See? I am putting it back up! Although updates will be slow because I still don't have everything in order quite yet… I've made a few changes, and I may end up changing a few other things, but right now I kinda doubt it. Also, I need to reread OotP but I don't know if the library here has it (it probably does, I mean, MSU has 12000 students or something. If it doesn't have it, then the world is coming to an end) and I am so not paying for another copy of it (mine's at home and most likely in some box in a storage unit). Grawr.

Once I finally reread it, though, things should be good. And now I need to write something down so I don't forget a major change I want to make… -flies off-

---------------

It was a quiet morning in Resembool. The sun had just risen, the grass was wet with dew, and all were still inside their homes, except for two men. They were walking down a path towards a certain house, with a tree on one side and a garden on the other.

"It's good to see you again. You have children now, correct?"

"Yes, Trisha just gave birth to our second son."

"What are their names?"

"The older one is Edward, and the younger is Alphonse."

"Do you think they'll inherit your talent in alchemy?"

"It's hard to say. They're still very young."

"Well, I look forward to meeting them."

-----------------

Several years passed, and another quiet morning arrived. One of the two men walked down the same path alone, heading to that same house. He was paying a surprise visit to Edward and Alphonse.

He stopped for a moment before knocking on the door. He'd kept in touch with the family for a while, but then the letters had gradually stopped coming. Last he'd heard, the two boys had left their home to train and improve their abilities in alchemy. Hohenheim had disappeared, and Trisha had passed away.

A minute after he knocked, Edward opened the door. He looked up sleepily at Dumbledore. Once he realized who it was, Edward's eyes widened, and he shut the door. "Hang on a minute!" he shouted. After a few minutes, the door opened, and this time both of the brothers were there.

"May I come in?" he asked, smiling at the two.

"Yeah, we just had to clean up," replied Ed, opening the door and stepping out of the way. They went into the kitchen and sat down. Dumbledore looked around at the place. It was still very messy, but he didn't expect two young boys to be very clean. At the very least, they were trying their best.

"Um, so… what brings you over here?"

"Hmm? Oh, I just wanted to see how you were doing. You finished your training, I presume?"

"Yeah, we did."

"What are you going to do now?"

The two blinked in unison. "Huh?"

"Do you have any plans for the future?"

"Why do you want to know?" Ed asked politely.

Dumbledore smiled. "Did you know that I'm the headmaster of a school?"

"No…"

"Well, the two of you qualify to go there, if you wish. Of course, Alphonse is still too young, but I'm willing to make an exception in this case."

"What type of school is it?"

"One that specializes in what you've been learning for the past few years, only in a different way."

"You mean like alchemy and stuff?"

"Yes."

Edward and Alphonse exchanged glances. "Well, there's something we need to do first, and we're going to need a while to do it."

"What do you need to do?"

"It's a secret," the two of them said together.

Dumbledore stood up. "Well, then, I won't ask again. I'll give you a chance to come next year, all right?"

"Okay."

---------------

A year passed. Ed and Al were in their house, getting ready to send Ed off to East City, when an owl flew in through an open window. Ed started as it landed right in front of him on the table. It had an envelope tied to its leg.

Ed pulled off the envelope. "Jeez, why does he always send letters by owl? Hasn't he ever heard of the postal service?"

"Maybe he doesn't trust the postal service," Al replied, looking over his brother's shoulder at the letter. "What does it say?"

Ed read the letter fairly quickly. "He's wondering if we want to go to his school."

"Do you think we should?"

"Nah, if we went there, people would ask about your body, and we'd probably get in trouble for what we did, too. I'm gonna write back real quick."

"Okay. I'll keep packing, then."

Ed spent a while looking for a blank piece of paper. The only one he found had a transmutation circle on the back. He tried to erase it, but then he realized it had been drawn with ink, so he just scribbled over it and began to write.

Dear Mr. Dumbledore,

Sorry for my bad handwriting, but I can't write with my right hand anymore. I made a bad decision, and we're both suffering because of it, so I'm going to East City now to join the military as a State Alchemist. That way I can find a way to make it up to Al. So, I guess our answer is no. Thank you for the offer, though.

We probably won't be living in Resembool after I get into the military, so I guess it'll be harder to keep in touch from now on.

Sincerely,

Edward Elric

-------------

A few years passed. Edward was staying at a hotel in Rush Valley, getting a new arm for the cold temperatures in the north, when he got another letter. He looked at it briefly before giving it to his brother.

I hope the two of you are doing well. If you have the chance, would you like to visit Hogwarts? Some of the students here are interested in alchemy. You could also see how we do things here.

"What do you think? Should we go?" Ed asked once Al had finished reading.

"Well, I don't see why not. I mean, it's not like we're going to be able to do anything for a while here, especially since we need to wait for Winry to make a new arm for you."

"Yeah, with all the work she's been doing lately, it'll be easier for her if we don't make her rush, huh?"

"Yeah. Besides, I'd like to see how they use alchemy there."

Ed stood up. "I'll go tell Winry that she doesn't have to hurry. Do you want to send a letter back?"

"Okay."

---------------

They got a response the very next day. Al read it out loud to Ed as he got dressed.

"He says he'll meet us at the train station tomorrow. It doesn't say when, though."

"Does that mean we'll have to wait there all day?" Ed asked.

"Well, it says sometime in the afternoon, so I guess we'll just have to head over at noon and wait."

"Oh. Maybe he doesn't know what time the train will get in."

"Yeah, maybe. So, what should we do today?"

"I dunno. Maybe we could see if there's a library in town."

They walked down the streets of Rush Valley, keeping an eye out for a library. It took them half the day to realize that there was only one. As they browsed through it, Ed realized it was a pointless effort. The section on alchemy was small, and Xingese alchemy might as well be nonexistent. Ed only found one paragraph on the subject, and everything it said was a regurgitation of what he already knew.

When they left, the sun was setting. Ed walked just in front of their brother. It took him a while to realize he had gotten them lost.

"Oh, great. What now?"

"Well, isn't that the train station way over there?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it is."

"We can go from there to Winry's place, and then back to the hotel."

As they approached the station, Ed saw a black dog sitting in the middle of a street. He looked at it curiously. It seemed to be watching him.

"Brother, come on!" Al said as he grabbed his brother by the antenna and pulled him along.

"Ow! Al, what are you doing?"

"There's someone from the military up there, and they're trying to get your attention."

"Huh?"

Al let go and pointed in front of them. Indeed, there were several soldiers walking toward them. When they stopped, one of them stood in front of the others and saluted. "Sir! I'm glad you're here. We need your help with something."

---------------

Ed followed the soldiers to a small military building. They had him sit in an office and left him alone for a few minutes. Finally, someone came into the room. He sat down on the other side of the desk.

"So, what is it you need me for?"

"We've received news from Central that a serial killer escaped from prison and is currently in Rush Valley. He's an alchemist, and a very dangerous one at that. He had killed at least ten people when we found out about him, and at least twenty more by the time we captured him and brought him to jail."

"So you want me to find him?"

"If you could. He tends to target people your age, so be careful."

"How much danger is there to the people in this town?"

"Not much yet, but if he isn't found soon, there will be a great risk."

Ed sighed. "Right. I was going to leave town tomorrow, but I guess I'll just have to change plans."

"I appreciate the help."

"Yeah, well, I have a friend here who's about my age, and I don't want to see her get hurt."

"Winry Rockbell, right? We'll have someone watching her until you find this man, so she'll be safe."

Ed nodded and stood up. "So, what does this person look like?"

The man handed Ed a folder. "Here's everything we know about him."

"All right. I'll start on this right away."

--------------

Ed walked out of the building to find his brother waiting for him. "What do they want?" Al asked.

"Apparently there's a serial killer around here, and they want me to track him down."

"Can you do that?"

"Well, according to this information, I'm a perfect victim for him, so finding him shouldn't be too hard. It's the idea of fighting and disarming him that's making me worried. He's almost good enough to be a State Alchemist."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll go over this tonight and see where he's most likely to be hiding. I'll start looking for him tomorrow."

"But what about going to Hogwarts tomorrow?"

"This is a little more important than a vacation, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. How are we going to tell him, though?"

"I'll leave that up to you. Right now I need to concentrate on this."