Chapter 2 – The Investigation Begins:

Eddie looked up at the sign that read, The Leaky Cauldron and sighed deeply, debating on whether he should walk in or not. He doubted anyone would recognize him, except for maybe his hair. It was moments like these that he wished he was a Metamorphis so he could change his hair color.

Kicking in his Gryffindor courage, he dragged his large feet towards the building and pulled open the door. Eddie expected to be disappointed but instead, he felt at peace; the place had not changed a bit. He smiled when he saw Tom standing behind the bar, aging like wine and dragged his lightweight bag towards the bar.

"Hello Tom," Eddie said with a small smile. The old man looked up at him and beamed.

"I'm not going to even try to guess which Weasley you are," he said with a chuckle. "I've lost track of all of you after all of these years!" Eddie grinned and nodded politely, a wave of relief washing over him, realizing that Tom did not fully recognize him.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Weasley?" Tom asked graciously.

"An order of a cheeseburger, fries, a water, and a firewhiskey" Eddie said, sitting down at the bar. "And one room."

"You got it," said Tom as he poured the glass of firewhiskey and another of water and ran into the back. Eddie took a swig of the firewhiskey and sighed as the peppery substance tickled the back of his throat, going through his veins, and felt himself relax. At that moment, a little house elf came running to the counter and placed his burger and fries in front of him before hopping away. Eddie chuckled and immediately dived into his food. He felt like he had not eaten in days.

After he had eaten his meal and paid Tom for his dinner and room, Eddie grabbed his belongings and headed upstairs to his room. It was just like all of the other rooms at the Leaky Cauldron, and he took in everything; the sights, the smells, the feeling. It all seemed so welcoming to him; it felt like home.

Ron had offered to let him stay for as long as he needed at the Windum but Eddie did not want the tension between him, his father, and his sisters. He knew Teresa would never leave him alone for abandoning them and he hated the sad, disappointed look Anne gave him every time their eyes met. It saddened him that he did not even know his youngest sister. In reality, he hardly knew Teresa either. Eddie felt a hole inside of him, as though something was missing. Eddie sighed, as he leaned against the window, almost wishing he had taken his father's offer. But, he could not. He just could not. Lily was there on a daily basis.

The real reason he did not stay at the Windum was Lily. Eddie actually did consider Ron's offer, but before he did, he asked if Lily lived at the Windum with the Weasley family to help take care of Teresa and Anne. Eddie had learned that Lily lived in her own flat in London, but visited them on a daily basis. In fact, Lily was coming over for dinner after work that evening. That was when Eddie decided it would be best to get a room at the Leaky Cauldron.

'You might as well have taken the offer,' Eddie thought to himself. 'You're going to see Lily on a daily basis anyway during this case.' For a moment, Eddie felt a shudder of giddiness at the thought of spending time with Lily, but it came and went so quickly, Eddie was sure he imagined it. He was in love with Jane. He was getting married to Jane in six months. That is, if they found her safe and sound. But, he knew Lily would find her. He always trusted Lily.

'But she certainly doesn't trust you,' a nasty voice said in his head, making him sigh and bury his face in his hands as he rubbed his face in frustration. Frankly, he could not blame Lily for not trusting him. He promised to love her forever, to be there for her no matter what, and even had every intention on marrying her. But, they got pregnant when they were only seventeen years old, and Lily had had a miscarriage during the final battle with Voldemort. However, it had been the pregnancy that saved Lily's life and why she defeated the darkest wizard of all time.

He never understood why the miscarriage affected him so much. But, when he almost lost Lily, found out she was pregnant, than lost the baby, he felt strange and just wanted to be anywhere but where he was. So, he left for the United States of America and never came back, never contacted anyone, and changed his name to Edward Whesley. He met Jane when he bumped into her in a local grocery store and fell for her immediately. But, she was nothing like Lily with short, brown hair cut like a bobby cut, pale blue eyes, a pretty face, very thin, and quite tall. Jane was also shy, quiet, and preferred to take a backseat in most cases. Eddie never particularly liked that trait about her but no one was perfect.

Eddie felt strange comparing Lily and Jane; what did he see in Jane that he did not see in Lily? He and Lily had a history; a history unlike any other and it felt weird to be in a relationship with Jane without the history. But, in a way it was better because it left out a lot of the drama, but didn't the drama make it all worth it in the end? Eddie shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He needed to stop this; comparing Lily and Jane. He had not thought of Lily since he had met Jane and just because he had seen her; that should not change anything.

"Stop this!" Eddie yelled at himself, gripping his flaming red hair and began mumbling to himself. "Your fiancé was just kidnapped! What is wrong with you? Stop acting like a sick jerk!" With that, Eddie went to sleep worrying and thinking nothing but about Jane's well-being.

What Eddie did not know was that he was lying to himself. He liked to think he never thought of Lily ever since he met Jane, but the truth was, every night when he went to sleep, he would think of Jane's pretty smile. In his dreams, he would dream of a set of piercing emerald green eyes, the emerald depths looking at him with the love they used to look at him with. And this night was no different than any other night because if someone looked into the window of his room at the Leaky Cauldron, one would see him smile in his sleep as he dreamed of those fiery green eyes.

"That was great, Ron," Lily said with a smile, patting her stomach, leaning back in her chair "Thanks for inviting me."

"Lil, why do you 'thank you' every time you come here?" Teresa asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you practically live here anyway…." Lily laughed as Ron gave his eldest daughter a stern look.

"It's called good manners, Teresa," Ron said sternly. Teresa rolled her eyes and Lily winked at her as she waved her wand and the dishes all flew to the sink and began to wash themselves. "But she's right, Lily, there really is no need thank us every time you come over here. It really is a complete waste of breath."

Lily, Teresa, and Anne all let out a chuckle and Lily sighed, "Well you girls better get upstairs. Your dad and I need to discuss some things." Teresa rolled her eyes again and helped Anne out of her seat. Teresa always had an overprotective side over little Annie, especially after Hermione went into that coma; the same way Lily was overprotective of Teresa.

"See Annie, that's code for 'we need to discuss about Eddie coming back and Lily taking his case and making things-"

"Teresa!" Ron and Lily yelled in unison. Teresa held up her hands in defense, her chestnut eyes going wide. Lily noticed Ron stared at her eyes weirdly for a moment, but turning away quickly. Anne giggled as she followed Teresa up the stairs. Lily checked the top of the stairs to make sure they were not listening and turned back to Ron. Lily sighed and looked at her godfather's cold, dead blue eyes. Those usual twinkling blue eyes glistening with mischief and humor had been dead to the world ever since Hermione went into her coma.

"You okay?" Lily asked, sitting down in the kitchen table beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder. "I saw you look into Teresa's eyes. You looked…well…sad…"

"You ever notice how Teresa's eyes are so much like Hermione's?" Ron asked, his voice shaking. Lily bit her lip and squeezed his shoulder.

"Yeah," she answered honestly, "Eddie had those same chestnut eyes. Anne was the one who was blessed with those blue specs." Ron smiled softly and looked at his goddaughter.

"I suppose when we look into Teresa's eyes, we both are reminded of someone we fell in love with," Ron said with a lop-sided grin. Lily removed her hand from Ron's shoulder and looked away, a nasty look in her eyes.

"Maybe you see that," Lily whispered angrily, her hand curling into a tight fist, "but I sure in bloody hell don't."

"Lily…"

"Ron, I know what you're going to say," said Lily, holding up her hand to stop him from speaking.

"Lily, I love my son," Ron said, ignoring Lily's request to let it go. "But, despite the fact that he is my son, he broke a lot of people's hearts. I've never been more disappointed in someone in my life.

"I know you loved him and don't say you didn't," Ron said quickly as Lily opened her mouth to retort, "because I know you did."

"So, what are you trying to say?" Lily snapped impatiently. Ron smiled inwardly.

"I'm saying that I do not want you to take this case," said Ron, "and I don't want Eddie going with you." What Lily expected Ron to say, it was not that. She stared at Ron for a moment and blinked numerous times and only managed to say one thing;

"What?"

"I don't want you to take Eddie's case," repeated Ron. "You're the Mistress of Magic. Put another Auror on the assignment."

"But, why?"

"Lily, you were a mess after Eddie abandoned us all," said Ron softly. "It tore you up. I saw it in your eyes. And now when you're finally about to fully recover; he comes storming back into your life. It's not fair to you."

"Ron, this is not a relationship," Lily said firmly. "It's purely business."

"You're Mistress of Magic!" Ron said desperately. "Surely you can-"

"That's right, Ron," Lily said, standing up and pulling out her wand. "I am Mistress of Magic and yes, I could put another Auror on the case but I am not going to. This is my case and just because it happens to deal with my ex-boyfriend should not make a difference! I said in my oath I would help any witch or wizard and Eddie is just another wizard."

Ron just looked at his goddaughter and studied her for a moment, seeing how much like Harry she really was. It made him miss Harry and Hermione and how the three of them used to be even more so. He ignored the lump developing in his throat and patted Lily's cheek roughly and gently at the same time.

"I'm proud of you Lily Potter," he said pressing his forehead against her's affectionately. Lily smiled and turned to Apparate home, but before she could, Ron spoke up again.

"Lily, why are you taking this case?" Ron asked seriously. Lily just stared at him, her heart beginning to pound loudly in her chest. She was sure that Ron would be able to hear it. "It's not because you still have feelings for him is it?"

"No, of course not," Lily answered quickly. "I could never have feelings for someone who did what he did to me."

"Then why are you taking the case, Lil?"

There was a long pause and Lily stared at Ron for a moment, then at her hands, and then suddenly became very interested in her feet. Finally, she looked back at her godfather and he saw the determination, the walls she had put up to prevent herself from Eddie hurting her again.

"I don't know," was all she said. "It just feels right."

"I still don't approve of it," Ron said softly, knowing perfectly well that Lily would not take his advice.

"I know," Lily whispered, "but it's my decision." With that, Ron nodded softly, sighing to himself, still realizing how Lily was so much like Harry; the stubbornness, the determination, the courage, and the will to do the right thing. And with that, he watched Lily Apparate back to her flat in London and he went upstairs to get his two daughters into their beds and to sleep.

Knock, knock!

Eddie buried his face into his pillow and groaned loudly, hoping whoever was knocking on the door would go away. But, he was wrong.

Knock, knock!

"Go away!" Eddie screamed at the door, wrapping his sheets and blankets tight around him and snuggling deep into the mattress, thinking the annoying knocker had gone away.

"Stupefy!"

The door bursted open and Eddie screamed, grabbing his wand from the night stand and pointing it at the door, only to see Lily grinning and with her wand pointed outward at the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges.

"Bloody hell Potter," Eddie growled, burying his face back into the pillow and throwing his wand to the side of the bed. He quickly looked at his watch. "It's 6am in the morning!"

"I'm fully aware of what time it is, Weasley," Lily said coolly, kicking the door out of her way as she stepped into the room. Eddie sat up and rubbed his eyes and looked at the mess she had made and groaned.

"Why did you stun the door open?" he asked grumpily, throwing his blankets off him and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "You could have just kept knocking and said it was you." Eddie looked up to see Lily smirking in her cocky smirk.

"I'm Mistress of Magic," Lily said smugly. "I can do as I please. And you weren't responding to my knocks so I decided to make sure you'd get up and get the picture that I'm not playing games. You said you wanted to join me on the investigation, so you'll play by my rules. Understood?"

Eddie muttered unpleasant words about Lily under his breath as she waved her wand to fix the door she had blasted off the hinges a few moments ago.

"Get changed," Lily ordered as she began walking out the door. "Our investigation begins right now. Meet me downstairs with all of your belongings in ten minutes."

"Where are we going?" Eddie asked curiously, rubbing his already messy, bushy red hair. Lily fought back a laugh at the messy state his hair was in and just bit her lip instead.

"Downstairs, ten minutes," was all Lily said. "I don't discuss things out in the open for everyone to hear." Lily closed the door behind her and Apparated downstairs. Eddie made a rude face at her retreating back and sat up to change and pack.

When Eddie got downstairs with his belongings, he saw Lily sitting at a small table by the window of the pub, sipping a cup of tea, a plate of eggs and sausage in front of her. Eddie frowned and dragged his belongings towards the table and plopped down in the seat in front of Lily. She had her cat-like glasses on and was reading off a clipboard, her magical once again writing furiously as she scratched her chin.

"How'd you know where I was staying?" Eddie asked curiously as took one of the sausages off Lily's plate and began to eat it. Lily did not move or look at him.

"Where else would you be staying?" Lily said knowingly. "By the way Ed, we are investigating now and will be going under false names. From now on you'll check in and introduce yourself as Ed Jinxins. I'm known as Lisa Prongs."

"Fair enough," Ed mumbled as he grabbed Lily's fork and began eating the eggs. She still had not even looked up at him. "So, why are we up so early?"

"You are interested in finding your fiancé, aren't you?" Lily asked, finally looking up at him, looking over the rim of her cat-like classes and raising an obvious eyebrow.

"Of course I am!"

"Then we need to start as early and as soon as possible," Lily said as she packed up her things into a tiny beaded bag Eddie recognized as his mother's. She always used that bag on vacations or when Ron and Harry needed to borrow it for their Auror missions. Lily caught him staring intently at the back and sighed.

"Yes, this is your mum's," Lily said a toneless voice.

"How did you get it?"

"It was inherited to me through her will," Lily explained, taking all of Eddie's belongings and placing them into the famous beaded bag. Eddie just stared at her and his eyes narrowed.

"She isn't dead," he growled, "why did you get your inheritances?"

"Your father gave it to me when I graduated from the Auror department," Lily snapped. "He said it would come in handy and it did. According to him, Hermione had planned on giving it to me anyway so what difference does it make?"

Lily finished placing all of Eddie's bags into the beaded back and pulled out some money for the breakfast she did not eat and stood up. "Are you ready?" she asked and Eddie nodded, still glaring at her.

"Why didn't I get my inheritances?" he asked, following Lily out of the pub as she looked around and pulled out a compass.

"Well considering you disappeared without a trace, it was quite difficult to track you down. You never answered any of our letters or anything," Lily said as though the answer was quite obvious. Eddie knew she was right and did not respond, knowing he did not have much of comeback so he just silently followed her through London. Finally, Lily stopped short, still studying the compass.

"What is that?" Eddie asked curiously.

"It has the same idea as a Sneakoscope, it points to anyone untrustworthy nearby," Lily explained.

"How do you know if it is not pointing to anyone?"

"The arrow disappears," Lily said briskly, pocketing the compass and headed down a small, dirty alley, looking around for something. Eddie just stood there, not a clue to what she was doing or what was going on. In a way, Eddie felt like a fool and grinded his teeth in annoyance.

"Ah ha!" Lily said in triumph as she levitated a fresh-looking banana from a nearby trash can. "You ready?" she asked, looking at Eddie impatiently.

"What is it?" Eddie asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow. Lily rolled her eyes and mumbled something about an 'idiot' under her breath.

"It's a Portkey," Lily said slowly, as though talking to a five year old. Eddie gritted his teeth but chose to ignore her attitude.

"Where is it taking us?"

"Just grab it and you'll find out," Lily mumbled, still levitating the banana. "On the count of three, okay?"

"Fine."

"One…two…three!"

Both Lily and Eddie grabbed a hold of the banana and felt a heavy pull at their feet as they were transported to an unknown land. It was so unsual for him, as he had not done it in years. Eddie felt a blur of colors and weight spread around him. Lily seemed unfathomed by it. He figured she must travel by Portkey on a daily basis. Eddie just did not understand why they did not just Apparate to where ever it was that they were heading.

The Portkey travel actually took several minutes before Lily and Eddie landed on cool grass with a loud thud. Lily felt the grass tickle her nose and she sneezed and opened her eyes. She smiled; she was exactly were she wanted to land. Miranda never let her down and set up the perfect Portkey. Eddie groaned, rubbed his back, and stood up before taking a look around, stretching his back in the meanwhile.

"Where are we?"

"Damn, you think you'd recognize your own home, wouldn't you?" Lily asked dryly, levitating the banana and placing it in the beaded bag. "We're in Central Park, New York City."

"What in the hell are we doing here?" Eddie asked incredulously.

"It was never a wonder why you didn't become an Auror," Lily said sarcastically. "All of your questions are getting really irritating. We're where the crime happened. In order to find Jane, we need to start where it all began; where it all took place. She was kidnapped here, this is where we'll find our first clue."

"Oh," was all Eddie mumbled dumbly. "Why Central Park?"

"There is a lot of people around," said Lily, swinging the beaded bag over her shoulder and took a look around. "No one would notice two people appear out of nowhere."

"Good call," Eddie said approvingly, nodding and taking a look around. Many people were taking their early morning jogs and taxis were driving by to pick up people who needed to get to work. No one noticed Lily and Eddie pop out of nowhere.

"While you're here, you'll need to speak in your American accent," Lily explained. "We can't let anyone let on to what we're up to or what we're looking for." Eddie nodded in understanding.

"What about you?" Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Won't your accent give your away?"

"I took Muggle language and accent classes," Lily explained waving her wand and her pad came flying out and it started scribbling again. "I figured it was better to cover yourself up by learning the languages and no one suspecting you."

"That's brilliant Lils!"

Lily's eyes widened and they blazed at Eddie when he used his old nickname for her. He could not tell whether she was more angry or embarrassed and immediately decided to correct himself.

"I'm mean…Lily," Eddie stammered, his ears going bright red. Lily still looked at him wide-eyed.

"Yeah…I made those classes a requirement in Auror training when I became Head of the Auror Department," Lily explained, still looking at him strangely before going through her notes which held her earlier interview with Eddie. "The ransom note was sent to you, correct?" Lily asked, her eyes squinting into the sunlight. Eddie nodded and she bit her lip.

"Where do you reckon we should start?" Eddie asked uncertainly. Lily thought for a moment, her eyes still narrowed and still biting her lip. She nodded to herself and waved her wand at Eddie, who felt his body tingle. He looked down to see the old gray robes he had been wearing turn into jeans, sneakers, and a gray hooded sweatshirt. Lily did the same and the silver robes she was wearing turned into sneakers, jeans, a white T-shirt, and emerald green zip-up.

"What's with new wardrobe?" Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you live in a Muggle building, don't you?" Lily asked slowly.

"Yes…"

"Don't you think it'd be suspicious if we were wearing robes, especially if whoever kidnapped your fiancé. They obviously have been following you and Jane for quite some time and know you're a wizard," explained Lily. "It'll be extremely obvious if we show up wearing robes. It'll look less…strange if we're wearing Muggle clothing, right?"

"When did you get so brilliant?" Eddie said, smiling down at Lily proudly. Lily smiled sheepishly, without Eddie realizing and told him to direct her to his and Jane's apartment.

The walk to the apartment was the longest, more awkward walk of her Lily. The tension was so thick that one could cut it with a butter knife as the two of them walked through the streets of New York City.

A note from the Jitterbelle. Here's another chapter. I'm really enjoying writing about these characters again. I know this is starting off slow but I promise you it'll get good in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and please review and most importantly, ENJOY!!!!!!