Author's Note- Instead of writing an entire story, I felt I should make this a oneshot. There are plenty of stories on FFN that follow the same basic idea: Ed is a teacher at Hogwarts. So, with really only one or two little ideas making mine "original…" well that's my reasoning behind making it a oneshot. So no, don't ask, I'm not continuing this. Sorry to those who followed me or the story I took down or just found this and really liked it.

This could turn into a Harry Potter/Fullmetal Alchemist oneshot series, not necessarily about the same thing as seen in this chapter. I just need to find another idea or two to add on, but that doesn't seem to be happening, not being a true Harry Potter fan...

Disclaimer: I do not, nor ever will, own rights to Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. I do not make money by writing this.

An Alchemy Teacher Needs Alchemy

Edward Elric was probably the most mysterious of all the professors at Hogwarts.

The students knew little about him, including his nationality and personality. Sometimes he let some things slip- like having a bad leg and a friend who worked on it, but he would never add to that fact or explain it. They knew he had a little brother who was supposedly good at heart and mind, but that was pretty much where everything they knew ended.

Almost every person in the castle questioned their headmaster, too, because of this professor. Not only was he still a child himself and had a bad temper, but he couldn't even perform alchemy and that was his line of teaching!

One thing that the students didn't know about him, but had everything to do with his teaching, was his purpose behind visiting Madam Pomfrey on a weekly basis.

"I don't know why this is so difficult, Edward," she said, observing his bare hands again. "This seems like it should be so easy. So you said last time that you traded your alchemy?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"Why?"

He glared at her. "That's not your business."

"Right," the nurse looked back to a notebook, unnerved by the look he had sent her. She tried another approach. "What did you trade it for?"

"Something I refuse to give back. Is it really that important?" his speech was harder. Angrier, like he was losing patience with her for the millionth time.

"It might." She didn't say anything more, for the moment.

"I refuse to give it back," he repeated, quieter, sadder, but absolutely prouder. On the contrary, he also sounded disappointed, which confused her.

"Okay, Ed. I respect your wishes."

He whispered a "thank you."

"How did you do it?" Madam Pomfrey asked, slowly, not sure whether or not this was an appropriate question to ask him.

The boy sighed but answered. "At the Gate. I made a deal with the 'person' there. I told him to give me what I want and he can have it, to sum our conversation up. I doubt you'll be able to get it back."

She listened with all of her attention. "I'm sorry. I don't believe I understand. This gate is… your alchemy?"

"I guess you could look at it that way."

That's when she realized. Gate. It was so obvious.

"Ed, I've got an idea," Pomfrey almost squealed.

His interest was, of course, peaked, ears perking, and eyes sharpening, bouncing to her location. "Tell me what it is."

"Of course." She cleared her throat. "You call it a gate… perhaps this gate can be unlocked?"

One of the teenager's cheeks twitched. "I don't see how it'd work. It completely disappeared in the bargain."

"Why not give it a try?"

He sighed, and answered skeptically, "alright."

The nurse nodded, and cleared her throat again, to properly pronounce it. "Alohomora," she chanted, pointing her wand at Ed.

Of the two, he was the first to know that was a mistake. A familiar white light clouded his vision, until he came to the place where Truth and the Gate existed. The blank, almost-faceless beast had a scowl in it's only facial feature- the lips.

"You're trying to go back on our deal, Elric," he snarled.

"Wait!" he called to him. "Please, I don't want to! I'm happy with my first choice! I don't want to go back!"

"Too late. What's done is done."

His mind came back in the infirmary. His previously whole arm was in a wrap. Blood was still yet to be cleaned from the floor and furniture. Pomfrey was on the other side of the room, explaining what happened to the headmaster.

"Al," he whimpered.

That's all he would and could do.

Ed shot up from his bed at the Rockbell house, visibly shaking from the nightmare.

He knew his answer on Mustang's last assignment for him, before he retired from military work. "No."

That messed up school can deal with their goddamn philosopher's stone by themselves, for all he cared. Everything is right in his world now, and he doesn't need them ruining it.

Author's note: it was going to end with him crying in the infirmary, but that seemed like a bad ending (what, with it being rushed, and all?). And hey, the idea, itself, gave me sad "feels" as people call them. That's not to say I haven't written sad oneshots before, but those were for a less… emotional show… It didn't tear me up as much to write a sad fanfic for that fandom.

Again, there may be more chapters to come, if I can come up with any more one shot ideas between the two fandoms… probably can't, since I've only read the first book, and forgotten all the movies…

Shun these author's notes, if you will. Just me babbling.