DISCLAIMER: I OWN NEITHER FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST NOR HARRY POTTER!

Chapter Twenty-One

"Hello, Amestrian Boy-of-Wonder," said a husky feminine voice.

'Oh, shit,' Ed thought, freezing. 'Why didn't I listen to my inner voice?!'

"I thought I wouldn't see you again, but I guess I was wrong…," said the voice.

Ed turned to look at the curvy, voluptuous form of Lust.

"What do you want Lust?" Ed asked. "Why have you included a –"

He was cut off by the throaty laughter of Lust. Lust's laughter turned into snickering as she walked up to Ed.

"Dear Alphonse and Van Hohenheim and Greed have been trying to tell you, but you wouldn't listen to them, would you?" Lust said. "The boy you know as Selim is Pride. He's a homunculus."

Ed looked from Lust to Selim who was now grinning very broadly. Selim had several shadows coming from him, some of them coming up from the ground toward Ed.

"Im…impossible…," Ed whispered.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Lust throatily scolded. "What did we say last year? Nothing is impossible, Edward. Mmm… like I thought you wouldn't get any more handsome, but I was wrong…You are very handsome, FullMetal. Why don't you get some experience with – aah!"

Ed had clapped his hands together and transmuted a spear from a chair and swiped at Lust, cutting her across the chest. Lust's chest healed.

"That wasn't very nice," Lust pouted. "Didn't your mommy teach you not to hit girls?"

"You're not a girl, Lust," Ed growled. "And Mom didn't get around to teaching me that, so I guess its tough luck for you."

Lust chuckled as she looked at Ed who was now in a fighting position.

"Lust, you know not to fight Edward Elric," Selim warned. "I will tell Father, and he would not like it."

"Pride, you aren't much fun," Lust pouted. "Not just a teensy fight? I haven't been on the field in a long time."

"You were assigned here to – not so fast, Fullmetal Alchemist," Selim warned again, having his shadow hands grab hold of Ed as Ed had tried to attack Lust. "If you and Lust get into a fight down here, people will come to see what all of the 'commotion' would be about and there would have to be a lot of casualties."

"Get your shadows off of me, Pride!" Ed demanded. "Get them off or I'll cut them off myself!"

Selim chuckled sinisterly to himself.

"Like you'll be able to hurt me," Selim snickered. "You're just a pawn for our cause. Transmute the spear back to a chair, give me the note that Greed gave to you, and then you can be let go."

"Over my dead body," Ed snarled.

"You know we can't have that," Selim reminded. "Why don't I kill your fiancée and -."

"Don't make empty threats, Pride," Ed interrupted. "You know that I would kill every one of you if you did."

"Maybe…maybe not," Selim considered. "If you cooperate, we won't have to find out."

One of Selim's shadow hands scratched Ed's cheek. Ed swore.

"Don't try to scare me, you bastard," Ed threatened.

Ed twirled the spear and stuck it through Selim's stomach, ripped it out, and then sliced through Lust since he was let go from the shadows. Ed was sprayed by blood from Selim and Lust, but he thought nothing of it as he threw his spear aside and tried to run from the room. He didn't get to the door as Lust grabbed him from behind and threw him across the room. Ed hit the wall and slid down.

"Lust, don't be too rough or you'll kill him," Selim scolded, reforming.

"I can't help it, he killed me," Lust complained. "You can at least let me play with him…"

"No," Selim declined.

Before Lust could say anything, Ed let out an angry cry and clapped his hands and transmuted another spear and started cutting away at Lust. Lust kept blocking whenever she could; but whenever she was hit, she regenerated. Irritated at Ed's attempts at trying to kill Lust, Selim finally delivered a blow to the back of Ed's head with a shadow. Ed then fell to the ground.

Ed growled. He pushed himself up but was knocked back down. Selim put a foot on Ed's back and took hold of Ed's hands also as Lust walked to Ed and crouched down in front of him. She put a finger under Ed's chin and made him look at her.

"Now, listen here, Fullmetal Alchemist, you do as we tell you, and we won't destroy the lovely village of Resembool," Lust warned. "Just give me the note you got from Greed."

"Why?" Ed asked. "You don't read Xingese."

"Pride does," Lust replied. "He's learned it."

"I'm still not givin' it to you freaks," Ed growled. "You can just go –"

"Now, that's not very nice," Lust pouted.

"Get over it," Ed spat.

"Now that's not an attitude that you should have," Lust scolded. "I wonder if you taste as delicious as your brother…"

Then Lust tried to kiss Ed, but Ed wouldn't let her. He broke free of Selim's hold, grabbed the spear, and cut Lust in half. Then Ed cut Selim in half. Ed looked in shock as Selim and Lust reformed. Then he growled.

"I should've known," Ed growled.

Lust and Selim both snickered. All of a sudden, there was a snapping noise and both were engulfed in flame. Ed whirled around to see…

"Colonel!" Ed exclaimed. "I thought you were in Central!"

"No time to explain now, Fullmetal," Roy interrupted. "Let's just get rid of these homunculi."

"Right!" Ed agreed.

Then as Roy fought with Lust, Ed fought with Selim. As Selim easily dodged Ed's blows, he retaliated with words.

"Your small stature has resulted in all of your opponents being bigger than you are," Selim taunted. "Which means that you have no idea how to fight someone smaller than yourself!"

Ed growled and then made an underhanded swipe at Selim.

"Yeah, I'm used to fighting oversized freaks of nature!" Ed admitted. "Which is why I know exactly how short people fight!"

Then Ed threw aside his spear and then punched and head-butted Selim. Selim's eyes widened as he fell to the ground. Ed picked up his spear and pointed it at Selim's throat as Selim tried to get up. Roy eliminated Lust and looked at Ed and Selim.

"Come on, Ed!" Roy urged. "Kill him!"

"No," Ed refused. "He's just a kid."

"He's a homunculus, Fullmetal!" Roy pointed out.

"He has a mom, and if I kill him, she'll be sad," Ed countered. "I don't want to see a sad mom. Besides, he can't kill or maim me, can you, Pride?"

Selim glared at Ed.

"You are right, Fullmetal Alchemist," Selim answered. "But be warned, Alchemist, if you tell anyone of my identity, Resembool will be wiped off of the map of Amestris. I will be watching from the shadows."

"Don't worry, Pride, I won't," Ed said. "Just keep your distance from me."

Ed then swirled around the spear and returned it to its normal form as a chair. Then he and Roy left the room, leaving an angry Selim behind. As Ed and Roy left, Selim stood up and went over to the remains of Lust and absorbed them. Selim smiled and then left the dungeon classroom.

Ed and Roy walked through the halls. Ed took out the note that Greed had given to him and handed it to Roy.

"This is from Greed-Ling," Ed said. "I can't read it."

Roy took the letter.

"What, you can't read English?" Roy asked.

Ed scowled.

"It's in Xingese, Colonel Sarcasm," Ed snapped.

"Oh, well, I won't be able to read it either," Roy said, giving the letter back to Ed.

"I thought you knew that language!" Ed protested.

"I can speak it, not read it," Roy replied. "I thought you were supposed to learn the language? Let me guess, speak but not read?"

Ed growled, shoving the letter back into his pocket.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Ed grumbled.

"I've got some news to tell Dumbledore," Roy replied. "What are you doing out of class?"

"None of your business," Ed snapped.

Roy shrugged. As Roy went to Dumbledore's office, Ed went to McGonagall's. When Ed went into McGonagall's office, it was for McGonagall to look at him in shock.

"What happened to you?" McGonagall asked.

"Herbology," Ed brushed off.

"Then why aren't you in class?" McGonagall asked.

"I was sent here since I had a disagreement with Ron," Ed shrugged.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"He called me short so I punched him," Ed replied. "He had it coming to him."

"Mr. Elric, you just finished your month long detention," McGonagall sighed. "Do you have to resort to violence whenever someone insults you? Can't you just talk?"

"Talking is overrated," Ed grinned. "So, what's my punishment?"

McGonagall sighed again.

"I suppose I will give you a week's worth of detention," McGonagall replied. "And I will take ten points off. Just…go…"

"All right," said Ed.

Then Ed left. A few minutes later, Ed was back at Herbology.

"What took you so long?" Al asked.

"I'll tell you later," Ed muttered.

"What did Professor McGonagall do to you?" Hermione asked.

"Just detention and ten points off," Ed wove off.

"But you almost broke my nose!" Ron protested.

"You deserved it," Ed muttered.

"How do you explain the blood on your clothes though?" Hermione asked. "Surely McGonagall didn't -."

"I can't tell you anything else," Ed interrupted.

Before anyone could say anything else, the class bell rang. Ed and Al left before Harry, Ron, and Hermione. As Ed and Al walked toward the castle, Al brought up Slughorn.

"Hermione said that Professor Slughorn is having a Christmas party," Al said. "She also said that you, Winry, and I were invited to go and we couldn't get out of it because Slughorn made Hermione promise she'd have us have our schedule cleared."

Ed groaned.

"First, we're summoned to go to Central before Resembool and now we have to go to the stupid slug's party?" Ed scowled. "I don't want to go to that stupid party. I have plans with Winry."

"If you mean by being intimate with Winry, then that's not plans," Al pointed out as Ed's face turned scarlet. "That's just -."

"BE QUIET!" Ed snapped.

Al chuckled.

"Sorry, Al," Ed muttered.

"That's all right, Brother," Al said. "What took you so long anyway? Did Professor McGonagall yell your ear off like the other times?"

"No, I found out why you don't like the Fuhrer's brat," Ed replied.

Al stopped and looked at Ed in shock.

"I guess that explains the blood then," Al remarked.

"Yeah," Ed said, stopping and looking at Al. "He told me to come with him to the dungeons because Dumbledore wanted to see me. Long story short, Lust and Selim, or should I say Pride, tried to get me to give them the note, Colonel Idiot came back, and now Lust is dead."

"What about Pride?" Al asked.

"I left him alive," Ed replied, starting to walk. "He may be a homunculus, but he's still a kid. Besides, what would the school think if the brat suddenly vanished?"

"I suppose you're right, Brother," Al agreed, catching up with Ed. "But will we tell Winry about Selim being Pride? She has the right to know."

"No, Al," Ed answered. "I promised not to tell her. And I'm not going to tell the Golden Trio either, they'll only cause trouble."

"Isn't that the truth," Al muttered.

"Harry should hurry up and choose you as Katy's replacement," Ed brought up.

"I'm not going to be a replacement!" Al snapped. "If he didn't think I was good enough to be on the team in the beginning, then he won't bother asking me. And I'm not going to volunteer either! I don't want to be on his stupid team anyway!"

"Yeah, who needs to play in a wizarding version of basketball anyway?" Ed replied. "Let's go see that old geezer to see if he can translate the note."

"Why didn't you ask Colonel Mustang?" Al asked.

"I did, he can't read it either," Ed replied.

Al rolled his eyes. They then went inside of the castle and went to find Hohenheim's class. Once there, Ed and Al went in and to Hohenheim's desk where Hohenheim was looking over the essays. Ed pulled out the letter from Ling and put it on the desk in front of Hohenheim. Hohenheim blinked and then looked at the letter and at Ed.

"Read it," Ed said.

"I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me?" Hohenheim asked.

"I don't," Ed replied. "I just can't read this language."

"Who said I could?" Hohenheim asked.

"It doesn't matter, just read it," Ed snapped.

Hohenheim sighed and picked up the note. After a moment, Hohenheim gasped.