Christmas Day 1998
"Are you coming to the Burrow with us, Elle?" Fleur asked as Eloise trudged into the kitchen, still wearing her pajamas beneath her robe and letting out a big yawn. She was up late wrapping gifts at the last minute and it was quite obvious by the sleepy look in her eyes and the frizzy curls on her head going in every direction that she hadn't fully woken up yet.
She shook her head, partially to deny their invitation and partially to shake herself awake, "I was planning on taking the Floo Network to my parent's house, actually. I suppose I forgot to mention it."
"Surely you could stop by for a little while. I know mum would be thrilled to see you, and George as well." Bill said as he shot a knowing wink at her.
Eloise was much too tired to humor Bill with a reaction, clearly Fleur had rubbing off on him, "No, I told mum and dad I'd be there for brunch. But I do have gifts for everyone I want you to take. I'll be right back."
Bill and Fleur shot a look at one another as Eloise sleepily climbed the stairs again and made her way to her bedroom. She had delicately wrapped everyone's gifts with paper in colors she felt reminded her of them. Molly's was wrapped in a deep plum color just like her birthday gift, Percy's was in a sleek grey, Charlie's in an emerald green, Ginny's in a fiery crimson, and so on for the rest of the Weasleys, even Harry and Hermione had their own uniquely wrapped gifts. The only unwrapped gift was George's, but what she was giving him didn't make much sense to wrap.
Knowing the box would be much too heavy to carry with her arms, she reached for her wand that was laying on the side table and gave it a quick flick to levitate the box off the ground. She lazily walked back out into the hallway and down the stairs before floating the box to the kitchen island in front of Bill and Fleur.
Within the box of gifts Eloise had set in front of the couple laid an empty firewhisky bottle with a roll of parchment stuck inside, much like a message in the bottle one would be excited to find washed up on the beach. Though, compared to all the colorful and perfectly wrapped presents, the bottle stood out as odd to even the most unperceptive eyes.
"What are you up to, Elle?" Fleur asked quizzically as she eyed the bottle.
"What do you mean?"
Fleur bent over slightly and grabbed the bottle from the box, holding it up to the blonde in front of her who seemed quite confused by her question.
"What's this?"
"George's gift." Eloise replied in a serious tone.
"Is it a joke?"
"Yes and no." she answered as she tilted her head to the side with a slight smirk.
"Why are you giving him an empty bottle for Christmas?" Bill asked.
"It's not empty, there's a message inside!" Eloise pointed out, as if it all should have been obvious to the couple.
"Why couldn't you owl him a Christmas card instead of giving it to him in a bottle?" Fleur interjected.
"Because it's not a Christmas card." Eloise replied impatiently, she was not prepared for an early morning interrogation, much less on Christmas Day.
"So what is it then?" Bill raised his eyebrow at her.
"I can't tell you that." she shook her head with an innocent smile on her face.
"You're giving him a message in a bottle for Christmas then." Bill said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, exactly." she nodded.
"Any particular reason?" Fleur continued her line of questioning
"It's what he asked for." Eloise shrugged.
"He asked you to roll up a piece of parchment and put it in a bottle for us to deliver to him on Christmas Day?" Fleur asked as she narrowed her eyes at her friend.
"Well... not in those exact words, no. But he did ask for what I'm giving him."
"Alright Eloise, whatever you say." Bill chuckled.
"Maybe you two really are meant for each other, you're both quite strange." Fleur said bluntly.
Eloise merely rolled her eyes at her friend's comment, "Please Fleur, it's Christmas. Can't you bear to not tease me for a single day, as your gift to me? The bottle is just a little inside joke between friends, nothing more."
Fleur smiled slightly, "But if I did that, I would have to return the actual gift I got for you."
The slender blonde witch reached into the pocket of her dressing gown and pulled out a small grey box, topped with a sparkling silver bow. Fleur set the box on the island between her and Eloise, who looked back and forth from the box to Fleur for a moment as if she was trying to figure out what it could be before opening it. While Eloise was always keen to give gifts, being on the receiving end of them sometimes made her feel a little awkward, she was much more of a giver than a taker.
Eventually, she picked up the gift and glanced up at Fleur who gave her an encouraging nod. As she undid the bow and pulled off the lid, she found a small golden key laying in dark purple tissue paper. Eloise felt her heart inside her throat as she looked between Bill and Fleur, each of whom had kind smiles on their faces.
"What's this?" Eloise asked quietly, though she had a hunch, she needed to hear it from the couple.
"It's a key to our cottage, though we don't typically need keys of course. It's more of a symbol, really." Bill replied.
"We want you to stay. It's our invitation to stay, both of us agreed that we love having you here." Fleur continued.
Eloise instinctively shook her head, "Oh, but I couldn't."
"We know you've been going back and forth on whether you should move back to France or not, so consider this your sign to stay in England." Bill reassured her.
"You don't need to stay with us forever, but we do think you should stay in England. Besides, Shell Cottage will always be your home no matter what." Fleur said, reaching across the counter for Eloise's hand.
Tears welled up in Eloise's eyes as she took her friend's hand. Bill and Fleur had been so accommodating over the last several months of her stay, recently she was beginning to feel guilty and like she had far overstayed her welcome. The fact that they called their own home that they were starting their family in, her home, brought out more emotions than she had anticipated. Bill and Fleur didn't just consider Eloise to be their guest or their friend, she was their family. Fleur released Eloise's hand as she moved around the kitchen island to pull her into a tight hug. Bill walked around the other side to rub a comforting hand on Eloise's back.
"You have always been my sister, Elle. You left everything behind for me this past summer, I can never thank you enough for that." Fleur whispered into her friend's hair.
"I would do anything for you Fleur, you know that." Eloise replied as she pulled away to look into her eyes.
"Merlin, it's a good thing neither of us had gotten ready yet. Could you imagine the mascara mess we would have created?" Fleur laughed as she wiped away the tears streaming down her own face.
"You'd both still be beautiful." Bill said kindly.
"You are indeed so charming, my love." Fleur turned to her husband and placed a gentle hand against his cheek, "But you have always been a horrible liar."
Eloise let out a loud laugh at Fleur's comment but Bill just gave her a loving smile in return. Maybe his smile was him silently telling her that he genuinely would still find her beautiful with mascara streaks running down her face, but Fleur merely narrowed her eyes at her husband before raising herself onto her tip-toes to place a soft peck on his lips.
Eloise loved the dynamic between the two of them, and she truly did wish she was able to join them at the Burrow for Christmas. All of the Weasleys had quickly become like her second family since moving away from home. But she promised her parents when she left over the summer that she would stay with them from Christmas to New Year's and she couldn't break that promise now, not when she felt so guilty for leaving them behind so suddenly five months ago.
-
George and Charlie had decided to stay the night of Christmas Eve in the Burrow. Partially because it felt redundant to have dinner with the family and go back to the flat for bed, just to return to the Burrow early the following morning. But also because Molly all but begged everyone to stay the night. The woman thrived when she was taking care of a full house and no one had the heart to reject her, not even George.
George was up before sunrise, but unlike his childhood, it wasn't for pure excitement over the holiday, it was because he had been sleeping like rubbish for the past seven months. Charlie had suggested several times that he try using a dreamless sleep potion, but he honestly didn't want to because, although rare, the good dreams he had really were something he didn't want to part with.
Most nights were filled with tossing and turning and the occasional nightmare, but when he had good dreams about pranks he and Fred had done together, playing quidditch, or the day they bought the store, they really did make George happy. That is, until he woke up to a reality that was much more cruel. George knew the potion would no doubt help him sleep better, but he didn't want to give up on experiencing those memories again within his dreams. Regardless of them not happening very often and even though the disappointment of waking up sometimes hurt more than the nightmares, he couldn't let go of the chance of seeing Fred again.
George found his way to the armchair in the living room, sinking into the old cushions as he mindlessly watched the lights flickering on the Christmas tree. He was so zoned out that he hadn't heard the sound of footsteps entering the room.
"Happy Christmas, George!" Ginny exclaimed from the doorway into the lounge.
George jumped at the sound and whipped his head around to look at the source of the voice, "Merlin, Gin! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
Ginny plopped down on the sofa across from George and pulled her feet up so she was sitting cross-legged facing him, "Consider it payback for all the times you and Fred snuck up on me over the years." she smirked.
"What are you doing up this early anyway?" he asked with a slight frown.
"I could ask you the same." Ginny replied as she leaned her elbow against the armrest and set her chin in her hand.
"I don't sleep well anymore." George muttered.
Ginny nodded, knowing exactly why George had been having trouble sleeping, "I don't sleep well either. Hermione told me smelling lavender helps her, she says it has a calming effect. Apparently muggles are really into breathing in things that make them calm, I think she mentioned eucalyptus is another one. It all sounds rather bizarre to me, I should write to Nev and see what he has to say about it."
George didn't feel much like making small talk, especially not over muggle remedies for getting better sleep. So he let a moment of silence fall between the two and returned to absent-mindedly watching the lights on the tree flickering. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Ginny decided to speak up again.
"Can I give you your gift now?" she asked, in a slightly more serious tone.
"Why now?" he asked, turning his head away from the tree and back to his sister.
"Just trust me."
George let out a sigh and nodded, "Alright."
Ginny stood from the sofa and kneeled down under the tree, digging through the pile of gifts until she found the one she was looking for. She handed George a rather ordinary looking gift, messily wrapped in plain brown paper and tied together with twine. Though George really didn't mind the appearance of it, Ginny felt the need to explain herself.
"I've never been the best at wrapping, you know that. Reckon I am better than Ron, though." she smiled nervously.
George gently pulled the twine and peeled back the brown paper to reveal a set of crimson robes embroidered at the top with the name 'WEASLEY' with a large golden '5' underneath. It was Fred's quidditch robes from their time at Hogwarts. George slowly ran his fingers over the embroidery, letting the feeling of the stitches linger on his skin as if he could somehow absorb part of Fred into his soul if he held on long enough.
Though it had been around two and a half years since they left school, he could have sworn he could still smell the scent of gunpowder, smoke, and broom polish on the fabric as if Fred had just worn them yesterday. A tear trickled from his eye as he gazed at the gift he had been given by his sister, he couldn't form any words, he was utterly speechless.
"Didn't take as much convincing for McGonagall to part with it as I thought it would. You know how they typically just charm a new name onto the robes when new players cycle in, of course. But when I asked her, she didn't even hesitate. Gotta love Minnie." Ginny said with a sympathetic smile, now sitting on the arm of the chair George was in.
"Oh Gin... Thank you." George whispered, not breaking his eyes away from his new most prized possession.
-
The late morning of Christmas Day at the Burrow was bustling with excitement, thanks to everyone home under one roof and the various owls sporadically flying in and out to drop off Christmas cards and gifts from friends, it truly was quite the commotion. It was the kind of ruckus that made George feel rather stressed and like he'd much rather be having a quiet Christmas alone in his own flat.
Matters were only made worse for George when his only potential source of holiday spirit was crushed by Fleur and Bill entering the front door without Eloise. He had gotten his hopes up that she would come to Christmas based solely on the knowledge that she had bought the entire family gifts. But as he spotted the large box filled to the brim with beautifully wrapped presents in Bill's arms, he realized Eloise really wasn't coming after all. He began tapping his fingers impatiently against the arm of the chair, trying to decide if 10:30 in the morning was too early to start drinking, when a very pregnant and very mischievous Fleur appeared in front of him.
"Joyeux Noël, George." Fleur said with a grin.
George glanced up at her and merely gave her a nod, rather than wishing her a happy Christmas in return. Bill joined the two in the living room as he bent over to set the box of Eloise's gifts next to the tree.
"You'll have to explain the gift Eloise's got for you to us later." Bill said as he stood back up, brushing his long hair away from his face.
"What's that supposed to mean?" George asked with a raised eyebrow.
Bill had a slight smirk on his face as he quickly glanced at his wife before turning back to his younger brother, "Let's just say it doesn't seem like a very traditional gift."
"Elle is quite creative, you should ask her to help you come up with ideas for the shop." Fleur let out a light chuckle.
George's face didn't show any signs of amusement at the couple's banter, and quite frankly he was worried about what her gift could possibly be. He hoped she hadn't gone overboard, especially when he already felt guilty enough that she wanted to give him a gift in the first place.
All he had gotten for her was the leather bound journal she had picked up in the stationary store. He returned to the store a few weeks after their visit to get it for her and even decided to charm it to have her initials embossed on the spine in colors that changed depending on her mood. It was probably the most creative thing he had done since before the battle.
But even then, he felt it was a lousy gift. Trying to find something he thought she would enjoy only proved how little the two actually knew each other. Or at least, how little George had paid attention to her beyond how beautiful he thought she was.
As silly as it seemed, he considered truly getting to know Eloise to be his New Year's resolution. It would take a lot of willpower, seeing as how easy he found it to distance himself from people. But resolutions typically were never the easiest goals to accomplish anyways. It seemed like resolutions were almost designed to be given up on after a month or so, but George was trying not to think about that.
"Suppose we should have him open it now?" Bill raised an eyebrow at Fleur with a mischievous grin on his lips.
Fleur nodded, "Yes, that's probably for the best. The last thing we want is the entire family questioning him about it. Even I am not cruel enough to put you through that."
Anxiety grew in his chest at Fleur's comment, what in Merlin's name could Eloise have gotten him? Was it really peculiar enough that it would have raised curiosity within his entire family?
Bill bent over to retrieve the bottle from the box and held it out to his brother.
"She got me firewhisky? That's it?" George asked, calming down almost immediately.
Though he tried his best not to drink often, firewhisky was in fact his favorite and Eloise had seemed to notice. He found it thoughtful that she took the time to note the things he liked during their interactions. It was much more than he could say for himself, he tended to be quite oblivious when he was in one of his moods, as he focused much more on keeping himself guarded than paying attention to anyone else.
Bill chuckled slightly, "No, there's no alcohol in the bottle."
"Then what's in it?"
"Just take it." Bill encouraged, shaking the bottle slightly.
George grabbed the firewhisky bottle from his brother's grasp and inspected it for a moment, spotting the rolled up piece of parchment through the dark brown glass. He glanced up at the couple, equally as confused as they had been when Eloise came downstairs with it earlier that morning.
Curiosity took over as he pulled the cork away from the lip of the bottle and stuck his finger inside the neck to retrieve the message. It took a moment to get his hands it but once it was out, he felt a sudden surge of excitement. He slowly unrolled the note in his fingers and saw Eloise's beautiful writing in deep navy colored ink.
"Dear George,
You are firewhisky.
Happy Christmas!
Elle"
George's brows knit into a slight frown as he read over her short message, as he became quite confused. He was firewhisky? What the hell does that mean? But then he suddenly remembered their trip to the stationary shop on Diagon Alley at the beginning of November and the little cat and mouse game the two had played.
At the realization, George let out a hearty laugh and pocketed the note for safe keeping. Though he didn't know exactly what she meant by him being firewhisky, he was quite delighted by the idea and equally as curious to hear her reasoning. Coincidentally, Fleur seemed quite curious herself, having become slightly annoyed that she didn't get a glance at the note and Bill noticed the change in his wife's demeanor immediately.
"So, are you going to tell us what it said?" Bill asked casually as he stuck his hands in the pockets of his slacks.
"Not a chance." he replied, turning to glance at Fleur who he knew would be the most annoyed of the two of them for being left in the dark.
Fleur let out an impatient huff and parted her lips to give George a piece of her mind when they were interrupted by the sound of Molly's voice calling from this kitchen.
"Breakfast is ready everyone! Get in here before it gets cold."
George quickly turned to exit the living room before stopping in the doorway momentarily to look back at his sister-in-law, "Happy Christmas, Fleur." he said with a victorious grin, causing the pregnant witch to scowl in return.
Bill approached his wife and gently rested a hand on the small of her back, "I'm sure Elle will tell you what it said eventually. Let George have this one."
Fleur sighed and rolled her eyes in response to Bill's comment. Although she didn't like it, she knew Bill was right. George seemed quite happy with the strange gift Eloise had given him and Fleur knew that her nosiness would take away from his mood, so she agreed with Bill to let it go, at least for now.