"Do you think he's alright?" Hermione asked for the umpteenth time, pacing around the bedroom. It's been three days since Harry chased the Dementors away and was suspended from Hogwarts, not to mention the Ministry hearing of his trial. The bushy haired wizard was worried sick, thinking of the many situations Harry could be in and the emotions he could be feeling.
"He'll be fine," Ron assured, though it seemed like he was trying to convince himself as well. "Harry knows how to take care of himself," he said as he threw a rubber ball at the wall, catching it on the rebound.
"But you know how Harry is, he'll go crazy; not knowing anything, not able to do anything. Won't you?"
"Yeah, but..." Ron sheepishly answered.
Hermione's expression fell. "Do you think he's going to be mad at us?"
Ron returned to his ball-throwing monotony. "Nah. If anything he's gonna be mad at Dumbledore, for keeping us silent." He paused. "Right?"
That did nothing to sate Hermione's worry. It was temporarily suspended as a loud crashing came from downstairs. Both teens gave each other a confused look, before Hermione decided that she would check it out, opening the door. Ron followed, the rubber ball absentmindedly clutched in his right hand.
Molly and Sirius were both slowly descending the stairs, wands drawn. Upon seeing Hermione, Sirius put a finger to his lips, before taking the lead down, with Molly following close behind. The two teens followed the adults, curious at what or who made the noise.
The hallways were clear, and the front door remained tightly shut, so it seemed that someone Apparated into the house. Hearing a disturbing noise coming from the kitchen, the group slowly advanced.
The kitchen was a mess. The dining table, most prominently, had been smashed as was lying crumpled on the ground, splinters of wood spread throughout. Silverware and china had been swept off the top of the low cabinets. A figure, dressed in a long red cloak and black pants, was hunched over the kitchen sink. Hermione couldn't tell for sure, but from the sounds that was coming from that direction, it sounded like the intruder was hurling up the contents of his last meal.
"Who're you?!" Sirius called out, wand pointed at the figure. It turned around, and Hermione was shocked to see a boy, who could barely be over 12, with long golden hair and the brightest golden eyes staring weakly at the group.
"It's just... a boy?" Molly gasped, wand lowering. She started to move forward, but Sirius held her back.
"Don't! He's dangerous!" Sirius barked, to the shock of the three of them. His wand remained at the ready.
The boy's eyes darted around, scanning the group. As his eyes landed on the wands in Molly and Sirius' hands, they hardened. Sirius noticed as well, and launched a Stupefy at the kid.
The boy ducked with remarkable speed at the same time, flipping up a large broken piece of table and took cover. The wizards ducked back into the hallway, with Sirius firing spell after spell.
"What are you doing, Sirius?!" Molly demanded as he continued to pressure the unknown kid.
"That's not one of us!" he growled in between volleys of spells.
"But he's just a kid!" Molly argued.
"He can't be just a kid if he got in here!" As Sirius stepped out to take another shot, a flash of blue light came from behind the makeshift cover. The kid leaped over the wood, throwing his right arm outwards in the process. Sirius ducked back just in time to see the wall in the hallway impaled with three silver daggers.
As Sirius spun into the kitchen to deliver another volley of spells, they were all surprised to see him being pulled in by the boy by the arm and, in an instant later, pinned to the ground by the intruder, Sirius's wand arm held down by the boy's knee. "Pdor me!" the boy growled, staring at Molly, fist raised threateningly over Sirius's head.
Hermione had unknowingly clutched onto Ron's arm, but the red headed kid didn't seem to notice. The boy had moved with such speed and overpowered a grown man with such ease, without even using magic. The tension in the room thickened as Molly stared back at the boy, not sure what he just said.
"If you're gonna kill me, then just do it!" Sirius yelled.
The boy glanced questioningly at Sirius, but his eyes never relaxed. "Hust pu!" he growled, before turning his attention to Molly. "I dasi, pdor ti!" he barked again, staring at the wand in Molly's hand.
Finally getting the message the boy was trying to get across, Molly slowly put her wand onto the ground. "What are you doing, Mum?" Ron hissed. Hermione noticed her grip on Ron's arm, and quickly let go with a slight blush. Ron didn't notice. Molly remained silent, but continued to stare intently at the boy.
"Oyu!" the boy pointed at Hermione. "Hewer ma I?"
Hermione gave him a puzzled look. "I-I'm sorry, I can't understand you."
The boy gave her an equally puzzled look. "Thwa gualnuge si hatt?" He paused, brows furrowed. "Hewer ma I?" he repeated, slowly, though Hermione noted a subtle change in tone. If he was really out to kill them, Sirius would have been done in by now.
Apparently Molly noticed it too, as she slowly approached, hands raised. "Are you lost, dear?"
The boy didn't take too well to that, as his knee applied further pressure on Sirius, causing him to grunt in pain. "Oyu tsya ckab!" Molly stepped back quickly.
Hermione took a step forward, hands raised as well. The boy kept an eye on her, but didn't otherwise react. She took another. No reaction. Ron whispered harshly, "What are you doing? Are you crazy?" To which she just glared briefly at him. The boy seemed to not be as wary of her as he was Molly.
"Who are you?" Hermione asked as she slowly made her way towards the kid and Sirius.
"Don't, stay back!" Sirius warned, but was met with slightly more pressure on his arm.
"No, it's all right," Hermione said. She and the boy locked eyes. "What's your name?" she asked, making sure to pronounce every syllable slowly.
A wave of emotions flashed across his face. Confusion, desperation, frustration. "I odnt sernatddun oyu!" he finally growled in anger.
She knelt down beside him, with whispers of warnings coming from the Weasleys behind her, wracking her brain for a way to communicate between two languages. "Hermione," she said slowly as she pointed at herself. Names should be universal, she thought, and a decent way to start.
"Her...mio...nee?" the boy repeated, letting the unfamiliar syllables roll in his mouth.
"Yes," she said as she nodded. "Hermione." Finally, this was getting somewhere. "You?" She pointed at the boy, hoping the questioning look on her face could get the point across.
He looked at her, then suspiciously looked at the other wizards nearby. He finally looked back at her. "Ed...ward," he spoke slowly as well.
"Edward?" Hermione repeated, to the satisfaction of the boy. She gingerly pointed the pinned wizard. "Sirius." She hoped this introduction after her own would suggest that they were friends; that they were harmless.
"Si...ri...us..." Edward repeated, glaring at the wizard he pinned down. "Htis strabda?" Sirius glared back. If looks could kill, they'd both be dead.
Hermione could hear some venom in his voice. "No, no, no!" she shook her head and wove her arms, trying to calm him down from whatever he just said. He glanced back at her. "We don't want to harm you," she said in the friendliest voice possible.
Edward glanced at everyone again. They all had a look of concern in their eyes, except for Sirius, of course. His eyes softened just a little. "Odnt ytr hnaytgni unynf," he said, a hint of suspicion in his voice. Hermione took that as a warning. Edward got off Sirius and retreated a few meters. His posture remained alert.
Molly and Ron moved forward to help Sirius up, the latter massaged his aching arm. "Molly," Hermione pointed at the older woman, then at the younger Weasley. "Ron."
"Mo..lly... Ron," Edward repeated. He seemed pleased with Ron's name, probably because it was easy for him to pronounce and remember.
"We should call the Order," Sirius suggested, nursing his bruised arm. "They'll know what to do with him."
"No, don't," Hermione warned, as Edward looked on, trying to make heads or tails out of their words. "The last thing we want is for him to be more frightened." She glanced at the golden-haired boy, pitying him. "He's obviously lost, and doesn't speak English. What do you think he's going to do when a group of armed wizards and witches barge in yelling at him in a language he doesn't understand?"
"You're mental, 'Mione!" Ron argued. "Did you see what he could do?" Ron pointed at the daggers in the wall. "He's dangerous! I say we knock him out and tie him up."
"Ronald!" Molly scolded, and her son flinched. "I agree with Hermione. We should make him feel comfortable instead of bringing any more people he might be threatened by." Her motherly instincts were showing, even though Edward seemed ready to harm them moments ago. "Ron, take Sirius upstairs and look after him."
"Mom, I'm not leaving you with that lunatic!"
"Now, Ron," she ordered, and her son had to comply. Sirius too, lest they suffer the full wrath of Molly Weasley. Now the two females turned their attention to Edward. He seemed more relaxed now that Sirius and Ron were out of sight.
"Umm..." Hermione began as she looked around for something Edward could sit on, but everything was in pieces. Edward tried to follow her gaze, then seemed to realize the damage around him.
"Let me get my wand," Molly announced, but Hermione stopped her.
Edward was gathering the pieces of wood on the ground, moving all of it into a neat pile in the middle of the room. Not one splinter was left out. "Tspe ckab," he said, then continued to stare at them. Hermione and Molly looked at each other, before looking back. Edward sighed, then made a pushing motion with his hands.
"I think he wants us to move back," Hermione guessed. The both of them took a few steps back, and Edward rolled his eyes, as if saying 'Finally'. He clapped his hands, and the sound rang through the house. A flash of blue lightning erupted from the wood pile as Edward placed both his hands on it. Wood seemed to shift and grow from the pile, and once everything settled, the wood pile was no more. Instead, the table was back where it once was, perfectly repaired.
The two witches looked on in shock and amazement. Wandless magic! He must be be an amazing wizard where he's from, Hermione thought. Edward gathering the broken silver into smaller piles, and repeated the process. One clap, one item was repaired. He continued until the kitchen was back the way it was.
Grabbing the daggers, Edward did his ritual one final time, and they morphed into a silver platter, which he promptly replaced on the cabinet. Done with his repairs, he looked at the two women with a grin on his face, chest puffed out. He was obviously proud.
Molly recovered from her shock faster. "How did you do that? Without a wand, too?" Edward look on in confusion. "Right, you can't understand me." She pointed at the table and the dishes, then made a small upwards motion with both her hands, palm facing up.
Edward looked confused, but it wasn't the kind he was showing before. "Thwa od oyu emna ohw? Hatts alchemy," he said matter-of-factly.
"Alchemy?" Hermione repeated. One word that is the same between both languages? Pertaining to magic, no less.
Edward nodded. "Ohw od oyu tno nokw thwa oyur isugn?" he asked, then realized they can't understand him. "Al-che-my," he repeated slowly.
Molly looked at her. "You think...?" The both of them seemed to be on the same page. "But alchemy can't..."
"Please wait here, Mrs Weasley," she said before running up to her and Ron's room. Ron wasn't there, probably chatting with Sirius in the latter's own room. She dug for her Alchemist's Cookbook by Paraceleus textbook (she liked her light reading) and scanned the first few sentences until she found a paragraph using the word 'alchemy' specifically. With the sentence in mind, she rushed back down the stairs. Nothing much had change, except that Edward was closely examining Molly's wand, with her permission, it seemed.
Hermione showed the book to Edward, and pointed at the specific paragraph. "Alchemy?" Maybe she could confirm whether the word alchemy was written the same in his language.
His eyes went wide in shock. Grabbing the book, his eyes darted from sentence to sentence, before turning the page and continued to examine the words.
"Edward?" she asked, intimidated by the intense focus Edward seemed to have. He continue, as if he didn't hear her.
Molly cleared her throat in the strict, motherly way only she could. "Edward? What's wrong?" The boy looked up in annoyance, as if forgetting they were there. His eyes seemed to light up and a genuine smile broke onto his face, and he reached into a pocket, pulling out a small, black notebook. He flipped to a certain page, and showed it to the both of them.
The page describe the art of alchemy, of transmutations, and the witches look at each other, surprised elation on their faces.
It was in English.
It's been one hell of a ride for Edward. After accidentally activating the circle, it felt like he spun around for ages in space. When he came to, it was on the floor of a large kitchen, on the splinters of a broken table. He tried to stand up too quickly, and felt the need to upchuck the contents of his stomach.
Then, strangers appeared in the doorway, brandishing the same sticks that his captors did earlier. Instinctively, he went into combat mode, and managed to subdue the long haired man firing at him with those sticks. The woman held a stick as well, and he yelled at her.
It was then he discovered they didn't speak the same language, and through some tough communication, the bushy haired young girl convinced him that they weren't going to hurt him. The man who attacked him and a taller red-headed boy left, leaving the females with him. He quickly repaired the damage he did on entry, and the two, Hermione and Molly as they introduced earlier, looked shocked, as if they haven't heard of alchemy. In his frustration at their ignorance, he tried to call them out on not knowing what they were using, but then quickly remembered their language barrier.
Turns out, they did know about alchemy, as the girl left and quickly returned with a book on alchemy and its art. The kicker was that it was written in Amestrian, and Ed quickly deduced that, even though the dialect was different, they were speaking some form of Amestrian too.
And that brought him to his current predicament. Writing to communicate.
The woman named Molly said something to Hermione and left, but not before giving Edward a gentle pat on the head. He growled. She better not be thinking I'm a cute kid.
That left Ed and Hermione. The first thing she asked him through writing, with an odd feather, is Who are you?
The feather took some adjustment to his usual scribbling style, but he managed to answer with Edward Elric.
Where did you come from?
East City. Hermione looked confused. Amestris, he added.
Never heard of it. Never heard of it? Edward couldn't believe her ignorance. Or stupidity.
But it was time to ask the questions. Where am I?
Islington Borough. London.
London? He looked her in the eyes, and shrugged, shaking his head. She didn't looked as shocked as he did. What's with the sticks?
Now it was Hermione's turn to look utterly confused. Did he look that dumb? They're wands.
Wands? What are those?
Hermione paused after reading Ed's question. She looked deep in thought, before writing, Aren't you a wizard? Reading that, Edward couldn't help but laugh heartily. What's so funny? Hermione had added after seeing his hysterical outburst.
I'm an alchemist. There are no such thing as 'wizards'.
Now Hermione looked appalled. If you're not a wizard, how did you perform that magic?
Magic doesn't exist, idiot. That was alchemy.
An insulted look crossed her face. Magic does exist! And alchemy can't do that! Edward burst out in laughter again. These idiots in London, wherever that is, are either ignorant or plain idiotic. He wiped tears from his eyes, as Hermione looked at him, dead serious.
Fine, watch. This is alchemy, not magic. As soon as Hermione read it, he clapped his hands and placed it on the table. The wood morphed as he created a small statue of Al on the table, as the girl look on shocked. Another clap, and the table was restored back to its original state.
Hermione scribbled furiously on the piece of paper they've been using as communication. Can every wizard where you're from do that? Now Ed was getting slightly annoyed.
ALCHEMISTS. And no, I'm a special case. Studied hard. Ed added that last part as an afterthought, hoping she doesn't pry further.
Do all 'alchemists' speak your language? What is it? Fortunately for Ed, she didn't.
Amestrian.
Looks of confusion were common in this exchange. But you write in English.
No, this is Amestrian.
Hermione sighed. Well, here we call it English.
And that's what you speak? Hermione nodded her response to Ed's question. If everyone here's speaking this English, then it'd be best for him to learn, at least simply. It would make finding his way home from here a lot easier.
Teach me. The girl had a shocked look. I'm a fast learner. Ed wrote, before patting himself on the chest. Hermione gave him a quizzical look, before nodding. Ed smiled, pleased.
The first hour was hellishly boring. Hermione had written out the alphabet and had him pronounce, in English, each letter repeatedly until she was sure he had gotten the hang of it. Then she put two letters together and apparently some combinations made different noises, like a 'Ph' was pronounced like an 'F' in a word.
Then it went on to single words. Simple stuff like 'chair' or 'table', and some easy words from the Alchemist's Cookbook. Once she felt like she'd explained the basic rules of the English language she moved on to grammar and full sentences. That's when it got interesting. Incredibly quickly, over the course of a few hours, Ed was able to form complete sentences and hold a simple conversation, albeit robot-like, as Hermione described.
Once or twice, the red-headed kid, Ron, had come down to check on them, though Ed was sure he was more concerned for the girl, but she assured him she was fine.
After a while, Hermione said that it was enough for the day. She was clearly impressed at the rate he was learning, and why shouldn't she be? He was the Fullmetal Alchemist!
As she packed her books and weird pen feather up, Ed spoke. "Thanks, Hermione."
She glanced at him, not expected the gratitude. "N-no problem, Ed,"
Before she could leave, though, Edward had one more request. "Can I have a picture of the world?"
Hermione processed the request, then it clicked. "Oh, a map! Yeah, sure. Wait here." She returned quickly with a large piece of paper, with a massive painting on it. "Looking for your home?"
"Mmhmm," Edward nodded, before spreading the map flat on the table and started scanning. The more he scanned, however, the more panic he looked. "It is not here!"
"What?" Hermione asked. "What's not there?"
"My home! Amestris! It is not on here!" Edward exclaimed.
"How's that possible?" Hermione asked.
"I do not know, but..." Edward trailed off. The circle! He took out his notebook and redrew the circle as best he could remember, but it was incomplete. The four points were there, the symbol for the four elements, and some symbols he didn't recognize, but there were more, he was sure of it.
"What's that?" the girl came closer, gesturing at the drawing he just made.
"The circle... Alchemical circle," he clarified. "I was in a room, then this thing lighted up-"
"Lit up," she corrected.
"Yeah, that. Then I ended up here. But some things are missing, and I can't remember!" Ed scratched his head in frustration. It couldn't be... could it? "Do you have more books on alchemy?"
"No..." she regretfully shook her head.
"Shit!" Ed cursed in Amestrian. She hadn't gotten around to teaching him the foul words. "Can I have that?" he asked in English, pointing at the book.
"S-sure," Hermione handed him the book, and recoiled at the force he snatched it from her with. Wasting no time, Edward sat down, furiously flipping through the pages, making notes in his own notebook.
Hermione left with a hasty 'goodbye', but Edward was too engrossed and focus to notice anything else.
She ran into Molly and Sirius on the way upstairs. "How's the runt?" Sirius asked. His arm seemed to be much better after a short rest. Edward didn't damage it too badly.
"He says he's not from this world," Hermione explained, before launching into a recap as quick as she could, even showing them the written exchange they had before he started learning English.
"How's that possible?" Molly asked.
"I don't know," Hermione replied. She was still wrapping her head around the concept of multiple worlds.
"That would explain the not believing in magic..." Sirius explained. "I think its time we informed the Order."
Molly and Hermione looked apprehensive. Sirius noticed, then sighed. "Fine, but at least Dumbledore has to know." That was better received by the two of them.
The book looked promising at first, but the more he read the more it referenced magic, something that doesn't exist. In no way did the book explain or show any symbols that would help him decipher the Four-Point Circle, as he had taken to calling it. The parts that did make sense were already common knowledge to Edward. The most infuriating thing, however, was that the book did not mention anything about Equivalent Exchange. The foundation of alchemy was never mentioned in a book about alchemy. It spoke as if magic ignored equivalent exchange entirely.
At a certain point, Edward came to the conclusion that maybe the magic the book spoke of was the equivalent exchange. Maybe the book was written in code. And so he started trying to decipher the studies of alchemy the book so described.
He was halfway through the book, and each mention of magic was, in fact, not equivalent exchange, no matter how Edward tried to decipher. "Damn it!" Edward cursed again. He couldn't afford to not figure out this puzzle. Al was waiting back home for him, God dammit. He couldn't lose Al, not again. He wouldn't lose Al. Redoubling his efforts, with his motivation in mind, he took a crack at the next chapter of the book.
He didn't even notice the two elderly folk, escorted by Hermione, enter the room. "Edward?" she called. Promptly ignored, as usual.
She was about to try again, but the elderly man stopped her. "It's quite alright, Miss Granger. Minerva and I will take it from here."
She nodded and quickly took her leave. The old man and woman walked up to Edward. "Excuse me, Mr Elric."
The unfamiliar voice caught his attention. Edward looked up, annoyed and frustrated. "What? Who're you?"
The old man bowed slightly. "My name is Albus Dumbledore. This," he nodded to the woman beside him, "is Minerva McGonagall. We have been informed of your... unique situation."
Ed made a noise of disdain. "So?"
McGonagall looked outraged at his lack of manners, but Dumbledore's expression remained friendly and smiling. "We would like to offer our assistance to you in your endeavors."
Ed looked skeptical. "What do you want?" He looked unhappy with the way the words came out, then he started again. "I mean, why do you want to help me? What are you looking for?"
"We just sympathized with one so young as yourself," Minerva explained.
"I'm fifteen!" Edward huffed. "Not young anymore, so you take take your sympathy and shove it!"
Minerva looked like she was about to reprimand him terribly, but Dumbledore held up a hand, stopping her. "We would just like to assist you in getting to your home world as quickly as possible."
Edward brought back his skepticism. "What do you want in return?"
The corner of Dumbledore's eyes crinkled, and there was a twinkle of understanding in his eyes. "You call your art alchemy, do you not?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Ed couldn't see where this is going.
"Well, it just so happens that I am a practicing alchemist, myself," Dumbledore announced, as he smiled at the young Edward.
Ed scoffed. "Yeah, and so does the dtioi who wrote this book," he flicked his hands towards the direction of the Alchemist's Cookbook, lapsing briefly into Amestrian. "Your books do not even mention the concept of-"
"Equivalent Exchange?" Dumbledore interjected, a knowing smile on his lips.
Edward looked positively shocked. "You heard of it?!"
"Yes, well, my old friend Nicolas Flamel never could stop talking about it when I first met him," Dumbledore explained. Minerva watched as the two conversed. Not even she had heard of this equivalent exchange, but the boy is discussing it as thought it was common knowledge.
"Flamel!" Edward's eyes and smile grew wider. "I have heard of that name, in Amestris!" Then a revelation hit him. "That means-"
"Nicolas must have had a way to move between worlds," Dumbledore finished.
"Do you have anything of his, like books or research materials?" Edward asked, hope filling his voice.
"Yes, I have some of those in my office."
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Edward practically leaped out of his chair. "Let's go right now!"
"Ah, but there is just one problem," Dumbledore stopped the boy, a sly look in his eyes. "Equivalent Exchange."
Edward's joy dissolved for a second, but then it re-emerged. "Yeah, of course. What do you want?" he asked again, this time a sincere question.
"There's only one thing that seems appropriate for this transaction," Dumbledore announced. "I would like you to teach Alchemy at my school."
There was a moment of silence, before both Minerva and Edward exploded in protests. "He's just a child, Albus!" Minerva exclaimed.
"I am not just a child!" Edward retorted. "Besides, no way in hell am I teaching a group of snot-nosed shitheads!" Even though the curses were in Amestrian, both McGonagall and Dumbledore could discern the general meaning behind the words.
"Now, now, Minerva. If what we heard was correct, Edward would be a perfect candidate to teach the subject. And Edward," Dumbledore addressed the boy, "this is the condition of Equivalent Exchange I am willing put forward for free access to Nicolas' notes."
A short grumble in Amestrian came from Edward, before he replied, "Fine. So can we leave now?"
"I'm afraid not, Mister Elric. You'll be arriving at Hogwarts with the rest of the students." A confused look on Edward's face prompted Dumbledore to add, "Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are students; you'll be following them."
"...But..." he started to argue, but the look in Dumbledore and Minerva's eyes told him the futility of it. "Whatever," Ed reluctantly said, slouching back
"Splendid!" Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Then we shall be seeing you when the school term starts, Mister Elric!" And with that, the two wizards departed, turning the corner before a large 'crack!' could be heard.
"What a weird couple..." Edward mused, before his stomach growled intensely. He walked to the stairwell before yelling, "Is there any food around here?"