Shield

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP

Ed woke up the next day to a quiet common room. He looked out at the sky, and it was still pitch black. 'I guess I'm still not used to the time here.' He sighed and decided to get dressed into his uniform, at least nobody would see his automail this way. He'd have to keep it a secret, because they'll think something is up if he has weird "futuristic" limbs that don't belong in this world. He put on a pair of white gloves, and plopped down into one of the armchairs downstairs. He had nothing better to do than think, which led to a stupid yet helpful idea.

'Although I have no way of actually sending them, I think that writing letters to Al might help me keep track of everything and stay somewhat sane. Who knows, maybe he will get to read them some day.'He instantly began a letter to Al, trying his best to make it sound like everything was okay.

Alphonse,
I know you must be worried, but I'm doing okay here. I'm going to keep studying magic so I can try to find a way home with enough equivalent exchange. Make sure to yell at the Colonel Bastard while I'm gone, because at least someone has to do it. Winry too, and try to avoid all the wrenches she might throw at you in my place! This school is really fantastic, and I wish you could be here. The paintings and staircases move, and I think I saw a few cats walking around...
Your favorite brother,
Edward

It made Ed feel extremely better to act like everything was okay, and his friends and brother was right around the corner from him. He put his letter into his trunk, wishing there was a way for him to send it. Eventually more of the students began waking up, and the girl Ed thought was called Hermione approached him.

"Hi! I just wanted to know what your schedule is, so we can see if we have any of the same classes. We can show you around, because it's definitely easy to get lost here. I did plenty of times my first year here!"

"Thanks." Ed replied. He handed Hermione his schedule and her face lit up with delight.

"Wow! We have the exact same schedule! Defense against the dark arts first, so we can walk together! It stinks to have Snape teaching the first class you have. He's the worst teacher here by the way, you'll know right when you see him."

Ed nodded in reply and smiled back, with a bit of an evil look in his eyes. Finally, someone he could yell insults at that wasn't the Colonel. They left through the portrait hole (still weird) and made their way down to the dungeons. Ed kept to himself, because he didn't really know how to interact with teenagers. He did, however, see more students he wanted to punch right in the face. An arrogant boy with blonde hair and green robes passed and sneered at them, and Ed knew that he was an idiot just by looking at him.

They made it to the classroom, and Hermione called over Ed to sit with her, obviously seeing a bit of confusion in his face. Before no time, the teacher with very greasy hair that Ed saw in the hospital wing entered, oh so it's THAT guy. Snape looked at Ed directly in the eyes, and then scowled at Harry. He began talking about he dark arts, almost like they were to be admired, and then mentioned that they would split into pairs to do non-verbal spells. That seemed extremely easy to Ed, because as an alchemist you don't have to use words anyway. However, he would probably watch a few students first.

"Ahh.." Snape sneered "It looks like we have a little alchemist student in our midst. Let's see how good he can counteract spells..."

Ed flinched at the "little" comment, and his eye was already twitching with fury. Two minutes with this guy and he already hated him! All the students broke into pairs, and since Ron was with Harry, Hermione suggested she work with Ed.

"So how does alchemy work anyway? Do you use a wand? Or is it stuff like turning lead into gold?" she asked.

Ed just realized how nobody knew anything about alchemy here, and sighed a response. "With alchemy you don't use a wand, and it isn't magic either. It's a science, transmuting elements together into different forms, using equivalent exchange. Turning lead into gold works... but it's highly illegal where I'm from. It messes up the economy, ya know?"

Hermione nodded with a pure look of amazement in her eyes. "I'd love to hear more about it later, alchemy sounds really interesting! I'm going to try a nonverbal spell, and if you think you can, try something to counteract that spell." She focused, put forward her "wand," and did a little flicking motion. Ed has already been calculating formulas in his head, trying to think of what could shield or absorb a magic spell. Her spell rocketed towards Ed, and in a split moment he clapped his hands and touched them to the floor, creating a brilliant shield that surrounded him in blue light. He did this by transmuting the light in the air to be more solid and visible. The spell bounced off and hit Hermione, and she fell to the ground.

"Oops, sorry!" Ed called to her as she got up, looking even more amazed than before. Everyone was looking at Ed now, after all, he just did something that none of them have seen before.

"That was SO COOL!" Hermione gasped, as well as many other students. Snape definitely looked over in surprise, but continued walking around the class. He went up to Harry, and filled in Ron's place. He shot off a quick spell at Harry, and he yelled "Protego!" Harry's shield charm had much of the same effect as Ed, and Snape fell tumbling down.

Snape instantly stood up, and scowled. "Do you remember me telling you we are practicing nonverbal spells, Potter?"

Harry replied with a stiff "yes," and Snape shot right back with "Yes, sir."

"There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor." Harry said without seeming to think first. Ed tried to hold back a snicker, as this was the same type of sassy comment he'd give the Colonel. Harry got detention however, so apparently the sassy remarks you give at this school come with punishment as well. Ed was disappointed by this, but as he was leaving the room he still congratulated Harry on his comment. It looked like this school was going to be interesting after all.

A/N: Don't worry, I'll try to make the chapters longer from here, but I just wanted to introduce and establish the story first. Lots of fun things are coming! (This story is not just a follow of the book's plot don't worry)