Hey everybody! I've finally figured out a reliable and faster system for my translations, so hopefully I will have the last three out relatively quickly, definitely before June. It helps that my French has been de-rusted, too. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 21

Edward was finally out of the class with the Gryffindor trio, no longer dealing with exam problems or rumors spread by those who had witnessed the Boy-Who-Lived's crisis. While escorting Harry, they listened anxiously as the dark haired teen talked about Sirius who, according to the boy, would be imprisoned in the Department of Mysteries. Knowing it was better to clarify this, Edward questioned his friend about what he had seen, whether the vision was real or whether it could have been created from scratch by Voldemort. Unfortunately, Harry was in a very unstable emotional state, unwilling to listen to reason and desiring nothing more than to make sure that Sirius was fine: Harry brushed Ed off, obsessed over what he had seen and not listening to Ravenclaw's arguments. Hermione herself had not been able to calm him down, but she had finally been able to suggest to the young wizard that he see Professor McGonagall, who could contact the Order.

The Gryffindor had finally accepted and gone to the infirmary to ask to speak to Professor McGonagall. But Madam Pomfrey informed them that the Deputy Headmaster had been transported to St. Mungo's after the attack the day before. Before Harry could restart his rantings on Sirius, Edward finally managed to be heard and proposed they consult the second member of the Order who everyone had forgotten: Professor Snape. Despite the obvious reluctance of Harry and Ron, Ed and Hermione forced them to head towards the Potions Master's office. But the group arrived at his office, they saw Malfoy and his minions were blocking the passage at the door. It was better not to draw attention to Snape's spying activities.

Without waiting, Harry turned back, refusing to waste more time waiting to see if Snape was available: he already had an idea of what he could do to find out Sirius' condition. Only, he thought, to carry out his idea, he was going to need a diversion to draw the attention of the High Inquisitor away from her office. The presence of Ginny, Neville and Luna, who arrived in time to offer help, allowed him to develop a plan. Edward would have much preferred that they had a more informed and strategic plan but they had no other solutions. Ed, regretting not being able to help Harry, stood guard in front of the door. He could not hear who Harry was talking to, but since the discussion seemed to drag on, he could tell that he was not talking to Sirius, otherwise he would have been reassured...

A sudden noise alerted the blond teen. He looked up to see Umbridge and her Inquisitorial Brigade approaching, frog-marching Neville, Luna and Ginny with them. This time, Ed did not hesitate and started bombarding his opponents with vicious spells, but Malfoy and Parkinson soon began using their hostages as human shields, the only way to force the young alchemist to surrender. Soon, the seven young students found themselves stuck in Umbridge's office, their arms immobilized by the members of the brigade. The Inquisitor, who seemed positively delighted, began her interrogation. Harry and Hermione tried desperately to deceive her, but she was visibly unconvinced by their lies because she summoned Professor Snape.

Edward could not help but admire the professor's acting abilities: even Harry seemed convinced that he was a turncoat, especially after his scornful response to his coded message. Seeing the suspicion on his friend's face, the young Ravenclaw nodded slightly to Malfoy and company. The Gryffindor finally understood his point of view: the Order's spy could hardly defend them in front of the children of notorious Death Eaters... Unfortunately, his departure also meant that Umbridge had free reign for more brutal (read:illegal) interrogation. Seeing the look of the vile woman, glowering sadistically, Edward was reminded of the Homunculi, Envy in particular. The boy realized that the situation would soon degenerate and sought to escape, anxious to preserve his cover in the face of such a threat.

The toadie was just waiting for that, obviously, and a moment later, a crimson spell hit him directly in front of the horrified eyes of members of the SC and the unhealthy fascination of some Slytherins (not all, thankfully). The pain was truly abominable, almost unbearable, as if each of Ed's nerves were set on edge. This reminded him of the pain caused by the installation or attachment of his automail and only the fact of having already known this pain prevented him from screaming like a madman. He trembled in every limb when the spell was lifted. When he raised his head, mind clouded by this torture, he saw contentment in the eyes of the infamous witch and knew she wanted to do it again.

Determined not to have to endure that again, Ed was about to clap his hands to start a transmutation, but was interrupted by Hermione's cry as she begged the Inquisitor to stop. The young witch then unwrapped an incredible story about a weapon that Dumbledore had hidden; Umbridge in her morbid paranoia, believed her immediately. She therefore prepared for an expedition into the Forbidden Forest with Harry and Hermione as guides. Eager to seize the weapon, but unwilling to see potential rivals like Malfoy get close, she decided not to bring the members of his brigade. But she also knew she had to have leverage over her two guides and her choice fell on Edward, who seemed already banged up. She didn't have any reason to worry: after all, with their wands that would remain in his office with the other hostages, and under guard, she had nothing to fear from fifth years...

However, Umbridge had not anticipated many things: firstly, that Edward was not as hurt as she believed. The young State Alchemist had fought with wounds pissing blood and several broken bones, a single torture spell was not going to put him in the ground. The second thing is that he could defend himself by just clapping his hands. His last advantage was that he knew the forest like the back of his hand, to the point that he had began signing directions to Hermione, who was turning regularly to him for help- it must be said that the young witch was well aware that he better knew the forest even she did... Now, Edward hesitated: should he take the awful woman to the Acromantulas or to Grawp?

In the end, it was the centaurs. Knowing that it was better to leave Umbridge responsible for offending them, he forbade his friends to say a word and even though Hermione seemed to be protesting, eager to explain the situation, she agreed to obey the young Ravenclaw. At the end of the "conversation" after which Umbridge insulted the centaurs by calling them animals and brutes, an arrow embedded itself in a tree one centimeter from her face, causing her to fight back with a spell. Understanding that this was going to escalate, Ed fell to the ground with the others and watched with some pleasure the forced departure of the Hogwarts High Inquisitor, carried off by a herd of centaurs. Edward stood up muttering with a lot of satisfaction:

"Well done.."

"Have you brought that human here for that purpose, Edward Elric?" Magorian asked, frowning, while the other centaurs stared at them suspiciously.

"Not really, to be honest, I intended to lead her to either Grawp or to the giant spiders, it's just a coincidence that you were here first." Edward said in a detached voice.

"Ed!" Hermione exclaimed, with reproach in her voice.

"What?" protested the young Ravenclaw, "She used a torture spell and I'm sure she would have killed us afterwards to silence us!"

"It's not that! In any case," Hermione corrected, "How could we defend ourselves against the Acromantulas without a wand?"

"I would have found a way... and I wouldn't have killed her, just left her hanging just out of reach above spiders," laughed Edward, a dark glint in his eye.

"I see," said Magorian. "Get out of here and do not come back. Our tolerance is limited to humans."

"Uh, not to interrupt, but we have to find Sirius. Kreacher told me they had taken him, if we don't find him soon, he will be killed!" exclaimed Harry, who had just remembered his priorities.

"Simple question, wouldn't it be easier to return to the castle and see what Snape says?" Edward asked, trying to take the role of the calm and temperate boy he was not.

"Every minute counts! We must leave now!" cried the Boy-Who-Lived, desperate.

"So if I understand correctly, summarized the young alchemist, frowning, "You want to face Voldemort and many of his supporters alone, to find Sirius, who is, in theory, to the Department of Mysteries? You know, I'm the type to rush headlong into things, but even I know that's suicide!"

"You don't understand!" Harry shouted, seizing his friend by his collar, "It's my fault he's in danger! And the last thing I did was blame him and tell him he was no better than guys like Malfoy! If he died with that being the last thing he heard from me, I would regret it the rest of my life!"

"Maybe, but that's not a reason for you to charge on alone!"

"That's what we told him, too." Ron said, slightly out of breath. He was accompanied by the other former prisoners of Umbridge.

"That's right," Ginny chimed in while she handed out the remaining wands. "Seven heads are better than one."

"There's no way..." Harry began to refuse, unwilling to risk the lives of others.

"Either let us go with you, or I will knock you out," said Edward as an ultimatum, meeting the eyes of his friend.

"And how will we get there?" Hermione asked, pragmatic.

"We could use them," Luna suggested in a quiet voice, "Hagrid says they know how to find their way," she added, pointing at the thestrals.

"Okay, but ... there is still a problem," Ginny said hesitantly. "Edward, you have a fear of heights and if you can't see your horse..."

"I can see thestrals," declared the young Amestrian, "and I know how to ride a horse."

Without waiting, he proved his point by approaching a thestral and gently stroking its mane. Before he climbed on, Ed paused, before smiling and pulling out his wand. He aimed it carefully at his wizard robes, changing them into a familiar red cloak with a black Flamel on the back. If he was going to go into danger, he wanted to look good while he did. Then he climbed easily on the back of his mount: he came from Resembool, a small country town where everyone could ride a horse from a young age. A thestral was more skeletal but he knew them well. As for the problem of vertigo, he'd sooner trust an animal than an object enchanted with magic. The others soon followed suit, each perched on their thestral.

Edward's heart was in his throat when they took off but he grabbed the mane of the reptilian horse. He didn't look down... Sometimes he glanced to make sure they were going in the right direction, but that was all.

He wondered if he had done well to agree to help Harry and others walk into a trap: it was undoubtedly one, whether Sirius was there or not. Their opponents would no doubt be numerous and trained in deadly spells. Even if the members of the group were among the best of the Support Course and had been trained in all forms of ambush, they would be inferior both in number and in experience. However, he himself was a seasoned fighter who had a secret weapon: alchemy. Provided he hid it under his magic, he could use the element of surprise to his advantage.

He interrupted his thoughts when his skeleton horse plunged into the city of London, an immense network of sprawling lights, and after a very uncomfortable moment for the teen, he finally landed. They were in an dirty lane with garbage piled in a dumpster and a vandalized phone booth. Edward, who had never been here before, vaguely wondered how to access the Ministry and where he was... He resigned himself to follow Harry who made them all squeeze into the tiny booth. Crammed in like sardines, they slowly descended into the ground to reach the majestic hall of the Ministry. Nobody took the time to marvel at the scenery: they only noticed the absence of a guard on the premises, which was not a good sign. According to Edward's experience, there was always a guard in sensitive places.

The small group walked to the golden elevator, where they had a lot more space than in the previous one. Everyone was getting nervous, gripping their wands tight in their hands. They jumped almost in unison when the impersonal female voice said, without emotion, "Department of Mysteries." They left the car and went to the dark door that stood out against the bare wall of the corridor. Harry turned the handle and the door opened without any difficulty, to the extreme nervousness of the group. The small band entered and found themselves in a dark circular room in which it was virtually impossible to distinguish anything except a dozen closed doors. The walls seemed to be turning, though it could just be their minds playing tricks on them. Ron opened a door at random and they entered a dark room with a tub that seemed filled with a strange liquid in which floated... brains? Without thinking to hard about Luna's exclamations that they were aquavirius maggots, Ed leaned thoughtfully over the tank but finally had to join the others who had returned to the previous room.

"What do you think that was, Edward?" Hermione whispered, drawing a cross of fire on the door.

"Perhaps a study of thought or intelligence ... I do not believe that all those brains were of human origin in the tank..." Edward replied distractedly.

Since he had entered the Mystery Department and even the ministry, Ed had felt vaguely nauseated and nervous, as if he were plugged into an electric battery. A bit like when he first started trying to use magic and connected directly to the mainstream of the universe. He realized that he still had not solved the mystery of magic, he had put aside that problem when he had finally managed to cast spells correctly. But suddenly this puzzle had to remind him at the most inopportune moment: with such power, it would be difficult to focus on controlling his magic...

He looked up when they stopped turning and clenched his teeth as Harry opened the next door. From what he could sense, the energy came in and out especially through that door. He turned to his friends to warn them but before he could stop them, they had all entered and he had no choice but to follow them.

The first thing that caught his eye was the great arch that stood in the middle of the room. A series of benches seemed to surround it, like an ancient theater. But it was the huge arch that definitely caught his eye: it gave him the impression of being in front of the Gate. No, that was still inaccurate: it reminded him of the feeling of the Promised Day, at the exact moment of the eclipse, when the Gates of Earth and Heaven were opened and a huge energy swept across Amestris, using the sacrifices as channels... He suddenly understood what this was like: the famous Gate of this World that fed him with vital energy. He practically fell to the ground when he understood this: for the first time, he really saw the flow, he understood it: energy came out of the opening, invisible to the rest of the world, and other currents entered but their nature was not similar. Unfortunately, he was not yet able to distinguish what differentiated them.

"Are you okay, Edward?" Luna asked, holding out her hand.

"Uh, yes. Sorry, it's just that it's really strong," Edward replied, wondering if she could feel the huge waves of power coming out of the arch, because nobody else seemed to notice anything.

"I do not know, but I hear the voices of those who've been left behind..." the girl said in a strange tone.

Intrigued, the boy got out and approached the place where Harry found himself standing mesmerized in front of the arcade and listened carefully. He realized that Luna was right, he could hear murmurs, words whispered with the slight rustle of the veil. He suddenly had the impression that they were particularly addressed to him. With his eyes closed, he remained motionless and listened:

'Edward... my big boy, I'm so proud of you... Ed, will you come play with Alexander and me when you're done? Edward Elric, congratulations, you did it and you saved my dear Gracia and my lovely Elicia! Thank you! Fullmetal Alchemist, congratulations on your victory! Young man, congratulations and tell Lan Fan that I will miss her but she must continue to protect the young master just like me! My boy, Edward! Ed! Fullmetal Alchemist!'

Edward recognized all these voices, he knew them all: they were the voices of the dead, of all those whom he had met in his quest and whom he had never forgotten. He recognized that of Buccaneer, and the grandfather of Lan Fan, who had died a few hours before his departure for this world. He heard the warm voice of Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, and that of Nina, so childish. And the most important, the one he had cherished all his life, the one that had driven him to try the unforgivable... the voice of his mother so sweet and seemingly filled with pride. He would have given everything to see her again, to ask forgiveness ... Unconsciously, he held out his fingers so that they brushed against the veil, and again a voice heard only by him sounded:

"You have not yet completed your mission, Edward Elric"

Edward immediately withdrew his hand as if it had been burned: the voice of Truth was recognizable among the thousands, and had come directly to him. He walked away from the veil and heard Hermione's voice sounding extremely uncomfortable and begging (or rather, ordering) them to leave the room. Edward turned to his friends: at first, only Harry, Neville and Luna seemed attracted by this room and its contents, the only ones who could see the thestrals... But he could not think further on it because Hermione and Ginny pushed them resolutely towards the door without him being able to continue his thoughts. The room turned again and Harry tried to open it without success. As he was about to try to force it with his knife, Ed shook his head, saying:

"No need, it's not any good. The one we seek is bound to be opened since they're trying to get us to come."

Harry seemed reluctant, attracted by what could be hidden behind the closed door, but he resigned himself and after another flaming cross, the room began to spin again. The next door was the right one, according to Harry, who recognized it as the room seen during his dream: with bright balls that turned out to be hourglasses, clocks, and watches of all shapes and sizes. It was incredible and it was not difficult for Edward to deduce that this piece was dedicated to time in all its forms, wizards seeking to dissect it, analyze it, cut it hours by hours, minutes by minutes, seconds by seconds ... to control it, maybe?

Like the others, he watched, fascinated, a globe in which an egg became a bird before returning to the egg stage. Hermione had to be thinking of the same thing that Ed was, as she could not help whispering, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?". Luna replied that in her view, there was no beginning or end... Unwilling to linger here unnecessarily, Harry pushed them out of the room grumbling that they did not have time and they entered a huge room that seemed as big as a cathedral and filled with shelves on which rested balls turned off or shining slightly. The Boy-Who-Lived seemed to be racing, knowing exactly where he was going. Edward sighed when he saw his friend's imprudence, and with a crooked grin he tripped the bespectacled teen.

"Hey! Ed, why did you do that?" Harry exclaimed angrily.

"So you'll really listen to me, this time." Edward said this calmly, but his anger was hard to hide. "Just think, since we got here we have not heard anything. No sounds, no screams of pain or torture spells. Sirius is not here, Harry," he said in a low voice.

"So it's a trap," Harry murmured as he regained some of his composure and could think again with a cool head.

"That's it ... they're certainly hidden in the corners, ready to fall on us ..." Edward replied, lowering his voice.

"What do we do then?" Ginny, approaching Harry nervously.

"They have to wait for us to do something important if they have not attacked us yet," Hermione whispered, very pragmatic now that she knew what to expect.

"All right," Edward murmured, glancing around, "If I'm right, this thing must be in this room, and I do not think they'll let us go until we get it." not found…"

"So we're trapped anyway," Neville said, biting his lip as he glanced around.

I have the impression, Edward replied seriously, but I think our opponents are a little further away, which means they do not know how many of us there are. It's time to remember our SC lessons: first thing we should do?"

"Identify the number of opponents and know the places," Ron replied automatically, a strategy specialist.

"We have to separate them to ambush them ourselves?" Ginny asked.

"That's it. Even if we are not numerous enough to make a good ambush, we can at least take a strategic point..."

"The top of the shelves?" Luna finished, looking a lot less dreamy.

"Good idea. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, you'll slowly approach the point where Harry saw Sirius during his vision, very carefully, and you'll be looking among the balls: one of them must be Harry's. Ginny and Luna, you go to the end of that row, you climb on the shelves and you try to pass from one to the other silently and discreetly, you have spells for that. Neville and I will do the same here. Each group will try and watch for as many of the Death Eaters as possible, and when Harry gets attacked, we put most of them out of action and we go down and join him to fight in group formation."

"Roger that," answered the rest of the group before splitting.

The four students in the shelf-top group cast the Muffliato spell to smother all the noises they could make or provoke, and began to draw closer silently as Harry and the other two members of the trio played the comedy of the naïve teens running into the lion's den. Edward watched them carefully, hiding in the shadows and starting to spot Death Eaters hidden in the arches or behind shelves. They were so focused on the ground group that they neglected to look up and none of them had the idea of standing high up. He could see them making fun of the lack of caution on the part of the trio, without realizing that it was done on purpose to warn their friends of where they were...

Edward prepared to jump to another shelf after checking that the coast was clear. He took a running start and jumped, but for the first time, he missed his shot and almost fell. Instinctively, he tried to catch himself on a shelf and dislodged one of the damn balls which he caught as quickly as possible to prevent it from breaking on the ground. As soon as the sphere landed in his hand, it began to shine violently, which snatched an oath from the young man. He hastened to cover the overly shiny ball with his coat and he looked briefly at the label stuck on it to be able to return it later: there was a simple question mark and the inscription: "Prophecy delivered by C. P. T. to N. F., April 3, 1915. " The young boy frowned: the date matched the date of the Promised Day, when he had left... Could this thing, this prophecy, be related to him? He stuffed it in his pocket, deciding he would take care of it later. He nodded at Neville's gaze, which seemed intrigued.

From what he could see, Harry had just found a ball with his name on it (the lucky guy!) and was about to take it after a noisy little chat with Hermione. He glanced over and saw that Ginny and Luna were in position, ready to cast their spells and Neville seemed ready to fight. When Harry grabbed the sphere, a Death Eater's voice rose in the dark room, ordering Harry to give him the prophecy.

The battle began.

Translator's Notes: none, really.