AN: I'm going to try to incorporate more of the book in starting now… but no guarantees, da?
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter
Edward walked out of the store, twirling his new wand between the fingers of his left hand. Hermione tripped on her way out, catching the railing with a trembling hand. Looking back at her, Ed could see that her face was pale and lightly covered with a fear sweat; her eyes were slightly unfocused and glazed over. Concern edged it's way into his mind. Despite trying to be aloof, he cared for his new… friend.
"Come." He said curtly, leading her to where he vaguely remembered the bookstore was. When Al was terribly frightened he would engross himself in his favorite activity, helping their mom in her garden, or immersing himself in Alchemy books. From all her useless prattling he had managed to gather that she was a fellow lover of books and they were her main comfort in life. At the sight of the bookstore her trembling slowed, but still continued. Only when it became clear that the store was their destination did her trembling stop completely and her face regain some of it's lost color. A confused look replaced the fear in her eyes. "Pick one out." Ed commanded as they entered the store.
"Huh?" Now she was really confused.
"Pick out a book so that I can buy it for you." Ed rolled his eyes. Any more clarification and it would be like he was talking to a three year old.
"B-but wha-" She cut herself off as Ed focused a frosty, yet amused, glare at her.
"Because it's the least I can do after what you went through in the shop, and for accompanying me today." 'Not to mention equivalent exchange…' he thought fondly. At this Hermione paused in whatever she was going to say. He could read her face like an open book. (AN: It's so old… but I just couldn't resist! XD) He guessed (from her posture, facial expression, etc…) that she wanted to tell him that friends spent time together constantly, and that he didn't have to give her something for spending time with him. However, he could also tell that she wasn't one to pass up free things, especially a book. He grinned and rolled his eyes playfully. "Just go pick one out already." While she was browsing he went to see if they had any new books delivered since yesterday. Pleased to find the shelves completely replenished, Ed set to work at finding more books to buy.
Stopping him self at one book case, he turned and was surprised to see that Hermione was leaning on a white washed pillar between two shelves, staring at him curiously while holding two books in her left hand.
"I tried to get your attention before," she explained "but it was like trying to get Ron and Harry to stop talking about Quidditch. That is to say, quite impossible." She sighed and gestured with the books. "I picked out two, I thought that I could pay for one of them."
"Nah, it's fine. If it's books then I'm more than willing to spend my money." Quickly Ed put his discards back neatly onto the shelf, grabbed the books he was going to buy, and briskly walked to the front of the store. Once they finally got to the head of the line he put his books on the wooden counter, motioning for Hermione to do the same. She laid one down, but stepped back into line holding the other.
"I know you said that it's fine and that you don't mind, but I'd much rather pay for this one myself." After a quick comparison between the two, Ed figured that the book that she insisted on paying for was at least twice as much as the other.
"I said that I would pay for it and I will." Ed stubbornly protested. " You wouldn't make me break my promise would you?" His eyes welled up with crocodile tears. Everyone in line and the cashier sweat dropped, wondering if devil horns and bat-like wings just appeared on this stranger.
"N-no! You wouldn't be breaking your promise at all, you did say you would only buy one…" she took another glance at him and her shoulders slumped in defeat. "If it really upsets you that much then go on ahead, be my guest." A wide grin snuck its way onto Ed's face as he snatched the book from her hand, placing it onto the counter with the others. He turned to hide his smile, but to no prevail. A hand gripped his shoulder and attempted to spin him around. Almost frantically he tried to suppress his smile before she saw it, but he found that it was impossible to make it vanish. Reluctantly he turned to face Hermione, who gasped when she saw his smile.
"Y-you played me!" Her mouth fell to the floor in astonishment. Internally her brain tried to analyze this information, but sputtered to a stop. This teenager had done a complete 180-degree turn, from shunning to teasing her. He chuckled, and shrugged off her hand, turning to the counter. Snapping out of his mini daze, the clerk quickly totaled up the price for the books, a sum that made Hermione raise her eye brows in amazement. To her surprise, Ed seemed unbothered by large amount of money, almost casual as he handed over the amount named. The clerk smiled and put the books in two separate bags before giving Ed his change. With a small nod and a "Thank you" they were out the door.
Bags in tow they made for the Leaky Cauldron to get lunch. There were plenty of empty tables, so they sat at a table meant for four. Putting their purchases on one of the extra chairs they ordered their lunch and, within a matter of minutes, were eating savory sandwiches with salads and drinks called butter beer. After lunch they did some more shopping for school (mainly for Hermione, Ed had bought everything that he needed and gave her his list). Their last stop was at a candy store, and by that time Hermione seemed drunk on the excitement of shopping.
Together they entered the store, letting a cool burst of air escape through the open doorway and into the street. Ed paused in indecision and amazement, starring at the multitude of candy lining the walls.
"Wow…" Ed breathed in wonder. Hermione smiled at his open-mouthed astonishment.
"It is the biggest candy store in the wizarding world for a reason." She declared.
The store was well lit, candy arranged neatly on the shelves and stacked artistically on top of tables for easier access. Despite the scores of people crowding the isles the floor was pristine, appearing to sparkle in the light. The walls and ceiling were white, but the store was not lacking in color due to the vibrant boxes and bags of sweets.
Hermione disappeared into the crowd, visible only by her bushy hair. Sticking to the walls, Ed circled the shop. At first he was baffled, who would want to eat candy that would make them act like a monkey? As he made his way slowly across the store the candy became more toned down. There were some normal forms of candy, like chocolate covered cherries and truffles, but also wizard candy such as chocolate frogs.
Taking a chocolate frog box off the shelf, Ed flipped it over, reading the description on the back. Not finding the information he wanted he glanced around, looking for an employee. He spotted one with bright pink hair walking away from him. Ed called out, but his voice was drowned out by the chorus of yells and shouts erupting from the other side of the store.
"Hello sir, may I help you?" A girl not much older than him peered inquisitively at him through her bangs. An antenna much like Ed's popped up from the top of her head, curling backward in the shape of a question mark. Her eyes matched her strangely purple hair. However it was a nice purple, not like the vibrant and usually neon colors seen elsewhere in the shop (it seemed like having odd colored hair was part of the shop dress code), but instead a calmer, soothing shade. It framed her face and partly covered both of her eyes. Remembering her question, he decided that it couldn't hurt to ask, just to be sure, about some of the more questionably candy.
"Actually yes, these aren't real frogs are they?" Ed inquired. The description had only talked about the cards that came with each box.
"N-no, they're chocolate in the shape of frogs with a spell on them to make them act like frogs." Ed hmphed, grabbed a few, and continued with his inspection. Adding a few more different types of candy to his bag, he waded through the crowd to pay for his items. Not seeing Hermione, Ed walked outside the store and decided to wait for Hermione near the entrance. Sitting on a strangely convenient wooden bench he gazed at the sky while his kitten chased after a nearby pigeon. Spying Hermione starting to leave the store he rescued Ammy from the pigeons that were viciously retaliating, and set her back onto his shoulder. Noticing the new bag clutched in his hand while she was exiting the store, Hermione grinned.
"What did you buy?" She asked.
"Just the kind of normal stuff. There's no way I'm going to eat something that'll make me even smaller." He shuddered at the thought while Hermione laughed.
"I just bought some things for my friends, Ron and Harry. I feel bad for Harry, and he seems rather depressed lately, so I decided that I'll get him something to cheer him up."
"That's nice…" Ed trailed off remembering all the times that Al had given him gifts for that purpose. Lost in memory lane he didn't notice the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron until he ran into it. Hermione giggled, she never would have suspected that Ed would be the type of person who would run into walls. Ed returned to his room, saying goodbye to Hermione, to stow away his new purchases while Hermione left for the Weasly's.
AN: wow… I think that Ed's going OC on me… I'll try harder, promise! Sorry for such a short chapter, but things have been really hectic at my house! Plus I kept on getting error type two… I'll try to have the next chapter out soon.
Ed and Hermione are now friends…they bonded over books.
A certain somebody noticed that, according to chapter two, Riza would have been 11 when she 'had' Ed. dot dot dot. Ok, well, PRETEND SHE'S NOW 48! (all this happened because I was too lazy to do the math.