Hey lmao I came back for another chapter? Tbh if there will be more updates in the future they will most likely just be disconnected shorter chapters about random encounters and scenarios. Speaking of which, this is an idea suggested by Zaire Giovanni which I really liked? It was interesting and I would have expanded on it more but I am feeling Very Light Headed at the moment so I'll just leave it as it is. Hope you like it.

It was the in the early hours of the morning when Hermione Granger almost ran straight into Hogwart's most reserved student on her way to the library. She had been hurrying along a hallway on her way to get some extra study in for her Potions assignment, when she turned a corner only to find a very solid obstacle in her path. She swerved just in time and almost tripped over herself in the process, but Elric didn't even seem to notice.

Elric, to put it simply, looked as if he had seen better nights. He had large bags under his eyes, and his vision seemed to be clouded over and unfocused. He had his hair falling loose over his back, and the woolly oversized pyjamas and overall cluttered appearance of the boy caused Hermione to not even realise who it was at first glance, especially while she was preoccupied with not falling flat on her face.

"Ah- Sorry!" She gasped out, attempting to push her frizzy hair out of her face in an attempt to look more composed than she really was. Elric glanced at her, finally seeming to notice her presence, but his eyes still looked fuzzy and unseeing. He narrowed his eyes and blinked a few times, and suddenly his bright golden colour seemed to bleed through the blurred irises. He blinked a few more times, then slowly frowned. "Hermione... Granger, right?" he asked, unsure, his voice crackly.

Hermione took a breath, still recovering from her shock, and nodded. "Yes.. we have a few classes together?" She exhaled, still tucking back a few brown curls. "I don't believe we've spoken?..."

"No, I don't think we have." Elric sighed and scratched the back of his head, slowly turning to face her properly. He blew at his unruly bangs, unsuccessfully removing them from obscuring his vision. Hermoine had wondered in the past why he did not simply get a haircut, but from what she had gathered, while the boy seemed to get frustrated at his long hair at times, he had never expressed a need nor a want to cut it. She supposed it was a personal matter, so she didn't feel the need to pry.

She looked up to see Elric had decided to again pour his focus onto whatever he had been looking at when she had first rounded the corner. The look on his face seemed to be nostalgic, yet confused, as if he wasn't sure he should be nostalgic about. She glanced down to see he was clenching and unclenching his fists slowly, as if he was trying to force himself to concentrate. Glancing at his face again, she noticed he was slightly chewing his bottom lip, but looking into his eyes again, she could see that they were struggling to remain clear and focused.

Finally glancing over to see what the boy had been staring at with such intensity, she was mildy confused, to be honest.

It was a large set of what seemed (to her at least) to be antique armour. It was silver, and while not rusty, looked as though it hadn't seen a polish in a while, judging by the fine layer of dust that coated it. It seemed to be at least 8 feet tall (are armour this tall actually meant to be worn or just used as a cool decor choice for castle hallways? Hermione had never really thought about it before) with spikes adorning its' shoulder plates, as well as longer spikes protruding from the wrist up to the elbow joint. The rest of the armour seemed to be your standard medieval garb, but it had one long

feather hanging from the top of the helmet almost down to the waist.

For whatever reason, this particular set of armour seemed to radiate a sense of warmth, despite not having a wearer. Hermione blinked, and frowned.

(It almost feels alive.)

She was shaken out of her thoughts by a hand suddenly thrust into her line of sight. The brunette looked up to see Elric had stopped inspecting the large silver suit, and had instead started offering his right hand to her, giving her a sidelong glance. "I suppose," he stated, closing his eyes, "that we should introduce ourselves properly." He opened his eyes and fixed her in an intense stare, which almost seemed like he was daring her to look away.

Hermoine suddenly felt she had entered a staring contest without her knowledge.

Nevertheless, she smiled hesitatingly and gripped his hand with hers, shaking for a few seconds. "My name's Hermione Granger. I'm a fifth year and a Gryffindor."

Elric grinned at her suddenly, his face seeming ten times more alive than she had ever really seen it, despite the dark bags still prevalent underneath his eyes. "My name's Edward Elric, and I'm a fifth year. I'm apparently a Ravenclaw." He still held tightly onto her hand for a millisecond, then suddenly let go, surprising Hermione, who left her hand hanging in empty space for a moment before she realised. He crossed his arms behind his head, balancing on his heels. "You can call me Ed though, if you want to."

Hermione smiled again, a stronger and more real one this time. "Sure, Ed."