The Aiden Problem

Lottie sat at her desk going over reports but could feel eyes on her. She sat up and looked around, noticing that everyone seemed to be minding their own work. But then she looked to the other side of the office and met light blue eyes and immediately tensed.

Aiden flashed her a smile before turning back to his own work. She couldn't help but narrow her eyes and then huff as she turned back to her own desk, angrily turning a page in the file.

"Something the matter?" Potter asked.

"Nothing," Lottie said sharply. Potter didn't respond for a few moments.

"We can-"

"I don't want to talk about it," Lottie snapped, looking up at him. He raised his eyebrows and then smiled slightly.

"I'm sorry, it's not funny. But that look… with the… I'm sorry, it's not funny," he said, looking back down at the parchment in front of him, somehow managing to stifle his chuckle. Lottie sighed heavily and shook her head. She looked down at the parchments in front of her and then back up at Harry.

"Come on, Potter," she said standing and grabbing her leather jacket from the back of her chair.

"Where are we going?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Out."

Lottie hunched her shoulders slightly against the brisk fall wind, glancing around the street, though otherwise not drawing attention to herself. Potter kept in step with her, also glancing around.

"Just where are we going?" he asked.

"Last place Wickers was seen," Lottie said, turning down Knockturn Alley. Harry didn't say anything more, just followed her. After a few minutes he finally spoke up.

"But… he was last seen here weeks ago," he said. "And we've already questioned everyone at the pub and surrounding stores.

"I know, but… needed to get out of the office," Lottie said. "And I think we missed something." She came to a stop and looked towards the pub where the wizard had been seen. They had questioned the barkeep and various others that had supposedly been there the night in question, but no one had said anything, either terrified of the bastard or secretly protecting him.

She then looked around the street at the various shops and passers-by. She and Harry were garnering a bit of attention, though she figured it was mostly Harry. For the most part, he seemed to be ignoring it as was she. She then looked up, seeing an elderly face peeking out from behind a curtain. It then went shut. Lottie frowned, finding the light, paisley pattern out of place in the dark space.

"Follow me," she said, starting across the street to a door. In that moment, she was fully focused and had a hunch that the next piece of the puzzle they were looking for was with the woman behind the curtain. A woman that they had missed in their earlier sweep.

Lottie ran up the stairs and stopped, looking towards the door that she assumed led to the streetside flat. She then walked over and knocked, Harry just behind her. A few moments passed before the door cracked open an inch and a sliver of a weathered face and silver hair was visible.

"What you want?" a gravelly voice asked.

"We're from-"

"Don't care, what you want?" the voice repeated. Lottie took a deep breath and stared back at the women, keeping a stern look, though not looking too threatening.

"I want to know what you saw from your window three Thursdays passed," she said.

"What makes you think I saw something?" the woman replied.

"Because you were watching us fairly closely. Suspect you watch everything that happens on this street. How long have you lived here?" Lottie asked, staring straight into her faded blue eye. The woman regarded her a few moments and then looked over towards Harry. She then looked back at Lottie.

"What's your name, love?" she asked, her voice a bit softer.

"Lottie. Lottie Bell."

"Take my advice, Lottie, you don't want to mess with him," the woman replied, her voice dropping slightly and a hint of fear entering the visible eye. "E's bad news… lot's of folks around 'ere don't want to cross 'im. You cross 'im and you'll get much worse than those bruises you already got."

"He's hurt a lot of people, ma'am. We need to bring him in," Lottie said firmly. "Whether or not you help, we're going to keep looking for him. And we're going to bring him in." Lottie took a step back and started to turn away. Harry had a confused look on his face but followed her lead. They had made it halfway to the stairs before there was a heavy sigh.

"Just got the kettle on. Come in."

Lottie grinned and winked at Harry before adopting a neutral expression and then turning back to see the woman had opened the door wide enough so they could enter. She was wearing a faded cotton dress and had several shawls wrapped around her frail shoulders. A cat was standing near her feet, watching them.

"Thank you, Miss…"

"Mrs. Cavendish. Now 'urry and get in 'ere before the tea gets cold."

"Well, I call that a rather successful outing," Lottie said, smiling as she and Harry walked down the main street of the Alley.

"Only took two pots of that odd-tasting tea, a million random stories, and three hours to get it," Harry replied with a sigh. He looked down at his clothing. "I'm never going to get rid of this cat hair. Already did about five cleaning charms and I'm still coated in it."

"They weren't all random. And loads of details in there," Lottie said, glancing at him. "We should look into that old girlfriend of his from Hogwarts that she mentioned."

"You think she'd help him? It's been years," Harry replied. Lottie shrugged and looked back to the street.

"It's a name we didn't have before. And you'd be surprised just how strong a school romance can be," she said with a sigh. "Worth looking into at the least. We've exhausted his known contacts and his family isn't helping him. But someone is. He can't have stayed hidden this long without it."

Harry studied her a few moments, finding she seemed in a better mood than before.

"Right, so what's the story with Crestwater?" he asked. Lottie stopped and looked over at him, her eyebrows raised. "If we're going to be partners, and he's now working here, you at least should tell me why you and Bernard hate him so much." Lottie rolled her eyes and started walking again.

"We were partners in MACUSA. And then after a couple years… things got a bit more… serious," she said. "We dated awhile. Broke up after he took credit for work I did on a few cases. Then I found out the tosser had been stealing credit for all my work and used it to get a promotion that I had been working towards." Harry frowned.

"What? How?" he asked.

"He doctored the reports we submitted on our cases," she said. "When he offered to turn them all in, I trusted him. Never even crossed my mind what he was doing." She looked around the street, anywhere but at Harry.

"But… why did he come here?" Harry then asked. "If he took your promotion?"

"Beats me," Lottie said. "I'd rather not find out. If anything, I'd rather he stay far from me. Which, thankfully, he seems to be doing."

"Well, he won't be doctoring reports here. If anything, the Ministry takes its paperwork rather seriously. Hard to get away with that sort of thing," Harry replied. Lottie snorted and looked over at him.

"Never thought I'd be happy about triplicates," she said, smiling. "Come on. Let's get some food and then hit the records department."

Lottie sighed as she slid into the booth and looked across the table at Charlie. He wore a shocked expression as he leaned over the table, likely trying to get a closer look at her face.

"Blimey, Char, how hard did the damn bludger hit you?" he asked. Lottie rolled her eyes. The bruising was fading fairly quickly thanks to the salve from Oliver. It already looked loads better, so she wasn't sure why people were still making a deal out of it.

"Doesn't hurt. Did you order?" she asked.

"Yea, the usual," Charlie said, leaning back. Two pints appeared in front of them and Lottie eagerly took hers. "You talk to him?"

"No," Lottie said firmly as she glared down at her glass. "And I don't intend to."

"But don't you want to know why he's here?" Charlie pushed. Lottie looked up at him.

"If it's got anything to do with me, I'd rather not give him the chance to enact whatever plan he's got," she replied.

"'Course it's got to do with you," Charlie said with a snort. Lottie rolled her eyes and took another drink.

"Well, he's with another team, so I don't have to worry about working with him, at least," she said with a huff.

"There's that, at least," Charlie said, smiling slightly. "How are things wit-"

"Lottie?"

Lottie froze slightly and then narrowed her eyes as she turned slightly in the booth and saw Aiden standing there. Fucking hell, was he following her?

"What do you want?" she asked tersely.

"I was just hoping that we could talk," he said. He looked over at her twin. "Good to see you again, Charlie."

"Wish I could say the same," Charlie said, his voice flat. Aiden then turned his eyes back to Lottie.

"I think if you would just hear me out-"

"No. We've had this conversation before. I don't want to hear your piss-poor excuses all over again," Lottie said, straightening up and folding her arms across her chest.

"It wasn't like that-"

"Oh look, brother. Weren't we just wondering when we would run into dear, old Aiden?"

Lottie groaned and looked over to see Bernard and Adam walking up. Both wore rather dark smiles that only had her worried they were about to start a fight in the pub.

"We were, weren't we?" Adam replied. "He botherin' you, Char?"

"Christ, would you two knock it off?" Lottie grumbled. "I was handling it on my own just fine."

"Scamper off, little pup. She doesn't want to talk to you," Bernard said, stepping closer to Aiden and getting in his face, the smile never leaving though his eyes were cold. Aiden frowned at the two and then looked back at Lottie.

"What the fuck, Lottie? How many thugs do you have taking care of your dirty work?" he asked. Lottie started at that. What the hell was he talking about? "Never mind. I'm out of here." He then walked off.

"What was that about?" Lottie murmured. Before she could think about it too much, Adam shoved her aside and slid into the booth next to her while Bernard went to sit next to Charlie. "What are you two doing here? I thought I was just meeting Charlie and I don't recall inviting either of you." She looked at her twin.

"Don't look at me. I didn't tell them anything," he said, his hands up in the air.

"Can't keep secrets from us, Char," Bernard said, grinning. "Should know that by now." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, I don't need you fighting my battles for me either," she said pointedly. "No more. I can handle Aiden on my own."

"Fine, we'll lay off," Adam said, grinning. That alone told Lottie that they had no intention of laying off. Of course, they wouldn't. The words "lay off" didn't exist in either's vocabulary. But rather than fight with them, she reached for her glass. "Bruising is clearing up nicely."

"No thanks to you," Lottie muttered.

"I did a fair job treating you, I'll have you know," Adam said, sitting up a bit straighter. "Not to mention, I stayed late on Friday for you. Was about to leave when you and the troll came in." Lottie rolled her eyes.

"Forgive me for not falling over in gratitude," she said dryly. "Don't you have a wife and children to get home to?"

"Mary knows I'm out spending quality time with my baby sister," Adam said with a grin as he threw his arm around her shoulders. "You know despite everything, you love us."

"Debatable," Lottie retorted.

"You can't blame us for trying to look out for you," Bernard added. "Seeing as you tend to walk into trouble. Sometimes quite literally." Lottie scowled at him. Though it softened a bit.

She did love her brothers, as much as they aggravated her.

"There we are. Char's smile that we all love. No matter what, we've got your back," Adam said, squeezing her shoulder.

"I know," Lottie said, rolling her eyes. "Sometimes I wish a little less so."

A few platters of food popped up on the table at that moment and Bernard ordered a couple of pints for him and Adam. The Bells settled into eating and chatting about their days. It was civilized, for them at least. No shouting. Yet. All it would take was for someone to start taking quidditch or…

"So, Char, you any closer to choosing a bloke?" Bernard asked. She sighed, figuring this would come up at some point.

"None of your business," she snapped.

"Really don't see why there's any competition. I mean, it's obvious that you and Wood are meant to be," Adam said. "You fancied him at Hogwarts. Doodled 'Lottie Wood' on your parchments and such."

"I did no such thing!" Lottie declared, her cheeks turning red.

"More importantly, why would you want to date a Slytherin?" Bernard added. "Especially one who used to call you Smelly Bells?"

"He's chang-"

"What do you think, Charlie?" Adam asked, looking over at him and cutting off Lottie. Charlie studied Lottie a moment.

"I think Lottie should choose whoever she wants," he said. "None of my business who she dates." Bernard snorted.

"So, you're okay with Flint as a brother-in-law?" he asked. Both Charlie and Lottie started laughing loudly.

"I'm not choosing a husband, Merlin!" Lottie shouted.

"Cut her some slack. Lottie's got a good head. She'll figure it out," Charlie said, smiling at her. "And after Aiden, I seriously doubt she'll date another wanker. Can smell 'em a mile away by this point." Lottie smiled at him in gratitude. She then stole a chip from Adam's plate.

"Now… who you lot thinkin' is going to win in the next matchup? Arrows or Wasps?" she said.

"Wasps," Bernard and Adam said together.

"You sure about that?" Charlie countered. Lottie grinned as she sat back and watched the debate unfold.

Merlin, she was happy to be home.

"Okay, so you've got dates coming up this weekend with both again," Penny said as Lottie settled on the sofa next to her. "Maybe we should set some judging criteria?"

"Right, I'll just pull out a checklist in the middle of both dates," Lottie replied wryly.

"I'm just trying to make this a bit easier for you," Penny said. "And you are analytical."

"This is true," Lottie said with a sigh.

"Right, so you know loads about Wood's family, but you don't know much of anything about Flint's. Think you should get him to talk about that," Penny said. "For Wood… hmm… get him to talk about more than quidditch."

"We don't only talk about quidditch," Lottie scoffed. Penny just gave her a lot. "Okay, noted."

"Right, so. Differences," Penny said. "Let's start there."

"Well… I feel as though Oliver already understands me. Has understood me for a long time," Lottie said. "But… then again, Marcus is a fast learner. He took me to this wonderful little bistro. And no more clubs or anything. But…"

"What is it?" Penny asked, leaning towards her.

"I actually kind of liked that he was getting me out of my comfort zone. Challenging me. Even if he didn't realize that he was doing it," Lottie continued. "And while Oliver has always seemed to understand me. Get me. I wonder if he might be too safe. If I would be… settling."

Penny seemed to think this over.

"Very valid points," she finally replied. "You want to be with someone that makes you want to be a better version of yourself."

"But then… with Oliver and his family, I already feel like I'm part of it. Oh, but then with Marcus, he doesn't seem to have any family - at least he doesn't mention them. I can't help but feel that… I could be his family. That he needs me more than Oliver needs me," Lottie said.

"Yea, but… do you feel that strongly about him?" Penny countered. "Is that because you genuinely care for him and want to be in a relationship with him or is it because you feel bad for him?" Lottie frowned.

"Good point," she murmured.

"Okay, so far we've got the fact that you love Oliver's family. He understands and gets you. He's good at snogging. You have fun with him. And he gives you butterflies," Penny listed out. "Then there's Marcus, who is different and challenges you. Obviously listens and learns quickly. Also, a good snogger and butterflies."

Lottie groaned and dropped her face into her hands.

"This is impossible," she moaned.

"You need a tie-breaker," Penny said, starting to smile. Lottie looked up at her. "And don't you dare dismiss it on principle. But you're going to have to shag them both." Lottie frowned. "Compatibility goes farther than just personalities, Lottie. What if you choose one and the sex is horrible? Then you get married and you're stuck with horrible sex for the rest of your life." Lottie only continued frowning at her, but there was a flicker of something in her eyes. "And surely one has got to be better than the other in that regard."

Lottie straightened up, the frown disappearing.

"I think you might be right," she said, looking at Penny. Her best friend started grinning.

"Yes! Finally, ladies and gentlemen, Lottie has seen the light!" she shouted, throwing her arms up in the air in triumph. Lottie only chuckled at her. "Okay. This weekend. Make it happen and then we'll reconvene and discuss." Lottie just rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to hell," she muttered.

"I'll greet you there with a glass of wine," Penny replied, grinning.

Really wanted to include a bit more of Lottie at work, hence this chapter. Plus, needed to get some plot stuff across. ^_^ And I'll be honest, the whole tie-breaker thing is straight from the movie "This Means War" as well as Lottie's comment that she's going to hell and Penny saying she'll be there with her. Really, if you haven't seen it, it's a fun rom-com romp. Chelsea Handler is hilarious as the best friend goading the protagonist into everything.

LeeForShort – Thanks! Haha, honestly, pretty much everything I write starts with the idea that it's something I myself would like to read. And again, with posting every day, it's because I have a lot of free time being under self-quarantine so lots of time to write and edit. I went through and edited all the chapters save the last two yesterday so I could post them rather quickly. Thought today, I've been putting in a lot of work on an original fiction that I had been stuck on for forever. Finally got that sucker plotted out and now doing some writing.

Thanks everyone for reading and following!