✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

CHAPTER FORTY. PARTY CRASHERS

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

DO NOT COMMENT FOR ME TO UPDATE!  If you do, even as a joke, I will block you.

Christmas Day had been quite enjoyable for Evangeline. It was by far the best Christmas that she had had in a while. Remus and Tonks had really tried to make it a good Christmas for the Caspian sisters. Evangeline had actually found herself smiling that day, her mind on nothing but what was going on in that particular moment.

After the four exchanged gifts, they simply hung out, talking about different things. Nobody mentioned the redhead who hadn't left Evangeline's mind for days, something she was relieved about. She was even more relieved at the fact that she had rarely thought about him at all that day.

Evangeline sat on the couch in the cottage as Remus and Tonks were preparing to leave. The two spent as much time as they could with Evangeline and Vivian but had to make a visit to the Weasley household. They had some 'important matters' to discuss with Harry and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Harry had tried to fill her in on as much as he could in a letter he had sent to her the night before.

She didn't really mind that they were going and just hoped that they'd get home quickly. It would be the first night of Remus' cycle after all. And the first night of the cycle was always the worst. "We'll be back tonight," Tonks assured Evangeline.

"No need to worry," Remus added.

"How can you even say that?" Evangeline asked.

"There's plenty of need to worry," Vivian continued.

"I'll be fine," Remus reassured.

"Besides, if anything were to happen, you know what to do," Tonks added, nodding her head. Remus sent the girls a smile before he and Tonks left, leaving Evangeline and Vivian alone. Evangeline sighed and walked over to the couch. Vivian walked to the window and peered out of it. The Sun would set soon.

Evangeline laid down on the couch. Vivian turned away from the window and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest. She eyed the younger girl before clearing her throat. Evangeline looked over at her and raised her eyebrows. "So, what do you wanna do?" Vivian asked.

Evangeline closed her eyes, "Take a nap."

"I was thinking that we should talk," Vivian said. Evangeline sat up and looked at her.

"I know what you want to talk about and I'm not in the mood," she said. Vivian pushed herself off of the wall and sat down in a chair.

"I let you have your space and try to work through things on your own. But that isn't doing much. You're just keeping it all bottled up and it's going to destroy you," Vivian said.

Evangeline rolled her eyes, "Okay, you're being a little dramatic."

Vivian sighed, "Fine, maybe I am. But you get my point." The two stared at one another and Vivian sighed again.

"Look, I don't want to force you to talk to me. But if I have to force a conversation about that redheaded git out of you, I will," she said.

"Just thinking about him makes me sad, okay? I don't want to talk because if I do, I'll probably cry and I'm sick of crying," Evangeline said.

Vivian nodded her head, waiting to see if the girl would continue.

"He really hurt me, Viv. And I think what makes it all worse is that he weaseled his way into my life and made me fall for him. He understood me, you know? Saw past my bullshit. He broke down my walls and I let him in. I let him in because I wanted to feel something good. He made me feel important and like I mattered. He made me feel good about myself. And I really liked him, Viv. I still do," Evangeline went on.

Tears welled up in her eyes but she didn't let them fall. Vivian stood from her chair and walked over to where Evangeline sat. She sat down next to her and wrapped her arms around Evangeline, pulling her into her side.

"I know this is probably the last thing that you want to hear but, it'll get better. I promise you it will. It hurts now but the pain will eventually go away," Vivian said.

Evangeline nodded her head before resting it against the older girl's shoulder. The two sat like that for a long moment before Vivian pulled away. "I'll let you take that nap now," she said. Evangeline smiled and Vivian left. Evangeline laid back down on the couch and sighed. She closed her eyes and eventually fell asleep.

••••

Evangeline awoke with a soft gasp. She quickly sat up on the couch. Her eyes flitted over to one of the windows. Vivian was closing it and turned around, jumping when she noticed Evangeline's wide eyes on her.

"You scared me," Vivian said. Evangeline eyed her for a few moments. "Hedwig came. Harry sent you a letter," the girl continued. She discreetly hid something in her pant pocket and walked over to Evangeline.

A sickening feeling began to settle into the pit of Evangeline's stomach. She didn't take the letter from her sister's outstretched hand. Instead she stood and pushed past the older girl. She quickly rushed to the window and looked outside of it. The Sun had set already, the pitch blackness sending a shiver down Evangeline's spine. "What's wrong with you?" Vivian asked.

Evangeline whipped her head around and looked at her sister. "I-I have a bad feeling," she replied. She walked away from the window and back to the couch. She picked up her wand from the coffee table.

"A bad feeling?" Vivian questioned.

"Yes. Did you put up protections around the house?" Evangeline replied. She walked to the front door, throwing it open and walking outside. Vivian quickly followed after her.

"Uh, no. Why would I do that?" Vivian yelled as her younger sister walked a fair distance away from her.

"There are Death Eaters out in the world, maybe looking for us so that they can kill us. So instead of asking me questions, how about you help me protect our home?" Evangeline said. She stopped walking and peered around the area. Vivian stared at her as though she were crazy.

"Uh, okay," Vivian said unsurely.

Evangeline lifted up her wand, holding it above her head. "Periculum," she said. Red sparks flew up into the air and hovered there, a signal that she hoped would reach Remus and Tonks.

"What are you doing?" Vivian exclaimed.

"Vivian, just let me do this," Evangeline said, her annoyance rising.

She stared up at the red ball of sparks in the air before lifting her wand up again. Evangeline took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She concentrated as much as she could before opening her eyes. She lifted up her left hand, her palm facing outward. "Protego totalum," Evangeline said. A light haze began to cover the area.

"Are you crazy? You don't turn seventeen until the 24th of March. Or have you forgotten?" Vivian said. Evangeline ignored her sister. She released a breath and continued on.

"Salvio hexia," she said, moving her wand in a downward motion.

Another haze rippled and Evangeline began moving to another portion of the surrounding area.

"You'll get in trouble," Vivian said. Evangeline repeated this process again. Vivian watched her, still immensely confused.

"Stop standing around and help me," Evangeline said. Vivian continued to look at her. "Now!" Evangeline yelled. Vivian began moving in the opposite direction of her sister, doing as she was told.

Once they had protected the entire area the two girls stood and waited. Evangeline peered into the darkness, her breathing bated. She turned back to the house. Remus and Tonks should've come by now. Something must have happened. Evangeline's nerves rose even higher. "We should go back inside," she suggested.

"Yeah, and then you can tell me what the bloody hell is going on!" Vivian replied.

The two walked back to the cottage. When they were at the door, an explosion made them duck down. Evangeline turned back to where they had walked from. On the opposite side of the protective barrier stood a Death Eater. He smirked wickedly and walked forward. He collided with the barrier and was thrown backward. Vivian stared ahead, her eyes wide.

Two more Death Eaters flew in. She recognized them. One was Fenrir Greyback. The other, Bellatrix Lestrange. The woman smiled wickedly at the two sisters.

"Someone came prepared!" The woman shouted.

"Just trying to keep the pests out," Evangeline yelled back. The woman's smile fell to a sneer.

"You're gonna pay for that one little girl," Bellatrix said loudly.

The two sisters carefully watched the three who were trying to figure out how to get through the barrier. Fenrir and the unknown Death Eater were throwing spells at the barrier and dodging out of the way when some rebounded. Bellatrix stood with her arms crossed, glaring at Evangeline who stared back indignantly.

"You're not gonna get through so I suggest, you all leave," a male voice called from behind the two girls. Remus and Tonks came to stand on either side of the sisters, their wands raised and at the ready.

Bellatrix glared at them all. "We'll be back," she promised.

"We'll be ready," Tonks said. Bellatrix mocked her before flying away, the two other Death Eaters following behind.

••••

"So, let me get this straight. You had a bad feeling about Death Eaters coming here and then they actually came?" Tonks repeated for the umpteenth time. Evangeline sighed in annoyance.

"How many times do I have to tell you yes?" She asked.

"Until I can wrap my head around the fact that you had a bad feeling and then Death Eaters came," Tonks replied. Evangeline sighed again.

"That's really weird," Vivian said.

"It could be normal, like deja vu or something," Evangeline said with a shrug.

It was silent as the three were immersed in their thoughts. "What I want to know is why the Death Eaters came here. And why they attacked the Burrow," Evangeline said. She grew very worried after Nymphadora had told her about the Death Eater attack on the Burrow. But the woman assured the girl that no one was hurt.

"My guess is that they were after the both of you. And Harry, of course," Tonks replied.

"Yeah, but why us?" Evangeline asked.

"I don't know," Tonks said. She then placed a hand on Evangeline's knee. "But we'll find out." Evangeline nodded, not sure that she believed the woman.

"It's been a long night. You girls should go to bed," Tonks said.

"What about Evangeline using magic underage? What're we gonna do about that?" Vivian questioned.

Tonks waved her off, "Remus and I will take care of it. Don't worry."

Vivian nodded and stood, Evangeline doing the same after. She picked up the discarded envelope from Harry as she made her way out of the living room, saying a quick goodnight to Tonks and Vivian. Evangeline entered her room and sat down on her bed. She opened up the envelope and pulled out the letter.

Evie!

You're gonna love me! I've figured it out. Well, I think I have. I'm almost positive that I have. I know why Ron has been acting the way that he has and why he broke up with you. He's

Evangeline stopped reading the letter. She was not in the mood to deal with this. She refused to put herself in another situation where she could get hurt. Never again.

She didn't care why it happened anymore. She didn't care what was going on with him. She no longer wanted answers. Evangeline had shed one too many tears for the Weasley boy and she refused to shed any more. She was done. Absolutely done. Done being sad. Done being angry. Done being hurt.

So, she did the most unreasonable thing that she could think of. She ripped up Harry's letter and tossed it in the trash before turning off the light, climbing into bed and going to sleep.

••••

DO NOT COMMENT FOR ME TO UPDATE!  If you do, even as a joke, I will block you.

-N