Chapter 6 – Orpheum Puckles

"I still don't understand why we have to take a Muggle airplane," Eddie complained, leaning back in his seat, glaring out of his oval shaped window. He did not notice Lily roll her eyes and continue to write in her notebook. "It would be so much quicker to just Apparate to Egypt; and we'd get that much closer to finding Jane."

"You're worse than most five year olds," Lily snapped impatiently, closing her notebook and stuffing it in her beaded bag. "I already explained this to you. The people who kidnapped Jane are obviously watching us and tracing our movements. That is why they are managing to send us clues when we discover them. It will be harder for them to track us if we use the Muggle methods of travel and living."

"Why are we even playing their game?" Eddie nearly shouted, causing everyone else in their airplane to look at him, annoyed. The man on Lily's right gave a grunted snore and continued in his slumber. Lily shushed him. Eddie quieted his voice. "Why do we keep following these clues? Why not just figure out who they are and get Jane back?"

"I have to no clue as to who they are because you've been living as a Muggle the last couple of years," Lily said defensively. "I wouldn't know where to start except that it could be someone from the war who found you and wants revenge. But Voldemort's supporters are all either dead or in Azkaban. It'd be a lot more helpful if you knew what they were after."

"Well, I don't know!"

"So, we need to humor them until we can figure out what they want," Lily said condescendingly. "Plus, I find it better to humor kidnappers. They'll be less likely to harm the victim. If they feel their game is not being played, sometimes they act rather rash and we do not need hostile actions taken towards your fiancé." Eddie turned and glared at Lily; his ears were bright red and Lily could tell that his frustration was building.

"Stop talking like an Auror!" he snapped, his face going red. Lily rolled his eyes at his pathetic attempt for a comeback. "It doesn't make you sound any smarter."

"In case you forgot, Weasley," Lily started coolly, crossing her arms over her chest, "I am an Auror; hence why you hired me!"

"Yeah…well…stop talking to me like I am one," Eddie finished lamely, turning back to look out his window.

"Excuse me?" a stern, female voice called out from the aisle. Lily and Eddie both whipped around and saw a tall, tan stewardess looking at them, her eyes narrowed. "But passengers on the plane are requesting that you two take it down a notch. You're disturbing everyone else on the plane."

Eddie nodded in understanding. Lily, however, cocked an eyebrow and brought her voice to a louder pitch, so that everyone on the plane heard what she was saying.

"We're bothering everyone on the plane?" Lily asked, feigning innocent. "Oh, I apologize. I was too distracted by the undisciplined five year old who was running up and down the aisles earlier."

Eddie could not help but turn away and grin at the thought of Lily getting into a fight with a stewardess, or just everyone on the plane. This was the Lily Potter that he fell in love with so many years ago and it was refreshing to see her resurface every now and then.

"Ma'am…please…"

"Please? Ma'am…" Lily unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up, facing the rest of the passengers on the plane. She looked downright irritated "Ladies and gentleman, my partner and I are investigators for the Federal Bureau of Investigation….we are on a very dangerous mission and we need to speak to each other freely to each other…" Lily glared at the woman sitting behind her was making all the remarks about the pair of them. "Does anyone have a problem with that? I didn't think so!" With those words, without waiting for a response, Lily sat back down and buckled her seatbelt before letting out an agitated sigh and rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"You handled that very well," Eddie mumbled sarcastically, but keeping his gaze out of the window. "If there is any mafia on this plane, we're dead."

"Oh shut up," Lily mumbled in an exasperated, tired voice, still rubbing the bridge of her nose. Eddie's antagonizing did not cease.

"I thought investigators in the FBI were supposed to be private…you know…top secret…" Eddie whispered sardonically. Lily did not look at him but just glared at the back of the seat in front of her.

"Well apparently no one on the plane knew that!" Lily snapped harshly.

"I knew that," Eddie said teasingly, coolly, trying as hard as he could to keep the grin off of his face. He knew that if he grinned, Lily would not hesitate to take out her wand, curse the hell out of him, and then modify every memory on the plane. She had the power to do so; she was Mistress of Magic after all.

"This is ridiculous…" she whispered, more to herself than to Eddie. "Listen, I'm frustrated, tired, and confused. Alright? The passengers and the nag behind me are not going to bother us anymore. The problem is fixed. Would you just take that loud mouth and just close it? I'm going to take a nap." She said all of this very fast, snatched her pillow, turned her back to them, and then closed her eyes. Eddie grinned again, then immediately frowned before turning to look back out the window.

Did it make him a horrible person to have inappropriate thoughts about the person who was trying to find and save his fiancé?

Yeah…yeah it did.

Lily and Eddie got off of the plane and scurried into the airport. They did not have to wait for luggage because Lily was carrying everything in the famous beaded bag.

"Lily, what are we doing? Where are we going?" Eddie asked anxiously, jogging so that he could keep up with her fast paced walking. Lily ignored him and continued to rummage through her beaded bag. It was obvious that Eddie was annoyed with being out of the loop; not fully knowing what Lily was doing or what she was up to.

"Lily!"

Lily stopped dead in her tracks, catching Eddie completely off guard, and he bumped right into her, knocking them both to the ground. The beaded bag flew across the floor, making a huge clutter and shake; a much bigger one than a bag of that size should have made. It startled many of the Muggles throughout the airport. Lily lay on the floor, on her belly, with Eddie on top of her, staring wide-eyed at the beaded bag. She sucked in gush of air that almost made her choke as an airport security guard stood in front of the bag and stared down at it. Lily and Eddie both had to admit that he was just about the ugliest man they had ever seen; even worse than Professor Severus Snape and he was just beaming at the guilty looks on their faces.

"Ma'am?" he said with a nod. "Sir?" Lily and Eddie both nodded their heads back as Eddie scrambled to his feet, pulling Lily up with him. There was something fishy going on around here and they could both sense it. This man…this security guard…looked so suspicious that when Eddie pulled Lily up, he kept her close to him, not letting go of her forearms.

"Might want to loosen your grip ginger," the security guard said in a sly, oily voice. The man was no taller than Lily, but this did not ease their bad feeling. "I think you're hurting this pretty little thing." His comment only made Eddie tighten his grip on Lily. To his surprise, she did not object; she must have been frightened as well.

"Everything alright here?" another security guard asked, walking up to the three of them.

"Just fine," the ugly security guard said in a deathly whisper, not taking his eyes off of Lily and Eddie. The first security guard nodded, and gave Lily and Eddie a suspicious look before walking away. The ugly security guard bent down and picked up Hermione's beaded bag. Lily jerked forward as though to stop him, but Eddie's grip on her kept her in place. The security guard looked at the bag for a moment before grinning evilly at the pair of them. Lily finally got a good look at him and was almost disgusted. He had long, messy, greasy blonde hair, black eyes that were swimming in mischief. His eyes were so black that Lily could not even manage to locate his pupils. The man's pale, oily skin was covered in acne and puss filled boils and he had a slight hump in his back.

"Where are you two lovebirds heading?" the greasy security guard asked coolly.

"Have we done something wrong or being accused of anything?" Lily spoke up bravely. Eddie did not lessen his grip and kept their proximity close.

"No…" he said in a harsh whisper. "Not yet…"

"Then I may have my purse back, please?" Lily asked assertively, almost in a demanding voice. Eddie nearly jumped in front of her at the look the security guard gave. It was a look like Lord Voldemort would have given Lily. But the next minute, he was, again, slyly grinning at her.

"Patience, Lily Potter, patience," he said as he handed her the beaded bag. Lily gasped and looked at him wide-eyed, backing into Eddie who placed a hard, protective grip on her shoulders, backing her away with him.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Eddie asked in a deathly whisper, ready to bounce on the man who looked as though he was threatening her.

"Calm down, Weasley," the security guard snapped. Both of their eyes widened even more so. The security guard gave Eddie a dirty look before his gaze turned back to Lily's. "If you two tell me where you are going, maybe I can help you find what you're looking for." Eddie finally let go of Lily and jerked forward in anger. Lily put an arm out to stop him and gave him a warning look before turning to look back at the security guard. She snatched the beaded bag out of his hands before answering.

"We're heading towards the real tomb of an ancient, powerful wizard; a pharaoh named King Tut," Lily said firmly, staring hard and long at the hideous man before them. He beamed at Lily's response.

"I'm Orpheum Puckles," the security guard said. "You'll follow me, won't you?" He slowly reached into his pocket and took out a wand. Showing it to them quickly before stuffing it back in his uniform pocket; he turned around and walked away. Eddie looked at Lily desperately, having no idea of what to do, who this man was, and how he knew them and how he knew where they were. Lily, however, did not meet his gaze. She was staring hard at Orpheum, her emerald green eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed as though she were concentrating hard on something.

"Lily?" Eddie asked gently, placing a hand softly on her shoulder. This did not break her concentration; she still continued to glare hard at Orpheum Puckles. Orpheum was halfway across the airport before Lily opened her mouth and whispered in a croaked voice;

"We…we should follow him," Lily whispered, her voice shaking. "We need to follow him." Eddie looked at Orpheum, who had turned to them and waved for them to follow him, and then back at Lily, looking unsure.

"Are you sure, Lily?" Eddie asked, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck. Lily got goose bumps on the back of her neck and all over her legs and arms. This was the first time he was speaking to her in a caring, gentle manner and it made her feel warm and safe inside. Lily took a deep breath.

"No," she answered honestly, "I'm not sure. I'm not sure at all. But what choice do we have, Ed?"

"We…we don't have much to go on, do we?" Eddie whispered, looking at his hands, then back at Lily. He was surprised to see her looking up at him, her bright emerald green eyes absolutely glowing. It nearly took his breath away. She had not looked at him that way since they were teenagers…since their seventh year at Hogwarts. But there was no time to dwell on his feelings for Lily and her feeling for him. There were more important matters at stake here; like if they were receiving help or walking into a trap.

"No, we don't have anything to go on," Lily repeated, shaking her head.

"But, we have each other," Eddie mumbled awkwardly, staring at his feet. His stomach nearly jumped out his body when he felt Lily reach for his hand and give a reassuring squeeze. Eddie turned and looked at her wide-eyed, to find her smiling brightly at him.

"You're right, we do have each other," Lily said with a smile, her eyes twinkling. She continued to squeeze his hand gently. "I think that's why I'm not scared about this….because you're with me."

"Me too," he said, smiling back at her. With that, hand in hand, they dashed across the airport to follow Orpheum.

Once they left the airport, Lily decided that it would be best for them to stay a couple of yards behind Orpheum while following him, in order to escape and save themselves if this was, indeed, a trap. Their hands stayed intertwined as they followed Orpheum at a brisk walk. The ugly little security guard did not turn to look at the pair of them; knowing that Lily and Eddie were following him from a distance away.

Orpheum led them out of the airport and towards the parking lot. Eddie sucked in a gulp of air as Lily let go of his hand and walked in front of him, her wand at the ready. Eddie followed suit and pulled his own wand out of his pocket. They kept walking, getting honked at by several cars and busses as they went up the ramp to the top of the garage. When they reached the top, they saw Orpheum standing there, holding his wand in one hand and a little, golden statue of a man standing at his feet. Lily and Eddie stood side by side, pointing their wands at him, daring him to try and attack. He simply laughed at their antics.

"A little paranoid, yeah?" he said coolly, laughing. Lily and Eddie gripped their wands tighter and did not lower them.

"A Portkey," he said, as he nodded towards the golden statue resting at his feet. "On three, right?"

"You think we're taking a Portkey with you, a complete stranger, to Merlin knows where?" Eddie nearly shouted, his wand arm shaking. Lily did not say or do anything, but continued to point her wand at Orpheum, giving him that long, glare of concentration. Eddie knew that she was having a huge internal struggle with herself. She knew that this decision could very well cost them both of their lives.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked in a short whisper.

"Why…didn't you say you heading to the tomb of King Tut?" Orpheum asked in mock confusion. Lily's emerald green eyes narrowed. "Well, this Portkey will take us there."

"How are we supposed to know that?" Eddie asked harshly. Lily finally took her eyes off of Orpheum to give a stern look at Eddie that clearly told him to shut his mouth and to let her handle this. Eddie gave her a look back and turned back to the ugly man in front of him, who was beaming at them with a manic smile.

"What? Don't you trust me, Weasley?"

"You don't answer to him," Lily said in her assertive voice. Eddie realized that she must use this voice when on duty and when she became Mistress of Magic. It was an extremely demanding voice that could definitely intimidate others. "You answer to me."

"Potter wears the pants in this relationship, eh?" Orpheum asked coolly. Lily and Eddie both glared at him. "Are you two coming or not?"

"Why should we?" Lily asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Why surely…you're Mistress of Magic, are you not?" he asked in mock humor. Lily eyes stayed narrowed, as though scrutinizing him, but she did not answer him. Orpheum gave the pair of them a toothy grin and took her look as an answer. "Well, being Mistress of Magic you know that there are all sorts of enchantments protecting the tomb of King Tut. King Tut was one of the most powerful wizards of all time. He probably could have given Albus Dumbledore and Tom Riddle a run for their money. And not only was he powerful, but he was a pharaoh…a king. Surely you realize that even the Mistress of Magic in England is going to need a little help getting into that tomb. This Portkey will take you past most of the protective enchantments."

Eddie looked at Lily urgently and lowered his wand; his eyes wide and full of concern and fear. He was beginning to fully realize how correct Orpheum was about the ancient tomb of King Tut. Lily, however, stood her ground, kept her wand at the ready and continued to give the ugly little man in front of them a scrutinizing look.

"Lily?"

"Shush," she whispered angrily, not taking her eyes off of Orpheum. It was here that Eddie finally realized what she was doing. Lily was trying to perform Legillimency against Orpheum; trying to figure out whether the man was trying to deceive the two of them. Eddie closed his mouth, but kept his wand out and his grip tightly around it.

"Alright," Lily finally said, nodding. Eddie gave her a wide-eyed look. "We'll take the Portkey. But any funny business and I'll kill you faster than you can blink. Is that understood Mr. Puckles?"

"So untrusting, Lily Potter," Orpheum said condescendingly. "Have your issues with your mother and father made you oh so paranoid that you can't even give a benefit of the doubt to the person who is trying to help you?" Eddie placed a gentle hand on Lily's wand arm to prevent her from cursing the pants off of Orpheum. "You'll grab a hold of this statue with me, yes?"

Before either of them could walk forward and grab a hold of the statue that rested at Orpheum's feet, Eddie squeezed Lily's wand arm, which caused her to finally look at him for the first time since she had made the decision to follow the Orpheum. There was hesitation and concern written in his chestnut eyes. Lily was beginning to feel like she was at Hogwarts all over again; it was the same warning look that Eddie always gave to her when she was about to do something rash or impulsive.

"How do we know he's not working for the people who kidnapped Jane?" Eddie asked anxiously, but in a low enough voice so that Orpheum could not hear them. Lily bit her lip and let out sigh before running her hand through her hair in a frustrated manner.

"I used Legillimency against him," Lily admitted in a whisper, much like Eddie so that Orpheum could not hear. "I have to admit, I am not very good at it. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. However, when we first started following him, I managed to get something's. Halfway he began performing Occlumency against me…realizing what I was doing."

"Well?"

"He's not lying to us," Lily said firmly. "He is going to take us to the real tomb of King Tut. That Portkey will get us there and will get us through many of the enchantments. However, I don't know how pure his motives are."

"What do you mean?" Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow. Lily looked up at his face and stared directly into his eyes."

"I mean, he will take us to King Tut's tomb. But I don't know what he'll do to us once we get there…" her voice trailed off and she looked away from Eddie and looked down at the golden statue that was sitting at the smirking Orpheum's feet.

"We should go sometime today, perhaps?" Orpheum called out sarcastically. Lily shot him a dirty look before taking hold of Eddie's hand.

"Shall we?" she asked, gesturing towards the Portkey. Eddie nodded and together, once again hand in hand, they made their way towards it. Orpheum was now beaming.

"On three?"

"One…two…three!"

Lily and Eddie grabbed a hold of the Portkey and immediately felt their bodies jerk from the ground. At the last moment, Lily realized that Orpheum Puckles had not grabbed on to the Portkey, and had an insane smile on his face.

Lily felt a lurch in her stomach as she stumbled to the ground when the Portkey had taken them to their destination, and she knew it had nothing to do with the rough transportation of a Portkey. Lily ignored the pain in her bones that crunched when she landed on the hard, brick floor, and jumped to her feet, her wand at the ready. She noticed that Eddie was now groaning on the ground, his hand rubbing his lower back. Lily narrowed her eyes and crept over to him, standing over him protectively with her wand still out. The room was pitch black but her eyes had adjusted enough to see that they were in a small room that was about four feet long and four feet wide.

"Lumos!" Lily whispered as she squinted into the darkness. She had been right; the room was extremely tiny but the ceiling seemed to be never ending. Lighting up the walls, she could see that they were made of the finest golden bricks that still somehow sparkled and shimmered at thousands of years.

Lily sucked in a gulp of air and realized that the Portkey had taken them to the ancient tomb of King Tut. She could literally feel magic in the air, warming her ever muscle and bone. Lily felt as though gentle fairies were going to come flying out of the walls. She had never felt magic like this, not even at Hogwarts. Only an extremely powerful wizard, even more powerful than Voldemort, Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and even Harry Potter could ever dreamed of being. Just by being in the same atmosphere of King Tut's body, Lily knew that Tut could have given Merlin and the Hogwarts founders a run for their money. Eddie groaned again, interrupting Lily's thoughts.

"Ed?" she whispered, bending down and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder as he stumbled to his feet. "I think we're here."

"What?" Eddie asked stupidly, rubbing the back of his neck. Lily rolled her eyes.

"King Tut's tomb," she answered, ignoring his stupidity. "I think we're here."

"Where is Puckles?" Eddie asked, noticing that he was not in the tiny room with them. Lily eyes widened and she suddenly remembered why her stomach had not stopped aching since they had arrived. Yes, the Portkey may have taken them to the ancient tomb of King Tut, but who was there waiting for them and why had not Orpheum grabbed on to the handle to come along?

Because this was probably a trap.

Lily raised her wand.

A note from the Jitterbelle.

OH WOW....I am so unbelievably sorry I have not updated in so long! I just graduated from college, I'm going to grad school, and I'm actually co-writing a script for Hollywood as well as trying to get a book published. I guess that is why I have neglected my Harry Potter stories for so long and I apologize. I will NEVER abandon a story. I have never done that before and I am not about to start now. I hope you all can forgive me for my horrible neglect of these stories. I know you all have been patient and I'll try to update as much as I can. I'm just trying to get my writing career started so that you can read some of my REAL books.

Please be understanding. I truly am sorry!

But please enjoy the chapter. I'm uploading the next one right now!