decided it would be best to just keep being George's supportive friend and that would have to be good enough for now.