I love teasing Ed about his height. That's what makes his so SPASTIC! Review away! So I can be SPASTIC too!

You guys wanted updates once a week so updates are now on a weekly basis! ;D

Malfoy was one of those fair-skinned boys that looked so pale you could see the greenish-blue colour of their veins even from a distance. But now, he was so pale you could practically see the fine line of the capillaries and arteries and veins and the blood. You could see how each vessel throb weakly with the limited life force in them.

Edward was stunned by how fast Pinako look-alike mended his wounds. The flesh had grown back and his arm was swathed with bandages to allow the wound to heal faster. Yet, he was convinced that Malfoy would never recover.

Aside from Parkinson, no one had come to visit him. Edward and the girl had not left his side once.

"It's all my fault," Edward said dejectedly.

Parkinson looked as if she were about to agree and lash out at him. However, she just nodded curtly and clasped Malfoy's hand in hers.

They were surprised when the hand brushed her off in disdain. Edward stared at Malfoy.

"You're awake!" Parkinson shrieked with glee. Malfoy scowled at her and simply waved her away. Instead, he fixed his eyes onto Edward.

"You goaded me," Malfoy stated simply.

Edward nodded, feeling even more horrible with himself. Mustang had sent him a very long letter, telling him how he had screwed up. Apparently, Malfoy's father had relayed everything that had happened to Central. Even so, Edward felt like he deserved more than just an irate letter.

Sure, he still did not like Malfoy but that did not change the fact that he was still wrecked with guilt.

"Whatever," Malfoy groaned and turned on his side. "You're helping me carry my bags until I'm healed. Now get out of here, both of you. I'm going back to sleep."

Edward did not say anything. He stood up wordlessly while Parkinson was still demanding to know if Malfoy was really okay.

Hauling a shrill-voiced fangirl was not Edward's idea of fun but he dragged her out.

In between Parkinson's shrieks, Edward thought he heard Malfoy mutter,

"Thanks for staying."

He whipped his head abruptly but Malfoy's eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and regulated.

"You know, you could just smack him in the head," Potter commented as Edward dragged a whole luggage of textbooks up the stairs. Edward paused to heave for breath.

It was definitely an illusion to hear Malfoy thank him the other day. The kid was making his life hell. Whoever needed a whole set of crystal balls, expensive looking charms and weird flasks filled with gold liquid for a normal potions class? Malfoy was getting his revenge back and Edward had to sourly comply.

All Malfoy had to do was raise his bandaged arm and look miserable and Edward would grudgingly haul a few tonnes of objects up several flight of stairs. Freaking stairs.

Potter's friend, Granger, pointed her wand at the suitcase and announced,

"Locomotor suitcase!"

The suitcase lifted from Edward's arms and floated in midair.

Edward glared at her. Granger was the magic version of Winry and they both shared the same insufferable know-it-allness.

"I'm fine, I can carry it myself."

"Why don't you just say a spell? Come to think of it, I've never seen you use that wand." Ron said, nodding at the wand on Edward's belt.

Edward ignored him and allowed Granger to do the unnatural thing with her stick to the Potions classroom.

Before they entered, Edward gave Granger a nod and she released the spell. Edward grunted with exertion at the sudden weight collapsing into his arms but he finished the last few metres and plonked the items gracelessly in front of Malfoy.

There were a crowd of girls gushing about how brave Malfoy was with the chimera. When they saw Edward, they turned to him and admired how strong and selfless he was. Edward noticed Malfoy's eyebrows knitting when he saw the division of attention.

The only one who was still paying him homage was Pansy Parkinson.

"How is it Draco? Does it hurt much?" She fluttered impossibly long lashes at him.

Edward blanched. If she started calling him Drakey-poo, he was going to puke. However, Malfoy looked sort of pleased with her attention.

"Yeah," he said with a grimace.

"Settle down," Snape said idly and Potter gave him a baleful glare. Edward massaged his sore arms and was about to take his seat beside Malfoy when he glowered at him. Shrugging, Edward took his textbook and moved to sit beside a flustered, round-looking boy who looked like he was going to have an anxiety fit there and then.

Surprisingly, the lesson was alchemy. Though Edward could not see how a newt's ear and a few random eyeballs from different animals could be exchanged for a Shrinking Solution, it was working on the same principal- equivalent exchange.

Unfortunately for the round-faced kid, Snape kept bullying him to near tears. Edward who was progressing at an alarming rate with his potion winced in sympathy as the Gryffindor spilled a suspicious looking liquid into the cauldron, turning his solution into a repugnant orange colour.

Snape hissed under his breath as a foul smell wafted from the cauldron and announced something about testing the potion on his frog. The Gryffindor paled in fear.

When the potions master turned his bag away, Granger began to whisper instructions to the boy who she called Neville.

Edward realised with smug satisfaction that he had finished his potion faster than the magic nerd. After all, state alchemists have titles to live up to.

Snape swiped the air irritably to clear the fumes from Neville's disastrous potion. His eyes widened minutely in surprise when he saw Edward's cauldron.

"Ten points to Slytherin!" Snape called loudly above the cacophony of beakers and test tubes clanking. He studied Edward with a lazy glance.

"You're the new kid, aren't you?"

Edward nodded, resisting the urge to punch him in the face.

"Are you sure you're home schooled? The people here," Snape looked pointedly at a flustered Neville, "have studied this subject for years and their nowhere as adept as you." His gaze hardened and Edward thought he could see suspicion in them. He hoped he was not being overly paranoid.

Edward ducked his head in modest embarrassment but his face was flushed with fear. What if he knows about his mission?

Snape thankfully left him alone after that and Edward sat in his seat, trying to block out Neville's blundering mistakes.

Sure, what he just did was not alchemy. There was no chemical explanation behind what he just did but the basics of making something out of a few ingredients was second nature to Edward. He had to try his best not to stand out too much. He was not here to excel. He was here to be a bodyguard.

He turned to his client who was making Weasley chop his roots. Edward tried not to stare at his bandage but could not stop the guilt from eating him.

He was going to pay for this sin. Lucius Malfoy, his employer, had not contacted him so far but the radio silence made Edward feel even more nervous. What was strange was that this place did not have a telephone so he had no way to call his employer and vice versa. How do people even communicate here?

As if an answer, a paper aeroplane's sharp end jabbed into his flesh.

Edward slapped at it and turned around to see Malfoy grinning at him. It was not a very nice smile.

Edward unfolded the aeroplane and saw an animated drawing of him drowning in his cauldron of Shrinking Solution. The picture of him thrashed in the cauldron and started shrinking until it was no more than a tiny dot.

Yup, great communication here.

Edward promptly turned around and did some communication with Malfoy over the inaccurate height innuendos.