Wow, I just can't seem to write less than six thousand words. I am surprising my self at this rate. Here is another chapter with a couple of fun parts to it. I hope you like it. Next chapter...MUSTANG! Can't wait to finish it for ya'll.

CHAPTER 4

A Month of Misery

Edward didn't have his third years until Thursday. Until then Edward was busy hustling about the first years and trying to deal with George and Fred's shenanigans, who found it hilarious to put a live tarantula in his chalk box. Unfortunately for them, he wasn't too thrilled and gave them detention that night. Edward had already looked through the paintings that mustang sent him and set them up in his classroom and chambers. Most of them were actually photographs of Resembool that Winry had taken and given to Mustang to send, and others were old family pictures of him and Al as kids. The students in his class liked to take a bit of time to study the rolling hills in the pictures and the little houses up on the hills. On frequent occasions, Edward would find that the armoured picture of Al would tend to go running off to another canvas and bring back one of the cats from neighboring photos. Luckily for him, however, the student's didn't find it weird that the armour was empty whenever the picture took off its helmet to polish it or empty its stomach of felines. They just guessed that it was just the way the photo was painted. Like a movie, sometimes photos have glitches too right?

When Edward was walking down the corridor, he heard a couple screams of both fear and laughter coming from Professor Lupin's classroom. Apparently he was literally teaching something ridikulos to the students. Edward however continued down the way not wanting to disturb the lesson. Later in the day, Edward's third year Gryffindor/Slytherin class met up in his room for their double lesson. It looked like Ron, Hermione, and Harry were all seated comfortably on one end of the room and were glaring daggers at the whimpering and bandaged blond boy on the other. Edward could only guess that he was the infamous Malfoy. Ignoring the tention in the room however, Edward walked up to the chalk board and flipped it over to where the periodic table of elements was still engraved in it.

"Put your wands away. If I see any of you take them out in this class, you get detention for a week. You will not be needing them here," Edward said as if it was drilled into his brain. After a few hushed whispers the students obliged. That is, all except one.

"Put our wands away? I thought this was a magic school, not some muggle workshop," Draco scoffed. The large football player Crabbe gave his own grunt at the boy's comment. Edward took out a piece of chalk from the box, checking beforehand to see if there were any leftover tarantulas, and started to draw a transmutation circle on the floor.

"If you wanted to know, Mr. Malfoy, Alchemy is a science, not sorcery, therefore wands are not needed. As for the muggle comment I will let that slide for now, but next time think before you decide to get snippity with a teacher, even if they aren't exactly magical," Edward said calmly and continued to draw the circle on the floor, but Draco wasn't finished.

"How old are you? You look a little short to be a teacher if you ask me," the boy sneered. Luckily for Edward the transmutation circle was done, like he needed it, and Edward immediately activated it. As the electrical sparks shot out of the circle, the ground around Draco started to shift and mold. A giant stone fist shot out of the earth and pinned the boy to his seat. Crabbe gave an alerted scream, so did Patsy, while the other kids, even the Slytherins, shouted oohs and awes at the transmutation. Edward got up off of the ground and walked back over behind his desk.

"Well, then. Draco I bet you already figured out that you have detention with me tonight," Edward said trying to hold back his aggravation. He then turned to the class, "If you wanted to know, that was alchemy," he began, "The circle that I drew there on the floor, is called a transmutation circle. If you want to get up to look at it you may." Most of the students got up and peered at the strange circle, all that is except for Draco. After the class sat back down, Edward walked over to the circle again and activated it to let Malfoy go out of his bonds.

"This circle is code for what you want the materials you are working with to do," Edward continued. "Alchemy is the science of deconstruction and reconstruction of matter. Those of you who have a simple knowledge of the muggle sciences of chemistry and physics, will be better off in this class than the rest," he said glaring daggers at Draco. "With that said, could you please take out your writing utensils and copy down the Periodical table of Elements on the board up here. If you have any lesson related questions, feel free to ask," Edward said and then took a seat at his desk. He propped his feet up on the wood and started to read the Alchemy text book in search of unmentionables. After a few minutes however, Edward heard one of his students whine. It was Draco.

"Ron, my arm is injured, can you help me write my notes? You have terribly good handwriting and with my arm, well," he started to guilt trip. Surprisingly, Ron actually was going to do it, though that grimace on his face told otherwise. Edward pinched the bridge of his nose for a moments and moaned in annoyance. After a few seconds, he walked down the rows of tables to stand above Malfoy.

"Arm," Edward ordered. Draco clutched his bandaged arm defensively. "Arm," he repeated. Draco reluctantly handed over his wounded limb and Edward unwrapped it. Yes, the scar was ugly, Edward would give him that. The crevice where the talon of hippogriff ran down his arm was nasty and puckered red as it was still trying to heal. He saw that Madam Promfery did to a lot to try and fix it, otherwise Edward expected it to be at least a few centimeters deeper. However, it was nothing to cry about, well, nothing that he would cry about anyway. Edward mumbled a bit and clapped his hands together. Draco looked at him with utter fear as the electrical sizzle of alchemic energy filled the room. In an instant, the ghastly wound reverted itself into an extremely tiny papercut. The class applauded but he ignored them. Edward grabbed the leftover bandages and then shoved a quill into Draco's hands.

"If I were you," Edward said, "I wouldn't be complaining over a tiny flesh wound. Learning how to use your left hand isn't that hard." He walked up to the front of the room and then deposited the bandages in the rubbish bin. Ron looked at him like he was his savior.

"How did you do that?" a Slytherin girl asked.

"That was called medical alchemy. What I did was a simple form of it, however, I don't want any of you, ANY of you to try any transmutations if not in the presence of me or Dumbledore. And NEVER, ever in your goddamn lives, perform any alchemy on another human no matter how good your stupid intentions are. For if you do, I can assure you, that your lives would be a living hell, if not gone by the time that you are finished," he threatened them. All of their faces turned a sickly white.

…..

"I heard that you scared your students today," Lupin chuckled as they ate lunch in the Great Hall. It started to rain that afternoon and it set Edward in a not so happy mood. Edward grunted and went back to eating his clam chowder. "It is a teacher's greatest joy to see a student thrive in their class," Remus said to cheer him up a bit.

"However it is their greatest thrill to scare them a bit," Severus added. The three of them laughed.

"That I must agree to you there Severus," Remus said.

"I heard that you were scaring your students too, Remus. What were you doing in the staff room?" Edward inquired.

"I was teaching my students how to handle a boggart. I thought it would be a fun way to start off the year. They found it both frightening and hilarious. I think I gave them the spook bug, I dare say. Several of my students are now trying to scare their peers by jumping out from corners," Remus replied. Just then, Poppy came over to the table and started to pull Lupin away.

"Oh dear, you must have eaten something terrible, come with me," she said to him and dragged him out of his chair. Edward, however, thought that Remus looked completely fine, if not the best he ever was. Remus gave him a shy shrug but then caught his direct eye contact for a moment. Edward didn't realize that Lupin's eyes were acutally yellow and not brown as the thought they were. Remus paused for a second and stopped Poppy in her tracks.

"You know, Elric, why don't you come with me for a minute, you don't look so well either," Lupin said. Poppy got the hint of what the man was insinuating and started to haul Edward off as well, completely against his will. She said it was simply a preliminary precaution. Severus was left at the table with two half eaten bowls of clam chowder.

The hospital ward was completely silent except for the patter of rain on the roof. Edward felt a twinge in his right shoulder and started to massage it a bit. Poppy took the two of them over to the medicine cabinet and emptied a bottle of grey slushy solution into two glasses. "I am afraid that you are going to have to get Severus to make some more, Remus. This is the last bottle, but I am sure that you will be fine for this month," she said as she handed to two of them the glasses. Lupin drank it without thinking about it, but Edward peered at it through all sides of the glass. The grey mass of liguid was cold to the touch but seemed to be boiling with the way it moved about the glass.

"What is it?" Edward asked her. She looked down at him sternly.

"It is just a precaution," she said simply. "Now down the hatch before I shove it down for you." Edward didn't know that the nurse could be so threatening, but he drank it anyway. To his surprise, the foul looking drink didn't taste half bad. Lupin looked absolutely disgusted by the solution. It tasted like a dry bowl of hazelnuts without any sugar, however, the solution was so cold, shivers were sent down his spine and his automail groaned in protest. As he swallowed, he clasped his shoulder and massaged it a bit.

"Yes, dearie, I know it is cold. I am sorry about that but that is just how it is," Poppy apologized as she took the cup from him and his colleague. Lightning rang outside and the thunder followed, making Edward's leg finally clamp up. As he was of course in midstride, this sent him reeling to the ground. Lupin, s bit startled, helped him up and set him on a nearby chair. Edward then began to frantically massage his leg.

"Do you have anything for this?" Edward asked hopefully as his leg started to regain a bit of movement back into it. He hit it a few times underneath the kneecap and the leg let go of its tensions for a bit. Lupin looked down at him a bit puzzled, but Poppy rushed over to him and whipped out her wand. "Unfortunately, I don't have any permanent fixture, but I think this will do. Remus could you step outside for a moment?" Poppy asked him. Lupin looked at her questionably but then made his way towards the door.

"No Poppy. It's alright, Remus can stay. It isn't like he wasn't going to find out sooner or later," Edward said just as Remus reached for the handle.

"Are you sure?" Poppy asked doubtfully. Edward gave her a shallow nod.

"I am not a shamed of having them, it isn't like what happened to my brother. They're just a pain in bloody weather," Edward said. "It also isn't like I am going to be flaunting them around the school or anything." Poppy nodded her head and Remus came back over a little curious about what they were bickering about. The nurse ordered Edward to take off his jackets and roll up his pant leg. After laying the coat and jacked on the back of the chair, he turned to let Poppy do her magic. Literally. The patron tapped his leg with her wand and muttered a few words. A pink glow lightly fell upon it and then faded. The same thing happened to his arm. It didn't take away the pain in his ports, but the motion had fully come back to it. Edward swung his arm around and stretched it out a bit. Moved like any other normal day.

"Thanks! This is amazing!" Edward said.

"I put a climate control spell on it so the humidity won't stiffen the joints. Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do about your shoulder pain. I know how prosthetics are on you folks. However, these spells are only temporary like your translation spell so I will need to renew them every couple of weeks," Poppy said as she put her wand back in her robes. The two of them were completely oblivious to Remus's state of shock.

"I have seen a lot in my life," Lupin began to chuckle a bit after he recovered from the blow Edward's limbs gave him, "But things still surprise me. I couldn't even begin to imagine."

"Most people can't," Edward said as he put his jacket back on. "But could you please keep this quiet? I don't want anyone thinking I am a bloody cripple. That just gets annoying." Edward slipped his gloves back on and patted Remus on the back. "Welp, it looks like we both are going to be visiting here a lot," he chuckled. Poppy gave out a snort in return and the two men walked out of the ward to go to their classes.

"So how did this happen?" Remus asked when they were crossing the suspended bridge. The rain pelted their faces and Edward's port whined a bit, but they didn't stiffen up.

"Childhood stupidity would be the best answer and I will just leave it at that," Edward replied casually. Lupin though still curious, took respect of Edward and left the subjects hang there. He wasn't one to push into unhappy matters, for he himself had a few things that weren't the least bit thrilling about his life.

The study hall was quiet and only Edward, Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat in it to study for a while. He was in there with his notebook and the alchemy text book lying open infront of him. He still needed to search for any sources of blasphemy written in it. It wasn't like he didn't trust the famous Flamel to write a decent book, just sometimes you never know. The only time that Edward looked up from his work was when the trio entered surprisingly through the bookcase. It must have been a secret passage of some sort; all castles seem to have these. The three students walked in and sat at the table near Edward and started to talk about a few school subjects and the field trip to the town of Hogsmede. Ron started to bicker with Hermione as her cat started to hiss and claw at the boy trying to get his rat. The cat pounced and the rat ran. Dodging a couple of feet and chair legs, the rat bounded underneath Edward's study table. Trying to get the tactical approach to the situation and take the high advantage, the cat bounded across the tables in the direction that the rat meant. The cat was bounding towards where Edward was seated and was about to run over his study books, but without looking Edward casually lifted his book out of the way and the cat made safe passage.

"CATCH THAT CAT!" Ron screamed fuming as he ran out of the room. Hermione panicked in fear of her beloved pet and chased down the hall after him. Harry was left all alone in the room with a studying Edward. Harry was still disseated on the topic of hogsmede however. The Dursleys refused to sign his permission slip after the incident with Marge the flying zeppelin. Harry scooted over to the table where Edward sat working and sat across from him.

"Hey Professor," Harry said waiting for a sign of acknowledgement, when after a few long seconds he got none, Harry continued. "Professor I was wondering if you could sign my permission slip for me so that I could go to the village trip on Halloween." A few more seconds went by without any sign signaling that Edward was still alive except the constant flipping of pages. Harry was about to leave when Edward burst out in a rage.

"He did it!" Edward exclaimed ripping a paper out of the textbook. "I can't believe he would do something this stupid! Flamel of all people!" Harry nearly fell back in his chair from the outburst. Edward looked up as if just noticing he was there but then held out his hand. "You, you are in my class correct?" Edward asked just to receive a stupefied nod. Edward looked over to where the boy and his friends were sitting before. All of their bags were there. "Go get your text books, yours and your friends," he ordered. Harry was a little confused by the order, but obliged and followed the teachers instructions. He brought the three textbooks over and Edward flipped through them and tore out a single page from all three. Harry didn't know how to react when he saw the teacher mangling the textbooks. Edward crumbled up all of the pages and stuffed them down into his duffle bag, which he was now just using as a satchel since he had none. He tossed the books individually back at Harry, who clumsily caught all but one.

"Sorry about your text books but it is for your own good," Edward said grimly as he started to pack up his bag and put his notebook back into his coat pocket. "I will be collecting all the rest of the pages from your classmates tomorrow. I can't believe that he put something like that in there," the professor said in disgust. As Edward started to walk out of the fourth floor study hall, Harry decided to follow him.

"Professor!" Harry called after him. Edward didn't slow down for the kid so Harry had to run to catch up. "Professor, what about my permission slip?" Harry asked stupidly. It was a pitiful attempt to get to Hogsmede but he had to try. Edward looked at him like he was crazy.

"Your what?" Edward asked as they rounded the corner into the one eyed witch cooridor.

"My permission slip to the village on Halloween, I asked you to sign it, remember?" Edward tried to reflect back, but he was coming up with a blank. He was working so he barely even remembered anything going on around him.

"No I don't remember, sorry. This sort of happens when I am working," Edward said as they approached his chamber portrait. Edward noticed that the pastel Alphonse was standing nervously in the corner and that Black Hayate was barking at him. This but Breda on edge and he was nearly tackling Falman in fear. Breda hates dogs. "Al, drop the cat," Edward scolded his painted brother. Harry looked at the teacher like he was crazy, they were the only two in the corridor, but then Harry noticed the portrait in front of them.

"But Brother!" the armour whined, "I found him in the middle of nowhere! He was all alone!"

"Al! You found him in another painting, now go put it back!" Edward commanded. Just then the armour seemed to burst into tears, if that was possible, and run down through neighboring pictures. Harry almost thought he could hear little cries coming from a kitten that he couldn't see.

"How can you be so cruel!" the armour screamed and rushed down the way. Edward hollered after him.

"Don't run! Think of the kitten!"

"I am thinking of the kitten, it is you who isn't!" the voice cried and then disappeared around the corner. Edward dragged his hands down his face in exhaustion and started to walk after the missing person. Harry regained his senses and followed after him.

"Sir," Harry said getting Elric's slightest attention as they raced down the hall.

"Oh, right, your permission slip. Why didn't you get it signed by your parents?" Edward asked him. Harry was a little baffled by this. EVERYONE knew what had happened to him thirteen years ago. Even muggles knew what happened to him, to some extent. It was in both newspapers.

"Sir, my parents are dead," Harry said a little taken aback.

"What about your guardian or best friend of a long distant relative? When my mother died, I got help from one of my neighbors and her grandmother," Edward said to him nonchalantly. His eyes were rapidly casting about the portraits in search for Al.

"Well, that's just it. My uncle and aunt, well, they aren't the nicest of people, and they didn't sign it after an incident that happened this summer," Harry said.

"Come on, it couldn't have been that bad," Edward said. When they rounded the corner, they found the suit of armour sitting in a portrait of a field of daisies near a small pond. Al looked back at them defiantly holding the black and white stripped kitten that Harry recognized from a picture on the fifth floor corridor.

"Sir, I accidentally turned my muggle aunt into a zeppelin," Harry mumbled. Edward looked at him with a strange face and then nearly burst out laughing. Al came running into the foreground of the picture still holding the cat.

"Wait, you what?" the childish voice came out. Harry was a little disturbed talking to a voice inside a suit of armour, especially when it was painted to the canvas.

"I guess that was pretty disastrous," Edward chuckled. He then casually turned to the painting and flicked the portrait frame. Al went tumbling and lost hold of the kitten, which used that opportunity to escape from the armour's clutches. "Now Alphonse, get back to the portrait," Edward ordered.

"But brother!" it whined, but Edward just gave the suit one more death glare and it started to slowly stumble back to the Gunhilda Gorsemore Corridor. With a sigh, Edward turned back to face Harry. "Hell Harry, I would sign it but in all truth I can't" Edward said rubbing the back of his neck tiredly. "I am not of legal age to do so and I also am not your guardian. If it makes you feel any better I can't go as well. I also needed to sign a permission slip, but I don't have any parents to sign it, and I left Amestris so fast that I couldn't get anyone else to." Harry looked back at the professor nearly forgetting that he was only two years older than him. Harry gave Edward a pitiful smile and thanks. Just as he was about to depart ways, Edward called out to him.

"Tell you what Harry, I am bound to have to take a trip to London to get some more school supplies, I will see if I can get you and your friends to tag along. I know it isn't Hogsmede, but it is something." Harry was a little enlightened by this and agreed to it before he left. Edward was getting a little bit better at this emotion stuff, and it was only Thursday.

…..

The Weasley twins entered the alchemy classroom for their detention and Edward immediately sent them to work filing a sending a couple of letters for him. Most of it consisted of reports to send to Mustang and then a few personal letters to Winry, Al, and Granny Pinako. While they were folding papers and stuff, Edward sat across from them and practiced using the quills and fountain ink. It was harder than it looked trying to keep the ink to stay on the quill and write with it at the same time. Not to mention left handed. Edward was originally right handed before the incident but ever since then he had to become left handed due to the fact that though automail can make very delicate and accurate movements, he would always end up gripping the pencil too hard and breaking it due to the lack of touch. Mustang would always gripe and groan about how sloppy his chicken scratch was, but through the years his hand writing did improve to the point of perfect legibility. It was now the factor of how to use the utensil itself. The twins laughed a little at his pitiful attempts to write, but Edward ignored them. At least he wasn't stuck stuffing envelopes. A little while into the session, Draco Malfoy came into the room for his own detention period. The Weaslys grimaced a bit at their new arrival, but kept quiet about it. Instead of sending Draco to fix letters, however, Edward dragged him out of the classroom, and into the privacy of the Armoury. After the door closed behind them, verifying that they were alone, Edward turned on Draco.

"When my father hears about having a muggle class in the school lead by a muggle teacher, he will be furious," the kid spat not even caring that it was he who was in detention.

"Cut the crap Draco," Edward said and the boy looked instantly taken aback. "Who cares what your father thinks anyway? It is just one opinion, it doesn't mean that you have to follow him around like a puppy," Edward continued.

"I don't follow my father around like a measly dog," Draco defended himself, but Edward cut him off.

"My father this, my father that, of course you do, you are like is automatic broadcasting system. Do you really think that trying to get Hagrid fired is going to make your life at the school any better? No. It is just a stupid half assed opinion that your father decided to drill into you. Next time you decide to take action to 'better' the community why don't you take it from your own perspective. Do YOU really want this? Or does your father? Today in class you were letting Patsy go all over you about your arm, just to prove the point that the hippogriff nearly mauled your arm off. You don't even like Patsy!" Edward exclaimed.

"I do like Patsy!" Draco argued pitifully.

"Not like that," Edward retorted. "The point is, don't go doing something stupid just to please your father." Draco looked shocked a bit at Edward's argument. This was some weird detention, but the lecture was none the less true. Yet Draco couldn't accept it.

"Well," Malfoy scoffed at him, "What do you know about parents? I bet your Dad had perfect expectations for you." Edward laughed at his retort.

"If I were to have followed my father's guidance, I would be laying half dead in a roadside ditch," Edward said. Just then the clock rang eight, and Edward sent Draco back down to his common room. The boy was still defiant, but Edward could tell he understood what he was saying. Lesson learned. When Edward got back to the classroom, the Weasly twins were finished stuffing envelopes and were now writing alchemy homework on a plank page of parchment. They looked a little offset that Draco wasn't with him.

"Where's Malfoy?" Fred asked.

"You didn't kill him did you? I heard what you did in my brother's class," George said.

"I didn't kill him you idiots," Edward mumbled and flopped back down into his chair to review their work. "I sent him back to his common room after a small lecture."

"He insults you and gets a lecture, we pull a funny and are forced to file papers," Fred cried out.

"I see complete logic in that!" George said without dropping a bit of sarcasm. Edward picked up an envelope that was addressed to Mustang and flipped it over.

"No, I wanted you to sort my envelopes so I can show you something. I thought that you would appreciate it," Edward said. He got up and grabbed glass of water and the rock he was using as a paperweight from his desk and walked back over to their table. The Weasly twins were a bit curious at what their teacher was doing. "Call it a learning hands on exercise if you may," Edward said with an evil smirk identical to the ones the twins usually wore when they were about to prank someone. They immediately became very interested.

"You two are my brightest students aside from Neville Longbottom, strangely enough, but are not to the stage of doing actual transmutations yet. However that doesn't mean I can't still teach you the concepts behind it," Edward said. The twins took the complement well and leaned in to see what Edward was drawing on the table. He drew a series of three corresponding transmutation circles, all of which were very similar, and then another one on the inside of the envelope. "I know you two are pranksters, just don't try this by yourself until you are ready, which my guess would be about Christmas at the speed you are taking off at."

Edward clapped his hands and transmuted the glass of water and rock into a soupy source of mud and then brought the twin's attention over to the circles he drew. "In order to do this, you must proof the paper. For my own variation I am going to need to water proof it by turning the molecules of the paper nonpolar and make them hydrophobic." Edward placed the letter on the first circle and activated it. The twins smiled as they caught on to what he was doing. Edward did the same to the envelope.

"Now, put the pieces together," Edward said as he folded the letter into the envelope and poured the mud into it. He then placed the letter on the third circle. "In order for this to work, the seal needs to be completely tight."

"In order to create a vacuum!" Fred said excitedly.

"And then we put the contents under pressure!" George announced.

"And then…"

"Boom!" they both said together laughing.

"Correct," Edward said smiling at them. He sealed the letter with the third circle and then placed his hand on the envelope where the transmutation was drawn on the inside and activated it putting the envelope under pressure. "Since you need to seal the envelope first however, a transmutation circle on the outside won't work for condensing the air on the inside. So that is why there has to be one on the inside."

"Is this what that guy did to you when you opened the letter?" George asked. Edward nodded his head.

"Yes, but that bastard used flames. Since I am not a flame specialist I can't do that without probably burning the office down," Edward said. The twins looked excited at this. Never once did a teacher show them how to use the subject for pranks. Then again, none of the teachers were ever the same age as they were to begin with. After a few more creative projects that the twins asked for to give to some of their friends, Edward sent them off to their dormitories to get some rest. It was about time he hit the hay as well.

….

"Can you believe what he said to me?" Draco said to his peers at the breakfast table the next morning. "I was never insulted so much in my entire life!" Crabbe and Goyle nodded dumbly behind him and took a few more Danishes to their plates.

"He took you to detention to scold you about that?" a Ravenclaw girl said next to him.

"He shouldn't be speaking to you like that. Your father is of high position in the Ministry," another girl said next to him.

"Most people are afraid to talk like that to your father," a Slytherin boy said.

"Buzz off Micheal," Malfoy said to the kid. He never liked Micheal, too pitiful. Draco turned back to the rest of them. "But he is right. Muggles should be quivering in fear, not barging in and taking over the place. If my father saw a muggle of all people talking to ANY wizard like that, he would have a fit."

"Well, Professor Elric did take down the Whomping Willow," Micheal said. "More than one time actually. It seems like he does it for morning practice now."

"I thought I told you to beat it Micheal!" Draco growled and the kid sped off to another table farther down. He gave a sigh. "But it is true. Elric doesn't seem to be afraid of anything, but he must have something to fear. He can't be all block and bones. I want to know what."

…..

"He took our pages?" Hermione gasped as she held her tortured book in the light of the Gryffindor Common room. Ron was still mad at Hermione for having her cat chase Scabbers around the place, but he too was investigating his book.

"Why on Earth would he do that?" Ron asked as he feebly held his book out at arms length inspecting it like it was infected.

"Maybe it had something to do with the warning he gave us in class after he fixed Draco's arm. Maybe like magic there is some dark alchemy of some sort," Harry said suspiciously. The three of them pondered at the thought for a moment but laughed at the silly notion.

"Alchemy is a science, like that could ever happen," Hermione said.

"What's he going to do? Transmute a tea cup that shoots lazers?" Ron joked. The group paused a bit to continue thinking about it.

"But I do want to find out what was on that page," Hermione started up again. "It looks like it was page 310. Harry did the Professor say anything about the book before you left?" Harry shook his head remembering the long conversation they had with the painting in the corridor. The actual conversation about the books was short if nonexistent.

"No, he did say that he would collect the other students' papers during their lesson," Harry said.

"Then we still have a chance! Lets go!" Ron said and the three of them ran out of the dormitories their bags in tow. They found a young first year alchemist in the Great Hall for lunch. They still had their book with them and Hermione asked to borrow it for the period. Of course being respectful of their elders, the polite young first year agreed, and the trio sat at the lunch table with piles of sandwiches around them and page 310 in their hands. The page was just a simple chart with a couple of examples of transmutation circle variations. It started from the easiest circle that they were learning in class that day, and it became so complex Hermione didn't even know what it was for.

"This doesn't make sense," Harry said, "Why would Elric go through so much just to keep us from looking at a stupid chart?" his friends shrugged and studied the circles a bit. They didn't learn about translating the circles yet, just what they did. Edward was going to teach them how to translate them next week. As they huddled around the piece of parchment, the door to the great hall opened and roar of laughter followed. Edward came stumbling in with his legs locked together. He was comically jumping down the aisles until he fell down to the floor at their feet. He muttered a few curses as he tried to sit up in a more comfortable position.

"Are you alright, Professor?" Ron asked stupidly. Edward glared daggers at him.

"Yes, I am perfectly fine with losing the capability of moving my legs," he said sarcastically. He tried to pry his legs apart with his hands but to no avail. "Those stupid bastards, shot me in the back while I was locking my classroom," Edward huffed.

"Who did this to you?" Hermione asked.

"A group of bloody Ravenclaw kids. They thought it was funny that a muggle couldn't defend himself, now whose by their robes in the third floor trophy room," Edward said with a twinkle of mischief in his eye. "Do any of you know how to undo this?" he asked motioning to his legs. Hermione gave a quick nod and threw the counter curse at his legs, but strangely it bounced off of his right knee cap and went sailing to the bewitched ceiling. The group of them stared at where the shot disappeared for a little bit.

"Try it again on my right one," Edward said. Hermione shot another one at his right leg and the curse was lifted. Edward stood up and stretched his legs out good as new. "Thank you for that," he said and took a seat on the bench next to them. He let out a large sigh and grabbed a sandwich off one of the plates.

"I don't know what will happen to me here if this keeps up," Edward sighed and took a bite of the tuna sandwich. The three students were a little awkward at the fact that a teacher was sitting with them for lunch.

"What do you mean Professor?" Ron asked.

"Well, I know that I am a muggle and not even of age, but that doesn't mean go around the school with pitch forks and all. I mean seriously, for a teacher to only have control of half of their class is like suicide. I don't know what Mustang was thinking of when he ordered me here," Edward moaned.

"Well, at least you have control over half your class right? And the half that you do seem to really like you, even a couple of the girls in my brother's class won't stop talking about you. So you're not a lost cause," Ron said trying to cheer him up. Edward just gave him an awkward confused look like what he said was the most absurd thing anyone could think off. He brushed it off with another sigh though. It was then however that Edward noticed that they had their alchemy book open and page three hundred and ten was poking out of it. "Book," he ordered. The three reluctantly handed it over and Edward tore the page out of it and crumbled it up.

"but professor, why do you care about that page? Why are you tearing them all out?" Harry asked. Edward looked at him as if he all of a sudden got extremely tire.

"There are certain things that you shouldn't do with alchemy. They go against the laws of all that is natural in this world. The cost to perform these transmutations is so high that most people don't come out of it alive, and worst part is that they don't work. It is impossible. I am taking these pages so that you can't attempt to make that mistake," Edward said. Taking a couple more sandwiches, he got up and walked out of the great hall just as a group of ruffled Ravenclaws came scurrying in. The three friends looked at each other and then back at where their teacher disappeared.

….