Author's Note: Hey, sorry for the long wait. I swear I was working on this but it turned out that I was just forgetting to actually update it. Oooops. I am in a rewriting phase where about 3 of my stories are getting revised even though they aren't all the way completed. I was revising this one, the Cripple, and A Different Type of Soldier. unfortunately, though I was updating I wasn't updating here. I have an AO3 account that I had posted the newly revised story on and I guess I forgot to actually update this one. Sorry for the instant dump of chapters! From here on I will update both at the same time so I don't forget.

Harry Potter and the Eastern Sage

Chapter 10

Deathday Party

Edward stared out of the doors to the Entrance Hall, feeling the light breeze of mid October slink its way through the castle. It was strangely warm for that far into the season and Edward just wished it would last a little longer. When the winter months rolled in he would expect it to have a great affect on his automail. Just imagining the pain made his spine shiver. He hoped it wouldn't be anything like the last time he storm went through.

Edward took a tiny sip of tea from the cup that he stole from the Great Hall and watched the owls fly in for morning post. Many of the students were probably receiving letters from their parents asking how school was going. He knew that Lockhart was receiving fan mail about now along with the most current newspaper with his face on the cover. Edward wished that one of the student's cats would eat his owls and get a full stomach as if it were having its own fall feast. However, none of the student's cats were allowed out of the dormitories by themselves and he doubted that the students would just sit back and watch their cat devour countless owls. He sighed, at last it was only a dream.

"What are you looking at?"

"BAH!" Edward exclaimed as he nearly toppled his tea in fright. He looked behind him to see Sir Porpington floating behind him, the sunlight of the morning falling delicately through him. Edward straightened himself out, unwilling to admit that his friend had actually scared him even though he was a ghost now. "Nothing, nothing really…. Just… enjoying the outdoors," he muttered sadly as he turned back towards the door.

"Might I ask why you are not enjoying the outdoors… outdoors?" he asked him. "I can't feel the sun anymore but I don't think you would get a tan from being inside. You look horribly pale."

"Says you," Edward smirked taking another sip of his drink. He looked over at his friend to see that he had a rather… bitter aura around him and Edward did not mean the immense cold that was coming from his floating form. "What's got you kicking your grave stone?"

"Nothing…. Well… it's not really anything to complain about…. But I just filled out an application and… apparently I don't meet their standards! Could you believe that?" Nick said in absolute disgust.

"What are you talking about Nick?" Edward whined, and the apparition reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a transparent letter. Edward had no clue how ghost letters were made, he couldn't picture anyone killing paper, but apparently, they had to send news somehow. Nick held it out to him and Edward took a step closer to read the silver cursive writing on the page. It was from the Headless Hunt, an apparent club of ghosts who have all lost their heads… literally. The paper was signed with a flourish at the bottom by Patrick Delaney-Podmore.

"Podmore?" Edward asked in surprise. He couldn't believe how many ghosts he knew before they were actually ghosts. "That arfarfanarf brags about his title yet got his head chopped off because he kissed the dutchess when he was practically drowning in alcohol! The only time he sobered up in his life was when he lost it, and that was because he couldn't drink anymore."

"Arfarfen-what?" Nick asked with a chuckle at Edward's terminology.

"He's a drunken bastard!" Edward clarified. "The only reason why people liked him was because he was rich and knew how to flaunt it. Why do you want to hang out with him?"

"This is the Headless Hunt we are talking about! The most prestigious ghost club in all of Europe!" Nicholas explained but Edward rolled his eyes and muttered something about Podmore under his breath. "It's a half inch of skin keeping me from joining. 45 times the executioner could have gotten me into the headless hunt but he left a half inch of skin connecting-"

"Nick, can we please not talk about this in gruesome detail. You do remember I was there right?" Edward asked him as he felt himself turning green with the thought of how much blood the axe had spilt.

"Oh… yes… my bad," Nick said awkwardly. As if he remembered death wasn't always a subject people wanted to talk about. Edward guessed that when you were dead, it was probably one of the best conversation starters. Unfortunately, along with being on the alive side of things, Edward was also one who witnessed his death first hand and would have liked anything to prevent him from remembering it again. "Well, it's just I invited them to my 700th Death Day party in hopes that he might change his mind. I doubt it would work but…. Hey!" the ghost exclaimed with a snap of his fingers. "Paracelsus, would you like to come? You would be able to put in a good word for me, won't you? It's on Halloween night, I know the feast is going on but-"

"Of course, I will come, Nick!" Edward answered wondering why it was even a question in the first place. "You don't need to ask me twice."

"The reason why I really wanted to make sure was because… well, I remember your peculiar hatred for going in cellars. And the party is going to be held in the last dungeon... All the way down," Nicholas admitted. Edward frowned and looked down at his cup as he realized what that meant. If he wanted to go to Nick's party he would have to go down below ground. He felt his nerves twist even thinking about it.

"Brother he is your friend, you should at least try. If you can't… he would understand but at least you tried," Alphonse told him.

"We will find a way," Winry encouraged. "You can overcome it." Edward looked back at Nick's silver floating form. He was waiting for an answer, hope evident in his clear eyes. Edward closed his eyes and took in a huge breath.

"Yes," he said finally. "I will… try... To go." It felt like he was forcing the words from his mouth. He nearly choked on them, but he managed to make the promise.

"Wonderful! I am so excited! It has been a long time since we partied together. Let me say, I might not be as lively as I once was, Paracelsus!" Nick said slyly. Edward chuckled weakly as the apparition took his leave with high hopes while his own were plummeting fast. Edward ran his hand through his bangs and stood there in slight panic.

"What am I going to do?" he whined to himself as he tried to figure out how to go and get out of his commitment all at once.

"Let me tell you what you are going to do," Winry said. "You are going to overcome this fear-"

"You make it sound easier than it is," Edward complained.

"Baby steps. You don't have to dive to the bottom of the dungeons first go, Edward. Baby steps."

"Brother, you have been claustrophobic and afraid of basements for ages now, 1000 years exactly-"

"And I have good reason to be!" Edward snapped.

"We know, but can't you imagine not being afraid anymore?" Alphonse reasoned.

….

"Paracelsus, your grades in herbology and potions have been plummeting. You have not shown up to any of those classes. I don't think you understand what this means," Professor Ravenclaw scolded him from behind her desk. Edward turned his eyes down to the ground in shame. He was standing in her office after being invited for tea. He knew by the way she had made the offer that he was in trouble. Edward bit his lip but did not say anything to defend himself. He knew the consequences for skipping his class and he had no excuse. Professor Ravenclaw frowned as she watched him and waited for an answer. She didn't get any.

"King Arthur sent you here for diplomatic security. He bought you from the Duke's dungeon but that doesn't mean you are free. You being here is the only thing that is keeping you from going back to the King in shackles. If you don't become a wizard for his court, you are going back to the dungeons. Why are you not going to your classes?" Ravenclaw scolded him sharply. Her voice was stern and sharp. It cut Edward bare and easily planted the fear into him. Tears welled in his eyes and he shook his head, trying to deny the fact that he was crying.

"I-I can't go back to the dungeons. I can't go in the dungeons," he repeated over and over again. His weak legs started to shake as his body began to quiver with his sobs. His muscles had strengthened since his time wasting away in the Duke's dungeons but they were still very weak. A chair flew beneath him by an invisible force and he collapsed down into it. Ravenclaw looked annoyed with him.

"If you don't want to go back, then why are you failing out by missing your classes? We can't keep you here if you don't put your effort in!" she argued. Edward dropped his head into his hands. He didn't attempt to wipe the tears away. He knew by now that they wouldn't stop.

"I-I can't go into the dungeons. I-I try every day. I try to go to the dungeons a-and the basement for my classes. I-I can't go into the dungeons. I-I can't go back there!" he cried. He repeated himself, begging her not to send him back. He begged and begged hoping that she would listen to him, unlike all of the guards the kept him locked up in the Duke's dungeon. Ravenclaw frowned at him as she listened to his babbling. After a few moments of listening to him, she stood and flicked her wand. The silver form of a raven patronus spat out of her wand.

"Tell Helga and Salazar to come to my office about Paracelsus' stay here. We need to make some class changes." The raven flew away out of the office. Another flick of her wand had a boiling pot of steeping tea on her desk with two cups. Edward barely noticed as he was still muttering to himself his quiet plea. However, he soon found a warm cup of tea placed into his quivering hands.

"Paracelsus', we will sort this out," Ravenclaw told him. Her voice was still stern but it was quiet and enough to reassure him that it would be alright. He would be alright.

…

Edward frowned as he looked back around the castle. He remembered when the witch trials failed to kill him and they found out the mask could contain him. He was imprisoned in the Duke's dungeon for two years with nothing but four walls and his own nightmares to keep him occupied. It had been 1000 years since the witch trials yet he could still feel the heavy chains around his wrists and the edge of the mask pressing into the sides of his head. He remembered when he was eventually taken to Hogwarts having to have separate lessons with Professor Slytherin and Hufflepuff just to learn potions and his herbology lectures? He hadn't been in the dungeons since then and he thought that he never would have to be again. He knew the fear hadn't gone away but he never had to face it as straight on as he had to do now. How many more times did he have to go back down to the dungeons to give something to Severus? How many more times would he have to step foot in the lower floors? It was something that loomed over him and now was more prominent than it had ever been since he was back in the castle. He had to face it.

"O-Okay," he relented, clenching his fist. He couldn't tell if it was in determination or in trepidation, but he would have liked to think the prior. Edward returned his gaze back outside to watch the morning take its time rolling out over the lawn of Hogwarts. Why couldn't ghosts have their parties outdoors? He wondered, taking a sip of his tea in an attempt to calm himself down but only to find that he had lost his liking for it.

"What are you looking at?" a voice came out behind him again. Edward leapt out of his skin and the cup clattered to the ground shattering on impact on the stone. The loud noise just made him jump again. Grabbing his chest to calm his racing heart, he felt like his nerves were being strung far and wide that morning.

"Does everyone want to scare me in the mornings?" he gasped, bending down and alchemically fixing the cup that shattered. His tea was a loss but he had a feeling that he wasn't going to finish it anyways.

"You just seem so approachable," the stranger joked and Edward turned around and gave his best offensive glare at them just to find two red heads staring at him. He knew that red hair meant that there was a 99% chance that the person was a Weasley. Since there were two of them and Edward was fearing he was seeing double with how alike they were, he guessed that these were the famous Weasley twins, Fred and George. He had never met them because they were too old to be in his class but rumors from the faculty told him that they were mischief makers at best, the devils at worse.

"Most of the students are scared of me," he stated flatly as if that would ward them off, but the twins shrugged.

"We aren't most students."

"What do you want," he ground out, hoping they would just leave him alone.

"I think your owl got a bit concussed when it broke through the window in the Great Hall and it gave us your mail," one of them, he couldn't tell which, said.

"My Owl? I don't have a-" Edward started but then spotted the Groundskeeper coming out of the Great Hall carrying a rather beaten looking owl. It appeared that the large man wanted to help it. Edward knew from the short talks that they had, which were very few and far inbetween since Edward's personality and being seemed to ward the man away, that the groundskeeper had a fascination for animals. As the man passed by through the doors to the grounds, not without a particular wary glance his way, Edward got a closer look at the bird. It was the one that had broke in through his window the few weeks prior and it seemed to make a habit of it. He groaned as he massaged his face in irritation.

"That's not my bird I was just borrowing it," he muttered, turning his attention back towards the twins.

"I would suggest you go to the owlery and find a better one."

"That one has seen better days," the other twin added.

"Just give me my mail," Edward growled at them, holding his hand out to them expecting them to hand it over. They offered him a paper wrapped package which looked a little worse for wear but was luckily still intact. He took it from them a little too roughly and he heard the contents clink slightly in retaliation.

"What is that?" he heard Alphonse ask him curiously.

"Nothing," Edward said quickly as he opened the package hoping that the contents weren't too rattled. A few large vials of potions ingredients poked out of the wrapping along with a silver fountain pen. Though they were battered, the vials were intact and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Brother did you use your entire paycheck to buy potion's ingredients for Snape?" he asked in disbelief. Edward grimaced as he plucked the pen out and quickly wrapped the package back up. He pocketed the pen and tucked the package underneath his arm. Along with sending the owl out on other errands such as getting himself a fountain pen instead of struggling with a quill, he had send his most recent paycheck out to get Severus replacements for the potion ingredients he had broke in the beginning of the year. The multiple requests had taken the owl a very long time to return with the orders. However, with the state the owl was in, he doubted he would be able to use it again. He would have to figure out another way to get an owl for himself.

"Why do you have to sound so shocked about it?" Edward grumbled underneath his breath to his brother before turning back towards the twins who didn't think better to leave him be. They were looking at him, not put off that he was talking to himself, but rather intrigued. As he heard of them from the other teachers, they must have heard of him from the students.

"You look familiar-"

"I teach here. Of course I look familiar," Edward retorted with a huff as he walked away from them, heading towards the Great Hall. The twins kept pace with him easily, not giving him room to even breathe.

"No as in seeing your somewhere before," one of them commented.

"Like a book, or picture-"

"It couldn't have been a book, George. We don't read," the one Edward finally designated as Fred smirked with a teasing grin on his face.

"I don't know where," Edward groaned. "I don't get out much-"

"That's obvious."

"You look horribly pale… Like a ghost," George pushed. Edward rolled his eyes as he poked his head into the Great Hall. He looked up to the High Table and saw only a few of the professors were still straggling at breakfast. The meal was almost over and classes were about to start soon so most of the students and teachers were leaving to start the day. Unfortunately, the person Edward was looking for wasn't there.

"Where's Snape?" Edward groaned, asking the red-heads for help. He had a feeling of what the answer was going to be.

"He's probably in his classroom, professor."

"We have potions first class." Edward felt his heart fall as he glanced over towards the staircase that lead down towards the dungeons. A slight feeling of nausea came over him as he forced his way over towards the entrance to hell. He kept reminding himself that it was just a dungeon, it wasn't even the dungeon, yet the fear inside of him only grew the closer he got to it. The air around him seemed to become terribly thick as he looked down into the darkness. He took a slight step back but accidentally bumped into the twins that were standing dangerously close to him. He could barely contain himself from begging them to take the package down for him. Unfortunately, his brother had other plans.

"Brother, this would be a good start to overcoming your fear. Remember you promised Nick you would try-"

"I didn't know it would be so soon," Edward hissed at him, feeling his heart skip in his chest as he dared to take another glance at the entrance. He sucked in a breath and turned around to get a good couple feet distance from the place. He needed air desperately, and the dungeon wasn't giving it to him. The feelings of the shackles around his wrists faded with every step he took and the sense of relief just made him want to run even farther away.

"Professor, are you alright?" Fred asked him, stopping him in his tracks. Edward glanced over his shoulder to see the twins normal mischievous grins replaced with a worried frown.

"N-no, I mean yes!" Edward stumbled. "Why wouldn't I be alright? Perfectly fine-"

"You seem scared-"

"I am not!'

"Are you afraid of the dungeons?" George asked him, connecting destination to reaction.

"N-No! That's stupid! Why would I be afraid of something like that?" Edward exclaimed, feeling his face grow red with embarrassment. The twins glanced at each other not convinced and Edward found himself taking a shaky solitary step back towards the dungeon entrance just to prove his point. They still weren't convinced. "I-I am not!"

"Professor, there is nothing wrong with that," Fred told him softly. "Our own baby brother is afraid of spiders."

"Deathly afraid of them. Wouldn't even look at one," George elaborated.

"I am not afraid of the dungeons I… I just don't like them, that's all and… I have other things to do…"

"Professor, we are going down to the dungeons anyways for class. Do you want us to take the package down for you?"

"Ed, you need to work on this for Nick,"Winry reminded him as he was just about to hand the package off to his students. Before they could grab a hold of it, he retracted a little as the guilt settled in his stomach. It didn't mix too well with the fear that was already lived there. He had promised Nick because he wanted to help, but now that he had to face the dungeons he felt the reality of that promise slip away. "An Elric never breaks a promise," she noted, making him feel even worse than before yet it drove him into tucking it back underneath his arm with a trembling hand. He sucked in a huge breath and shook his head at the twins.

"No I… I can take it," he muttered, angry that there was a noticeable shake in his voice. The twins looked at each other and stepped aside to make a path for him back to the dungeon entrance. His leadened feet dragged themselves back to the top of the stairs and he peered back down into the darkness.

"You did it before. You can do it again. Just try not to throw the package this time. You were very thoughtful to get it for him," his brother smiled.

"I won't," Edward grumbled as he attempted to take his first step and casually walk down the stairs just to spite the twins but his legs wouldn't budge. He was locked in place.

"Professor, do you need help?" George asked him. Edward didn't tear his eyes off of the staircase but he could just picture their faces, confused and concerned. He didn't think that the notorious tricksters could hold those emotions.

"No, I did this before… I just need to take my time," he told them quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. He was kind of hoping that if he talked softly, the tremors in his voice wouldn't be noticeable.

"How long did it take you to go down the last time?"

"20 minutes just to cross the threshold," Roy's voice said. "I timed."

"Shut up," Edward gritted. The red hair of the twins came into his view as they descended a couple steps on the staircase. They looked up at him from where they stood calmly on the steps. They made it look so easy.

"Come on Professor, we will go down together," Fred offered, holding out his hand for him. Edward looked at it hesitantly. He really didn't want help going down into the dungeons. He could do it himself… eventually. Yet against his strong will and determination, his hand struck out and latched onto the kid's tightly as if on reflex. The redhead's eyes widened with how tight he held onto him and had to pry his hand out of his grip. He cradled it lightly and tried to shake the pain out.

"Okay, maybe no contact," he smirked shakily up at Edward who tried to imitate his smile but failed at a grimace. "How about you just take the first few steps?"

"Alright," he trembled as he forced his foot to move. It felt like lead and didn't want to move at first but he kept urging himself forward and soon he found himself meeting the twins on the staircase. Cheers picked up inside of him as his friends in the stone were excited for his success. He heard Roy mutter something about it only taking him 10 minutes that time around. Edward would have rolled his eyes but they were too transfixed to the dim corridor ahead of him.

"Okay, just a few more," George echoed and their pattern continued. The twins accompanied him down the staircase to the lower floor that made up the dungeons. Edward hated to have his students watch him in such a state yet he was grateful for their presence. He found it so much easier and faster when he could actually see someone there with him. Though the souls in the stone were supportive, he couldn't see them. Knowing they were there wasn't enough. He had to be sure of it.

"Professor, where have we seen you before?" one of the twins asked. Edward couldn't tell which as he was focused on his feet, hoping that his shaky legs would cave underneath him.

"I-I don't know. I never met you before now," Edward told them honestly, not feeling up for a snide comment he wanted to give.

"It couldn't have been a book, or the newspaper," George muttered as they seemed stuck on the question.

"A magazine just doesn't feel right," Fred added.

"You're probably just.. Imagining things," Edward commented underneath his breath but the twins shook their heads.

"No we really think we saw you before just-" George started but there was a sudden snap of someone's fingers. The sound nearly sent Edward back up the corridor but the twins managed to calm him down enough to stay in the lower floors of the castle. He glared at him as he felt his nerves rattling around in his chest as the fear was blown through them.

"You assholes," he muttered under his breath along with many other curses as he had to regain the ground that he had lost. He had made so much progress and now he was delayed from freedom just because one of them snapped their fingers. He felt utterly foolish.

"Sorry, Professor," the kid muttered innocently. "I just thought I figured it out. George doesn't he look like that one card we always steal from Ron?"

"Card? Famous Witches and Wizards Card?"

"Yeah-" Fred started but saw the confused look on Edward's face as he didn't know what they were talking about. "Professor, don't tell Ron, but the reason why he hasn't finished collecting all of the cards at the bottom of the chocolate frogs yet is because we keep stealing one of his cards."

"Whenever he gets one we manage to take it and he's never the wiser," George explained with a smirk.

"You two are evil," Edward muttered as he looked slightly at his hand. The one that was usually shaking out of control was calming down slightly with the normal conversation. He grasped it to his chest lightly and turned his full attention on the twins for that moment. Maybe he could get through this if he was focused on something else. "What card was it?" he asked, only slightly curious but desperate for a distraction.

"Number 310, Paracelsus-"

"WHAT!" Edward shouted as his feet came to a halt. The twins glanced at each other suspiciously but nodded their heads.

"Yeah, we were just thinking you look kind of like him. You even have a metal arm like he did on the card-"

"But without a beard-"

"A BEARD!" He raged. "What are wizard's obsessions over beards! Merlin's beard this, Merlins beard that. Merlin never even had a beard! Now you are saying they make me have a beard?! Soon they are going to be saying Edward's beard!" He finished his rant, not at all satisfied. Why did wizards assume that all great minds had to be accompanied by beards. Beards didn't mean wisdom they meant the person didn't have the decency to shave. Edward crossed his arms in aggravation and smoldered there for a few seconds. Unfortunately, he happened to glance over and see the absolute dumbfounded expressions on the twins faces. Just realizing what he had admitted to the students, Edward groaned to himself and dropped his face into his hands. "Oh god."

"Professor, are you really-"

"Don't tell anyone," he ordered them before they could explode with excitement. "Damn it! Don't tell anyone! I don't want stupid students bugging me for my life story. It isn't interesting and I don't want to talk about it. I am just Edward, okay?"

"How many people know?"

"Just the faculty. But they know not to bug me," he growled. The twins chuckled in disbelief as they stared open mouthed at him.

"The card our brother has been missing for years is now his teacher this year?"

"This is absolutely amazing. You must be ancient!-"

"Ancient history ended before me. I am not that old," Edward growled as he tried his best to ignore the students hoping they weren't making a big deal about it. Looking back down the hallway he saw the darkness creeping towards him. He took in a sharp gasp as he looked around remembering where he was that whole time. With the conversation becoming so involved he had forgotten where he was for just a few blissful minutes. Now it was all rushing back to him. Heart freezing over, his body became petrified in its place as he stared into the darkness. The stone walls felt like they were closing in on him and he feared they would crush him if he stayed. He staggered back, where he thought the staircase would be towards his freedom but the twins were in the way.

"Professor, where are you going?" George asked, suddenly aware of his change in demeanor. The excitement of their revelation vanished as they realised that their professor was panicking again.

"i-I got to get out of here," he wheezed, his voice barely able to make a sound. He grabbed the package from underneath his arm and shoved it in one of the student's chests. "Here, take it-"

"But Professor-"

"We are here," George finished pointing to the door they were standing next to. Edward glanced over, wide eyed at the large black wooden door. They were there? Already? He wanted to rush in and throw the package at Severus and run out before the door could lock him in.

"Brother, you are so close-" The twins opened the door and walked into their classroom making the action look so easy. Edward felt his legs wanting to follow yet they were glued to the ground. He clutched the package to his chest and stared into the classroom. It looked more lively than the last time he was there. Students were sitting at a couple benches and cauldrons were bubbling. There was a sneering voice the instant the twins walked in, scolding them for being late.

"Professor Snape, we were just helping Professor Elric-"

"No excuses. Get to your chairs," the man snipped. As the twins vanished from the doorway, another familiar face appeared to replace them. Severus looked him over, his face a statue yet his eyes bearing some curiosity to them. His eyes latched onto the package he was holding and seemed to realise that it was the reason he made that perilous journey to begin with. "Elric, I told you to get someone else to run errands down here-"

"Th-this one's from me," Edward said halfmindedly as the other half was wandering with his eyes to the staircase.

"From you?" he asked, very confused. Edward quickly nodded his head as he practically threw the package at the man against his will of wanting to hand it over nicely. He quickly apologised as Severus stumbled to catch a hold of it. He looked from the brown wrapping up to him, surprised. It seemed he didn't get a lot of gifts in his time. Edward shifted nervously and glanced back towards the door again. It seemed so much farther now than it ever was. Seeing him look back, Severus sighed and straightened himself out.

"Elric, come on in-" he said but Edward just shook his head stubbornly. "I don't trust you to wait there so Elric come in," he more than ordered him. Edward found his shaky led legs shuffling into the dark classroom. He bit his lip as he saw all of the students staring at him. The Weasley twins were giving him a thumbs up to tell him he was doing well but that didn't make him feel any better. Suddenly Edward felt a large wooden case press into his stomach and he looked down to see Severus holding it out for him. He felt his shaky hands grab a hold of it and when he did there was a light tinkle of vials on the inside.

"These are some of the student's Peace draughts that they made last week. Their proportions are right but are too strong for a normal person to use. I failed them, however, for your sake, they might just be enough," Severus said as he released his hold on the box. Edward fumble with the weight but after a glare from the potion's master he was able to get a hold of it.

"I-I don't need-" Edward started, turning slightly red from the thought of having to take a peace drought but the man just stared at him, seeing right through his lie.

"Just until you are able to come down and not make my students late for class," he told him stiffly. Edward frowned and looked down at the box. There sounded to be a lot in there. He looked back to see the whole class of students staring at him expectedly and he turned red. Tucking the box under his arm, he gave a quick thanks to Severus before heading to the door. He tried to keep control of his walk but only managed to contain it to a sprint. He heard Severus calling out for him but by that time he was already running down the corridor towards the staircase for freedom, the vials clanking in their case. When he got back out into the entryway Edward took a big gasping breath of air and leaned against the wall by the threshold. His legs were shaking as well as his hand and he had to put the case of potions down for a little bit as he rested. He feared that his trembling hands might just drop it. Edward collapsed down to the ground and pressed his back securely against the wall, pulling his knees to his chest. He sucked in a huge breath and released it, hoping to calm his nerves from their wired state.

"Brother you did well. That was nice what you did for Severus," Alphonse complimented him. Edward breathed in and smiled shakily, not able to do much else.

"I-I did it…," he gasped, excitement overwhelming his lingering fear.

"Are you willing to try again later when the time comes?" Winry asked him. Edward frowned. He knew that there were going to be more errands to run. He couldn't expect to be able to go to Nick's party with just one go. He needed to keep at it to break his fear. But to go through all of that again? What if he didn't have anyone to talk to next time? What if Peeves showed up again? Though he had many questions on what the next trip to the dungeons could hold, Edward nodded his head. For Nick, he would do it.

….

Harry snuck out of Filch's office as Peeve's crashed cabinets down the corridor. It was just what he needed to get out of a good night's detention just for tracking mud into the castle. There wasn't even that much of it but the caretaker was always in a bad mood when it came to students. He should have taken Nearly Headless Nick's advice earlier and stayed away from that corridor. He probably wouldn't have been caught otherwise. However after that morning's quidditch practise in the muddy field, he just wanted to go the fast way back to his dorms so he could catch up on some well needed rest. Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, was making them get up extremely early just so that they could get an extra hour of practice. The entire team would have rather had an extra hour of sleep, but their embarrassing loss to Ravenclaw last year was good motivation.

"Harry!" he heard someone exclaim and he looked over to see Nick's ghostly head poke out through the wall as if he too was hiding from Filch. "Did it work? I sent Peeves to go tip over some courier cabinets as a distraction. Hope you didn't get into too much trouble-"

"None at all," Harry said, surprised that the ghost would do such a thing for him. He always thought Nick was a nice ghost, they talked a few times, but he never thought he was daring or adventurous as to take such a risk to get him out of Filch's grimy claws. Something seemed different about him. Instead of the cold air that ghosts give off, though that was chilling Harry a bit to the point that he had to pull his quidditch robes a little tighter around himself, Nick seemed to be a little more happy than the normal gloom of death. "How are you doing Nick?" he questioned, not wanting to leave the man who saved him from Filch with anything less than a decent conversation. He owed at least that.

"Just.. well, my 700th Deathday party is coming up and I am just so glad that one of my old friend is able to come. He wants to put in a good word for me to the Headless Hunt," Nick said, a smile on his pale face. "It has been such a long time since we partied together. I hope I still got it in me-"

"That's…. Good," Harry said hesitantly, not sure if he should congratulate the ghost on his death or mourn it. Nick seemed very excited for it though and that seemed to be a sign that it was more or less a good thing. However, as the ghost pondered there a bit, probably daydreaming about his party, he seemed to grow concerned.

"Oh dear," he muttered. "I just realised that he would be the only lifeful person at the event. I don't want him to feel left out. Ghosts sometimes can be very reluctant to talk to the living. It might seem dull for him."

"Oh, well that's too bad," Harry said half mindedly just wanting to leave the dead conversation and get back to his dorms. He could picture the warm shower and pajamas already. Nick's cold aura wasn't doing anything to help his wandering mind as he shivered underneath his mud soaked robes. Harry was planning on ignoring his potion's homework just for a restful weekend. He hadn't had one of those in such a long time. However instead of saying salutations, Nick snapped his ghostly fingers and the smile instantly returned to his face.

"Harry… would you be able to come to my Death Day party on Halloween, just so he would have someone to talk to? Of course, if you would rather go to the feast, that's okay. Your friends are invited too. I just was hoping to make it more exciting own there-"

"O-Okay," Harry said reluctantly. He would love to go to the Halloween feast however Nick did help him out of a good detention. Maybe he owed him a little more than just a simple conversation. Though his mouth already watered for all of the candies that would be at the feast, Harry agreed to go to his party. Who knew? Maybe ghosts were a little livelier when it came to parties. He just hoped that his friends would agree to go with him. He didn't want to be stuck there alone with one of Nicks ancient friends as his only form of conversation. The man was old and probably couldn't remember much.

"Thank you!" Nick exclaimed. "I can't wait. Paracelsus is definitely going to be happy to see some familiar faces that aren't beyond the grave-"

"Wait," Harry halted Nick from floating away. "Do you mean I know him?" he asked. Nick looked at him confused.

"Of course! He is staying here in the castle this year, very reluctantly I might add," Nick told him. Harry frowned. He didn't know that there was anyone like that staying in the castle. Surely a new person would have been announced at the opening feast. Harry would have asked more questions but he heard sudden curses behind him as Filch must have been returning. Nicholas quickly ushered him off with a few more words of gratitude and Harry went running down the hall in hopes of not being caught again. He was sure that detention wouldn't have been all that decent if he was caught escaping from his first one.

Harry ran up through the castle and towards the Gryffindor dormitory. The other students were just getting up to start their weekend as it was still early in the morning. He was glad to see that Hermione and Ron were up. Ron would have usually slept in on the weekend however Hermione knew he had a lot of homework to catch up on and must have woken him up for it. He didn't look pleased, but hopefully with his news he would be cheered up. Harry still didn't know quite what to think of it.

"So you are telling me," Ron pronounced slowly as if he was having trouble hearing what Harry had just told him, "that Paracelsus, the Paracelsus, is staying in the castle?" Harry nodded his head. "Why didn't we know?! We have got to meet him. Do you understand how extraordinary this is?!" he exclaimed. "He's one of the rarest wizard cards out there. The only one I don't have!"

"Harry, Paracelsus is the person who invented alchemy. He taught Nicholas Flamel. He has been alive for centuries yet no one knows where he is. Are you sure it is him?"

"That was what Sir Nick said."

"I would like to meet him, maybe we could talk to him about the stone. Our alchemy classes aren't getting very far. We are only learning basic chemistry and circles yet. If Professor Elric is worried about the stone, we might be able to ask Paracelsus why-"

"You're still going off about the stone? It was destroyed, remember? That was what Dumbledore said," Ron argued.

"Yet Professor Elric was looking for it all the same," Hermione reasoned. "We are the ones who got closest to the stone. What if it isn't what we thought it was? We should be able to know why someone else is searching for it. I think we should go to the party to find out."

"I don't care about the stone but I want to go to the party. I just want to see Professor Elric's face when he knows that Paracelsus himself is in the castle. Ha! Maybe then Professor Elric would stop being so prideful," Ron grumbled just to get a smack over the shoulder from Hermione.

"But it is over Halloween Feast. Are you sure you would want to miss that?" Harry asked them to make sure it was something they actually wanted to do.

"Of course!" Hermione replied with a smile. "This is exciting isn't it? We have never been to a deathday party before. I wonder what it is like."

"I don't care about the party. I want to meet Paracelsus! It is a once in a century opportunity!"

…..