IX
Tomorrow's Heroes
Hermione was very relieved when Dumbledore arrived the next day, if only so she would find out what was going on. The kitchen door had several Imperturbable Charms on it, but with any luck, Ed would be loud enough for them to hear what was going on…even without the Extendable Ears.
When she returned to the library that morning to tell the Elrics that Dumbledore had arrived, she found Ed reading at a near-blinding pace. Al was fast asleep on what looked like her first-year Potions book. "Uh…Ed," she said tentatively, knowing he hated being interrupted.
He gave no indication that he had heard her, so she tried again, louder this time, "Ed?" Still no response. Thinking of nothing else to do, she walked up and waved her hand in his line of sight, causing him to start and look up, irritation written all over his face.
"What?"
"Dumbledore's here."
Ed perked up instantly; he marked his page and turned to his brother, a rather soft expression appearing on his face. "Al," he said, shaking his brother gently. He continued in Amestrian until he finally stirred.
"Unngh…" The younger boy lifted his head from his arms blearily, looking around in confusion.
"Dumbledore's here," Hermione told him when his gaze fell on her.
"Wha…?"
"You were sleeping," Ed said, smiling and standing up. "Come on. We need to talk to the old man."
"Oh," Al said, surprise flitting across his face before he mirrored his brother. "Is it Saturday now?"
"Were you in there all night?" Hermione asked incredulously, following them toward the door. Al opened it, ducking through the doorway for some reason, and led the way downstairs.
"We do it a lot," Ed said dismissively, waving a hand. "It is not a problem."
Hermione wanted to tell them off—sleep was important; whatever they were looking up could wait for the daylight—but they surged forward, down the stairs and into the crowded kitchen. Apparently, Dumbledore had called a full Order meeting; Hermione was sure she and her friends would want to listen to this one at all costs.
"Ah, Miss Granger!" Hermione jumped in the doorway at being addressed so directly by the Headmaster. "I want you, Harry, and the Weasleys present, for at least this first part of the meeting." He ignored the indignant shouts from the adults behind him and continued, "If you wouldn't mind fetching your friends…"
"Of…of course!" Hermione recovered from her astonishment quickly and dashed upstairs. She could barely believe their luck; Dumbledore had invited them to what was possibly the biggest Order meeting yet!
The dining room was crowded, but everyone managed to fit around the long table. "I asked you to come for this part because this is an issue of security," Dumbledore said, nodding to the teenagers. "Everyone who lives here should hear what they have to say."
Everyone turned expectantly to Ed and Al, who were standing in a corner, away from the wizards. "There is a Homunculus waiting to kill anyone who comes out the front door," Ed said bluntly. "He is very dangerous. No one can fight him alone."
Silence followed this proclamation for a few seconds. "Homunculi are myths, Elric," Snape said impatiently. "Whatever it is, it's probably some other magical creature, or a bluffing enemy. The Dark Lord doesn't know where this house is."
"He is not working for Voldemort," Al said, shaking his head. Many people around the table flinched, and he looked at them oddly before continuing. "He is from where we are from."
Confused murmuring broke out along the table; Hermione saw Dumbledore stiffen at Al's words. Where were they from, and why was this so dangerous…?
"I had heard that there were experiments," Dumbledore said to the Elrics. "They succeeded, then?"
Ed nodded jerkily. "There were eight. Now there are two, and one is here. We only can hope the other one is dead." He shivered, his eyes flashing with something Hermione couldn't identify. "Pride is the weaker one, but he is still very dangerous."
"How dangerous?" Moody demanded, frowning even more deeply than before. "How do you know? Are you—"
"We have fought him before," Ed said shortly, scowling at the man. "I beat ten of your enemies with no problems yesterday. It took me, Al, and many others together not to be killed by Pride."
Hermione found the idea that Al had been fighting before he had arrived to be rather preposterous. Based on the incredulous looks around the table, she was not alone in her opinion. But that didn't matter; if this creature was so much stronger than even ten Death Eaters combined…
"What's he look like?" Sirius asked finally. Hermione could tell that many Order members still didn't quite believe the story, and Hermione couldn't blame them. However, she had seen the desperation clearly on their faces the day before, and both boys were terrible liars. So unless they were being tricked…
Ed nearly smiled. "His—container—looks like a little boy. Dark hair. Maybe ten years old. What he does that is dangerous, though—Pride is really the shadows. They are a shield, sword, mouth, anything."
"Mouth?" Molly asked, looking rather ill.
Al laughed humorlessly. "How else does he get energy? He eats humans, other Homunculi…the shadows are very hard to beat."
"They're just shadows. How could he—"
"They are shadows that are solid," Ed cut across Snape impatiently. "He controls them. Just hope he does not find any of you. It does not matter how good you are. Anyone will die." The dining room exploded with outraged arguments, but Ed just shook his head. "If you do not believe us, you can go outside. But do not blame me if you die."
The adults did not seem done with their questions, but apparently Ed and Al were done answering them. Ed took hold of his brother's shoulder and steered him toward the door. "Edward, Alphonse," Dumbledore called. "There is another matter I would like to discuss with you."
"What?" Ed asked, obviously irritated.
"How would you like to go to Hogwarts?"
"Where?" Ed shot back, a bewildered expression on his face.
"It is a boarding school that teaches magic. I am its headmaster," Dumbledore said, apparently ignoring the expression on the boy's face. "You could learn magic for as long as you are here, and you may even find a way home as a result."
"We just told you about a monster only we know how to fight, and you want us to go to school?"
"I'm sure we will be fine against—Pride, did you call him?"
"You do not know anything," Ed spat. "Killing him one time is not enough. You have to kill him until his Stone is gone."
Stone? What kind of stone? Hermione would have to ask them about that later, as she didn't know of anything that could give life to a Homunculus other than magical energy.
"We'll work on it," Dumbledore said, though he looked slightly more worried than before. "What do you have against attending Hogwarts? There is a very extensive library on every subject you can think of…"
Hermione saw Ed waver at the mention of books, but she knew he was far too stubborn to admit it. "We do not do school, old man. We dropped out when I was eight and have been fine."
There were several surprised whispers from around the table, and Ron whistled quietly from Hermione's left. Even if the boys were not very forthcoming with personal information, Hermione could tell that both knew quite a lot, and soaked up information like sponges. But to not have attended school for the past seven years—
"And anyway, you are a rebel group, right? We can fight. You know that. We can help you better than going to school."
"You're still children!" Molly's shrill voice carried over the other adults'. "We can't expect you to—"
Both Elrics stared at her flatly; Hermione found herself very glad that she was not on the receiving end. "We have fought since we were young," Ed said, shaking his head. "It is not a problem for me. And once Al is up to full strength again—"
"Al is fourteen," Remus said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "There is no place in war for children. You boys are not soldiers!"
"We have not been children since I was six," Ed snarled. "You know nothing. I do not want to go to school. There is no reason."
"Brother," Al said quietly. Hermione had nearly forgotten he was there; he had not said a word since Dumbledore had mentioned Hogwarts. "Maybe it's not a bad idea…"
Ed looked over to his brother in surprise. He responded after a quick glance at the Order, but he spoke a distinctly Oriental language. Dumbledore's face showed no understanding of what they were saying; Hermione could barely contain her surprise. She had known the boys knew several languages, but to know one that Dumbledore didn't…?
As Ed and Al continued their conversation, ignoring their surroundings, the others in the room started talking amongst themselves. As far as Hermione could tell, most were discussing the new Homunculus problem and how to go about fixing it…
She turned her attention back to Ed and Al; from what she could tell, Al was trying to convince Ed of something. Ed was still refusing, but his conviction was obviously waning. It was amazing; the boy was so stubborn around anyone else, but his brother could change his mind very quickly.
Al's face suddenly melted into the best set of puppy-dog eyes that Hermione had ever seen. She could almost see Ed's resolve crumble away; he let out a long-suffering sigh and nodded. Al's face lit up, and he turned back to the Order.
"We will go to Hogwarts!" Al said loudly, catching everyone's attention once again. "Until we find what we need, or we decide it is not useful."
"And if you have trouble with Pride, we will come back," Ed added, scowling. "Learning magic is not worth people's lives." He abruptly spun around and walked out the door. Al grinned a bit sheepishly at the assembled wizards, sank into a slight bow, and hurried after his brother.
(Why does he always duck through doorways?)
"You all may leave now, as well," Dumbledore gestured to the teenagers. "That is all you need to know."
The six of them got up slowly, each hesitant to leave, but unwilling to argue with Dumbledore. Hermione left first, eager to find the Elrics and see if they would say any more. She explained this to her friends as they walked upstairs; they instantly agreed. The group went down to the library, where Hermione was sure the boys would be.
"So what was that about?" Ginny asked as they approached Ed and Al. They both looked up from their piles of books on a couch, apparently surprised at their sudden entrance.
"It is like I said. I left nothing out."
"Well, how about where you guys're from, then?" Fred tried. Ed's face darkened.
"Not here. You have not heard of it."
"Try us," Hermione pressed. She liked to think her knowledge of world geography was pretty good…
"Amestris," Al said resignedly, receiving a light punch in the arm from Ed. "You don't know it, right?"
Hermione racked her brain, trying to think of any reference to a country (state? city?) called Amestris, but her mind was blank. She shook her head slowly. "Where is it?"
Ed laughed hollowly. "Far away." He picked up his book again—The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 (He already finished the first one?)—and proceeded to ignore their presence entirely. Al sighed and picked up his book as well. He was nearly done with it, Hermione noticed. Merlin, they read fast.
The others trickled out of the library soon after, and Hermione promised to join them after a while. But first, she wanted to make sure the Elrics didn't want any help with…whatever they were looking up this time.
Al finished his book and reached for the second-year text. "Do you need something?" he asked, looking up at her. "We are just reading all of these before school starts…"
"You're not joining as first years?" She supposed it was a stupid question; they should have been, based on their ages, fourth and fifth years. But that was years of knowledge to learn!
Al frowned. "I don't know anything about years. We are going to read all your books so we are caught up…"
Hermione barely kept her mouth from falling open. "There's only a couple of weeks before school starts, and that's a lot of information…"
"It isn't that many books," he shrugged. "All of this is memory. There is nothing to understand."
That didn't seem quite fair to Hermione; there was memorization involved in many classes, but that wasn't all that magic was about. "Can you tell us about Hogwarts?" Al interrupted her thoughts. "I do not know anything, or Brother…"
"Is he listening?" she asked doubtfully, looking to the older boy as she sat down in a nearby armchair. He seemed totally immersed in the book, blocking out his surroundings. Al laughed and shook his head. He reached over and pulled the book right out of Ed's grip, making him look up immediately and glare.
"What is it?"
"We should learn more about Hogwarts. Hermione will tell us," he said simply. "You were reading all night, Brother…"
"Fine." Ed slouched down in a huff and looked expectantly at Hermione.
She began with an abbreviated description of the castle and grounds, and then moved on to the houses. Ed stopped her, looking almost panicked—
"What happens if we're sorted into different houses?"
Hermione had to admit that it was a valid concern; the brothers had wildly different personalities. "You'll still be able to see each other whenever you want," she assured them. "Your dormitories will just be in different areas. It's not like you're kept entirely separated."
Both brothers relaxed. "When does this hat pick our house, then?" Ed asked.
"Usually it's at the opening feast, but Dumbledore might have it sort you early. You should ask—"
She was cut off abruptly by a loud squeal from Al. Both she and Ed looked over in alarm, but the boy was leaning down to grab something by his feet. Ed groaned good-naturedly when he saw what it was, but Hermione didn't know why; Al was holding Crookshanks in his lap, wearing an enormous, rather silly grin and petting him slowly.
"He's so soft," he breathed. Ed snorted, shaking his head and smiling a bit.
"His name is Crookshanks," Hermione said. Al's smile was infectious; it was so genuinely joyous that Hermione couldn't help but feel happy as well. "He's my cat."
"Do you mind if I pet him?" he asked, looking up at her anxiously.
She laughed. "Of course not. He seems to like you, anyway." Indeed, the cat was purring and seemed settled into Al's lap quite comfortably. "He's a great judge of character."
"He has to like Al, then," Ed said, laughing a bit. Hermione couldn't help but agree; Al was probably one of the kindest people she had ever met.
"You like cats, then?"
Al nodded quickly. "I used to bring them home from the street, but Brother never let me keep them…" Here, he shot a near-reproachful glance in Ed's direction.
Hermione wondered briefly why it was Ed, not their parents, who decided whether to keep a pet, but that sounded like a sensitive topic. "Why not? Are you allergic?"
"We had no time to take care of them," Ed said, shaking his head. "We were always travelling."
"Well, you can bring cats to Hogwarts," she said brightly, wondering more and more about what had happened in the boys' lives. "They're not terribly hard to take care of…"
Al's whole face lit up. "Brother, please?" he exclaimed, turning toward Ed imploringly.
"What will happen to it when we go home?" Ed asked, though Hermione could already see his resolve crumbling. "It will not make it, you know…"
Al looked so crestfallen that Hermione felt the need to stick up for him. "If it really can't go home with you, I could take it in when you leave. I'm sure Crookshanks would love a friend." She hoped the boys weren't leaving too soon, though…she really did enjoy their company, even if she knew they would, inevitably, have to part.
(But why? She had no idea…)
He turned his puppy-dog eyes on his older brother again, and Ed seemed to waver for a moment before sighing resignedly. "Fine. You know that that face will not work forever…"
"Thank you!" The boy was positively beaming now, and looked as if he would jump up and hug the both of them, if only Crookshanks were not settled on his legs. Ed grinned a bit before returning to his book, apparently done with the conversation. Al asked for more information about Hogwarts, and Hermione began describing the teachers and classes while he continued petting Crookshanks.
It was almost as if Al was in some sort of blissful trance; he seemed to be half-listening to what Hermione said, half-paying attention to the cat in his lap. She had not seen him like this since the first days that they were there. Al had seemed almost obsessed with his sense of touch then; now, he was clearly enthralled by the feel of Crookshanks' fur.
Harry and Ron returned after a while, announcing that lunch was nearly ready. Hermione and Al stood up, the younger boy setting Crookshanks down gently. The cat rubbed against his leg for a moment before leaving the library. Al pried his brother away from the books, and they followed the rest of them.
"So you like the demon cat?" Ron asked Al.
He looked shocked. "He is not a demon! He is soft, and nice, and—"
Ron snorted and shook his head, looking very amused. "An hour ago you guys were claiming to be awesome fighters, and now you're a kitty lover?"
"I haven't won a fight with Al," Ed said, raising an eyebrow. "He is better than me. Once he is strong again…"
Hermione found it very difficult to believe that the Elrics had ever fought, and that Al had been victorious. Molly had said that Al's muscles hadn't been used in years. He wasn't even fifteen; he would have been very young when he got into…that situation.
Harry was busy vocalizing those thoughts, just as Hermione was considering them. "…Everyone said you couldn't even sit up properly at first. You couldn't possibly—"
"I was in—a different situation then," Al interrupted him, an odd look on his face. "This is better. I was strong, but…" His voice trailed off, and Hermione's curiosity grew exponentially. What could possibly be worse than a situation where you barely had the strength to move?
Surprisingly, Dumbledore was still in the kitchen, talking with the rest of the Weasleys. "Oh, Edward, Alphonse!" he said when he noticed them, turning with a smile. "How would you like to be Sorted now?"
"Uh…okay," Ed said, glancing in confusion at the old man. "Where is the hat, then?"
"Oh, so you know about it already? It's in the sitting room. It has been decades since it last left Hogwarts, but this is a rather unique situation…"
The Elrics followed Dumbledore into the sitting room, and Hermione, Harry, and Ron trailed behind. She, personally, was quite curious about where they would end up…
Ed stepped forward, sitting down and glancing at the other teenagers before Dumbledore put the hat on his head. A huge array of expressions appeared on Ed's face—what they could see of it—as the hat talked to him. First there was surprise and suspicion, and then understanding. But it didn't stop there; as the seconds ticked by, Ed seemed to be getting more and more annoyed. Finally—
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Ron whooped; Harry looked pleased; Hermione found herself grinning. Ed stood up, a bemused expression on his face, and handed the hat to Al. He, too, looked shocked as it began talking to him. He seemed to accept the idea of a talking hat more readily than Ed, though, and listened to what it was saying. Looking progressively unhappier as time went on, he finally sighed.
"RAVENCLAW!"
Hermione saw Ed's face crumple. She knew that, despite her assurances, Ed had hoped to be placed in the same house as his brother. Al was frowning deeply as he handed the hat back to Dumbledore, and asked the old man—
"That hat…how does it have a mind?"
Hermione thought it an odd question, but it was a logical one for someone new to the wizarding world. She was also curious about the answer; her friends looked just as interested. They had all learned two years before not to trust an inanimate object with a personality, but that was exactly what the Sorting Hat was. Hermione thought it odd that she had not noticed that before.
"It is very old magic," Dumbledore said vaguely. "I do not know enough about it to say more."
"Really?" Ed said, a strange edge to his voice. "It looks like someone put a soul in that hat, and he has lived like that for a thousand years!"
Harry's and Ron's faces showed nothing but confusion, and Hermione was not much better off. Why was Ed suddenly talking about souls? Wizards, surely, knew they existed (for how else could ghosts wander throughout Hogwarts?), but only religious Muggles seemed to believe in them.
Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up; a look of horror was quickly masked by interest. "You are talking about bound souls? I know it is possible—" here, his gaze flickered to Al for some reason—"but I doubt that is the case here…"
"Do you have a better explanation?" Ed shot back, turning before Dumbledore could reply and heading back toward the kitchen. Al followed him, a rather disturbed expression on his face. Hermione and her friends shared a look before returning to lunch as well.
"I thought you guys didn't believe in the soul?" she said a while later during a lull in the lunch conversation. The Elrics' reaction was immediate: Ed's head snapped to her, and Al nearly choked on his sandwich.
"I have never said that," Ed said, that same edge back in his voice. Hermione couldn't quite describe it; perhaps dangerous was the best word. And he only seemed to be getting angrier.
"You guys always say that there isn't a God," Harry said, glancing between them with a furrowed brow.
"Not one that should be worshipped." Hermione thought that an odd thing to say, but he continued regardless—"Religion and souls are not related."
"Sure," Ron said, obviously confused. Ed stood up suddenly, his silverware clanking.
"You would not understand!" He looked positively furious now, storming into the hall with a dark expression on his face.
Everyone turned to Al, silently demanding an explanation. "Sorry," he said after a moment. "That is an…important thing to us." He stood up, nodding to Mrs. Weasley. "Thank you for lunch." And then he was gone as well.
Mrs. Weasley stared after the boys, a very worried expression on her face. "I'm going to see if they're okay," Hermione decided immediately, standing up and pulling Harry and Ron with her.
"Why do we have to go, too?" Ron asked, looking forlornly at his half-finished ham sandwich.
"We obviously brought up something that upset Ed a lot, so we need to apologize."
Ron continued to frown, but Hermione gave him no time to argue; she yanked the boys toward the door and herded them upstairs. "Ed? Al?" she called into the library, not really expecting to hear a response. The only sounds in the large, cluttered room were coming from a few rows to the left, so Hermione tentatively stepped that way. "Guys? Are you in here?"
The three of them rounded the corner, finding the Elrics buried, yet again, behind piles of books. Al raised his head and nodded in greeting, but Ed seemed to be pointedly ignoring their presence.
"Uh…are you guys all right?" she asked, moving closer to the table. "We're really sorry for upsetting you, I just didn't realize…"
"It's—" Al began, shaking his head and waving dismissively, but Ed slammed his book down, glaring at Hermione, Ron, and Harry.
"It is not okay," he said, ignoring Al's muttered pleas to calm down. "Do you not believe in the soul, then?"
"Sure, they exist," Hermione said quickly, trying to think of the best way to appease him. "I jumped to conclusions about you. I'm sorry I offended—"
"That's not the problem!" He stood up suddenly, eyes blazing. "If you think there is no soul—"
"Blimey, mate, she just said we do!" Ron said, looking both shocked and defensive. "But either way, I don't think what we believe has anything to do with this!"
"It does," Ed shot back. "We know that everyone has a soul. If you don't think so—" he choked, apparently unable to finish his sentence. Hermione had never seen someone so angry. Ed's face was red; his fists were clenched; his furious gaze made her want to look away.
"Brother," Al said in a warning tone, standing up as well and glancing over at Hermione, Harry, and Ron. Ed didn't seem to hear him.
"Why's it such a big deal?" Harry pressed, raising an eyebrow. "It doesn't matter what we—"
"So you don't think Al exists, then?" Ed roared. Hermione had no idea what Al, specifically, had to do with the existence of souls, but thought it best not to antagonize the boy even more. "If he has no soul, then how did he—"
"Brother!" Al said, his voice sharper than Hermione had ever heard it. Ed stopped suddenly, apparently coming to his senses, and collapsed back into his chair. A pained expression remained on his face, though, and he snatched up his book again, ignoring the presence of Hermione and her friends.
"Sorry," Al said, a similar expression on his face. "You did nothing wrong. He just…" he trailed off, giving them a weak smile, and settled back down with his own book.
Ron seemed to want nothing more than to leave the library as fast as possible; Harry was glaring at Ed, obviously angry and mistrustful; Hermione was at an utter loss for what to do. "Is there anything we—?"
"Leave."
