Dumbledore was concerned.
Well, that might not be the right word, but you get the gist.
He had a plan ready when Harry Potter entered Hogwarts-no matter what house he went into, but Gryffindor would have been best. He would have become friends with good people, or else Dumbledore would of done something to drive them off, and would have found clues for the stone. It would have been best if he went to go save it, as Dumbledore correctly assumed that there would be an attempt on it this year, but beggars can't be choosers.
But then Neville Longbottom, one of the kids he wanted Harry to be friends with, got sorted into Slytherin. True, his Grandmother was also a Slytherin, but he would have thought that the boy would of took more after his parents. But that's not what's worrying. Part way through the year, Neville had seemed to develop a whole new personality and was now on his way to being the "King of Slytherin".
And Dumbledore can't help be reminded of another boy with black hair that took over Slytherin.
And of course around this time Neville became friends with Harry. But, at least, it didn't seem to be a bad influence... Yet. Which is good, because Dumbledore didn't think he could do anything to separate them at this point.
Draco Malfoy was another surprise, but not an unpleasant one. He expected the blond to follow his father into Slytherin. But no, instead he was sorted into Hufflepuff, and became friends with Harry. And, if Dumbledore wanted to be honest with himself, Draco seemed closer to Ron Weasley, of all people.
He wasn't sure what brought on these personality changes or if Hannah Abbot or Hermione Granger had one too, but with Voldemort actually there and alive, he didn't want to rule out anything. He was going to have to keep an eye on that group closer next year.
It wasn't until a few weeks later did he realize that the Stone was no longer in the mirror.
xXx
"What are we going to do?"
Everyone looked over at Hermione, who was sitting in a corner of the booth and looking out the window. The school year had ended with a Gryffindor victory, but only because Dumbledore was a jerk and gave them last minute points. Dumbledore hadn't noticed the lack of the stone, and they planned to have it hidden long before he did.
Ron blinked and put his quill down, careful not to smudge his notes on the stone. "What do you mean?"
Hermione finally looked at them and gave them a small smile. "You guys didn't notice, but near the end, all of you were practically vibrating with contained energy. The adventure with the stone calmed you down a bit but that won't last. So, what are we going to do?"
"We haven't stopped fighting for so long..." Neville said, realization lacing his tone. "The Elrics had been fighting since they were around ten, be it from their training or their journey, Ling even before that, and Lt. and me had been in war. We're used to excitement and adrenalin."
"And for a year without that, we built up stored energy." Draco continued, wincing. "It was a nice break but even our new bodies are getting ready for battle."
"So, it's simple." Hannah said, looking at each of them in turn. "We each need a goal and work towards that. Until then, we'll train. It should keep our energy levels down."
"Excellent idea Lt." Neville smiled. The smile quickly turned into a smirk. "The Wizarding World is so out of date. I think a new Minister will work perfectly..."
"Always the same sir." Hannah shook her head. Neville just smiles at her.
"There's no anti-fractionation laws here"
Hannah smiled back.
"I'll focus on Automail and see if I can make it better for this world. And maybe I could see if I could get technology to work at school!" Hermione said excitedly, already thinking of multiple blueprints.
Ron looked at them before looking back at his notes. "I think I'll figure out Alchemy in this world. Get it back into practice. And maybe figure out how we got here."
"Good idea Brother." Draco smiled. "I'll help until I figure out something to do." He looked at Harry, who hadn't said a word yet. "What about you Harry?"
Harry blinked and mulled it over for a minute. He even asked Greed before quickly realizing that he was taking a nap after being bored for so long. He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Before..." He paused. "Before my goal was to become emperor, but there is only one country here and Neville would better at that than me. I'm not sure what I want to do."
Hermione smiled. "You'll figure it out Harry."
"Hey!" Ron said suddenly, changing the subject. "Do you any on you want to stay at my house for part of the summer?"
With the subject changed to summer plans, Harry leaned back and relaxed. The train would be at King's Cross soon and he needed some time to relax before he had to deal with his family. He sighed. It was times like this that he missed Lan Fan and Mei even more then normal.
The conversation went from summer plans to next school year to embarrassing stories about their lives in Amestris. Harry tried to participate but he couldn't stay focused on it. He could only focus on the nervous excitment he was feeling, for some reason, that made it hard to sit still. Eventually, even Greed got annoyed of his nervous tapping and yelled at him to stop. Harry was saved from answering by the train stopping.
But then, as he was getting up, he froze. He reconized that chi.
Lan Fan...