Hi everyone

Woot! Hahaha! My friends always yell at me for saying that. :P

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or HP.

Thanks to all of you who reviewed! I feel I must apologize for my grammar in the last chapter. It bugs the hell out of me when people have bad grammar so I'm basically irritated at myself right now. (Does that make sense? I hope it does…) I'm editing while I write this so I hope to upload it later.

Anywhoo! On with the chapter!

Chapter 4

As Roy and Ed walked out from behind the curtain, Ed still a bit flushed; they were met with an unexpected visitor.

The man that had spoken with Ed earlier, Albus Dumbledore, stood there smiling.

"Oh, those robes go over your clothes, they're the school uniform here," Said the nurse noticing the two had thrown them on the bed as they walked around the corner.

Nodding both alchemists pulled the robes on, Ed grumbling a bit because his went all the way down to the floor while Roy's brushed the tops of his boots. Ed pulled on his white gloves over both his hands, sulking.

As Roy put the robe on he looked at the man through his eyelashes and realized that he had never seen a man quite like this one. He had flowing sliver hair and a long, matching beard. He was clad in midnight blue robes that had a faint pattern of swirling, curled lines at the hem. His glasses were thin wired, semi-circles that winked and flashed in the afternoon sun. His very presence seemed to radiate tranquility and quiet power. Roy had the feeling that this man was not someone to be trifled with.

Inclining his head slightly, he said, "Good afternoon to both of you. I had introduced myself to young Mr. Elric previously. My name is Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of this school."

"General Roy Mustang. It's a pleasure, sir," Roy said, bowing slightly. Seeing his white gloves on the bedside table Roy retrieved them, stowing them in the pocket of his slacks.

When they were finished, Albus said, "If you would like to follow me to my office we can continue conversation there." He turned toward the door, only to turn and pause thoughtfully. "Actually if you would put these on as well, moving to the office will be less…complicated," he said, fishing about in his capacious sleeves. As he rummaged about he added, "Make sure to flip up the hood as well."

Pulling out what looked like liquid silver, he separated it into two, handing one each to both men. As Roy took it he was surprised by the lightness of the item. It flowed over his hands as he shook it out. Not sure as to why these would help, the two alchemists pulled them on, facing away from each other, a bit self-conscious.

As Roy flipped his hood up he wondered what the silver of the cloak and the gold of Edward's hair and eyes would look like together. Turning to face the younger man he gasped. "Ed?! Where are you?!" Walking forward hurriedly he ran into an unseen object. Falling backwards, his hood fell off of his head, and his butt fell on the floor.

"Ouch, what the hell just ran into me?! Where in blazes are you Roy?!" Ed's voice sounded out above him, panicky. "HOLY SHIT ROY?! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR BODY?!"

Roy looked up, wincing at the pain in his ass, both above and below him. "Speak for yourself Ed! I don't even see you!" Roy looked down, the sigh that he was going to heave stopping in his throat. His entire body was gone! Panic ran through his mind when he heard a voice say, "Don't worry, you're still all there. It's an Invisibility Cloak. It activates when you put it on. It will turn off, if you will, when you take it off."

Turning his head Roy looked up at Albus he found the man smiling down at him. "I'd say that that would be impossible, but given the evidence…" he trailed off.

Ed had pulled off of his hood, his head floating in the air. His head bobbed its way to the back of the room to look at the mirror as Roy picked himself up off the floor. "This is so incredibly cool!" The boy exclaimed.

Smiling at Edward's innocent reaction both men smiled. "Come on Ed, let's get going," said Roy, smiling slightly.

"You are, as you just noticed, still solid, so please try not to bump into anyone," Albus said cheerfully, heading for the door.

Edward's head bobbed over to where Roy's hovered. Reaching out an invisible hand he grasped where he thought Ed's shoulder would be. "We'll keep contact with each other so neither of us gets lost, ok?"

Both alchemists flipped their hoods up. At the sudden disappearance of Edward; Roy felt a slight tremor of fear go through him. He gave the blonde's shoulder a squeeze, reassuring himself. He was surprised by the faint pressure, as Ed's hand ghosted over his hand. He pulled Roy's hand off his shoulder, grasping it with his own so that they were holding hands. Lithe, warm fingers intertwined with Roy's and the man felt a sparkle of electricity dash up his arm, and shoot straight up to his brain. Grinning like an idiot Roy said, "Ok, we're ready to go."

Nodding, Albus opened the door to the hospital wing, leading the way through the entrance. Both Ed and Roy were not prepared for what they saw next. The halls of the castle, it could only be called that, were made of warm, tan sandstone. The high walls were covered in striking tapestries and suits of armor stood tall and proud between them. Scattered throughout these were different paintings of all shapes and sizes. As they proceeded through the halls they noticed that the paintings were moving, each inhabitant flitting from frame to frame.

Their thoughts were interrupted when Albus's voice said, "Ah, Professor Umbridge, to what do I owe the honor?"

As Ed looked at the person, pulling Roy so he could look around Albus, his eyes widened. At first glance Ed thought that the woman that he saw was a human chimera that had been fused with a toad. The most butt ugly toad that ever existed. She had a wide, thin lipped mouth set under a small nose and large eyes that flicked back and forth. Grey curls were neatly set on top of her head. A nauseatingly pink sweater clung to her torso like a horrid second skin.

When she opened her mouth to speak Ed expected her to croak and rabbit. Instead a high-breathy voice said, "Why Professor Dumbledore, why were you in the hospital wing at this time?"

Albus, who was obviously used to this, smiled cheerfully and said, "I must have procured some bad lemon drops from my friend in the Muggle world. I had the most unfortunate luck to have a terrible stomach ache this morning, but Madame Pomfrey managed to cure it easily."

Smiling, the woman said in her irritating voice as she walked past them, "That's good Albus. I would hate to think of what would happen if you had fallen too ill." Waddling around a corner she disappeared from sight.

Sighing and shaking his head, Albus murmured, "Let's hurry before she comes back."

Although he couldn't see both men nodded, "Ok," Ed whispered. Still clutching Roy's hand he tugged on the older man's arm, pulling him along. They stopped when Albus said, "Acid pops," quite randomly as he stood in front of a Gothic looking gargoyle.

Glad that he was invisible, Roy felt his jaw drop in surprise as the gargoyle stood and nodded saying, "Good afternoon, Professor." Moving to the side the stone creature revealed a spiraling staircase, lazily turning like a corkscrew upwards. Both men gaped, not quite believing their eyes. Roy was first to recover. Tightening his hand on Ed's, he pulled the blonde toward the odd staircase. Wobbling a bit the two managed to follow Albus, arriving at the top quite quickly. Pushing open a handsome oak door the sliver-haired man gestured for the two alchemists to proceed into the room.

Closing the door softly behind him he said, "You can take off the cloaks now, this room is safe."

Shrugging the light fabric off the two watched each other as they both blurred into place. Folding the cloak in half, Roy started to hand it back to Albus but was stopped when he said, "If you would keep those I would appreciate it. You never know, perhaps they will be of use to you both." Light blue eyes flashed as Albus grinned, turning to the large claw-footed desk in the center of the room. Ed and Roy tucked the sliver cloaks into pockets of their robes.

Getting a good look around the room Edward was stunned. There was a large window that gave a good view of the outside. A craggy mountain range and a lush green forest were visible from it. Portraits of dignified individuals graced the walls, and behind the desk a beautiful sliver sword was displayed in a case of glass.

"If you would both take a seat, we can continue our previous conversation," said Albus. "It's alright now, I have a feeling that they won't react unreasonably," he added. Their curiosity did not last for long. Both alchemists suddenly understood his words as, all around the room, the people in the portraits started to stretch, some even walking out of their portraits!

"Thank goodness, Albus! My neck was going stiff sitting like that," one of the people said, rolling his shoulders and rubbing his neck.

Both Ed and Roy were dumbstruck, mouths slightly gaping as they turned to look at the man behind the desk.

"Ah, where are my manners! Here, please have a seat," he said pulling one of those sticks out and giving it a quick wave. Two objects clunked to the floor behind them, making both men start. Turning they realized that two chairs had been conjured up out of thin air. Roy fell into his while Ed looked at the chair as if were going to bite him.

"Just sit Ed. Its not going to disappear on you," Roy said absently, still a bit dazed.

Edward, however, recovered quickly, "Can it, Mustang," he retorted flopping himself into the chair.

A sharp rap at the door interrupted both men's thoughts. "Ah, come in Professor McGonagall," Albus called.

The polished door opened, revealing four people. The first was a slim, older woman. She had grey hair that was pulled into a tight bun at the base of her neck. The next was a young woman and two young men. The girl had a large amount of bushy brown hair and looked a bit anxious. The first boy was a lanky, freckled red head whose eyes glimmered with good humor. The last boy was the one that caught Ed's eye. His messy black hair framed a pair of striking green eyes hidden behind a pair of round, black glasses. He looked quite angry and sullen for some reason. The older woman ushered the three younger people in.

"Excellent, Professor. I'm glad that you could get them out of their respective classes successfully," said Albus as he conjured up three more chairs, putting them on the opposite side of the room so that each group was facing the other. "Take a seat, please you three."

Looking curiously at the men the three teens complied as Professor McGonagall swished past them to stand beside Albus, facing them.

"Roy, Edward," said Albus, catching the men's attention, "These three students, along with our gamekeeper, saved both of you when you arrived here."

Roy stood up, walking in front of the three teens. Bowing at the waist he said to them gravely, "Thank you. I owe both my life and the life of my subordinate to you all." He then stood up straight, snapping to attention. Raising his hand he saluted them, formal and firm.

The three stared at him at first and then squirmed a bit, looking embarrassed when he saluted them. Roy snapped his arm down to his side, turning on his heel to go and sit back down by Edward. He noticed that the girl had turned a light pink color and was looking a bit dazed. Ed frowned mentally, I don't think so, sweetheart. This ones all mine.

An awkward moment passed, neither party knowing what to say after that. Smiling gently Albus said, "The young woman there is Hermione Granger. The two young men are Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter," each student nodded as they were introduced. "I believe that we are all curious as to how you arrived here. Goodness knows that I am!" He said, grinning.

Relief spread through the room as Albus spoke, each person glad that they didn't have to break the silence. Roy took a deep breath and began to speak about what he remembered from before they arrived. Ed filled in some places that Roy missed, which were very few. When the older man fell silent Albus said, "You said that you were both alchemists?"

Ed glanced at Roy quickly, noticing the man seemed a little stressed from having to recall those memories. He said, "Yes, sir. I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist and Roy here is the Flame Alchemist."

Nodding the man looked satisfied, but a voice piped up, "But I don't understand. You said that you used alchemy like it was a weapon. But that's impossible!" It was the girl named Hermione. She looked confused.

Ed looked at Roy who had his famous smirk on his face. Looking at the expression on his superior's face Ed couldn't help but chuckle.

At Edward's laugh Hermione's eyes narrowed, she apparently didn't like being laughed at. Both boys sitting next to her looked shocked at her reaction.

"Oh, it's quite possible, Miss Granger," said Roy, pulling gloves on and standing up. Ed leaned back in his chair, legs sprawled and arm flung over the back, completely relaxed. The others in the room looked nervous, except Albus. "If I could just get access to your fireplace, Sir, I could show you what we mean." The general said, smirking.

Looking curious, Albus nodded as Roy stood in the middle of the large room. Facing the fireplace with his back turned slightly to Ed, Roy raised his right hand. He held it away from his body, touching his middle finger and thumb together. For a moment he did nothing. Ed rolled his eyes; his superior was such a showy person when he wanted to be. Which was pretty much most of the time; Ed wasn't about to admit it but he sort of enjoyed Roy's posing.

At that point Roy snapped his fingers. A thin bolt of lightening flew from his fingers toward the unlit fireplace. There was a small bang, making the three teens jump and McGonagall flinch. When they recovered they all saw that a fire now crackled merrily in the once empty grate.

"That was so cool!" Ron burst out, making everyone laugh. Turning to Edward he asked, excited, "Can you control fire too?!"

Laughing, the blonde said, "No, I'm not as flashy as him," he jerked a finger at Mustang. Standing he walked to the center of the room, giving Roy a smirk and a wink as he passed. "Give me your chair, Ron," he said. The red-head looked confused but complied readily. After pondering a bit Edward pulled the chair into the center of the room. Taking a deep breath Edward clapped his hands together, placing them on the chair. A flash of blue-white lightening made everyone shade their eyes a bit.

What was left was a perfect wooden replica of the gargoyle that stood in front of the moving staircase. Clapping his hands once again he changed the replica back into a chair. He pulled the chair back over to Ron, who took it, still gaping. "If you'd like Roy and I could give you a demonstration of how effective alchemy can be in a fight," Edward said to the silent room.

Ed turned and went back to his seat. Sitting down he heard Albus say, "Excellent, excellent!"

"Can you change people too, Mr. Elric?" a voice said suddenly. Looking over it was the black haired boy who had spoken, Harry was his name, Ed recalled.

"I'd also like to know why you're called the Fullmetal Alchemist. I understand why Mr. Mustang is the Flame Alchemist but I'm not sure why you have that name," Ron said, looking Ed up and down.

Roy noticed that Edward had gone a bit stiff. "Perhaps we could answer that another…" Roy started but a hand on his arm stopped him.

"It's alright, Roy. They deserve to know, after all, they did save my life," Ed's lips pulled up wryly.

"You really don't have to if you don't want to," Roy murmured.

Shaking his head the blonde replied, "Equivalent exchange, General."

Straightening in his seat a bit, Ed started with his story, the story of his beginning.

He told them of his father and his mother. Of how his mom had died and he and his brother had tried to bring her back since their father had left home. He told them of how both boys had trained with Izumi Curtis, shuddering dramatically.

As Roy watched Ed recant his life's story he realized that Ed's eyes weren't looking at his audience. They were far away, looking at past events throughout his life. He smirked as he heard his name, knowing Ed was telling them of his involvement in the military. He did notice that Edward left out the part about his search for the philosopher's stone. Roy didn't blame him, the fewer people who knew about the stone the better.

Ed told them about Alphonse, about how they searched the ends of the earth to look for a way to restore both their bodies, without mentioning the stone of course. After a bit the end of his story reached the beginning of Roy's and he stopped. Glancing over at the blonde Roy noticed that Edward was shaking a bit. A few deep breaths though and he looked like he was ok again.

His audience was silent, each individual taking in what they just heard on their own.

"Do you remember how I told you that my brother lost his body?" Ed asked to the room at large. Seeing the group nodding he continued, "Even though I managed to get his body back in the end I wasn't able to get mine back." As he spoke he shrugged out of his robe.

"But Mr. Elric," Hermione said protesting, "You do have all of your limbs, I don't understand what you mean."

Nodding Edward said gently, "I'll show you. I'm still not whole no matter what it looks like." He grabbed the bottom of his shirt, "Don't freak out, ok? I'm not gonna strip all the way."

Yanking his shirt off he pulled it over his head, the fabric snagged a bit but Ed ripped it off, impatient.

The three teens gasped when they saw Ed's automail. Professor McGonagall, who had been mostly silent up until now, put her hand to her mouth and said, "Oh my goodness."

End Chapter

And that's all for now folks!

Please review! I love to hear all of you thoughts on the crazy ideas I have!

I would like to point out that I was eating Chinese food while typing this and my fortune cookie was rather eerie. "Your ingenuity and imagination will get results." Freaky, huh? I thought so at least… It's taped up on my lap top now. LOL

Till the next time, Dear Reader!