Disclaimers: Found in Ch. 1

It was bright in the classroom Ed had been brought to. He was supposed to get a new power source for his automail. The Headmaster had decided that a 'magical' battery was the best choice, but the only one capable of installing anything into something muggle-made was the Muggle Studies teacher, a Professor Hoag. However, to install anything into automail, it had to be detached.

Bracing himself for the pain, Ed only tensed and grunted when his arm was removed. He wasn't prepared when his leg was removed. Eyes widening, Ed jerked and bit his lip to prevent the scream.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You couldn't tell me you were about to detach my damn leg? That damn well hurts!"

The Headmaster looked surprised. Professor Hoag looked up shocked.

"What? And watch your language. Even if you aren't a student this is still a school!"

"I said you should have warned me that you were about to take my leg off. It damn well hurts!" Ed stared at the Professor defiantly.

Dumbledore chose this moment to speak. "I wasn't aware that automail was so painful."

"I told you, Headmaster, that automail is connected directly to the nerves. Of course it's going to be painful."

Professor Hoag looked slightly ecstatic. "And this is muggle technology? This is absolutely fascinating! I have never seen a prosthetic as advanced as this!"

Ed looked at Hoag warily. The man sounded like Winry when she saw something she wanted to take apart. A pang of loneliness swept through Ed. He missed everyone from home. Shaking his head to clear it, he focused back on Hoag.

"You are not going to mess with my automail. Install the battery and then reattach it to me." Hoag looked crestfallen, then affronted. Muttering, he walked to a table and then started to work. Ed just sat, staring at the wall. He missed Al, Winry, Granny Pinako, hell, he even missed the military.

"Mr. Elric, it appears that you are deep in thought. Anything you would like to share?"

Ed jumped as his train of thought was interrupted. Looking up to see the Headmaster, Ed shrugged. "Just thinking about how much I wish I was home."

Ed felt the old man's boring into him. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Ed looked at Hoag. "Are you sure he won't do anything to my automail?" Ed questioned.

Dumbledore looked at Hoag. "He won't do anything I am sure, Mr. Elric. He is the only one capable of even doing this. He has studied muggle mechanics since he attended Hogwarts. The closest thing to a mechanic we have." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he watched Hoag. "It is why he is so fascinated by your automail. It is something he has never seen before and he wants to study it. And you are also a wealth of information that Professor Hoag would like to access. You are muggle yourself, and this is a very rare opportunity for him."

Ed narrowed his eyes. "I'm not some lab animal waiting to be experimented on." Looking up at the Headmaster, Ed felt another question pop into his head. "I was wondering, Headmaster, how it is that I can see Hogwarts. Everything I have learned about magic, "Ed said this with distaste," indicates that I shouldn't be able too."

Dumbledore smiled. "It is because you completely bypassed our Muggle repelling charms. In fact, any muggle can see Hogwarts if they are accompanied by a witch or wizard to get them past those charms."

Ed nodded as he absorbed the new information. "Hey, Professor, when are you going to be finished?" Ed demanded of Hoag.

Hoag looked over his shoulder irritated. "I'm almost done. I just need to finish screwing the plates back on."

Ed grunted in annoyance. He was getting impatient and wanted to return to his research. After about another ten minutes, he noticed that Hoag was walking towards him. "About damn time," he muttered. "If you don't mind, do you think that you could reattach both limbs at the same time?"

Dumbledore and Hoag both nodded at the same time. Dumbledore took the arm and Hoag the leg. Positioning themselves, they counted to three. Ed threw his head back, bit his lip and let out a muffled scream. He sat there panting, till the pain had faded to a dull ache.

The two men had looks of sympathy for Ed. Ed grunted in annoyance again. Slowly standing up he flexed his arm and then each finger. After checking that his leg worked too, heaved a sigh of relief. "Finally can move on my own again. I don't have to rely on some kids to haul me around," he said happily. "I'm just glad the professor here didn't completely ruin my arm and leg."

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Harry and Ron had been puzzled when they were told to drop Ed off in the Muggle Studies classroom instead of the library. Harry had wondered why and his curiosity only peaked upon learning that morning classes of Muggle Studies had been canceled. Ron and Hermione had been equally curious, but had told him that he would find out why later. Hermione had even suggested that it had to do with his arm and leg to help make them work again. Ron had snorted, and managed to almost ruin the potion they were brewing.

Harry had ignored both of them after that. He was still stunned that he had managed to summon the boy. Hermione hadn't yet managed to identify the exact potion he had used, but was positive that she was getting closer to it.

Ed had remained distant, and rarely spoke about himself. Shaking his head slightly as the bell rang, Harry gathered his things and walked out of the classroom.

Ron and Hermione were slightly ahead of him and were bickering. Smiling at his friends, he sped up to catch them. "You know, you two always sound like an old married couple." Ron and Hermione glared at him.

Entering the Great Hall for lunch, they saw Ed already there. He was sitting at the Gryffindor table and eating. He was also using his right hand. The trio looked at each other, shocked. Hurrying over to him, they sat across from him.

He looked up as they all sat down and didn't seem to be too surprised. "So you're finally here. The Headmaster said the students would be getting here soon."

Hermione was staring at Ed's right arm avidly. "Your arm works," she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I got it fixed today. My leg too."

"What was wrong?"

Ed stonily stared at Hermione. "That is none of your business," he said curtly.

Ron was fixing himself a plate when he stopped to glare at Ed. "No need to speak to her like that. She was just asking a question."

Ed snorted. "She was prying into something that doesn't concern her. All three of you have been. Some things you should just let go. You don't need to know everything."

Hermione looked like she was torn between curiosity and anger. Harry and Ron, however, were getting angry. "Maybe we have a good reason to be prying," Harry retorted.

Ed looked at Harry closely. "I may have only been here for a few days, but I already know about you. You've had it rough, but you aren't the only one either," Ed replied scathingly. "Sure is funny though how all you want is privacy, but you can't even give that to other people."

With that Ed stood and stalked out of the Great Hall.

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Ed was angry at the three who had taken it upon themselves to pry into his life. They were nosy and didn't even have the decency to be subtle about it. Ed was not the poster boy for subtle, far from it in fact, but even he could see that they were determined to discover who he really was.

Finding himself in front of the library doors, Ed took a deep calming breath and entered quietly. Greeting Madam Pince, she exclaimed upon seeing him able to walk. "Edward! I see that you finally resolved the problem with your limbs. It's so good to see finally able to walk. Before you ask, all the books that you requested are already on your table."

Ed nodded to show his appreciation. "Thanks, Madam Pince." Walking over to his table Ed sat down and slowly pulled over a book. Quickly finding the place he had left off, he lost track of time.

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Harry, Ron, and Hermione were left in the Great Hall stunned at Ed's outburst. Harry was troubled by what Ed had said. It was true that he just wanted privacy. He just wanted a normal life that didn't involve being the one that was supposed to beat Voldemort. He didn't want the media hounding him. Unfortunately, Ed seemed to want the same thing, but he wasn't willing to share anything about his life before he got here. This served to make Harry suspicious about who Ed really was. Ed wasn't the one with a homicidal megalomaniac after him. Harry had learned to be suspicious of people who just popped up into his life. And Ed hadn't provided any information to ease Harry's unease.

Hermione slowly roused herself enough to serve herself some food and slowly start eating. Looking over at Harry she could see that he was in a state of deep contemplation. Ron was already back to eating but continued to look troubled. Hermione knew that Ed was hiding something, but this only made her more curious to find out.

Harry jerked when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Hermione was looking at him worriedly. Smiling at her, he answered her unspoken question. "I'm fine. Really. It's just Ed gave me a lot to think about."

"Well you still need to eat. You didn't eat much at breakfast."

Harry smiled again at Hermione's worry and served himself some food. Eating made him feel a little better, but he was still troubled by Ed's words.

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Ed snapped the book shut and scowled down at it. He had been researching magical theory but nothing he had read so far made any sense to him. All of the things he had learned about magic made the sacrifices that he and Al had gone through seem worthless.

He had also learned from Professor Snape the summoning potion that had brought him here. Apparently, the potion that Harry had made summoned something that would protect the brewer from whatever said brewer felt was a danger to him. Snape had also provided that Potter most likely felt that he needed to be protected from someone he called the Dark Lord. Snape had refused to explain who the Dark Lord was, so Ed had researched him. The so called Dark Lord was apparently a dark wizard trying to exterminate all muggleborns.

Ed sighed heavily. His eyes were starting to hurt from reading such small, cramped writing. He had another question he wanted to answer. First, though, he had to find somewhere private.

Getting up quickly he left the library. In the course of the three days he had been here, he had learned the way from the Gryffindor Common room to the library, from the library to the Great Hall, and he would check along those routes first for an abandoned room. After about 30 minutes of searching he found what he wanted. It was an abandoned classroom, had a layer of dust a few inches thick, and was practically invisible unless you were looking.

Slipping in, he held a coat sleeve in front of him to prevent breathing in too much dust. Closing the door softly, he walked to the center of the room. As the dust that he had disturbed settled, he slowly brought his hands together as if he were about to clap. Hesitating slightly, he looked at his hands and breathed deeply to settle his nerves.

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Harry sighed in relief as Transfiguration finally ended. The class had been exhausting as they were required to do all transfigurations silently. Only Hermione had succeeded. Harry groaned at the thought of the essay McGonagall had assigned. He would need to stop by the library to get the research material he needed.

But first he was going to go to dinner before even thinking about doing homework. Ron poked him trying to get his attention.

"Harry! Have you heard anything I've been saying to you?"

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Err...no. What was it you were saying, Ron?"

Ron glared at his friend. "Harry! I was saying that the Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin was going to be played next weekend. Ravenclaw has a new seeker since Cho Chang broke her arm during practice a few weeks ago."

Harry nodded. "Yeah I heard about that. Heard she fell about 20 feet. Do you know who the new seeker is?"

Ron shook his head. "No. They're keeping pretty quiet about it. The only thing I've heard is that it's a fifth year. Slytherin will probably win, damn it. Chang is Ravenclaw's best seeker. I just don't see how a seeker they've only had a few weeks can be as good as Chang. Unless they're like you, Harry. A natural."

Harry chuckled at Ron's comment about him. "Slytherin might have a better chance to win, but I still wouldn't rule Ravenclaw out yet. They might just devise a strategy that will compensate…," Harry trailed off. He had seen a flash of blue just out of the corner of his eye. Hermione had also stopped and was looking in the same direction as Harry was. Ron was looking at both of them, confused.

"What are you both looking at?"

Harry still looking at a rather grimy section of the wall answered. "I thought I saw a flash of blue light or something over there. Did you see it too Hermione?"

Hermione nodded. "It kinda flickered and then disappeared." Hermione strode over to the wall and started to scrutinize it. After seeing nothing that could let out a blue flash of light, she walked back over to them. "I don't see anything that could have flashed, but I'm sure that I saw it," she stated.

Harry nodded. They started walking again, but this time in silence.

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Ed clapped. Then his left hand gripped his right arm and a blade appeared. Ed heaved a sigh of relief. He could still do alchemy. Ed transmuted his arm back to normal when he paused. Footsteps and voices had stopped in front of the door. Freezing, he waited with baited breath as he heard a single person approach the door. Waiting for it to open, he listened closely. The voices were muffled and distorted. He heaved a sigh of relief as he heard them continue walking on.

Pulling his glove and then jacket back on, Ed left the room as quietly has he had entered.

Opening his pocket watch, Ed checked the time and grimaced. It was dinnertime. That meant he would have to face those three kids again. At least he didn't feel like punching them anymore.

Making his way to the Great Hall was more difficult than he had imagined. Students kept staring at him and whispering. Ed continued to walk on, trying not to show his nervousness. Reaching the Great Hall proved to be harder than he thought. Students were crowded in the Entrance Hall, craning their necks to see what was causing the obstruction of traffic. Ed glared in annoyance.

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The trio had reached the doors to the Great Hall only to witness the doors closed with a piece of parchment tacked to the doors.

Approaching the doors and consequently the parchment, Hermione read the notice slowly.

Attention All Students

Dinner will be held in the common rooms for each house.

Also, all detentions for tonight have been canceled.

The trio looked at each other, confused. Never before had dinner been held anywhere other than the Great Hall. They slowly turned to start the walk back to the common room only to bump into Neville.

"Hey Neville," Ron said. "Dinner is going to be held in the common room tonight. Also, you're detention with Snape's been canceled for tonight."

Neville looked at the trio confused. "What do you mean?"

"There's a notice posted saying that dinner is in the common rooms and all detentions are canceled. Dunno why. Doesn't give a reason," Ron replied.

Neville's face scrunched up in thought. After a moment however he shrugged his shoulders and turned to follow the trio back up the way to the common room.

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Ed walked up to a student that was standing on the edge of the crowd. "Hey what's going on? Why isn't anyone entering the Hall?"

The student looked at Ed confusedly. "Um, you aren't a student are you?"

Ed looked at the student, irritated. "No, but I am a guest in the castle. So, why isn't anyone entering the Hall?"

The student shuffled as she heard Ed's reply. "Sorry, sir, but dinner is going to be held in the common rooms tonight." The girl hurried to leave as Ed's stare turned disbelieving. He could only wonder what was going on that had caused this to happen. Turning swiftly, Ed stalked towards the Gryffindor common room.

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Headmaster Dumbledore and the staff were in the Great Hall clustered around something that was on the floor. Many of the teachers looked like they were trying not to vomit. Snape was eyeing the headmaster surreptitiously, watching as many emotions flickered over his face. The one constant emotion however was anger.

"I am afraid that we must clean this up quickly. The students will already be curious as to why they were not allowed to eat here tonight. Severus and Poppy, I will need you to examine the body."

Poppy was eyeing the body with a clinical eye, though she was slightly green in the face. Snape merely nodded. He took a vial from his pocket and carefully bent down. Filling the vial with some of the blood that had pooled on the floor, he capped it, and proceeded to pocket it again. Poppy had already conjured a stretcher and levitated the body on to it.

Many teachers did vomit as they saw what had been underneath the corpse.

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A/N: And so ends my longest chapter! Aren't we all curious as to who was killed and what was underneath said victim?

Thanks to Monkey Mist Robo for beta reading again. Also, before anyone starts to think that Hoag will be a major character, think again. I cannot foresee him ever coming back into the story again, but I might be wrong. I only needed him to install the battery into Ed's automail. After all, who is more than likely to have studied mechanics that the Muggle Studies teacher? There's not much known about the teacher, so I picked a name, made him a little bit like Mr. Weasley, and voila! A character that has a small, but useful role. And if anyone was wondering why it hurt to detach the automail…it's just because I thought that it would also hurt to detach as well as attach.

And Ed can still do alchemy! If you were wondering why he didn't try before it was because: a) his arm was broke. A little awkward to move your arm into a position that you can put your hands together to form the circle, and b) he wanted to do it privately. After all, he hasn't told anyone that he is an alchemist. Ed's keeping pretty quiet about what he can do. And he never had a chance before now. Someone was always nearby and they might see the light from the transmutation, even if he drew the array.

Anyway, you know the drill by now. So hit that wonderful button that lets you leave a review. You'll appease the insatiable hunger of my greed for reviews if you do.