I came up with this whole plot while in the shower. Granted, there wasn't much, but that's still a heck of a lot more than what I had! DAMN YOU HOHENHEIM!! Why must you be so damnably hard to write about?!?!!? And on that note I'll actually get started.

Disclaimer: don't own FMA or HP. Would say something witty, but all brain power being used to actually remember what I'm writing.

Last chapter: Ed finds out their "informant" is a picture. Ed starts to rant. Ed makes several good points while ranting, and eventually gives in and talks to the picture (aka Dumbledore). Harry asks Dumbledore if he knows where the real locket horcrux is, and it is suggested that they look in the Black Manor. Next, Ed asks if Dumbledore would help them figure out the prophecy in Gryffindor's journal. Dumbledore points them instead to the portrait of Gryffindor himself, who turns out to be Hohenheim, the current bane of my existence. After Ed yells at the bane of my existence, I mean his father, for creating the Philosopher's Stone, despite knowing the cost, Hermione asks if he knows anything about horcruxs.

Chapter 28: flash back

"Yes, I have. What do you want to know?" Hohenheim asked his son, the heir of Gryffindor.

"For starters, how do you know about them?" Ed asked with venom. His father sighed. It seemed that his son wouldn't ever be able to forgive him when he was dead. He just had really bad luck with that. Well, for the most part. He continued to hope that Al at least still liked him.

"The stone. That is how I figured out how to create it. I figured that because the horcrux splits your own soul, and by killing someone you release the soul, it was possible, perhaps, to sacrifice a part of your own soul and use it to combine the lives of thousands of dead into one, all powerful item. My calculations said that because the soul is what powers magic, a heavy concentration of souls would not only increase magical powers by millions of times, but it would also help one bypass the laws of alchemy and magic, and bring someone back from the dead, or give eternal life to one who was living. Envy was the result of the first of these, and I am an example of the last. I used the research of horcruxs to discover how to bind a soul to an object, and then, instead of using my soul, I used the souls of others, and attached them all to the same object. The matter of conflicting souls being unable to reside in the same place was a large problem, and I used a solution of red water to make sure the souls didn't escape. The fact that the fumes killed hundreds of people in the vicinity only served to help my cause," Hohenheim said with regret. Ed glared at him.

"So you knew! You went and created the stone, you invented the stone, by killing people? And for what? So you could be more powerful! Are you aware of the after-effects of your research with red water? It got across the gate along with you, and hundreds more people died of consumption! Babies, mothers, children! You could have at least destroyed information you had about it!"

"Yes, I know, but you don't know how hard that was! Dante already had homunculi steal it, and every time I would get close, she would move again. When I finally found her, she summoned the gate and did her best to keep me there! I told you already it was only by some strange, perverse miracle that I found myself on this side again."

"Dante? The woman who was in your journal? Who is she?" Hermione asked before she could think. Ed turned and glared at her, although he wasn't angry at her, but his father, whom he turned back to with the scowl still plastered on his face, gold eyes blazing with anger.

"She's the bitch who he hooked up with on this side of the Gate and helped keep alive for centuries so she could kill more people to create more stones. She's also the one who was behind my first trip here and the majority of the suffering and pain I had to live with while on my side so she couldn't get her greedy hands on my brother. And, if I'm not mistaken, father, you were the one who helped get her here, weren't you? With the work you did on summoning the Gate."

"You always were a genius, Ed." Ed glared again at this phrase, mainly because for a moment he saw not his father, but Nina's. Shou Tucker. He had said those same words, and ever since then Ed hated hearing them. Anyone who knew him well knew this. But his father never had known him very well. "Yes, I did, but at the time she wasn't so corrupted. She was still a good person, and I still cared for her," Ed's glare became harsher, "cared for, not loved. And, in a way, I guess I was in her debt. And you know just as well as anyone that being in someone's debt doesn't work well for alchemists. I had to pay her back, so I created a gate and sent her, along with our homunculus of a son, over to your side of the gate. At the time I had no idea were it led, only that it was a way out, and that we couldn't stay here anymore. It was becoming more and more of a challenge to stay unnoticed, even after body changes. So I started figuring out how to create a Permanent Gate," he said; regret still laced his voice, but none of the group missed the flash of pride that lit his face for the briefest of moments.

"And how many lives did you have to sacrifice to make that?" Ed asked accusingly.

"Thirty." The group of four flinched. "Ed, you know as well as I do that that number of lives was beyond miniscule when compared to the lives it took to create a stone. At the time that made me think of it as being good. Thirty lives were nothing, and soon my… no, Dante, soon Dante would be 'safe,' and she and our 'son' could start a new life somewhere else. I did my studies in my private study, deep underground where no one would ever think of looking. It took me perhaps two years to finish it, during which time I was rarely home. I suppose this separated me even more from both Dante and William, whom you know as Envy. Now that I look back at it, it might even explain why William always hated me…" Hohenheim trailed off pensively and the room remained silent for a few moments, during which Ed refused to look at anyone and the trio tried to sort out the new information.

"One more thing, father, and then we'll leave," Ed said, turning back around to face the portrait of Gryffindor.

"What is it?"

"Can you tell us what the prediction you wrote in your journal was referring to?"

"Prediction?"

"Yes," Ed said, picking up the book and flipping to the page where the passage could be found. He then began to read the passage aloud. "I was told a most interesting prophecy today by a very skilled seer. She told me that something I would acquire would become a container for great evil. I have no idea what she meant, but she also said it would later belong to 'the one for whom death holds no mystery and life can border between two lives. He will be the one to pacify the depths of an undertow and help destroy immortality by sacrificing himself.'" Ed closed the book, keeping his thumb on the page so he could find it later. "Does that help refresh your memory?"

"Yes, it does. I still cannot discern the meaning of the entirety of the second part, however the first I believe I can enlighten you on. During my first body exchange, right after I created our first stone, I collapsed and was on the brink of death. Dante quickly grabbed the first man she saw and transferred my soul into his using the stone. Of course, his soul was ejected to make room for mine. Due to her haste, she had been unable to examine the body beforehand, and as it turned out, he had a wooden leg. This was a huge detriment to both of us, and so I put all of our alchemic projects to the side for a time while I constructed a new leg for myself. It was very similar to automail. It even used a similar metal, the only differences being mine was lighter and more durable (as a byproduct of magic), and the nerve connecters were not as advanced, so it wasn't quite as efficient as the automail you are used to. The models I made for you during your stay in Germany were very similar to my original model, only yours did not have such a strong metal casing. Of course, when I switched bodies again I no longer had any use for it, and simply kept it in storage. It was only after I crossed the gate that I remembered it, and returned to get it back. I came back through the gate with only the minor sacrifice of a few unimportant memories of my early childhood, apperated to the grounds right outside of the defenses I put on my old home, grabbed that along with a few other items such as leftover red water, apperated back to the Permanent Gate, and returned to Rizumbul after sacrificing the vials of red water. I never used the Gate again after that. I believe that Voldemort managed to make the leg into a horcrux before I took it."

"That would explain the 'container for great evil,' but what about the rest?" Harry asked.

"Well, after I returned, I gave the leg to the Rockbells and told them it was an early model of automail I had purchased on my travels. Now, this is only a guess, but I am thinking that perhaps some of the metal I used to create it was used in one of their pieces of automail. Possibly all of it. That would also help explain it being passed on to someone else. But the only person I know of to whom 'death holds no mystery and life can border on two lives' is Ed, because he has theoretically 'died' before, and so it's not mysterious to him, and he has been on both sides of the Gate. However, there may be others who also fit in that category. I would not know about them if this were so, however, so my only guess would be that one of Ed's automail limbs is the mystery horcrux."

The group turned to Edward and seemed entirely unable to avert their eyes from their newest companion, who had not taken his eyes off his father. Two moments passed, though to the people in the room the tension seemed to draw out for hours before Ed sighted and ran a hand through his bangs.

"Leave it to those auto-mail freaks to disassemble antique automail to use its better components," he said with a sigh, mumbling several other choice descriptions as well that none of the others were quite able to pick out as most of it was either in German or Amestrian. "Alright, old man. Let's say I buy your story," Ed said, looking back up at his father and letting his hand fall back down to his side once more. "How would one go about figuring out which limb is the horcrux? I don't exactly want to end up hacking my leg up to pieces only to find out it's my arm, or worse yet the wrong set of automail. I'm sure if Winry were here she'd be perfectly able to tell you just how many pairs of her precious automail I've managed to break, and I have not doubt that if you left me to it for a bit longer I'd be able to destroy even more. There's no way to tell which set of automail was the horcrux."

"Actually, Edward, there is. I stumbled across a spell for it somewhere along in my earlier studies. The spell was Animus Semita. If you say this incantation while looking directly at the object you wish to check for a horcrux, it will (theoretically of course) light the object in a glowing red light if it possesses a trace of a foreign soul, and blue if it does not. I have never actually tried it myself, so I'm not sure if the method actually works. The only side effect to this spell is it requires a small blood sacrifice of the one who wishes to detect the soul. Nothing much; just the prick of a finger, and then the blood must be applied just above the wand tip. This will allow the person whose blood is being used to see the colors, but no one else. Needless to say it isn't something you want to try out too often. The magical residue from the wand is likely to rub off into the wound, and if you do this too often there's a chance the cut won't heal."

"We don't need your concern, old man," Ed said, putting his arms up behind his head and turning away from the portrait. "We'll be fine on our own. Later," he said nonchalantly as he walked out the door, taking the information seriously despite his outward appearance. The group hesitated a moment before thanking Gryffindor for his help and running out after him.

"Hey, Ed! Wait up!" Ron exclaimed as they chassed the blond down the spiraling staircase hidden behind the gargoyle.

"So how does tonight sound?" Ed asked, without slowing down in the least.

"What?" Hermione asked as they hit the tiled floor without slowing and continued to trail after the alchemist. "Don't you think it's a little soon? I mean, we should do a little more research on it before—"

"No time. Look, I promised I'd stick with you guys until we saw the end of this through, and just because my automail might be a horcrux does not give anyone an excuse to postpone the procedure. If we find out that it really is a horcrux, then that's one more thing we can check off our list, and the sooner the better. I agree that usually with this kind of thing it's better to err on the side of caution, but, as much as I hate to admit it, I trust the old man with this. He may be a damn bastard when it comes to family and morality in general, but when it comes to science and knowledge, there are few people who could ever hope to rival him. And right now every second counts. We can't afford to waste time looking in the library for some obscure, and doubtless illegal, spell that probably won't even be there. And since you already promised all those brats a lesson with alchemy and sparring, it would be a good idea to just hold a meeting all day for two or three days in a row. That way they get their lessons, and we can get out of here. that gives you guys the rest of today to get together anything else you wanted to get from here, and then we can head out."

"Fine, but we won't destroy the horcrux if it's one or both of your limbs," Harry said stubbornly.

"Yes you will. And if you don't, then I'll just have to do it myself. I don't make promises so that I can break them, and your cause had better not be so flimsy as to change just because I have to sacrifice a couple lumps of metal." Ed said, mentally wincing as a voice in the back of his head that sounded eerily like Winry began ranting about how automail was far more precious than 'a couple lumps of metal,' and he'd better appreciate it! Then the strange sensation of being whacked with a wrench played strongly in his mind and he had to resist the sudden urge to bring his hands up defensively.

The trio said nothing after that, and the group traversed the castle in silence, splitting up once they entered the Gryffindor commons area amongst the curious whispers of the students that were inhabiting it at the moment. Hermione said goodbye to the boys and headed to her dorm room to return to some books she had taken with her from the library, and the boys went up to their room.

As soon as the trio of boys entered, Neville stood up from the windowsill and walked over.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but Ginny wanted me to ask you when the next DA meeting was going to be… and…"

"Tell her to set it for tomorrow. Eight o'clock. We'll be going all day, so let everyone know to take the day off classes," Harry answered, saving Neville from having to come up with a way to ask without sounding rude. The boy had come far, but he still had a long way to go before he could even become mildly intimidating. "I still have to run it past the teachers, but I don't think any of them will care. The meetings will be three days in a row, because we plan to leave within a week."

"Thank you, Harry!" Neville exclaimed before hurrying out of the room and leaving the three alone again.

"So you agree with me?" Ed asked, not really expecting a response.

"No, but you do have good points, and I can't ignore that. We'll test for the horcrux tonight, but if it turns out your automail is the horcrux, it stays until we absolutely can't wait any longer, got it?"

"Fine. Whatever you say, Harry," Ed consented and flopped onto his bed and pulled a book of the small stack he had acquired during their short trip to the library earlier that day. Harry sighed and did the same, leaving Ron to his game of exploding snaps.

-----------------I lost the game--------------------

A/N: so, what didja think? That was probably one of the harder ones to get done. I really don't like having to write Hohenheim. I just don't get him at all. And if that didn't make it hard enough, add in writers block and so many major school projects that I've probably inhaled enough rubber cement to knock a moose unconscious. So much gluing…-twitch- anyway, I finally got this chapter done, and I don't think it turned out half bad! Review and tell me if I'm wrong. Oh! and the special thanks goes to Miroku-has-darkness, who was my official 200th reviewer, even though he reviewed chapter 6! Heh… I suppose that means the second place 200th reviewer is soupcan. Is it possible to have a second place 200th reviewer? Oh well. It is now! Point is you people rock! It's great to see that my reviewers are still out there and people are actually still interested. Now on to the random section for "you know you live in New Mexico when…" (and just in case you were wondering, all the ones mentioned here are entirely true).

You price-shop for tortillas.

You have an extra freezer just for green chili.

You think a red light is merely a suggestion.

You believe using a turn signal is a sign of weakness.

You think six tons of crushed rock makes a beautiful front lawn.

Tumbleweeds and various cacti in your yard are not weeds. They are your lawn.

You ran for state legislature so you can speed legally.

You pass on the right because that's the fast-lane.

You just got your fifth DWI and got elected to the state legislature in the same week.

Your swamp cooler got knocked off your roof by a dust devil (which, for all you non-New Mexican people is a condensed area of fast moving wind. These can be anywhere between 1 foot to 1 mile wide and can be just about any height).

You have been on TV more than three times telling about how your neighbor was shot or about your alien abduction.

Plague is considered a common ailment. Curable with salsa. Or so they say.

Ok, enough New Mexican culture! Review!