Wow, it's been like a year since I last updated 0/0

In my rush to get the last chapter out, I completely forgot to thank my lovely reviewers, so here goes:

Tanoshii Shururi- thank you so much! I'm trying to make it better

Artemis's best Huntress- I LOVE your Mulan reference, and Anime Boston was GREAT! I even met the VA of Kaoru Hitachiin from Ouran.

Meladi1- during the Promised Day he doesn't wear his coat, and has gotten his arm back, so he has scars on his arm.

Guest-yes, this happens before then. My original chapter 6 was them discovering that, but it didn't work out, so I scrapped it.

Squibkindabomb- thanks! And you're a great reviewer, so I'll definitely mention you when you review. No dying please!

Alchemyfreak42- love the Monty Python reference :3 and the toad is thoroughly crisped from Mustang's flames

Lilidreamer89- thank you!

Bubblekins1010- thanks! And I'll definitely try to update as often as I can

And now for the current reviews:

Goodpie2- yes, I know, it was way too long of an unexpected hiatus. But please respect that I have a life outside of this story, okay?

The Controlled Chaos Alchemist- your review just made me laugh and smile ^_^ poor Ed, he does grow (eventually!)

Interchangeable Dissonance- yes, Jigglypuffs ^_^

Bubblekins1010- I wondered if that might happen ^_^ yay, it did. I'm glad you enjoyed the action scene, it was kind of difficult to write

I realized I made a mistake in having all the fifth years in one class together, so from here on out its Gryffindors with the Slytherins, Hufflepuffs with Ravenclaws. So so sorry for that. Please forgive me.

Ed awoke on October third of 1995 entangled in his sheets and drenched in sweat from his recurring nightmare. Groaning, he pulled himself out of bed, cringing at his aching automail ports, and threw on the clothes strewn across the floor. He strained his eyes to find Al in the darkened room, knowing that he wanted to be close to his brother on this of all days. A flash of lightning illuminated the place, and Ed spotted Alphonse sitting alone, looking out at swirling grey clouds through the rain-spattered window. They exited the room in silence, lost in their memories of the past.

Breakfast passed in a blur; Ed barely ate, and didn't utter a word to anyone. He tried to focus on anything but the candles. Every time he stared at the tiny flickering flame it morphed into a red-orange monster consuming his childhood home. Out of the corner of his eye, Ed saw Alphonse sitting motionless, unable to eat or cry, and the roaring fire of guilt surged in his belly. He refrained from looking at Al for the rest of the meal.

Their first class of the day went by easily, the two houses of seventh years not creating any fuss as they copied down simple transmutation circles and making notes of what each symbol did. Period two was off, which meant the next forty minutes were spent preparing for the next lesson. Still neither brother spoke. Third was the rest of the seventh years, which went just as smoothly as the first. When the red and green fifth years trooped in, Ed and Al had barely uttered a word all day.

However, this was different than before, as an adult entered the room after the students. In through the door came a woman whom he'd never exactly paid attention to. She was able to look Ed right in the eye without craning her neck, had dressed her rather plump body in a garish pink color, and the matching bow on her head in the matching color came just to the height of Ed's antennae.

Holding up a bejeweled hand, the woman said in a high pitched, girlish voice, "Good day, Misters Elric. We haven't yet been properly introduced. I am Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts."

Ed shook her hand gingerly, not wanting to crush it with his automail.

"Now, Mister Elric," she continued, addressing Ed more than Al, "as you might have heard, I now have the power to sit in on classes to make sure that they are up to par with the Ministry's expectations. While you teach this lesson, I shall ask you some routine questions, and take notes of how you teach."

Deciding it wasn't worth the effort to give a verbal response back, Ed nodded, then swiftly pushed her to the back of his mind.

"That's fine, ma'am," said Al, trying to be polite.

"Now, you guys have finally memorized the periodic table of elements, so now we can move on to transmutation circles," Ed told the class in a slightly hollow voice. If people picked up on it, they kept quiet. He drew a large chalk circle on the board, with a triangle inside, the corners just brushing the outline.

"The circle is a matrix," informed Al, starting off with a shaky voice that steadily became stronger. "It represents the balance and flow of the power needed to transmute. Then the shape inside the matrix, in this case the triangle, means that the transmutation will take place inside of the circle. If it went outside the circle, it would mean the transmutation reached outside the circle, which is good if you're building walls or buildings." He paused so that everyone was able to get it all down in their notes.

Ed erased the drawing, and then drew a slightly smaller circle with a triangle reaching through it's line, and a larger circle that contained the triangle.

"This is a basic array that is generally used for fixing small objects. Since the triangle is larger than one circle, yet is inside another, the transmutation extends to the next object, and is able to fix it." Al finished, grabbing a stack of paper from his desk as Ed got a box of chalk.

"We use chalk to draw arrays because it shows up on most substances, and isn't hard to carry around," said Ed, "but if you're in a pinch or under attack, you can use anything that's around, including blood." He shared a look with Alphonse.

"Now Mister Elric, I must be hearing you incorrectly. Are you indicating that someone would try and harm children?" simpered Professor Umbridge.

Ed stared at her. "Well, there're some crazy people out there, so they should know how to protect themselves."

"They are children, such as yourself! Surely you have no evidence of children being attacked!"

Both of the Elrics deadpanned.

"Actually, yeah, I do," said Ed hotly. "Al and I. I think being thrown over buildings, being left to starve, having knives thrown at our heads, and having someone hired to beat us up is proof."

Umbridge harrumphed, scribbling furiously on her clipboard.

Ed and Al continued telling the class about basic transmutations and having them draw them. After roughly fifteen minutes of taking notes as well, Umbridge interrupted.

"Hem hem," she coughed.

Ed turned to her, letting Al continue to tell about the dangers of messing up an array.

"This is your first year teaching, am I correct?"

"Yup, and last." He turned away again, not feeling like talking to someone who appeared to be a very humanoid chimera.

Umbridge wasn't deterred by not talking face-to-face, and just kept on talking. "So, Mister Elric, it has been said that you are an alchemy prodigy. Were your parents also skilled in alchemy?"

Ed clenched his jaw tightly. "My mother," he said tersely, "wasn't an alchemist. And my father left us years ago, so I don't know or care about that bastard."

Umbridge gasped. "Language! You are surrounded by children!" She wrote angrily on her clipboard.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so? They're all older than me. Now if you don't mind I need to teach my class so these bunch of idiots can protect themselves. So please," he said sarcastically, "get out and do something productive for once."

Appalled, Umbridge stormed out to the tune of a few hoots and hollers from the fifth years.

The remaining half hour passed extremely slowly, and Ed couldn't keep his mind on the lesson. All he could think of was last year, standing with Al, Winry, and Granny Pinako on the windy night. In that moment, he was inside the house, surrounded by blackening wood and melting picture frames.

"Ed? Ed, are you okay?" Al's voice instantly brought Ed out of his stupor. They were sitting in their room, trying to just get some alone time between classes. No words passed between them, only silence and shared memories.

Yes, I know it's short. I'm sorry. Just not much that needed to get done in this chapter. Don't worry though, I promise next chapter will come soon, and include our favorite bespeckled black haired boy! So read and review if you like. ^_^