Title: Unknown Power

Summary: Al and Ed find a mysterious journal. What secrets will it divulge? FMAxHP crossover.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Fullmetal Alchemist.

Chapter 1: The Journal


Edward sighed and rubbed his temples tiredly, propping his booted feet up on the rickety table in front of him, causing it to sway and creak dangerously. He had been leafing through any book that seemed even slightly helpful, but to no avail. It seemed that the house-or shack- he thought with a sour chuckle, held nothing of importance, just mold and mildew. He chucked the useless book he had been reading onto the table, the journal of a person named Quirrell of all things. What a stupid name, he thought irritably. He muttered a curse under his breath. It seemed that this entire trip had been completely useless.

It had all started when he and Al had stopped at an old village. They had been on their way back to Central, having found no new leads on the Philosopher's Stone, when they heard a strange rumor. It was apparently an old rumor, but very intriguing nonetheless.

The rumor-or legend as it was fast becoming-stated that seven years ago a strange incident occurred. Everyone who was living in the village at the time could not, for some reason, remember all the facts clearly. However, they all agreed on one thing, that on a cold, starless, winter night a man arrived in their sleepy, little village.

He gave no name and hid his face within the folds of a voluminous, dark gray robe. He said that he had been living in forest for the past year, researching the creatures who dwelt in its farthest reaches.

The villagers just couldn't believe this. Someone lived in the Black Forest, the haunted Black Forest, for a year? It just wasn't possible; for everyone knew that those who dared enter its black reaches where lucky enough-or unlucky, depending on how you looked at it- to escape with their lives, for those who entered, never came out unscathed. The few to enter and escape, the rash teenager or stubborn old man, always came out raving mad, sprouting gibberish about vampires and other fairy tale horrors. The villagers tried to send the poor folks to the psychiatric ward in Central, as it was the closest facility to them; however, the victims always ran away before the medical personal could arrive. Their bodies were later found, showing evidence of suicide. However, this man had come away sane, though by no means was he normal, for those around him would sometimes forget large chunks of their day when around him. They would not remember what they had talked about or done, there would just be a blank, an unexplainable absence in their memory. At first, the villagers put this aside and said things like 'I just had too much to drink' orwith a laughed 'I guess I can't hold my liquor like I used to!' Still, even the villagers who never drank would awake and find their clothing dirty, often with unexplainable scratches covering their bodies.

The villagers became very suspicious and grew certain that he was the reason for their amnesia. They decided to run the man from town. They said they grabbed their best weapons-'which were probably pitch forks and wooden torches,' Ed thought with a snort of amusement, remembering-and stormed the small hotel where the stranger was staying. This was were the details got a little unclear, as apparently not a single person could remember what happened after the villages' mayor pounded on the stanger's door. When they came to, they were all laying on the ground, their weapons smashed into little pieces, and above them, a green, glowing skull was floating in the sky, just starting to fade away, and the stranger was gone. After a heated discussion, the villagers finally concluded that the stranger was so scaredby their attack that he ran away.

When the villagers got to that part of the telling, Edward had seriously had to contain himself as he didn't think the villagers would appreciate him laughing at their brave escapade. He just couldn't honor that with the name attack. That was no attack, he thought snorting, it was more like a damn fiasco. Still, the incident was more than a little unusual. He had no doubt that the guy was an alchemist, what with the green light and all.

The villagers had seriously related to him and Al that they just couldn't phantom how an aura could appear that far south or how it could be in such a curious shape (Edward had tried to correct them and say it was most likely alchemy, but they would have none of it.)

However, Ed couldn't see how the stranger had erased the villagers' memories, and being exceptionally curious by nature he had had to find out how the man had done it. By questioning the villagers more, he found out that the man had mentioned that he had lived in an old house in the forest while doing his research.

The villagers had asked him why he so interested in the location of the house. He had replied that he intended to find the house and see if there were any clues that could be of use to him and his brother. The villagers had expressed their horror at his plans to enter the Black Forest and tried to detour him with hideous stories of people who were just like him, the curious who always wanted to know what lay behind a mystery, and that sooner or later they usually wound up dead or worse. However, he had laughed at this and replied, 'There is no one like me and I won't die at the hands of some forest, even if it is haunted.'

And so to avoid the unwanted comments of the villagers, he and Al had set out early the next morning into the Black Forest.


When they had first entered, Ed and Al didn't run into too much trouble. Considering where they were, they did very well. Although, there was a run-in with a plant which had wrapped its foliage around the brothers' legs, trapping them in its unforgiving embrace. However, Ed transmuted his automail and they managed to hack their way free, while Ed uttered a few choice curse words along the way.

A few days and incidents after cutting free from the troublesome plant, they found the little hut were Quirrell had centered his research efforts. The place had already grown-up. Trees and briars had grown through the house's wooden porch, making it apparent that it would be difficult for even Ed to get through, making it impossible for Alphonse pass.

Unluckily for them, the hut only had one door, and the only way to it was through the mess on the porch. So Edward just made a doorway in the side of the shack; although, his new door now made up more than half of the hut's south side wall.

They entered the dingy one roomed hut, squinting to make out its contents in the poor light. With a none-to-few muttered 'gross!' and 'that's disgusting!', when looking at the hut's molded books and papers, they started to search.

After a while, Alphonse found the journal. He found it under a broken wooden bed, the rusted nails and splinters giving him no trouble as he pushed them aside to reach the old book. Al had quickly realized it was Quirrell's old research journal, and called his brother over. However, when they had brought the book to the room's only intact table, it soon became apparent that the dairy held no more than mad ramblings; the ludicrous scribbles of an incoherent man.

This was the predicament Edward found himself in now and he was not happy. Alphonse instantly recognized the irritated look on his brother's face and knew that he would probably want to transmute the shack or something into a pile of splinters to vent his frustration. He quickly spoke before Edward could do anything.

"Ummm...Big Brother...?" Edward looked at him, eyebrows raised, waiting. "Maybe we missed something; you know, the journal might be in code."

"Code?" he said with a snort, reaching for the tattered journal. "I highly doubt that this...rubbish is in code. I mean, listen to this."

He randomly opened the book and started to read aloud.

"'When a Glampswalde came a-roaming up towards the house, I managed to subdue it with the Stupfy curse, the magic paralyzing it. A Glampswalde, a creature that is transparent and is able to lure in its prey with its deadly song is especially dangerous to children, as its song sounds remarkably like the jiggle from a Muggle's ice-cream truck. Everybody knows how children- and myself!- love their love milk and ice-cream! However, when they come a-running, the Glampswalde snares them in its grasp, and once caught by one these creature, it is very difficult to get loose, as I found out when I first arrived here!'"

Edward snorted at this and flipped through the journal again, this time towards the back of the book, and stared to read from a new entry.

"'I have made some progress in my search. However, my master has grown impatient; my progress has been too slow as he is wont to remind me. He likes to say to me that I was nothing before him, that I was ignorant before he came to me, and I was! I was an ignorant fool and I am grateful that he showed me the true way of the world. He has taught me a great many of things, but his lessons can be so painful. Very painful. I can never escape him of course. He is always there. Even now, as I write this with my quill and ink, I can hear him laughing softly, most probably, at me. He's there. He's always there. I can never escape from him. He is my constant companion until the day I die, and even in death I will be his servant. . .forever.'"

Edward paused, frowning, and then continued. This time reading from the next page.

"I have finally located it! My master is so pleased and so am I! He has been growing weaker and. . . We will be leaving in the morning. He has a plan to get it, and if all goes well, we will have it in a month and if not. . . No! We will have it in our grasp by then. We will! There is no other option! My master. . . He will have it! Yes! Voldemort, my master, will have the Philosopher's Stone!'"

Edward dropped the journal in shock, its leather cover making a loud sound as it fell to the table. Edward jerked his eyes away from the journal and looked at Al, his mouth open.

"A-Al. . . The Philosopher's Stone! This man -Quirrell- found the Philosopher's Stone! He- Alphonse. Is this true? Do you think he actually found a Philosopher's Stone? The Sorcerer's Stone, the Philosopher's Stone. . . Al, is this real or is it really just. . . ?"

"A fantasy?" Al finished.

Edward grabbed the journal off the table and quickly found the correct entry, scanning the page quickly before turning the page, and scanning that page. Al moved to his brother's side and looked over his shoulder to look at the journal. "Is there anything else in there about the Philosopher's Stone?" Al asked, peeking.

"There's not much," Ed said after a minute, frustrated. "There's only one more entry, two pages, after the one I just read. He mentions that the Stone is at 'Gringotts.' Alphonse, did you find anything else that might be beneficial? I didn't see anymore of his research journals around, but lets look again to make sure. We might find out where this 'Gringotts' place is."

Ed and Al overturned the little hut and when they were done the place looked worse then when they had first arrived. The place now looked as though several wild animals had been through it, and had a very good time destroying the place; it was completely ransacked. However, Ed and Al found no more research journals.

The two brothers swiftly gathered their belongs, along with Quirrell's journal, and made they way out of hut and out of the Black Forest. The two brothers headed back towards Central to gather more information on Gringotts.