Shy little Eloise Moreau found herself the proud owner of Ollivanders after his death in the war. Now she's left to cope with the loss of her mentor while attempting to run a business.
When Charlie Weasley drops by one day in hopes of buying a new w...
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"Ellie?" she heard a shout from downstairs, and nearly dropped the mahogany wand she'd been crafting that afternoon.
She grinned, recognizing the voice of her friend, and quickly swept the wood chips away into the bin at the edge of her workbench, hollering back down to him, "Just a moment!"
Normally Eloise would probably resist a break from her work, but things at the shop were really beginning to slow down. At this point in late October, the shop was only open Friday and Saturday, so much of her time was spent indoors, up in her workshop crafting or in the study, doing some research. As dedicated as she was to working hard, and even though she often found herself far too wrapped up in that, she was really getting antsy that day.
Rushing down the stairs to see what Charlie wanted, she couldn't help the thrill that seemed to wash over her at the idea of Charlie just stopping by, especially when he simply wanted her to join him for a walk around the Alley. She summoned her jacket and scarf to fight off the autumn chill and they made their way outside, meandering aimlessly away from Ollivander's.
After a quick update on George's well being and the shop, as that's why Charlie was around today, to help out George at the joke shop, the subject of dragons came up, as it always did with Charlie.
"...and Danielle's letter last week mentioned that Pascal was fighting off an infection from a bite from one of the older Horntails that he had been pestering, but he seems to be improving."
"That's good, then?" she asked hopefully. He gestured towards the Butterbeer cart outside of Madame Malkin's, and they got in line as they continued chatting.
"He's probably fine. He just has a hard time understanding that the elders are a lot less likely to want to play than he is," he chuckled, then his expression shifted, and he seemed to grow a bit uneasy. They were next in line, so she ordered them two mugs while waiting patiently for Charlie to explain. "Paul sent me a letter as well."
"Oh? Have you spoken with him recently? She asked, sipping on her drink and feeling it warm her from the inside out. Charlie hadn't brought up the job offer recently, and she had been trying to avoid doing so to keep him from thinking that she was trying to persuade him one way or the other. Or think about why she'd want to persuade him, even.
Honestly, Eloise wasn't sure she would want to persuade Charlie to make any big life decisions anyway. She could understand his predicament, it was just a matter of choosing.
"No, not really. Danielle has been keeping me updated about the dragons, but at the end of her letter she always slips in a bit about Paul breathing down her neck to get an answer from me. Their other option is one of the transfers from Egypt, but he's new and they're worried that he might not have the influence that I would with the Ministry."
"That makes sense," she said carefully, watching him out of the corner of her eye as they moved along the uncrowded cobblestone path. He seemed a bit uncomfortable, and while she could understand his hesitation about making the call, she didn't really get why he seemed so troubled talking about it with her all of a sudden. "So?"
