Eloise was not looking forward to meeting the rest of Charlie's family. She had a busy week, and a busy month to come, and here she was finding time for Sunday dinner. She didn't mind, not really, but the thought of meeting her friend's mum made her terribly anxious for some reason.
Saturday night Eloise found herself up late finishing a few oak wands, and she was in a good rhythm and hadn't wanted to quit just because it was nearing two in the morning. So she stayed up, and the following morning she would pay.
A loud tapping noise woke her from her slumber. She groaned, lifting her head off of the rough surface of the workbench she had fallen asleep on. When she stretched, her bones cracked, and she cringed at the noise.
Spinning around, she found the source of the sound. An owl was at her window, rapping at the pane of glass and managing to look impatient. She hurried over, wincing as the sensation of pins and needles struck her sleeping feet.
She took the letter the owl held out for her, trading it for a treat from the jar she kept on her windowsill. She recognized it as Keira's owl, and she furrowed her brow.
Skimming it, she tried not to become upset. Eloise probably should have suspected that this was Keira's plan all along. While she had good intentions, Eloise couldn't help the twinge of annoyance that overcame her.
Keira had cancelled last minute, claiming that a last minute emergency practice was keeping her from attending. Eloise knew this wasn't the case, it was just a plan to get Charlie and her to spend more time together, but honestly!
Balling the letter up and tossing it on her bench wryly, she glanced down at her watch.
"Sweet Merlin!" she cried. She couldn't remember how late she had stayed up, but she had managed to sleep in until a quarter till one as a result! She had about fifteen minutes to get ready and floo over to the Burrow!
She sprinted out of the room and bound up the steps to her apartment, magically locking the door behind her, and ran into her room as quickly as she could. She had spent her afternoon break the day prior tidying up, so thankfully there were some clean clothes in her wardrobe for once.
She threw on a sundress, wondering if she would be overdressed then quickly disregarding the thought, deciding that she wouldn't have time to come up with anything better. She tore a brush through her messy hair and grimaced at the wood shavings stuck to her cheek before brushing them away. Charming her teeth clean and slipping on her ballet flats, she couldn't help but wish she had time for a shower.
Eloise hurried out into the living room, checking her watch again, and sighing in relief. Ready with five minutes to spare! she thought smugly. She smirked to herself for a moment before remembering where she was headed.
Dear Rowena Ravenclaw, she was going to meet the Weasleys.
She stepped into the fireplace, throwing down the floo powder and shakily proclaiming, "The Burrow."
As she sped past the grates of Wizarding London she tried not to imagine all of the worst case scenarios that were possible. That she would find the food inedible. That she'd dump the gravy boat on herself– no! That she'd dump it on Mrs. Weasley. That she'd accidentally insult their home!
She arrived in a flurry of soot and floo powder, and if there hadn't been a pair of freckled, well-muscled arms waiting to catch her, the lovely floo network probably would have just deposited her right onto their carpet.
Meeting Charlie's eyes and returning his kind smile, she felt a teensy tiny bit of her anxiety over the whole affair drifting away. Until she turned and saw a bunch of redheads eyeing her, of course.
"Hello," she breathed as she clutched both of his wrists.
"Hey, Ellie," he grinned, helping her stand upright and dusting a bit of ash off of her shoulder.
She straightened up and shuffled a bit behind him, trying to ignore the curious gazes of Charlie's family members. She noticed a lanky bespectacled boy next to Ron, and internally groaned. She was going to dump the gravy boat on the Boy Who Lived.
A younger looking girl rushed up to her, and she knew her to be Ginny. Her assumption was confirmed by the girl's confident introduction. Eloise wished she could feel as calm and collected as Charlie's younger sister appeared.
"I'm Eloise, nice to meet you," she responded, and Charlie stepped away and she turned, begging him not to abandon her, and he dropped onto the couch next to Ron and Harry and winked at her. She was overcome by fury and butterflies.
"We've heard so much about you! It's so nice that Charlie finally has a girlfriend! We were all wondering if it would just be Charlie and Norberta forever, you know?" she laughed, causing her pretty brown eyes to crinkle similarly to how Charlie's did when he was laughing particularly hard at something, usually an example of Eloise's clumsiness.
"Oh! We're not- Charlie and I- it's not like-" she stuttered, avoiding eye contact with everyone by staring firmly at her ballet flats.
"Ginny, we discussed this," Charlie said firmly, and Eloise glanced over at him. He wasn't looking at her, but rather his smug sister, and Eloise felt herself turning pink and wondering just what exactly they had discussed.
"Yeah yeah, whatever," Ginny huffed, smiling knowingly at her, to Eloise's dismay.
"Time to eat!" Someone called from the kitchen, and she found herself being herded through a doorway and out into the garden, where a couple of misshapen picnic tables had been pushed together to make one long banquet table. Charlie grabbed her arm and pulled her down onto the bench next to him at the far end, letting her have the end seat. She took the moment where everyone was getting situated to look around the yard and at the home.
The Burrow looked like it could topple over at any moment, and if Eloise wasn't a witch she would be concerned for its inhabitants. She wondered just how long it had taken the Weasleys to build such an eclectic home, as it was obvious that many additions had been made over the years, with parts of the house jutting out at odd heights and angles.
For some reason, Eloise had been under the impression that the Weasleys were a wealthy family. Seeing their cozy home, she realized that her assumption was incorrect. It didn't bother her, of course, but she had thought that most pureblood families lived in large manors and didn't work a day in their lives. How wrong she had been.
She decided that the Burrow was much better than a creepy old mansion.
"Hello, Eloise, it's lovely to have you!" She was shaken from her thoughts by Mrs. Weasley, who had taken the seat across from her. She glanced quickly between the woman and Mr. Weasley, who was next to her, and scooted a bit closer to her friend before gulping.
"Thank you," she said simply, looking down the table at the many Weasleys and the massive plates of food that were present. "You have a beautiful home," she added, smiling sincerely at the woman, who reached over and patted her hand in response.
Charlie reached down and rested his palm on the top of her thigh, causing her to jump, banging her knee on the table.
"You alright there, wandmaker?" a new voice piped in, and she looked around Charlie to see George in all of his one-eared glory. While he was smirking at her, the light she had come to recognize from seeing him in passing at Hogwarts had faded, and she could see quite clearly that George was in immense pain.
She just nodded quickly, looking away from him and down at her plate, noting that Mrs. Weasley had served her a massive piece of roast and several heaps of vegetables. Her eyes widened at the sight, wondering how on earth she was expected to consume that much food in one sitting.
"She kind of just expects everyone to have a Weasley appetite," Charlie leaned over and whispered. His proximity reminded her of his hand on her leg, and she stiffened, trying to still her heart. She was sure that at the pace it was beating that one of the redheads would hear it.
"So you're a wandmaker!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed suddenly, eyes twinkling.
She turned to him, pausing with her fork halfway to her mouth to answer him shakily. "Yes, I own Ollivanders."
"How exciting! How long were you apprenticed? You can't be more than 20, 21?"
"I'm 21," she stated, concerned for a moment they might think her too young. She stopped herself, shaking the thought. Too young for what? Or rather, who? "I began working for Ollivander when I left Hogwarts."
"And now you own the shop," Mrs. Weasley hummed, frowning disapprovingly when she realized that Eloise had yet to take a bite. She hurriedly stuck a forkful of roast into her mouth, and instantly forgot what they were discussing. This was the best roast she had ever eaten. It topped Hogwarts, the house elves that had cooked for her as a child, even Ollivander's famous Sunday roast that they shared weekly. Eloise had to stifle a moan at the taste. "Do you like it, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, brow furrowed.
"It's amazing," she grinned, quickly taking another bite. She heard Charlie chuckle, and she elbowed him discreetly.
"Oi!" he exclaimed, making her laugh loudly. She would have probably poked fun at him for being a baby, but she was very engrossed in her meal.
She yelped when he pinched her thigh, guffawing as her fork clattered to her plate and she nearly slid off the end of the bench. She probably would have if he hadn't grabbed her around the waist and steadied her.
"You two are quite the pair," Mr. Weasley observed, gazing at them fondly, and Eloise immediately blushed once more, straightening up and causing Charlie's arm to drop. She resumed her meal hurriedly, eating a mouthful of potatoes so that she wouldn't have to respond.
Charlie's whiny "Dad..." was drowned out by Bill, who had finally decided to chime in, to Eloise's relief. There was something about Charlie's older brother, that while he looked intimidating, his cheery demeanor made her feel slightly more at ease.
"So you got everything sorted out with the dragons, Eloise?" She explained the contract she had signed with the dragon sanctuary, while Bill nodded along and Charlie practically sulked as she had slid as far away from him as possible, to fight the idea that they were indeed a 'pair.'
"That's great!" he replied. "Now, will Charlie have to go back to Romania and be your ambassador?" Bill asked slyly, and her and Charlie both tensed at the question. It was obvious that Bill was fishing for an answer to the question of Charlie's possible return to the sanctuary. She realized that Bill must not know about the offer Charlie had received about staying in England and working at the Ministry. A pleading look out of the corner of his eye confirmed her suspicion, and she looked down at her plate intently.
"Not sure yet," he said simply, and his mother's face fell. Eloise made a mental note to ask him about it as soon as they had a moment alone.
"Hey Eloise?" Harry spoke up, offering a welcome distraction as Charlie's parents directed their attention to the savior of the Wizarding World. "Why does the wand choose the wizard?"
She leant forward, looking around Charlie to made eye contact with the odd boy.
Why does the wand choose the wizard? What a question. "Well, that's certainly a complicated concept," she paused, looking at Charlie, who nodded encouragingly. "You need an initial attraction, then a mutual quest for experience," she recited, the raspy voice of Ollivander echoing in her mind.
"So are they... alive?" he wondered, glancing down at the wand he had put next to his plate. Ron snorted, so she rushed to his defense.
"Kind of," she wanted to laugh at the look of astonishment on Ron's face. Even Charlie looked surprised, but Harry looked content, as if he was putting together a puzzle and was near the end. "Wands are considered to be quasi-sentient, so while they're not alive, per say, there is some spark of something there."
"Okay, cool, thanks," Harry finished eloquently, returning happily to his meal. After his outburst though, Eloise wasn't going to miss an opportunity to question him further.
"Why do you ask?" she leant forward, wondering what answer Harry would have for her. He was an enigma, and she probably wouldn't fully understand what he was thinking. However, she couldn't help but selfishly think of her mentor, and how he had told her that he spent some time with Harry at a place called Shell Cottage before his death.
"Just trying to tie up some loose ends. You know Voldemort had the Elder Wand, right?" he asked casually, and she perked up. The Elder Wand was a legend that Ollivander would mention only in murmurs, late at night after the shop was closed and they were engrossed in her studies. He explained that it was only a story, but she knew that even he held onto hope of the wand's existence.
"I heard whispers of the Wand of Destiny surfacing," she replied in amazement. It was obvious to her that the Daily Prophet and the Ministry were not reporting the full story when it came to the defeat of Voldemort, but to hide this?
"Yeah, he had it. I was just trying to figure out all of that wand-allegiance rubbish," he explained, then stopped and added with wide eyes, "no offense."
"Where is it now?" she interrogated him, fully invested in her conversation, so much so that she had moved back towards Charlie and was leaning around him to speak with Harry.
He looked sheepish, and Ron shot him an intense glare.
She looked back and forth between the two, and then she realized. "Harry, you didn't," she denied.
"It's for the best," he ruffled his hair anxiously, turning back to his plate.
She just shook her head in disbelief, looking at Charlie, who only looked baffled at the exchange.
"Later," she muttered to him.
As they finished the meal, Eloise found herself warming up. Between chatting with Harry, Bill, and Charlie's parents, she felt much more at home in the semi-overgrown garden than she had when she arrived there a couple of hours prior.
A/N:
~
Hello! A slightly longer update for you! Sorry if it seems a bit scatterbrained, I hope you enjoy. As always, thank you for reading my story, it means more to me than you know. The bit about the wand choosing the wizard is something that I read about on Pottermore.
Much love xx
Kath