- Sorry for the long wait! Here's the newest chapter!

- For the full summary, additional story images and detailed tags, please visit the AO3 website.

-I'd like to remind readers that I am writing from the movie and book, so if a few details contradict one or the other, please understand.
-This chapter is not beta'd, in my hurry to get it out, I skipped sending it my beta-reader T_T
-And finally, thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, commented and is supporting this story! I hope you'll continue to enjoy.

I've been waiting for this to unfold, but the pieces are only as good as the whole.

Voldemort's Legilimancy was much more powerful than Snape's and it wasn't subtle, Edward could tell the bastard was trying to get into his subconscious straight off the bat; he clearly wasn't fucking around.

But Edward's resolve to protect his memories, himself, Mustang and the knowledge of who he was and where he came from, was just as powerful.

He wasn't fucking around either.

Ed had a helluva' good handle on his conscious and subconscious mind, thanks to his time spent in the Gate, so he was easily able to sink into his own headspace. And quickly, so as to protect his present thoughts -which were closer to the surface- and stall Voldemort, Edward wrenched up his worst, most graphic and horrific memories of the Gate.

The massive monolith came abruptly to mind, followed by the endless, insanely overwhelming white nothingness everywhere, and next was the Truth's disconcerting visage in the near distance, a face that looked so familiar and yet like absolutely nothing recognizable, its laugh echoing in the massive space and its deceiving and frightening smile stretched wide and mirthless across the lower half of its face…

…the arms and the blackness that manifested then, from his vivid memory, did so without prompting and Ed clenched his jaw against the searing pain of perpetual deconstruction that flooded his nerves along with the bitter, stagnant cold…

And fuck, holy shit, Ed swore he felt the temperature of the room around him drop, his skin feeling cold as ice and sore for it, and for a second he heard the Truth's voice as if it were right in his ear, laughing and taunting him, challenging him. Back again? Silly Alchemist, you never learn. But you're different now…oh, yes…

It faded to white noise…broken breathing…which pitched into more laughing and then became the cacophonic screaming of thousands of souls –crying, lost, fractured- which was blaringly loud in his head.

It took Edward a raw, painful second to realize it was his own voice, he was shouting 'no' over and over in his mind and then suddenly, like taking a breath after being suffocated, Edward felt Voldemort's presence clearly in his mind, seeping and sticky, clinging and unwelcome, and without a moment's hesitation he violently cast him out, just as he'd done with Snape, shutting everything down to the intruder.

Ed's eyes snapped open with the action, breathing slightly heavier as he glared at Voldemort, feeling mentally exerted. But for the moment, he didn't focus on how drained he felt, since there was the more pressing issue of Voldemort and company immediately at hand. And gauging snake-faces expression, Edward felt fairly certain that his plan to stall and shock had worked.

The Gate was an overwhelming, psychosis inducing, clusterfucking entity to the absolute best of minds; and to everyone else, first hand it almost always drove people insane, and second hand it would cause immense fear, paranoia and confusion, so much so that the image would stop anyone in their tracks if they were to encounter it.

And Voldemort certainly looked paler than his green complexion right then, his expression somewhere between confused, angry and worried. Ed itched to punch him in his pasty face the same as he'd done Snape for trying to get into his mind, but he knew he couldn't right then…someday though.

"My Lord?" Snape asked quietly beside Ed and Voldemort's eyes moved to him immediately, as if snapped out of a stupor, before he attempted to school his expression back into the 'I'm so evil' look.

"A word, Severus." Ugly said just as quietly and then he turned and walked away without another look at Ed, his robes flailing behind him. Snape followed, not looking at Ed either.

Ed watched them walk all the way out of the room and once they disappeared he raised a gloved hand and rubbed it over the lower half of his face, inhaling deeply and quietly, sifting through his mind to see if anything important felt recently rummaged through. Finding nothing of concern, he was just beginning to relax when he exhaled and saw his breath puff white, despite the lit fire place. Then he noticed that the room felt several degrees colder.

He glanced around to look at the people left in the room and he saw them all staring at him wide eyed and breathing out cloudy white puffs as well.

"Draco." Ed's eyes snapped to the man who was standing at the far end of the room, he'd entered with Voldemort and crazy Bellatrix earlier and he seemed very uneasy now, while being an obvious Malfoy with his long white hair and unhealthily skinny frame and pallor.

"Father?" Draco quickly looked from Ed to his father, the teen stood leaning against the table; wand clenched in hand.

"Don't you have work to do?" he asked testily while looking over Ed distastefully, he probably didn't like that Draco was so awestruck, and as if feeling his father's disdain all of a sudden, said teen quickly scowled, sparing Ed a look similar to his father's before he sat down again and hunched over his work.

Edward dismissed the exchange without a second thought, absently glancing over himself, making sure everything was still intact –because the images of the Gate always worried him- before training his eyes back on Draco's dad. Lucius appeared just as Blaise had implied; a dead eyed supporter of Voldemort. The man was cold-wired too, as he displayed when he turned his eyes to where Bellatrix still lay unconscious, smirking and clearly pleased by her current state. Then again, not a single person seemed interested in helping her. So maybe Lucius wasn't the biggest a-hole in the room.

'Figures, no friends among thieves, or murderers in this case.' Ed thought wryly and was glad the room temperature was starting to regulate and become warm again. He put away his wand, rubbed his hands together twice quickly, glancing over at the rat face guy who had yet to stop staring, and before he could even consider sitting down, Voldemort returned with Snape just behind him.

And Snape, for all of his already ashen appearance, looked very subtly paler. Ed specifically took notice because the older man's reactions helped him keep pace with the atmosphere and possible, developing scenarios he was not immediately privy to. So he raised his guard again, arms loosely at his sides, feet shoulder length apart, although in his robes he looked to be standing normally which was good, it didn't give away any intentions in his posture…if any of them would even know what to look for.

When Voldemort was a few feet away he smiled, all small serrated teeth and sly eyes,

"Severus has informed me of your intent here today, and I must say, after seeing you so seriously injure Bellatrix," he gestured to her unconscious form without actually looking, "without a moment's hesitation and with so much enjoyment, I would be very pleased to make a Death Eater of you; you are a true Slytherin after all." and shit, he sounded pretty damn sincere about it too.

Hearing snake-face describe his attack on Bellatrix as having expressed so much enjoyment, Ed wondered again about the strange feelings he'd been experiencing lately whenever it came to his temper, there was such deep, pleasant rage. He reminded himself abruptly to stay in the moment because he had to keep up his act, just waiting now for Voldemort to get to his point, and after a further beat of silence, the wizard went on,

"Your power is actually tangible…" Ed didn't know exactly what he meant by that, but he watched with internal disgust as Voldemort ran his darkened tongue over his teeth before his smile faded and he went on, "…Draco tells me you've befriended the mudblood girl?" he changed the subject abruptly and Snape paled just a tad more, all over again, but kept his gaze downward pointedly while Ed made sure to keep his expression neutral and flat.

"Isn't that right, young Draco?" Voldemort looked over at the rigid teenager hunched over his work, the boy trying very hard not to look at Ed directly as he looked wide eyed at Voldemort and nodded, prompting Voldemort to ask, "Her name again?"

"G-Granger, my Lord." Draco said quickly, accent muffling his words a bit.

Edward wasn't worried really, he knew there was an easy answer to this, he'd thought about it the second Snape had mentioned that Hermione would be endangered by their 'friendship', and then he'd thought it about it some more on the walk across Hogwarts school grounds right after. And as much as Ed didn't want to use it as an excuse, because the potential shit he might be stepping into was pretty deep, he saw no other way to keep her safe while continuing to be friends with her for the information he personally needed to acquire in order to get home.

"Ah, yes, Granger." Voldemort said slowly and then looked expectantly at Edward.

Ed knew he had to use his idea in this play, there was no other way out of it,

"I can't get close to Potter himself because he doesn't trust a single Slytherin, and the red head is just an idiot." and he wasn't even lying, but still, he made sure to sound nasty about it, "Granger is the only one of the three of them who was accessible and knows everything Potter gets up to," he said Hermione's last name with a bit of spite specifically, "and information can be more powerful than a full arsenal of weapons if used just right." he smirked for good measure at the last sentence, quoting Roy Mustang as he'd once heard it said, which Roy Mustang would never know.

Snape was staring at Ed now, slanted eyes narrower still. Ed ignored him, save for a brief disinterested glance.

Voldemort tilted his head again, curiosity peaked,

"And what information do you hope to acquire?"

Ed glanced around at all the eager listeners then, eyebrow half-cocked,

"Word is that Potter has messed up your plans many times over the past few years," he looked at snake-face again, expression bored, "I figured knowing what he was up to would be good strategy for the future." Ed shrugged.

'Ooh, touched a nerve.' Ed thought as Voldemort's face tensed into a look of disgust and anger at his words, but Ed managed not to smile, too far in the game now to drop the ball. He just kept his face mostly apathetic, slightly bored and with an easy scowl, you know, like a villain might look on a day to day basis. Or Scar, actually, in general.

"Potter has been a problem in the past…" Voldemort smiled tightly, completely fake, and then turned to look around as well, "…but I have returned now and I intend to deal with Potter personally." when he said 'deal' it translated to Ed as 'kill', clear as day. Ed's mind started working over how he'd move forward if Voldemort told him to back off, how he would keep away from Hermione, and he figured he would have to put Mustang on to it somehow.

For right now though,

"So you want me to lay off?" Ed asked, again bringing all attention back to him.

He guessed everyone expected him to be more subdued, but Ed didn't do subdued, he usually did the subduing.

Voldemort seemed to think on it for a moment but then shrugged in a creepy way, because he was creepy,

"Information is useful, although it is curious and quite a strange thing that a Gryffindor is trusting a Slytherin."

Snape decided to speak then,

"I believe, My Lord…that she quite…likes Elric."

Draco made a face, as did his father, and Voldemort looked amused,

"Ah, young love is it, a distinct weakness…" he laughed once sharply and then reached out and patted Ed's shoulder. Ed did his best not to sneer as he stared at the man –or snake chimera person as it were- who was a few inches taller than him, around Maes' height by Ed's estimation, "…and if you can exploit such weakness, then you absolutely must." and the bastard said it like it had been his idea.

Edward felt relieved though, he needed Hermione's help and it'd be easier to get it firsthand since he'd already established a connection with her, rather than having to hand his ideas over to Mustang. And as soon as they knew how many there were, and where to find all of the stupid bonded pieces of Voldemort's soul, Ed would screw this undercover act hard and fast and get rid of Voldemort and the Death Eaters so he could find a way home quick.

That was the plan.

He glanced at Voldemort's hand with open awkwardness when it moved down his left arm from his shoulder. He thought it was a tactic to set him on edge, but when the hand reached Ed's elbow his grip tightened and the wizard pulled up, directing Ed to raise his arm. He did so, not hesitating, because hesitation revealed weakness through uncertainty. He was frowning slightly deeper now though, not liking being touched by snake-face, or how silent it had become in the large room now, quiet aside from the crackling of the fire and an unidentified hissing noise.

Ed's robe sleeve fell back as he held his forearm up, and Voldemort's spindly fingers were still holding his elbow,

"You have impressed me," he began quite seriously, "you have exceeded my expectations and bested one of my finest with great ease. Young Edward, your mind is sharp and your confidence and abilities are rare in their validity." he smiled again and Ed's gloved fingers twitched. He really didn't like this guy touching him, even if it was through the layers of his jersey and shirt, "Taking into account all of these fine points, I have decided to bestow upon you the greatest honor for a Death Eater." and there had been an underlying sarcasm in the very last of his words, followed by a wider grin, his grip turning to a firmer clutch now at the top of Ed's forearm.

Voldemort then raised his other hand and pushed the sleeves of Ed's shirt and jersey up so his inner forearm was bared, and under the dim grey-white light Ed noticed that his veins looked far more noticeable as they protruded slightly, his pulse quickening just a bit at not knowing what was about to happen.

Edward worked his jaw and parted his lips to ask what the fuck Voldemort was doing as he saw the man reaching into his robes for what Ed assumed was his wand, but he held his tongue and glanced at Snape discreetly; the man didn't look worried, just stunned and uncertain, which didn't really help at all. Ed clenched his fist loosely, forcing himself not to pull away and just then there was a gasping sound and a rasped question of,

"Is he really worthy, My Lord?"

It was Bellatrix, Ed couldn't see her past Voldemort standing in front of him but she was the only injured person and a female besides, so her voice was telling.

"Yes." Voldemort said almost sternly as he held his wand up while still holding Ed's arm, and before Ed could get a word out, between one breath and the next, the tip of the white wood wand was pressed against his inner forearm. The teen's eyes widened then, his breath quickening when his skin started to burn very lightly where the wand touched him and black ink seeped into his skin from its tip. He clenched his teeth against the burn as it intensified, as well as against the panic rising in his chest; he didn't know why he was getting a tattoo but he did not like it, something about it felt…like it was a fucking trap.

But if he yanked his arm away, as he desperately wanted to do, he'd be rejecting an 'honor' and his cover would be blown. This plan was definitely turning out to be a shit-show very quickly.

Ed had both fists balled tightly as the entirety of the magical tattoo finished off, the burn dulling but not fading completely, leaving behind a dark black ink tattoo, half the size of his inner forearm. When it was done Voldemort dragged his cold, too-smooth thumb down over it and it burned a little worse for it, as if reacting to the man's touch and making Ed clench his jaw in silent fury, his stomach feeling heavy with instant dread for the tattoo. He suspected then that he'd just been branded and he did not like it. One fucking bit.

"Now you wear my mark," the son-of-a-bitch confirmed, "my loyal Death Eater." the dark wizard said sounding very pleased with himself as he relinquished his hold on Ed and turned to address the room, "Welcome him, he is one of us now." and he grinned as there was a collection of mumbles and nods in Ed's direction. Ed, stunned and furious, ran his gloved fingers over the black tattoo of a skull and a snake just barely before he roughly pulled his sleeves down and clenched his fist and jaw so tightly he heard his knuckles pop and his teeth click.

He glanced at Voldemort absently in his fury, but his contempt was quickly redirected when his eyes caught movement on the floor underneath the table, accompanied by a hiss, and as a giant snake slithered out, giving Ed an intelligent look, Ed just stared back as he felt it sinking in properly. He was Death Eater, officially, not just some guy running around acting as if he were something and falsely following a cult, he was marked…and tattoos were permanent…and Mustang might notice…and if Ed still had it when he got home, Alphonse and Winry would see it.

But with Al and Winry he could write it off as a mark of war, like all of his others, an unwanted mark acquired during a mission, another story to tell. But if Mustang saw it, he'd get worried -probably pissed off too- and then he'd want to get involved. So Ed would have to be extra careful to avoid that happening, there'd be no rolling up his sleeves anymore.

'Fucking bastard.' he really wanted to kill Voldemort or hit Snape right then, maybe even Draco too.

"My Lord, if that is all, we should be getting back to Hogwarts, the boy's absence will be noticed." Snape said dully but he looked a bit tense. Voldemort turned around from smiling at his minions and nodded, his hand extending to touch Draco's tense shoulder where the teen still sat at the table,

"Yes, take Draco with you as well. I believe he has completed the task I asked of him?" Voldemort looked at Draco, who stood up quickly, stiffly, and nodded. Voldemort nodded back and then Draco walked away without looking back, past Ed and down the stairs, not very subtle about the fact that he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Ed was far more in control of himself, and he only turned to leave when Snape did, descending the stairs beside the older man, not missing the feeling of eyes on his back and hearing the hiss of that damn snake. He knew he couldn't speak even as they left the mansion, seeing Draco striding ahead, the boy pulling out his wand to wordlessly open the large gate of the estate with a whip of his hand. Ed watched with a narrowed eye as Draco made it past the gate and then just disappeared with a twist into nothingness, obviously having apparated, and he glanced at Snape then, but the man very subtly shook his head to discourage talking even once they were outside the gate.

With a grimace Ed grabbed Snape's extended forearm and in a nauseating spin and flip they were back where they'd left from, standing in the heavy underbrush of the forbidden forest. It took a second to reorient himself, but Ed turned quickly, alert when he heard some rustling off to the side. Snape turned too and they both saw Draco walking toward them. Ed could only figure he'd popped up somewhere else, and could have gone on, but as students he guessed that returning to the school with a teacher would lessen suspicion, especially since Snape was the head of their house. Draco had either done this a bunch of times, or he just wasn't as stupid as he looked.

Annoyed more and more by the second, what with it being much colder in the woods at that time of night, Ed felt very close to hitting something. To stave off temptation, he stuffed his hands into his pockets, almost grateful for the robes serving as an extra layer of warmth, and he side-glanced at Snape,

"It's fucking freezing, let's go." he said shortly, and Draco stared at him for a few seconds before looking at Snape with a confused frown. The older man gave Ed a look of irritation for forgetting his 'place' when speaking to a teacher,

"Watch your language, El-ric." he reprimanded as was expected of him, and Ed knew it was for Draco's benefit.

He forced himself not to roll his eyes and then they all started walking toward the castle, crossing the clearing of the grounds and entering through the back end corridor just as they'd left. Silent the entire time.

Once they were back inside the castle's halls where it was dark and still chilly, Edward felt far more irritable, clenching his teeth together as their collective shoes scuffed unevenly while they walked in the direction of the dungeon level. There was no one around though, but just as Ed was, Draco was also wearing his general non-house specific school robes, so claiming that Snape had been doling out some punishment or detention would fly if anyone intercepted them. Although it wasn't likely since no one lurked in the dungeons besides Slytherins, the occasional prefect and the weird caretaker with his nasty little cat.

Once they reached the entrance to the Slytherin dorms Snape glanced at both Ed and Draco and then gestured with a flick of his hand for them to go. The second Draco turned to the entrance, scowling as he said the password, Snape gave Ed a significant look that was both angry and worried about the developments that had happened that night.

Ed agreed only with an exasperated blink, knowing they needed to talk about the tattoo and what it meant, and also whether Snape deserved to get punched for not warning Ed something like that could happen. For right then though, he just walked into the dorms after Draco and resigned himself to trying to get some sleep.

It was blissfully warm in the dorm's common-room as he walked further in, the fire burning high and strong. It was also quiet and empty and…and Draco was standing at the fireplace and staring at him, all pale skin, rake thin body and blue eyes wide and cautious,

"How did you do that?" he asked quietly, glancing around as if to double check that they were alone.

Ed stopped walking halfway through the room and he frowned at Draco,

"Do what?"

"The curse…" he half sneered, half whispered, walking closer so he could talk quieter, "…the one you used on her, the one she tried to disarm and it didn't even manage to slow your curse." he was a few feet away now and Ed noticed how drawn and stressed he looked when up close.

Hands still in his pockets, Ed blinked and glanced around to keep from rolling his eyes, knowing Draco was referring to Bellatrix. But he couldn't say 'oh it was because it was alchemy, not magic, and I'm a certified badass', because that wasn't an option, so as he was wont to do, he went for the arrogant routine,

"She just wasn't tough enough." he shrugged, settling a bored gaze on the other blonde teen.

"What?" Draco hissed in a low whisper, "How dare you speak of my aunt that way!" he gave Ed a once over that didn't really hold much bravado, so much as knee-jerk indignation.

Ed raised an eyebrow, storing away the bit of information about Draco being related to Bellatrix for later, and immediately realizing that insanity was probably genetic in the Malfoy family, based on that fact alone. Then again, Bellatrix had dark hair, like the woman he'd seen Draco with in Diagon Alley -the one with half blonde, half black hair-, more than likely his mother, so maybe the madness…was on the Le Strange side?

He had to try very hard not to laugh at how that last name complimented Bellatrix so well, but of course, Bellatrix Le Cuckoo would have worked well too.

Not in the mood to deal with the other teen at the moment, Ed just returned Draco's once over with a warning glare tacked on at the end, because even with the few inches in height that Draco had on him, there was no question of which one of them was intimidated and would get their ass kicked. Confirming it without even realizing, Draco's adam's apple bobbed on a swallow when he saw the look Ed leveled him with,

"I don't give a shit who she is to you, I went there for one reason and I got what I wanted." he made sure to sound pleased with himself, like Envy always did when he was being evil –which was all the time- and he gestured to his left forearm where the tattoo was dully burning, "If you have a problem, suck it up." he finished, and then turned and walked away.

He was only a few feet away when Draco spoke quietly,

"I have it too." was all he said, but it didn't sound like he was bragging and when Ed turned to look at him he was staring at his forearm, rubbing his palm over his sleeve where Ed assumed the tattoo was.

His grim expression and posture told Ed a lot, specifically that Draco wasn't thrilled to be an 'honored' Death Eater, and by how unwell he was looking, the role was taking a toll on him. Figuring out why Draco had decided to tell him about it was another matter though; was it because he wanted Ed to know he wasn't the only teenager who'd been 'honored', or was it because he was letting Ed know they were on the same team? And which team would that be for Draco? And then there was the far less likely scenario of whether Draco, by his miserable demeanor, was showing Ed a glimpse of what life as a Death Eater was really like.

Ed pursed his lips and reached back to run a gloved hand over his ponytail absently as he looked over Draco slowly, not fazed by the boy's misery for whatever reason it was suddenly obviously displayed to him, because Ed wasn't really a Death Eater at heart and it didn't matter either way, he was on a mission, so he and Draco didn't have anything in common at all.

Deciding that, he didn't end up responding and turned again, walking his way to the staircase and heading down to their dorm room to sleep.

Sunday morning at Hogwarts was quieter somehow, since he'd woken up –at the crack of fucking dawn to shower, clean up and dress warm- Ed had been wandering the mostly empty halls of the school, familiarizing himself with everything while simultaneously avoiding Mustang and Snape. He'd had a good long look at the tattoo on his arm while he'd been alone in the showers and it'd got him thinking that he needed to strategize. It had always usually been Al's job when they'd been a team, but he was on his own now, technically, and he had to come up with a plan to keep everything from getting out of hand.

Most of all, he had to figure out a way to be a convincing Death Eater while doing so…although Voldemort had seemed to believe his act, so it couldn't have been so bad.

He sighed tiredly, mind constantly working through all the complicated angles as he leaned on one of the stone ledges between the pillars of the colonnade surrounding the quad, huffing out a puffy white breath when he felt a headache building behind his eyes. Thinking about how tired he was and his lack of sleep, he realized he'd barely had a chance to rest before he and Mustang had been sucked into the magic world, so it was a wonder he wasn't sleeping far more. He'd often had trouble sleeping in the past, but that had been because of nightmares, which he wasn't having recently and had usually been the only thing that could keep him up.

He was lost in thought, absently rubbing his right gloved hand over his left forearm because he felt constantly aware of it, of the dull throb and heat under his skin -like he couldn't ever completely forget he had it-, when he heard low conversation from around the corner from where he was standing.

He caught the word 'Draco' and decided it might be worth eavesdropping, so he jumped over the ledge into the open quad side and crouched down behind the wall, leaning back against the wall so he was hidden from view as he heard the footsteps scuff closer in the walkway.

"Ee' should atleas' tell us what he's up to in there since he's asking us fer' help." a familiar voice complained quietly.

"Les' just do what he says, I don' wanna ask too many questions." another familiar voice said as they walked by where Ed was crouching down on the other side of the wall.

"Why? Because you think whatever it is, is' doing it fer' you know who?"

There was no verbal response but they'd walked by too far anyway, so Ed stood up and leaned over the ledge to see Crabbe and Goyle walking on down the hall. Ed narrowed his eyes thoughtfully before he decided to follow them, they were both idiots and he knew he could tail them easily and maybe he'd find out just where 'in there' was and, eventually, what Draco was hiding from his cronies.

It was suspicious in and of itself really, Crabbe and Goyle being out and about on a Sunday when they could be lazing around. He managed to follow them easily all the way to the sixth floor at which time they went into the girl's lavatory. Ed frowned, wondering just how stupid they were, but he wasn't going to interfere by going in after them unless he heard a scream or something from a girl, although he doubted anyone was in there. So he waited further down the hall, hidden behind the edge of one of the large wall protruding pillars.

Ten minutes later, two girls emerged and Ed nearly didn't give them a second glance, until he noticed how one of them walked funny and kept pulling on the uniform skirt. And that's when his suspicion peaked; because why would two girls who appeared to be first years, be in a sixth floor bathroom dressed in school robes on a Sunday?

'There's that potion that changes peoples physical appearances…like what Envy was capable of, except the potion's effect isn't controllable and it's time limited.' Ed's brain helpfully supplied as he recalled the Poly Juice potion effect. He started following the girls then, as he was now certain they were Crabbe and Goyle.

They went further upstairs and all the way to a corner of the castle where they came to stop in the corridor and one of them huffed and leaned against the wall,

"I really hate this."

"I hope we're not late, he'll be mad if he came out and we weren't ere'." the other girl disguise said and she/he leaned against the wall too.

Ed glanced around from where he was hiding and then leaned out of possible sight again, there had been no doors or windows for Draco to come out of where Crabbe and Goyle were situated. So whatever they were talking about was probably not visible. That was interesting. Edward contemplated waiting around to see what happened, but he'd already wasted too much of his morning walking around the school and he needed to find Hermione and ask her about muggle books on science.

Draco wasn't really important, after all, they were on the same side in essence and whatever he was up to likely had something to do with whatever tasks Voldemort gave him, like the one to kill Dumbledore. And as long as Snape was aware of Draco's intentions Ed was confident he would not be kept in the dark, and so in turn, neither would Ed.

Having decided he had better things to do, Ed glanced at the pair again to make sure they weren't looking his way and then he made his way back down the corridor, keeping close to the wall until he was completely out of sight before he descended the stairs quickly, intent on finding Hermione.

Next Chapter - Ed's smile doesn't go unnoticed and Harry, Ron and Hermione are still at odds...