Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold
by hikaranko

Summary: Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and definitely with FMA. rated T for language.

Disclaimer: I, just like most everyone else, do NOT own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. Of all the rotten luck, it seems I didn't turn into Hiromu Arakawa or J.K. Rowling overnight.

Author's Note: this took me a while to finish... wasn't really sure how to jump from point A to point B, but it's done at last! yay!

thanks for all the reviews! chapter 10 is apparently very popular... curse Hermione and her incredibly good luck with guys. I'm just jealous. grr. why can't I live in that fictionalworld with all the extremely good looking guys? hmm... must find away to pass through the gate... XD

uh-oh. I have incited the unruly crowd of anti-fangirl organizations. OO;; waah! don't hurt me! otherwise you'll never know what happens next! (hides under desk clutching laptop for dear life) I'm sorry for being a fangirl! But I can't help it! Ed's just so... (drool) um... uh-oh.(cowers under desk again)

Chapter 11
Missing Quidditch

"I can't believe you asked Mudblood Granger to Slughorn's party!" Zabini raved as they approached the Slytherin common room, still in shock.

"Would you shut up already?" Ed growled. Zabini hadn't stopped talking since they parted ways with Harry and Hermione and he was really starting to get on Ed's nerves. "So what if I asked her? I don't see what the big deal is."

They paused for a moment to say the password and pass through the newly opened doorway. Malfoy and the others were already inside, lounging casually on the couches by the fire place. Everyone looked up at the two Slytherins as they entered, but Zabini's insistent ravings stopped them from saying a word to them.

"But she agreed, Elric!" Zabini went on. "It's a very big deal!"

Ed gave a toothy grin. "Don't tell me you're jealous that I may have a date and you don't."

That comment shut Zabini up nicely. Ed's grin grew mischievous as the tall Slytherin finally closed his mouth and turned away with a snort. He grumbled something under his breath in annoyance.

"Eddy has a date?" Pansy squealed indignantly. "A date to what?"

"To Slughorn's party," Zabini muttered, turning back to the others.

Draco just snorted, leaning back into the couch and turning away snobbishly. "That right? Who's he taking?"

"You'll never believe it," Zabini said, a wild look in his eyes, "but he asked Granger!"

Suddenly everyone's jaws dropped. Pansy seemed perfectly horrified by the idea while Crabbe and Goyle both froze in shock, just the way Zabini had. Malfoy turned back to look at Edward, a hateful look burning in his silver eyes.

"GRANGER?" he echoed angrily. "Why'd you ask Granger of all people?"

The young alchemist smiled innocently and casually shrugged his shoulders, which only served to upset the Slytherins further.

"I dunno," he said airily. "I just... asked."

Everyone began to talk at once, so quickly that the words stumbled over one another. A part of Ed was enjoying the chaos he had created. The only reason he asked Hermione was to get some background information on Draco. It was a purely platonic interest. This was all military research for the sake of Ed's mission. There was nothing sweet or romantic about the situation.

'Then again, Hermione is really pretty...'

All of a sudden, Ed's cheeks flushed slightly and he turned away, scratching the back of his head nervously. "It's not a big deal, okay? So I'm going with Hermione to Slughorn's party, whoop-dee-flippin'-doo."

"You're calling her by name?" said Pansy, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Um... yeah. So?"

The pug-faced Slytherin turned away, raising her chin snobbishly in the air. Ed just rolled his eyes. The whole house rivalry thing was getting old. Draco continued to glare daggers at the small alchemist, steam practically blowing out of his ears. Zabini noticed this and snickered.

"What's wrong, Malfoy? Do I detect a hint of jealousy?"

Draco growled. "Jealous of what? Elric having a date with that filthy Mudblood? Not on your life, you wanker."

A tiny smile was on Zabini's face. "Mudblood or what, Granger is a bit of a looker, eh?"

Angrier than ever, Draco shot another hateful glare at Ed. Ed just stuck his hands into his pockets, smiling back at him innocently.

"I thought you said you'd never touch a blood traitor!" Pansy shrieked at Blaise objectively, jumping to her feet.

"I didn't say anything about touching her," Zabini shot back. "It doesn't hurt to look, though. It's awful hard to find purebloods that attractive."

He gave Pansy a meaningful look and her face instantly twisted with rage, which made Blaise grin. He glanced at Draco, who was now glaring into the fireplace, and his grin grew wider. Ed tried very hard to suppress his laughter as he watched Pansy's face turn from red to a dark shade of purple. She eventually thrust her chin into the air with a loud "hmph" and started for the door.

"I'm hungry!" she announced as though somebody cared. "Let's go to dinner, Drakey!"

Malfoy rolled his eyes slowly so that he could see Pansy out of the corner of his eye. He didn't seem particularly pleased with the idea of joining anyone for dinner, but still got to his feet and followed Pansy out of the room. He shouldered Ed roughly as he passed. Normally Ed would have fought back somehow, but this time he just grinned. Crabbe and Goyle, though still shocked into silence, scrambled to their feet to catch up to their leader.

Zabini elbowed Ed gently, a playful, teasing grin on his face. "This is gonna be fun."

He then hurried to catch up, calling after Pansy and Draco. Edward was the last to leave the common room. His grin grew as he stroked his chin thoughtfully, a scheming glimmer in his gold eyes.

'Bingo.'

Thanks to Zabini and Pansy's very loud discussion of Ed's date to Slughorn's party over dinner, the news had reached every corner of the castle by the next morning. It seemed as though everyone in school was talking about it. In fact, the second Ed stepped into the Great Hall for breakfast, a cold shiver ran up and down his spine. Everyone had paused for a moment to look at him, and Ed could practically feel the enraged, jealous glares from several other boys around the room on his skin. Hermione casually brushed off everyone's comments to her, though it seemed that Ron was giving her the hardest time out of anyone. Ed chose to ignore anyone that bothered him about it.

Other than the buzzing rumors that began flying around, the rest of the month passed smoothly. Draco's Quidditch practices became more and more frequent, since they had an upcoming game against Gryffindor. Ed wasn't particularly keen on watching the Slytherin team's practice sessions, so he took advantage of those times to send his reports and his letters to Al. Alphonse was shocked to hear about Ed asking Hermione out on a date and made it a point to somehow tease him about it in every one of his letters. And, surprisingly enough, Ed had also received a letter from Hawkeye asking if Mustang was with him in Hogwarts. Which was weird, since Edward thought the colonel was with her back in East City.

It was suddenly the morning of the Quidditch game with Gryffindor. However, Draco didn't seem to be particularly enthusiastic about it. The other Slytherins were the excited ones, going on and on about how they would definitely win against the Gryffindors this year.

"So this year for sure, right?" Crabbe/Goyle said for the millionth time, stuffing a spoonful of muesli into his mouth.

"Yeah," Zabini told him with an evil grin. "Potty and his losers are going down."

Ed rolled his eyes as he swallowed his food. From what he had heard, the Slytherin team hadn't been able to win a Quidditch game against Gryffindor ever since Harry signed on.

"Geez, you guys are like broken records," he said. "I'm gonna laugh if you guys lose. The odds are completely against you."

The other Slytherins simultaneously shot Ed a mean glare, sending a sudden chill up and down his spine.

"You realize that a loss for us is a loss for you too, Edward," Pansy told him icily, not using his annoying nickname for once.

Crabbe/Goyle cracked his knuckles in a vaguely threatening manner. Ed just rolled his eyes again, not daunted in the slightest, and turned his attention back to the mountains of food on his plate.

"Yeah, sure," he muttered, stuffing several slices of bacon into his mouth. 'I never pledged myself to this damn house.'

Before anyone could say anything more, Draco quickly rose to his feet, drawing everyone's attention back to him. The others all looked at him expectantly as though he were supposed to deliver some sort of inspirational speech , but he merely looked coolly at each one of them in turn. He glared slightly at Ed, and Ed noticed for the first time how exhausted Draco looked. There were dark bags growing under his eyes and his skin tone seemed a shade paler than usual. Ed's eyebrows came together.

'What's wrong with him?' he wondered.

"I'm off to prepare for the game," Draco told them, moving to leave.

"Okay!" Pansy chirped, back to being excited. "Good luck!"

"Crush 'em, Malfoy!" said Crabbe and Goyle in unison.

"Wait a second," Ed said sternly, grabbing Draco by the wrist to stop him. "You don't look too good. Maybe you shouldn't play."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes and wrenched his arm away, looking as though he had never been more insulted in his life. "What are you, my mother?" he barked. "I'm fine. Just leave me alone."

"Yeah," Zabini said. "Besides, Malfoy's our seeker! He can't just sit the game out. Am I right or am I right?"

As Zabini turned to look at the other Slytherins at the table within earshot, each one of them nodded their heads in agreement.

"You can't just have one person for that position," Ed argued. "It's not logical. There has to be a back up player in case someone can't make it. That's why it's a team."

But his argument was ignored as everyone told Draco to go ahead, wishing him luck just as Pansy had. Malfoy glared at Ed again before briskly marching out of the Great Hall. Unable to do anything else, Ed just watched him leave, his gold eyes narrowed.

Many other students began to prepare to leave as well, chattering eagerly amongst themselves about the game as they did so. Ed and the others stayed at the table for a little while longer as they hadn't finished their food just yet. Zabini and Pansy seemed very keen on getting to the Quidditch pitch as quickly as possible and finding good seats. They were, in fact, so eager that the instant their plates were clean, Pansy and Zabini practically pushed Ed, Crabbe, and Goyle out of the Great Hall and off toward the field.

Ed was pulled into a seat with Draco's friends at the top of a high tower, overlooking a large, oval-shaped stadium of some sort. There were three hoops on both ends of the field that towered high in the air, looking very much like giant soap bubble wands. The entire field was surrounded by huge towers for the spectators, one of which Ed was sitting in at that very moment. Half of the towers were filled with people dressed in silver and green and were decorated with green banners bearing the Slytherin crest. Not surprisingly, the other half was decorated in red and gold, the Gryffindor crest emblazoned boldly on their banners. Everyone was getting increasingly excited for the game, anxiously peering down at the field every now and then.

He surveyed his surroundings, looking at everyone's faces. Ed wasn't sure he liked this sport. From what he had read and heard about Quidditch, it definitely wasn't scientifically sound. Flying around on brooms? Of all the things that he heard about magic, flying around on broomsticks struck him as the most ridiculous. It completely ignored the principle of equivalent exchange and was the greatest stereotype of all time. Needless to say, it bothered him, just like most everything else Ed had learned about magic. The other Slytherins assured him that he would probably enjoy it once he actually got to watch a game, but he still wasn't convinced.

"Is there gonna be a game or not?" he muttered, folding his arms indignantly over his chest. He glared at the empty field below. "I'm getting bored, here."

Zabini laughed, slapping Ed's back. "You're as impatient as Malfoy!"

Ed could feel his eye twitch. 'No I'm not!' he wanted to yell. 'I'm nothing like that elitist bastard!'

"The match should be starting soon," Pansy assured Ed with a nod.

Then, as though on Pansy's cue, a gate opened on both sides of the pitch. Everyone began to cheer wildly as two teams of students strode out, brooms in hand. Zabini, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle all leapt to their feet at once, yelling and whooping for their green and silver clad representatives. Ed eyed each member of the two teams, sizing them up. He frowned slightly. He didn't see Draco out among the Slytherins.

"Hey, what happened to Drakey?" Pansy squealed, also noticing his absence.

"He must have taken my advice," Ed said after a moment. "I'll go see how he's doing."

As he slowly wormed his way out from amongst the row of cheering Slytherins, Pansy seized Ed's jacket sleeve and stopped him. "I'll go with you."

"No need," Ed told her, waving one hand dismissively. "Just one person should be enough. Besides, he's probably in the changing room and I don't think you'd be allowed in there."

Pansy stuck out her lower lip in a pout before giving in and returning to her seat. As the Quidditch match began, Ed exited the stands and made his way to the changing room. He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked, wondering whether or not to take his time with the little trip. He wasn't exactly eager to rejoin Draco's cronies to watch a sport that he didn't understand very well. On the other hand, he had to be sure of the Malfoy heir's whereabouts at all times, so hurrying was probably a good idea.

He entered the changing room and looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone inside. Ed raised an eyebrow in confusion and hesitantly took a step forward.

"Draco, you in here?"

No answer. Ed moved further into the room, looking around him in all directions. He peered into several of the open lockers, wondering which one of them was Malfoy's.

"Hey, Malfoy! Where'd ya go?"

Still no answer. The young alchemist folded his arms over his chest, his brow furrowed slightly in confusion. He then moved toward the exit, throwing one last glance back at the changing room. Ed then shrugged his shoulders and left, this time heading for the Slytherin dorms. Draco had probably gone back to catch up on the sleep that he seemed to be missing out on. This was also very strange, since Draco seemed to always get enough sleep...

When Ed entered the common room, he found that it was completely abandoned. Apparently, everyone had gone to watch the Quidditch match. The same could be said for most of Hogwarts; the corridors and courtyards were relatively empty. Ed made his way to their dorm, knocking on the door before allowing himself in.

Ed blinked, confused. Draco wasn't here either. His eyes darted around the room, checking to see if Draco had been there. But there was no sign of him either way. With a resigned sigh, Ed turned on his heel and started to leave.

'That leaves the infirmary,' he thought.

The hospital wing was one place that Ed had yet to really acquaint himself with. He knew where it was thanks to a quick tour that Draco and Pansy had taken him on, but he preferred to stay away from it at all costs because of his auto-mail. He took a deep breath as he reached the entrance, hoped not to get caught by whoever was in charge for a sudden check up, and then walked in.

It was a large, simple room with beds lined up on the opposite walls. There were a few curtains around the beds at the far end of the wing which were probably only used in case of an emergency. Close to the entrance was a small office, which must have been the head nurse's. As Ed looked around the room, it was clear that Draco hadn't confined himself here, either.

"Can I help you, young man?" came a stern voice.

A middle aged woman who had to be the head nurse bustled out of her office, wiping her hands dry on her apron. She was looking Ed over as though searching for any sign of injury or sickness. Ed just smiled nervously in her direction and slowly inched out the door.

"Just looking for someone," he said quickly, turning around to leave. "But thanks."

The nurse nodded and slowly turned back to reenter her office. Just then, Ed stopped in his tracks as a thought occurred to him and looked back at the nurse, a serious expression on his face.

"Actually, maybe you can help me," he called, drawing her attention. "Has Draco Malfoy been in here today?"

"Draco Malfoy?" the head nurse echoed, giving Ed an odd look. "No, he hasn't."

"Damn it," Ed cursed softly. Then, in a louder voice he added, "Thanks again."

He then hurried out of the infirmary and quickly made his way back to the Quidditch pitch. He decided to check one more time, but somewhere deep down Ed knew that Draco had pulled a fast one on him again. As he approached the stadium, people were filtering out and heading back to the school. All of the Gryffindor students were cheering happily, practically dancing as they walked. The Slytherin students scowled at them, muttering angrily under their breath. A small grin appeared on Ed's face. He should have bet money on their loss.

Ed weaved his way through the slowly thickening crowd and headed for the Slytherin team's changing room. Inside, several team members seemed to be throwing angry fits while others simply looked disheartened, having resigned themselves to their fate.

"Hey guys!" Ed called cheerily as he entered. "You're all looking exceptionally gloomy today. Bad game, huh?"

No one looked up. A few of them growled as they changed out of their uniforms. Someone threw a damp towel at one of the others, muttering something to him angrily. Ed smirked as he looked over each of the players, not caring that they probably wanted to kill him.

"I'll be blunt. What happened to Malfoy?"

The boy with the damp towel on his face flinched slightly. Several other players suddenly came to life and began to talk all at once. Some of them sounded furious, especially one boy that Ed discovered was the team captain.

"I oughta throw him off the team!" he raved as he approached Edward. "That Malfoy only shows up for every other practice, and then he has the balls to call in sick the day of the match!"

"He only goes to every other practice?" Ed echoed, blinking in confusion.

"If we're lucky!" the captain went on. "And on top o' that, Vaisey takes a bludger to the head during practice, so we've lost some of our best players in a shot!"

The captain continued to rage at the unlucky circumstances of their game, which was only getting the other players more riled up. Ed just lowered his gaze to the floor, his mind racing. As realization dawned on him, he clenched his teeth angrily, balling his hands into tight fists.

'I should've known... That bastard! Mustang's gonna scream my ears off when he hears about this...'

Before the Slytherin team could start fighting amongst themselves, Ed quickly thanked the captain and darted back out the door, mentally cursing Malfoy several different ways to hell. As he reentered the school grounds and turned a corner, he crashed rather violently into somebody and they both tumbled to the floor. Ed quickly pulled himself together, sitting up and shaking his head.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Actually, he wasn't really sorry at all. He was annoyed and angry, partially with whoever he had bumped into, but mostly with Draco. Ed was ready to pick himself up, make a mad dash down the hall, and leave whoever had fallen to the floor in his dust.

"That's alright," said a familiar voice. "I-I'm sorry, too. I wasn't looking where I was going, and..."

Ed looked across the wide corridor to see who it was and saw Hermione Granger, looking very upset and on the verge of tears. He blinked in shock as he looked at her, all thought of finding Malfoy suddenly gone.

"Hermione? Are you okay?"

The bushy-haired girl slowly looked back up at him and her eyes grew wide. Hermione quickly turned away, apparently embarrassed to have been caught in such a state, and rose to her feet. She smoothed over her robes and skirt, trying to make herself look dignified. She sniffled slightly, wiping her face with one hand.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Ed said as he got up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Hermione answered quickly with a shake of her head. "Look, I... I've got to get going."

With that, she hurried away, rounding a corner in the hallway and vanishing out of sight. Ed watched her go for a moment, wondering what could have happened. Then he was suddenly hit with a powerful urgency as he remembered what he was supposed to be doing and hurried down the hall in the opposite direction. He pushed his worries about Hermione away for now, forcing himself to focus on finding Malfoy.

Ed searched the castle several times over, from the dungeons to the North Tower, but there was still no sign of Draco anywhere. It was almost as though he had disappeared into thin air (which may very well have happened, for all Ed knew about magic). He didn't think he left any rooms out of his search. It seemed to him like he now had the entire layout of the school memorized. And after catching a glimpse of the stock in the school library, he made a mental note to make a trip there sometime soon. How he had stayed away from that library for two months, Ed wasn't sure.

Draco was still missing throughout dinner, which made Pansy whine and complain in the most annoying manner possible all night long. He showed up quite suddenly just as everyone left the Great Hall and headed for the dorms.

Zabini's eyebrows arched upward in surprise. "Malfoy?"

The platinum blonde boy turned at the sound of his name, a tired look on his face. "What?"

Ed clenched his teeth angrily. "Where the hell have you been?" he shouted from down the hall, fighting the urge to rush over and punch him in the nose.

He groaned and rolled his eyes. "None of your business."

'It is my business, dammit!' Ed wanted to scream, but resisted.

Pansy was the first to approach Draco, running toward him and smothering him in one of her insane hugs that she reserved especially for him. However, the moment was short-lived as she suddenly pushed him away with fire in her eyes.

"Where did you run off to, Drakey?" she scolded him sharply. "I was worried sick about you!"

"Looks like he's the sick one, Pansy," said Crabbe/Goyle as everyone approached. "What were you doing all afternoon?"

"You ran out on a game against Gryffindor, Malfoy!" Zabini raved, running his hands over his head. "You've never passed up an opportunity to humiliate Potty and his little friends before."

Draco just shrugged his shoulders carelessly in response. "Well, I just didn't feel up to it today. I was a little under the weather, you realize."

"You were insisting that you'd be able to play before the game," Ed pointed out, his voice firm.

A pair of weary-looking silver eyes slowly turned to look at Edward. "Well. That was before I got to the pitch, wasn't it?"

The alchemist narrowed his eyes. "I don't buy that."

Malfoy turned away again. "Too bad, 'cause that's the truth."

Before Ed could get in another word, everyone began to tell both him and Draco what happened at the Quidditch game they had missed. They took extra care to mention how they probably would have won if Draco had been there, but the Slytherin seeker didn't care. Draco didn't seem to be particularly interested in hearing about the game at all. Ed only half-listened to their account of the match, but his mind was mostly preoccupied with trying to figure out where Malfoy had disappeared to.

His disappearances were glaringly suspicious. And Edward fully intended to find out exactly what was going on.