Aristae looked to her father and mother. The former shocked and the latter smooth in his lying visage.

"I was under the impression that all staff members were to have a background check in the first place, Dolores." Edward's tone was so slick and smooth, nothing seemed to penetrate the air of upper femininity that sparked about him. "But to give students a check as well, that's certainly odd. Could I give you a slight inquiry as to why?"

The woman in the pink cardigan and brown, mousey looking hair with a pink bonnet looked positively smug. She held a grin that made a frog look like a kitten. "I'm sure you've heard about last years, debacle at the Tri-Wizard tournament? And the year before when we encountered werewolf as a teacher." Edward looked to Sirius with a slight panicked glint to the golden eyes, and the animagus could only shake his head behind the old Headmaster's shoulder. "As well as two years prior when it was found that a teacher was working with Death Eaters." She turned to nod towards Dumbledore rather condescendingly. I only wish for the safety of the students when I must require things to be heavily secured."

Envy, the green haired homunculus as temperamental as he was, seemed to be keeping a fairly well sealed lid on his entirety of curiosity. His purple eyes flicked between his daughter, the woman in pink that was so hideously nothiding her animosity towards the three before her. Mustang just sat idly by, linking his pale fingers together and waiting for a fight to break out by the horribly tempered Elrics.

"I understand that very well." Edward said sweetly, his voice pitched up an octave or two to help with the image, his leg bent in the slightest way to give a small protrusion of his hip, instead of the regular smart, tall stature he'd acquired over years of military service. "But students have never been given any form of check. I know for a fact that the many of previous Death Eaters children haven't been put at point, just because of their parentage." Blonde bangs were flicked out of the way of tanned skin and a glaring stare.

Dolores huffed, put her hands on her hips and shook her head slightly, the bob of brown hair swished atop her head. "What has been decreed by the Ministry has been decreed by the Ministry. I expect for your previous employers to give a full file on you and your daughter by tomorrow morning. I will accept no later, Evelin Elric."

"Of course, Dolores." Edward pulled a sweet looking smile, a smile that had long been interpreted as Edward needing nothing to do with the person immediately in front of him. Dolores nodded curtly and pushed passed him, bee lining for Mustang who was currently unprepared for the sudden bombardment.

Edward was trying to breath a little more evenly, trying to make sure he could make it out of the room without hurting someone, namely the bitchy little toad that resided behind him. Envy held his free hand out to the blonde, hoping to calm him down quicker and he had something to anchor with. Aristae saw her father and mother and looked to the man her mother had called "Uncle Sirius", his scraggly looking dark hair hung in a small mess, and his stubbly beard was a little worse for wear.

"You're my uncle?" She asked none too abashedly. Sirius looked a little affronted but then relaxed. There wasn't accusation or incredulity in her voice, only a confusion of curiosity that was hard to express. The Animagus smiled.

"Figuratively yes. Your, ehm, mother and I, have been friends since we were in school." He looked kind enough. Maybe not too used to having people interact with him, the pale skin was definitely a let on of his nonexistent relationship with the sun, the bags under his eyes didn't help the fact of his stress.

"Ah. So in the sense as if I'd grown up with your kid, and you were close to me and or my family." She didn't mean it to come out all smart-alicey. Not at all. That's just how she was raised to talk. To talk to the point and not beat around the bush. Again, Sirius didn't look affronted, but just caught off guard. He nodded to her and she nodded back, not thinking much of anything but the fact that she had a new family member. Listlessly, the black blonde haired girl idly looked about the room, and came across the slightly agitated form of Fuhrer Mustang. That woman would give him a run for his money if he hadn't dealt with Hawkeye this long.

-Many torturous, toad filled times later—

A train ride later and a whole mess of slewed up, insults under breath to the right, Edward, Envy, and Aristae were sitting in a quaint little hotel living space, a small coffee table put between them, with the Blonde and the Sin on one side in a love seat and their daughter on the couch opposite, and Aristae's book lists for Hogwarts.

"So, the smart course of action will be for us t take you to Diagon Alley in the morning, granted we can get a Portkey to London is the old broad lets us." Edward said matter-o-factly. He was itching at his old scars, wondering if the rain might be bothering them, while he looked down at the letter Dumbledore had sent him about teaching.

"Diagon Alley?" Their daughter piped up in question. She had the look of pure excitement on her face, and Edward new those eyes were just his and his younger days. He chuckled out slightly, wondering how he would ever let her go one day, as curious as she is.

A crooked smile played at his tanned pink lips, the teeth behind showing just a tad as he spoke "Yes, Diagon Alley: the place where Wizards go to do all of their magic related needs." Envy ran a hand through Edwards hair, the green hued man looking rather docile than his nature let on, though Edward had no qualms with such an action. Aristae put in a small translation for herself, being the ever optimistic child, "So it's a market of sorts. Like the imports that come in all around?" Blonde hair nodded across from her and she smiled. Her golden eyes sparked with curiosity and anticipation of the following day. She'd get to meet all sorts of new people! And she'd get a pet two!

They did actually manage to persuade Umbridge to take them back to her with a port key, and they were able to stay with the Order with Sirius and Dumbledore as well, no money needlessly spent at the Leaky Cauldron, and they were all to go get supplies with the other students the following Day, so it all worked out in the end.

Edward was talking to Sirius and Remus, at the corner of the Dining table with a smile on his face and a sad look in his eyes.

"They're dead then." He said quietly. He hadn't been up to speed with his old friends, he'd missed them, and now he'd lost one to death, to an idiot no less, and one to the idiot as a slave. "Heh, I suppose James would've wanted the rest of us to stay together, knowing that twit." Sirius and Remus both took a small chuckle, giving everything they could not to talk about something serious. Edward continued, "Harry seems to be alright, though he's a bit of a cocky little prat. Is he as much like his father as he looks?" He asked Remus, the man, having taught Harry, would know more.

"Oh yes. The same excellence in DADA, the same scathing nature for potions." He ticked the reasons off on his fingers, "He's a Seeker as well. Just like James." Remus' eyes looked sad under all the heavily dark lids and sparse, raggedy hair. Edward nodded, looking to see Sirius' dark eyes clouded over.

"None of any of this is your fault Sirius, you know that. It's all that twat Peter's." Edward pursed his lips and took a slight scratch behind Sirius' ear, so much time of being an Animagi, he was little bit of instinctual if nothing else. "I bet Harry would forgive you, he seems to adore his new Godfather." A smile hinted at the men's lips, all three shared a knowing, simpering smile and they just chuckled, as such Marauders would.

Molly chose that moment to pop in their little group of chatter, letting them know that there were snacks to be had in the kitchen and she would bring them out some tarts, Edward was grateful but the two older looking men seemed a bit overwhelmed. "She'll feed you till your buttons pop." Sirius whispered under his breath. Edward absently looked to his knowing flat stomach. He hasn't had an ounce of fat on him since he was pregnant. Although he wondered if that could change sometime soon….

Envy, being the ever youthful child he was, had taken a liking to Molly's twins, Fred and George. He loved their pranks, the things they came up with, and the way they used them. He joined in their Apparations and scaring the living daylights out of Hermione and the Weasley's mother. That kept him occupied a good portion of their stay, as he decided to stay behind and work on a prank for the twins the next day when everyone went for supplies.

The Sin looked through the semi empty corridors of number 12 Grimmauld Place. He was a Slytherin, through and through until you came to his taste in men, so it wouldn't really mean too much to the old Mrs. Black painting on the wall by the entrance; he'd actually struck up a conversation with her about politics in the Wizarding world and she welcomed him to come whenever he felt was needed. But, to his surprise, he was now staring down the Black's house elf, the little creature seemed to stare at him in either shock, awe, scarcity, or a mixture of the three.

"Sir." The house elf said begrudgingly. There wasn't acid to his tone, but there was a preemptive motive to run the fuck away. "My name is Kreature, Sir, I only wish you comfort in this household." Envy could only nod. He'd never really like the idea of House Elfs. Especially the ones who were very adamant that they didn't like it in their own home, so he tended to stay far away from Kreature after that encounter was very over.

Envy never ran into other Order members, besides maybe Severus and that strange one, Mad Eye, and occasionally Sirius and Remus, but no one bothered him, no one wanted to, he supposed. And yet, he found nothing wrong with it. He took the time there would be quiet in the house for himself: he settled down in his and Edwards shared bed in an upstairs room to take a much needed nap.

-

Well, you know I didn't think I would pick this story up again. I assumed I might leave it be for a while yet. I had gotten in and out of the FMA fandom, though I'm still absolutely in love with the HP world, and I tend to have debates about many things of it's aesthetics but I did miss writing this, and I thank you all for watching and not pestering me, though, I would really like to hear your ideas on plot ideas, small little side stories that could work when there's a particularly long silence in between chapters.

I am really sorry about my updates for everything, I will try to work on others soon, but I don't know when I'll be able to. I WILL try and get out a chapter of SOMETHING a month, but I can't guarantee an update of the same thing EVERY month, schools been real hard on me.

And you know what?

I FUCKING LOVE YOU ALL.

Don't forget it c;