A/N: It's a little slower writing by hand, but it does help with coming up with plot ideas. I had a jolt of inspiration after downing waaaay too much soda. I hope it works.
Thanks for the reviews!
Enjoy!
Ed leaned his elbows on his knees as he sat on the hearth, and looked to the concerned faces about the table. He closed his eyes against the dream world and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his gloved left hand.
Although it irked him, he could hardly blame them for looking into his background -- had their positions been reversed he would have done the same. Wizard or not, this was supposed to be a safe house.
Ed looked hard at Sirius as he brought his left to his knee.
"Answer me dis question: Did you really kill dose people like dat newspaper says you did?"
Sirius raised his eyebrows and took a breath.
"Don't answer that." Moody growled. "Order business."
Ed leaned back with a snort, straightening his warming back with a few pops beneath the many layers of clothes.
"I vill be blunt." Ed said flatly. "What you are vreally vanting is for me to keep quiet about Sirius, a convicted murderer of 13 people, hiding out here; and in exchange, you vill ALLOW. Me. To keep my past secret. Daat de deal?"
"Well, uh.. we really are concerned about you.. but uh, yes..." Remus said as he pulled up a seat nearby. "That is..uh..the general idea."
"Dere is problem. One:" Ed stated. "I don't tink Sirius killed anybody."
"Huh." Alestor narrowed his eye, and leaned back into his chair. Alestor is his name, Ed reminded himself. The electric blue one whirled even faster about in its socket. "Why would you say that, boy?"
Ed scowled at the diminutive word, then looked at Sirius, and tilted his head.
"I've known many people who have." Ed growled leaned his elbows back onto his knees. "Inkludink myzelf." Ed added, swallowing back his bile.
Fletcher, standing beside him, shifted uncomfortably. Ed heard whispered muttering from the table. Alestor looked hard at him, silently scowling in something like disgust. Tonks whispered to Sirius, and both looked at him with a mix of worry and something like pity.
"Sirius.. doesn't have dhat kind of veight to his eyes." Ed glanced and saw Sirius look at him with surprise. Ed settled his gaze onto the scowling Alestor.
"Problem number two: I am exactly who I say I am: Edvard Elric."
There was a noncommital noise, most like a grunt, from Alestor.
"Edward Elric died in 1927." Alestor said just as flatly.
"Maybe. You have it vrong." Ed said in return, and ignored the twinge of guilt that lingered deep in his gut.
He might have imagined it, but he saw a slight nod to Alestor's head.
"I highly doubt that, Muggle." Alestor said.
"Moody!" Tonks said. "There's no need to be.."
"Tell me how Mr. Veasley is." Ed interrupted, shifting his eyes from the questions he saw in the eyes at the table to the floor again. "I heard he vas attacked?"
"Arthur's stable." Mrs. Weasley said as she entered from the kitchen. "Honestly. This isn't supposed to be some sort of enemy interrogation. Give him space, you lot. Hardly the way to treat a friend!"
The mound of rags that was Fletcher, made a sort of grumbling relieved noise and hurriedly left Ed's side. He moved to the far corner of the table.
The room was filled with the sounds of uncomfortable coughs and chair legs scraping against the ground as the sitters scooted themselves back.
Alestor snorted in disgust, and turned about.
That was when Ed noticed his left hand quivering on his thigh. He flexed his fingers and blew on them as if to warm them, though, in truth, they were quite warm now thanks to the fire at his back.
Moments later, he found himself enveloped in a hug. By the red hair in his face..he guessed it was Mrs. Weasley. He winced as he felt her hand brushing against a wound at his back. She adjusted automatically and moved it gently in small, somehow soothing, circles.
"Happy Holidays." She said softly. "And welcome back."
He tentatively reached around her arm with his still shaking left, and patted her shoulder. Eyes widened in surprise.
He saw that Remus still watched him closely, concern plastered on his face, having not moved from the chair he had set down by the hearth.
Harry laid his head on his pillow, immensely relieved he was NOT the weapon that was so desperately sought by Voldemort. The timely arrival of Hermione earlier that night, and the talk with Ron and Ginny that followed firmly established that comforting knowledge in his heart. It was such a warm, wonderful feeling, he expected to sleep soundly at last.
He was drifting off..very nearly asleep.
THUMP! BANG!
CRASH! THUMP!
Harry blinked blearily, and lifted his head just as another THUMP! occurred. followed by a panicked sort of muttering. It was across the room...right where...
'Ed..?'
Harry reached for his glasses and perched them awkwardly on his nose as he shoved the covers back and sat up. A look to Ron, and he saw he too was blearily wiping his eyes.
CRASH! And more panicked muttering.
Harry grabbed his wand and whispered "Lumos". The tip lit up. Ed's bed was entirely vacant.
"Ed..?"
THUMP! Harry saw the bed itself suddenly jerk upwards, and heard panicked breathing from Ed's side of the room. Harry creeped over slowly. The bed jerked upwards again just as he rounded the corner. By the light of the wand, Harry saw Ed nearly entirely under the bed, breathing rather quickly, tangled in the mass of quilts ..Golden eyes open wide and unfocused and darting about at everything.
"Ed..? Are you..?"
"Get out..! Fire..!!" Ed gasped in a high squeak, and pushed himself further back suddenly; the act jerked the bed upwards. It also revealed his mismatched hands from beneath the blankets. Eds darting unfocused gaze settled on them.
His breathing slowed as he lifted them, then brought them together, looking for but a moment as if he were praying.
Harry immediately pointed his wand, and said "Ennervate!"
Ed pushed himself back, jerking the bed upwards one last time, blinked blearily about, golden eyes now focused. Awake. Hands still held so very close together.
"Ed...?"
"SHHIIT!" Ed spat, and looked at Harry, then all around him. He abruptly lowered his hands and began furiously extracting himself from under the bed in a sort of panic that Harry made sure he stayed well away from.
Before he knew it, he had backed into his own bed.
The sound of Ed's panicked breathing filled the room.
"Just a dream mate. G'back to bed." Ron said sleepily as Ed finally stood up and looked about. With those words, Ed looked to Ron and sat heavily onto the bed. Then, Harry assumed he reached for the quilts on the floor.
"Some dream." Harry said softly, half wondering if Ed's 'magic' would even work while he was asleep. He then climbed into bed himself.
Moments later, he heard hurried, uneven footsteps and the creaking thump! of the door.
"Nutter." Ron said sleepily, and rolled himself back under his covers.
Harry slipped by Ron and out into the hall. He heard the groan of the ancient pipes coming to life, followed closely by the sound of running water from the bath. He made his way, only to see Lupin knocking at the door.
There was no indication that Ed had heard the knock. Not a word.
"Ed..?" Lupin called. "Are you alright in there?"
No answer. Harry wasn't entirely sure Ed could hear over the water. Harry walked up to the door himself, and, with a glance to Lupin, called out.
"Ed. Answer us will you?"
"Not killing myself, ok?" Ed's voice sounded rough, and bitter.
"Go on to bed now, Har..." Lupin said.
"Fuck!" Ed's voice interrupted.
The doorknob jiggled, and the bathroom door swung a bit inwards --freeing a great cloud of steam. In the dim light offered by his wand, Harry saw a pair of golden eyes just beyond the widening crack.
"I could use help." Ed growled, his nose wrinkled slightly. Then he swung the door open wider. Ed had a towel wrapped about his middle, and was holding it in place with his left hand on his chest. Harry widened his eyes in alarm as he noticed that the towel was nearly soaked through in several places with what looked to be blood.
"Merlin's beard..!" Lupin exclaimed. "What.."
"Had nightmare." Ed said. "Tore trew vhat skin vas left on burns. Just need new bandages, and I can not vrap very vell vith vone hand."
Ed looked at the two in the hall. Harry grimmaced as he held his wand aloft. Remus had a decidedly worried look on his face. Ed was very much aware that his false left leg was visible, as the only real clothing he had on were his boxers. Both of his would be rescuers' eyes were drawn to the shining metal leg like a magnet.
"VELL?!?" Ed stated, and adjusted his hand to apply more pressure to the troublesome wound on his chest, not entirely sure about the ones on his back, carefully focusing past how dizzy he was feeling.
Remus snapped his eyes back to the wound.
"Sit down over there." Lupin said, and gestured vaguely towards where Ed knew the toilet seat was. "I need to take a look."
Ed grudgingly did so.
"Move your hand." Remus said. Ed frowned, but complied. Remus lifted the towel slightly, and looked literally over his head, looking down at his front and back. Ed pushed the encroaching dizziness back. Remus crouched down and looked him in the eye with the strangest expression on his face.
"Burns...wherever did you get.." Remus said with narrowed eyes. Ed focused more on sitting, jerked up his head, not sure what the question was at all.
"It was a month ago." Harry said. "He fell from this big thing he made in the sky. I caught him, but he still had these..said it was a reshoted.."
"vRebound." Ed said dully. "Alchemical. vRebound. From bad calculation."
Remus face turned into that concerned mixed with pity thing.
"We're going to St. Mungo's."
"No. No hospitals." Ed said with a scowl.
"No arguments, Edward. We're going, and that's..!" Remus said.
"Dey vill not be able to help.." Ed said. "And.."
"Harry, will you grab his coat from the room, for me?" Remus said.
"But.." Ed said weakly as he saw Harry turn about and nearly run out the door.
"Come on." Remus said, "As bad off as you are, well likely have to.."
Ed saw black stars creep into his vision, and the crazy dream world tilted merrily askew.
The next thing Ed was aware of was the white ceiling flowing past overhead. The place was filled with chattering voices. He lifted his heavy head, intending to sit up, only to have a hand cover his forehead and gently push him back against whatever he was laying on. Then, he noticed the hum deep in his chest, and widened his eyes. He tried to arch his back to wiggle away, but found his body so heavy that he couldn't move much at all.
"No doubt about it...Magical residue. Go to Spell Damage on the Fourth Floor, sir." A female voice, one that Ed vaguely recognised.
"Thank you." Remus's voice said to his side. Ed blearily slid his eyes over to the man. He had a marvelous view of Remus's nostrils and chin. Ed tried to move again.
"Easy...!" Remus said, and the hum faded beyond Ed's awareness.
"Sensitive one, is he?" The female said. Ed ignored her and looked to Remus.
"V-vhere am.." Ed croaked out. It felt like his voice was detached from his lungs.
"St. Mungo's" Remus stated as he looked down at him. "It's alright."
"No." Ed croaked, and tried moving again. "No. Hospitals."
He saw the ceiling moving again above him, and soon enough, he was beneath what looked to be a door jam. Red lights flashed. And a piercing sort of noise assaulted his ears. He squinted his eyes shut, opened his mouth in a gasp, and tried his best to roll up in a ball to hold his skull in one piece. As suddenly as it began, it just stopped. He cracked his eyes open and breathed in and out over an over, trying to find his way past the ringing in his head.
A woman came into his view, and bent over him. She wore a lime green sort of robe that he knew belonged to the wizard kind of people.
"Huh. Eyes like that and he's a Muggle?" she said softly, her voice matching the female voice he had heard. "Shame. There's a Muggle room on that same level, but you'll have to fill out a report when you get there, sir."
"I..uh..understand." Ed heard Remus say, sounding so very distant.
Ed then felt another hum, deep in his chest, and grit his teeth, knowing well he couldn't move his heavy body to avoid it.
"Stupify." Said the witch in lime green.
