Chapter 5 – The Second Clue
Eddie awoke with a start and a loud snort, shooting up in his bed and looking around frantically. Not remembering where he was a first, he took a deep breath, all of the events coming back to him. He realized he was in one of the many guest rooms of 12 Grimmauld Place, though he could not remember how he got there.
Scratching his head, he got out of bed and realized he was still in the clothes had been wearing the previous night. Eddie shrugged and stretched before walking out the door and heading down the stairs and towards the kitchen. The hallway and outside the door to the kitchen smelled of sizzling sausage and he stomach gave a loud roar. Rubbing it, he swung the kitchen door open to see Lily and Kreacher bustling about the kitchen. Kreacher was the only one who took notice of his presence.
"Mister Weasley!" Kreacher called out, dashing towards him and taking his hand. "Please, take a seat. Kreacher and Mistress Lily are making breakfast. Is there anything Mister Weasley would prefer?"
"I won't lie Kreacher, that sausage smells delicious," Eddie said with a smile. Kreacher beamed and raced towards the frying pan, trying to make something special for him. Eddie's eyes drifted from Kreacher to Lily. He almost sighed. Lily was wearing sweatpants and t-shirt, her long blonde hair tied back into a loose, messy ponytail; the same kind she used to wear when they were back at Hogwarts. Eddie also noticed that she had a pair of catlike rimmed glasses on and oven mitts on her hands. For the first time since he had seen her, Lily looked the girl he fell in love with back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And for a moment, Eddie was afraid he would fall in love with her all over again, so he just shook his head and turned away.
"Corn muffins?"
Eddie jumped and turned back to Lily.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I made corn muffins," Lily said, not looking at Eddie, but instead bending over to retrieve the muffins out of the hot stove. "Would you like one?"
"Uh, sure," Eddie said uncertainly, as he watched Lily carefully take them off the pan and but them on a flat plate. She picked it up and walked over, placing the muffins on the table before turning and walking back to the stove. Eddie gulped and grabbed a muffin, hesitantly taking a bite. If it was one thing Lily was never famous for, it was her cooking. But, to his surprise, when Eddie took that bite, he could not believe how delicious, sweet, tasty, and moist it was.
"When did you learn how to cook?" Eddie asked without thinking, and then immediately slapped himself, waiting for Lily's nasty retort. To his surprise, Lily laughed.
"Your Aunt Ginny inherited your grandmum's famous cooking skills. She lived with me for about a year and taught me a thing or two," Lily said simply before waving her wand, letting the pan and bowls wash themselves. At that moment, Kreacher came racing up with a sausage sandwich for Eddie and a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich for Lily.
"Thank you Kreacker," Lily said politely, smiling down at the little house-elf. "That will be all for now."
"May Kreacher tend to the gardens?" the elf asked hopefully. Lily chuckled and nodded her head. Kreacher scurried off into the backyard and Lily took a seat opposite from Eddie.
"He's always on the move," was all she said as she took a bite of her breakfast sandwich. Eddie grinned awkwardly and just looked down at his sandwich. Lily continued to eat and did not take notice that her best friend, who had one of the biggest appetites she had ever seen, was not touching his food.
After several long minutes, Lily finished her sandwich and one of the muffins before waving her wand and placing her plate in the sink to be washed. She finally chanced a glance at Eddie and noticed his food still went untouched. Lily cocked her head to the side and raised a confused eyebrow.
"Is everything okay?" Lily asked, and to Eddie's utmost surprise, she sounded genuinely concerned. It made him melt, and to his surprise, he wanted to open up to her.
"No," he said in a shaky whisper. "Nothing is okay. Jane is still gone and Merlin knows what they're doing to her. It's making me nuts, Lils, I can't focus, I can't think, I just….its driving me crazy."
Thankfully, Eddie did not notice Lily shiver slightly when he called her, "Lils" but shook it off, and gently placed her hand over his in a comforting manner. Eddie was looking down at his food, his insides shaking, ready to be sick.
"I'll find her, Ed," Lily whispered. "I promise. In the meantime, starving yourself isn't going to help either of us." Eddie chuckled and gave her a weak smile. She gently ruffled his bushy, red hair and gave him a small smile back. Their eyes met for a moment and they both felt the spark, but both chose to ignore it.
The day went by slowly. Lily had locked herself up in a small office on the second floor with a piece of paper that had the second clue on it. Inside, she had locked the door and did not want to be disturbed by neither Eddie nor Kreacher.
Eddie did not know what to do with himself; Lily had locked herself in her home office and Kreacher was on the move, trying to clean the house. It was apparent that Lily had no resided in it in a long time. Eddie guessed that she probably used it when she needed to get away or needed some kind of vacation, since his Aunt Ginny was the Secret Keeper. Lily would not have it as a private place if she did not want it to be private. He had to admit, Lily had made it quite pleasant. Back in the day, when Ron and Harry used to take them here, he and Lily had always found it rather old and creepy, like a haunted house. Lily had definitely made a pleasant, cozy home for herself. But the only thing that Eddie did not understand was why Lily needed such a big house when she had her own cozy flat near London. But then again, there was that privacy. But, why not let Aunt Ginny be the Secret Keeper of her flat? What was so special about this place that Lily wanted to keep it and use it?
Eddie sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his bushy, long hair. His hair was getting so long; Jane would have been furious. She hated when he grew out his hair; always liked it high, tight, and neat. Eddie did not like it short but what Jane wanted, Jane got; he'd do anything for her. Shaking off any thoughts of Jane, because it only made him feel nauseous, Eddie trudged down the stairs and dragged himself to the living room. Kreacher already had a fire blazing in the hearth, giving a warm, cozy feeling that reminded him strongly of the Gryffindor Common Room. Eddie did not think Lily gave off that feeling by accident.
Eddie laid down on the couch but because he was so tall, his feet were dangling off the side. He grabbed one of the pillows and placed it behind his head and stared into the fire, hoping that maybe Professor Trelawney was right when she claimed that if you look into a fire long enough, you can see the future. But, trying to look into the future makes one feel very drowsy and a set of eyes extremely heavy…
Eddie awoke with a start and bolted upright, gasping for a breath as he heard a high pitched scream from from down the hallway of Lily's office.
"Lily!" he gasped, snatching his wand from out of his pocket and sprinting up the stairs, climbing them two by two up to the second floor.
When he reached the outside of the office, door, it was still closed. Eddie grasped the knob and tried to open the door but it was locked and he felt his heart race.
"LILY!" he shouted over the high pitched screaming. It sounded like she was being tortured. He continued fight the door knob but it was no use. Getting frustrated, Eddie stood back and pointed his wand at the door.
"ALOHOMORA!" he bellowed, and he heard it click and unlock. He pulled up his foot and kicked the door wide open.
"Lily?" Eddie asked urgently, his wand armed, ready to attack. When he saw the sight inside the room, he immediately lowered his wand, staring blankly at the sight before him.
There was a man in the room, but Eddie could not make out his face. It was blocked due to the fact that Lily had jumped on the man, locking her legs around his waist in a fierce hug. The man was hugging her just as tight, his tightly around her waist, squeezing tightly, but lovingly. It was apparent that Lily knew this man and was very excited to see him.
Even though Eddie had lowered his wand, something deep inside him still wanted wave it and hex the pants off of him. It was though some monster wanted to come roaring out of his chest and attack the man who had his slimy hands on Lily. Eddie shook his head, not realizing where this intense jealousy was coming from. But, it was there; his fists were tightly clenched, his teeth gritted, and he could feel his face getting hot and knew it probably matched the color of his hair.
"Alright in here?" Eddie asked in such a grumpy voice, that it even surprised him. The man dropped Lily and looked Eddie straight in the face, a big grin on his handsome features. Eddie's jaw dropped.
It was Asher.
"Is it just me or does Weasel bean here look like a beet with a bad sunburn? Freckles and red skin are just not a good combination, Ed," Asher said with a big grin on his face, causing Lily to throw her head back and laugh.
"Asher?" Eddie asked through a choked whisper. Asher beamed again, brushed past Lily, and limped over to Eddie and embraced him like a brother. Eddie was shocked at first, but gingerly returned the hug.
"It's been too long, Ed," Asher whispered, pulling away and leaning against his cane. Eddie looked at his old friend, up and down. The last time he saw Asher, he was depressed, lonely, and forever to remain in a wheelchair. Standing before him was a healthy, confident, good-natured young man; the way Asher always was. He was extremely muscular in his chest and arms; Eddie supposed it was because of all the arm strength he had to use with his wheelchair and cane. His hair was combed and remained its natural light brown glow, he was beaming, and his stormy gray eyes were roaring with a fabulous thunder.
"Ash…your legs…"
"Ah, has it been that long?" he asked with a chuckle. "Muggles can do amazing things…fake legs. They're not that stable but they're better than a wheelchair; hence the cane." There was a long silence and Eddie nodded.
"It's good to see you, Ash," was all Eddie said, patting his friend on the arm. He looked up at Lily, to Asher, and then back to Lily. "I'll let you two talk. See you."
Eddie was halfway out the door when he heard Lily give a frustrated sigh and he turned around sharply, raising an eyebrow. He knew that that sigh meant.
"Something wrong, Lily?" Eddie asked slowly.
"Yeah, you haven't seen Asher, one of your best friends, in eight years and all you have to say to him is 'Ash, your legs,' and 'It's good to see you?' Are you bloody kidding me?" Lily nearly shouted, her hands on her hips, her emerald green eyes narrowed as she took off her glasses and tossed them on to her desk.
"What do you want me to say, Potter?" Eddie snarled, looking annoyed, and then turning to Asher and with a cynical tone, he asked: "I apologize, Asher, for my rudeness. How's the family? Any promotions lately?"
Lily started toward him with her fists clenched, looking absolutely disgusted. "You have some nerve-"
"No, Lily," Asher said, raising his hand to stop Lily for continuing, not taking his eyes off Eddie, "I'd like to answer his questions." Asher reached out his arm and handed his cane to Lily, who took it hesitantly. Asher limped toward Eddie without his cane, his gray eyes mirrored Lily's; absolute disgust.
"My family is fine," Asher said coolly, "I married Yvonne two years ago and she is pregnant with our first born child. I am now working the assistant head of the Department of Magical Corporation. After old man Gibberson retires, there is a pretty good chance I'll become head of the department. Anything else buddy?"
Asher practically spat out the last word, as though he had dirt in his mouth. And with that, he turned back to Lily and gave a soft smile. "Well, I'll see you later for dinner Lily Billy?"
"You can count on it Asher Basher," Lily teased, giving her friend a wink. She handed Asher his cane and he Disapparated on the spot, not even looking at Eddie. Lily's smile immediately dropped when she looked and saw Eddie still standing there.
"I guess Ron and Hermione never taught you any manners," Lily snarled coolly. "Or they did and you're just too thick-headed for what they said to seek into that pathetic brain of yours!"
"Don't lecture me, Lily Potter," Eddie snapped back, turning his back on her and started towards the door. "I'm in no mood to hear it. You're not my mother."
"Mother?" Lily whispered. She whispered it so delicately, so gently, that he forced himself to turn around and look at her. When he saw her face, he could tell she was doing all she could to keep her anger under control. Her face was nearly purple, and her teeth were gritted tightly, her jaw locked, her fists clenched at her side, and that green, blazing fire was burning brightly in her emerald depths.
"Uh…Lily…?"
"You're right, Ed," Lily snarled, the fire burning stronger, "I'm not your mother. But, how is your mother doing? You wouldn't know, would you? You know what Ed Weasley…YOU CAN GO TO HELL!"
"Lily…"
"GO TO HELL!" Lily shouted one more time before storming towards Eddie, placing her hands on his chest, and shoving him as hard as she could out of her office. Eddie was immensely surprised at her strength as he stumbled backwards into the hallway and nearly over the banister. He stared at her wide-eyed.
"Lily!"
But she had already slammed the door in his face; she slammed it so hard that he felt the whole house rattle and decided he had better give her some time to cool down before talking to her again.
But, to be quite honest, it was good seeing the old, hot-tempered Lily again. And something inside of Eddie danced.
Eddie sat there for a half and hour in absolute shock, clearly stupefied over Lily's reaction to him being so rude to Asher and hardly mentioning his mother, Hermione. It seemed like minutes that he stared into the fireplace before he heard the showers going, figuring that Lily was taking one to cool down. A few moments after that, Kreacher approached Eddie with a slight bow.
"What would Mr. Edward like for supper tonight?" Kreacher asked, looking up from his bow. Eddie raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't that up to Lily?"
"No sir," Kreacher said, shaking his head, "Mistress Lily is going out to dine with Mr. Asher and Mrs. Yvonne."
"Excuse me?" Eddie snapped, jumping to his feet, staring down at Kreacher with a fierce look on his face. Kreacher took a step back fear.
"Mistress Lily went to dine with Mr. Asher and Mrs. Yvonne…" Kreacher repeated slowly, in obvious fear. Eddie stomped his foot on the ground and yelled out in frustration.
"Instead of working on my fiancé's case?" he roared angrily, making the elder elf cringe in fear. "Bloody hell! Where did they go Kreacher for dinner?"
"I do not know, sir…" Kreacher said in a fearful whisper. Eddie threw his hands up in the air and stormed out of the room, up the stairs, and into the guest bedroom where he was staying, slamming the door so loudly that the whole house shook violently. Kreacher's ears dropped in disappointment and he strutted over to his own room.
Lily continued to glare angrily at Asher and Yvonne who were sitting across the table from her and Ezekiel. Ezekiel Tekerromb was a 'so-called' Qudditch player trying out for the American Asteroids. Without informing her, Asher and Yvonne had set Lily up on a blind date and were receiving death glares for it.
'No wonder they wanted to meet me at this fancy, expensive restaurant and wanted me to dress nice,' Lily thought, annoyed at herself for not picking up on something like this. They had been on her back about laying off work for a bit and getting out there and meeting someone.
"So, Lily, how is the new position treating you?" Ezekiel asked, flashing her a toothy grin, eyeing her up and down. Lily gave him a fake smile and flashed another angry look at Asher.
"It's treating me fair enough," Lily said automatically. Ezekiel smiled again and Lily rolled her eyes without him noticing. After what seemed like hours, when their food arrived, Ezekiel excused himself to go to the bathroom and before Lily could yell at her friends, Asher changed the subject.
"You do realize that Ed is going to be bloody furious when he finds out you banked out on solving his case to have dinner with us," Asher observed with a lop-sided grin, staring at Lily with amusement. He only brought up Eddie now because the case was considered classified and Ezekiel could not know about it all.
"You see this face Ash? My face?" Lily asked, pointing to her face. Asher nodded. "This is my face…not caring!" Asher threw his head back and laughed and Yvonne let out a soft giggle.
"Seriously though Lily," Yvonne started as they started their dinner, "the woman's life is in danger. It is not her fault that Eddie turned out to be a git."
"I pity her enough that she has to marry him!" Asher said good-naturedly, but both Lily and Yvonne chose to ignore his childish comment.
"I know, Yvonne," Lily said with a sigh, staring at her plate of food. "But there really is nothing I can do until I figure out the clue."
"Well then shouldn't you be home, trying to figure it out?" Asher asked. Lily shrugged.
"You can only read and reread a riddle so much and look at a piece of paper for so long before you feel like your head is about to explode." Lily said with an exasperated tone in her voice.
"Fair enough," Yvonne said with a smile, earning a kiss on the cheek from Asher. Lily grinned back and took a bite of her dinner before turning to look back up at the happy couple.
"So, Yvonne, you're on leave from work?" Lily asked, trying to strike up a conversation.
"Yeah, it makes me sad to be leaving my work in the middle of a big discovery," Yvonne said honestly, "but it is for a good reason." She smiled at Lily, and then turned to beam at her husband, who was rubbing her pregnant belly gently.
"The one in Egypt?" Lily asked knowingly, being Mistress of Magic and all. She knew of everything that went on in every department. Yvonne nodded.
"I'm really disappointed because we just discovered a new, ancient magic in the depths of the tomb of King Tut," Yvonne explained. "I especially find it amusing that we were able to get a few witches and wizards in with Muggles and make them believe they actually found the tomb of the youngest pharaoh of Egypt."
"Why did we have to make sure that the Muggles didn't discover the real tomb of King Tut?" Asher asked curiously.
"You know as well as I do that King Tut was a powerful wizard," Yvonne explained. "He was a Muggle-born born into an ancient, royal family. The boy was able to discover and invent all kinds of magic that we still use today! However, he was not accepted by his family, or his people, because of his power and it is believed that he was killed young for it."
"Killed?"
"It's possible," Yvonne said with a shrug. "We really don't know anymore than the Muggles know; except where the actual tomb is located. We just know that the tomb contains such magic that…it's just best that the Muggles do not know about it."
"Makes sense," Asher said through a mouthful of food. None of them noticed that Lily had not said anything throughout the whole conversation. They turned to her and noticed that she was staring out into the space, her mouth partially opened, her hand firmly holding her fork, which was resting in her plate. Asher looked at Yvonne confusedly, and then turned to his friend in concern.
"Lily Billy, are you okay?" he asked in concern. Lily nodded slowly, her eyes still wide and mouth still partially opened.
"Yvonne?" she asked in a shaky whisper. "Is the real tomb of King Tut…is it made of bricks?"
"Yes," Yvonne said slowly, raising an eyebrow. "Golden bricks. Why?"
Ignoring Yvonne's question, Lily asked; "And what's on the walls of King Tut's tombs?"
"Oh!" Yvonne exclaimed, getting all excited. "The most wonderful forms of art work, wall paintings! It changed the world of art for both Muggles and wizards alike! It's absolutely mag-" Yvonne never got to finish her sentence because Lily had jumped out of her seat and grabbed her bag.
"Asher, Yvonne, I'm so sorry," she said hastily as she threw her bag over her shoulder. "But I need to leave."
"Lily?" Asher asked, standing up, noticing his friend's urgency. "Is everything okay?"
"Do you despise Ezekiel that much?"
"There's been a breaking in the case," was all Lily said, laying some money down to pay for her meal. "I'm really sorry. Tell Ezekiel I am sorry as well."
"Eddie's case?" Asher asked while raising a curious eyebrow. Yvonne's eyebrows were raised so high that they could not be seen from underneath her bangs. "You found a break from talking about tombs in ancient Egypt?"
"Yes, exactly," Lily said, nodding. "I'm really sorry…"
"We expect nothing less from the Mistress of Magic," Yvonne said with a soft, understanding smile. "Good luck, Lily."
"I will."
"We'll find some excuse to give Ezekiel."
"Thanks."
"Stay safe!" Asher shouted Lily she Disapparated back to 12 Grimmauld Place.
Eddie heard a faint pop from the hallway and his eyes immediately snapped open. He lifted his head from his pillow and looked around the guest room. Noticing how a few of the picture frames that hung on the wall were tilted, and one or two had actually fallen and shattered on the ground, did he remember the fact that Lily had abandoned his case for the night and had gone out with Asher and Yvonne. The same fury he felt earlier when he found out where Lily was, started to rise through him again. Eddie grabbed his wand from his bedside table and hoped that the person outside was Lily, because he was in no mood to deal with anyone else, especially the rage that he was feeling. With a hold of his wand, Eddie rolled off of the bed and threw the door open and his jaw nearly dropped when he saw Lily standing there on the other side.
Lily was standing there; her long blonde hair was long and wavy; which was naturally pin straight so she had to have done something with it. She was wearing a classy, but very sexy black halter dress and black heels, carrying a large black bag. Her eye make-up made her emerald green eyes pop even more than they did naturally. Though she appeared slightly disheveled and stressed over something, Lily looked nothing short of stunning. Eddie felt his breath hitch in his throat but he gulped it down before she could notice.
"Eddie," started Lily, "I figured out the second clue. We need to leave immediately."
"Wait…what…Lily…"
"Eddie, need to go NOW!" Lily nearly yelled as she turned on heel and stormed down the hallway. Eddie gripped his wand and grabbed his cloak before following her, his heart pounding so loud in his chest, he was sure Lily could hear it from all the way down the hall. He was feeling so many emotions at once he did not know what to think or what to feel; anger, excitement, frustration, and fear were the primary feelings. When Eddie reached the end of the hall, he saw Lily standing at the edge of the stairs; the famous beaded bag in her clutches.
"We need to Apparate to a Muggle International Airport," Lily explained, telling him which airport to Apparate to. Eddie just stared at her in awe, clearly not knowing what was going on or what Lily was up to.
"Why an airport? What's the second clue?" Eddie asked breathlessly. Lily chose to ignore him but continued to rummage through the beaded bag. "Lily Julia Potter, you tell me what the bloody hell is going on this instant! This concerns my fiancé! I demand answers. Now-"
"The second clue is the tomb of King Tut; the youngest pharaoh of ancient Egypt."
A note from the author. Merry Christmas! I'm so sorry its taking so long to update. College is no fun sometimes and really leaves no room for writing, except writing papers. But here's chapter 5 and when I don't have work, I'll be writing chapter 6. Please enjoy and thanks to those who stay faithful!