Chapter 8 – The Third Clue

Once again, Lily and Eddie landed on the ground with a hard thud. Lily groaned and looked around, realizing that she and Eddie were back in Eddie's apartment in New York City. Lily screamed and jumped to her feet, her wand at the ready. Eddie too looked up and noticed where they were.

"What are we doing back here?"

"Puckles is much cleverer than we thought," said Lily, checking all of the rooms with her wand out, ready to strike. "He obviously transformed the Portkey to take us back here, to where we started, rather than back to the airport."

"Why wouldn't he want us to go back to the airport?" Eddie asked, getting to his feet and grabbing a towel from the kitchen to dry his fiery, curly red hair. Lily continued to search the apartment for any intruders.

"Because that is where he is…we would be able to find him there quite easily. Even if he had already escaped, I would probably be able to find out where he escaped without a problem," explained Lily as she searched Eddie's bedroom. "At least this way, taking us back here, he'll be able to cover his tracks."

"How would you be able to find him if he already escaped the airport?" Eddie asked curiously, roughly drying hair with the towel, turning his red locks into a wet, frizzy mess. Lily, satisfied with her search of the apartment, put her wand into her pocket before walking over to the kitchen, following Eddie's actions, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself.

"I'm Mistress of Magic of England," Lily said with a shrug. "Given enough evidence I can put a special trace on any witch or wizard in the world." Eddie chuckled to himself as he shook his head and walked into his bedroom.

"This Mistress of Magic thing seems to be a pretty powerful thing," Eddie said, slightly sarcastic as he shut the bedroom door behind him. "You enjoying it?"

"It pays," said Lily as she took a seat at the kitchen counter, beginning to shiver due to her wet clothes. She heard Eddie give a hearty chuckle from his bedroom at her response. "It wasn't a huge surprise to be honest. Because of my power of Eyeluta and my name, it wasn't a huge shocker that I kept getting promoted in the Auror Department."

Eddie reappeared from his bedroom wearing dry clothes and he was holding some dry clothes in his hand. He tossed them to Lily.

"Those will do for now," he said went into the kitchen and lit the stove, placing the kettle on for some hot tea. "You don't think you got promoted based on your skill alone?" Lily got up from her seat and went into Eddie's room to change into the dry clothes he had loaned her. When she closed the door behind her, Eddie could not help but think of images of Lily getting undressed…in his room…in his bedroom…right now. Lily's voice shook him out of his thoughts.

"No, I definitely got promoted because of my skills," she called out from the bedroom. "But, my name and Eyeluta definitely helped speed up the process."

Eddie could feel himself breathing heavily at the thought of Lily in the next room; the long, golden blonde hair, her shapely figure, those curves….

"STOP!" Eddie shouted out loud. Lily came bursting from the room wearing a pair of his sweatpants and a New York Giants t-shirt that was way too big on her. Her eyes were wide and fierce and her wand was already at the ready.

"Eddie what's wrong?" she asked urgently. Eddie shook his head to wake himself out of his daze and stared at the girl before him. He did not know if it was because she was part veela but even in a pair of sweatpants, t-shirt, and her blonde hair all ruffled, frizzy, and wet, she looked undeniably amazing…simply beautiful.

"Nothing…just…burnt myself on the stove is all," mumbled Eddie as he quickly turned to the cabinets to get the cups of tea ready. Lily raised an eyebrow but did not say anything. Instead she took her seat back at the counter in front of the cup of tea that Eddie was now pouring for her. As he poured it, Lily reached into the beaded bag and pulled out her notebook and immediately began studying the third clue. Eddie poured himself a cup, put the kettle back on the stove, and turned to stare curiously at his former best friend. She was engrossed in the riddle, but could feel his penetrating stare and slowly but surely, looked up and met his intense gaze.

"What?" asked Lily, her eyes wide and confused.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" blurted Eddie, slamming his hand down on to the counter. "Why in the damn hills did the spirit of King Tut need to hear your name out of all names in this world?" Lily looked at Eddie thoughtfully before taking a sip of her tea and settling it down gently on the counter.

"I knew you would ask me this," started Lily, "but I was hoping that you wouldn't."

"Why not?" Eddie asked curiously, leaning on the counter across from her. Lily looked into his warm, gentle chestnut eyes and sighed before looking down at the counter again. Then Eddie did something that he had not done since before they had broken up; he cupped his forefinger underneath her chin and lifted her head so that she looked at him square in the eye. Emerald met chestnut and they could both feel the warmth they had always felt when looking into each other's eyes.

"Because…because I'm beginning to think that there is more to this kidnap than we thought," explained Lily as she got up from the stool at the counter and began pacing the living room. Eddie's eyebrows furrowed, but he did not say anything, allowing Lily to continue. "Eddie, are you sure that no one knew that you were a wizard?"

"I'm sure. The only people who knew that I was a wizard were the other students at the academy, but that is why I changed my name," said Eddie.

"It just…I think you must have…I mean you had to…there's no other explanation," Lily said desperately, still pacing the living room. Eddie darted from behind the counter and stood near her in the living room.

"No other explanation to what, Lils?" asked Eddie curiously, his eyebrows completely disappeared from under his bushy red hair.

"Did anyone know about your connection with me?" Lily finally asked. Eddie stared at her for a moment. "Well?"

"Jane asked if I ever had any serious relationships," said Eddie; his eyes penetrating through to Lily's emerald depths. "I told her I had one….with a girl…an old childhood friend from when I lived in England. But, I never gave her your name. She never asked. I think she knew I was uncomfortable talking about it."

"I see…" Lily mumbled, her heart plummeting. That was what Eddie considered her; a childhood friend? They had been best friends since they were born. They had loved each other since they were in diapers. They went from best friends, to lovers, to potential parents and all he described her as a girl he loved in England who was once a childhood friend.

It was at this point that Lily really considered dropping the case and handing it off to someone else in the Auror Department. It was not that she could not handle it. Oh no, Lily had been able to handle much more high pressured cases. She had been able to handle high pressure even before she had entered the Auror Department. But she was beginning to realize what Ron was trying to tell her when she had decided to take on the case; about the emotional trauma and attachment that she had once felt for Eddie that was finally catching up with her. She continued to pace the apartment trying to get rid of her thoughts on her feelings about Eddie and more on Jane, his fiancé, and her kidnap. How could she give one hundred percent to this case if all she could do was think about her past relationship with Eddie? Lily wanted to physically slap herself.

"You still haven't explained why King Tut needed to hear your name out of all names in this world," said Eddie impatiently as he took the cups and placed them in the sink, turning to face Lily with arms crossed over his chest.

"Whether you want to admit it or not, someone knew that you were once a wizard and about your connection with me," said Lily, not really looking at him. "And it was someone who has some kind of horrible grudge against you." Eddie stared at her for a moment and cocked an eyebrow.

"So you think that whoever kidnapped Jane is using her and me to get to you?" he asked slowly, as though trying to comprehend what she was trying to tell him. Lily simply nodded and sat herself down on his couch, rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration and impatience. At first, Eddie did not say or do anything. He just stared at Lily giving her that same, cocked eyebrow look. Lily noticed the look and put on a defensive posture.

"What?"

"Lily, I understand what you're saying," said Eddie in a tone that sounded as though he were talking to a five year old. Lily immediately felt anger bubble in her stomach but she did not say anything, allowing Eddie to continue his train of thought. "But, don't you think you're being just a tad pretentious?"

"Excuse me? Pretentious?" hissed Lily. When they were teenagers, that hiss used to be able to put Eddie in his place. But he ignored the tone and continued to speak to Lily in that condescending attitude.

"I know that you're the famous witch who defeated the darkest wizard of all time and I understand that you're the daughter of the famous Boy Who Lived," Eddie trailed on. Lily felt the anger rising from her stomach and towards her chest, causing her heart to pound angrily against her ribs. "But, you maybe you should finally realize that the entire world does not revolve around you."

The bubble exploded and Lily jumped to her feet with her emerald green eyes narrowed and her hands on her hips. Eddie finally noticed the look on her face and his own eyes widened and fear and he took a step back, realizing that he had probably said way too much. Lily walked towards him until her face was only inches from his; and that was only because she was so much shorter than him. Eddie gulped and stuttered, desperately trying to find an apology.

"I'm fully aware that the world does not revolve around me, Edward Weasley," snarled Lily, a fire starting to go ablaze. Eddie wanted to take a step back, but the look in Lily's eyes made him too scared to move. "In fact, I wish it would revolve around me less. I would do anything to trade my life for the life of a normal, ordinary witch."

"You misunderstood me," Eddie lied quickly. "I wasn't saying-"

"Don't lie to me! That's exactly what you were saying!" Lily nearly shouted, finally causing Eddie to stumble backwards. He did not understand why Lily being so angry with him was frightening him; and not to mention upsetting him. It was like when they were kids and teenagers all over again.

"Lils, I'm sorry-"

"Don't you dare call me that!" screeched Lily, pulling out her wand and pointing it at Eddie. Eddie was too terrified and to notice the desperation and agony in her voice.

After taking in several gulps of air and regaining her composure, Lily lowered her wand and took in a deep breath of air before letting it fall limply to her side and she suddenly became very interested in her feet. Running her other hand through her hair, she closed her eyes, as though something had suddenly pained her.

"I apologize," said Lily, her voice suddenly soft and quiet. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. It was not professional of me. But, I just couldn't take it; you lost the privilege to call me 'Lils' a long time ago, Eddie Weasley."

"Lily-"

"Just leave me alone, Ed," whispered Lily, as she pocketed her wand and walked into Eddie's bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. Eddie half wanted to go in there and say something, anything to her. But, she had requested to be left alone so he decided to respect her request. Instead, he made himself another cup of tea, except, unlike the other, this cup had a small shot of good old Jack Daniels in it. As a result, it was not long before he was fast asleep on his couch with the television on.

A crack of thunder completely startled Eddie out of his slumber, off of the couch, and on to the floor of his living room. Trying to get his bearings together, he looked around, not realizing where and what he was. Finally, when his eyes readjusted to the light and he finally remembered where he was and why he was sleeping on the couch; he groaned and got to his feet as another crack of thunder shook the apartment. He stumbled over to the kitchen and began rummaging through the refrigerator for a midnight snack when he heard a small, scratchy voice quietly swear profusely from inside his bedroom.

Eddie could not believe that Lily was still locked inside his bedroom and not sleeping. He figured that with all the work she had to do as Mistress of Magic and on this case, she would want to get some sleep. It took several minutes for him to debate on whether he should go in there and see what she was up to. Lily did request to be alone but that was four hours ago; she had to have calmed down by now. Making a courageous move, he walked from the kitchen towards his bedroom door which was just down the hall. He stood there looking at it for several minutes before he took a slow, deep breath and gently knocked. Why was he suddenly so nervous about facing Lily? I mean, after all, she was just Lily!

"Come in," he heard Lily mumble. Eddie timidly opened the door and saw her sitting on his bed with her notebook and beaded bag sitting there beside her. She had a quill in her hand and she was biting the end of it, her eyes focused determinedly at the opened notebook in front of her. Eddie continued to stand in the doorway and watch her, cautious on whether he should be the first one to speak.

"Are you still mad at me?" asked Eddie, finally breaking the silence. Lily did not even look up at him; she just gave him a rude hand gesture that would have made her mother or Hermione slap her in the face. Eddie gave a weak chuckle and stayed rooted in the doorway, daring not to take a step further. "I take that is a yes."

"I'm just trying to figure out this clue," said Lily simply, still not looking up at him. Eddie moved across the room and sat down in the chair across the bed.

"Do you want any help?"

"No."

"Lily, come on," said Eddie, "don't be like this. We need to be able to work together if we're ever going to find Jane." Lily continued to ignore him and did not look up at him, but just stared at the notebook. "Lily, I apologize for calling you my old nickname. It was just out of habit…and it won't happen again." It was the first time Lily looked up at him since he had entered the room.

"Good," was all that she said before turning back to the notebook. It was several moments of complete and utter silence that began to make Eddie feel restless. He hated the awkward silence and began shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"Lily, can I ask you a question?" asked Eddie suddenly.

"Sure."

"Why did you get so angry when I called you be your old nickname?" asked Eddie curiously, staring intently at Lily. When Lily did not look up at him or respond, he decided to press on. "Did it have anything to do with what King Tut said?"

At those words, Lily nearly choked on her own saliva and nearly dropped her quill; fumbling around with it before finally catching it and trying to catch her breath. When she caught her breath, she looked up at Eddie wide-eyed for a split second; so split that Eddie was almost sure that he imagined it. But, when he blinked, Lily was looking at him with an impassive look on her face.

"King Tut didn't say anything," said Lily, not meeting his eye.

"Yes, he did," said Eddie, still staring at her. "You know he did…about…the unborn child…"

"BLOODY HELL, ED!" bellowed Lily as she stood up, grabbed the notebook and threw it across the room. Eddie jumped out of his chair clearly startled.

"Lily!"

"Are you really bringing this up now?" shouted Lily, throwing her hands up in the air. Eddie stood his ground.

"Yes, Lily, we need to talk about it eventually, especially if it's going to disrupt your work ethic on this case!" cried out Eddie. Lily turned to him sharply with that same familiar fire in her green eyes.

"Eventually?" she hissed in a harsh whisper. Eddie took a step back and nearly stumbled back into his arm chair. "I wanted to talk about it eight years ago when it actually happened! But, you didn't want to talk about it, Ed! Instead of talking about you got on a plane and went halfway across the world without so much as word for the past eight years!"

Eddie did not say anything; he could not say anything. Because deep down, he knew that she was absolutely right. When Lily needed him the most, he ran away all the way to another country and never even bothered to contact her once to see how she was doing. It would have been different had this been just a typical guy who broke her heart but Eddie knew that he was different Lily's eyes; she held him to atypical standard because not only was he one of her former boyfriends; but he had been her best friend since birth. Eddie suddenly felt nauseous but he simply licked his lips as he watched Lily go and retrieve the notebook and roughly tossing it back on to the bed.

"I'm so-"

"Don't apologize, Ed," snapped Lily, narrowing her eyes at him. "I don't want to hear it. I just want to get this case over and done with so that way we can go back to the way we were; pretending that the other one does not exist."

Eddie was about to object and say that there was never a day where he did not think about her, but he knew that would only make her even angrier than she already was. Instead, he bit his lip and ran a frustrated hand through his bushy locks and did not dare to look back at Lily anymore. Leaning forward in the chair, he rested his elbows on his knees, his head almost between his legs. It seemed like hours, but it was only minutes before he heard Lily sighed and he chanced a glance at her. He saw that she was sitting in a very similar position as he was, and looked just as stressed and frustrated as he felt.

"Let me just ask you one thing before we start talking about this damned clue," started Lily, not looking at him. Eddie leaned eagerly. "Was it the fact that we lost our unborn son that made you leave? Or was it me?"

Eddie's widened; out of all the things that Lily could have asked him, he had not expected her to ask that. And he was not sure how, or even if, he wanted to answer her.

"I don't know, Lily," he said uncertainly, but one could definitely hear the strain and frustration in his voice. "It was a lot of things. But, no, it wasn't because of you. We were seventeen…we were graduating and going to the real world…got pregnant…just defeated You-Know-Who…it was just all too much for me to handle, so I left."

"At least you had a good reason," mumbled Lily sarcastically as she flipped a page in her notebook, pretending that she was not listening or that she even cared. Eddie did not argue with her and heaved out a defeated sigh. He knew Lily would never listen or understand what he was going through at the time. Then again, maybe he should have thought of what Lily may have been going through at the time. It was selfish of him and Eddie wanted to tell her so, but he knew she would hear none of it.

"Alright, this clue," started Lily, her anger all of the sudden melted away from her voice. It startled Eddie. "The two other clues have both been national landmarks of some kind. I'm can almost bet my life in guessing that this one might be a landmark as well."

"They've also been in different countries," said Eddie smartly. Lily nodded in approval and made a note in her notebook.

"I guess that means we can cross out America and Egypt. That means, we have, what? One hundred and ninety-three countries to choose from?" asked Lily sarcastically.

"Well, let's not make it easy on ourselves," retorted Eddie, just as sarcastic as she was. Lily ignored him and repeated the clue out loud to him.

"I am a King's castle made of stone of scone

In the past, you would surely die if you tried to visit me alone

In the land where the little men drink

Give me a kiss and you will surely sink."

"Alright, so, it's a castle made of scone," said Eddie, his voice trailing off. Lily nodded in agreement.

"The clue makes no sense, Lily," said Eddie, clearly defeated. Lily glared at him. That was one of the qualities she had come to hate about Eddie; he was always ready to just quit and give up.

"It makes perfect sense!" snapped Lily. "It's just a matter of breaking it down. Take the third line for example; that clear as day."

"What do you mean?"

"I think it's in Ireland," said Lily smartly, after putting on her glasses and studying the clue very closely. "In the land where the little men drink. Little men can be considered leprechauns…and the Irish are stereotyped to love their drinking."

"So, a castle in Ireland made of scone…" said Eddie, his voice trailing off. "Are there any castles in Ireland?"

"The most famous one is probably the Blarney Castle…BLOODY HELL!"

"What?" asked Eddie anxiously, his chestnut eyes going wide with a mix of concern, worry, and excitement.

"The Blarney Stone!" said Lily proudly. "Tourists are known to kiss the Blarney Stone! The fourth line mentions kiss! And if they ever tried to kiss it without someone watching over them, they can fall and injure themselves; maybe even die. And the Blarney castle is made of scone! Ed, this all make sense! The fourth clue is the Blarney Stone in Ireland!" Eddie jumped out of his seat and nearly jumped on top of Lily, hugging her tightly. He was not sure if it was because he was genuinely proud of, whether he was excited to find Jane, or if he just wanted an excuse to touch Lily.

"GET OFF OF ME!" shouted Lily angrily, causing Eddie to jump off of her as though she were on fire. He sat up and put his hands up in defense, knowing fully that Lily would not hesitate to punch him in the face. After all, she had done that in the past.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, still holding his hands up as Lily stuffed her notebook back into her beaded bag. An extremely hostile look had lined her features. "I just…couldn't help myself. I mean, you're bloody brilliant, Lily!"

"I'm just doing my job," she said simply before grabbing one of Eddie's pillows and walking out of the bedroom towards the couch that Eddie had previously deserted. Eddie watched her as she left; part of him did not want her to leave.

"Lily?" he called out as she reached the door with her belongings and the pillow. She stopped dead in her tracks when he called out to her. She did not respond but Eddie knew that she was listening. "I'm sorry about before. I think you might be right about the kidnappers; they are using Jane and me to get to you. I mean, how else would have Puckles known your name? What else explains the need for King Tut to hear your name out of all names?"

"I'm glad you decided to see reason," said Lily stiffly, still not turning around to face him. She took another step towards out the door, but Eddie called out to her again.

"Lily?"

"What?"

"Why are they doing all of this? I mean, what do they want from you?" asked Eddie curiously.

"I don't know," whispered Lily. "But I'll find out." She still refused to face him and took another step out the door.

"Lily?"

"What?" She sounded more irritated this time.

"Stay in here tonight?" asked Eddie. He saw Lily stiffen and immediately corrected himself. "It doesn't have to be that way. I just…don't want to be alone tonight."

Lily did not say anything. He saw her posture slacken and she breathed in deeply. Eddie knew that she was internally debating on whether she should stay in his bedroom that night. He waited in anticipation.

"Be up at 5:00 am," said Lily, no emotion in her voice. Eddie felt his heart begin to sink. "We're heading for Ireland in the morning."

With that, Lily closed the door behind her and headed over to the living room couch, leaving Eddie in his bedroom completely and utterly alone.

A note from the Jitterbelle.

The tension between Lily and Eddie is pretty intense and I promise you, it only gets better!

I apologize for my lack of update. With a full time job and graduate school, I barely have time to breathe much less write my stories. I've been neglecting all of my stories; including the one I hope to have published one day. Please be patient with me and please keep reviewing! They definitely are something that can make me smile and get through a rough day of work. So, please, review but most importantly, enjoy!