Title: Molten
Rating: Rated T.
Pairings: None.
Genre: Hurt/Comfort.
Summary: Insignificant, adjective. Meaning too small or unimportant to be worth consideration. Edward realised he was this a long time ago. Maybe this time, though, he wouldn't be. Linear and drabble-esque.
Author's Note: Any questions regarding the story can be asked via PM or review.
Beta: N/A - Help wanted.
Warnings: Language, blood/gore, and violence.
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist and Harry Potter crossover.
Uploaded: March 7th, 2013
(Section Break)
Winry groaned as her eyes fluttered open. There was but a dim light in the room and she lifted her arm to cover her eyes. After they adjusted, she looked around the room.
Where am I? she wondered. Where are they? I remember getting hurt badly, but...
She swung her legs around to get out of bed. Winry stood slowly, noting that the muscles were weak. She finally began walking, wanting to see if the others were there.
Treading into the main area of the large hotel room, she saw a piece of paper with scribbled writing on it. Don't tell me...
She went over and picked up the note, reading it slowly before crumpling it up angrily and throwing it with a sore arm.
(Section Break)
Edward sighed as they reached Knockturn Alley. There were barely any people up and about, and those who were stayed in the shadows of the alleyways.
"How did you even come across this place?" Roy muttered, eyeing Edward. "Doing something illegal, perhaps?"
Ed shook his head, smirking. "I didn't do it on purpose, I was chased here. I am a wanted criminal in this world, you know."
"I should have figured."
Edward laughed slightly before glancing around. "Al, do you see it?" he asked.
Alphonse shook his head. "I don't. Maybe we should ask."
"That'd be suspicious, Alphonse," Izumi interrupted. "Besides, our group is large enough as it is."
"We can't find it otherwise, though," Alphonse insisted. "All the stores here look the same."
"We could just destroy everything again," Roy murmured sarcastically. Ed flashed him a feral grin.
"No, Brother," Al commanded, ignoring his brother's pleading eyes. "We can do it after if you feel you really need to."
"Since when are you so violent, Fullmetal?" Roy inquired.
Edward shrugged, shifting his weight. "I haven't been able to use much alchemy lately. I'm getting restless."
Roy raised his eyebrow but nodded all the same.
"I guess I'll go ask for directions, then," Alphonse sighed. "Stay close to me, please," he said, looking at Izumi. She nodded, leaving the other two and following Al.
"Why not us, too?" Edward questioned, causing Alphonse to pause. "Too many people?"
"Yeah," he answered, "we need to split up."
"I guess," Ed mumbled. "We'll wait here."
"See you soon, then."
(Section Break)
Winry huffed, agitated. Storming back to where she was sleeping, she saw that they (probably Alphonse) had been kind enough to transmute her a change of clothes from something. Hers were dirty, anyway.
Pulling them on, she debating what she would do next. She could always go after then, but they likely left her for a reason. As she reached for the shorts, she noticed a small vial of red liquid roll out of them.
"I see," she whispered. "They're expecting to be attacked again."
She picked up the vial and set it on the bed, pulling the white shorts on before sighing. Done, she picked it up again and looked at it. It was an eerie shade of red, lighter than blood but darker than normal. The liquid seemed to shine even in the dim sunshine filtering through the curtains. It was abnormal.
She searched around for a coat but found none. She huffed again and pulled her wallet out. Winry doubted she could use the currency she had here. What could she do, though?
She finally decided to go outside into the city to look around. As far as she could tell, things were quite different here, especially the technology.
(Section Break)
Alphonse stepped softly, trying to gather little attention. The people here weren't exactly friendly, he noticed.
He finally came across a women with crazy hair and a wicked smile. She was looking directly at him, smirking. He nudged his teacher slightly and she inclined her head.
"Is she working for him?" Al asked softly.
"Probably," Izumi answered quietly. "Do you want to go back?"
"No," Al replied. "Just be ready, okay?"
"No need to worry about this housewife," Izumi joked, looking around. "Maybe we should just try stores."
"Maybe," Alphonse murmured. "Or perhaps take a leaf out of Brother's book."
"The shorty?" Izumi asked. "It could destroy the potion."
"Not if we just open every door," Alphonse responded. "I'll need help, though."
Izumi paused for a few seconds. "Fine."
Alphonse smiled at her.
(Section Break)
Winry gazed in wonderment at the store windows. There were many different phones, things that looked kind of like typewriters, and other things she couldn't name. She finally plucked up the courage and walked into the store.
"Hello, Miss," the cashier greeted. "Can I help you with anything?"
"Y-yeah," Winry stuttered. "What are the devices in the window? I live in a small town, so..."
"First time in London, then?" he inquired cheerfully. He walked over to the display and pointed at the typewriter-like one. "That's a computer. It's for writing and other things."
Winry nodded, looking at the odd invention. "And this one?" she asked, pointing to the bird-like machine.
"That's a model airplane," he replied.
"Airplane?" she repeated, blinking. "What's that?"
"It's a machine that flies. It's used for long distances and over seas."
Winry stared, eyes beginning to shine.
(Section Break)
Alphonse clapped his hands together and pressed them to the wall, making several doors fly open.
Izumi glanced around, seeing if anyone noticed. The shopkeepers certainly did, but they shrugged it off as someone playing a prank. Nodding to Al, they moved on to the next courtyard.
And then the next.
And then the next.
The entire time, however, the crazy woman was watching them, still smiling creepily. She knew that they were who her master wanted. So, she decided as she fingered a small vial in her cloak, she would wait until they all regrouped. And then, she would attack.
(Section Break)
Harry looked over towards Hermione, worry swelling in his heart.
"They were attacking Diagon Alley," Harry murmured. "Why would they do that?"
"Edward's a Death Eater as far as anyone can tell," Hermione muttered back. "We've never seen his arms, either. He attacked Gringotts of all places, too. Was there a reasoning behind attacking there in particular?"
"I'd say so," Ron whispered, looking towards Harry. Harry had almost forgotten about him. "Gringotts isn't just a place you'd destroy. Besides, they probably just picked a huge fight with goblins."
"Was there something in one of the vaults that they wanted?" Harry wondered quietly.
"Didn't they mention that they were looking for something?" Hermione asked, careful of the loudness of her voice. "It might have been in Gringotts."
"What does Voldemort want, then?" Harry inquired. "He wants it enough to destroy the entire Wizarding bank."
"Perhaps an enchanted object?" Ron guessed. "Maybe Gryffindor's sword!"
"No, I don't think Professor Dumbledore would put Gryffindor's sword in Gringotts," Hermione responded. "It could be one of the items of a founding member's, though. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is very arrogant, so I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to hoard it."
"Why go through the trouble of fighting Professor Dumbledore and destroying Gringotts, though?" Harry questioned. "Maybe Edward was looking for something of greater importance."
"What could be more important, though?" Ron asked.
"I'm not sure," Harry admitted. "Maybe we should look for them."
"Are youcrazy?" Hermione whispered furiously. "That'd be suicide!"
"But it could give us answers," Ron said. "If Voldemort wants something that badly, we need to know what it is."
"Professor Dumbledore stopped fighting them, right?" Hermione began. "If even he didn't fight, then I doubt we could go up against them."
"We don't have to settle it with violence, 'Mione," Ron injected. "Harry could use the Invisibility Cloak and spy on them."
"I don't support this idea," Hermione muttered, sighing. "Harry?"
"I think it's for the best," he answered. "We can leave tonight."
She frowned, then nodded. "If you're sure," Hermione replied, voice wavering.
"I'm sure."
(Section Break)
"This one!" Alphonse whispered excitedly, pointing to one of the open doors. "See?"
"Huh," Izumi grunted. "Let's go find them, then."
"Is someone following us?" Alphonse inquired, speaking in a common dialect of Latin.
Izumi paused for a second, trying to decipher what he asked, not very used to using the language. "I think so," she finally answered back, the words feeling a bit thick on her tongue. "Black hair."
"Yes," Al responded. "Let's go, then," he said in English.
Izumi nodded.
(Section Break)
Winry nodded excitedly as the man told her all he knew about airplanes.
"Thank you!" she called cheerfully once she was outside. He nodded, smiling.
She began walking towards the library (though she never really went there when in Amestris) to see how they were made. She may not be learning from a master, but she could always adjust it to her liking. Besides, she thought, wouldn't flying be so much fun?
It never really crossed her mind that someone might use something like a plane for something like war.
(Section Break)
Edward frowned, noticing the large time gap since Alphonse and Izumi left. The hairs on the back of his neck were tickling, too. He sighed out of nervousness, catching Roy's attention.
"They'll be back soon," Roy murmured quietly. Edward almost missed it.
"I wasn't worried," Edward brushed off. He saw Roy incline his head and frowned at the lack of talking.
His attention, however, was drawn away from the Flame Alchemist and towards the two figures approaching.
"Someone's following them," Roy whispered. "Let them pass."
Edward paused before nodding, deciding to continue loitering where he was. He saw his brother and teacher walk past, not even glancing in their direction. So they know it too.
Ed snuck a quick glance towards a cloaked woman with crazy black hair. She seemed a bit loopy but was definitely following Al and Izumi.
"They must have found it," Ed hissed. "Shall we?"
"Yes, we'll meet them in the shop. Let's find an alternate route first." Roy sighed. "I wonder who the woman was?"
"Death Eater?" Edward suggested.
"Perhaps," Roy agreed, straightening his jacket.
(Section Break)
Winry closed the book with a low clunk and sighed happily. The technology here was astounding. They didn't have things like automail, but they had planes, helicopters, computers, mobile phones, and so many other ingenious inventions. It was truly marvelous. She glanced towards the clock, spying a small hand resting on the four. Two more hours, she decided. Then, hopefully, they wouldn't notice her being gone.
She really didn't want to be yelled at by someone who had barely grown taller than her since the last time she'd seen him. She didn't think he'd noticed yet, though, thank God.
(Section Break)
Alphonse walked in Knockturn Alley for a few more minutes, becoming tenser by the second. The woman hadn't stopped trailing them and he couldn't tell if Edward had seen the two of them walk past. He looked over at Izumi, who looked back with an expression he couldn't quite decipher. He shrugged in response and began making a wide loop around. Izumi followed suit soon after.
(Section Break)
Edward looked towards the shop's dusty exterior and muttered under his breath, breathing in deeply before steeling himself and walking inside. There was a small jingle of a bell as he pushed the door open, holding it long enough for Roy to grab it and let himself inside as well. The shopkeeper glanced at them for a second before leaving the duo be. They quickly began browsing for the potion.
After a few more minutes with no luck, they heard a small jingle again. Ed's eyes trailed over to the entrance but quickly left them once he saw sight of the golden hair that was his brother. It was apparent that the boy was being very cautious and Edward thought it was due to the lady following them, though she had become hard to see from inside the dusty windows. The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow at two more people entering (specifically at the same time), but shrugged it off.
Alphonse walked in swiftly, stopping at the edge of the aisle Edward was currently in. He murmured a quick "hello" before ignoring his brother completely. Edward smirked at the sheer coldness in Al's display but said nothing.
"And?" Edward whispered quietly back. Al looked over towards him quickly.
"Still," he answered softly. "You?"
"Nothing."
Silence enveloped the two of them and Ed noticed a similar conversation between Izumi and Roy. He sighed and faced the shelves again.
(Section Break)
Severus looked disdainfully towards the small cabin surrounded by trees. So much for relaxation, he thought bitterly. Living like a Muggle was hard enough, but this, too? Dumbledore must be laughing like no tomorrow.
It never occurred to him that most Muggles would find a woodland retreat relaxing.
(Section Break)
Here, Edward thought, picking up a bottle of an oddly-coloured potion. This has to be it.
Making a small gesture to Alphonse, Edward went up to the shopkeeper and set the bottle on the counter. The shopkeeper said a low "twenty galleons" and made a small tapping noise to cover his words. Ed nodded and took out a small felt pouch, extracting twenty golden coins and handing them over. The shopkeeper counted them before backing off from the counter. Edward picked up the potion, grabbed Roy, then left.
"To make us seem separate?" Roy asked quietly. Ed nodded.
"The lady's watching us," Edward murmured in the language that he'd grown up with. "We'll sneak around and wait for Al and Teacher to confront her."
"You okay with this, Fullmetal?" Roy muttered. "They might get hurt."
"It's worth it if we can get back home."
Roy nodded in agreement after thinking it over. "Let luck be on our side, then."
Ed made a small noise of agreement.
(Section Break)
"They found it," Alphonse said.
"Already?" Izumi inquired. "We go out and confront her, then?"
"Yes."
"Alright then," Izumi shrugged. "Let's go."
Alphonse smiled at her and opened the door to the outside.
(Section Break)
The "crazy lady," Bellatrix Lestrange, narrowed her eyes as the pair came out of the potions shop. Another duo – this one of people who, especially the one with the molten-gold-coloured hair, looked very familiar – had come out earlier. Very suspicious, if she said so herself. Not to mention that the boy she was following bore a distinct resemblance to the other boy who came out earlier.
Yes, it was very suspicious.
She decided that, if she was going to follow these people, she had to do it right. They had obviously planned out what would happen if something were to occur – they split up into two groups. So, she obviously chose to go after the easier one with the woman and the kid. Not that women aren't formidable, she atoned herself, feeling proud. Then she smiled, only slightly, and took off after the two of them. She followed for another minute – this time with a charm on her – and waited until they regrouped. It took not two more minutes until they did. Needless to say, she was smirking.
"Did she follow you?" she saw the older boy ask the younger one; they were most likely brothers, she speculated.
"I don't think so," he answered nervously. "I'm not sure, though."
She saw the older boy flash the younger one a grin (one that made her cringe with its earnest and intensity). "We can take her on if she did," he reassured. The younger one nodded in agreement before asking about something that they found.
"Yeah, we found the right potion," the older boy replied back easily. "And now that we have some of the blood from that one guy, it's almost ready."
Blood? she wondered worriedly. Shit, this guy was the werewolf. How could she forget?
"Do you think that she'll notice?" the younger one inquired.
"She probably already woke up," the other answered.
The younger one shivered but nodded. Bellatrix came to wonder who – or what – this "she" was.
"We need to go," the black-haired male of the group suddenly announced. The werewolf looked a bit annoyed at him, piercing him with his unnaturally-golden eyes. Bellatrix almost felt like shuddering. The black-haired man shrugged uncaringly. "Shall we?"
"Yeah, yeah," the werewolf replied, then smirked savagely. "It's almost time."
This time, Bellatrix really did shudder, but pulled out her wand anyway and immediately threw a red-coloured light towards the younger brother.
(Section Break)
In response to Guest:I don't recall what I wrote back, but yeah, most people just use it once and never act upon the idea unless it's a story based around it. Is me doing that a good thing? I wonder... In any case, the group wouldn't have beat him up (only taken his DNA in a not-so-violent way), but he did kind of throw a Crucio at Winry and attack them, so.. yeah, that probably isn't such a good thing for him, yes? Thanks for reviewing, too – I forgot to say that last time x)
Well, this was enjoyable to write. I wrote the first part at a soccer game in my email on my phone, too. God, that was a long game... The rest was written at a band concert for my sister. I wonder why my parents force me to come. Blargh.
(I caught up with One Piece. Damn, that was good.)
I'm becoming a bit unsure of what to write, honestly. I think I'll start wrapping everything up. Look forward to a fight next chapter.
Also, if you review, virtual cookies. If not, that's fine too. As long as you like the story, everything's all good!
Shameless advertising: If you're a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist and Naruto crossovers, I have a story called The Everlasting Sins. I also have a Naruto one-shot called A Way to Win, if anyone's interested.
