Don't Think I Can Fight This Anymore

Sarge -

Vikram said she’s heading for Malfoy Manor. Harry and I are going to quietly round up a few people and head over. We’ll meet up at the gate in half an hour.

-Trip

Ian Forest looked up from the note at the head of the Magical Law Enforcement. Earl Ferrins grinned at the Canadian like a cat who had finally succeeded in getting the fish out of the tank. Percy Weasley nervously stood behind him, looking between his boss, the dog, and his mother.

“Well, now.” Ferrins said smugly. “A rogue civilian on on her way to attack the last Death Eater.”

“She’s trying to save a life!” Ian snapped, but it fell on deaf ears.

“Weasley, I want a warrant for her arrest.” Ferrins said, turning away. “On my desk, in half an hour. Alert the Prophet, so we can control the story.”

Ian glared after Ferrins. “Fucking coward.” He spat. It was really the largest insult he could come up with.

“There’s still a way out of this.” Percy said quickly, watching his frightened mother. “We can fight it, after she’s arrested. But I have to write the warrant. I can’t disobey a direct order.”

“Is Granger still in her office?” Ian asked quickly.

“I think so.”

“I’ll tell her what’s going on, before I go to Malfoy Manor.”

“What should I do?” Molly asked. “I want to help.”

Ian sighed. “Molly, there’s not much any of us can do. Evelyn will sort this, one way or the other. What happens after, though, we’ll need all the help we can get.”

Percy took his mother’s hand. “Come on, Mum. You should get Dad. Go wait at Mungo’s for Charlie.”

~*~

Evelyn stepped through the broken glass that had been inside the door, carefully watching where she stepped. The house smelled like ash and mold and age, groaning around her as it settled. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, except for a clear path through the hall. Like something had been recently dragged through, clearing dust and debris.

Charlie.

Evelyn took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to bring in her emotions. But anger and fear and worry swirled around her head, and angry sparks shot from the tip of her wand.

She wished she had brought Sherlock. He was her rock.

She thought about what her dueling coach in school had told her once.

“Never, ever, walk into the arena emotional.” He had said. “You may think it makes you stronger, but in reality a cause is what makes you stronger. Something to fight for. Anger, grief, these just make you unpredictable and careless. And you, Miss Evelyn Finch, are careless enough.”

She took a deep breath, and walked further into what would hopefully be the last arena she ever faced.

Walking through the destroyed manor, she thought of a theory her brother had come up with in their youth watching kung-fu movies. The underboss fight was always better than the boss fight. So if Potter and Voldemort were the boss fight, this was going to be spectacular.

The floors switched from hardwood to marble. There were a few steps up from the hall into a grand reception room. Dark blood now joined the drag marks up the steps. Heavy curtains, only somewhat burnt, hung loosely from the windows, allowing moonlight to stream in.

She had intended to burn this place to the ground, three years ago. Who knew what kind of horrible secrets had lurked here? But the fire didn’t take right. And now Lestrange was here to make his last stand.

Up ahead, there was a huge shadow, towering over a slumped figure.

“Just as I thought.”

Lestrange’s voice echoed off the marble floors and high ceilings. The debris and remains of the curtains did little to nothing to absorb the sound.

“You’re here alone.”

As Evelyn came closer, her heart pounded in her chest. Charlie was bound to a chair, limp in the leather cords. The shocking red hair hid his face, but wasn’t long enough to hide the blood staining his white shirt.

Lestrange roughly grabbed the back of his head, yanking his face up to look at Evelyn. His one eye was puffy and bruised shut, his lips bloody. His good eye widened with shock when he saw her.

“I told you she’d come.” Lestrange said gleefully. “And you kept saying she doesn’t love you.”

“Let him go, Lestrange.” Evelyn said coldly. “He has no part in this.”

“You know, I thought we needed an audience for this.” He was twirling a knife between his fingers. “Once you’re dead, someone is going to have to tell your little friend Trip who did it. This, of course, is shortly before your dear Charlie reaches his own demise. He’ll have bled out like the mud blood scum he loves so much. I’ll disappear again, and Trip will be driven mad by his own failure.”

“Why would you do this?” Evelyn demanded, taking stock of her surroundings.

If the ceiling was too weak from the fire, one misplaced curse could bring the building down around them. And then it wouldn’t matter if Lestrange got to Charlie - he’d be dead anyway.

“Most people didn’t even know the 445th existed.” She continued, glancing at the blown out windows. “Shouldn’t you be after the Order of the Poenix? Potter and his friends?”

“Potter?” Lestrange asked, drawing a sharp breath. “Potter will get his, eventually. But your little military unit, you were the ones who did the most damage. Sure, Potter killed the Dark Lord. But it was you who tore down the Death Eaters. It was you who made sure we couldn’t reform.” Lestrange dropped Charlie’s head with disgust. “Besides, it was this blood traitor’s mother who killed my wife. I at least owe Bella her revenge.”

“Didn’t realize sociopaths were capable of love.”

He snorted. “What Bella and I had was not love. It wasn’t something you’d ever understand.”

“And I’m extremely grateful for that.”

“Enough of this.” Lestrange hissed, raising the knife high above his head.

The knife glinted silver in the moonlight as it rushed down towards the redhead, and Evelyn screamed a curse that blasted Charlie and the chair across the room and away from Lestrange. It was too late for the Death Eater to change the knife’s path and he drove it deep into his own thigh, bellowing with pain. He pulled the knife out and threw it across the room, raising his own wand and firing curses at Evelyn. She bolted across the room in a zig-zag, like she was avoiding machine gun fire.

Charlie lay still, tied to the chair on the floor.

A white hot curse passed under Evelyn’s army, and she screamed as it cut through her side.

“Stupefy!” She screeched at him, missing and hitting the wall behind him. The spell blasted a hole into the formal dining room.

Lestrange turned his wand on Charlie again. “Crucio!”

Charlie woke up and screamed, writhing and drawing the leather bonds deeper into his skin. Evelyn charged at Lestrange and twirled her wand. There was a sound like a gun blast and three silver bullets whistled through the air, all aimed for Lestrange’s vital organs. He stepped out of the way of them, and right into Evelyn’s direct path.

She tackled him down and his wand fell from his hand. Wrestling they rolled over it and it snapped cleanly in half. Lestrange punched her in the open wound in her side but it just made her hold his throat tighter. He grabbed at her wand and suddenly that’s what they were fighting over.

Charlie passed out again.

Evelyn was on top, then Lestrange. He was so much bigger and stronger than her, but she was faster and a better fighter.

She pressed her forearm into his throat and screamed as he pulled her hair. He tugged at her wand again but she wouldn’t let go. He was ontop of her and she tried to bring her knee up into his crotch but there wasn’t room for her legs to work. Angry sparks shot from the wand, landing on both their faces.

“Avada Kedavra!”

Outside the gates, the small group of aurors saw the flash of green light and the world seemed to freeze. Trip, standing next to the stone faced Ian, felt like maybe he would be sick.

“Let’s go!” Ferrins called. “Be careful, both parties involved are extremely dangerous!”

The two Canadians moved forward with the rest of the group, but Ferrins turned around and grabbed both of them.

“Not you two.”

“Oh come on!” Ian yelled. “We need to make sure our friend is alive!”

“You’re known associates of a fugitive.” Ferrins smirked. “You may try to aid her escape.”

Harry shot them a pitying look and led the group up the long drive.

“Fuck this.” Trip spat, and turned on the spot to apparate away.

Evelyn shoved Lestrange off of her, gasping for breath. She slowly sat up, clutching her side. She had lost a lot of blood, but the cut wasn’t as deep as she thought it might be. She pulled herself up off the floor and limped over to Charlie. She cut the leather bonds with a silent spell and he settled limply on the floor. Biting her lip, she pressed her fingers to his jugular.

Ka-thump. Ka-thump.

She sat back on the floor and waited, looking at the moon streaming through the broken windows.

Charlie moaned and started coming to. The first thing he saw was Lestrange’s eyes, open and empty.

“He’s dead.”

Evelyn sat on the floor with her knees pulled to her chest. She clutched a large gash in the side of her emerald robes. Charlie coughed and spat out some blood, then sat up. He tried to get his throat to work.

“You have a broken rib but you haven’t punctured anything.” She continued. “Everything else a halfway decent healer can fix in three seconds.”

“Are you okay?” He finally managed to get out.

“I’ll be fine.”

Charlie pulled his legs under him and crawled to her. “We need to get out of here.”

“It’s alright. They’re on their way.”

“Who is?”

She didn’t answer. And she wouldn’t look at him.

“Evelyn, let’s go.”

“No.”

He finally crawled around to face her, but it wasn’t his Evelyn who stared back. She had eyes as hard as blue diamonds and an expressionless face. She had three burn marks on her face.

But he didn’t pull back. He reached out for her face.

“Don’t touch me.” She said. “Don’t. I’m a monster, Charlie. I’ve been trying to tell you this.”

He ran a finger along the frame of her face. “Yes, you are.” He whispered. “But you’re so much more than that.”

He pulled her wrist to his lips, and she blinked. Like the old legends say, the scales fell from her eyes. And she finally sat the truth. The only man who she could ever allow to love her.

And she had broken his heart, flung him in danger’s path, and given all of that possible life up.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the ruined halls and ten or so aurors burst into the room, surrounding them. Someone gently pulled Charlie to his feet while Evelyn was grabbed by the scruff of her neck and yanked up.

“Evelyn Finch, you are under arrest - “

“No!” Charlie shouted, fighting off the hands on him.

“ - for the murder of - “

“She saved me!” Charlie bellowed as manacles appeared around her wrists.

Evelyn smiled faintly at him. Her eyes were oceans on a grey day. “It’s alright, Charlie.” She told him, and he realized that she had expected this all along. “It’s okay.”

She turned away from him and allowed herself to be led out.

“Come on Charlie.” A low voice said. Charlie looked to his left to see Harry there, his face tight with worry. “Your parents are at Mungo’s.”

Charlie allowed himself to be whisked along and then apparated to the hospital. Suddenly there were bright lights and hysterical crying.

“Charlie! Charlie!”

“Mum.” he muttered.

Molly hugged her second eldest, sobbing. “We were so worried. Are you okay? A healer will be along - oh, Charlie!”

Charlie shook her off. “I’ll be fine. We have to go help Evelyn. She’s been arrested. It wasn’t her fault.”

“We know, Charlie.” Arthur soothed. “Look, sit down and - “

“Well, let’s go!”

“It’s not that simple - “ Molly started.

“Of course it is! It was self defense - “

“There’s more at play here.” Arthur begged, feeling incredibly sorry for him.

“Charlie, lie down until a healer comes - “

“We have to help her!”

“There’s nothing you can do!”

Arthur said it, and the words hit Charlie like a ton of bricks to the chest. They knocked him back onto the bed behind him where he sat with his head hanging. Blood continued to drip from his mouth.

And when his mother hugged him, we wasn’t sure if the tears on his face were hers or his own.