Chapter 10: Disappearing act
After their adventure, both Harry and Ed decided to ditch the remainder of the party when they couldn't find Hermione anywhere and turned in for the night at the Gryffindor tower.
Practically no one stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays. Harry and Ron had left for the Burrow early the next day, and the raven-haired boy had barely had time to wish Hermione a happy Christmas and to tell her that he had some very important news when they got back from the holidays, as she set out to visit her own family. He was not entirely sure that she had heard him though, as Ron and Lavender had been saying a thoroughly nonverbal goodbye just behind him at the time. After seeing them all off, Edeline returned to the common room, only to leave for the library a few minutes later, unable to relax or stay in one place.
She felt just about as useless now as she had when her auto-mail had been shattered by Scar, and she had been forced to visit Resembool and mule around without her proper limbs for three days. Only this was so much longer. I wonder if this is what Mustang feels every time it rains… he would hate it here… Itching to go back home she kept taking out her transmutation circles, looking at them longingly. When the trio was around, it was easy to focus on the fact that she had some sort of mission in this world, but with them gone the temptation was all too great to just clap her hands together and place them on the paper holding her revised array.
Although she had never even heard about Christmas before this, the spirit and mood of the holiday were getting to her. It was supposed to be a family event, shared with loved ones. And here she was alone. The temptation was indeed great to return to Al's side.
On Christmas Eve, the alchemist resolved that she would be leaving after the first chance she got with Dumbledore to tell him all about her findings that she had come up with after she had combed through the whole Hogwarts library. Some, more useful looking books, even two-three times. That was the task she focused on for the remainder of December.
On Sunday, January 5, the students were finally returning to school. Ed camped out in the common room, very hopeful to see a friendly face after two weeks of practical solitude.
The trio and Ginny finally walked in, and after Lavender almost tackled Ron, plus Ginny went off probably to meet with Dean, Harry and Hermione made their way towards the table she was sitting at.
"Hey there, Ed!" Harry greeted her as they sat down. "So how was your Christmas?" he directed at both of them.
"Oh, fine," Hermione shrugged. "Nothing special."
"Just about the same here," Ed grunted holding up her book to indicate what she had spent her time with.
"How was it at Won-Won's?" the brunette asked Harry with a roll of her eyes at the endearment that Lavender came up with.
"I'll tell you in a minute," the boy said. "Look, Hermione, can't you…"
"No, I can't," she said flatly. "So don't even ask."
"I thought maybe, you know, over Christmas…"
"It was the Fat Lady who drank a vat of five-hundred-year-old wine, Harry, not me. So what was this important news you wanted to tell me?"
She looked too fierce to argue with at that moment, so Harry dropped the subject of Ron and recounted all that he had overheard between Malfoy and Snape. Hermione, of course, thought the same as Mr. Weasley and Lupin much to Harry's annoyance that Snape was probably just pretending to want to help Malfoy. Also, she doubted Draco's plans to be related to Voldemort still.
"Have you heard of this Fenrir Greyback?" Harry asked finally in relation to Remus.
"Yes, I have!" Hermione exclaimed, sounding startled. "And so have you, Harry!"
"When, History of Magic? You know full well I never listened…"
"No, no, not History of Magic. Malfoy threatened Borgin with him!" the brunette stated the obvious. "Back in Knockturn Alley, don't you remember? He told Borgin that Greyback was an old family friend and that he'd be checking up on Borgin's progress!"
"That makes so much more sense now why Borgin mentioned him the moment he saw my eyes…" Ed chimed in.
Harry gaped at them.
"I forgot! But this proves Malfoy's a Death Eater, how else could he be in contact with Greyback and telling him what to do?"
"It is pretty suspicious…" Hermione breathed. "Unless…"
"Oh, come on!" Harry sighed in exasperation. "You can't get around this one!"
"Well… there is the possibility it was an empty threat."
"You're unbelievable, you are," Harry shook his head. "We'll see who's right… You'll be eating your words, Hermione, just like the Ministry. Oh yeah, I had a row with Rufus Scrimgeour as well…"
"The Minister of Magic?" Ed asked to which Harry nodded seriously and recounted what happened.
The rest of the evening passed amicably with both of them abusing the minister, for Hermione, like Ron, thought that after all the Ministry had put Harry through the previous year, they had a great deal of nerve asking him for help now.
"By the way, I have a session with Dumbledore tomorrow evening, if you want to ambush him again like last time," Harry added cheekily to Ed when they finally decided to go to bed.
Apparition lessons were the new buzz of the next morning. Harry and Ed having both been taken on a 'ride' with Dumbledore before weren't all that keen on the idea, but everyone else seemed excited to bits by the possibility of popping out of existence in one place and turning up in another at will in a blink of an eye.
Harry and Ron joined the crowd that was jostling around the notice and taking it in turns to write their names at the bottom.
"Aren't you gonna sign up too?" Harry asked the blonde meekly.
"I don't really see the point…" she shrugged.
"Are you planning on leaving again?" Ron chimed in when he managed to peel himself off of Lavender.
"Unless Dumbledore comes up with yet another ingenious way to stall me," the alchemist grunted at the possibility. The old geezer had an uncanny ability to manipulate people into what he wanted them to do, and Ed was just about done with this shit.
"Just make sure you say goodbye to Hermione before you go. She was really upset last time that you tried to sneak away," Harry chuckled at the memory, but his eyes told the blonde that he was dead serious.
"Fine, fine," Ed waved them off as she made her way to the portrait hole to go the Great Hall in search of breakfast.
It seemed sometime during the day Ron let it slip that Harry had experienced Side-Along-Apparition before, so for the rest of the day, Harry was besieged with requests from the other sixth years to describe the sensation of Apparition. All of them seemed awed, rather than put off, when he told them how uncomfortable it was, and he was still answering detailed questions at ten to eight that evening. Ed was snickering at the scene in the common room but shut up immediately when Harry threw her a glance that told her if she continued he would let it be known that she could be hounded with questions too.
Inconspicuously, Ed said her farewell to Ron and Hermione then quickly made up an excuse to join Harry, when he was forced to lie and say that he needed to return a book to the library to escape in time for his lesson with Dumbledore.
"You have everything?" Harry asked on the way, wondering how the alchemist had so little belongings with her.
"The important stuff, yes," Ed smirked tapping her pockets. When they arrived, she sat down on the stairs for the wait, while Harry went inside.
The visit took even longer than the last, but Edeline waited it out patiently. Well, as patiently as it could be expected from the fidgety alchemist. She kept bouncing her right knee on the step below the one she was sitting on.
Harry finally reemerged, with a thoroughly perplexed expression.
"Everything alright?" Ed asked with a bit of worry. What did Dumbledore tell him?
"Yeah, I will just have to figure out how to coerce Slughorn to give up a memory…" he trailed off.
"Well, he is obsessed with you so it shouldn't be too hard," the blonde chuckled.
"Yeah…" Harry mumbled, preoccupied with his thoughts.
"Goodbye, Harry, I really wish the best for you guys," Ed said finally waving her farewell to the raven-haired boy too.
"I hope everything goes well with your return too," he smiled upon her from the bottom step, and then he vanished from sight.
"Here goes nothing…" the alchemist drew a deep breath and went in.
"Good evening, Edeline," Dumbledore greeted, not a bit surprised this time that the blonde had visited him.
"Can't catch you off guard two times in a row, can I?" Ed chuckled nervously.
"I'm afraid not," he motioned for her to come closer.
"Truthfully, these are the only times I know for sure you are in the castle…" Ed mumbled as she sat down in one of the chairs.
"What do you have for me?" the headmaster inquired.
"Nothing new really, and have read through every freaking book in the stupid library," the blonde grumbled. "I'm guessing that with the diary fiasco, you already know that basilisk venom is an effective agent to destroy the Horcruxes. Besides that, maybe fiendfyre, or the killing curse would do the trick if applied to a living Horcrux."
"I was afraid so…" Dumbledore sighed.
"Does this mean that Harry will have to die?" Ed questioned hoping that somehow there was a different answer, but deep down she knew there was none.
"A Horcrux can only be destroyed if it's damaged beyond repair. I'm afraid in case of human life that means death," the wizard spoke solemnly.
"Why did you set Harry onto Slughorn if I may ask?" the alchemist pondered after a minute.
"It seems young Voldemort had questioned the Professor about Horcruxes while at Hogwarts. But he is reluctant to give up the real memory of that night," Dumbledore answered as he slowly paced his office.
"Well, if anyone can get it out of him it's Harry," Ed agreed. "I think it would be wise to remove any book from the restricted section of the library that gave any pointers to Horcruxes too."
The old wizard just nodded absentmindedly to that.
Silence fell upon them again.
"You will be returning home, I presume?" the headmaster looked towards the girl.
"I have been gone way too long. Al needs me," she admitted. It's been more than six months if I count New York too…
"I won't keep you longer then," Dumbledore relented.
"Actually…" Ed began. "I will need your help one last time, old man."
The alchemist got her transmutation circles out, and drew up the one she was going to use on the floor of the office, then set the parchments on fire.
"I need you to destroy the one on the floor too, once I'm gone," the blonde insisted. "Absolutely no one can find out about this array. It's far too dangerous."
"Consider it done," the old wizard nodded.
The older Elric got the small potion vial out and downed the few drops of Felix Felicis, then with a big sigh, she clapped her hands together and initiated the transmutation.
Endless white void greeted her once again with the white little faceless being – with whom Ed became too acquainted with over the years – sitting right there in the 'middle' in a lotus position.
"So here you are again, al-che-mist," it emphasized the last word like it were an insult, but its face was in a huge grin, occupying most of it.
"Someone is in a good mood, I see," Ed blurted out, although she didn't know why.
The white figure just looked at her perplexed, tilting its head to the side.
"Been dabbling in some magic, I see," Truth concluded, then waved its hand, and the lucky potion's effects were dispersed from the both of them. "But that won't work on my plane."
"Can't fault me for trying," the blonde shrugged. "I suppose this is what you wanted."
"You are right," the omnipotent being smiled slyly this time. "So are you ready to admit it?"
Ed furrowed her brows, not entirely sure what it wanted her to say exactly.
"Come on, don't be coy, I know you know it," it pushed her on.
"You want me to accept that magic exists, right?" the alchemist probed. Her mind screamed at her, trying to deny it, it went against everything that she previously believed. Yet she saw the evidence. She couldn't explain all of it away with different forms of alchemy, and most of all equivalent exchange.
Truth kept looking at her expectantly but wouldn't give the verbal confirmation that Ed was seeking.
"Fine, magic exists, happy now?" she stated grudgingly.
"And?" it inquired further gleefully.
What else do you want? It exists, I tried it… wait a minute… I tried it…
"I am magical too, dammit, okay? Everything – alchemy, magic, imagination – comes from this darn place and that makes everyone and everything just fucking magical!" the alchemist burst out and panted angrily as she glared at Truth.
It laughed out, not mockingly though, much to Ed' surprise.
"Oh, you never cease to amaze me," it wiped its not existent eye as if a tear had escaped. "Fine, I accept your answer, you may return to Amestris."
"Seriously you just wanted a fucking ego-boost all this time?" Ed huffed.
"No, like I told you when we first met, I may be Truth or God or the Universe, or whatever you want to call me, but I am also You. If I wanted an ego-boost, then I would just have to give you one," Truth looked at her now humorlessly. "I am trapped in this nothingness. Anything that I experience is through the people that have a connection to the Gate. I sent you on your quest so that you would get enriched with new experiences, thus enriching me in the process…"
"Why do I sense a 'but' in there somewhere?" the blonde grunted, cutting it off.
"But everything comes with a price. Although I think this time, you have paid it already," the white midget smiled.
"How exactly?" the alchemist inquired. It seemed too good to be true.
"With your time of course. That you had to spend away from your world," Truth answered.
The blonde glanced around then back at her Gate. Was this really this easy?
"And yes, your Gate of course, as you offered so graciously earlier. That means your alchemy and your magic. Unless of course you still want something…" it questioned sensing the uncertainty in the little alchemist.
"What happens to them?" Ed asked, suddenly worried about her friends that she left behind.
"You can see for yourself… it seems I will be getting another visitor soon," Truth looked contemplative. "You shared the transmutation circle with the old wizard, didn't you?"
"What?" the blonde's eyes went wide. Was Dumbledore really this stupid? She trusted him to not use it. I really shouldn't have…
The figure got up, and with a hand motion, another Gate appeared across from Ed's. When it opened an old, very battered up looking wizard, with his usual long beard appeared.
"Dumbledore…" Ed whispered at first, then went into a full-on rage. "You fucking idiot! Why did you open the Gate? What about Harry? I thought you were going to prepare him!"
"Edeline, it's been months since you left my office," he answered quietly surprised too to find Ed here.
"Months?" Ed now looked at Truth.
"Oooppss… forgot to tell you… time doesn't exist here. Imagine it like little wheels that I can turn independently to meet each other at any point," it shrugged as it explained the concept with hand gestures. "What do you want, wizard? Seeing that you already died, there is not much I can do for you."
"Died?" Ed whispered. "Was it Malfoy?"
"No, Edeline, as you already knew I was dying anyway. I asked Snape to kill me to save Draco from the burden," Dumbledore explained, and the blonde's eyes went wide.
"You manipulative bastard! Harry doesn't know about this little arrangement, does he?" the blonde was beyond outraged.
"No, he does not. But given that Severus is a double agent – with a critical part to play – that is for the best," he assured her ever so calmly.
"You are unbelievable…" Ed pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.
"Enough of the chit-chat," Truth bellowed as it seems to have gotten bored. "What do you want, wizard?"
"Just one more question!" the alchemist butted in, and Truth groaned in frustration. "If you died, how? Dying doesn't take you to the Gate!"
"But a small, magically planted transmutation circle on my wrist that I activated just as I died, does. Don't worry, any magic disappears the moment the caster dies, so the array left no trace for anyone to find either," Dumbledore smiled reassuringly at her.
"Now get to the point," the omnipotent being cut in impatiently.
"I want one chance to meet with Harry when he dies and is still between worlds before he passes over," the – now former – headmaster requested.
"And what are you offering as a toll?" Truth smirked. It knew there was nothing the already dead wizard could offer it that would suffice for what he was asking.
"My company perhaps," Dumbledore chuckled.
"Not nearly good enough," it sneered.
"What about my memories?" Ed cut in, not really in control of her actions. What am I doing? I could be home with Al by now! Why am I still meddling? It's not my fight! But there is a chance that Harry could be saved, why else would Dumbledore want to see him when he is still in the limbo between worlds? "You said you wanted experiences. Keep mine. Of the two worlds I visited."
Truth looked at her considering the offer.
"Merely time versus the actual memories. Sounds interesting. You see I don't really have use for time in a place where it doesn't exist. Perhaps I can include your friend's request to stay at the Gate while he waits for this Harry to meet his end after all," the evil grin plastered on Truth's face by the end was truly frightening, it pondered a bit more. "Fine, I agree. Since you won't be needing the knowledge that I gave you for your arm, you can have back that too."
Her Gate behind her and auto-mail arm disintegrated, while Truth conjured the Gate that it used every time it sent Ed between worlds. Tiny black hands yanked her away while grabbing away greedily towards her head. Before the gate closed on her, the last thing the blonde could hear was a faint "Thank you."
Winry had come up to Central to watch over Al when the news of Ed's disappearance reached her. The younger Elric wouldn't ask for it directly, but she could sense that she was really needed, so she made the one day's worth journey anyway.
When she first saw Al, the blond mechanic couldn't help but gasp. He was so thin and fragile. Seemingly a small gush of wind could pick him up and carry him away.
Winry sat by his bed for the second day in a row now. Al wouldn't say much about what had happened, why Ed disappeared, but Winry knew that it had to do with bringing Al's body back. That dummy didn't go and sacrifice herself for her brother, did she?
She glanced anxiously over to the blond boy who was sleeping now. Stupid siblings… – she sighed.
Just then a blue-ish array appeared on the ceiling, and a certain tiny alchemist with braided long blond hair fell out with a yelp, landing hard on the floor.
"Ed!" Winry shrieked waking Al up in the process too.
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk," the smaller blonde girl ticked in pain as she scrambled to her feet. That's odd, why land in the hospital? I started off with the transmutation in the courtyard of HQ… "Al!" she noticed her brother not long after, running up to his bed to hug him.
"Careful, I might break," he chuckled, clearly relieved to see his sister back.
"Sorry," Ed muttered as she stepped back from him.
"What the hell are you wearing?" Al looked at her wide-eyed when he was finally able to assess her appearance more thoroughly. More importantly… she doesn't have any injuries… but she was beaten up so bad on the Promised Day… those wouldn't go away in three days…
Ed looked down at herself too, and to her horror, she was in a black skirt, tight sweater, stockings combo, with some weird robes like thing over it. And her chest wasn't bandaged either, signaled by her not too big but still noticeable breasts, that were unflattened by their usual binds.
"Winry, stand guard at the door while I fix this," Ed muttered and clapped her hands together to transmute her usual boyish attire. But nothing happened. "Shit… right… this won't work anymore."
"Here, let me," Al motioned for her to come closer.
"No, no, no, you are too weak for that!" both Ed and Winry protested.
"I'll be fine, now get over here before someone comes to check on us with all the ruckus. You don't want to get busted after all this time right, brother?" he smirked at his sister, and she groaned in defeat.
Al clapped his hand together and transmuted Ed's clothing quickly to her usual outfit, even changing the robes to her red coat and having enough material to equip her with some chest bandages too.
"Er… too tight," the blonde ex-alchemist gasped as she tugged on the bandages to allow herself to breathe better.
Her brother plopped back down on the pillows, panting. The transmutation apparently taking a lot out of him. The girls shot worried glances at him.
"I'm fine," he breathed with closed eyes, catching his breath.
"What happened to you?" Winry asked for the both of them as Al opened his eyes slightly, clearly interested too.
"What do you mean? I went to get Al from the Gate after the battle with Father. Then after giving up my alchemy, I fell out of the ceiling in your hospital room," she explained confusedly.
"You've been gone for more than 72 hours, brother," Al answered sitting back straight, causing Ed to get behind him and arrange the pillows to support him. "And those are clearly not the clothes you left with, your injuries are gone too. Where have you been?"
"I…" Ed paused. "I don't remember."
A/N: My 'This is amazing' story is a direct follow up of this if anyone is interested and don't worry I have many fun little ideas that I can harass Ed with back in Amestris.
Two omake chapters left in this fic.