- - Spoilers in story for the end of HP: OotP as well as HBP and the end of the Full Metal Alchemist Anime series as well as other points in the canon story - -

Author's note: For this chapter some things are the same, others are different. The first excerpt is straight from OotP, no changes. The first part of the Full Metal Alchemist excerpt is basically what happened during part of the last episode of the anime series. The biggest change is with Roy- for the purposes of this story, he is not ambushed by Archer outside of the Fuhrer's house and he knew where Edward had gone. Let's say that Ed explained it all to him on the car ride. Second- yes I know there was more to Bellatrix's escape from the atrium to the Hall of Doors, but frankly I didn't feel like writing all that out so I kinda skipped it. Actually, I forgot how much more there was but really don't feel like rewriting that section just for something so minor.

Important: This A/N is up-to-date as of 01-07-07—Several parts of this story have been edited. If you've read it before, you might want to give it a scan over again. Some parts are ones I wasn't happy with to begin with and wanted to change, others were gaps in logic that I felt the need to change. In fact, the other day I was rereading the end of HP: OotP and I realized just how much I had forgotten. When I did, I was left staring at the book in an excellent imitation of the Home Alone scream pose. So here I am left with gaps in logic and story that I'm trying to consolidate and work in. Sure I could play the AU card, but I'd really like to keep it as close as possible to the story line, at least at this point. So please forgive me if something is either changed or 'under construction' so to speak. And before you say anything—yes Roy uses Japanese in ch. 2. It is explained in an a/n and an explanation will be worked in later. Really, just understand that this is fanfiction and I will not be receiving any pay for this, so the occasional lapse in logic is to be expected. I just hope you enjoy the story nevertheless.

I ought to also warn you now- this is a RoyxEd. If you have a problem with it, then don't read it.

Chapter 1: Enter the Fullmetal Alchemist

Harry turned to look where Neville was staring. Directly above them, framed in the doorway from the Brain Room, stood Albus Dumbledore, his wand aloft, his face white and furious. Harry felt a kind of electric charge surge through every particle of his body- they were saved.

Dumbledore sped down the steps past Neville and Harry, who had no more thought of leaving. Dumbledore was already at the foot of the steps when the Death Eaters nearest realized he was there. There were yells; one of the Death Eaters ran for it, scrabbling like a monkey up the stone steps opposite. Dumbledore's spell pulled him back as easily and effortlessly as though he had hooked him with an invisible line-

Only one couple were still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: he was laughing at her. "Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.

The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest.

The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.

Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore turned to the dais too.

It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sailed backward through the ragged veil hanging from the arch…

And Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place.

Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrange's triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing- Sirius had only just fallen though the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second…

But Sirius did not reappear.

"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, "SIRIUS!"

He had reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. Sirius must be just behind the curtain, he, Harry, would pull him back out again…

But as he reached the ground and sprinted toward the dais, Lupin grabbed Harry around the chest, holding him back.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry-"

"Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!"

"It's too late, Harry-"

"We can still reach him-"

Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let go…

"There's nothing you can do, Harry… nothing… He's gone."

"Ed, are you alive?" asked Roze.

"Yeah," said Edward, blinking himself awake. As he did he felt warm tears fall down his cheek. "Why am I crying?" he asked as he dried the tears with his hand.

"Al performed a transmutation on you," said Roze as Ed sat up from the floor, looking around, "On your dead body…"

Ed turned and faced Roze as slowly comprehension began to dawn on him, "He used the Philosopher's Stone to affix my soul to my body…" Horror stuck him as he sat forward, "Then, what happened to Al?!"

Roze bit her lip and lowered her head, unable to look Ed in the eye.

Ed's eyes widened and he felt fresh tears threaten to come forth. "Al disappeared?"

Ed stood and began to look around the room desperately. "Al! Al! Al! AL!!!"

But no one answered. His yells only succeeded in upsetting Roze's baby.

"You should get out of here," said Ed, turning to Roze. "And sorry, but, can you take him with you?" he asked, motioning towards Wrath, laying wounded on the other side of the room.

"What about you?" asked Roze.

"I'm going to destroy this place," said Ed, turning to look at the god forsaken ballroom of the cursed underground city, "So that no one ever seeks the Philosopher's Stone again."

"You're right," said Roze, lowering her head slightly, "You'll come when you're finished, right?" she asked hopefully. "Because you still have a good pair of legs."

Ed smiled, but inside they both knew the answer.

General Roy Mustang glared at the pile of ooze that had once been the Fuhrer Bradley. In his mind he saw the Fuhrer strangling his own child and saw the corpse of his closest friend and confidante Hughes…

And then over both of them a vision of a golden eyed angel, hardened far too early by life, took over his senses…

This man- no, creature- had hurt them, directly or indirectly… he had hurt them all…

He had hurt Edo-kun…

His fury built up for one more attack-

"Die you bastard!"

And he let the flames consume the last of the homunculus.

As the fire from their battle began to engulf the house completely, Roy grabbed up the young boy thrown carelessly to the side and ran from the house.

He had to make it in time- Edward needed him.

Ed stood in the middle of the complex human transmutation array with several smaller arrays patterned over his skin.

'If what my father said is true, right now Al's body and soul are inside of that gate. There's no equivalent trade for a life. No matter how hard I try, it might be in vain. But…'

"You won't disappear," said Ed quietly. "I'll bring you back."

He clapped his hands, forming the Alchemic Circle, and touched them to the array on this chest. Blue light shown first from the arrays on his body, and then spread to the array on the floor of the room. Power surged forth from him and he began to feel the threads of reality tear and stretch around him.

But before he could be enveloped and taken completely, he felt a pair of arms circle around him.

"And neither will you," said a familiar voice in his ear.

And then the light poured forth around and through them, taking them into it completely.

Harry was still fighting to free himself from Lupin when suddenly a blinding blue light was emitted from the arch. Everyone in the room stopped their duels to turn and watch the phenomenon and all saw a body come flying out from the arch just as the light faded to a soft glow coming from the person who had emerged. Needless to say everyone was shocked and confused. And for a moment, enemy and allies alike set aside differences to exchange confused glances. What the hell had just happened?!

It was Bella Lestrange who recovered first. She strode towards the person on the dais who appeared to be coming to, slowly lifting himself off the floor. The person looked up just as the woman lifted her wand.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The spell left her wand and sped towards the defenseless bystander. Harry started to yell a warning when blue light once again filled the room. It was only a split second, but when the light was gone everyone stared in shock.

Where before there had been nothing there was now a solid rock wall between Bella and the boy. Bella stepped back in confusion, but didn't lower her wand.

"Where- how-?!"

"Wow, it worked," said a surprised voice from the other side of the wall. Then there came a dark chuckle. "You made a bad mistake attacking me... now let's have some fun."

A clap was heard and blue light flashed as a giant hand of stone rose from the floor, grabbing hold of Bella in a tight fist.

Anger and surprise shown in her eyes. "What magic is this? Who are you?!"

But Harry didn't wait for an answer. He could still see Sirius falling through that arch way. And realizing that the werewolf had released him in his surprise, Harry ran forward and yelled, "You killed Sirius. I'LL KILL YOU!"

Bella gave a bark for a laugh, before the stone hand exploded. It appeared she hadn't lost hold of her wand. As soon as she landed on the floor she took off at a fast run up the stairs and out of the atrium, Harry running after her.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

It had taken a moment for it to dawn on Edward that he was still alive. According to his plan, he should have been dead. But here he was, sitting on some sort of platform in the middle of a large room. He had been so shocked with the revelation he hadn't noticed the several people standing in the midst of combat to stare at him. It had only come to his attention as the heavy lidded woman had approached him, holding a stick out as a weapon.

'Oh, crap…' he thought. Couldn't people give him a break? He had just escaped from certain death and people had to go and start picking a fight with him already! His bad day was getting worse and it was doing nothing for his mood.

"Avada Kedavra!" the woman yelled, pointing the stick at him.

He hadn't actually expected anything to happen, but when the light began to coalesce at the tip of the stick his brain kicked into overdrive. And despite the fact that logically he knew that alchemy shouldn't work on this side of the gate his first initial response was to erect a wall with it. Imagine his surprise when it worked.

"Wow, it worked," said Edward, just as surprised as the woman on the other side of the new wall stuttering in her confusion. Then an evil smirked crossed his face. If the others had been able to see it, they would have been frightened. It was time to out some of that bad day aggression. "You made a big mistake attacking me… now let's have some fun," he said, clapping his hands and touching them to the floor.

On the other side of the wall he heard a shriek, and thus knew that alchemy had worked again, so it was definitely not a fluke.

"What magic is this? Who are you?!"

'Magic?' thought Ed with a frown.

Then a new voice cut through the bustle. "You killed Sirius! I'LL KILL YOU!"

The woman laughed before an explosion sent pieces of the stone hand Ed had transmuted flying in several directions. Ed ran around the wall just in time to see the woman running out of the atrium with a black haired boy following closely on her heels.

"Harry! No!" yelled a brown haired man off to the side. In fact several people were crying out for him to stop, telling him not to get himself killed. But everyone was too busy fighting their own attacker to be able to go after him, not even with the old man up at the top taking down several at a time.

"Err! Stupid kids!" growled out Ed as he flew up the stairs after the black haired boy. He entered the room just as the guy flung open a door to the right.

"Hey!" Ed yelled as he ran out the door after him. He was just able to reach the elevator in time as it closed its doors and started moving upward.

"Who are you? What do you want? You can't stop me-" yelled Harry at the strange blonde kid that had run after him.

"Who said I wanted to stop you? That woman's a bitch, I'll help you catch her," said Edward, leaning against the wall.

Harry's eyebrows knitted as he frowned. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Name's Edward Elric, you?"

"Harry Potter."

"Well Harry, try not to get yourself killed. You seem to have people down there who'd be upset."

Harry nodded as the elevator doors opened and he dashed out towards the fleeing woman.

"Err-" Harry growled as he tried to catch up with her. Blue light flashed and crackled as a wall sprung up right in front of her, sending her smack into it.

Harry stopped and took aim, "Crucio!" he yelled, pushing the rage of Sirius' murder behind the curse.

Bella gave a small scream as she twitched on the floor. But it only lasted a moment and then she was back on her feet with a maniacal grin.

"Righteous anger won't hurt me for long, Potter. You have to want to hurt someone, make them suffer. Here, let me demonstrate!

"Crucio!" she yelled, her wand pointing at Harry.

But at that moment Ed stepped in the way with his right arm outstretched taking the full hit of the curse. But nothing happened.

It was just then that Harry noticed what he should have seen from the moment he saw the golden eyed boy- he had what appeared to be a mechanical arm.

"How-? Who-? What are you?"

"I am Major Edward Elric…

The Full Metal Alchemist!"