Alchemy: Magic vs. Science

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D/C: I own nothing.

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"English and Edward's accented voice."

"Amestrian or another foreign language."

"Written notes."

'Thoughts.'

-.-

"It's Equivalent Exchange! I'll give you half my life, you give me half of yours!"

-.-

Edward stared out the window with a wide grin, he hadn't been able to stop grinning for the past couple of hours. How could he? He finally managed to tell the Winry his feelings along with asking her to marry him. What a way to start a journey. Now he just had to get her a ring...perhaps he'd find one in his travels towards the west.

Seeing the sun beginning to set and his first stop still hours away, Edward looked away from the window to catch up on some rest. After this train ride, he would constantly be on the move, learning everything he could about Alchemy outside of Amestris.

Oh, how wrong Edward was about the whole entire journey if you could even call it that.

-.-

Edward sat outside of a café with a newspaper in his hand. He glared at it, searching for anything to lead him to what he was looking for. Nothing. From the start of his journey, Edward had found little to nothing about Alchemy in the time he had traveled. It was as if Alchemy didn't exist outside other than from Amestris to Xing.

It didn't help that Edward hardly spoke their native tongue. Little to no people spoke Amestrian, and the only language that was similar to it was German. Somehow, due to miscommunication, Edward had ended up in London. After this Edward decided to use only written and at times non-verbal forms of communication, coming to this conclusion after deciding that verbal communication had only brought stress onto him and the person he attempts to communicate with.

So far in Edward's journey, he found nothing. He hadn't even found anything that had piqued his interest. It was as if Alchemy didn't exist outside of Amestris at all. Many would look at him as if he were crazy, a look of disdain or, what made Edward raised an eyebrow at, panic. Before he could even question the said person, they would quickly run away.

Taking a long gulp of his beverage, Edward slammed the cup back on the table and placed a couple of bills alongside it before he stood up. Picking up the suitcase that he had placed next to him and tucking the newspaper underneath his arm, Edward headed out. There had to be something about Alchemy in this country. If only just something to quench his thirst for knowledge.

Fortunately for Edward, earlier he had managed to get a lead about a bookstore. A small lead, but a lead never the less.

Pulling his coat tighter around himself, Edward cursed the terrible weather. He sped up his pace, wanting to get out of the weather, as well as get the information he was after quicker. Taking note of the street signs, Edward furrowed his brows as he continuously ended up in empty alleyways and seemingly dead ends. Having ended up in front of a brick wall for what seemed like the hundredth time, it was safe to say the former Alchemist was at his wit's end. "Next time, Al is going west while I head east."

Edward turned around and started retracing his steps. 'Nothing...NOTHING! Dead end after dead end. Just like looking for...'

Several loud crashes caught Edward's attention along with loud cursing and apologies. Edward brushed against the wall and slowly approached the end of the alleyway, peaking out he saw a confusing sight. There were three people; all dressed in weird clothing. One of them appeared to be a man with greasy black hair, dressed in a black robe, snarling at the other two who looked around Edward's age. Scattered around the alleyway were books, thick and ancient looking.

One of the books had landed just close enough for Edward to read the title: 'Introduction to Alchemy: Beginners Edition'

Without even thinking about it, Edward stepped away from his hiding spot to reach down and pick up the book. He scanned the pages, and the more he read the more Edward scowled and started to grit his teeth at the sheer blasphemy he was reading. Everything about it was wrong. Just wrong to the point it made Edward's blood boil.

A lost form of Magic...

"Magic?" Edward stared blankly at the word. 'What does magic has to do with Alchemy?'

"That book is mine..."

Edward looked over to see the man in total black staring at him with his hand extended out towards him. The other two strange looking people were nowhere to be seen, the other books had almost magically been stacked neatly on top of a wooden box. From where he was, Edward could see that all the books had similar information.

Edward tilted his head to the side as the man stared at him pointedly. "Alchimie?"

The blacked haired man brows furrowed trying to comprehend what was being said to him. "What?"

"Alchimie."

The older man's brows furrowed yet again as what was being said to him was repeated. After mentally repeating the word, a realization hit him. "Alchemy?"

Edward nodded, he grinned when he realized he had been understood. He snapped the book closed and pointed at it.

"Dis book..." Edward's nose scrunched up as he attempted to come up with the proper words. "Not kood alchimie."

The man stared at him as he took in the golden blonde's words. Thinking as he processed the words. "How would you know this?"

Edward pointed at himself. "Alchimist."

-.-

By far this was the most horrendous summer ever for Severus Snape. At the beginning of the summer Dumbledore announced that there was a petition for an Alchemy class for next year, and the teacher that normally taught the class was... well, from what Snape had heard down the grapevine, the former professor had gone on a vacation to a little unknown country and consequently disappeared without a single trace. Public story was that he decided to permanently stay in his home country for early retirement.

Now his actions had left the Hogwarts staff scrambling around for a new professor to teach an Alchemy class. As the rules state, if there are enough students interested in a class then they have to ensure the class is ready for the upcoming year. Right now, Snape was in charge of looking over all the textbooks that former professor previously used to ensure that they were all up to date and still useable.

Much to his distaste, Snape knew so little on the subject that he had decided to learn the basics to ensure they did not hire just anyone. After leaving the secluded bookstore that served to both the magical and non-magical community with a couple of books on the subject clasped in his hand. The moment he left the store, two former dunderhead students of Snape slammed into him. Which resulted in all the books scattered all over the ground and two very frightened teens.

After telling them off, Snape quickly picked up the books. His brows furrowed as he counted the books and saw that one of them was missing. That was when Snape saw an unfamiliar young man reading the book. Snape stared at him surprised, the young man's total appearance made him pause momentarily. There was something about him, the air around him... seemed different.

Shaking off his surprise, Snape walked up to the young man and extended his hand out to him. "That book is mine..."

The Blonde's head snapped up and stared at him, making Snape wonder just who he was. He knew no one with that shade of hair or eye color in the wizarding or in the muggle world. Remaining passive, Snape continued signaling for the return of his book. For all he knew, the male could be a muggle.

"Alchimie?" The young man asked, tilting his head to the side.

Snape stared blankly at him, not comprehending what was just said to him at all. "What?"

The blacked haired man's brows furrowed trying to comprehend what was said to him. "What?"

"Alchimie." That word was repeated again but this time clearer for Snape to understand.

Snape brows furrowed, he repeated the word under his breath and then again inside his head. 'Alchimie...' "Alchemy?"

The blonde nodded, he grinned and then snapped the book closed pointing at it.

"Dis book..." The stranger's nose scrunched up with his confusion. "Not kood alchimie."

Once more, Snape stared at him as he attempted to understand what had just been said to him. If only he could use his wand, whoever this stranger as he was making him tense. He was clearly not from the area, or country for that matter but still clearly understood what the book was about. What really got him though was that the male obviously knew what he was talking about. The book the blonde was holding was the one Snape had only bought as a joke, yet it appeared the young man knew what he was reading. "How would you know this?"

"Alchimist."

-.-

An hour and several headaches later after a small form of communication accomplished, Edward Elric and Severus Snape sat around a wooden table inside the bookstore. The same bookstore that Snape had just previously visited and the same one Edward was looking for. Books surrounded them along with stacks of blank paper as well as well detailed notes and piles of pens that Edward pulled out of his suitcase.

"All vrong." Edward pointed at a certain section of the book he was reading. He took a piece of paper and wrote down in English the correction of what he had just read along with what made the section wrong. "Dis hov should pe."

Snape reached over and took the paper to read what Edward had written. For someone who could barely speak the language, Edward sure could write English. His eyes went wide as he took in what he had read and then reread Edward's notes while comparing them to the text, said text that was highly sought out for those who decided to pursue the lost art of alchemy. Here was an unknown man with a vast knowledge of alchemy that could put any known alchemy master to shame.

The cogs in Snape's mind began to spin, there were so many opportunities... Which reminded him...

"Why are you here in London?" Snape asked Edward.

Edward took a piece of paper and a pen to write down his response. "Research. My main goal is to go west and study alchemy while my younger brother went east. So far...I got nothing."

"Where are you from?"

"Amestris."

Snape paused momentarily. Amestris... why did that sound so familiar to him.

"Do you have mastery in Alchemy?"

Edward grinned but it seemed strained. "You could say that, but there is always room for improvement. That is why I am here."

-.-

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, staring out of his window, deep in thought. Today would be the Boy Who Lived's ninth birthday. If everything had gone to plan then Harry should be with his muggle relatives treating him... Not what was to be considered humane in any terms.

With a chuckle, Albus turned around to face away from the window. He glanced across his desk, neatly piled in front of him was the petition for the elective class of Alchemy. There were quite a few of them. There was no way of sweeping this under the rug. If it was an alchemy class they wanted, then it was an alchemy class they would get. The only problem being the man that had previously taught the class was indisposed, permanently, if his Intel was is true. Now all Dumbledore had to do was hire a new Alchemy professor that would fit into the scheme of things.

The flames from the fireplace turned emerald green as Snape walked through it. "I may or may not have found our next Alchemy professor."

This caught Dumbledore's attention. He hadn't actually believed that anyone, especially Snape of all people, to find someone. As far as he knew, the only true alchemist within the Wizarding World was Nicolas Flamel. The previous professor that had taught alchemy had never actually fit his standards.

"Who is it?" Dumbledore asked, raising a hand to signal to Snape to continue.

Snape stood by Dumbledore's desk, avoiding any type of eye contact with the old wizard. "His name is Edward Elric..."

Dumbledore brows furrowed, why did that name seem familiar to him? "Where is he from?"

Snape hesitated, this was the sketchy part. "He hails from Amestris..."

"Severus...is he a muggle?" Dumbledore asked, the cogs in his mind starting to turn.

"That's the thing...I don't know." Snape explained. "From what he told me he's here in Britain to further his research in Alchemy."

"Do you believe he is capable of teaching the subject?" Dumbledore folded his arms over his desk as he thought.

Snape snorted at that. "More capable than anyone else we'll find. The only problem is that as far as I know...He has no clue about the Wizarding World or magic in general."

-.-

Edward sat outside of the same café he had visited the other day, ordering the same cup of hot coffee, water not milk, and a bagel. A newspaper in hand, his suitcase beside him and a giant stack of books on the table with a single book open on a page that seemed to be about the properties of flowers and herbs. A routine that he had followed since finding that bookstore a few days ago with the help of Severus. Fortunately for both of them, Edward began to speak English better despite his thick accent.

"Elric."

Edward looked up with an eyebrow raised while sipping his coffee. There stood Snape along with an older man that looked even kookier than the kids Severus had yelled at the day before. "Zefferus..."

Edward rolled his eyes back towards the weird looking man. There was something about him that made Edward raise his defenses. It felt just like when the homunculi were around, the grandfatherly smile wasn't helping either. Following his gut feeling, as it had saved him more times than he could count, Edward remained cautious of the old man. He was in a different country, no way to defend himself and no one from home knowing exactly where he was.

"Elric, this is the headmaster of the school I currently teach at." Snape said gesturing at Dumbledore.

"Hello, Mr..." Dumbledore started to say, stopping midway as he fully saw Edward. He looked just like the previous alchemy professor. His facial features, hair and eye color along with the accent and nationality. "My apologies, but you wouldn't happen to have any relation to a Van Hohenheim."

Edward stared at Dumbledore with an annoyed look, Dumbledore swore as he looked into his golden eyes that something was blocking him out. The further Dumbledore attempted to get into Edward's mind, the more annoyed Edward became.

Snape cleared his throat, effectively breaking up the stare off between the other two. "We came here with an offer...To help further your research."

Now that caught Edward's attention, who then turned his focus back to Snape. "Really nov? Vy didn't you zay dat in the first blace? Vat it is?"

"A teaching position." Dumbledore answered him.

Much to the confusion of both wizards, Edward began to laugh. He slammed his left hand onto the table while the other clutched to his stomach in an attempt to hold himself back. It was too much for Edward. A teacher? HAH! "Dat's fery funny, really. Vat is it?"

To be continued...

R/R.