Oops, I meant to say the dementors fed on misery not happiness. Man, I fail my mystical monster tests. A slightly longer chapter for you guys today. YOUR REVIEWS MAKE ME FEEL GOOOOOD!
"I'm sorry!" Edward screamed as a whole parade of girls swarmed around him. Someone heavy had pinned him to the ground so his mouth was filled with expensive looking carpet. Since when had there been so many girls?
"I was in the wrong room-" Edward tried to protest but the girls were all shouting and shrieking it was impossible for him to be heard.
Sighing, the alchemist tried to ease the ache on his arm by shifting it a little and waited for punishment. He hoped the one on top of him wasn't dealing it. She had a strong grip.
The strong girl hauled him up into the air and Edward started wriggling madly. Being pinned down by a girl? Sure, he could tolerate that. But being carried around like a five-year old? Someone was going to get thrashed. Screw his policy of not hitting girls.
Edward began to shout obscenities and struggled to break free but the girl had a grip of a lion.
She stopped abruptly and tossed Edward to the ground as if he weighed nothing. They were in the common room.
Getting up to his feet sheepishly, Edward tried to give his most innocent smile. He edged away from the mob of girls slowly until his back was pressed against the dungeon wall.
The lights in the common room flared. The green fire turned bright orange, filling the room with an incandescent glow. Edward shielded his eyes from the glare and when his eyes had finally adjusted to the bright light, there were not only girls, there were guys too.
He was in so much trouble.
"You're late." One of the boys growled. He had whipped cream all over his face.
Edward blinked.
"Welcome to Slytherin!" The girl who had grabbed him sauntered up to Edward and winked salaciously. Edward was ashamed to admit that though she was of shorter stature than him, she still kicked his butt. Remember kids, height isn't everything.
"We had to pause the welcome ceremony to surprise you!" Another girl added. Her remark was met with a healthy guffaw by a boy with a head boy badge.
"You should have seen your face when Amy dumped you in the common room! You looked like you were going to get murdered!"
Edward shifted uncomfortably. Someone pushed a tall paper cup of juice in his hand.
"Come on! Introduce yourself! The first years already did!"
"Uh... yea. My name's Edward Elric and I got transferred here. I used to be home schooled until now and..." Edward recited the story he had prepared back in Central. His eyes scanned the crowd of eager faces until he spotted Malfoy and his two friends skulking in the corner. Ah, his client was here.
Mustang could not recall him yet.
Dang.
He finally made it back to his room when it was way past midnight. Edward was surprised to see that although his room was the standard five beds per room, the other four beds were empty. Edward found his luggage next to a bed closest to the window and picked up the note that was on it.
Elric,
The wand Central ordered for you is in the front pouch of the suitcase. Don't break it. It's expensive.
Alphonse says you have to remember to drink your milk or you'll not grow. He also says he's brought home a kitten. Four of them actually. He says he misses you and begs your forgiveness because one of the kittens peed on your research journal.
Mustang
Mustang's handwriting was scrawled and ungainly, as if he had been half asleep while writing it. Edward glared at the letter before he crushed it in his automail hand. Alphonse was going to have to rewrite the journal for him. Every. Single. Word. That journal contained all his research for the philosopher's stone!
Fuming and wishing that every cat in the world was dead, Edward unclasped his suitcase and pulled out a mahogany wand.
He glared at it and pointed it at him automail arm.
"Give my body back," Edward muttered dangerously. Nothing happened and the alchemist flung the wand across the room.
It was stupid. Nothing was ever that easy.
The first lesson of the day was Care of Magical Creatures or some hocus pocus thing.
Edward stumbled out of the dormitory, bleary-eyed and still needing sleep. He had slept past the whole morning and was dangerously close to being late. Fortunately, his first lesson was in the afternoon or he would have gotten detention already.
He had managed to find the wand he had thrown last night and a huge textbook that actually tried to bite him. Edward was faster though. He just punched the book in the mouth and it did not move after that. Edward sincerely hoped he had not killed the book.
Running down the field, Edward spotted the last stragglers of the class and sprinted faster to catch up with them. He skidded to a halt when he rejoined his house.
The teacher was a giant. How anyone could be so amazingly tall was a wonder to Edward. Eyeing the hairy but tall teacher enviously, Edward wondered if magic could actually make him taller.
The teacher introduced himself as Hagrid and proceeded to ask the students to open their textbooks.
"Professor! We can't! It tried to eat us!" Someone from the crowd shouted. Edward noticed that several students had wrapped their growling textbooks with ropes, duct tape and a healthy length of chains.
Malfoy groaned and slammed his chain-covered book on a slab of boulder.
"Easy," Hagrid muttered in a gruff voice. "Jus' stroke the spine."
Instantly, the growling from the books ceased as everyone stroked the spine. Malfoy rolled his eyes.
"Yea, as if we know."
There was a sudden gust of wind that almost threw Edward off his feet. He regained his balance and squinted against the rush of air to see a giant chimera. Someone had fused an eagle's head to a horse's body. The chimera was beating its wings fiercely, glaring at the students with yellow eyes.
Edward stifled a gasp. The last time he saw a chimera was a nauseating combination of Nina and Alexander's bodies splayed on the ground, blood everywhere. Edward clapped his hands together, momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be undercover. He was about to attack when Hagrid soothed the chimera with a grunt.
The chimera relaxed and sank its haunches into the ground. Edward stared. The chimera was tamed?
"It's freaky!" Pansy Parkinson whispered. Edward could understand her sentiments. Forcing himself to breathe normally, Edward let his hands fall limply to his side.
"Firs', bow an' maintain eye contact," Hagrid was instructing. Potter was confidently arching his back to the chimera. When it did not respond for a long time, Edward noticed Potter's shoulders stiffening.
It returned the bow gracefully after a breathless second and Hagrid started urging Potter up the chimera.
"Show off," Malfoy hissed as Potter clambered onto the chimera.
Edward threw him a sidelong glance.
"You know, why don't you try riding that thing if you're so brave?"
Malfoy's eyes narrowed dangerously. Potter was returning from his short flight. His hair was windblown and his expression exhilarated.
"Are you calling me a coward?" Malfoy's threat was a whisper. It would have intimidated others but Edward just scoffed.
"Hey, I'm just saying that the Potter boy can do it. Which means he has more guts than you do."
Potter dismounted from his perch and his legs wobbled. Malfoy threw him a scathing look. Without another word, the Slytherin stalked towards the chimera.
"This is very easy!" Malfoy shouted, loud enough for Potter to hear him. Hagrid started to move towards the boy but he was not fast enough.
"I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it... I bet you're not that dangerous are you? Are you, you great ugly brute?"
The talons flashed. Edward had a horrible image of Nina and her dog smearing the dark alleyway with their gore.
Malfoy shrieked. It was a terrible sound of pain. The talons hooked into his arm and dug out a huge chunk of flesh from his arm.
"I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled and both Slytherins and Gryffindors were shouting at each other. Edward's head spun wildly. What had he done?
"I'm dying!" Malfoy repeated, his voice curdled with pain. "Look at me! It's killed me!"
"Yer not dyin'!" Hagrid shouted and began shouting orders for the students to come help him.
Edward's stomach sank. He did not believe Hagrid. There was so much blood. Malfoy was dying. It was his fault. It was all his fault. He was supposed to be the bodyguard, the one to protect. He was not supposed to be the killer. Edward backed away slowly from Malfoy's bloodcurdling cries of pain, hoping that the further he walked away, the situation just might disappear.