Alchemical Lane

Part 12 – Blood and Coffee

He had been lead down to some under ground laboratory. However, it wasn't anything that he had seen back home or even during WW2 of England. The Time he had been in before he used the Transportation array to get to this era. A man in black robes, with shoulder length greasy hair had his back to Edward as he walked in.

"Nice place you have here," Edward said calmly. How were you supposed to open a conversation with a kidnapper that treated you, well…well? Edward felt like he was in the middle of the ocean, and drowning because of it.

The man in question turned to him, his skin was paler in the torch light of the subterranean laboratory; "There you are Elric," Severus Snape said in a tone that was light, well, for this man at least.

"So I am, what of it?" Edward asked, his white gloved hands went into pants pockets, he stood nonchalantly in front of the man, without his red coat, Edward looked a bit out of his element to Severus. But, he could hardly blame the child.

"This, just so happens to be a potion of magnitude that no one but myself has been able to master it," Severus explained.

"Really?" Edward sounded curious. Potions, from what he had read, sounded more like Chemistry; a nice scientific antidote to unlimited power of magic. Where there were rules that governed his use of Alchemy, Magic seemed to be that thing of which most Alchemists could never achieve.

It was total power without sacrifice.

Sacrilege.

"What does it do, exactly?" Edward asked, stepping closer to the man who moved out of his way to give a better view to the caldron atop a controlled fire.

"I have suspected for some time now that somehow our families are related, I am attempting with this potion to find the facts," Severus replied.

"What do you need to do? Get my blood and call up demons?" Edward asked.

"Magic does not work like that, only Muggles with their occultism idea's call upon things that do not exist," Severus replied.

"Well, seeing as how I'm atheist, it really doesn't matter now does it?" Edward smirked.

"All you need to do is allow me a single drop of blood, you can do it yourself if you like," Severus said.

"That's all is it? I suppose it can't be that bad," Edward said more to himself than the man that might or might not be some…Uncle? Father? Older brother?

Bah to it all. It'll humor him and maybe I can get some information on why he kidnapped me in the first place. If he really just wanted my blood, he could have done it back at the Weasely's.

Edward ungloved his hands. The metal glowed in this dank light, but if the man reacted to the oddness of this limb, he didn't show it. For which Edward was glad for, he hated being rejected he covered it up by fighting and rejecting authority. Snape handed him a needle and Edward held his flesh hand over the pot and pricked his skin.

As if in slow motion, the blood trickled from the wound and down the needle before it took the long plunge to the gurgling brew below. With that one drop the glop turned a light purple and smelled of rotten, mashed potatoes.

"Yuck!" Edward drew away. Sucking at his pricked finger he watched as Snape approached the pot and look in. When he looked at the boy, he seemed pleased. But, Edward couldn't figure out why.

"It is as I thought," he said simply, "We are related,"

"How and why did you kidnap me in the first place?"

"I wanted control of the situation. We had to do this privately so that we can take out time to plan our next step," Severus replied.

"What next step?"

"The next step of restoring Lord Voldemort," Severus replied, looking quite and utterly pleased with himself.

Edward blinked.

"Who is Lord Moldewarts?"

--

It had taken several hours for Snape to explain everything to Edward. He was told things that Edward didn't know just by reading a copy of the History of Magic. Most of it Edward thought was bull shit, to be honest, how could someone throw the killing curse, get it blocked and not die from it? The logic didn't compute.

Now, the two sat in a small and casual dinning room where roast beef, sprouts and other fine delicacies that Edward hadn't a chance to try was being served. Edward had rejected milk and was surprised when the house elf came back with Pumpkin Juice and not water like he had thought. He would have to get the recipe for this before he left for home, he liked it, a lot.

"So, what can an Alchemist like me be of any help to you lot? From what I know, it's sounds as if this Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters will be at each others throats anyway," Edward was saying as he shoveled down some meet and potatoes.

"True, but both factions have its reasons for the war," Severus replied.

"So, what made you join up with the Death Eaters, anyway?"

Severus wasn't expecting that question, but in retrospect he should have been. He watched the boy eat for a long moments before he decided to answer, and be truthful. After all, they were related, even if remotely.

"I was in love," Severus said. Edward looked up.

"She was beautiful, kind, generous and she treated me better than anyone ever had. It took me seven years to ask her out, to marry me right then and there. That I loved her with my whole heart…" he trailed off. The pain from the rejection became acute and he felt short of breathe because of it.

Edward sat there, he hadn't stopped eating, but he was prepared to forget the words if Severus so much as hinted that he didn't want it talked about. But, he had to go on. This would be the one and only time he could do it.

"I didn't know what I was doing then, it's funny how the law affirms a Wizard of being of age at seventeen, when we are still young and stupid, awkward in our thoughts and bodies," he shook his head, "She rejected my proposal, and told me of her love for Potter. James Potter, the perfect Prefect and Head Boy. She said that he had grown on her and that over the past two years she had grown to love him unconditionally," he sipped from his wine glass.

Edward glanced at him, as Severus stared at the candle before him, Edward wondered if the man would go on with his story. Love was powerful, Edward knew, it made people do things; terrible things for the right reasons or terrible things out of jealousy. It truly didn't matter.

"I joined the Death Eaters out of the compulsion to somehow win her back. Protect her, the way she was aligning herself would mean her death," Severus said, anger clouded his words like blood dripping from the fangs of a Chimera. Still, Edward didn't say a thing, he had the feeling that Severus Snape, his sudo-Uncle, was giving him a clearer picture than anyone else that might have boasted of being the man's friend.

"in the end, my Lily died, she died protecting Harry James Potter," Severus ended. He slumped in his chair, just thinking. Edward blinked, his plate was empty by now and so he finished off his pumpkin juice and desert was served. Edward took his coffee black.

"Thank you," he said, "I knew that there had to be more to the picture than just what the Weasely's and Harry was getting on to but they never could tell me all of it," Edward said. Severus just sat back with his tea.

"Now, the question is, who was in the right and who was in the wrong? I don't just ally myself with anyone you know, Alchemy has its rules. I can't just clap my hands and touch a bunch of rock to make things happen. Human Alchemy is against out law, yet, I did it…" Edward knew that now it was his turn to confide in this man a secret just as big as what Severus had just told him. Edward wasn't one to ignore facts, they were family after all.

"I have a brother, his name is Alphonse, and he is about a year younger than me. When we were little, our father left us. We don't know why, we still don't. All we had then was our mother, Trisha Elric. She looked exactly like the lady you showed me in the moving photograph. But, she died to an illness that we didn't know about," Edward sipped at his coffee; Severus surreptitiously glanced at the boy.

"Well, after that Al and I decided to learn all that we could about Alchemy. We were well on our way, prodigies, they called us. We got Izumi Curtis to take us in and teach us all that she knew, while she did that, we searched for a way to bring back our mother. I always was a momma's boy; Alphonse always got me in trouble so that he could have time with her. Not that I cared, half the time I did deserve it," Edward smiled at that, just the thought of Alphonse made him excited.

Just as he hadn't interrupted during Severus' story, neither did Severus say anything. He did hope that Edward went on with the story.

"Well, after a couple of years we traveled back to Resembool, our home town. I was eleven, I thought I knew everything. I thought that we had found it. We used Human Transmutation a sin in our science, to bring back our mother. But, it didn't work. I understood then why. It did not bring back our mother because you can't bring back the soul of a dead person, you can only create a body. Everything else is unnatural. I lost my leg for that one, Alphonse lost his body. He would have also lost his soul if I hadn't bound it to a suite of armor, for that I lost my arm," Edward sat back in the chair, coffee forgotten. He unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off his bony shoulders to show the gleaming metal to Severus.

"This is called Automail; it took me a year to get back on my feet. The wires connect into the port on my shoulder and hip and then connect to my nerves. It's a pain to remove and to connect, but, it's nothing like what Al went through," Edward slipped his shirt back on.

"So, I suppose we aren't all that different," he shrugged.

"Perhaps not," Severus could only agree. There was a long, terse silence between the two while Edward wondered if he should air the question that hadn't been answered yet, even though he had asked plenty of times.

"So, what is it that you want me to do for this Lord of yours?"

"Have you heard of the Philosophers Stone?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"It's exists!" Edward looked enthusiastically happy.

"It existed," Severus corrected.

"What do you mean?"

Severus felt a pang of regret in his heart as the boy's face fell; "There was an alchemist, Nicholas Flamel, he was successful in the making of the Stone. Only he knew how to do it, but, some two years ago it was destroyed," Severus explained.

"Damn," Edward glared at the floor. The Philosophers Stone was the highlight of any Alchemist gutsy enough o try and set out to make it. Not only could one turn one metal into gold, but, Edward knew that he would be able to use it to get his brother's body back. Only the Stone would let him perform Human Transmutation, again, without sacrifices.

"My brother and I had a bit of success in the making of a Philosophers Stone in our world," Edward muttered.

"What happened?" he didn't like the sound of of that.

Edward just shrugged, he didn't want to go into that.

"It's time for you to go to bed, we will talk more in the morning when one of my associates will come by with some material for your use," Severus said.

"Damn," Edward cursed, he never could sit still when something this big was on his mind.

"Come, if you do not sleep, that is fine, but, wondering the castle alone and at night may be dangerous," Severus said as he stood. Edward nodded and followed the man out of the dinning room.

--

a/n – Well, sorry that this chapter has no action. But I needed to set some things up – well – at least get things rolling. I really hate it when I take such a long time with the plot. At least, I still don't think it's going faster than I intended, I mean…I hate it when plots go fast, and I hate it when I slow mine down….er….

Okay, and I also needed to establish something between the two. Something that would make Edward trust Snape, well, at least those around Snape. But, you can never tell with Death eaters on the lose!

Ta,

Professor Know It All

I'd like to thank mrawgirl09, DemonRaily, Synnofthesun and Synn's cat for the corrections for this chapter. This is why I have to watch the anime again! thank you all!