Alchemy: Tiny Steps
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D/C: I own nothing.
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"English and Edward's accented voice."
"Amestrian, Xingese, foreign languages, or to add emphasis."
Written notes or to add extra emphasize
'Thoughts.'
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Mr. Elric: Edward Elric
Professor Elric: Alphonse Elric
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"Alphonse is coming? When? How? Why? What did Edward and he do this time?"
"In typical, Elric fashion… they were accidentally thrown into action and they came in kicking and screaming."
"That's Ed, Al is the one that had to hold him back."
"Hey, you're marrying one of them. You know them better than I."
"Don't remind me…Granny and Gracia are dealing with the details of the wedding. Call me again when Al is on the train towards here to inform the Major General…. Does she know already?"
"…Is there any chan-"
"I am not telling her. Call her now or face her wrath when she comes down there again. Or do you want me to call Captain Hawkeye?"
"Looks like I have to make another phone call… How are you since the previous attack? Did you aggravate your wounds? Have you talked to Edward?"
"…" Winry shifted the phone so that she is holding it with both hands. She looked around to see that a guard was making their daily shift through the hall, nothing out of the norm. "The stitches were taken out a month ago and it's hardly going to leave a scar. I am fortunate the knife didn't slash any nerves otherwise I would be in big trouble… and no. I have not told Ed the whole story. I told him everything minus the fact I almost lost an arm."
"…You almost lost an arm? I had th… Dammit! You are a civilian, you shouldn't have been at such risk!"
"Well, that didn't stop a lot of people now did it!"
Tense silence resonated through the phone call as memories seemed to resurface between them.
"I'm sor-" Winry attempted to say was interrupted by a tired sigh. "General?"
"Roy. It's just Roy… Do you want me to get Havoc or Breda to go up there? Maybe Havoc… need he's been getting stir crazy…"
"Thank you, Roy, but it's not necessary. Major General has Major Miles on guard whenever I have to possibly take care of any… of the prisoners… since it occurred. I'll tell Edward everything once I see him face to face. Could it be possible you could have Alphonse bring me a couple of things?"
Winry heard paper shuffling from the other end and hearing Roy asking Riza for a pen that worked. She couldn't help but giggle the General grumbled under his breath how his current pen had exploded and how he needed a new one.
"What do you need?" Roy asked from the other line, ready to write down what was being said to him.
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Edward looked through the Daily Prophet, reading the latest trash of the day. So far, it appears that Skeeter woman caught wind Alphonse left Magical Great Britain to return to Amestris. The article mainly consisted of complete bullshit and so on. The woman is picking at straws at this point and it only made the Alchemy Teacher roll his eyes pitifully. Nothing out of the norm for that woman.
There is an article that did catch his attention that had to do with the supposed Boy Who Lived. He had somethings but none so much that ever really caught his attention before. Sure, he had asked around about the story of the (in)famous Harry Potter and now he killed the supposed Dark Lord. A load of utter crap to Edward, and it only going got worse as he heard everyone's opinion on the Savior of the Wizarding World.
So much sarcasm…
Rose-tinted glasses.
From what he managed to fully get out of Severus, Filius, Poppy and even Pomona and Hagrid, the kid is just a symbol everyone is using to end a war. A beacon of hope for many and the enemy of others. Light and dark that seems never-ending in this world that seems so full of it.
So many morons putting their hands on a kid that has no clue what or who he is in this world just yet.
Then again, the kid will be coming to Hogwarts next year. Which means…
"Bah, it'll be Alphonse problem."
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"Achoo!"
"Your brother must be speaking ill of you again."
"No… he's going to make me deal with something he wants nothing to do with."
"Same thing."
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Edward looked down at his planner, comparing it to his notes and book. His Tuesday and Thursday classes are ahead of schedule while the Monday and Wednesday classes are behind. It was a good thing he already planned if such thing would have occurred and is currently writing today's lesson on the blackboard and this should place the class back on track.
Nothing says group projects than the sight of seeing brats suffer when they have no clue what they are doing.
That and pop quizzes.
Oh, the pop quizzes…
A soft knock interrupted Edward from his train of thought, he turned to see an unfamiliar face peeking through the now partially open door. The Alchemy Teacher raised an eyebrow at the newcomer, wondering who he was. It's clearly not a student or a faculty member of the school. "What? Can you not see I am busy?"
"My apologies, I am looking for Mr. Edward Elric? I was to-"
"For bloody sake-Move!"
The man was pushed through the doors, nearly face-planted onto the brick floor. The one that pushed him is Severus that had a look of disgust and distrust completely written on his face. "I told you this is his classroom, that leads up to his room, Lupin."
"I did not want to enter a classroom without knocking first, he could have been teaching a class, Severus." Remus had managed to regain his balance, he shakes his robes to ensure it won't get wrinkled by his almost meeting with the floor. He looked up to see Severus with who he assumes to be Edward Elric. He couldn't help but allow his jaw to slack at the sight of the Alchemy Instructor. He had originally expected someone older or… did Severus just smile? No, that must be a figment of his imagination. How close are those two?
"Mr. Elric, this is Remus Black… Advisor to the Minister of Magic."
"The supposed werewolf? Truth, why is he here? Please tell he isn't some sort of kiss up or something. Already dealing with enough crap as it is."
"No. He's was assigned to check over past cases to ensure they were done right. He wants a second opinion on a few of them… he read about your past experience."
"Ugh… Should I just go for a walk? I could get lost again… that could work. To avoid this…"
"No such luck. This is for you." Severus handed Edward a letter from within his robes. Edward took it with a raised eyebrow at the familiarity of the handwriting on said letter. "I was told you should have an idea what is in the letter already."
Edward's nose scrunched up, he opened the letter and read the contents. "The Sirius Black case? Mustang had me look over it, the entire thing was a cover-up filled with bullshit."
"When did you look over this case?"
"…Remember, I am part of the military. The more I grew, the harsher the jobs I got, and I have seen a lot of shit. This case is reminiscent of one I had overseen before I came out here to teach." Edward explained with a shrug, he scanned through the letter Roy had sent him. It mainly contained orders and permission, mainly to act as a consultant in the case. Nothing out of the norm. "I looked over the court case, while Roy looked over the pictures of the aftermath. We both agreed that it's more than what it appears."
"You were the outside source?" Remus asked, surprise evident in his voice. Forget the fact the Alchemy Teacher knew about his problem but show no out word thought about it and went with it instead. But the fact he is at a level to do such work at such a young age seems to go over his head. How much trust does the Minster have with Mr. Edward Elric?
"Yeah." Edward deadpanned, he placed the letter back in its envelope and put it inside his vest for safekeeping. "I haven't been working on it since I was incapacitated. I take it you are now in charge of the case?"
"Yes, I apologize for my uh…" Remus attempted to say but was waved off by the younger fellow. Fiddling with the new robes that only seemed to remind him of the constant changes in his life was when he realized someone was missing. Looking around, Remus realized Nymphadora was no longer there. "Oh dear…"
"She went down to the kitchens. You really need to pay more attention to your surroundings." Severus snorted, he headed towards the door to leave the classroom. "If you need me…you know where to find me. Oh, and Lupin, come by my office later for the wolfsbane potion."
"That reminds me! I talked to Mei about that stuff, apparently, many of the ingredients for that stuff is readily available back at Xing. Especially Wolfsbane, they use that stuff crazily for their healing remedies."
"I will send a letter to the Princess, does anyone else know of this?"
"No. Just you, me, and this guy." Edward pointed over at Remus with a shrug, ignoring the Advisor's look of dumbstruck. "Now, shoo. Military crap and all that."
"Remember, Firewhiskey tonight."
Once Severus left, Edward turned his complete attention to Lupin. He crossed his arms and leaned casually against his desk to stare at him unblinkingly. "How much do you know about me and this case?"
To be continued…
R/R