Learn to Love Again | George Weasley

43. Home Is Where the Heart Is

New Year's Day 2000

"Happy New Year, Elle."

"Happy New Year." she replied tentatively, the confusion in her voice escaped from her lips before she could even think to stop herself.

It was almost as if she were questioning her reality, almost not believing that George was really standing there, wondering if any of this was actually happening. But most of all she was curious as to why he decided to show up so suddenly and how he was able to convince Fleur to go along with it.

George's smile faded slightly as he looked away from Eloise and towards her parents, "Oh, uh. Bonjour," he started, "Je m'appelle George."

Fleur let out a snicker from behind him, causing him to look over his shoulder at her.

"They know English." she remarked with a smirk.

"Uh, right." he said as he cleared his throat and turned back towards them with a crooked smile, "I'm George, sorry for barging in like this. You have a lovely home."

The bewildered look on Colette and Patrick's face hadn't showed any signs of changing as Fleur walked up to them, "Let's catch up in the kitchen, I haven't seen you both in so long! I have pictures of Victoire in my bag if you'd like to see."

Corralling Eloise's parents into the other room was quite the easy feat all things considered. The two of them followed Fleur into the kitchen without objection, leaving George and Eloise alone, standing across the living room from each other.

He rocked on his heels awkwardly for a moment, almost as if he seemed unsure if he should move any closer to her. His right hand nervously played around with the firecracker in his pocket as he gazed at the girl who still had a confused expression on her face. It was clear that he hadn't thought out his plan beyond this point.

Of course the whole goal was to apologize for everything. Ever since their first kiss on his birthday their relationship had been a rollercoaster, a slow burning fire that eventually grew out of control before fizzling out and leaving only destruction behind.

But how could he possibly begin?

How could he ever put into words how he felt for her, how he felt about himself, how deeply he regretted every mistake he had made, how he wished he could be a better man?

"Could we step outside?" he asked as he gestured behind her.

"Oh, sure." she nodded and quickly turned around to unlatch the lock on the door.

The sound of fireworks suddenly grew louder as they stepped onto the balcony. The glow of gold and red danced on their faces as explosions of light decorated the sky. A haze of smoke dulled the colors ever so slightly but all Eloise could focus on was how the smell reminded her of George. Even if he weren't standing right beside her, she wondered if she would have been able to avoid the thought.

Everything around her seemed to be a reminder of him. The fireworks in the sky, the swans that swam in the Seine, her favorite blue cardigan, the three sugars she put in her tea every morning, the nail polish she wore on on her fingers. It was all George. No matter how badly she wanted to run away, it seemed like he would always be there.