Chapter 21 – Into the Ocean:

That night, Eddie stayed true to his word. He slept on the couch as Lily took her place in her own bedroom with the door shut. The next morning, although feeling devastated over the death of his mother, he did feel much more refreshed after a good, comforting night's sleep. It also helped that he woke up to the smell of freshly cooked bacon, eggs, and muffins. Eddie found Lily in the kitchen, cooking away, and he immediately felt an immense gratitude towards her. It also helped that it all smelled delicious.

"Is that all for me?" Eddie teased as he sat down at her kitchen table. Lily chuckled as she filled a plate with eggs and bacon.

"The muffins are for your dad and sisters," she said honestly, placing a plate in front of him, "but you can help yourself to all of the eggs and bacon your heart desires." Without another word, Eddie immediately began to inhale the food as Lily poured them both a cup of tea.

As Eddie ravaged his breakfast, he noticed something out of place. Sitting on the other end of the kitchen table, a top a pile of newspapers with moving pictures and headlines about how Lily defeated Anson Jeandré, glistening in the light of the kitchen as though taunting him, was the Stone of Merlin.

Eddie was immediately concerned as to why Lily was not wearing; she had refused to take it off since the final battle with Voldemort, feeling that it protected her in some strange way. Lily, distracted with taking the fresh blueberry muffins out of the oven, did not notice Eddie pick up the stone by the chain and kept it dangling between his fingers. When Lily finally turned around and saw him holding it, her eyes immediately widened in concern and horror.

"What are you doing?" she asked slowly.

"Why'd you take it off?" he asked, gesturing towards the necklace. Lily stared at the necklace, as though glaring at it.

"I meant what I said when I told Anson Jeandré that I didn't want it anymore," snapped Lily. "I don't want it. It's not worth it. Too many people have died over it and I'm tired of fighting over it." Eddie looked at the necklace dangling from his hand.

"You don't want the most powerful magical object created by Merlin himself? Your ancestor?" asked Eddie incredulously.

"Nope!"

"You sound awfully sure about that."

"That's because I am," said Lily, growing impatient.

"But…why…?" asked Eddie, clearly not understanding.

"You know what, Ed?" snapped Lily. "If you want it so much, you can keep it."

"I'm not an Heir of Merlin," said Eddie nonchalantly, placing the necklace back where had found it. "It'd be pretty useless to me."

"Again, I find it's more trouble than its worth," said Lily, now clanging the pan of muffins around in an annoyed manner. "I want nothing to do with it. It's already taken the lives of so many, including your mother and my father."

Those words hit home for Eddie, considering the fact that his mother had just passed away after an eight-year coma. Not fully understanding, but respecting Lily's wishes to be rid of the Stone of Merlin, he nodded in consent and continued eating his breakfast.

"Are you going to destroy it?" he asked.

Lily slammed down the pan. "That's just the thing, Ed!" she shrieked impatiently. "I've destroying it! I've tried everything I could possibly think of; every curse, hex, cursed fire. A horcrux would be easier to destroy than that bloody thing! Merlin did his work well to make sure that thing was not easy to destroy." Lily flopped down into the kitchen chair with her tea, looking defeated.

Eddie looked curiously at Lily, at the necklace, than back at Lily.

"There might be another way…" said Eddie slowly. Lily looked at him eagerly, her eyes begging for him to continue. "One of my professors at Salem once taught me that there are two things that both Muggles and the wizarding world cannot control; that they have magic so strong that no one can fully understand their power."

"What are they?" asked Lily, sounding both eager and fascinated.

"Space and the sea…"

A few hours later, Lily and Eddie found themselves on a magnificent Muggle airplane. While in America, Eddie had taken several Muggle Studies classes, including learning how to fly a plane. In order to help Lily succeed in her plight, he had rented the plane for the afternoon. They planned to fly over the Atlantic Ocean.

Once they had taken off, with Eddie flying as pilot and Lily sitting in the co-pilot's seat, they sat in comfortable silence until they were a good distance from land. Once the great country of England was out of sight and America was nowhere in sight, Lily felt safe to unclasp the Stone of Merlin from around her neck. Without a word to Eddie, she got up from the co-pilot seat's seat and went towards the side door of the plane. Eddie saw what she was doing and lowered the plane, losing altitude.

Once the ocean was in full view and they were in safe distance from the ocean in case Lily fell from the plane, she opened the side door and looked down, allowing the wind and salt to blow in her face. Lily closed her eyes, enjoying the breeze. Finally, without a second thought, she held out the Stone of Merlin over the ocean and dropped it. She did not turn her eyes off of it until she saw the tiny splash, knowing full well that it would sink.

Eddie was right; she may not have been able to destroy it, but there was a way to make sure that no witch or wizard would ever get their hands on it again. Once the Stone of Merlin was safe within the grasps of the depths of the ocean, Lily closed the door to the plane and returned to her co-pilot's seat. Once Lily was secure, Eddie increased the altitude and rode the plane high in the sky before returning back to England.

While flying through the sky, Eddie turned to look at Lily and she turned to look at him.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Eddie smiled and grabbed a hold of her hand, kissing it tenderly, which caused Lily's heart to skip a beat.

"You know what, Lily?" he asked.

"What?"

"I was wrong," said Eddie.

"About what?"

"I think there's a big reason why I shouldn't go back to America," he said, looking directly into her emerald depths. "A very big reason."

With that, Eddie continued flying and never let go of Lily's hand. Lily allowed him to continue holding it and thought that maybe that while she felt a different kind of love for Eddie now, maybe it could grow into what it used to be. After all, Lily's life, Harry's life, showed that love conquers all. Maybe it could conquer this as well.

Another chapter! Please enjoy!