Thanks for the reviews! A lot of you have commented on how dark this story seems. Guess I never knew I had it in me! There'll be plenty of humour and hurt/comfort stuff later ;) Apologies for taking so very very long, I've finally got a job and things have been hectic. Also been writing a load of scenes way in advance and am now attempting to link them all up to form a story :) which is more difficult than it sounds! Okay, this plot is different from the books, but hopefully still makes sense. I've mixed up book Five of the Harry Potter series to suit my own ends. I thought I'd write some brotherly love between Fred and George to offset the loneliness of Ed. Poor guy. Happy reading!

Chapter Three: Memories

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Ed hung his head, eyes closed and jaw set. Those freaks had gone and left him on his own. It must have been about a day that had passed now, but he refused to fall asleep just yet. If his memories were invaded so easily when he was awake, there was no telling what could happen if he was caught unawares while sleeping.

Truth, but he was so tired… the toll on both his body and mind had been brutal, and he'd only just landed in this stupid world! Just his damn luck.

All he knew was that he had to learn some way to keep that bastard out of his memories. Thankfully this Voldy guy hadn't managed to find out how to make a philosopher's stone yet, and Ed wanted to keep it that way. He knew exactly what that madman would do with that kind of powerful information. Ed could still feel those tiny tremors of delight the man had felt when seeing that mutilated form rise from Edward's memories of the botched transmutation he and Alphonse had performed.

He had no doubt that even if the man were only to glimpse the sort of power the philosopher's stone could accomplish; he would be ravenous for it. Besides, the philosopher's stone was what all the crazy megalomaniacs that had previously kidnapped Ed had wanted; he hardly thought it was going to be any different with this new freak.

Huh. Maybe Ed could somehow redirect him? Try to think about something else, anything else, the next time that creep tried to get inside his head.

He snorted, for once in his life he felt completely useless. He couldn't even wipe his face clean and those idiots in the cloaks who had force-fed him never untied his hands once and had left his face and lips coated in drying flaky blood, a dusky reddish brown, the colour and consistency of rust. At least they'd let him keep his automail, probably didn't want to risk detaching it and not being able to stick it back in the port – something Ed was eternally grateful for. After all, this creepy ass Voldesnake guy still needed him to 'perform' whatever the hell crazy scheme he had planned, unless he somehow mastered alchemy with the few tidbits of information stolen from Edward's mind.

Ed wasn't even sure how it had happened, but one minute, he was hanging manacled in this cell and the next he was somehow trapped inside his own mind, being hounded by his own horrific memories that had been dredged up by the snake faced man who held Ed's blonde head in his cold white hands. He wouldn't have thought such a thing possible, but hell, he'd been sucked into worse places before. Gluttony's stomach for one. It wasn't so far a stretch of the imagination that Volde-whatsit could put himself inside Edward's head.

He'd been helpless to stop it.

Ed growled. He wasn't weak, damn it. He wouldn't let that evil bastard get any more information out of him. Sure, he had kept his mouth shut after that bastard had entered his mind, but the shock and pain of having gone through such an assault on his soul had been a little too much at the time for even the great FullMetal Alchemist to handle at once. He damn well wasn't beaten yet, just biding his time.

Now that he was alone and there was no sign of any more of those cloaked guys around the place, it was the perfect chance to test just how strong these restraints were and see about finishing that half-formed escape plan he had shaped haphazardly inside his head.

Ed squinted his golden eyes at the manacles hanging above him. His hands were kept apart by a long iron bar, wrists cuffed. Two long chains went from either wrist to an iron peg which was imbedded into the wall above him. The chains seemed to be the weakest point of his restraints, where the metal was thinnest. If he could somehow exert enough force on the chains to break them…

A spark of retaliation glinted in his eyes, a smirk pulling at his bloodied lips.

He lifted his feet off the ground, arms pulling taught against the manacles as he let his whole weight pull down on the chains. Crap – the manacles were cutting into his wrists, well his flesh one anyway. He grimaced slightly, clenching his mismatched fists around the chains and using them to climb up. One hand gripping around the metal links and holding his weight, while the other reached above and grabbed the chain further up.

They didn't even groan under his weight. He pulled himself up further, climbing the chains so that his booted feet were dangling above the flooring, arm muscles straining. Blonde hair slick with sweat.

The chains didn't even budge. Come on, he weighed a ton! Well, maybe not a whole ton, but with the automail he was pretty heavy despite his size. Ed kept climbing his chains as skilfully as an acrobat might scale a rope, until he was near the metal peg imbedded in the wall. The chains ended here, and he grasped both of them in his fists and planted his feet firmly on the wall, knees bent as he strained and tugged and pulled and yanked at the restraints.

The metal peg was wedged deep inside the wall and it didn't so much as jiggle.

Edward's conclusion – that was a pretty impressive muscular work out, but a really shitty escape attempt.

Damn, it was looking pretty hopeless. But he'd been in worse situations. Right..?

Well, he didn't have anything to draw with to make a circle. His hands were too far apart to be able to clap them together. And the manacles were too damn strong to break and too stuck in there to remove from the wall. He slid back down, letting the chains slide in his hands until he was back on the ground, the metal peg high above him, his chains pulled tight.

Edward hung, panting, in his chains, mind working over time as his boots scuffed the floor.

Stupid damn chains, stupid damn kidnappers, stupid damn world!

Well, it looked as though he was stuck here for now. But at least he still had an ace up his sleeve; these idiots might know about his power with alchemy but they thought he was only capable of it when he clapped his hands. Sooner or later they'd slip up, he'd be able to draw a circle and blast the hell out of this insane asylum.

Ed's body was exhausted, his mind was running around in circles, and it wasn't long before his head dropped, his knees gave way and he hung in his manacles, unconscious.

…

Severus Snape was inside the large, albeit quite cluttered, office of one Professor Albus Dumbledore. It was nearing the end of the school year, and the Headmaster's office was all the more cluttered for it. Books were stacked high in every available space, some of the covers lined with gold filigree and winking in the soft candle light. An assortment of odd trinkets and brass instruments filled up the remaining room, some spinning repeatedly, and others seemingly dormant until a large puff of purple gas erupted from them. Upon the walls hung the smiling and some sleeping faces of the old Headmasters to have come before, none quite as eccentric as the one currently in position.

Albus Dumbledore himself sat in the ornate oak chair behind his desk, atop a red velvet cushion. His robes were a brilliant maroon and adorned with small gold sequins along the cuffs, a gold belt and an oversized maroon wizard's hat perched atop his head. The headmaster was not renowned for his fashion sense, but held a keen and brilliant mind behind those half moon spectacles.

"Severus, you wished to see me?" he asked, a small smile almost hidden behind his long tapering white beard.

"Yes. It is a delicate matter; I trust we shall not be overheard."

"Ah, of course, Severus. This room is quite safe, I can assure you." A quick wave of his wand added yet another muffling charm on top of the other heavy-laden protection spells guarding the room. The Headmaster's office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was one of the safest and most secure places in the world, mainly because it was the Headmaster who occupied it, who although not renowned for his ferocity, was certainly one of the most feared and admired wizards of all time. There were few who would dare cross him, let alone eavesdrop on his private sanctuary.

Severus stood in his long dark robes and dark boots wearing a forebodingly dark expression on his face under his dark greasy hair. The light golden atmosphere in the room was banished where he stood; as if he were a black hole sucking all of the light in. He looked rather out of place opposite the twinkly eyed Headmaster.

"I visited the Weapon." Severus spoke quietly. "Our suspicions were correct; he does seem to hold a great deal of power inside of him. However, his mind was a mess, Headmaster. I do not believe he will last long against any further attempts of Legilimency."

Severus had witnessed the prophecy made by the now deceased former Professor of Divination, Sybil Trelawney and had relayed the information to Dumbledore immediately. Much to the old man's sorrow, her death was inevitable, and there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it. Severus was their ace in the hole, and they could not afford to jeopardise his position, let alone risk him being caught sneaking out a hostage under Voldemort's watchful eye. They may have been able to get her body out with great difficulty, but her mind would have stayed forever within those torturous walls.

At least her prediction had been leaked to both sides, and Dumbledore was aware of this new threat or allegiance – he was as shocked as Voldemort was to find out that this deadly Weapon from another world was in the form of a young boy, no more than sixteen years of outwards appearance who, if Severus' sources were to be believed, possessed an otherworldly power of his own.

It was a strange and sad world that they lived in; where the fate of so many should burden those so young.

The news of the Weapon seemed to dismay Albus, who shook his head sadly. "Then we must think of some way to get the poor lad out of there before he succumbs. For all of our sakes. Sybil's passing was a great loss; and we will not lose another so soon." The world seemed to weigh down on his shoulders for a few moments, but his eyes shone with resolve. "We will need everybody in the Order on board; I shall arrange a meeting immediately."

"Headmaster," Severus sneered, "I do not think it wise to tell the Order of the Weapon's true identity. If Voldemort were to know that word has slipped out, there would only be the Death Eaters themselves to blame. My position cannot be jeopardised.""

"I understand the delicacy of the situation Severus. We know the location of the Weapon, I am sure we shall be able to get him out without too much harm befalling either party. We can explain everything to them once we all arrive safely."

Severus looked sceptical to say the least but he nodded his dark head once, "I will make the necessary arrangements." He murmured and left the office in a flurry of dark robes and a mood to match it.

…

Fred and George Weasley were currently experimenting in the basement of their newly acquired shop Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in the prime location of Number 93 Diagon Alley. Having escaped the clutches of the Toad in Hogwarts, they had immediately put their minds to creating their new business adventure, something they had been cooking up since before they had first enrolled at the Wizarding school.

"These gumdrops," said Fred with an eyebrow quirked, "Was it -"

"Pineapple," replied George, not even looking up from where he was experimentally prodding a green jellified lump on the desk with his wand. Said lump was one of their many new-fangled trial sweets which, on the off chance that they got the ingredients down correctly, could make you sneeze sparks. Helpful for causing a ruckus, lighting fires, or setting your enemies hair alight if you were sat behind them in class. It was a magical fire that was created, and it would only go out when the sneezer felt like it. "It's the only flavour that combats that weird side effect -"

"Where your nose turns into a cucumber, yeah." Finished Fred. "Righto!"

"Though maybe…" George said thoughtfully.

"Yes!"

They grinned wickedly at each other. Both thinking exactly the same thing. Perhaps the whole turning your nose into a cucumber thing could be used for a new product line.

Their basement was a chaotic assortment of sweets, magical gadgets, large simmering cauldrons, strange glimmering instruments and of course, Fred and George themselves, who were currently wearing shirts that had the sleeves pushed up passed their elbows, their red hair stuck up in a manner of unholy angles, and their faces smeared with the proud mess of explosions from their many in-progress inventions.

Both of them wondered why on earth they had ever attended school in the first place; this was where the two of them belonged, right here in the pandemonium of discovery, together.

Of course they knew the real reason why they had stayed so long at Hogwarts, not just for their parents' sake – Mrs Weasley would have a fit if they had skipped out on school for no good cause, in fact she hadn't been very proud that Fred and George had nearly blown up half of the school with their fireworks and converted one of the floors into a swamp when they had left with quite a memorable bang. Though, once she had listened to reason – a rather long shouting match had ensued and the familiar scolding words 'disgrace' 'once your father hears about this' and 'disappointment' had been used frequently - she had finally come over to their side of thinking.

Honestly, it wasn't their fault that their education had gone down hill and their mischievousness had reached new heights; it was very unlikely that with that crazy toad bitch in power, which was bound to happen soon what with her new authority as High Inquisitor, they would have ever learnt anything useful at Hogwarts anyway. So they had left, before the Toad could entirely take over their adopted second home of Hogwarts.

You see, the twins had overheard that Voldemort had summoned a Weapon, and they planned to do something about it. The Order needed them, and attending school was the last thing on the twins' minds.

It was one of those long nights in Number 17 Grimmauld Place, where between Harry's arrival and Dementor scare and the slew of holiday homework, the twins had grown bored and had decided to find out all they could about The Order of the Phoenix, being the curious teenagers that they were. And it just so happened that one of the conversations they had happened to overhear, having had numerous failed attempts foiled by their mother's scrutinising eyes, was one in which Dumbledore and Snape were having a very spell-muffled, very secret conversation. The Twins had stayed awake and with their ingenious invention of the Eavesdropping Extendable Ears – new and improved, anti-hex edition – they had finally managed to listen in.

Voldemort had succeeded in summoning a very dangerous weapon, one that Sybil Trelawney, the sacked and kidnapped former Professor of Divination, had predicted. The twins knew, though they were destined for Hogwarts in a matter of days, that they would not be staying there for long. They would have to get out as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Voldemort was growing in strength and the twins knew they needed to prepare for the inevitable fight, something they could not do in school.

You see, the real reason they had stayed at Hogwarts was to protect their younger siblings, and of course, Harry. Although they had both done so from the sidelines, and sometimes for their own profit and well being. That stupid Umbridge woman was messing with their plans; as soon as she gained too much power they simultaneously decided that Hogwarts had ceased to be the optimum breeding ground for their schemes and had left in typical Weasley twin flair. If they could no longer protect from within Hogwarts then they would protect from outside and go after the real problem. Besides, they had their ways of getting back in if need be.

They had immediately become part of the Order of the Phoenix, much to their mother's sadness, and thanks to their ingenuity with their inventions, their skills with charms, and their sheer bloody audacity; they made a damn good addition to the team.

Although it did mean that they were called to go on missions quite often, but thus far they had managed to balance fighting Death Eaters with keeping up with their new clientele. And they loved every minute of it.

…

When Edward woke, he knew immediately that something was wrong. He should never have fallen asleep, never given those bastards a moment to catch him at his weakest.

True enough, as his golden eyes blinked blearily open they immediately focused on two red eyes in front of his face. He flinched back in surprise. Or tried to, but he found that his golden head was encased in those long spindly white fingers. He tried to pull back, but Voldemort held him firmly.

I will find this brother of yours, the one who you hold so dear. Even in your dreams you call out for him. Poor little Alphonse. Said those red eyes.

Ed's mind flitted wildly, he had been dreaming of Alphonse when he had unwittingly fallen unconscious. This utter creep must have seen the dream. He panicked for a moment, before realising that his dream had been disjointed and meaningless even to him; nothing of consequence had come up, Ed was sure of it. And that meant that despite watching him while he was sleeping like a deranged stalker, this bastard still hadn't learnt a damn thing about anything.

The relief bloomed in his chest like a soft rose.

I will find him, Weapon. Unless you cooperate with me.

It was meant to scare Ed; he thought that that one little sentence would make Ed snap. That the thought of Voldemort even finding his brother, no words of torture or cruelty mentioned, was enough to make Ed surrender. Despite the fear pumping adrenaline through his heart at a mile a minute, Ed couldn't help but feel a cocky smirk tug at his lips. This guy thinks way too highly of himself, he thought.

Did you hear me Weapon? No one can hide from me. Your precious brother will be mine. I will break him.

Edward almost laughed at that. Despite all of this crap, there was one thing he could fall back on in his despair. One thing that he knew beyond all else. And that was that this creep would never get to Alphonse. Alphonse was safe and as far away from here as possible. It was a bittersweet thought, but for once Ed was relieved that for once that his brother wasn't by his side, because it meant that he couldn't drag Al into this mess.

He allowed himself a small smile. Which turned into a grin, and then a harsh chuckle, punctuated by coughs that left him slightly breathless.

It was worth it to feel the unease of the man inside his head.

"You stupid bastard. You'll never get to my brother." Edward said resolutely, golden eyes bright. "Besides, he's more than equipped to kick your ass even if you could somehow find him." His grin was dark and bold as he raised those burning eyes to Voldemort's without a pinch of fear. "And so am I, that's why you're keeping me in these damn chains. You're scared of what will happen if you let me out."

As he uttered the words he realised that they were true, and his grin grew impossibly wide at the insight.

"You're terrified of me." Edward said.

Voldemort's red eyes blazed with an ancient anger, it looked like Edward had hit a nerve. This guy didn't like to be made to feel weak. Whoops. The fingers encasing his head tightened, fingernails digging into Edward's cheek and around the back of his skull through his hair.

And then Ed's mind burst into hot, unrelenting agony. He spasmed and bit his tongue until it bled. Ow, crap, when would he learn not to interrogate evil insane kidnappers?!

I am afraid of no one, pathetic child. I am Lord Voldemort.

"Even monsters can be scared." Edward bit out painfully, teeth clenched and muscles straining. He refused to close his eyes against the hurt, instead glaring unblinkingly into his captor's face, "Sometimes that's what turns them into monsters in the first place. They're scared of losing, scared of dying -"

You will be quiet, or I shall cut out your tongue!

"What do you want me for anyway?" Ed growled, back snapping taught against the agony, the chains clanging against the brick wall, "If you're so high and mighty then why the hell do you need me?"

I need no one.

"Yeah? Sounds like you think I'm more powerful than you!" Edward pushed, and pushed through the pain, gritting his teeth, mouth filling with the taste of his own blood. And then something snapped.
His mind reeled in confusion at the sudden emptiness in his head.

Suddenly, impossibly, he was the one in control. The pressure on his mind was abruptly lifted; he felt lightheaded and free. A dizzying flurry of images came his way that weren't his own.

I'm seeing his memories, Ed realised dully. Whatever that creep did to me has been reversed somehow, that bastard's hold has broken!

Of course Edward Elric had absolutely no idea what he was doing, and was completely ignorant to the fact that he had inexplicably reversed the Legilimency spell that Voldemort had been using on him, but true to his character he carried on regardless.

In his mind, there were images.

There was a young handsome boy, in a dark billowing robe with eyes of soft blue and a dazzling smile. It was a reflection in a large ornate mirror with latin carved around the outside of it. No freakin' way was that this cruel bastard when he was younger, what the hell happened – where'd the snake nose and creepy red eyes come from?

A terrible, hideous, contemptuous hiss bristled into his head.

How dare you defile my mind with your presence!

And Voldemort was pushing back, furious and desperate, but Edward hung on like a leaf clinging to its branch in a storm. The gale howled and tore at him, but he dug in his fingers and rode it out.

"Why do you need me?" Ed shouted, over the violent roar of Voldemort's mind.

As if to answer him, another face rose up now, a small boy with dark raven hair and bright green eyes. With a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. This boy was associated with pain; Ed could feel the memory of it licking at the fringes of his mind. This boy smelt of defeat, of hate and anger, of desperation, of fear.

Harry Potter. Came the whisper of memory.

Voldemort howled and clawed.

"You're scared of a kid?" Edward shouted over the din, voice cracking as he laughed. "You want me to kill a little kid for you? Wow, and I thought you couldn't get any more cowardly!"

You disgusting, insolent filth! How dare -

But Ed didn't stop there; he fought for all he was worth. The Fullmetal Alchemist wouldn't give up this time. This evil bastard might have been able to kidnap and torture him, but he'd never ever break the famous Elric spirit. Edward kicked and punched and scrabbled for control, mouth in a firm grim determined line. He just needed to find a weakness, anything - after the torture his mind had been through Ed thought it was high time to return the favour and give this bastard a taste of his own medicine.

Just. Had to. Find a. Weakness.

He was rewarded with a steady flickering of bright memory, as though Ed were Voldemort himself, viewing it from his eyes. A locket, a cup, a ring, all falling from dead fingers. Ed blinked his golden eyes, a frown creasing his forehead as he fought to hold on. These flickers were haphazard and disjointed, seemingly bearing no relation to each other. All were from different times and different places.

However, from the rage and clawing and inhuman screeching coming from his host, Ed could tell that these images were important and he quickly set his mind on remembering each one as carefully as he would memorise his precious alchemical formulas.

A large hideous snake that reminded Edward of Envy slithered out of the memories next; it hissed and coiled around Ed's neck like a necklace, weighted and cold. It was so lifelike that Ed instantly shuddered at its touch, jumping back as he tried to throw the serpent off, but it quickly faded, smoke like, to be replaced by another image. A dark bound diary whose pages flicked as though they were being blown by a breeze, the white blank pages ruffling like feathers. This too faded into the dark. A crown like object that Ed supposed a wise king might wear in a fairy tale rose up out of the gloom, majestic and shimmering.

Horcrux. Came the whisper. And before Ed could even contemplate what the hell any of this freaky stuff meant, it seemed that he had overstayed his welcome.

Whatever luck that had started this strange turn of events had run out. The images flickered out, and with them any light that had been in this mind.

The claws found their way to his small form, encroaching on all sides of him as if he were encircled in thorns. Edward had never been inside someone's mind before, and Voldemort's, now that he was back in control, was terrifying. He felt as if he were the only tiny speck of brightness here. Lost and insignificant in this place of darkness. The hideous, twisted thoughts of his captor felt like real entities here, and they coiled around his limbs thick and sticking. There was no way out.

FILTH! You will wish you had never come here!

Ed already wished that. He had nowhere to go and was swallowed instantly by these gnarled groping claw-like fingers. They headed straight for his heart and for once in his life he couldn't hold back a scream.

…

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