AN: I got tired of switching POVs so many times, so I decided, to keep a mostly normal POV. So in Answer to Anarion Star-Dragon's question, I was thinking of putting Ed in the second to last book (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). Oh, and this means that they are thinking, not saying, whatever is italicized, or is a word that's stressed. OH, and my friend made up the middle names for Ed and Al. This is specially written for the birthday of a friend, 8NobodyKnows8.
This is also the edited unedited version. I tend to edit things three times, but this is edited only once, so please pardon my mistakes (and tell them to me so I can fix it!)
Ed's Briefing Summary:
Ed is to go as a last year student ambassador of ASOMAA (Amestris School of Magic and Alchemy). His name is Edward Beethoven Elric, age 17, and birthday of February third, though he's actually sixteen. He has one brother, Alphonse Hublablahburbblan Elric, age fourteen, and his mother, Riza Hawkeye Elric, Age 28. Their father died when they were three. No other known relations.
When the train finally rolled into the final station Edward was sleepily collecting his books and returning them to his bag. After days on the train he felt sore all over from the lack of exercise. His compartment was too small to do any physical activity, and the train only had a dining area and a place where they could look out and view the land zipping by. After the second day he had finished all of the books that he had brought with him, and had to be content with reading them all over again. Finally his journey was done, and he could get off of this dumb old train.
Stepping off onto the concrete sidewalk he stretched, wincing as what felt like every joint in his back popped, but boy did he feel better to be able to stretch his legs. When he walked to the end on the train to retrieve his luggage he couldn't help but noticing that two of the people, a man and woman, that were waiting by the train wore these weird dress things. The man had a beard that was the longest beard Ed had ever seen in his life, it could have wrapped twice around the train. Shaking it off as a weird cultural tradition, Ed grabbed his luggage and turned to leave. Staring, and avoiding, the strange couple became even harder when an almost equally old woman standing next to him raised a sign with his symbol on it. Obviously these two were the ones that were supposed to pick him up. You could also tell that they were a group because she was wearing the exact thing he was, just in black instead of midnight blue. She was wearing an abnormal, pointy, gray hat.
Picking his way through the dense crowd Ed made his way toward the two strangers. They looked oddly out of place, so even when Ed got swallowed up by the crowd he could still easily see the beacon of light that was her hat, sticking a full foot above the heads of the group. Stopping in front of them, he balanced on the balls of his feet to avoid being toppled by the push and shove of the throng. Putting his hands on his knees and still weak from the inactivity of the past few days (not to mention the faint amount of jet lab), Ed gasped two big gulps of air then recovered, and attempted to do a bow. The people that were rushing by hindered the movement, but they could clearly see it. The old man gave a bow in return, and the old woman tried to, but you could distinctly see that she was unused to such movement.
"You would be a Mr. Elric, I presume." The lady with the hat asked.
"Yes ma'am." Izumi and his mother (his real one) and Riza had taught him to be polite to his elders: Izumi with her knives, Riza with her guns, and Trisha with her examples and kindness.
"Please follow us." The sign appeared to disappear into thin air as the two turned and started to walk away. Ed trailed after them like a (for lack of a better word…) dog. After exiting the station the man and woman, who he now knew were called McGonagall and Dumbledore, kept on walking until they were a deserted beach.
Never before had Ed ever seen such a large expanse of water. Even the biggest lakes back home couldn't even compare to this. Actually they could, and were probably, from what he could see, two seventeenths of the size of this sea. It also smelled like an extremely repulsive type of soup that Fury had introduced him to, then made him eat (more like force-fed) after he learned that Ed found it vile. What had he called it? Ah. Seaweed, Ed remembered now and shuddered in disgust. It also smelled salty. Once Ed had started thinking of home, he found that he couldn't stop. Memories of playing at the beach with Al and Winry dug their way out from the other memoirs that had buried them. He imagined him, Al, and Winry with Izumi and her husband here. Al would love it. He would be making a sand castle, just like back home at the lake. He always made the best castles. Of course, knowing him, he would build it too close to the water, and would ask Ed and Winry to dig a trench to stem the flow of the water, protecting his castle from harm.
Izumi would have brought a chair, and probably her newest book, reading in the shade of an umbrella with Sig by her side. Ed gave a rare, true smile, and turned to rejoin McGonagall and Dumbledore. Bored, as they were just standing around, he sat down on a decent sized rock, setting down his suitcase next to him, and waited for them to finish whatever they were doing. After a quick, hushed conversation, Dumbledore looked around suspiciously and drew out a stick. Amused, Ed grinned when it got stuck in his dress.
Ha, that's what you get for wearing such an unrealistic dress. Ed's grin got wider. After Dumbledore eventually untangled his wand from his pocket he majestically, not to mention over dramatically, raised it and gave it a swish.
"Accio portkey." To Ed's astonishment the rock that he was using as a stool shot out from under him, causing him to tumble and land on his butt. He cursed, sat up, and grabbed his suitcase, walking to where Dumbledore and McGonagall were. Currently, Ed was in a state of denial, the rock couldn't have possibly just floated over there, could it? "Mr. Elric, please touch this rock."
"Umm, what?" Ed was confuzzled.
"This rock is now our method of transportation, it's called a portkey." Ed decided to research this 'portkey' thing once he got to… wherever they were going. Hesitantly Ed put a finger on the rock and tightened his hold on his travel case. All of a sudden there was a dizzying sensation, the world had begun to swirl, blurring into a kaleidoscope of colors. Then the colors reformed into shapes and the dropped, freefalling for what felt like minutes. Finally they landed. Dumbledore and McGonagall appeared surprised to see him still standing. Ed didn't know why, anyone with a half-way decent balance could have easily kept their footing as it was, Ed balanced on the balls of his feet, not sprawled on the floor like all other first-time users. (AN: heh, I make it sound like a drug.) The people in the… pub that they had appeared in weren't surprised by their sudden appearance. They must be used to it, somehow. Ed thought.
The pub seemed to fully define the word grungy at first, but a closer inspection revealed that it could actually be considered as sanitary. The cloths that were used to clean the glasses only appeared dirty from years of use and the frequent washings had caused the dye in the cloths to fade and slightly bleed, burring the lines of what was once a picture. The lighting was designed to be easy on the eyes when coming from an extremely light or dark place. If cleaned up, then the tables could pass off as decent. The chairs were worn smooth with use on the seat, and notches of wood were missing from the legs. A colossal fireplace had a mantle made of slate, and was providing the room with the majority of it's warmth. The alcohol would do the rest. On the far left there was a spiral staircase, also made of a dark wood. A bar ran alongside the far wall, with bottles lining the walls and everything. A couple of glasses were being cleaned with the said rags, all by themselves. They were floating there, with the rags swirling inside of them, cleaning out the inside and rim. Pondering what type of circle could cause this to happen, without a rebound, Ed practically jumped when a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Dumbledore and… McGonagall, what a pleasant surprise! What can I do for you?" The barkeeper- Tom took a while to remember her name, his eyes lit with recognition, then were once again clouded with confusion when he saw Ed, standing slightly off to the side, but still an obvious member of their group. Ed's eyebrows rose as Ed assumed that Dumbledore must be famous, or at least really well known, or come here often. Watching the ease that Dumbledore was able to navigate his way across the room, through the hustle and bustle made Ed confirm it as the latter.
"Nothing for now Tom, We'll need a room for Mr. Elric, though."
"Oh? I'll make sure to have a room ready. Actually," Tom paused for careful consideration. "I have a room that will suit him nicely, room 42." Tom went back to serving his customers, but not until after sliding a pair of keys across the counter to Dumbledore's expectant hand.
"Give me your suitcase, Ed, after you take out your money of course. I'll send it up to your room." Ed complied, and McGonagall lead the way toward what could only be a back door. Dumbledore left soon after her, his task completed, but a man dressed in grimy robes, who insisted that Ed was a girl and they should 'get together', prevented Edward from following. After finally dodging and loosing the man in the small, practically nonexistent crowd, (hey, the man was drunk so it wasn't that hard…) Ed rejoined the two in time to see quick movement, the remains of the wall separating. Ed couldn't help but give the wall a stare, and patting it to make sure that it was indeed what it appeared to be, a simple brick wall. Only then was he able to admire the magnificence that was in front of him.
It was a crowded alleyway, with vendors on the side and a mob of people in between, dressed in more dresses. Shops lined the sides, the fronts displaying multiple strange, and often old-fashioned, items with colorful stands draped in what appeared to be silk. The road was made of dust brown cobblestones; in fact everything seemed to be old fashioned. The buildings resembled the historic part of Central, with the exception of the biggest building on the road. A building that was labeled Gringotts Bank.
"Before I forget, I wanted to give you this." Dumbledore gave Ed a small, black bag with a loop, so that it could be attached to a belt. "It's for you to store your money in. Undoubtedly our money is heavier than yours. It has a charm on it: the inside is far bigger than you could imagine." With that not very good explanation of Ed's new wallet, Dumbledore switched gears. "First we'll need to go to the Bank, then we can go shopping."
Stepping into the alley (which he later found out was called Diagon alley) they made their way through the crowd to the big impressive marble building. The bank had very shiny floors, and Ed couldn't help but think of what fun it would be for him and Al, once he got his body back, to take off their shoes and slide across the overly large room in their socks. He would just have to do his best with his research when he was away. Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry was supposed to have the biggest library in the world, so hopefully something would get done. Leaving his thoughts and resuming his close inspection of the bank showed that Dumbledore and McGonagall had completely left him standing there in favor of going to talk to this…Chimera of who knows what with who knows what. Seriously, he had no idea. Spying a counter labeled 'Foreign Exchange' Ed headed over there content to wait in line until it was his turn. The time finally came and he stepped up to the teller, passing over the traveler's checks as well as the note card explaining that Ed was to have a temporary account that would accept having money wired over from Amestris, to which the Chimera promptly tutted and jumped off of the stool, to go consult with another Chimera across the room. It returned after a few minutes of conversation.
"We haven't had any requests from the country of Amestris for a very long time, several hundred years in fact." It said as a way of explanation. "I wanted to make sure that I have the correct exchange rates." It drew some coins out and placed them out onto the counter, stacking them in different piles. "There are seventeen Sickles, that's the silver one there, to a Galleon, the gold one, and there are twenty nine Knuts to a Sickle. The Knuts are the bronze ones there." Ed nodded in understanding, and swept his new money into his equally new bag. This, he thought, was going to take some getting used to. Surprisingly the bag didn't get heavier, or bulge, despite the unusually large amount of coins he had just put in it. The job done, Ed turned and followed Dumbledore and McGonagall, who were waiting for him, out of the bank and into the river of people outside.
"Since you already have your wand, we just need to buy your other school supplies. First we'll get your robes." McGonagall informed Ed.
"Wait robes? That wouldn't be what they call what you're wearing are they? 'Cause there's no way I'm going to wear a dress." Ed scowled at the thought.
"Yes, . This dress –as you put it- that I am wear is called a robe. And yes, you do need to get one. It's part of the school dress code." McGonagall sniffed in disdain, whether it was at his informal words, or him calling it a dress, he didn't know. Mustang had told him that if he didn't behave (AN: then he'll turn him into a goon! No… not really. Just had to put that in there) then he would take away their research privileges, so Ed had no choice but to follow them into the dress shop and submit himself to a fitting. Next on their list were his schoolbooks. The bookstore was even bigger than the one at the train station, and according to Dumbledore, the school library was even bigger than this! Surely that wouldn't even be possible.
Ed had a field day in that store, but not only the books required for the year he was transferring into, but also all the books for all of the years. He hid this fact from his two babysitters, they wouldn't understand why he had bought the ones for the years below his anyway, and that would cause unnecessary questions. He had the shopkeeper double bag them, so that there was no chance of the bag breaking. It also conveniently was thick enough that the book titles could not be read through the bag. Dumbledore showed no signs of surprise at the amount of books that he bought, but McGonagall was taken aback (by the look on her face) not by the amount of books bought, but the ease of which he carried them.
He had one bag in his left hand, and two bags slung over his shoulder. The way he carried them made it look like they weighed no more than three pounds per bag, but McGonagall knew from experience that each bag must have weighed 20 pounds, if not more. Dumbledore gestured to the bag at his feet. Likewise, it was double bagged.
"I have gone through the liberty of buying your books for this year. Consider it my welcome gift. He paused, looking at the bags that Ed was already carrying. "From the looks of things I will have to carry it." He frowned, as if considering if he possibly could carry it.
"No it's fine." Edward protested. There was no way, judging by the size of the bag, that this old man could carry it. He was surprised that he managed to make it to the front of the store, nonetheless pick it up at all. Dumbledore shrugged and handed Ed the bag, who added it to the bag being carried by his left arm. "If you don't mind, though, I would like to head back to where I will be staying until the start of school so I can drop these off." Dumbledore and McGonagall nodded in understanding and McGonagall motioned for Ed to follow her. They walked back the way that they had came, waded through the crowd, and reentered the pub.
"We're here to drop off some objects." Dumbledore informed Tom, who had glanced questionably at them when they had walked back through the door. Dumbledore led the way up the stairs into a hallway lined with doors that had gold numbers glued onto them. They stopped in front of a door labeled 42, and waited while Dumbledore fished the key out of his multiple pockets. Once the door was unlocked he opened it, to reveal a well-kept room.
The floor was a chestnut colored wood that was worn down and damaged with use in multiple places. The bed and dresser were both made of a similar colored wood, though not quite the same shade. A window that opened up to a bustling street filled with normal-looking people was framed by pure white curtains, the walls and ceiling painted a light green that complimented the curtains and floor. The color scheme continued on into the bathroom that presented Ed with a white porcelain bathtub with a matching toilet and sink. Above the sink was a mirror with a white frame and a chipped corner. Hidden by the frame was a slight crack, both the crack and chipped corner were well hidden by the frame and were barely noticeable in the dim light. There were no pictures hanging off the walls, instead there were lamps that let out a surprisingly steady glow.
Ed walked back out of the bathroom and set the books on top of the bed. He sighed, content for now, as he rejoined the two outside his room. Dumbledore and McGonagall had patiently waited for Ed to finish his inspection of the room. He closed the door, then Dumbledore locked it, passing the key to Edward.
"Now that you know where it is, I'll give this to you so you can get back in." Ed slipped it into the bag containing the coins. As they exited the Leaky Cauldron, back into Diagon Alley, the alley was noticeably less crowded, the sun low in the sky. The triad made good time, first stopping by the dress store to pick up and pay for Ed's completed robes, then off to get supplies for potions. Finally they entered the pet store on the far end.
Squawks and squeals as well as sever hoots made Ed look around the store, noticing the many different kinds of birds, more of owls, and rats in the store. Shying away from the rats he made for the owls. The faint smell of animal food and dead things filled his nose. The store was swept and orderly. Cages lined the walls and empty ones were hanging from the ceiling. Inwardly Ed winced, his inner Alphonse coming out as he watched the Owls and assorted birds lamenting as they tried to stretch their wings, which were blocked by the metal walls of the wire cages. His inner Alphonse, once out, refused to leave and lead him to a separate room off to the side. His heart leapt at the sight of cats. Immediately he was drawn to the glass cages containing Calico Cats, his personal favorite type of cats. He would never tell Al or let anyone find out, but it killed him as much as Alphonse to make him put the cats that he collected back out onto the streets.
There was one particular Calico that caught his eye. It's fur was white with black and gold splotches, one in the shape of a reversed Ouroboros on it's right hind leg, over all a normal Calico with soft luxurious-looking fur. However, it's shoulders were very bony, like two bumps were sticking out of it's back, causing it to limp. Ed glanced around and, seeing nobody, lifted the lid on the cage, reached in, and brought out the kitten, stroking it. Since Lan Fan had taught him and Al how to sense the homunculi's presence he tried that now. There wasn't a single homunculi within his range. He smiled, relieved, and walked toward where the shopkeeper was.
"I would like to buy this cat." Ed informed him, slightly angry when a puzzled look crossed the man's face.
"Are you sure sir? The deformity that she has (her shoulders) will cause her to limp and be ungainly. When she gets older she'll have a major joint problem with them. Now over here we have another fine cat more suited to your tastes and-"
"I will take her." Ed interrupted him as the man tried to lead him off to the glass cages again, and stared him down. The shopkeeper found himself drowning in the gold of his eyes. Not the good feeling of drowning (if it could be called that) that he hade once his wife had crossed eyes with him when they had first met, but more of the deer caught in the headlights kind. All of a sudden his mouth was dry and his hands started to tremble. He had no idea why, for how could he be afraid of someone who was less than half his age? The goldness of his eyes unnerved him, throwing his mind off track. Vaguely he recalled that Werewolves had golden eyes. Perhaps that was why the kid had gotten so mad; maybe he had a strong connection with his kin. But no- Werewolves were a form of wolf, which was a relative of dogs, not cats. This thought process took only a few seconds, but to the shopkeeper it felt like hours.
While this was happening, Dumbledore and McGonagall were watching. McGonagall was quite shocked that this seventeen year old boy could stare down a man who was 50 years his elder and lived through Voldemort's reign. Almost as if sensing Ed's hostility, the kitten brought back her ears and bared her miniature fangs at the man, her gentle purring gone. Dumbledore was outwardly perfectly calm, but inside he was watching the scene with interest. This boy would be good to have on his side…
"Ok, um, then that would be two gallons and three sickles." Shopkeeper barely got the words out of his mouth, and just spitted out numbers instead of the usual price. That would be coming out of his paycheck for sure. Ed had successfully stared him down, causing him to break and give in. After fishing out the required money for is new cat, Dumbledore came over to inspect Ed's choice.
"You have a… good eye for cats. She's devoted to you already." He smiled and reached out to pet her. His smile vanished as her eyes once again narrowed and she hissed, swiping at his had with her claws, drawing blood. McGonagall gave a gasp of surprise and started forward to scold the cat, but stooped as Dumbledore smiled and chuckled to himself, as if he approved the kitten's action. "And not only devoted but also protective, she'll take good care of you if you should get in trouble."
Ed grinned, relieved that he wasn't in trouble, if he got in trouble on his first day of the mission Mustang would kill him. The exited the store after McGonagall did a quick-fix healing spell on Dumbledore's would to find the street nearly deserted compared to earlier in the day, and the sun was setting, casting a warm glow on the stores. The whole alley was transformed. The majority of the vendors were gone, packed up for the night, clearing a good deal of the street. While they were browsing somebody had cleaned up any trash and dust on the street. The cobblestones were no longer brown, but a gray black with silver flecks. The gutter was cleaned and no longer smelled disgusting: like blood, rotting meat, sweat, and other body odors. Shop fronts were cleared of children with grimy fingers, always touching and smearing grease on the windows. Said windows were also cleaned, making the view of the objects inside sharper and more distinct.
The walk down the street was more pleasant this time around, and Ed set his new kitten down so she could run around and explore to her heart's content. The door to the Leaky Cauldron opened and the smell of stew wafted out, teasing him with its delicious smell. His stomach grumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since the breakfast on the train. Loaded with their purchases which were, like his suitcase, sent off to his room, McGonagall, Dumbledore and Ed headed to a table. However, McGonagall and Dumbledore had to leave to attend to things at the school, so he was left by himself for dinner. It was times like these that he really missed Al…
Dumbledore's POV (kinda):
The boy intrigued him. This 'Edward Elric' was hiding something, but what he couldn't tell. Once he had tried to enter the boy's mind, but he had impressive shields up that even he couldn't break. Ed always had his guard up, even when he appeared to be at ease. Little movements and things- like the way that he balanced or carried himself- made him seem like one of those Kung Fu Ninja people from the Muggle movements that Charity Burbage made him watch. Something was off, and he was going to find out what. After what happened with Moody, he couldn't let the same thing happen again. Harry could have died. Cedric did, and it saddened him that Harry had to watch his… friend die, but his death was a minor inconvenience. If Harry had died than they would be done for. His plan would be ruined.