Chapter 4 – The Statue of Liberty
After a long, internal struggle, Lily finally rested her head against the kitchen table and banged it slightly in frustration. She was beginning to see why Ron never wanted her to take Eddie's case. It was extremely stressful, not just physically like all Auror cases are, but emotionally. Lily promised herself not to let any of these emotions stir but she was finding it hard to keep that promise. Finally, her emotions got the better of her, yet again, and she took out Hermione's beaded bag and waved her wand out, belting out a Summoning Charm, summoning her Firebolt and her Invisibility Cloak.
Her father's old Firebolt and Invisibility Cloak came flying out of the bag and rested before Lily. She grabbed the broomstick, swung her leg over it, pocketed the riddle, and flung the beaded bag over her shoulders before wrapping the cloak around her shoulders and pulling it over her head. Unlike Eddie, she would not be seen by unsuspecting Muggles. Lily followed Eddie's actions and flew out his shattered bedroom window and into the city sky, in search of her childhood friend.
Eddie continued to fly until it came into full view and he smiled to himself at the sight of it. Quickly glancing at his watch, he saw that it was past midnight and that no one would be there, so it was safe for his own private visit to the Statue of Liberty. When he came close enough, he decided to fly up to the torch. Tourists were no longer allowed up there and he was smart enough to know there would be no security cameras or alarm systems on the torch.
He quietly landed his broom behind the railing that surrounded the torch and sat down beneath it, his feet dangling at the sides, his Nimbus still clutched in his hand, in case of any accidents. Eddie just sat there, staring into the glistening water, reflecting off the moonlight. Despite never being able to see the stars due to all the lights from the city, Eddie was always able to se a full moon. And a full moon was out tonight.
Looking at the full moon always made Eddie think of Remus Lupin and how he no longer suffered during this time of the month. Remus was murdered in the war, right before the final battle. He was very close to Eddie, Lily, and Asher, but Eddie never gave himself a proper time to grieve over Remus, his mother, or anyone who was murdered or severely injured in the war. Eddie figured that was probably part of the reason he wanted to leave the country so badly.
Eddie shook his head; thinking of Remus would only lead to thoughts of Hogwarts, his parents, his sisters, Asher, and of Lily. This was not the time to think about anything that had to due with his past.
Eddie shook his head again and looked down at the crown of the Statue of Liberty, smiling slightly to himself. He remembered all the times he took Jane up on top of the crown and how much she had loved it. On their first date, Eddie had actually charmed the security guards to let them have a private tour after hours, so they reached the crown, just the two of them. It had been Jane's first trip to the Statue and he remembered how she gasped in awe, and how beautiful she looked. Eddie also reminisced how he leaned in and kissed her deeply with everything below them. He and Jane had shared their first date and their first kiss here at the Statue of Liberty. Maybe that was why Eddie was felt so drawn there tonight.
Eddie let the breeze billow through his bushy red hair and he closed his eyes. For the first time that night, that day even, he felt at peace, despite the sounds of sirens and horns honking; he felt at peace. Behind him, he heard a swishing sound; the sound of someone riding a broomstick.
Eddie's eyes snapped open and he remained absolutely still, except for his hand that was slowly creeping into the pocket of his sweatshirt, his fist enclosing around his wand. Taking a deep breath, Eddie ripped it out of his pocket, spun around, and pointed it at whoever was approaching him.
The person was still a few yards away but there was no mistaking that form and that long, golden blonde hair billowing behind her; Lily was riding on her Firebolt, her Invisibility Cloak clutched in her free hand, flying towards Eddie. He groaned to himself and stuffed his wand in his pocket, though he did have half a mind to hex her right then and there. Eddie was downright furious with her at that time; all he had done was to try and protect her from that scum and she threw it right back in his face. He remembered when she did that at Hogwarts and it had angered him then also.
"Ed?" she called in a gentle voice, following Eddie's moves and gliding her broom on to the torch of the Statue. She got off and slowly sat beside him, her legs also dangling on the side. Her emerald green eyes never left his face and it was making Eddie feel very uncomfortable. He was thankful it was dark because he was beginning to feel all the blood rush to his face.
"What?" he asked in a harsh whisper. Lily flinched. He was still angry with her and she decided not to say anything. Instead, she just turned and followed Eddie's gaze to the full moon. Silently, they looked at it, never saying a word to each other. The silence was almost comfortable, but still, tension hung out in the air between them. Lily finally took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, still looking at the full moon. Eddie's eyes widened and he tore his gaze from the sky and looked at Lily.
"What?"
"I'm sorry," Lily repeated, looking directly into Eddie's warm brown depths. She almost laughed at the astonishment they held but held back, wanting her apology to be sincere. "I shouldn't have lost my temper. You were only looking out for my best interest. I am, after all, the one who's supposed to find your fiancé."
"Oh," was all Eddie said, knowing that was not the full or real reason why he felt so fiercely protective of Lily. Sure, finding Jane was part of the reason, but it certainly was not the full reason. "Umm…yeah it's okay." Eddie finally said, not tearing his eyes away from Lily's. "I shouldn't have interfered. I'm the one who should be sorry. You can take care of yourself, and I need to know when to back off."
Lily smiled up at him; the first true smile she had given him since they first saw each other in Miranda's office. If Eddie had been standing, he knew his knees would have buckled at the sight. He had not seen that smile in eight years and it felt like coming home from a long journey, seeing it again. Eddie, not wanting to do anything he regretted, tore his gaze away from Lily's face and looked back out to the night sky.
"How'd you find me?" he mumbled, looking at Lily at the corner of his eye. He saw her shrug slightly and look down at the water below.
"I didn't," she answered honestly. "I didn't know where to begin looking for you. I had never seen the Statue of Liberty before and I figured I should come see it, meanwhile give me some time to think where in the world you might be. I flew here and here you were. It certainly saved me a lot of thinking." Lily smiled again and turned to look back at him. "Why'd you come here?"
"This is Jane's favorite spot," Eddie said, still looking at the sky. Because of this, he did not see Lily's face darken. "We had her first date and our first kiss here."
There was a long pause. Lily did not respond, she did not want to respond. It was better if something were just left unsaid. Eddie just listened to his words and silent tears started coming out of his eyes and streaming down his cheeks. It was not until he sniffed slightly that Lily noticed that he was crying. Lily once again, could not bare to see him like this, and her heart went out to him.
"Oh Eddie," she whispered, and gently took his hand in her's and gave it a slight, comforting squeeze. Eddie squeezed her hand back and looked directly into her eyes. Lily saw it; the love, the need, everything he felt for Jane; how much he loved her, how much he missed her, how much it killed him to know she was being tortured and he was not there to save her. Lily felt her heart clench. It killed her to see Eddie have these feelings and emotions for another woman, but it destroyed her even more to see Eddie in such agony. In the end, Lily could see that Jane made Eddie very happy and he was very much in love with her. Something she could not accomplish it seemed. And in the end, Lily knew that if she was not the one to make Eddie feel like he was on top of the world, then at least Jane could. This made Lily want to find her all that much faster. She squeezed Eddie's hand again.
"We'll find her," was all Lily said firmly, standing up straight, reinstating her promise. Eddie gave a weak, sad smile and nodded.
"I know we will," he whispered. "I trust you, Lily."
Lily's heart fluttered at those words and she gave a timid, weak smile. She let go of Eddie's hand and gave a mumbled, "Thank you," before turning back to look at city skyline before her. She took a deep breath and ran a frustrated hand through her long blonde hair. Beside her, she felt Eddie give a weak chuckle.
"What's funny?" Lily asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. Eddie was looking at the hand of the Statue, his hand touching it lightly.
"I always wondered why they painted her green," Eddie said with a slight grin.
"Who green?"
"The Statue of Liberty," Eddie said in an obvious voice. "It never made much sense to me. You agree?"
Lily rolled her eyes and was just about to make a retort about how only Eddie would be able to come up with an observation like that at a time like this. But, before she could, it hit her like someone toppled a pile of bricks on top of her. Her eyes slowly widened and she brought her hand to her mouth, as though she was talking into a Muggle walky-talky. Eddie noticed her actions and stared at her in concern.
"Lily, are you okay?"
"Ed…the riddle…the clue…"
"Oh, don't worry, Lily," Eddie said encouragingly. "You'll figure-"
"It's the Statue of Liberty!" Lily nearly shouted, frantically reaching into her pocket and pulling out the riddle. "The answer to this riddle is the Statue of Liberty!"
"What?" Eddie gasped, getting clearly excited and frantic as Lily was becoming. "How do you know? What makes you figure that?" Lily took out her wand and the piece of paper in which the riddle was written out of her pocket.
"Lumos!" she whispered and the tip of her wand lit up, as she pointed it at the scrap piece of paper. "'My face is green, but not because I have been on a boat'…the Statue of Liberty is green! 'Without magic, in water I manage to stay afloat'…the Statue sits in the middle of water and without magic. Muggles didn't use magic to build it!"
"Go on!"
"'With my light, I keep those without control, labor, and keep things fair…' The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of just that! Liberty! No control, from us, the British, and no labor…remember American slavery? And keep things fair. Isn't the American system all about justice? 'However, I, myself, it is labor I will bare.'"
"What does that one mean?" Eddie asked earnestly. Lily bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of that final clue. She patted her stomach in thought and it hit her.
"It means she is a woman!" Lily said proudly, her emerald gems snapping open "Women bare labor when they give birth to their children! Eddie, the answer to this riddle is the Statue of Liberty!" Eddie was staring at her as though he had never seen anyone quite like her before. But, before any of them could say any more, the same jet-black owl that had delivered the first letter was flying down to them. It dropped the letter into Eddie's lap and fly back into the darkness. It was invisible after a few moments because the owl was just as dark as the night sky.
Eddie looked at the blood red envelope in his lap and stared at it as though it had the plague. Lily took out her wand and pointed it at the envelope, muttered an incantation and the envelope had a golden aura for a moment before it dimmed. Lily nodded her approval, telling Eddie that it was safe to open. He gulped, not wanting to hear Jane's tortured scream again. It would kill him if he would ever have to hear such a thing again.
"Do you want me to open it?" Lily asked uncertainly. Eddie shook his head.
"I'll hear the scream either way," he said glumly, yet reasonably. Eddie lifted the envelope and tore it open angrily, and closed his eyes when he touched the paper inside. To his relief, there was no scream and he began unfolding the note inside. But the paper was no note, no letter; just the clue.
Paintings and art cover the walls of my room
The youngest King uses me as a tomb
Even though I am rather old
My outside is made of bricks and gold
"BLOODY HELL!" Eddie roared at the top of his lungs, throwing the piece of paper off of the Statue. Lily shushed him, as they did not need to modify the memories of anymore Muggles tonight, and summoned it back with her wand, rereading it and stuffing it into the pocket of her jeans. "What do they want? What can I possibly have they that these bastards could want?"
"You still don't know?" Lily asked quietly, standing up, clutching on to her broom and the beaded bag.
"Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here," Eddie snapped, rounding on Lily. "I'd be getting my fiancé out of their clutches and killing the people who took and tortured her!" Normally, Lily would open her mouth and retort with a good comeback, but for some reason, this time, she decided to remain silent. She was finally beginning to see the distress that Eddie was in over his kidnapped fiancé and deep down, she began to pity him. She looked back down at the riddle in her hands and sighed. Lily had a feeling they were not going to be able solve this riddle as easy as the first one.
"Ed, please calm down," Lily said softly, so softly that Eddie whipped around and looked at her with those distressed, chestnut eyes and they soften considerably.
"I'm trying, Lily," he whispered, "but what you be calm if the person you loved was out there being tortured and you couldn't do anything about it?"
Lily thought of when Eddie was placed under a trance in their sixth year and a familiar lurch pulled her in her stomach.
"No," she said in an agonized whisper, "I wouldn't be calm. I'd be in…disarray. It'd be my own personal torture." Eddie did not realize it, but she described how she felt when Eddie had been placed under a trance in their sixth year by Britta Dirdel and she could not do anything about it
"Exactly," Eddie said gently, sitting back down, leaning against the railing, his feet dangling against the side. "The only other time I felt this way was when-" He stopped short and did not finish his sentence. The only other time he felt like this was when Lily was placed under the Sueno Curse in their fifth year, and the numerous times she faced Voldemort. Lily did not press him to finish his comment, she was not sure she even cared; she did not want to hear anymore about Jane and Eddie's love for her.
"Let's get out of here," Lily finally said, standing up and grabbing her broom, breaking the long, pregnant silence that had surrounded them. "We need to try and solve this riddle. I'm going to assume it's not going be as easy as the first one." Eddie nodded in agreement and clutched his own broom.
"Back to my apartment?" he asked quietly. To his surprise, Lily shook her head firmly.
"No, they know where you live," Lily said knowingly. "They could be watching us and the last thing we need is for them to know that you've hired an Auror, and Lily Potter being that Auror. They also might send some kind of distractions to prevent us from solving that riddle."
"Why would they to distract me from figuring out the riddle?" Eddie asked confusedly. "Don't I have something they want? Distracting me will only prevent them from getting what they want sooner." To his surprise, Lily beamed proudly at him.
"Now, you're thinking like an Auror," she said proudly, causing Eddie to stand tall and puff out his chest considerably. "And being as how you're correct, we still need to consider these people very dangerous and might want any excuse to hurt Jane even further. That's the last thing we want." Eddie nodded firmly in agreement.
"So where do we go?"
"I can't say," Lily said, darting her bright green eyes around them, as though waiting for someone or something to pop up out of nowhere. "We're not safe here anymore. They know we're here. Take my hand."
Eddie all of the sudden felt fearful and very dirty at the thought of someone watching him and Lily; watching him and Jane for the last year or so. He took Lily's hand without a second thought and without any hesitation and before he knew it, she was Apparating to who knows where and he was by her side.
They twirled and a sight came into view. Eddie recognized it as Central Park,; the exact spot where they had arrived by Portkey. Lily let go of Eddie's hand and did not say anything, except to pull out her wand and whisper, "Accio banana!" As the banana, which Eddie realized was the Portkey they had used to get to New York, flew towards her, she grabbed the sleeve of Eddie's sweatshirt and they both felt their feet being pulled from the ground and into swirling colors. They stayed in that state for several moments. Eddie knew they must be traveling far again, probably back to Britain.
When they landed, he saw they were in the same alley in Diagon Alley where they had originally found the banana Portkey. Lily still said nothing but destroyed the Portkey. After it was destroyed, Lily looked urgently at Eddie.
"Take my hand," she ordered again.
"Lily, what's going on?" Eddie asked fearfully. Everything was happening so fast and he did not know how to handle anything. Lily looked thoroughly anxious and a bit panicked, but at the same time, seemed to know exactly what she was doing. She ignored Eddie's question but grabbed his hand instead, once again Apparating to who knows where. He was using side long Apparation and did not have a clue to where Lily was taking him; he assumed it was a place she thought was safe.
When they twirled and arrived, Eddie looked around and recognized it immediately as Sirius's old home; 12 Grimmauld Place. Before he could comment or say anything, Lily grabbed him by the elbow and quickly dragged him up the stairs and shoved him inside, closing the door behind her. With a wave of her wand, the lights in the house lit it up and a fire was blazing in the hearth of the living room. It gave the place a warm, cozy feeling. Eddie just stared at Lily looked around and nodded in satisfaction.
"Kreacher?" she called out. With a sudden pop, Eddie recognized the old, ancient house elf appear before Lily and bowed deeply.
"Master Lily, what can Kreacher do for you?" he said, looking back up at her, his gray eyes twinkling merrily. Lily smiled down at him and tickled his long ear, causing Kreacher to shriek with laughter.
"Nothing as of now," she said nodding. "But, right now, Eddie and I will be spending a few nights here. I wish for you to remain with us for the time being, to keep you safe."
"And to serve Master Lily and Mr. Edward?" he asked hopefully. Lily rolled her eyes and gave him a smirk.
"If you wish to do so, Kreacher," she said good-naturedly. He nodded vigorously, causing Lily to chuckle. "Very well, buddy. You may settle into your old room for now. Once Eddie and I leave in a few days, I wish for you to remain here anyway. You may do and clean as you see fit. It is the only way to keep you safe. Does that sound okay?"
"Yes Master Lily," he said, bowing deeply again, he looked back at her. "Kreacher appreciates Master Lily's concern for him."
"Of course, Kreacher," she said with a small smile. "Now, off you go." With that, Kreacher scurried up the stairs to his old bedroom. For the first time since they had left the Statue of Liberty, Lily turned to look at Eddie and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry about that, Ed," she said, referring to the hustle and bustle they just encountered. "I had to make sure we weren't being followed or that anyone had any idea of where we were going." Eddie took a deep breath and sighed with relief.
"Fair enough," he said with a shrug, taking a look around. "But Lily, why here? Why Grimmauld Place? I understand we cannot go back to my apartment, but why not your flat?"
"If they find you at my apartment, they'll know you hired me as an Auror," Lily said reasonably. "Plus, being a Potter has its disadvantages. It could only make things worse for Jane."
"But isn't finding us at Grimmauld Place the next obvious choice?" Eddie asked slowly, looking around uncertainly. Lily smiled.
"Not when your Aunt Ginny is the Secret Keeper," Lily said with a proud smile. "No one will ever know we are here."
"You really are brilliant Lily," Eddie said with a bemused grin. Lily, who was still smiling, shrugged in a good-natured manner.
"I try," she said, causing both she and Eddie to laugh. With that, Kreacher called out to them to tell them that he had prepared broccoli and cheese soup, along with a chicken pot pie for supper. Lily and Eddie looked at each other, smiled, and walked over to the kitchen to eat their meal.
For desert, Kreacher had prepared a cranberry iced cake, which was one of Lily's favorites, and pumpkin pasties. As Eddie stuffed his face in the pasties, and Kreacher began cleaning the kitchen after Lily had told him to feed himself, Lily pulled out a piece of paper out of the pocket of her jeans and laid it out on the table. Eddie stared at the clue and paled slightly. Lily saw the look on his face and turned to Kreacher.
"Kreacher, buddy?" she called out. The elder house-elf turned to look at her, giving her a questioning, wide-eyed look. "Why don't you finish cleaning those later? Ed and I need to discuss some things in private."
"Of course Master Lily," Kreacher said at once. "Kreacher shall go prepare Master Lily's bedroom and a guest room for Mr. Edward." Lily smiled and nodded to show her gratitude and the little elf disappeared with a pop. Once he was gone, Lily turned back to Eddie and gave a small sigh.
"If we have any hope of finding and saving Jane," Lily started, "we need to figure out this riddle."
Heaving a sigh, Eddie nodded and slid the paper from underneath Lily's fingers and began reading and rereading it carefully, examining it, determined to find the woman he wanted to become his wife.
A note from the Jitterbelle. Wow, I'm writing this awfully fast. I'll probably get this done sooner than "Heir's Revenge" only because I know exactly where I am going with this story. Well I hope you guys are enjoying it! But please review; it really does encourage me to write more and to write faster. So please read, review, but most importantly, enjoy!