Valentine's Day 2000

Valentine's Day was a holiday Eloise once loved. She'd always been a hopeless romantic at heart, thanks in part to the fairytales of princes and princesses that her nan read to her when she was little. Not once did she ever see the holiday as a greedy cash grab or a selfish loophole for lovers to treat each other kindly only once a year. Eloise Laurent was a lover all year round, she simply saw Valentine's Day as an extra excuse to dote on the ones she adored even more than she usually did, and maybe even treat herself to something nice as well.

But this year felt different.

Maxwell had made reservations for them at a nice muggle restaurant in London. Apparently he'd had it all planned out for nearly a month, which was quite the romantic gesture, she couldn't deny that.

In the week and a half that had passed since Eloise and Verity moved into their flat, Maxwell had apologized repeatedly for his outburst and she hadn't seen George at all. Although the latter wasn't necessarily by her choice, it was merely their conflicting schedules keeping them apart. Still, her distance from him seemed to be keeping the peace between her and Maxwell, at least for now.

Sitting in the romantic candlelight of the muggle Italian restaurant wearing a dark red dress surrounded by candles and roses of the same shade, she found herself feeling quite out of place. Red was a color she rarely wore, she didn't like the way it brought out the rosy complexion in her cheeks and nose but something compelled her to wear it that night.

Maybe she was drawn to the dress because the color reminded her of the romantic holiday but in reality, whether she realized she was doing it on purpose or not, she had slowly started wearing colors she'd normally gravitated towards less and less. Namely blues and purples, opting for more neutrals instead. It was likely her subconscious trying to preserve her happiness by avoiding the color that George seemed to love and the one he associated with her.

As romantic as she was, Eloise wasn't really a fancy girl. Roses and candles just weren't her thing. She was a girl who liked to stay in to drink tea and talk all night long, she was someone who liked casual coffee dates and late night walks. She didn't like stuffy restaurants and frilly dresses.

It was almost humorous, thinking back on how last Valentine's Day she was sitting in a fish and chips shop with George and how much she'd rather being doing that instead. Not just because it was with George, but because it was more her style. It was simple, easy, and fun. Sitting in this fancy restaurant with Maxwell felt too serious, too stuffy, too boring.

When the waiter came by, Maxwell decided to order for the both of them. Maybe the gesture was meant to be romantic but she couldn't help but feel helpless and ignored. Despite this, she tried her best to ignore the twinge of irritation that washed over her in the moment. George would have known better than that, she thought to herself. At the very least, he'd ask her opinion before deciding for her.

Stop thinking about him, she pleaded with herself silently as she took a sip of the champagne Maxwell had ordered for them.

"You look lovely tonight, I think red is your color." Maxwell said kindly.

"Thank you." she muttered with a brief thin lipped smile.

"Everything okay?"

"Just a long day at work."

A few fleeting moments passed of them exchanging small talk about work and discussing books the two of them had read recently and Eloise finally began to feel herself relaxing. She had been so uptight the entire evening, overthinking every possible moment.

What was there to even complain about?

She was on a lovely date with a lovely man looking for reasons to have a horrible time. It was almost a guarantee should have a rubbish night if she stayed in that mindset, she just needed to take a moment to enjoy herself. It was a sound plan, one she was sure she'd be able to accomplish. At least that was until Maxwell cleared his throat and looked at her intently.

"There's something I wanted to ask you."

Eloise could already feel her heartbeat in her throat. Whatever he was going to ask didn't fill her with excited butterflies, it only filled her with dread.

"Alright." she said quietly, placing her hands firmly in her lap at the off chance he would try to reach across the table to hold one of them.

"Eloise, I have really loved getting to know you over the last several months. Ever since you stepped foot into Flourish & Blotts that afternoon in November, I've been completely captivated by you. I was hoping you'd do me the honor of finally making our relationship official. Will you be my girlfriend?"

At some point in Max's speech his voice had become muffled as Eloise's ears began ringing loudly. Only a few words came through loud and clear but she had heard enough to know she was mere seconds away from having a panic attack in the middle of this restaurant.

"I- I," she stuttered as she shook her head, unable to find the words to articulate how she felt.

A look of defeat fell on Maxwell's face but he didn't dare say anything to her, almost like he was holding onto hope that she'd possibly change her mind if he looked at her intently enough, but it was no use.

"I'm sorry." she said in a whisper.

It was all she could say and she felt awful for it. Surely he deserved more of an explanation but she couldn't force herself to say the words.

"It's because of George isn't it?" he muttered knowingly as he finally tore his eyes off of her.

It was obvious that both of them already knew the answer to that question, yet the words were caught in Eloise's throat. It was as if she was more worried about her own reaction to hearing them than Maxwell's. Once she admitted her feelings out loud, there was no taking them back. If they lived safely inside her mind, they couldn't hurt her any more than they already had.

"I really don't want to have this discussion here, Maxwell." Eloise pleaded quietly as she glanced to the other couples around them dining happily, none of them any the wiser to the relationship falling apart only a few tables away.

"At least have enough respect for me to admit that you have feelings for someone else." he said so calmly, it was almost alarming.

It was all too much for her. The roses, the dinner, the fancy dress that made her feel like an imposter in her own skin, the man across from her demanding answers she couldn't give. Even if Eloise could find it in herself to admit that she did love George, it wouldn't change anything now. It would do more harm than good, forcing each of them to face a truth they had been avoiding.

The truth.

The truth was that Eloise was confident that she'd already met the most exhilarating person she'd ever know. She had just turned twenty years old when she first laid eyes on George. So young, and yet utterly convinced that she would be spending the rest of her life settling, searching desperately for anything that came close to the feeling she got when she thought of him.

How tragic and painful the truth really was.

She knew Maxwell deserved something more than a vague apology, so she let out and sigh and finally looked into his eyes, "I think maybe in another lifetime we were right for each other but not this one, I'm sorry."

"So, that's just it then?"

This was it. The end of yet another failed relationship. How many more would it take for Eloise to admit to herself that she would always be pining for George? It was beginning to feel like she was simply destined to be alone. Perhaps loneliness was less heartbreaking than trying to replace George for the rest of her days.

All Eloise could do was nod her head at him. Neither anger nor disappointment painted Maxwell's face. Instead, he looked at her plainly with almost no feeling at all. It was as if this was exactly as he'd expected it to go, skipping every stage of grief and landing on acceptance from the start.

Despite Maxwell's lack of a reaction, the guilt in her heart was overwhelming and Eloise couldn't bare to look into his eyes any longer, she honestly just wanted to leave. As horrible as it was to reject a man and leave him with the bill, the damage couldn't be any worse than what she'd already caused.

"I have to go. I'm sorry, Max. I really am." she said as she abruptly stood from the table, grabbing her cardigan and clutch before rushing out of the restaurant.

Thankfully, the one thing Eloise had gained from her time with Maxwell was a knowledge of the streets of London. There was no risk of getting lost on her way back to The Leaky Cauldron. If she was lucky, she'd be able to find a secluded alleyway to disapparate from. But honestly, her mind was racing with endless thoughts of George and Maxwell and even Dhani at one point, the risk of splinching if she attempted to apparate was almost guaranteed.

Besides, every restaurant she passed was packed to the brim and happy couples were strolling down the sidewalk together. There was nowhere for Eloise to sneak off to to disapparate from, even if she wanted to. So, her feet kept carrying her forward instead.

Her vision began to blur as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. The toxic cocktail of heartache, stress, and confusion was taking over ever part of her mind. By the time she arrived in the old pub, she was certain mascara was already running down her cheeks but she didn't dare make eye contact with any of the bar patrons out of sheer embarrassment. Instead, she headed straight for the back door with her head hanging low.

When she came face to face with the brick wall separating her from Diagon Alley, she quickly dug through her clutch searching for her wand. Her frustration only growing as her blurry vision made a simple task feel impossible. With her wand finally in hand, she quickly tapped on the bricks in the pattern she thought she had perfectly memorized but she was so flustered, she got lost halfway through and had to start again.

Once she'd managed to tap the bricks in the correct order, she quickly made her way through the archway heading straight in the direction of her flat. When she was nearly home, the idea of sitting alone wallowing in her self-pity suddenly entered her mind. It was an idea she very much did not want to become a reality. If she did, she knew all she would do was overanalyze every decision she'd made that evening, driving herself mad. But what were her options?

Ideally she wanted to see Verity, but Eloise remembered being told earlier in the day that she'd be working late that night. Or rather, she listened to Verity's endless complaints about it. All morning she had been grumbling about how George wanted to take a storewide inventory that evening, causing her and Charlie to not be able to celebrate Valentine's Day. At the time Eloise didn't think much of it, but maybe George simply didn't want to be left alone on the romantic holiday.

All she knew for sure was that she couldn't sit at home alone after what happened, so she tried to rack her brain for other options.

Bill and Fleur would no doubt be out on a romantic date, so she couldn't go to Shell Cottage. Taking the Floo Network to France so late in the evening to see her mother felt far too drastic. Going to the Burrow to speak with Molly seemed like the worst possible option she could consider. It was no use, she'd run out of ideas. Perhaps Eloise was destined to deal with this alone but she was much too stubborn to allow herself to do that.

No, she needed Verity. Even if it meant stepping foot into that shop.

In the midst of her racing thoughts, the heel of her one of her shoes had gotten caught between the cracks in the cobblestone, snapping off and nearly tripping her onto the pavement. If she hadn't already been crying, that would have likely been the cherry on top a horrible night that would have definitely caused her to reach a breaking point. But that point had long gone by now. The heel seemed like a trivial inconvenience at this point, one she could almost laugh off. Instead, she let out a sigh and pulled her shoes off, carrying them in her hand by the straps as she trudged barefoot down Diagon Alley.

When she reached the door of the shop, she didn't even bother to knock. Honestly, she didn't even pause to consider whether the door would be locked or not, she wasn't thinking straight at all. Instead, she merely grabbed the handle and pushed through the door to the shock of the redhead standing behind the counter.

"Elle?"

The sound of George's voice felt like a dagger straight to her heart.

"Is Verity here?" she choked out almost inaudibly, unable to say anything else.

"What?" he asked as he stepped out from behind the counter, "Elle, are you alright?"

The sight of her took him by surprise, she was a beautiful mess. The mascara running down her freckled cheeks, the cardigan hanging off of one shoulder, the broken shoes grasped tightly in her hand. All it did was fill George with worry. He had no idea what had happened, all he knew was that he wanted to fix it.

Eloise shook her head and took a step back, not making eye contact with him a single time since entering the shop, "I need Verity."

"Ellie, what happened?" he said so gently, she thought it might kill her.

The way this new name fell so naturally from his lips hurt in a why she didn't expect. The way it sounded so filled with love and care made her want to crumble right there on the spot. The way she wanted to hear him say it again and again tore what was left of her heart apart.

"I need to see Verity. Please." she pleaded, fighting back tears.

George pressed his lips together firmly. All he wanted to do was fix whatever had upset her so badly. Somehow she looked even more broken up than that horrible night in October he desperately tried to banish from his memory. Little did he know that the pain he desperately wanted to take away from Eloise was all because she loved him.

Deep down he knew it wasn't his place to try and fix all of her problems and save the day. She wasn't his anymore, she never really was. But that didn't stop George's heart from aching for her, he never wanted to see her hurt. He'd do anything help her and if that meant stepping aside and letting Verity pick up her broken pieces, he would.

"She's in the storage room."

Not even giving him the chance to offer to walk her back there, she brushed past him and marched straight into the back room without knocking first.

"I'm nearly done, George, just give me a bloody minute and then I'll count the WonderWitch products." Verity grumbled from behind a set of metal shelves.

"Ver?"

"Eloise?" Verity asked, peering around the corner before dropping her clipboard the moment she saw the state of her friend.

The petite with rushed over and pulled Eloise into a hug as the curly haired blonde crumbled to the floor, finally allowing herself to be consumed by her tears. She couldn't even fully pinpoint the exact reason why she was so upset anymore, it felt like months of bottled up emotions were finally boiling over in the back room of the shop.

Verity sat on the ground beside Eloise, holding her close allowing her friend's tears to soak into her blazer, "What happened?"

"Maxwell asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said no." she mumbled, hiccuping on her tears.

"That's what has you this upset?"

Eloise shook her head, "I think I'm in love with him."

"Maxwell?" she asked, doing very little to hide the utter shock in her voice.

Eloise shook her head again, her frizzy curls bouncing around her face and sticking to her tears, "George. I said no to Maxwell because I think I'm in love with George. I don't think I'll ever stop and it hurts."

"Oh, Merlin." Verity muttered as she pulled Eloise in tighter.

"I don't think I'll ever get over him, Ver. Merlin, I want to. I don't want to feel like this anymore."

"Shh, I know," she cooed, "I'm going to go find Charlie and tell him to cover for me so we can go home, alright?"

Eloise nodded, loosening the grip on Verity's blazer she didn't even realize she had been holding so tightly. Verity picked herself up off the ground and grabbed the clipboard off of the floor before making her way out of the storage room.

She closed the door gently behind her as she glanced around the sales floor in search of her boyfriend. A glimpse of dark curly red hair could be seen in the WonderWitch section, but she knew that if George was still behind the counter she'd have to pass him in order to get to Charlie. Maybe if she could sneak around the toy section, she'd be able to get past him unseen. But of course, that wasn't the case.

George had been waiting for any sign of her or Eloise ever since the crying blonde came in. The man was worried sick about the state of her and just wanted to know what happened.

"Verity!"

The petite blonde cursed under her breath before turning to face her boss, "Yes?"

George lowered his voice immediately, "Is she okay? Can you tell me what's going on?"

"She'll be alright and no." she said bluntly.

George's jaw clenched slightly but he quickly relaxed as he ran his hand through his hair, "I'm just worried about her, do you think I could help? Is she still in the storage room?"

"No!" she shouted suddenly, desperately wanting to prevent Eloise any more pain. If George went into that room, Verity knew it would be a disaster.

George widened his eyes at her sudden outburst but as he parted his lips to object, Verity interrupted him, "I'm sorry but you can't help, not right now. I just need to get her home, okay? I was going to tell Charlie to cover for me so I can take care of her but since you caught me, you can handle it now."

The clipboard Verity had in her hands had just been thrust suddenly into George's stomach. Reluctantly, he took it from her grasp only to helplessly watch as she rushed back to the storage room before he could even hope to stop her.

When Verity returned, she found Eloise trying in vain to fix her makeup in the warped reflection of a Decoy Detonator. The blonde whipped her head towards the door but relaxed at the sight of Verity as she let out a sigh.

"I look like a mess."

Verity tilted her head slightly and chuckled, "A bit, yeah."

"You're not going to make me walk out there are you?" Eloise asked, feeling somewhat childish for wanting to avoid George.

But Verity merely shook her head understandingly, "No, we can disapparate from in here if you like."

"Yes, please."

"Okay," Verity said, pulling her wand from the bun in her hair, "Hold on tight to me, I don't want to make your night worse by splinching you."

If Eloise had gripped onto Verity's hand any tighter, she was sure the witch would lose all circulation but she didn't seem to mind. With a quick crack, the two of them finally landed inside of their flat. Simon, who had been napping in the window sill, let out a hiss at their sudden arrival but quickly relaxed and fell back asleep when he realized it was just the girls.

"Should I make you some tea? Did you eat dinner? I can cook something up real fast." Verity offered once Eloise had released her hand and regained her bearings.

Even though their feet were planted on solid Earth, Eloise still felt like her world was shaken.

"I think I just want to go to bed and pretend this night never happened."

Verity gave her a sympathetic nod, "Well, if you change your mind, let me know."

"Thank you Verity, you really are an incredible friend."

"You're so sappy, go get some rest." Verity ordered with a laugh.

Eloise really did mean it. When the girls had first met, she never realized how close the two of them would eventually become. They were practically sisters now, which was a bond she'd only ever shared before with Fleur.

While Fleur would likely remain the most important person in her life until the day she died, Verity was her family now and the only person she felt safe enough with to confess her deepest feelings to in her most vulnerable moment. Their friendship was something she'd never take for granted. No matter what became of her relationship with George, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that what she had with Verity would last forever.