wandmaker | charlie weasley

16

She thundered down the steps, through the thankfully deserted shop, and out into the hectic lunchtime throngs of the Alley. Primrose's was built at the opposite end of the street, a few storefronts away from WWW. She waved cheerfully at Bill, who was wiping the windows from the inside, as she passed by and headed into the tiny cafe.

She joined Charlie at the small round table next to the window and took a moment after greeting him to observe the restaurant. While it wasn't bright pink, it was oddly reminiscent of Madame Puddifoot's in Hogsmeade. She found herself wondering why Ginny Weasley of all witches would be frequenting the obnoxious restaurant. The interior was white and lacy, with gauzy curtains and doilies under the plates. Floral teacups were on each table, and vases of flowers covered every surface.

"Quite the place, huh?" Charlie chuckled awkwardly.

"Ginny could not stop talking about how amazing it is, so it must have good food. Right?" She wasn't confident, but Ginny wasn't the type to put up with this nonsensical decor.

Charlie smirked at her, taking a sip from his magically filled teacup. "I think we've been played."

"What? Why would she—" It dawned on her. Oh, that witch. "They're all so ridiculous." Charlie had mentioned previously that his family, now, in addition to Kiera, was trying to get the two of them together, much to Eloise's chagrin. She had made sure to avoid all eye contact as he mentioned that a few nights prior.

"Do you think she realizes that this isn't quite our thing?" He laughed, and she joined him.

"And what exactly is our thing?"

It was then that the waitress approached, a bored looking girl around Eloise's age. She noticeably perked up when she saw the handsome Weasley man.

"What can I get for you?" she asked him breathlessly. Eloise wasn't sure if she was imagining the hearts in her eyes or not.

"I think we need a minute," he replied, not even looking up from his menu. While the waitress now seemed dismayed at the lack of attention, Eloise felt her heart flutter when he tore his eyes away to grin at her.

"The names of the dishes are all in another language. Looks like Russian," he laughed.

"Well, let's each pick something and hope for the best?"

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed.

"Ginny is such a git." Charlie shook his head, and waved for the waitress, who had been staring out of the corner of her eye, to come back over. They both pointed at something on the lengthy list of meals, and she sauntered off to put their orders in.

"So what is 'our thing?'" she asked again, meeting his eyes when he looked up abruptly.

"Oh you know. Butterbeers at the Leaky. Or eating in on your sofa. None of this nonsense!"

She felt her heart sink at that. While Primrose's wasn't the kind of place she enjoyed going, what Charlie described was just two mates hanging out. Nothing that could be considered romantic in any way.

"Right," she replied. "So have you gotten any updates from Romania?"

She changed the subject, letting Charlie tell her all about Norberta's latest incident with one of the Hungarian Horntails. As he spoke, she couldn't help but dwell on what he had said. She didn't expect him to want to go on a date with her. However, it did hurt that he didn't see her in that way in the slightest!

"Hey. Ellie."

"Hm?" she snapped her gaze back to her friend. He must've realized that she'd zoned out, and she became flustered at getting caught. "Sorry, just thinking about a letter I got today."

Charlie took another sip of his tea, and she could sense that his interest was piqued.

"It was just from my grandmother," Eloise explained, burying her lie in a bit of truth.

"Oh? Everything alright?" he asked kindly, worry evident on his face.

"Yeah, just a birthday note."

She realized her mistake as soon as she heard the clatter of fine china as his cup was slammed against the saucer.

"Excuse me? It's your birthday?" She had never seen Charlie look so deeply offended. It was as if she had kicked his puppy.

She ducked her head. "Yeah, I must've mentioned that," she told him, knowing full well she hadn't.

"No, Ellie, you didn't." He looked around again at the frilly restaurant and sighed. He stood up, slamming a few galleons on the table, saying, "Come on."

She looked up at him, bewildered. They had just arrived at the restaurant! "What? Why?"

"We're not wasting your birthday at this place."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her hurriedly out of the cutesy restaurant. As they passed by the joke shop, Charlie slowed to shed his casual robe that he wore over muggle clothes, gesturing for her to do the same, leaving her in jeans and a ratty old Weird Sisters shirt. It was a good thing she'd chosen to wear muggle clothing under her robes today, because she had no idea what was going through Charlie's mind.

"What are you doing?" she asked cautiously as he opened the door and tossed the robes to Bill, who looked on curiously from where he was waiting to greet customers.

"We're going out into Muggle London!" he took off, leaving her standing on the step, but soon doubled back, sheepishly. "I don't have any Muggle money, hang on!"

He ran into the shop, leaving her outside. She stepped in to ask Bill, "Why would Charlie want to go into Muggle London?"

Bill looked thoughtful. "He used to disappear with Danielle whenever we'd go shopping here. I always speculated that he went out into the Muggle world, but I wasn't sure. Mum would've thrown a fit if she'd known."

She thanked him as Charlie thundered through the shop towards her, not stopping as he again grabbed her hand and dragged her back out into the Alley.

"Charlie! Slow down!"

Her request finally clicked for him and he slowed to a very brisk pace as the went through the Leaky and out into the city.

She looked around wildly, since it had been ages since she'd been out of the Alley and into the city that millions of people called home. It was definitely less whimsical out there, that's for sure.

"Sorry, I'm just really excited! I can't believe you didn't mention that it's your birthday!" he complained as the almost sprinted down the sidewalk.

"I don't usually celebrate my birthday," she explained. "Wait, while we're on the subject, when is yours?"

"The twelfth of December. Come on, this way," he said. They crossed the street and he dragged her into a rugged looking building, not allowing her any time to catch what was written on the sign outside.

"Welcome, Ellie, to one of my favorite places in England."