The weekend passed uneventfully for Edward Elric. His lesson on Saturday was mainly spent teaching the final two steps of transmutation, along with the concept of the transmutation circle and the symbols used in them, though he suspected most of his students merely copied them down without understanding them.
In spite of that, Ed had to reevaluate his expectations of his class. Of the thirty or so students, ten had submitted reports that Ed considered to be marginally acceptable for non-alchemists, which was ten more than he expected. Those that performed were students like Hermione, who he was becoming more impressed with each lesson, Luna, both Patils and, surprisingly enough, Draco Malfoy. He dreaded to think what kind of alchemist the arrogant kid would become.
However, that was an issue to tackle in the very distant future, possibly not even by Edward, and was the least of his worries. Umbridge had been suspiciously missing, again, for the whole weekend. Someone as... unhinged as her does not just disappear for no reason.
Ed's bad feeling was justified come Monday morning. Pinned to the large notice board outside of the Great Hall seemed to be an unfurled section of newspaper, with a crowd of students gathering around it.
Squeezing his way to the front, roughly shoving the taller kids to the side, Ed managed to get a good look at the featured article.
MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST-EVER "HIGH INQUISITOR"
"The hell?" Ed mumbled, before speed-reading through the whole thing. "Blah, blah, blah... Umbridge... pfft, immediate success my ass... 'High Inquisitor'... powers to inspect teachers... Oh shit."
After a quick breakfast, Ed returned to his classroom and dug out a pink envelope he had thrown into the trash without a second thought. Breaking open the immaculate red seal on it, he retrieved the letter enclosed and read it.
"In accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty Three, you, Professor Edward Elric, are hereby informed of the inspection of your class to be carried out on the 8 of September at 3:00 by the Hogwarts High Inquisitor, Dolores Umbridge." Ed scoffed. "She's so damn full of herself."
Ed couldn't help but laugh when he thought about the situation. This was what he was worried about? An inspection? He had gone through so many of those already, just to keep his State Alchemist license. One for a teacher at a school could not be any more difficult.
So when Ed's students arrived, plus one pink toad-like human, he wore a confident smirk on his face. "Right," Ed began once everyone was seated, "on your desks are the reports you submitted last lesson. If you have a cross on your cover page, it means your submission is terrible, and you're not allowed to take notes today. You're gonna spent this time revising your essays and submit an improved version by the end of today." Umbridge frowned, scribbling on her clipboard.
"For those of you who passed, you'll design a transmutation circle based on the material or element you have written about using what you learned last lesson. Just this one time, I've listed the symbols you might need for your circle," he pointed to the board, "but I expect all of you to be able to remember this next time. Or at least have your own notes.
"No two circles will be the same, depending on the substances used and the intended outcome, so don't try to copy another's work. I'll know, and you'll get detention," Ed finished, and waved for the ten students to start. They got to work immediately, referencing their essays and notes, along with those on the blackboard.
Umbridge scribbled a little more on her clipboard, before she stood and approached Ed. "I must say, I am surprised to see students of different years in your class, Professor. It is quite out of the ordinary."
"What's your point?" he replied, crudely.
"I am unsure if the mingling of the years is appropriate, and I think that the Ministry would agree."
"I don't care what your Ministry agrees on," Ed said. "If people want to learn, their age shouldn't be a restriction."
"Hmm." Umbridge's lips pressed together tightly, though she continued to be cordial. "Where did you study?"
"Home-schooled."
"Oh? And where are you from?"
"Not here."
Her lips tightened even more as she wrote on her clipboard. "Do you have any prior teaching qualifications?"
"No."
Her brow twitched ever so slightly. "And what was your profession before becoming a teacher at Hogwarts?"
Ed almost told her he was a State Alchemist. When he stopped himself, he saw her eyes widened slightly in anticipation. He scoffed inwardly. "And what's that got to do with anything?"
"The Ministry would like to understand the backgrounds of teachers, just to see if they are suitable to for an educational position."
Ed smirked. They wanted to know who he really was, for whatever purpose. Now that he knew Umbridge's agenda, he was hell-bent on not giving her what she wanted. "Independent researcher," he simply stated.
Her eyes returned to their natural state; fake kindness. "And what were you researching?"
"Alchemy."
"Do you personally know of any others who are practitioners of the same art?"
Yeah. Mustang, Armstrong, Al, Teacher. "Nope."
She gave Ed a suspicious look. "Are you sure? Might I remind you that providing false information to the Ministry is a punishable offense."
What the hell? "Yeah, I'm sure," Ed said, sticking to his lie.
"Hmm," was all Umbridge said, before going around to talk to the students.
Where did that come from? Ed thought. It was like she had evidence, or at least heavily suspected, that there were other alchemists like him in this world. Or was the Ministry just paranoid that Ed was secretly hiding an army of alchemists plotting to overthrow them?
Ed walked around the room, avoiding Umbridge, as he inspected their work-in-progress. Most of them had chosen wood or stone to work with, which made Luna and Draco stand out, since they had chosen air and water, respectively.
Luna's one seemed to be focused on the manipulation of the speed and density of the air, probably to create shock waves or strong air currents. Her circle though, absolutely baffled Edward. It was not a conventional design and, though Ed couldn't find life threatening faults within it, he thought it could use a lot more work. It did fit her personality, though.
Draco's one didn't look anything like the one Isaac McDougal used, so it probably did not have to do with freezing or boiling. The circle was still extremely bare, so Ed couldn't really deduce what the Malfoy kid was going for.
Hermione chose wood, and attempted a very basic transmutation circle, with the end purpose of creating simple figures and statues. Still, there were problems with her design, the most glaring one being that it was far too complicated for such a simple purpose, like she just applied all the theory without thinking of its practicality.
Umbridge, at this point, decided that she was done interviewing the students in the room, and approached Edward once again. "I notice that you are not assigning the same homework to the students."
"Yeah. What about it?"
"It would seem as though your syllabus does not have a concrete structure behind it, and I don't think the Ministry would approve of it."
Here we go with the Ministry again. "The basics of alchemy are the same, but it's natural for an alchemist to specialize in one form that they are the most familiar with, since it's the one they would understand the most. Or so I've read," he quickly added. "So having them specialize in something of their choosing helps them to understand the concepts better, while allowing them to advance to practical alchemy faster. You get that, or do I need to put it in simpler terms?"
"No," Umbridge said sweetly, "it's quite alright. And what is your specialization?"
"Earth and metals," he responded. "Is this going somewhere?"
Her smile became wider. "Yes, it is. If your specialty is earth, what makes you qualified to teach these students who are working with other substances, as you put it?"
Ed paused, shocked by the question. Some students looked up when Ed failed to answer immediately, and noted his stunned silence. He quickly regained his composure, however. "Like I said, I was home-schooled. I experimented with everything before I found my niche. I'm more of a generalist than the other alchemists I read about."
"Hmm," Umbridge said again, her face unreadable.
The rest of the lesson passed quickly, as Umbridge decided that enough questions had been asked, and was content observing from the sidelines. Ed only corrected the mistakes that would cause a major rebound, but otherwise left them to their own devices. The bell rang soon enough, and they were made to hand in either their circles or their reports, whichever they were made to do.
"You will receive the results of your inspection in a week's time," Umbridge told Ed over the fuss of students packing up.
"Yeah, yeah," Ed muttered, and she strolled out of the class, humming a tune. The Golden Trio stayed behind, wanting to talk with Edward proper. He was the only teacher they could really talk to like he was a peer.
"That was..." Hermione muttered.
"Intense!" Ron completed. "She really has it out for you, eh, Ed?"
"I couldn't care less," Ed shrugged. In an effort to chase them away, he asked, "Don't you have other classes?"
"Nope, yours was the last for today," Ron said, cheerfully. "Though Harry has detention soon."
Ed looked at Harry, who promptly averted his gaze. "Can't keep your ass out of trouble, huh? Who with?"
"Umbridge," Hermione answered for him, disapprovingly.
"Typical," Ed chuckled. "What'd she make you do?"
"Nothing," Harry said, interrupting Ron and Hermione.
Ed looked at the other two for an explanation, but they just shrugged. "C'mon. It can't be that bad."
"Not that bad?" Harry's temper started to flare, making Ron and Hermione flinch. He raised the back of his left hand, showing the line 'I must not tell lies' etched into the skin. "See what she did to me?!"
Ed was not impressed. "So what? You got a little scratch on your hand, boo hoo. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"
"What's the big deal? You're not the one who has to deal with this every night!" Harry yelled, letting his frustrations take over. "You don't have to suffer through this, so don't you dare ask what's the big deal!"
"Don't, mate..." Ron warned his friend.
"You stay out of it!" Harry roared. Ron winced and backed away. He faced Ed again. "All I did was tell the truth, and you're telling me I shouldn't? What do you know?!"
"Come on, let's go..." Hermione urged, tugging on Harry's sleeve, not wanting a repeat of this situation, but Harry just shrugged her off.
Ed clenched his fist. He wanted to smack some sense into this kid so badly. "It's hilarious that you think you're entitled to shit just because you got on some guy's bad side," he said with a one-sided grin, devoid of any joy.
"What?" Harry asked, incredulous.
"So you didn't have a choice in your situation. So you didn't ask for this. It just means that you don't have a mistake haunting your every move, dumbass!" Ed blurted out.
"What are you talking about?"
Before he knew it, Ed ripped off his right glove. "I'm talking about this!"
Harry stared, Ron gawked, and Hermione brought a hand to her mouth as they saw metal where there should be flesh. Ed immediately regretted his actions. He had meant to keep his automail a secret from everyone, but it was out there now.
"I... have to go..." Harry mumbled, looking at the clock, leaving the room.
Ed plopped down on the seat, placing the cold metal against his face, sighing. "Don't tell anyone," he requested, not looking up. Ed did not need the entire school asking questions, with wild rumors circulating because of his refusal to answer questions. If these three could keep a secret...
"We won't, we promise. Don't we, Ron?" Hermione nudged the Weasley with her elbow.
He was too busy staring, though. "How high does that go?"
"Ron!"
"What? I mean, he showed us, right?"
"Yeah, but-"
"To the shoulder," Ed announced, stopping their argument. He figured since it was out there, better to answer their questions than to speculate. Since he was in it now, might as well go all in. He slipped off his red overcoat, pulled aside his inner collar and showed the metal meeting flesh.
"Whoa... wicked!" Ron gasped, amazed. "Is that magic?"
"Don't be silly, Ron. Magic doesn't exist where Ed's from," she corrected. In spite of her manners, she looked at his arm curiously. "How does it work, though?"
"It's connected to my nerves, so it functions mostly like a normal arm." The duo looked apprehensive at asking him more, so Ed said, "Might as well ask everything you want now." Hermione and Ron looked at each other, silently debating. "C'mon, I wanna eat soon."
Hermione was the first to take him up on the offer. "Doesn't something like that need a power source, like a battery?"
"I thought electricity doesn't work in Hogwarts?" Ron asked. Hermione and Ed both looked at him, puzzled. "What? My dad's into Muggle stuff, okay?"
"My automail doesn't run on electricity. Like I said before, it works like a real arm. Just with more metal, wires and gears than one."
"Does it hurt?" was the next question Hermione asked.
"Not right now."
"'Right now'? You mean it does hurt?"
"Sometimes. When it's being attached, it hurts like hell. When it rains too, just not as bad," he explained. Hermione winced, imagining what it must have felt like.
"Can it do any cool stuff?" Ron asked. "Like shooting your fist or something?"
"I wish," Ed snickered. "It's built to be a normal arm. But when I need it, I can do this." He rolled up his sleeve and used alchemy to create his signature blade.
"Whoa," was all Ron could say in response, as Ed returned his arm to normal.
"How did you lose it?" Hermione asked. "Your original arm, I mean."
There it was. The million dollar question. Every nerve and neuron in his brain told him to lie. It would be so easy. Lost it in a war. Say it.
"Accident."
"What kind?" Ron asked. "Like a car or-"
"Alchemy."
"Alchemy?" Ron repeated. "You mean like a... what was it..."
"Rebound," Hermione finished.
Ed nodded solemnly. "The worst kind. We tried to bring our mother back to life."
"We? Oh..." she realized.
"Yeah. Human Transmutation is the ultimate taboo in alchemy. But we did it anyway, and we paid the price."
"Did it work?" Ron asked.
"Of course not. A departed soul can never return." Ed closed his automail hand. "No matter how much you want it to."
"That's what you meant when you talked about a haunting mistake..." Hermione said.
"Yeah. A constant reminder of what I tried to do that day." Edward paused, waiting for another question, but none came. They seemed content, or at least unwilling to bring up more bad memories for Ed. "That's it?" The two of them nodded. "Well, that was easier than I thought."
"Really? You're not angry or anything?" Hermione asked.
"Nope. I actually feel slightly better, for some reason. Thanks."
"You're welcome," Ron tried to say with a grin. "Now come on, let's go eat."
"You two go ahead. I'll catch up," Ed waved for them to go ahead. He took his time, dressing and hiding his automail again. A smile crept onto his face. Some people here were just too kind for Ed, not that he was complaining. They would definitely be more Al's type.
Al had lost track of time, just sitting in the safe house, unmoving. Without any books to keep him company, or his brother's light snores beside him, time seemed to drag on forever. He focused on any sound that he could hear, waiting. The ticking of the clock, the occasional drip of the sink, the low hum of the fridge. Anything to keep his mind tethered to his body.
Finally, the sound of stone scraping caught his attention. Al looked up, hoping to see Tonks bringing his brother to him. As footsteps got louder, he was disappointed. It sounded like only one pair of feet, slowly descending. "Miss Tonks?" Al called out, before she appeared in view.
"No," a gruff voice echoed into the room.
Al got up at lightning speed, entering a fighting stance. "Who's there?"
A man appeared in the doorway, aided by a walking stick. He had a grizzled look, a frown on his face, and a bulging eye that moved on its own accord. "Put your arms down, boy. You look ridiculous," he grunted, sitting down on one of the chairs. He seemed relaxed, like he knew Al was not going to attack.
"Who are you?" Al asked, his arms still kept at the ready.
"The name's Alastor Moody. I said put them down, boy," he commanded again. "Nymphadora told me about you hiding out here."
"Nymphadora?"
Moody grunted. "She probably told you to call her Tonks."
"Oh." Al let his arms drop to his side. "Is Miss Tonks all right?"
"She's fine," he grunted again. "She drew a lot of suspicion disappearing like that trying to help you, so she has to lay low for a while."
"Aw..." he mumbled, dejected. Tonks was a friendly face that Al was looking forward to seeing.
"Quite a stunt you pulled," Moody remarked. "Your attack on the Ministry has them in a major panic."
"Attack?" Al echoed, shocked. "But I never- It was a- They attacked me first!"
"Calm down, kid," Moody uncharacteristically chuckled. It sounded like a woodchipper. "I'm actually impressed. Not every day someone makes Cornelius panic like you did."
"Cornelius?"
"The Minister," he hand-waved the explanation. "Tell me, boy, how do you know English?"
"Huh? What?"
"English, boy, how do you speak it?" Moody asked. When Al continued to be silent, he sighed. "Your brother didn't know a lick of it when he first arrived."
"Brother?" Al said. "Please, I want to go-"
But Moody held up a hand, stopping him. "Answer the questions first, then I'll decide."
"You'll-" Al started to protest, but Moody stopped him once again.
"Questions," he insisted gruffly.
Al paused, unwillingly agreeing to this man's terms. He tried to remember the moment he spoke to the man in the elevator, that feeling of suddenly understanding this 'English', and then being able to speak it fluently. "I don't know," he answered truthfully.
Moody shook his head. "No. Try again."
"But I really don't know!" Al complained.
"Then think, boy!" Moody raised his voice. "Use that head of yours and think!"
Al racked his mind trying to think, but it was hard with the pressure Moody was forcing onto him. How could I have knowledge on something I don't- Oh.
Moody seemed to notice, his bulging eye locking onto Al's helmet. "You got something. What is it?"
"It's nothing," Al replied. It all clicked in his mind. The reason he knew English before Ed did was because-
"It's got something to do with your body, doesn't it?" Moody asked.
"What?" Al gasped. "How do you know?"
"I can see through you," he growled, tapping near his special eye. "You're also not a very good liar. That, and your runt of a brother told me a little."
"He did?" Ed was not one to talk about their past, so Al was surprised when Moody said he was told by the older Elric.
"I don't like repeating myself," Moody confirmed.
"Right," Al said.
"So tell me. About how you know."
Al mentally exhaled, hushing his nerves. "When my body was... taken as punishment, knowledge was drilled into my head, sort of as an exchange for what I gave up. I think this language must have been part of that."
"Then why did your brother not know?"
"It's because I paid a bigger toll..."
Moody exhaled quietly. He stood up. "Seems real enough."
"I'm sorry?" Al asked, confused. "What's real?" steps. "You coming, boy?"
Al perked up at hearing that. "Are we-"
"Yes, yes," Moody growled, already in the tunnel. "But first we need to catch a bus."
Afterword: IT'S HAPPENING! -flails-
Also, I'd like to thank everyone who left and is going to leave a review. And even if reviews aren't your thing, I still appreciate all you lurkers out there. I'm still on the fence on whether to reply to reviews in a chapter since I don't trust myself to not spoil stuff, so for now I'll keep my mouth shut. :D
