Another chapter of this? What? The author didn't take a month this time? scorns at the message Yes, I updated. Yes, it is another chapter of this. No, I didn't choose to wait a month. I chose to wait for a holiday. It was kind of bad timing since I have a few papers due soon (shoot me now), but you guys are more important. Also, I like writing fanfiction and not research papers.

Also, if there's something that confuses you, please tell me ASAP so that I can fix it immediately. I know someone said that it might have been confused how I worded the third chapter. Basically this happened: Edward is playing the role of Kuzumi in order to conceal his real identity from Dumbledore (who has knowledge of the parallel world) and Kuzumi happened to be an ordinary citizen from Amestris who just knows some basic alchemy. Nothing really special about Kuzumi; Edward is the special pipsqueak that we adore *cues the screaming of Edward's rants about him not being short*

As usual, do not forget to read and review at the end! I love reading everyone's reviews, and even though I don't reply, it puts a smile on my face when you guys say you like the chapter! It really pushes me to come out with updates faster, so keep them coming! :-)

The first night at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry wasn't anything memorable, according to Edward Elric, code name Kuzumi Naoyuki in the parallel world.

Dumbledore had shown Edward to his new lodgings, which was a small, cramped office with his living quarters right behind it. The alchemist had found the place to be sparkly clean and neat, rather unlike his usual style of everything messy. However, the office reminded him of Mustang's office in Amestris - perhaps it was the royal blue wall paint that did the trick, along with the wooden desk and chair? He decided the place just needed a bit of touch, one that was Edward's style, and then it would be as right as rain.

"This used to be the former Alchemy professor's classroom." Albus Dumbledore showed Edward to his classroom right below his office and living quarters.

He gazed down at the wooden desks and seats, noticing some rather large alchemy marks left behind from the previous years. Edward did a superficial scan of the classroom, mentally noting the size of the room and the possibilities of what he could do in such a large amount of space. He frowned when he saw the extra feather quills in the back of the room next to the stack of extra parchment paper.

Investing in some boxes of chalk and lots of wood would be pretty handy to have around in an Alchemy classroom, Edward thought. I'll have to run to the nearest store to get them.

"Yo old man," Edward asked out of the blue, "when can I go shopping for Alchemy related materials?"

Albus frowned. "In a couple weeks, when the Hogwarts staff come altogether again at Diagon Alley. Why do you ask?"

"I need a few items, like chalk and wood," Edward replied. "The feather quills and parchment paper won't do. Having to dip the quill into the ink multiple times just to draw one transmutation circle would be a hassle, not to mention potentially dangerous. And the parchment paper rolls up too quickly. The paper's got to be flat like the surface at least. Wood's pretty sturdy in most cases."

Dumbledore contemplated his argument for a moment or two, then nodded. "I can take you to a store in the Muggle world that might suit your needs, Kuzumi-sensei." Then something hit Dumbledore right there and then in his brilliant mind. "Oh! That reminds me, you don't speak our language, do you?"

Edward let out a soft gasp as he realized what that would mean. "No," he sadly responded. "That might be the bigger problem here."

Dumbledore shook his head, a smile on his face. "Never fear, Kuzumi-sensei. Magic works its wonders when it wants to."

The elder man picked up his wand, a fairly oddly shaped stick according to Edward Elric, and sort of twirled it above his hand. One would acknowledge the movement as one coming out of a fairytale, but Edward took it way more femininely (not that it mattered anyway).

"Make me feel like a fuckin' princess, why don't you," Edward muttered under his breath. Dumbledore pretended not to hear the insult coming out of his mouth.

"Kuzumi-sensei, do you understand what I am saying?" Dumbledore asked in perfect English, rather than the conversational Amestrian that Edward actually understands and is used to.

Edward frowned, not recognizing whatever the headmaster had just said, but somehow in his brain, the gears were whirling. In an instant, the phrase Dumbledore had said became less foreign to him and more understandable, as it sort of translated itself in Edward's mind. A small chuckle popped out of his mouth.

"Whoa," was the first thing that came of his mouth, and in English too. "I - can - speak - your - language," Edward slowly said out loud, wanting to feel the shape of his mouth when he formed the words. "I can speak in Amestrian and English?"

"Only in the privacy of myself and yours, I'm afraid," Dumbledore replied. "Perhaps it isn't best to reveal the secrets of your world to the masses at Hogwarts. No doubt they will pry."

"Like they always do, the nosy buggers," Edward grinned. "But thanks old man, I can finally speak your tongue."

"Again, magic wonders its wonders when it wants to." Dumbledore stopped for a moment. "Is the classroom and office setting sufficient for your needs?" he asked, inspecting the giant bed in the back of Edward's living quarters.

The Alchemy teacher popped his head into the quarters. "The fuck is this bed for? I'm good with a normal sized bed, thank you," Edward scowled at the very large bed that was centered in the room.

"I thought so. I had it magically enlarged for our last professor," Dumbledore said. With a wave of his wand, the bed immediately shrunk to fit Edward's size. "Is that more doable?"

"Of course, thank you again," Edward replied. He leapt onto the bed, rolling over to lay on his backside. "Why the extra enhancements?"

"Our last teacher was a very large man, one that seemed to match the size of our gamekeeper," Dumbledore responded. "Hagrid, our gamekeeper, is a half-giant and prefers to live outside in his hut."

Edward thought it over. A man that knew both alchemy and was basically a giant, the requirements could only fit one person. "You accept Alchemy teachers from Amestris?" he questioned incredulously. This he hadn't known at all.

"Yes, simply because they are skilled in what we are not," Dumbledore said. "Very few wizards in our world are practiced learners in the field, and their power can be useful if used correctly. It could potentially be a - "

"Weapon against Voldemort," Edward finished. "So Major Armstrong was here, then?"

"Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist, indeed was here up until a week ago," he nodded.

Well that answered the question of where the idiot was for a year. "He only taught one year?" Edward asked, eyes wide open.

"He claimed to have some business back in Amestris, maybe a war incoming in the country. I must ask, is it true?" Dumbledore asked, unbeknownst to him that he might be prying into other countries' affairs.

"Maybe," Edward replied, not really wanting to answer the question. Thankfully, Dumbledore took the answer and didn't go any further into the topic. Amestris's problems were not of any concern to the parallel world.

And they can stay that way, Edward thought.

"Brigadier General, something's wrong," First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye quickly said.

Newly promoted Brigadier General Roy Mustang frowned, arching an eyebrow in the process. "What is it, Lieutenant?" he asked.

Instead of answering the question right away, the Lieutenant dragged her superior officer out of the hallways in Central Command and threw him into the car, narrowly avoiding the higher ups in the process. She ordered the driver, who happened to be Major Armstrong, to drive somewhere. The Major nodded and hit the gas pedal immediately.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" Mustang asked again, this time more concerned.

"Edward's nowhere to be found," was the first thing she said.

"Where the fuck would he go at this kind of time?" Mustang asked. "He is to be stationed in Central, or at least that was the set of orders I gave him the other day."

"I have no idea, sir. All I know is that the Fullmetal Alchemist has yet to be seen in the last forty eight hours, and he has not given us his report yet on Table City," Hawkeye replied. "Have you seen Alphonse recently?"

"Nope," was Mustang's response.

"Then something fishy is going on here, and we need to investigate," Hawkeye said.

"Start at Fullmetal's military dorm room," Mustang ordered. "Major, go down this street and turn left."

"Got it." Major Armstrong sent the pair a thumbs up as he sped down River Lane and took a sharp left turn onto North Gaston. "Which place?"

"Not this street, we're still getting there," Mustang replied. "Turn right on Cherry Street."

Hawkeye sent him a look. "You know where Edward and Alphonse live? They usually change dorm rooms every month or two due to the amount of people wanting to murder them."

"And I usually assign them their new dorm room close to my mansion," Mustang answered. "They don't know that every time they change places, they just get a little closer to safety."

"Like your mansion is safe, sir." Hawkeye rolled her eyes. "Wasn't there a burglary the other day?"

"And I happened to have sort of barbequed - "

"What?!" Hawkeye shrieked. The car swerved right then as Major Armstrong was half alarmed by the response, half turning right on Carpenter Road.

" - their hair as a punishment. Hawkeye, let me finish my statements before you do anything rash." Now it was Mustang's turn to roll his eyes at his subordinate.

Hawkeye breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you didn't burn a body like you did Ross's."

"That was beautiful, by the way."

"Whatever you say, General."

"We're here, if you two lovebirds haven't noticed."

Mustang and Hawkeye both looked up to see Major Armstrong grinning. The two of them swore they saw pink sparkles coming out of his sparkly white teeth. The pair shrinked back, in case the Major had intentions of stripping (and it wouldn't be the first time either). Mustang pulled out a maroon colored book from his coat pocket and checked the address of the place. Not even two minutes later, he gave the affirmative.

"Second floor, room one hundred two is their place right now," Mustang read aloud from his pocket book, picking up a silver key from the page. "I have a key to their place."

"Maybe you spend a little too much time over there," Hawkeye teased, stifling a laugh spilling from her mouth.

"Or maybe someone else spends too much time at mine," Mustang teased back, smirking. There wasn't any denying written on Hawkeye's face, only red splotches on her cheeks. Mustang's smirk widened at her reaction, which allowed Hawkeye to put a hand near her gun. Her superior officer wiped the smile off his face quickly, thinking that dying today was not a risk he wanted to take today.

Mustang pointed to a window up above the trio. "Now let's go men, before it gets too dark out here."

Walking into Diagon Alley was not exactly the 'walk in a park' type deal that Edward had been dreaming of.

Edward Elric was strolling through the alley alone on a weekday, which meant that practically no one was around. Dumbledore had claimed to have some important business meeting to attend at the Ministry of Magic, and since the Prime Minister would be there, the old man's attendance was required. Some of the teaching staff who resided at Hogwarts were completely unknown to him, so Edward didn't want to bother them with his dire need to go to Diagon Alley.

Edward chose to find Dumbledore in his office before he left for the Ministry, asking him for a quick path to Diagon Alley. Dumbledore this time gave him Floo Powder and instructed him on how to use the green powder dust. After the old man went to the Ministry through this route, Edward followed shortly, but instead of saying 'Ministry of Magic' like his superior, he said:

"Diagonally."

Maybe proper wording would have been useful when using Floo Powder. Not to mention lack of anxiety would've worked as well, Edward thought as he left Borgin and Burkes as quickly as he came through the fireplace there.

After departing the Dark Arts store, the boy took a quick left, hopefully heading in the right direction. He had read a sign that told him he was not in Diagon Alley, but Knockturn Alley instead. Walking past several other shops with dark auras, Edward found himself in the middle of a real alley, one with no end and a Dumpster in the back.

"You seem to be mighty lost," a short man, shorter than Edward even, with a black cloak announced proudly. Edward noticed that he wore glasses and had white hair with soft singes at the end. Perhaps he was like a scientist, or at least that would have been him in the Amestrian world.

"Uh, yeah," Edward stuttered. "Mind helping me out?"

"Of course!" the man jumped. He took one of Edward's hands (thank Truth it was the left one) and hurriedly escorted him down a few paths. All of them twisted and turned, until both of them found themselves in a more cheerful, happier place.

"Is this Diagon Alley?" Edward asked, taking mental notes on the shops' appearances and the midget man's facial features.

"Yes it is! How did you end up here?" he asked curiously, looking into Edward's golden eyes out of curiosity.

"Do I not seem like the type of person who would roam here?" Edward asked him. I really should learn how to better blend in with the people around here before I do any more rash things like this, he thought to himself.

The stranger shook his head disdainfully. "That red coat of yours sticks out like a sore thumb, not to mention that hair and eyes like yours are seen as odd in our world. Although I am quite convinced that the eyes are inherited, thanks to years of studying lycanthropy, some people might disagree with me and think you are a werewolf."

"A what wolf?" Edward asked, arching an eyebrow. "I'm not the kind of person who looks wolfish to you, am I right?"

"A werewolf, my dear sir. They're like half wolf, half human in our world. And no, but I'm just saying that some wizards will mistake it for wolfish characteristics," the man said, shrugging. "I'm Filius Flitwick by the way, Charms professor at Hogwarts."

Oh shit, this guy's one of them? And I thought I might be able to trust him within due time. "Kuzumi Naoyuki, sir." Edward shook the professor's hand with his left one, the real hand.

"What a pleasure to meet you, dear sir! I must be off now, lots to do today, toodles!"

And so fast had the tiny midget came into the alley to help Edward did he leave Edward in the middle of chaos in Diagon Alley.

"Where is Fullmetal? Where is the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"He's not dead, he can't have died this time around!"

"What in the name of King Bradley is this?"

In front of Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, and Alex Louis Armstrong was the exact same human transmutation circle the Elric brothers had used so long ago when they tried to resurrect their mother. The once beautifully chalked up circle was decorated in red splotches of blood, all of them having dried now since the elder Elric had disappeared only two days ago. Neither armor nor hide of Edward was to be seen in the apartment complex.

What Major Armstrong found five minutes later happened to be the pale and sickly body of Alphonse Elric, who was hiding under the kitchen table, snacking on a piece of bread Edward had bought two days ago, right before he committed the taboo again.

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