A week and a half had passed since Eloise's twenty second birthday. Ten whole days of George trying to convince himself he hadn't actually heard Eloise say she loved him in her sleep.

Truly, the rest of the trip to Paris was wonderful. The two walked hand in hand as she showed him all of her favorite cafés, they strolled together through parks she visited growing up, and she took him to the bookstore she worked in just before moving to England. All of the memories she wanted to share with him, as if she was making up for all the lost years of not knowing each other.

Despite this, what George thought he had overheard Eloise say in her slumber was constantly in the back of his mind. He tried to keep the thought closed behind several locked doors, attempting to make it more difficult for himself to dwell on it.

It was self preservation, in all honesty. Things with Eloise were going so well, he didn't want anything complicating it so early on. The truth was far too scary for him to face. If she did truly love him, he honestly didn't know how he'd react.

Of course deep down he knew he loved her too - perhaps more deeply than he'd ever willingly admit. But the thought of acknowledging it when he had no idea what their future held felt far too dangerous. It was as if they were both balancing on a tightrope, trying to keep the other steady. A profession of love felt like it might be the one thing that would force them to topple over.

So instead, he never inquired and it remained a mystery. It was a case that George willingly let grow cold as his curiosity only peaked when he allowed his thoughts to fester in the middle of the night as she slept soundly beside him. Countless nights were spent staring at the ceiling, thinking. He couldn't decipher whether it was his body becoming immune to the sleeping draught or his fear of hearing the words leave her lips once more that kept him up.

Ten days, and life had since returned to relative normalcy. The only notable blemish on their quite ordinary return to England were the panicked letters George had occasionally received from Ron - which he was almost certain were actually dictated to him by Hermione.

The occasional thought of Eloise's potential love for him as well as his younger brother's upcoming nuptials had him feeling even more on edge than normal recently.

"He's asking me if I've picked up my suit from Madam Malkin's again." George huffed on the Thursday evening before the wedding, "I already told him I picked it up on Monday."

Eloise looked up from the book she was reading, seeing George frown at the parchment in his hands as he read over the letter once more, "I'm sure he just wants to make sure everything goes right on Saturday."

"Yeah, well, he'll be lucky if I even show up at the rate he keeps bothering me."

A frown fell on Eloise's face as she closed the book and set it aside, "Don't be that way."

George mumbled something unintelligible under his breath before glancing up at Eloise, "I'm kind of dreading this whole thing if I'm being honest."

She furrowed her brows, "It'll be a lovely day, by what Fleur has told me. A beach wedding in the middle of June sounds perfect."

George didn't respond right away, of course Eloise wouldn't understand. The woman was a hopeless romantic. She didn't have any hang ups when it came to commitment like he did. A bitter jealousy grew inside George's heart, jealous of Eloise's ability to see the bright side of things when, in his mind, the upcoming ceremony filled him with nothing but dread. Resentment taking control of his fingers caused George to crumple up Ron's letter. Without another word to Eloise, he quickly disappeared into his bedroom.

Eloise sat there quite bewildered. She knew he had been feeling stressed, but leaving in a huff over a letter seemed a bit over the top. Something else was clearly bothering him, but she sat in his living room for a while longer trying to decide whether it was worth going after him or not. After about five minutes of a silent debate taking place in her mind, Eloise finally stood up and decided to knock on his door.

"Come in." he said plainly, as if he was expecting her to come after him eventually.

Eloise cracked the door open and stuck her head in, "Do you want to talk about it?"

A dismissive snort escaped from George as he leaned back in his desk chair and swiveled around to face her, "Not particularly."

Opening the door the rest of the way, Eloise leaned against the frame observing him for a moment. The mask of anger he wore proudly was all to protect his fragile heart. If only he'd allow Eloise to pull it away.

"Well, you can't skip your brother's wedding, so I think we should get whatever is bothering you off your chest."

George rolled his eyes and swiveled around again, forcing her to gaze at the back of his head as he silently seethed. Eloise's feet remained firmly planted in the doorframe. Entering the room almost felt like entering a battle she wasn't ready for, so she stood and waited.

Eventually, George let out a frustrated sigh and spun around once more, "I don't want to go to their wedding. I don't even want them to get married. I don't want anyone to move on without Fred. There, are you happy?"

As soon as the words left his lips, he knew how ridiculous he sounded. However, Eloise didn't look at him judgmentally, she simply decided to break the silent barrier between them as she stepped into his room and took a seat on the edge of his bed.

"Fred will still be there." she started.

"Don't do that." he dismissed as he shook his head, "Don't do the 'he is always watching over you' thing, I'm not in the mood for it." he retorted in a poor imitation of her accent.

Ignoring his tone, Eloise continued, "I don't think Fred would want you to-"

"You didn't know him, Eloise. You have absolutely no idea what he'd want, so just stop." he interrupted sharply.

Without another word, Eloise had decided to raise up the white flag. It felt like no use trying to convince George that Ron and Hermione weren't getting married to spite him. So, she stood from the bed - silently surrendering from the war before it had even begun.

As she took a step towards the door, she heard George let out a sigh. It was clear that he knew he should apologize to her, he was upset beyond words but he knew he was out of line. None of this was Eloise's fault. However, he remained silent as she began to leave the room.

"I'll be here at eight on Saturday." she said with her back to him, "And reply to Ron, please. Give them some peace of mind."

"Peace of mind." he muttered with a scoff as Eloise reached for the door.

"I think Saturday will be difficult for everyone, mon chéri, not just you." she said as she paused, glancing over her shoulder at him.

George looked at her plainly as she continued.

"Ron and Hermione loved Fred too, your whole family will be thinking of him. So if Ron is asking about the suit again, at least give him the comfort of knowing it's all sorted."

All he did was nod at her with his jaw slightly clenched. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew she was right. Before she could pull the door closed behind her, he finally muttered a reluctant apology.

"Sorry, Elle."

"I know. I'll see you Saturday morning." she said softly, and then the door was closed.

-

Ron and Hermione's wedding fell on the seventeenth of June, on what must have been the most cloudless day of the English summer. As Eloise walked down the cobblestone sidewalk on Diagon Alley towards the joke shop, she knew that Hermione must have breathed a sigh of relief at the weather when she awoke that morning.

As excited as she was to attend the ceremony that afternoon, Eloise felt a bit nervous about how George would handle the day. It was difficult to predict his demeanor at times. Some days were admittedly much better than others. Usually she was able to make a guess based on his mood the night before, but the two of them had barely spoken since Thursday. From what she had heard from Verity, he had been very short tempered at work and while the news didn't please Eloise, it also didn't shock her.

Ever since the day after her birthday, he had been acting a bit distant with her on occasion. So his outburst on Thursday evening didn't truly take her by surprise. She tried to tell herself that it was due to his stress over the wedding and nothing that she had done. When Ron first brought up the idea of merely getting engaged to Hermione, George reacted poorly and she of course knew that. Surely that had to have been the cause, because she couldn't think of anything in particular she had done to upset him.

When she walked into his flat that morning she found not only Charlie, but also George already dressed in their deep plum suits that Hermione had chosen for them. Verity too was there, trying to tame Charlie's curls with little success. She couldn't help but think the only reason George was out of bed at all was because of the persistence of the woman straightening Charlie's tie.

"It's 'bout time you showed up." Charlie beamed when he saw Eloise walk in.

"I'm only five minutes late." she huffed.

"Better late than never, right George?" Verity asked pointedly, making Eloise believe that there must have been some resistance from him to get ready that morning.

George merely grumbled indifferently at her before glancing over to Eloise. The usual look of admiration in his eyes was instead replaced with that of mourning. He quickly took his eyes off her, as if he couldn't even stomach seeing her dressed up for his little brother's wedding. As though Verity could read George's mind, she quickly tightened Charlie's tie a bit too tight eliciting a gasp from the man and grabbed her clutch from the table.

"Let's go, I just remembered Fleur needed some last minute help with the flowers."

"Oh uh, alright." Charlie replied with no further questions as he loosened the silk noose-like tie from around his throat.

Verity shot Eloise a sympathetic smile before she grabbed Charlie's hand and disapparated the two of them with a crack!

When they were alone, George glanced over at Eloise once more, "You look beautiful, y'know."

The compliment came out almost reluctantly, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

The weak smile that had formed on his lips was nearly enough to hide his sorrow, but Eloise could see right through him, "You clean up rather nice yourself, mon chéri."

A half-hearted chuckle fell from his lips as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked as he pulled away.

The wedding party was meant to be there ready to go at nine, which truly meant quarter 'til in Hermione's world. Even though the ceremony itself wasn't until noon, the bride's way was law that day. Tardiness would not be tolerated. But, as the clock ticked closer and closer to the dreaded hour, George seemed more reserved than ever.

"No." he answered honestly.

Eloise reached up to cup both sides of his freshly shaven face, looking at him intently as her thumbs ghosted over his freckles, "I'll be there with you all day, it'll be okay."

George looked at her intensely and parted his lips as if he wanted to say something more. Instead, he pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her tightly as if she was oxygen and he was struggling to breathe. After being momententarily caught off guard, she reciprocated and held onto him just as tightly, as if to let him know that she needed him just as much.

"You're too good to me." he muttered, his voice muffled as he buried his face in her hair.

Eloise pulled away slightly to gaze up into his eyes and she smiled, "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm just enough for you and you're just enough for me."

Standing on her toes, she pressed a quick peck to his lips to prevent any further objections from him. After wiping her thumb against his lips to remove the rouge tint she had transferred to him, Eloise glanced at the clock over his shoulder. The inevitable was approaching faster than either of them had anticipated.

"We should get going." she urged as she took a step away from him.

George hesitated. His jaw tensed up slightly, but after a moment he nodded reluctantly and picked his wand up from the kitchen table. With a strong yet gentle grip on Eloise's waist and the sound of a crack, the two apparated just outside of Shell Cottage.

Other she had gathered her bearings, Eloise took a moment to glance towards the beach. On the shore stood an archway adorned with white and purple flowers. Dozens of chairs sat in rows awaiting guests to be seated. Lanterns filled with ivory candles floated along the aisle illuminating the sand in a warm glow despite the bright summer sun.

George, however, kept a determined gaze on the door to the house, not having any interest in seeing the wedding venue. The only thing that brought Eloise's attention towards the cottage was the chipper sound of Verity's voice.

"They're waiting on you, y'know. Better get in there before Granger goes all Bridezilla on everyone thinking you decided to skip the wedding." Verity teased, tucking a strand of white blonde hair behind her ear.

The girl had her hands on her hips, smirking up at George who looked less than pleased with her demeanor. From the open window of the cottage, Eloise could that tell not only bride was fretting about the day, but Molly, Fleur, and a women she could only assume to be Hermione's mother as well. Their distant voices were easily recognizable and Eloise was certain she saw all four women bustling about and passing by the window at least five times each since she and George had arrived.

George let out a sigh and glanced down at Eloise.

"I'll be out here with Verity if you need me." she assured him, recognizing the look in his eyes immediately.

All he did in response was nod and shift past Verity into the house. The blondes watched him leave and once the door was closed, Verity leaned towards Eloise.

"Bit unpleasant today, isn't he?"

Eloise shuffled awkwardly in place, "I'm sure Charlie told you how he reacted to the idea of Ron proposing, he never liked the idea of this wedding. I'm surprised he said yes when Ron asked him to be a groomsman."

"Well, I think he knew both Molly and Hermione would hex him if he said no."

When her joke didn't earn even the most miniscule of cluckles, Verity finally turned her attention to Eloise, "How are you doing?"

"Me? I'm fine." Eloise responded, somewhat taken aback by the attention on her.

"You sure? He's not making the day a drag, is he?"

Eloise pursed her lips and glanced away. Rather than answering right away, she instead brought her gaze back towards the beach where she saw Arthur holding Victoire, letting her play with the flowers on the wedding arch.

"Eloise? Are you sure you're okay? Don't let George's mood ruin your fun."

She finally turned back toward Verity, "It's hard. I mean, I can't expect him to pretend to be happy when he's not, can I?"

"He could fake it if he really wanted to." Verity shrugged.

"Let's talk about something else, like how beautiful the decorations Hermione picked out are."

Verity glanced towards the beach for a moment then brought her eyes back to Eloise. Thankfully, she quickly agreed and the two dropped the topic of George and instead made their way to where the ceremony would be held - admiring the flowers and chatting with Arthur and Hermione's father for a while. Mr. Granger seemed pleased to learn that Eloise had more of an understanding of the muggle world than Verity and Arthur did - if only to make the small talk between them much easier.

Soon, other guests began to arrive which signaled to everyone that the wedding would begin soon. If that wasn't hint enough, a clearly flustered Molly Weasley finally emerging from the house to find her own seat nearest the wedding arch certainly was.

Eloise and Verity decided to sit with Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell a few rows behind George's parents. It was clear to see how many people loved Ron and Hermione just from the amount of guests alone. Some Eloise had recognized from Verity's birthday party, others she recognized thanks to her job at the Ministry, many she had never met before but had seen pictures of in the Daily Prophet for their heroism in the war.

As soon as the music started, the chatter between the guests quieted down and everyone turned their attention towards the end of the aisle, anticipating the entrance of the wedding party at any moment.

First to appear was Ron, who walked down the aisle beside Kingsley Shacklebolt who had been kind enough to take time away from his busy schedule as interim Minister for Magic to preside over the ceremony. An audible blubber came from Molly at the sight of her youngest son taking his place beneath the arch of lilies and verbenas.

Ginny and Harry were next to walk together down the aisle, taking their place at the front as maid of honor and best man. Ron's brothers and Hermione's friends all followed suit, arm in arm. The only other bridesmaids Eloise recognized were Fleur, who walked in with George and Luna, who skipped happily down the aisle with her arm linked tightly to Percy's who looked less than pleased with being her escort.

The remainder of Hermione's friends Eloise assumed to be classmates from Hogwarts or perhaps coworkers from the Ministry. Either way, they all looked radiant in their periwinkle gowns.

Little Teddy Lupin, who was grasping onto Arthur's hand had changed his usual bright blue hair to a lovely shade of lavender to match the verbena's in the bouquets the bridesmaids were holding. In his other hand the little boy held a small ring box. Arthur was carrying Victoire in his other arm. The infant held a handful of white petals tightly in her tiny grip, not letting a single one fall, to the amusement of all the guests. Once the ring-bearer, flower girl, and their escort found their seats, it was finally time for the bride to make her appearance.

Kingsley's authoritative voice carried over the crowd as he asked everyone to stand for Hermione's arrival. When Eloise caught her first glimpse of the bride, she turned her head and kept her eyes on Ron. One of her favorite parts of weddings was watching the groom's reaction to seeing his bride for the first time. As Hermione walked towards him with her arm linked with her father's, holding a bouquet of lilies that were almost as pure white as the simple gown she had on, a single tear fell down Ron's cheek followed by the brightest smile Eloise thought she had ever seen.

When Hermione reached the front and Kingsley announced that everyone could return to their seats, Eloise glanced towards George. She found that he had been keeping his eyes on her the entire time, or at least it seemed that way. It was as if he was looking for a beacon of safety within a situation that was much too treacherous for him to face alone.

Ron and Hermione exchanged their handwritten vows, discussing the turmoil that had brought them together. Their love for one another had been the silver lining, the blessing in disguise that had come from years of hardship that a child should have never faced.

Tears were shed in the audience from both those who had seen many of the things the couple had faced firsthand and those who merely sympathized with the idea of finding love and hope after going through such an experience. Soon, their declaration of love was sealed with a kiss and they were man and wife. At that, Eloise caught Harry sneaking a wink at Ginny. George however, looked as though he may be sick or perhaps faint.

"Think he's alright?" she heard Katie whisper, as the crowd stood to clap for the newlyweds.

All Eloise did was look at George intently, silently beckon him to meet her gaze as if she could force him to hear her thoughts. Somehow, it seemed to work as he finally glanced her way. She mouthed a quick 'You're okay' to which he noticeably exhaled and nodded slightly.

He met Fleur in the middle just after Harry and Ginny made their exit. As she interlocked her arm with his, Eloise caught her leaning into him to say something, although she couldn't hear what. George's expression remained stoic as he walked Fleur back down the aisle towards Shell Cottage where the wedding party would remain as the beach was transformed from a ceremony site to the reception venue.

As the crowd slowly trickled away, soon socializing over complimentary cocktails as tables and centerpieces were conjured out of thin air, Eloise felt tempted to go after George. Of course she trusted Fleur and his brothers to take care of him, but that didn't quell any of her worry.

She couldn't help but want to be the one to make sure he was okay.