Sorry bout that. This was supposed to go up last night but then my school's internet shuts down randomly. It is quite spotty in some places and my room is the worst of them. WELL, like I always say, here is another chapter. I hope you enjoy. And Thankyou for all of the reviews!
CHAPTER 11
Christmas Headaches
"We know what you are thinking Harry, but don't do anything stupid!" Hermione warned him as the boy stormed throughout the common room later that evening. Harry was absolutely furious about what he found out. Ron knew that the information was a shocker, but he also knew that Harry had a tendency to get hasty and big headed. The saying 'don't do anything stupid' would most likely wash over the kid. The three bystanders to the boy's anta rage, Edward, Ron, and Hermione, sat in the squashy armchairs and watched him pace back and forth in front of the fireplace.
"But what am I supposed to do? That man threw my parents at Voldemort's feet! I just can't sit here and wait for him to get me too!" Harry argued.
"Yes you can!" Ron spat back. "If you go looking for him of course he is going to find you!"
"But I will find him!" the deranged kid retorted as if he was already making a plan.
"That is the same exact thing," Edward grumbled. Nothing seemed to calm the kid down. He was pacing faster than ever, and his hands were constantly clenching and unclenching themselves as if to grab something. Everyone was worried. Edward gave out a sigh. "Look," he said trying to give him the story straight. "Vengence is not the way to go about things. What do you expect to come of it? If everybody got vengeance on one another, when would it all stop?"
"What would you know about it? It isn't like your parents were murdered by a mass serial killer," Harry grumbled and leaned back against the mantle. Edward wanted to strangle the kid, and he knew that if he was Izumi she would have, but he kept himself contained. After a moment, Edward let out a breath of air he didn't know he was holding.
"My friend was in the exact same position as you," he said. Everyone looked up at him but he held up his only hand to silence any sound of attacks. "She had parents who were Doctors in the civil war and they tried the best that they could to help every injured person there, no matter what ethnicity. However, one of the patients that they fixed woke up and killed them both because they were Amestrian." Hermione gasped and Ron's mouth dropped open. Harry shifted uncomfortably where he stood. "She grew up without her parents as well, but she didn't wake up one day and go searching for the man out of the blue."
"But I know who killed them! I know that he is around here somewhere!" Edward had enough. He calmly stood up and grabbed Harry's shirt collar and pinned him to the wall. He was amazingly strong with just one arm. Everyone in the room was a bit shocked about this and Harry was completely frightened.
"Listen to me, you don't want to do this! I knew the man who killed her parents. I unfortunately met him on several occasions. The question isn't will you find him, the question is, are you ready to pull that trigger?" Edward gritted. "My friend, no matter how much she wanted to kill him, she couldn't pull that trigger. Black might and probably will not hesitate when you can't pull it. You are not a killer Harry, so don't be stupid like one!" Edward dropped Harry and stormed out of the Gryffindor Common room. Hermione and Ron looked at the shocked face of their friend and knew that the message had sunk in. Even after the portrait closed after him, Harry was still frozen in his place with only a wrinkled shirt and memory to prove that their talk actually happened. After a little bit Hermione and Ron watched Harry slowly make his way up the boy's staircase and to his room. The both of them shared a sigh of relief.
"I don't know where he gets it," Ron said amazed, "but Edward really has a way with words."
….
Christmas morning came sooner than expected with a fresh layer of snow to line the ground with. Edward woke up early that morning and clumsily got dressed. Breakfast was going to be completely empty since there were only fourteen people there for the holiday, he included. As Edward braided his hair and walked out of the portrait hole, he nearly tripped and fell over a random pile of boxes outside of his door. Some one seemed to have left oddly shaped and coloured presents near his door. He picked one up and looked it twice over. His name was written on the front and back of it in cursive writing. From all of the tests he corrected and homework he looked over, Edward knew that it was Hermione's. There were several other packages laying outside along with a couple letters, he pulled them into his chambers and sat down on the bed to investigate them. One of the letters seemed to be from someone outside of school since it had the address on it and looked like it was handled by a couple owls as there were feathers stuck all over it. Edward popped it open and pulled out the contents.
Dear Mr. Elric,
Merry Christmas to you! We have heard about all of the marvelous things that you have done at Hogwarts already this year from our sons' letters. I think that we would all like to thank you for saving Harry from falling off of that broom. He is kind of like a son to us so we are eternally grateful for your actions. However, I would like to say, don't help Fred and George with any more of those exploding letters. The first one nearly gave us a fright and the second sent the owl through the window.
Though we have never had a formal introduction, we thought that we might help you celebrate the holidays. Molly heard that you got cold in the winter and thought that it would be a good idea to send you a couple things. I, Arthur, sent you a few items that Ron said you didn't have. I went to muggle London to get them for you. It is so fascinating! I would truly love to meet you sometime for a talk about your amazing muggle culture.
Have a terrific Holiday, the Weasely family.
Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, Fred, and Ginny.
P.S. Please keep Ron out of trouble and tell him that we have got his grades. I will be sending a howler soon.
-Molly Weasley
Edward chuckled as he finished the letter. He didn't know that the Weasley's family was so large. It seemed like Arthur was a muggle fanatic though, a little ironic. He didn't know that Ron sent letters home, nor did he know that the twins sent some of the exploding letters home as well. He was silently proud of himself that they worked so well, but the twins threw him under the bus there. Edward set the letter down on his desk as a reminder to make a reply and opened some of the presents.
Molly Weasley must have sent him the sweater. It was bright red with the Flamel symbol on the front. Edward was a little surprised to see it there, but after all, he did wear it every day. Ron, Ginny, or the twins must have sketched it down somewhere. Even though he wasn't much of a sweater person, he pulled the woolen knit over his head. It was a little big around the neck but otherwise fit like a charm and was really warm. Arthur sent him some vinyl records and a turntable to play them on. It was Ron's doing, only explanation after their chat about his music deficiency.
A few other packages were left and they were from Hermione. They were smaller than the rest but none the less thoughtful. He unwrapped a bottle of aspirins which a note said were for the rainy days, and then an English dictionary for him to read. He was already speaking choppy English but he needed to learn more nouns or verbs before he could trust himself to teach without the translation spell.
When the clock stroke nine, Edward put the gifts away and shoved the wrapping paper into the fireplace. Mental notes were placed all around his chambers reminding him to give something back in return. After all, equivalent exchange followed everything right? When he left the chambers the picture of the Colonel was yelling at him to be punctual. Edward ignored him and raced down the corridor. He was late for breakfast.
…
"Please Sibyl sit down, I promise you that nothing will happen to you," Dumbledore said calmly. Trelawney was nervously shaking as she took a seat next to one of the left over first years. When she counted the table, there were thirteen people seated at it. Thirteen was a bad number. Sibyl basically broke down. This was the first time that she has been out of the tower in ages and she got stuck with the thirteenth seat. McGonagall rolled her eyes in her direction as she took a spoonful of scalloped potatoes. Though the company around her seemed perfectly fine, Sibyl was still shaking a bit, her big bug glasses bounced on her face as she did so.
"Sibyl, if you are so worried about it, just wait till Elric comes down for breakfast. Then you won't be the thirteenth, you will be the fourteenth," McGonagall said accusingly.
"But I have already sat! If I stand up then Elric will be cursed as well too!" she replied still shaking a bit as she handed a plate to the student on her left. Edward walked in casually, wearing a bright red sweater that Ron never though that he would see on him. A few snickers from Ron and Harry were let out as he sat down at the foot of the table. He glared at the two a bit, but didn't linger. It was the holidays, no use ruining it with the stare of doom. Edward knew all of the people at the table. The faculty members were easy to count and the students were all in his first or second year class, aside from the trio that is, but there was one weird person that he never saw before. She had bushy hair and was dressed almost like a dragon fly. Hell, if she wasn't holding a spoon and showing the use of her opposable thumbs he would have thought that she really was an insect.
"Who is she?" he asked jabbing the baked bean spoon in Trelawney's direction. He had a hard time serving himself food with only one arm and had to make room at the table to set the dishes that he was using. The bug eyed lady looked at him dazedly like the air was magical and daisies.
"I am the Divinations teacher, Professor Trelawney," she said mystically. Her voice was light as air and rather annoying. "You must be Edward Elric the alchemist from Central. How nice it is to finally meet you! You must come up to my tower and have tea with me sometime. Your Aura is quite unseating." Edward rolled his eyes and finished scooping a few more different foods onto his plate.
"If I drink tea, I would consider," Edward replied. "But I have a hard enough time understanding transfigurations, I don't think that bipity bobety boo stuff you do is going to help my cause any greater."
"But one must always prepare themselves for the future. Looking to the past won't help you that much," Trelawney answered. Edward swallowed a spoon of mashed potatoes and pointed his fork at her.
"It helps more than you think. I hate to quote my Commanding officer, but he said that sometimes looking back is to see how far you have come. It's called a learning experience, trial and error. I make my way through life by using ideas or abilities from my past experiences and applying them where needed. In combat, I don't know every move that my opponent will make. If you know everything that will happen, then why live it?" Edward asked her. She looked a little taken aback. "It is just like watching a play. If you know the story word for word, then why watch it again? For the enjoyment? I don't want to know my future because I know that everything will turn out right in the end. If it doesn't then my life isn't over yet." Sibyl turned silent but a small smile grew on Hermione and McGonagall's faces. From all of the conversations they had, neither one of them had anything good to say about the art of divination. Edward was the only one who would challenge that to her face. Sibyl went quiet and then started eating quietly. Her mind eye was in a pain.
"Sometimes a hint is all you need," Sybil said quietly to him. "The thing that you are looking for is closer than you think. You will find the answer in the most unlikely places, just like three did before you." Edward nearly choked on the food he was eating and dropped his fork underneath the table. Was she talking about the Philosopher's stone? Edward looked at her questionably but she returned to eating quietly. He had been searching the entire library for information but he still couldn't find anything. Of course he didn't have as much time as he would have wanted, but he cleared off the entire science and muggle sections of the huge library. Nothing, not even a hint. Edward felt a growing pit in his stomach as he bent down underneath the table for his fork. It could have been the beans, but for some reason felt too familiar. All of a sudden, they heard a scream coming from outside the Hall. Everyone turned their heads around to see who it was. Edward bumped his head off the top of the table before grumpily crawling out from underneath.
"BROTHER RUN!" the voice screamed and a loud clang followed as if someone pushed a car down the stairs. The entire room fell silent for they didn't understand, while Edward's stomach pit grew. A blonde haired girl burst opened the doors to the great hall. Her face was red with anger and in her hand she held a gleaming metal object.
"Winry?!" Edward said completely surprised. The girl didn't answer but instead chucked the wrench at his head. It hit its mark with deadly accuracy and Edward fell over off of his chair. Some of the teachers gasped in astonishment while the students poked the limp body of the downed Elric.
"How dare you ruin my automail!" Winry screamed at him as she approached the injured alchemist. If he wasn't mortally wounded he was going to be. "This was probably one of the dumbest ways you could possibly do it! Falling off a broomstick! All of my hard work to fix you up went for falling off a broomstick?" Edward rushed over and clamped his only hand over her mouth before she could say anything more. The girl bit it and he howled in pain. Edward glared at her and rubbed his only hand against his pants for comfort. He completely forgot that the translation spell was still in effect and that the others couldn't understand her, but that didn't mean that she could keep talking about his arms like that. Luckily, Edward didn't need to tell her twice, she knew when to shut up. Instead of finishing the lecture, she walked over to the table and sat down in his seat, setting her large tool box to the side. "Al is out in the hall if you want him," she said stubbornly, not looking in his direction.
"Al?" Edward asked hopeful. As the girl nodded her head, the doors to the Hall were opened once more as a giant suit of armour made its way over to his brother. The suit ran and clamped his stiff arms around him and pulled him into a huge bone crushing hug. As his brother squeezed the life out of him, Edward noticed a dent in his helmet where Winry must have clocked him. It must have been what the noise was in the corridor. "What are you doing here?" Edward gasped as he was set down and left breathless for air.
"Sorry brother, I tried to warn you that Winry was coming, but-"
'But nothing! I gave you what you deserved for ruining my artwork!" Winry jabbed back holding the wrench threatening. "You are going to owe me for all of the work I have done!"
"You're going to owe me a new head," Edward mumbled back. Unfortunately, she overheard him and gave him another thing to worry about. As he went about for another jab back, Dumbledore cleared his throat and silenced the fight.
"I do believe that an introduction is in order," he announced as two more chairs and dishes were brought around to the table. Edward grumpily took a seat on the other side of Al so that there would be a buffer zone between him and his mechanic. They were glaring nuts and bolts at each other.
"This is Al, my younger brother, and this is Winry my friend and mechanic," Edward introduced and translated them. The faculty seemed delighted to have new guests from Amestris stop by at the school, but the students were still a little frightened by the flying wrench and the giant suit of armour. One braves soul, one really brave first year soul spoke up.
"Shouldn't he be your older brother?" the kid asked stupidly. Ron, Harry, and Hermione covered their ears for the expected explosion.
"Who you calling short round?" Edward screamed as he attempted to launch himself across the table at the startled first year. Al held him by the shirt collar, while Winry beat him back to submission with the wrench. Everyone laughed at this little outburst and continued eating. Edward and Al caught up on what each other were doing. As it turned out Al found out a new lead on the stone. He said it laid in the Purification arts, but he had no clue where to start learning them. Edward gave him his update on the magic here at the school. Though he didn't find anything worthwhile, someone predicted he might. He told his brother about the dementors and the rest of the magical things there were protecting the place. He noticed that Roy must have given Winry his amulet, for she wore one around her neck. As their conversations drew on and on, they were finally interrupted by McGonagall. As it turned out they were the only ones left in the hall as everybody else left for their dormitories.
"Perhaps young Winry would like a translation spell," she asked him. Edward nodded and warned Winry about what the lady was going to do. With a swish of the wand, a spark hit her and she could understand everything. As the professor was moving towards his brother Edward moved in front of him blocking her way.
"I don't think that giving him one would be such a good idea," Edward said. McGonagall looked a little taken aback, but Al was even more so.
"Brother, what did she do to Winry?" his childish asked quietly.
"She gave her a translation spell Al, but I don't know how it will react with your armour. I didn't research magic enough to find out if it affects alchemy or not. I don't think that we should risk it," Edward replied in amestrian. Al nodded and bowed an apology to the teacher.
"Al said that since he is very fascinated in the art of languages, he would rather learn this one for himself, you know, for academic reasons," Edward said making up a quick lie. McGonagall nodded her head and left the three of them to their own devices. Edward offered a tour to his guests, but just as he was about to lead them Winry walloped him on the head.
"Hey! What did you do that for?" he cried rubbing his yet again, sore head.
"You are coming with me!" she ordered dragging Edward by the shirt collar. He tried to wiggle loose but he couldn't get free. "We are going to fix your automail before the day is done."
"But Winry-"
"No buts! I won't have you shaming my work any longer!" As Winry attempted to pull him away, he gave out his body weight and fell to the floor to stop her. She looked down at him for his pitiful attempt of escape. His golden eyes looked back at her from his position on the floor.
"Winry, you don't even know where you are going. That corridor goes to the storage rooms."
…..
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in the common room with their bunches of presents. While Hermione and Ron got mainly socks and candy, Harry got a mysterious Firebolt from an anonymous person. Ron and Harry basically were drooling over it as it floated waist height above the ground. Neither of the boys seemed to be any the bit suspicious of the overly expensive gift that he got. Hermione however, was nervous. She tried to push the logic into their heads that the broom could have been cursed or tampered with, but they couldn't hear her, or wouldn't, they were too preoccupied with its glorious glow. Harry had out his broom kit to polish and clip the bent twigs, but it was already in perfect order. All the two of them could do was stare at its heavenly glow. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"I wonder how Edward is doing today." Hermione asked the two trying to change the topic of the broom. They didn't shift their eyes from the wood. "I mean, he doesn't even celebrate Christmas but still, it doesn't mean that we should leave him alone."
"I had my parents send him a couple of things for the holidays. I think he would be fine. Anyway, he has his brother and mechanic there, he will be with friends," Ron replied unconcerned of the topic at hand.
"I know, I gave him a few things too, but I don't think that being in the company of a girl who throws wrenches at his head is much of holiday cheer," she murmured.
"I wonder why he has a mechanic here, I mean machines don't work in Hogwarts, he should surely know that," Harry stated lazily. Hermione let out an annoyed sigh.
"If you were paying attention and not too wrapped up with the presents you got, you would know that she was also his friend. He could have a friend who is a mechanic you know. He could have just been introducing her with her occupation as well," Hermione stated. Ron rolled his eyes at her, but didn't dare make it known. Hermione would always find the time to state the logic and give out any reason to be a smarty. It got annoying but the thing is, she was always right. You can't argue with someone who is always right. All of a sudden, Harry jolted up from where he stood near his broomstick. Ron was a bit startled at his sudden change in demeanor.
"I completely forgot to give him my gift!" Harry exclaimed. He left the wrapped pair of white winter gloves under his bed where he would remember it. Obviously, he had to find a better place to remember things. Harry ran upstairs and grabbed the small package. "Do you think I should deliver it to him?" he asked Hermione stupidly.
"Of course!" she replied a bit astounded. "What do you think you are going to do? Keep them for yourself? Any way, it is the perfect chance to get you two some fresh air and away from that broom of yours." Hermione grabbed all of their coats off of the wrack and shoved them in their faces. Ron took his rather grumpily but Harry quickly threw his on his shoulders. The three of them, all bundled up, exited the dormitory to head towards Edward's office.
…..
"AH! Winry be gentle!" Edward moaned at his friend. They were in his office and he was laying half undressed on his cleared desk. Winry was working on his automail and just wrenched a bolt rather sharply. The pain shot up his arm and into his shoulder. To his complaint, Winry just gave him another huff of defiance and continued on her work. She still didn't forgive him for wrecking her work. Al was fooling around with Scops who hung from the horn of his helmet. The bird flew around him a bit curious about the stranger.
"I still can't believe that they send their letters by owls!" Al exclaimed as the bird decided to perch on the crook of his armoured elbow. It cooed there for a little bit and looked strangely comfortable even on the cold hard metal. "How do you think they do it?"
"Al, I have been sending you letters ever since I got here," Edward said to him. He flinched as Winry loosened another bolt. "Why haven't I heard from you guys until now?" he asked curiously.
"What do you mean haven't heard from us?" Winry said standing up from her work to glare at him. "We both sent you letters and even a few packages for every letter you sent us! I was actually glad that you were writing at all! I mean you never even called before!" Edward looked wondering at his brother, but the suit just gave a shallow nod.
"Yes, we were sending you tons of briefs. It wasn't like I couldn't find time or anything. I needed something to do at night when everybody was asleep," Al said to him, stroking the owl gently. For a person trapped in a steel confinement, he could be extremely careful and soft when he wanted to.
"I didn't receive any of them," Edward said silently.
"Maybe your bird dropped them," Winry said finally taking the plating off of his arm.
"That couldn't be," Edward shook his head. "I have been receiving commands and updates from Mustang for the longest time ever since I got it. He couldn't have been dropping just your letters." The three of them were left in silence for a while to think. The only sound that came to their ears was that of Winry's tinkering. Al sat down on the floor and set the bird down on his lap. He took his helmet off and started to polish his helmet. It was rather dirty from all of the expeditions he and Edward went on over the years, but it came off easily and left a dull shine. As the silence of the room continued to grow, it was cut off from a knock on the door.
"Oh shit," Edward silently gasped. He was not expecting visitors with only fourteen of them there and no school. He shot his brother a glance and he immediately placed his helmet back on his head. Edward sat up on the desk but Winry tried to shove him back down. This fight carried on a bit until the door finally opened. Harry, Ron, and Hermione shuffled through the door rather happily. Their merry Christmas faces fell immediately when they saw Winry standing on top of the desk holding her wrench threatening Edward as he attempted to dive underneath it. It wasn't necessarily the fact that Winry looked absolutely pissed, or that Edward was not wearing any shirt that scared them, it was that his right arm was completely covered in gleaming metal.
"What is that?" Ron gaped as Winry jumped off of the desk and tackled Edward to the ground. She didn't care if he was self-conscious, she just wanted to finish her work. Winry wrenched another bolt out of his arm.
"Damn it Winry! Warn me next time you are about to do something stupid!" Edward moaned and winced as another bolt came out. She rolled her eyes and kept going on about her work, not moving from her position on top of Ed. As it looked like he was going to be pinned to the floor for a while, Edward looked up at the three of them. They all looked like they have seen the biggest blasphemy of all time. He let out a sigh. "Well, don't just stand there," he groaned. "Sit down or something."
The three students closed the door and took a seat at one of the tables near where the professor was glued to the stone floor. They were quiet the entire time as they really didn't know what to say in this situation. It wasn't every day you came to realize that your friend and professor had a strange metal limb. They watched a little bit as Winry tinkered around with the jammed elbow joint. Alphonse just sat quietly in the corner waiting for anyone to do something. After a while Winry let out a sigh and dropped her wrench to the ground. The trio leaned in to get a look at her work. Instead of seeing a finished gleaming masterpiece however, they saw a metal skeleton of an arm coated in tangled and cut wires.
"It looks like it is going to have to come off," Winry sighed.
"What? No!" Edward said. He tried to turn his head to look at her but since she was sitting on his back it wasn't too easy.
"Stop being such a baby," she snapped and flipped Edward over. He tried to escape but the girl had his brother double team him. Al held him down while Winry twisted and turned a few things. With a tug and a small wince from Ed, the entire arm came clean off. The only thing left was a metal port on the stump of his shoulder. Winry dragged all of the pieces over to one of the student's work benches and started to work on it. Ron and Harry leaned in closer to see exactly what she was doing.
"Professor," Hermione said.
"As I said before, its Edward. We are not in school setting," he moaned as he stood up a bit lopsided.
"Edward," she repeated. "Why do you have a prosthetic arm?"
"I thought that would have been obvious," Edward mumbled as he limped over to his desk. He opened the drawer and grabbed out his notebook. "I lost my arm a while ago, and Winry, being a mechanic, made me a new one."
"Did you break it when you tried to catch me at the quidditch meet?" Harry asked. Winry glared at him a bit accusingly.
"He broke it?" she spat daggers.
"Winry calm down, if anyone broke it, it would be Galileo with his stupid gravity," Edward mumbled. Winry chucked a wrench at him without looking and only missed by a few millimeters. He was safe, this once. After recovering from the near death experience, Edward looked back at harry and nodded. "Yes, I did break it in the fall we had. You must have landed on my arm and the weight twisted it the wrong way." Harry felt a twinge of guilt strike through him. Edward limped back over to where the five of them sat, now that Alphonse joined them, and took a seat next to them. Winry studied him as he moved around and then went back to her work.
"Edward, I am going to need to check your leg as well. You must have grown for once," she mumbled.
"What is that supposed to mean!" Edward yelled at her nearly scribbling over his page.
"It means that you need it to be lengthened or else you are going to be walking lopsided for the rest of the year. Now you can either enjoy standing while you still can, or I can take it now like I did your arm! That all matters with what mood I am in," Winry threatened. Edward jumped up out of his chair and backed away from the crazy lady.
"I would rather enjoy not having it taken at all. You can fix my arm, just leave the rest of me alone you gearhead!" he wavered. Winry huffed and set down her wrench. She gave Al a look as she stood up. Edward bolted rather unsteadily while the two chased after him. He didn't even make it to the door however when Al took a hold of him and dragged him back on one of the work tables. "Winry!" he screamed as she hauled up his pant leg and popped his leg off as well. As soon as it was off Al let go of the struggling brother. Edward fell to the floor as he fell off of the desk. He let out a string of curses, lucky for the students, it was all in amestrian. Winry set the leg down on the table next to his arm and sat down with Al to continue her work. Edward was left on the floor.
"Your leg too?" Ron exclaimed as he looked at Edward's now empty pant leg. The three of them were all too shocked to even try and help the struggling boy up. Edward growled as he pushed himself up on his one leg and hopped over to the table where they all sat. He fell back down to the ground again and just sat there, leaning against the table leg. "By the looks of you, I thought that you were normal. Especially the way you called all those logs in. I didn't imagine this!" Edward gave Ron a death glare who was sitting at the edge of the table.
"What are you insinuating?" He seethed. Ron slid away slowly and forced Hermione to switch seats with him.
"But Edward, you wouldn't mind me asking, how did you lose both your arm, and your leg?" Hermione asked him.
"Unfortunately, I do mind you asking!" Edward gave a huff. Hermione was immediately shut down.
"Brother!" Al's voice rang out. Since he didn't have a translation spell, he didn't know all that they were saying, but he Edward attempted to look over at him, but couldn't see over the table. He carefully lifted himself into a kneeling position so he could look over the table at his brother.
"What? You expect me to tell them? It's personal! I don't want to have to explain you too!" Edward said. Al looked a little taken aback.
"Don't push all of the pressure on me! You just shouldn't deny her some sort of answer!" Alphonse said back to him. Edward looked at the cold armour, which seemed to glow with Al's kind demeanor. As he was deciding a course of action, Winry looked at him pitifully and shook her head the slightest. He gave a sigh and lowered himself back down to the floor.
"Fine," he huffed. "As you three know, I am in the military-"
"Did you lose it in a war?" Harry interrupted.
"Yes. Wait, No! Shut up!" Edward moaned. "I was eleven at the time and not yet a state alchemist, but I was driven to become one after the accident. My brother and me lived in an area not too far away from the battle zone of the civil war. One day there was a raid and we were both caught in the middle of it because we were too stupid to find shelter at the time. I lost my limbs while Alphonse was brutally disfigured. That is why he has to wear that armour, to hide is hideously deformed face."
"Hey! Don't talk about my face like that!" Alphonse intervened. Edward let out a snicker as he was teasing his brother.
"I can't believe you are so self-conscious!" Edward laughed. The trio seemed to be taking his light hearted demeanor a little confused. He was laughing while talking about losing his arm. It wasn't the kind of reaction they were planning to get. Winry gave him a little kick from underneath the table and Edward fell over from lack of balance.
"Wait, so how did you join the military if you were injured beforehand?" Ron asked him.
"There are no real strict limits to becoming a state alchemist. Since there was no age limit, there was also no disabled act on it or anything. All I had to do was pass a physical exam and a mental exam to get in. With the automail Winry whipped up for me I passed with flying colours," Edward said pushing himself back up into a sitting position.
"Yeah, there are actually a lot of military soldiers with automail, after the war, a lot of people needed it," Winry said. She stood up from her work and walked over to one of her heavy cases that she brought with her. She plopped it down next to her work area and opened it. Several lengths of wire and spare parts were neatly wrapped and placed inside it. There was also a wooden prosthetic that Edward would usually use as a spare. She took it out and tossed it to him.
"Put that on if you want to walk around," she said and took out a few lengths of wire as well. Edward glanced down at the leg then back up at her. She only made him wear that thing if…..
"Wait! How long it is going to take?" Edward asked her a little alerted.
"With the stupid damage you have done to it and then lengthening your leg, it will take one and a half days. There are several pieces of metal jammed in the wiring. That doesn't come out by itself you know!" she growled at him.
"Two days? I can't be stuck here two days!" Edward complained as he strapped the awkward hunk of wood to his leg. He rolled his pant leg down and tried to stand up, but having no knee movement was kind of difficult. After a few failed and pitiful attempts, Alphonse marched over and hauled his brother to his feet. Edward still didn't like being man handled and nearly fell over again by fighting Al's grip. When he was in a somewhat vertical stance, he hobbled over to his desk, cautiously and quite awkwardly. Ron and Harry both gave out snorts at the funny way he was walking, but Hermione shut them up by jabbing them in the ribs and Winry helped in giving them both a nice kick to the knee caps. Edward put away his note book in his desk and carefully tested his balance on his leg. Scops flew over to him and landed on his shoulder as if trying to help, but it just caused the offset Elric to topple over. Everyone burst out laughing, causing Edward to turn bright red. Scops seemed to be laughing at him as well with his cheerful hoots. This was going to be a long two days.
