Don't Think I Can Fight This Anymore

Mr and Mrs Oliver Wood are pleased to invite you to a celebration of the New Year.

9:00 P.M. on December 31st, 2001

Light refreshments will be served. Formal dress required.

“I don’t understand why you don’t want to go.” Ginny said, shoving a navy blue dress into a bag that already held a hairbrush, stockings, and her invitation. “Oliver practically begged me to bring you when he heard you were in town.”

This may have been a bit of a stretch, but Charlie didn’t need to know that. He shrugged from his position, leaning against her door frame.

“I’ll feel out of place.” He said. “I haven’t seen anyone in years.”

“Even more reason to go.”

“And I go back to Romania tomorrow.”

“Not until the afternoon.”

“Still.”

Ginny scowled at the small make up kit she had, and threw it in the bag on top of the dress. Sylvia and Evelyn would probably have everything, but better safe than sorry. She tossed a bottle of perfume in on top.

Ginny glanced at her brother. “Evelyn’s going to be there.”

“How does that change anything?”

Ginny shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought maybe you’d want to see her before you went back to Romania.”

Charlie snorted and tipped his head back. “Yes. I want to see her so I can be frustrated and angry with her.”

“Well, that’s love for you.” Ginny sighed, kneeling on the floor to sort through the shoes in her closet. She pushed aside piles of flats and sneakers to find the one pair of heels she owned. “Why do you say that? It’s not like she’s going with someone else - though I feel like she should at least go with a friend. People will talk.”

“She just…”

But Charlie didn’t know what Evelyn was. Ginny finally found the black heels she was looking for and stood up.

“I just feel like she’s playing with me.” He finally said. It was the best he could describe it.

Ginny scowled at him. “Do you know why she’s been distant with you?”

“No.”

“Because she knows you’re mad. She’s waiting for you to come around. She feels awful about everything but she knows there’s no way to apologize for it.” She tossed the shoes into the bag and shrugged. “That’s what George says, anyway. But I promise you, Charlie, one day you’re going to come looking for her and she won’t be there. You’ve got to move before it’s too late.”

“When did you get so smart?” He asked. “Just yesterday I was teaching you how to write your name in joined up letters.”

“Really?” She shouldered her bag. “George has been calling me an idiot all week.”

“And since when do we take anything George says seriously?” He gave her a one armed hug and ruffled her hair. “Have fun.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you there.”

“I’m not going.”

She gave him a look, and then walked past him. Charlie sighed and went downstairs to help his mother set the table for three. Molly didn’t pester him about going to the party, but she did look worried.

~*~

“You can not, under any circumstances, wear that.”

Ginny looked down at her simple blue dress. She had bought it years ago for the Yule Ball and several stretching jinxes had been placed on it to make it fit. “What’s wrong with this?”

“Uh, everything.” Sylvia said.

Evelyn sighed and shook her head, sipping her wine. “It is kind of awful.” She agreed.

“Hold on, I think I have something downstairs.” Sylvia said. “I’ll go grab it.”

Ginny poured a decent amount of wine into her glass as the blonde ran from the apartment. “Maybe Charlie has the right idea.” She grumbled. “This party is just not worth the effort.”

“Yes, it is.” Hermione said patiently, still applying liberal amounts of Sleakey’s Hair Potion. “Come on, we almost never do stuff like this. We can do it once.”

“Charlie’s not coming?” Evelyn asked, feeling a bit of a sinking feeling in her stomach.

“He says he isn’t.” Ginny shrugged, sitting cross legged in front of a mirror and opening a make up back. With a bit of a disgusted look, she started applying foundation to her face. “I don’t know. Something about leaving tomorrow.”

Evelyn’s stomach sank even more. He was leaving tomorrow? She knew perfectly well that when they were together he only came back to England as often as he did to see her. This might be it. They might be those old friends who only see each other at weddings and funerals.

Sylvia pounded back up the steps and ran into the room. “Ginny, I think this one will fit you. It’s a little tight in the chest for me.”

She held up a navy blue gown with silver beads sewn in swirls all along the skirt. Unlike the long sleeved fabric one Ginny had brought, it was silky and had spaghetti straps.

“Ooh, I have some silver heels that will go great with that.” Evelyn said. “Changing the shoe size is easy enough.”

“Fine.” Ginny grumbled. “This is stupid.”

Hermione sighed and took the little make up sponge from her, starting to blend her face a little better. “It’s alright. Here, when I’m done, Harry won’t even recognise you.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Evelyn changed out the Pink Floyd record for Green Day, then sat on the floor so Sylvia could do her hair. She created several thin braids of hair and gold ribbon, then pinned the braids and loose hair up in a twisting bun. Sylvia cut the remaining ribbon strips off.

“You sure you don’t want to open that salon?” Evelyn teased, turning her head to see the finished work in the mirror.

Sylvia laughed. “Shut up, Evs. Go do your make up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

~*~

“Oh, bloody hell.” Charlie finally said aloud to no one at eleven o’clock at night.

Ginny’s words echoed in his head. One day he’d look for her, and she wouldn’t be there. If he left tomorrow without talking to Evelyn, he doubted he’d see her again for a long time. She’d have to leave England, eventually. There were just too many bad memories here for her. In fact, that job in Germany was probably the beginning of that.

Evelyn’s letter kept running through his head too. I lied. I love, and I’m sorry.

He pushed aside his drawing pad and ran up the stairs, almost tripping in his haste. His mother had ironed his dress robes, even though he insisted he wouldn’t need them. He was changed and running a comb through his hair in ten minutes time, walking out the kitchen door to apparate by eleven-fifteen.

Much less time than the two hours of drinking, hair, and makeup that the girls went through earlier. But he didn’t know that.

Oliver and Alicia Wood were doing very well for themselves. He was, after all, the youngest Team Captain of Puddlemore United in the history of the team. They had bought a sizable mansion that also housed her elderly parents. But this was the first time they were actually putting all that space to good use.

Charlie pushed open the large oak door and was immediately greeted by a ton of people. Alicia, who was standing near the door, turned around and gasped.

“Charlie Weasley!” She smiled, coming over and going straight for a hug. She seemed a little tipsy. “I’m so glad you could come!”

“Yeah.” he said distractedly.

“Oliver’s going to be so happy. Come on!”

Alicia dragged him through the party to where her husband was talking to three witches from the Hollyhead Harpies. Oliver wrung his hand and eagerly introduced him to the witches as “the man who taught him everything”. A tall,dark-skinned witch was looking at Charlie in a way that was making him feel a little uncomfortable. If Evelyn saw it, the other witch probably would be on the floor begging for mercy by now.

Conversations with Oliver Wood were usually long winded, so by the time Charlie finally extracted himself servers in black robes were handing out flutes of champagne. George and Sylvia waved at him from the dance floor. Sylvia looked radiant in a long white dress, and even though everyone could see the top of the black spell damage on her chest, no one noticed it. George most certainly didn’t.

Charlie wandered over to the bar, where Harry was standing with a tall redhead who looked a lot like his sister.

“Hey!” Ginny said brightly. “I knew you’d come!”

Charlie crossed his arms. “That is not what you left the house with, young lady.”

Ginny sighed and tossed her gently curled red hair. “I know. Then Sylvia happened.”

“I think you look beautiful.” Harry offered.

“Shut it.”

But she was blushing. Harry smiled and Charlie ordered himself a drink.

“So, have either of you seen Evelyn?” Charlie asked.

Ginny frowned. “She was just here.”

“Didn’t she say something about leaving?” Harry asked.

“Please, Evs is the life of the party. She’d never leave before midnight.”

“Let me know if you find her.” Charlie said, taking his drink from the bartender.

“Good luck!” Ginny called. “Oh, she’s wearing black and gold!”

Charlie saw all kinds of people he knew, but he couldn’t find Evelyn. He did, however, find Hermione sitting at a small bistro table in a deep burgundy dress.

“Hey, Charlie.” She smiled. “You want to sit?”

“No, I’m alright.” He said. “Have you seen Evelyn?”

Her smile got wider. “No, I’m sorry. She said something about asking the string quartet to play some David Bowie for her, but that was an hour ago. She does love Bowie.”

Charlie laughed, remembering how she brought Ziggy Stardust to Romania with her when she was hiding from Lestrange. “Yeah, she does.”

Hermione stood and patted him on the shoulder. “She’ll turn up. She always does.”

Ron appeared at Charlie’s shoulder and handed his finace a drink. “Hey, Charlie. You made it.”

“Have you seen Evelyn?” Hermione asked.

“I could have sworn she was just talking to Luna, but it doesn’t look like she’s there anymore.”

They all turned to see Luna swaying in her spot, sipping a drink through a straw. Ron chuckled, and when Dean Thomas walked over and offered a hand, she smiled and stood.

“Well, good luck.” Hermione said, taking Ron’s hand and pulling him away.

Charlie headed towards the dance floor and skirted the edge. Soon he came across Trip dancing with a young olive skinned woman in a brilliant green dress. She was staring at the ceiling and the floating chandelier with wonder.

“Hey.” Trip nodded to him, leading his date through the steps. “You just get here?”

“Yeah.”

“This is my girlfriend, Sarah.” He said, nodding to the woman. “She’s a little distracted. This is sort of her first wizarding party.”

Charlie hid the shock well, Trip decided.

“Have you seen Evelyn?” Charlie asked.

“Not for a while. Why?”

“Just wanted to talk to her.”

Charlie felt ridiculous. He got dressed up, arrived at a party late, and can’t even find the one person he came here for. But even then, he couldn’t even say what he came here to do.He had ‘just talked’ to Evelyn all Christmas. Did he want to have a more serious talk with her? She’d be upset if he ruined the party for her. And what would he even say to her? Tell her to stop playing with his emotions?

Instead he asked, “How the hell does she know Luna Lovegood?”

“I told you,” an impatient voice behind him said, “I’m an upstanding member of wizarding society.”

Charlie wheeled around to find Evelyn smiling at him, some sort of mischief glinting in her eyes. She looked stunning in a long black halter gown with gold beads on the bodice. Someone had braided gold ribbon into her hair.

“Have fun, kids.” Trip said cheerfully, dragging his girlfriend off.

“I heard you were looking for me?” She asked. Neither of them heard people starting to count down from twenty around them. “Sorry. I had to take Jackie home. She had too much firewhiskey - you know how she gets. How are you?”

He just stared at her, unsure if she was actually there. Unsure what to say. Nothing was enough to tell her how much he loved her, even after she broke him. Nothing was enough to tell her how frustratingly beautiful she always was, even when she wasn’t dressed up. Nothing was enough to beg her to come back to him.

Her aquamarine eyes sparkled and all over the house, clocks started to chime as one. The new year had arrived. Evelyn started to back away from him, a coy smile fixed on her face to hide her breaking heart. She had dared to hope for him.

“Happy New Year, I guess - “

He moved so fast that she barely had time to react. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward, then crashed his lips onto hers. She melted against him, holding the front of his robes for dear life. Around them, people cheered for 2002 but they barely heard. No one noticed that suddenly, in the middle of the room, time froze for a kiss that lasted an eternity.

“I don’t care.” He immediately said when they finally broke apart. “Evelyn, I don’t care. I love you. I need you back. I don’t care that you can’t tell me about your dreams or the war. I don’t care who or what finds you next. We’ll fight it together.”

Evelyn was a little dizzy. Her lips were swollen from the ferocious kiss, but she smiled. “I’ve been very stupid.” She said. “And I’m so, so sorry.”

“You don’t have to save the world.”

“Don’t I?”

He brought her wrist up to his lips and she almost burst into tears.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, looking down at her. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

She shook her head and forced away the threatening tears. “I just love you, that’s all.”

He entwined their fingers. “Come on, we should - “

“Go home.” She said.

He looked at her, surprised. “Since when do you leave parties early?”

“I was really only staying because Ginny kept saying you’d show up.” She said honestly. “The string quartet, all of whom are muggle born, will not play Bowie for me and the food is awful. And I need to get the hell out of this dress.”

“Why? It looks nice.”

She looked at him pointedly. “I was sort of hoping you’d help me with it.”

“Ah. Yes. It’s a bit late isn’t it?