New Year's Eve 1999

On the last night of 1999 George was feeling both excited and honestly a little nervous. It had been more than three weeks since he had last seen Eloise in person and the idea of seeing her again gave him mixed emotions. Of course he wanted to see her but knowing that the last time he saw her was when he basically insinuated that she was under a love potion made the situation a bit more tense than usual.

He hadn't heard from her in writing since Christmas Day, and even then she didn't really say anything at all about his invitation to the party. George tried to bite his tongue for the entire week and not ask Verity if she had talked to Eloise recently, mostly because he didn't want to give her the satisfaction. But as she was setting up for the party, he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Have you heard from Elle?" he asked as he watched Verity flick her wand towards the table, charming dozens of small silver and gold illuminated orbs to float in the air above them.

A smirk immediately formed on her lips, "Yes, we write every few days."

Of course they do, he thought to himself.

"Do you know if she's coming tonight?"

Verity set down her wand on the coffee table before turning to him with her arms crossed and a knowing grin plastered on her face, "Did you invite her?"

"Did you?"

She let out a laugh, "You know I did, I told you I was going to weeks ago."

"Well, did she say anything?"

The short witch shrugged her shoulders casually, "Not really."

"Not really? What does that mean?"

"She told me she'd think about it. I decided not to push it, so she might come or she might not."

Before George had the chance to say anything else to her, the door to the flat opened. Charlie had finally returned from the shops with the drinks Verity asked him to get. But rather than returning alone, Alicia followed closely behind him helping carry what he couldn't. The second eldest Weasley child had clearly gone overboard when it came to the alcohol selection.

"Look who I ran into downstairs," Charlie smiled, "It looks great in here, by the way."

Verity rolled her eyes as soon as she saw Alicia walk in and turned her back on her to whisper to George, "I also told Eloise you invited her, so that may be a factor in it."

"Why did you tell her that?" he whispered back urgently.

"You think Eloise walking in to see Alicia here with no warning would have been a good idea?" she frowned.

"I guess not," he conceded with a sigh, "I just figured she wouldn't come at all if she knew, even if she brought her friend along."

"Maybe she won't but that's her choice. Just try to have fun whether she's here or not." she glanced over to Alicia with a thin smile as they made eye contact in passing before dropping her expression immediately and returning her attention to George, "Besides, Alicia's here and that's what you wanted all along right?"

George rolled his eyes. Of course he wanted Alicia there, but he wanted Eloise as well. He looked over towards the kitchen where she and Charlie were setting up all the drinks. Unable make out what they were saying, he watched them smile and chuckle at what the other way saying. They seemed to be getting along well enough, almost everyone seemed to be mostly fine with Alicia's return into George's life. Everyone except for Verity who did very little to hide her disdain.

While it frustrated him to no end to know one of his closest friends would never be accepting of this particular choice, part of him couldn't help but wonder if she was the only one who was looking at the situation realistically. Or maybe Verity simply couldn't let go of a grudge. The girl was the most loyal person George knew, any time someone wronged a loved one Verity rarely forgave them.

Still, George knew it was selfish to crave the attention of both women, he wasn't that oblivious. But it was beginning to look like it would never work out that way anyway. Eloise seemed like she wanted very little to do with Alicia, and honestly that was completely fair. Picturing both women together in one room was far fetched, it was as if one couldn't exist at the same time as the other.

That's why George had carefully omitted certain information when he invited Eloise to the party.

It was a foolishly naive plan but George told himself it would all be fine if Eloise didn't know about Alicia until she absolutely had to. The backlash hadn't crossed his mind, even though it didn't take a genius to know the potential of it ending in disaster was rather high. All he wanted was to have Eloise around again, he missed her desperately. Even if it meant he wasn't the one to comfort her anymore, even if it meant he had to watch her spend the entire night with Maxwell, that would be fine. Just being in the same room as her was all he wanted.

After laughing at something Charlie said, Alicia looked over and made eye contact with George. She gave him a kind smile as she set down a bottle of firewhisky on the counter before walking over to where he was standing with Verity.

"It really does look incredible in here." Alicia praised as she gazed up towards the ceiling.

"Thanks." Verity replied curtly before brushing past her and joining Charlie in the kitchen.

"Don't mind her." George tried to reassure Alicia as her face fell into a frown.

"I know we weren't really close before but I feel like everyone has been kind to me or at least civil since I came back. Everyone but her."

"She's very good at holding a grudge. But I think she's also a bit annoyed with me tonight, so try not to think about it too much."

Alicia gave him a slight smile with a nod, "Okay."

The door to the flat opened a moment later and Ginny walked in with Luna who brought along a homemade cake of some sort that had been wrapped up nicely in a light pink box. The gesture was kind, but the baked good smelled curiously of lemons and smoke which caused some hesitation from George.

"Oh, uh... thanks Luna." he muttered as he reluctantly took the box from her hands.

"You're welcome!" she smiled brightly, "It's a recipe my mum wrote when I was little. I think she might've mixed up the ingredients with some research she was doing on fire-breathing potion, but I always make it for special occasions."

George gave her as genuine of a smile as he could muster before looking down at the box as if the cake would somehow suddenly escape from its container and bite him. When he made eye contact with his sister he gave her a look of fright but she merely smiled at him with a shrug.

"I'll just, uh, put this in the fridge for now." George cleared his throat as he quickly retreated from the situation.

"Not brave enough to try something Loony made?" Alicia asked quietly with a smirk as she followed him into the kitchen.

"Absolutely not."

George buried the cake behind bottles of butter beer and containers of leftovers, hoping no one would be tempted by the pink box and its contents. He could just toss it out at the end of the party and spare everyone's stomachs and Luna's feelings.

The sound of the door opening grabbed George's attention again as he shut the refrigerator. Of course he was hoping to see Eloise walk in, but it was only Angelina arriving with Katie. He tore his eyes away from them immediately, hoping the disappointment on his face wasn't evident to the new guests.

The night was still young, there was still plenty of time for her to show up.

He decided to distract himself by sitting in the living room with his friends, listening to Luna tell some sort of story about a magizoologist she'd recently met who believed all of her stories about nargles and moon frogs. At one point Alicia let out a snort as she tried to suppress her laughter which earned her an unkind glare from both Ginny and Verity, but all Luna did was smile at her and say "Yes, that's exactly what the moon frogs sound like!"

Over the next hour more and more guests arrived. Lee Jordan burst into the room rather loudly and George had the sneaking suspicion he may have had a shot of firewhisky or two before showing up. Neville Longbottom arrived so quietly that George was actually surprised he hadn't noticed the door open at all. Every time a new guest entered, George was growing more disappointed. The flat was beginning to look crowded but to him it still felt empty.

A little while after a few of Verity's old Hufflepuff friends arrived, Ron and Hermione showed up. The couple entered much more subtly than Lee had, but not nearly as quietly as Neville. This was mostly because Hermione was immediately surrounded by several girls, excitedly showing off her ring to those she hadn't seen since getting engaged.

The whole scene made George feel queasy. He knew she and Ron were planning on getting married in the summer but he was doing his best to avoid thinking about it at all. A wedding without Fred still felt wrong in his eyes.

All the girls who were giggling and smiling around Hermione were giving him a headache, so he quickly left the living room and sat alone at the kitchen table instead. Having no more distractions meant all George could focus on now was the door. It was obvious he was waiting for someone in particular to walk through it and it didn't take long for Alicia to catch on as she made her way into the kitchen.

"Waiting for someone?" she asked as his eyes remained locked on the closed door across the room.

"Hmm? Oh, no not really." he tried to brush her off but she wasn't buying it.

"It's Eloise, isn't it?"

A sigh escaped from George's lips as he looked away from the door and back towards Alicia, "You can see right through me, can't you Spinnet?"

"I do consider it one of my many talents. You'll never enjoy yourself if you keep staring at the door though."

"I could if we make it a game. Let's place a bet. I say the next time the door opens it'll whatever the hell Luna was talking about earlier. Some sort of creature that'll either burn down the entire flat or eat us all alive. Maybe both if we're really unlucky."

"How much have you had to drink?" she laughed.

"Not a single drop." he smirked.

"Then maybe we should change that. Firewhisky?"

"I'm good, thanks though."

"Come on, Georgie, it's New Year's Eve. Don't be a stick in the mud."

"Since when are you the bad influence out of the two of us? I thought that was my job."

"Well you've been slacking lately. How about just a butter beer?"

George rolled his eyes with a smirk, "Fine, one butter beer."

With a smile Alicia made her way to the fridge, quickly grabbing a bottle and pulling the cap off of it for George before returning to him, "Here you go. Luna's cake is still untouched, by the way."

"Oh, thank Merlin for that." he laughed as he took the bottle from her hands.

The two of them chatted in the kitchen for a while. It was pleasant enough but the entire time George's mind was still elsewhere.

As the clock ticked closer to midnight, he finally accepted the fact that Eloise wouldn't be coming. Even though he knew Alicia was right when she said staring at the door all night would prevent him from having any fun, he also knew that not seeing Eloise at all before the New Year didn't feel right.

He'd screwed up so many times over the last several months. If he didn't see her before the clock struck midnight he had a superstitious thought that nothing would ever change. Everything between them would remain a horrible mess if he didn't clean it up now. All he wanted was to leave every horrible mistake, every missed opportunity, every hurtful thing he'd said in 1999.

George's brows furrowed as he became consumed in his racing thoughts. In the living room, Angelina had been telling some sort of story and the sound of Ginny's laughter was what broke him away from his trance. He didn't know how long he'd been zoned out for, but rather than staring at the door any longer he suddenly had the urge to run out of it. He set his half drunk bottle down on the table and stood up quickly as he grabbed his coat from the back of the chair.

"Where are you going?" Alicia asked as she watched him wrap a scarf around his neck.

"There's something I need to go take care of."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"No, I need to deal with it now."

"Oh, come on George, stay. I'm sure it's not that important." Alicia rolled her eyes.

Alicia once knew everything about George. She knew how his mind worked, which meant she knew exactly what she was doing when she tried to convince him to stay.

When George had his mind set on something he didn't give up on it until he saw it through to the end. That kind of behavior got him and Fred into their fair share of trouble on more than one occasion but Alicia once had the ability of keeping him grounded. She was the only one in the world who could hope to talk some sense into him if she thought something was truly a bad idea. If it were two years ago, her words might've made him pause and reconsider his next move.

But that wasn't the case.

George stuck his hand in his coat pocket to make sure his wand was still there as he made eye contact with Alicia. The look in her eyes was impatient and a little irritated and he couldn't help but wonder if she knew what he was about to do. It didn't matter though, Alicia didn't hold that kind of power over him anymore, she couldn't influence his decisions or guide his judgements and before she could object again, George made his way to the door.

If anyone else had tried to stop him or ask where he was going, he hadn't noticed as he made his way down the spiral staircase and into the shop. When he reached the front door he spotted the small purple crate filled with the fireworks that he and Charlie had put together the night before. The original plan was to go out into the street to set them off at midnight, but he'd completely ditched that now. Instead a new idea popped into his head. He grabbed a small blue rocket and shoved it into his coat pocket before grabbing his wand and quickly disapparating from the shop.

Knowing that Eloise was an hour ahead put George in a hurry as he landed just outside the front door of Shell Cottage. There was only about fifteen minutes to spare and he didn't want to miss his chance. Initially the thought of the new parents inside the cottage having gone to bed early hadn't crossed his mind when he began his mission here but a wave of relief washed over him as he saw the light of the living room reflecting on the sand. With a quiet but urgent knock, he rapped his knuckles against the wood, not yet realizing how crazy this whole plan was.

Bill was the one to answer the door with his hand by his pocket, prepared to grab his wand if necessary. The two rarely had unsolicited visitors and certainly never this late at night. But once he registered that it was his younger brother standing before him, Bill relaxed and stepped to the side to let him in.

"What's going on?" Bill asked as he watched his brother shed his coat away from his body.

"I need to see Fleur."

"She's upstairs with Victoire, is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, I just need to see her. I don't have much time." George said urgently.

Bill furrowed his brows at his brother, but didn't object. Whatever was going on seemed rather important to him, so he simply climbed the stairs to summon his wife. When they both returned a few minutes later they found George pacing back and forth in the living room.

"George? I thought you were at a party with Verity." Fleur said when she saw her brother-in-law.

Stopping in his tracks, he spun around toward the staircase and saw both of them watching him intently with a look of concern.

"I was. Listen Fleur, I need you to take me to France."

Fleur looked back to her husband who shrugged in response before returning her attention to George, "When?"

"Right now, preferably."

"I- wha- have you gone mad?"

"Probably yes, but I think that happened ages ago."

From behind her, Fleur could hear Bill let out a quiet chuckle but the frown that had been prominent on her face since she first laid eyes on George that evening remained intact.

"I'm not taking you." she said sternly.

"Why? Fleur please, this is important."

"What are you going to do? Make some grand gesture there and then go back to acting like a fool when she comes home?"

George let out a groan and rubbed a hand against the back of his neck, he should have known better than to think this plan would be simple.

"I just want to apologize to her."

"So write her a letter."

"I did." he raised his voice slightly before letting out a sigh, "I just need to do this before midnight. I know I sound crazy but this is important to me."

With her arms crossed over her chest Fleur glanced over her shoulder to look at her husband for some sort of back up. But for once it seemed like Bill wasn't going to take her side.

"He just wants to apologize, darling. It's New Year's Eve, let him start the year off on the right foot."

"Oh, Merlin." she grumbled before walking towards the fire place, "Come on, then. Quickly, before I change my mind."

George hurried across the room and gave his brother a grateful pat on the shoulder as he passed by. After stepping into the hearth, he watched Fleur grab a small handful of Floo Powder and step in beside him. Before giving him the opportunity to say anything that would make her change her mind, she tossed the powder down as she uttered the name of their destination, consuming them both in thick green flames.

–

The three Laurent's were standing by the large glass door that connected their living room to the balcony that overlooked the city. The beautiful thing about living in Paris was that they didn't need to go anywhere in particular on New Year's Eve to enjoy the celebration, there would be fireworks set off from every angle in the city that could be watched from the comfort of their home.

Only a few fleeting moments remained before beautiful colors painted the sky and a new chapter would begin.

Ten.

Eloise closed her eyes, almost as if she was either making a wish for the new millennium or reflecting on everything that had happened that year.

Nine.

What would she even wish for? She had yet to even make a decision on whether she would move home permanently or not. Maybe she should wish for clarity, for a sign from the universe telling her what the right decision would be.

Eight.

Life at home for the holidays had been so simple. The pleasant monotony of routine was something she missed.

Seven.

But she also missed her life in England.

Six.

Not just her job or her friends, but her family, the Weasleys.

Five.

She wished she had been there to see Victoire's first Christmas, to help Molly cook the turkey, to play a game or two of Wizard's Chess with Ron by the fire.

Four.

Before any fireworks or happy cheers from the streets below could begin. A bright flash of green light filled the living room as two figures stepped out of the fireplace.

Three.

Colette, Patrick, and Eloise all spun around to see who could possibly be visiting at such an hour. When the flames dissipated Eloise thought she might have actually fallen asleep on the sofa hours ago and this was all just an incredibly vivid dream.

Two.

She closed her eyes tightly in attempt to wake herself up.

One.

The sudden sound of fireworks outside and muffled cheers from the streets below filled her ears but she was still convinced this couldn't possibly be real. There was no way George would have travelled all the way here at midnight and there was absolutely no way Fleur would have agreed to the idea in the first place.

However, when she finally opened her eyes he was still standing before her with his hands in his pockets and a timid smile on his face.

"Happy New Year, Elle."