Chapter 2: The Greatest Wizards of Modern Times
Ed shot up into a sitting position. For a moment, the alchemist was so dumbfounded that she just stared at the stranger that had appeared. Then her instincts kicked in.
"Who the hell are you? GET OUT!" she screamed as she threw a punch at the intruder. With her right fist at that. But before it could connect with the man's face, he vanished, leaving Ed hanging. Then reappeared a second later a few paces over. This repeated a couple of times before the wizard spoke.
"Are you quite done, yet?" he asked before he disappeared again to avoid another right swing. "My nose might seem like it had been broken in a couple of places… but in actuality, it wasn't, and I don't plan on starting… at such an old age," the bearded man chuckled with humor, pausing in his sentence at each apparition.
Although he knew popping into another wizard's or witch's home (or room in this case) without allowing them a chance to deny entry was rude, but he did not have a particular dark-haired boy with him this time to persuade the girl like he did a couple weeks ago with Slughorn. And from what Kingsley told him of her denying the existence of magic, he needed to use other methods to get the blonde's attention. Also, he was in quite a hurry.
"Then don't fucking barge into people's rooms like that, uninvited!" Ed fumed just as the old man dematerialized again, this time not popping back into existence. The blonde sighed with relief that lasted only till a knock came from her door.
"May I come in?" the purple-robed elderly inquired with a twinkle in his eyes behind his half-moon spectacles when the blonde opened the entryway.
"No, you may not!" the girl slammed the door in his face. Just as she turned around, the all too persistent man was before her again. And in her room. Again.
"Can't really take a hint, can you?" Ed huffed with disapproval but sat down on her bed, submitting to her fate that she probably won't be able to get rid of the geezer unless he got what he came for.
"I think we could be quite of use to each other, Edeline," the old man sat down in the one chair the room had to offer without bothering to ask if he may.
"Who the fuck are you and how do you know my name, gramps?" the blonde grunted crossing her arms. She was so tired of people just assuming her intentions and will before even introducing themselves.
"A friend of mine you met at Diagon Alley, Mr. Shacklebolt, has notified me of your situation," he informed in a calm voice as he looked at Ed knowingly, completely ignoring her rude tone.
"What situation would that be exactly? And by the way, you still have me at a disadvantage," the alchemist insisted on a proper introduction if he was going to be making deals with her.
"How rude of me, of course," the graying man smiled kindly. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Pig nipples? Really?" Ed burst out laughing, clutching her stomach in vain attempt to keep herself together.
"My proposition is that you come study magic at Hogwarts," Dumbledore continued with mild amusement after the hysterical laughing died down.
"If you think for a second that I buy into this magic nonsense, you have got a very wrong idea about me," Ed stated clearly, leaving no room for arguments like she did with the black man.
"What would you call yourself then?" the headmaster asked, intrigued. From what Kingsley told him, the girl undoubtedly possessed magical abilities, and she was aware of them.
"I'm an alchemist," she announced like it was self-evident.
"A great friend of mine, Nicolas Flamel, was one too," Dumbledore mused out loud.
"That might be true, but I'm pretty sure what you call alchemy is very different here than where I come from," Ed commented with a huff not really impressed by that fact. She had way too many disappointments back in New York in her quest to find an alchemical way back home to Amestris.
"What is your alchemy like?" he probed further. The blonde just sighed, she had had to explain this so many times in the last months.
"It's science. Comprehension, deconstruction, reconstruction. You have to understand the very nature and properties of the material you want to transmute. I could hold a doctorate in chemistry and physics for crying out loud! How is this not science?" the alchemist ranted all that in a single breath.
"And what about the energy you use for the deconstruction and reconstruction?" Dumbledore inquired all knowingly with a twinkle in his eyes.
"I channel the tectonic energy of the planet!" the blonde explained nonchalantly.
"Yes, but have you ever wondered how exactly you are able to do that?" the wizard questioned patiently.
"Because of my Gate to Truth," Ed replied, furrowing her brows in the process, not really getting where this was going.
"That's an interesting way of putting it, but I would say just like magic as we call it, the ability for alchemy comes from within," Dumbledore insisted.
"No, I literally mean a gate to Truth… or universe or God or All and One or whatever you might want to call it," the alchemist retorted severely.
"You have actually seen it?" the man tried to stay impassive, but it was clear that his interest was piqued by that piece of information.
"Yes," she answered in a clipped tone. Please don't ask me how!
"I myself am quite well-versed in the subject. But like I said I had a friend who had studied the art way longer, hundreds of years actually. And he had never mentioned something like a gate. Interesting…" the headmaster reflected on the revelation that could very well mean the origins of magic too, not just alchemy. Although in his mind these were not quite as separate as in the young girl's before him.
"Hundreds of years?" the girl cried out. "Wait a minute… you don't mean…" her face was one of shock from the apprehension that the wizard caught onto fast.
"Yes, he had made the Elixir of Life from the Sorcerer's Stone," Dumbledore confirmed. Now that sounded awfully like the Philosopher's Stone. Too much so for Ed's liking.
"Do you have any idea what the Sorcerer's or Philosopher's Stone is made of?" the alchemist questioned accusatorially with a glare that would most certainly kill if looks could do that.
"Unfortunately, yes. Nicolas confessed it to me on his deathbed about four years ago," the old man stated with a somber expression.
"So the guy is dead? Good! Because I would have beaten him to a pulp if he wasn't!" Ed furiously shook her fist to herself only really.
"If it's any consolation to you, he didn't use it selfishly besides prolonging his life. He helped many others with its healing properties over the centuries. And when Voldemort tried to get his hands on it to restore his body, Nicolas agreed to destroy it without hesitation," Albus defended his old friend, but of course, nothing could excuse his crime.
"Using the souls of innocent people to extend your own life is selfish enough," the blonde muttered angrily under her breath. "After I found out the ingredient to it I never would have tried to make one, not even use one when I had the chance," although she was glad it was already destroyed because she might have been getting desperate enough to get back home to use it if it wasn't. And she wouldn't have been able to face Al after that. Not, since they made their promise not to. She did use it once, Envy's core, to escape from the fake gate, but that was it.
They sat in silence after that for a couple of minutes. Ed's mind was reeling with detest while the older man was becoming increasingly curious about the young girl and her abilities.
"You said alchemy is different from where you come from, would you mind showing it to me?" the headmaster requested his calm, and good-humored demeanor resumed.
"What would you like me to transmute?" the blond girl inquired, looking expectantly at the old man. To tell you the truth she liked to show off her skills.
"You can transmute anything?" Dumbledore questioned incredulously. Surely there were limitations since Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration would probably have to apply.
"Well yes and no… I cannot make something appear out of thin air. I use the materials that I find and deconstruct then reconstruct it to another form. Equivalent exchange. In order to gain something, something of equal value has to be lost. But given the right materials, yes, pretty much anything," the alchemist explained but then decided that it was easier to just to show him. Using the metal in the floor lamp beside the bed the blonde transmuted her favorite spear with a clap of her hand.
"Yes, I must say, your alchemy is a bit different," he commented under his breath on a side note. Alchemy in their world was intimately connected with potion-making, chemistry and transformation magic, not used in the way Ed demonstrated just now. Although that didn't mean it couldn't be.
"No formula needed?" the wizard continued as he cocked a brow. Although the girl was claiming to be not magical, using magic without a wand, or some sort of array that is traditionally required for alchemy was quite remarkable. And powerful. Powerful indeed. He also noted that the first thing that came to the alchemist's mind to transmute was a weapon, one that she used probably quite often.
"Formula? Oh, you mean transmutation circle…" the realization came to the blonde. Maybe I should have just drawn up a circle, it would be much easier sometimes if I didn't go revealing this one fact about myself… "Uhm… I don't need one since I saw the Gate for the first time. I create the circle within myself as I clap my hands together," she said timidly as she quickly transmuted the lamp back to its original state. She did want her security deposit back after all…
"You have seen it multiple times?" the headmaster questioned, and Ed mentally slapped herself for her continual slip-ups. Darn it!
"Like I said earlier, I'm not from around here, I came through the Gate," Ed opted for the less condemning instances of human transmutations she performed.
"Can you show me, how to reach the Gate?" he inquired, being as of old age as he may, the wizard was still a scholar at heart, searching for the answers of the many mysteries magic could hold, and he wanted to know if his theory was correct.
"No!" she stated firmly, her lips in a tight line. "That is not something that should be tried carelessly. There is always a price to pay."
"Like an arm and a leg?" the wizard asked looking knowingly at said limbs.
"How? I mean I get that you saw my right hand as I tried to bash in your face…" Ed trailed off. They hadn't had a hands-on fight where he could tell from throwing her!
"I may be old, but my hearing is still good, your left leg has a louder thud on the wooden floors when you walk," the blonde just nodded slightly in understanding to that.
Dumbledore decided not to question the topic of the Gate or the seemingly mechanical limbs further, the blonde was clearly reluctant to the idea. Instead, he had another proposition for the alchemist besides inviting her to Hogwarts.
"Perhaps, we could take this conversation somewhere else. I would like you to meet some people," the headmaster suggested standing up from his seat.
"Where exactly?" Ed asked warily. She still wasn't sure whether to trust this strange man or not, although it was clear that he was working against this dark wizard – Voldemort – that was brought to her attention. That ought to count for something.
"I'd rather not say until we get there. We can never be quite too careful as to who is listening," Dumbledore stated in all seriousness. "Now if you would hold on to my left arm," he said offering said arm to the girl who was just standing up, looking at him funny. She wasn't some lady to be taken on the arm of a man!
Her train of thought was cut short though when she noticed the wizard's right hand. It was all blackened like if burned to the core.
"What happened to your hand?" Ed blurted out before she could stop herself. Looking at it she had a strange feeling she couldn't just quite place yet.
"It's quite an interesting tale that we, unfortunately, don't have the time for. But to ease your curiosity let's just say that this old man is not as fast as he was used to neither in mind nor body," the wizard explained still offering his left arm for Ed to hold onto which she now took.
And with that, they vanished from the cozy little hotel room. To where? Ed didn't know.
Edeline felt like she was pressed through the tiniest little tube she could imagine. She couldn't breathe, her ears were popping, and she generally felt like there was immense pressure on her.
When they finally reappeared in what seemed like a square of townhouses the blonde actually had to sit down and put her head between her knees to keep from vomiting.
"Never… again…" she managed shakily. However strange the experience might have been, she kept thinking this could still be explained by the laws of alchemy. Though a different experience, she had reemerged in places other than where she started from while passing through the gate. She was determined to find a logical explanation for it.
"I'm sorry. Apparition can have that effect the first time around," the old man smiled apologetically for not warning her beforehand. Ed looked up at the man then remembered the sensation she got about his hand.
"You are dying right?" the alchemist asked quietly. Although she hadn't thoroughly immersed herself in alkahestry, Mei had taught her enough to recognize such a considerable disruption of chi that she was sensing from the headmaster.
"Perceptive too…" Dumbledore smiled sadly but with a sense of hope too. Edeline will probably prove to be a powerful ally for the Order of the Phoenix if she agrees. Just then, with a wave of his hand, the buildings 11 and 13 began to depart from each other revealing number 12, much to Ed's astonishment. She scrambled off the pavement, her nausea long forgotten. "Welcome to 12 Grimmauld Place."
They entered with the old man showing the way into the bit dusty and run down looking townhouse that was just recently reoccupied by the Order after it was sorted out that Harry did, in fact, inherit the place.
"Albus, thank Merlin! We were starting to get worried! You were supposed to arrive an hour ago…" a tall man with graying hair greeted them then paused questioningly at Dumbledore when he saw the girl in his tow. There was something odd to Ed about him though, she couldn't exactly tell what it was, but he had a sort beastly aura about him.
"I am sorry that I worried you, it took a little longer to persuade our guest to join us."
"Who is she?" he glanced between them warily, but what's done was done, Dumbledore had already revealed the location of their headquarters to her.
"This is Edeline Elric. But I assume Kingsley has informed you already," the headmaster informed looking at the blonde.
"No, he hasn't come back from the Prime Minister's office yet. He only mentioned it in passing," the mystery man shook his head.
"Alright then, I will fill you in. Shall we sit down?" Dumbledore smiled kindly at the man motioning for them to go into the kitchen to talk.
As the three of them entered the said room, they found that another person was present in the building. The woman had light brownish hair and as Ed noticed red puffy eyes like she had been crying before they arrived. Unbeknownst to Ed the witch usually had a more boisterous appearance to her that generally involved bright pink hair.
"Edeline, these are Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks," the wizard continued as they sat down.
"You can just call me Ed," she insisted. Having been living as a boy for so long, it was weird when people kept calling her by her full name.
"Just Tonks for me," the witch pointed out half-heartedly but gave a little smile to the girl, not quite meeting her eye. Ed knew that look, she was grieving. Someone must have died recently. Which, based on the information she had picked up on so far regarding the war against Voldemort, wasn't all that surprising to her. She gave back a tight sympathetic smile.
"Now that the introductions are out of the way…" he looked over his spectacles seriously. "Besides inviting Ms. Elric to come study at Hogwarts, I would like her to also join the Order of the Phoenix and help us in some things."
"Are you sure that's wise, Albus? We don't even know who she is or where she came from!"
"For your information, I'm from Amestris, but it would ring a bell to you anyway…" Ed cut in as she was growing increasingly tired and frustrated by people keeping fighting about her like wasn't even there.
"I mean how do we know she doesn't work for You-Know-Who?" Remus continued ignoring the blonde entirely.
"I can assure you that my judgment on her character has a sound basis," Dumbledore declared not leaving room for arguments but also not wanting to reveal most of the details that were exchanged between them. "Edeline is also a master alchemist, from what I gathered from our talk, with a long history and experience in combat."
"What a little kid like her?" he glanced at the said girl. She couldn't have been older than Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and although they had encountered some rough situations, he wouldn't have called those a "long history and experience in combat."
"DON'T CALL ME SMALL!" Ed fumed slamming her fists down on the table as she got up from her place making everyone but Dumbledore jump a little. "And just so you know, I have been in the military since the age of twelve, have been researching alchemy on my own since five, it would be wise of you not to underestimate me."
"Oh, my," another child robbed of her childhood is what Albus thought. There must be a history to this, probably connected to lost limbs too. He had a sense that she and Harry would get on well.
"Well, at least she's got guts and spunk, I guess. I like her and if Dumbledore trusts her, we should too," Tonks chuckled quietly, drawing the incredulous gaze of Lupin. He hasn't seen a smile on the woman's face let alone a laugh since Sirius died. "What?" she looked at Remus.
"Now that's all settled, I have arranged for you to stay at one of our members' house. There will be some children your age too, I think you will like that…"
"Wait a minute I haven't agreed to anything yet!" Ed interjected as the others got up thinking that the conversation was over.
"Hogwarts has a vast library full of books and knowledge on all topics of magic… I might even give you a permission slip to the restricted section," the headmaster sweetened the deal. He was a good judge of character, and if the girl autodidactically taught herself alchemy to that level, then hunger for knowledge and books must have been a critical factor in her personality.
Ed sighed and shook her head, looking up at the ceiling in defeat. She really couldn't say no to that. Besides… Truth was expecting her to look beyond science. And she will… even if very skeptically.
A/N: I love Dumbledore to death don't get me wrong! But you have to admit sometimes he was a manipulative little bastard… there were so many things that Harry didn't know that went on in the background! Anyway, meanwhile I reread parts of Book 6 and realized that the beginning of this chapter was so OOC for Dumbledore… but oh well, gotta have some fun since I already set them on this path at the end of the first chapter.
I know I put quite a dark twist on Nicolas Flamel's character with this one… but… that's the way my mind works. I did try to find an explanation to the Sorcerer's Stone on HP wikis but came up with nothing. Even tweeted JK Rowling, but oh well. I've read so many fics where it was just shaken off that no Flamel didn't make the stone with human sacrifices, but where would that be interesting if I just did that too?
As for the origin of magic being the Gate in HP verse, like for alchemy in Ed's world and imagination or creativity in our (or well Marvel really, not ours, but in ours as well), I think it quite fits with the train of thought I set out in the earlier story.And there wasn't really ever an explanation for this in the books either.