Hello! This is not a chapter, just a quick summary of what's going on so far (since I have been getting a couple of reviews asking about a couple of details and clarifications). So, I really hope this quick third person retelling of the events so far can help shed some light on a few things. That being said, let's get it on!
It was done. The counterattack for Promised Day was a success and the original homunculus, Father, was defeated once and for all. But despite celebrating, all of Amestris finds itself mourning the loss of their Hero of the People, the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric.
At the end of their epic battle, the young alchemist activated yet another human transmutation circle, with the full intent to get his brother back. With a resounding clap, the world was plunged into a blinding white light as energies surged up, swallowing the boy whole. In the wake of the reaction, there emerges yet another emaciated boy, with a similarly long, golden blonde hair and deep golden eyes. They were quick to realize that this was Alphonse in the flesh! But where was Edward?
Alphonse was admitted into Central Command Military General Hospital, where he was taken under the watchful care of the best of the best, as Colonel, soon to be Brigadier General, Mustang made sure of it. Before a drug-induced sleep overtook the malnourished boy, he quickly explained Edward's most recent deal with the entity only know to a few as Truth.
Edward had a clear plan to get Alphonse back. If it really were Truth's nature to punish those who trespass into his domain by playing god, to ensure that they don't become conceited, then giving up his alchemy - that which makes all men think they could actually play god to begin with - should be equivalent to getting Alphonse back. Without any hesitation, he activated the circle and went to visit Truth.
Despite having correctly given a satisfactory sacrifice to retrieve Alphonse and his body, Truth opted to give Edward another choice. He was willing to give Alphonse back for Edward's services.
Turns out, in another universe, another person had the same thirst for immortality and power. And they were very close to achieving it, too. If he did succeed, then all of the multiverse will be put in danger, as this new god-like being would have the power to cross boundaries and wreak havoc not only in his universe, but in every universe in existence.
Realizing that he didn't really have a choice, Edward agreed to Truth's terms and let himself be taken to this new world.
Peter Pettigrew was sent on a mission at the behest of the Dark Lord, to retrieve a relic left behind by the former Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald. Grindlewald's diary, which was stolen from the Department of Mysteries, describes this artefact to be the key to unlimited power and immortality.
Finally, after two weeks of searching, Peter returns to Wiltshire, England, to the home of the Malfoys, which also serves as temporary headquarters for Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
Meanwhile back in Surrey, England, Harry Potter was taken by Dumbledore to visit an old friend of his, former Potions Master and Head of House for Slytherin, Horace Slughorn. It was Dumbledore's intent to recruit Slughorn back to teaching at Hogwarts in the incoming school year, but so far, attempts to do so have been futile.
As a last resort, he asks Harry to do the talking for him, as it was in Horace's nature to collect such brilliant students as Harry. Surely he wouldn't pass up on the chance to collect the famous boy who lived?
Things went according to plan, better even than all that Dumbledore expected. Horace was quick to agree to get back to teaching, albeit with a few demanding terms of his own. But it didn't matter, Dumbledore got what he wanted.
The pair then headed straight for the Burrow, where Harry will be housed for the rest of the summer.
Draco Malfoy was uncomfortable in his own home. Why? Because of the recent... guests he's been forced to host and entertain, with his father being in Azkaban, then the duty now falls on him.
Either way, recently the Dark Lord has been growing restless. Draco figured it has something to do with his constant elusion of the topic of being indoctrinated as a Death Eater. It was quite obvious that the Dark Lord's motive for wanting such is to have the Malfoy family completely under his thumb, and to punish them for his father's failure at the Department of Mysteries last month.
Now Peter comes in, bringing the relic - a tightly sealed box - described by Grindelwald to contain the key to limitless power. With Draco's blood, the box was opened. Inside lay an unlabeled vial of memory.
But unknown to the other people in the room, the reaction took Draco directly into the realm of Truth, as it was his blood used to open the mysterious box. The Gates opened and something shot out of it, hitting Draco square in the chest.
The shock brings his consciousness back to his house. Still disoriented with the whole ordeal with Truth, Voldemort takes this opportunity to mark Draco as his new Death Eater. But just as he was about to give Draco the impossible task which he is sure to fail, another alchemic reaction is triggered and the Gate is once again reopened. A lone, golden figure falls into the scene.
Back on the other side of the Gate, Van Hohenheim is troubled. One of his sons is off to another world, unsure of when or if he'd even return, the other was lying in front of him, thin and weak as can be. With the limited time he has left in this world, he worries for both his sons.
Little did he know, certain friends of the Elric brothers had previously agreed to help in whatever way they could. With Ling willing to give up half the Philosopher's Stone he had acquired and Mustang choosing to heal only one of his blinded eyes, enough stone was left to at least give Hohenheim more time to be with his son. For that, he could not be grateful enough.
Truth gives Edward a quick summary of this new, foreign world he is about to go into. As soon as he was brought up to speed, Truth releases Edward with the warning to finish his mission as quickly as he could, lest the forces of the multiverse try to correct his displacement in a rather unfriendly way.
Without any further explanation, he was dropped into a room filled with wizards. Little did he know he had actually come face to face with Voldemort himself.
A short fight erupted, ending with Bellatrix pinned to the wall, the box and its contents scattered under the debris that was once the great oaken table, and Edward being strangled to death by Voldemort's great viper Nagini.
Little did anyone know, Draco had been suffering through an internal turmoil himself. Ever since he got the vision of being sent to Truth, a multitude of voices, screaming, pain and suffering, was engulfing him, each one fighting to surface and take control. Not really understanding what was going on with him, the foreign consciousness finally overtakes Draco's will and takes control of his body.
With a single touch, Nagini started writhing in pain. At the same time, the foreign consciousness inside Draco left him. He then realizes that the viper was inexplicably dead at his touch. Frightened, he backed away from the seething Dark Lord, afraid for his own life.
Voldemort was furious. That brat Draco Malfoy did something to Nagini, and he could feel that the snake was dead. The part of his soul within the viper no longer resonates with his own.
He throws a killing curse at the boy, but his mother quickly jumps in to protect him, taking the brunt of the curse, and dying in his stead. Such a shame, but who's to say that he actually regrets the event? They were all disposable, anyway.
Before he could throw another curse, however, Voldemort finds himself enclosed in a sphere of marble.
Edward trapped the freaky pale man he now recognized as his target in a sphere made from the ground. It wouldn't hold him for long, at least not if magic was so powerful as to kill another person with just two words. Even if his target was now identified, now was not the time to go after him. At least, not without first knowing more about this strange new power these wizards use - magic.
Quick to make his escape, he drags the stunned Draco after him. He didn't know where he was going exactly, but the greater the distance he puts between himself and those other people he left behind, the better.
He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to bring the boy along with him, but based on what happened earlier and his own intuition, he could only conclude that this boy will surely die if he left him back there. Besides, something tells him that the boy wasn't really into all that dark shit the people back there seemed to worship. He sure as hell didn't seem to like that Baldysnot guy, and neither was that guy too fond of him, anyway.
Bellatrix wanted revenge. Her sister was dead and she was convinced it had been Draco's fault. Hell bent on getting retribution, she hounds after the two boys, finally catching up to them in Lucius' study, with the floo activated.
Draco shouted for it to take them to the Malfoy Safehouse, which she knew was enchanted to only allow Malfoys through, unless accompanied by a Malfoy, too. Without hesitation, she jumps into the flames, taking Pettigrew with her, latching onto whatever she could grab.
Draco originally wanted to go to the Malfoy Safehouse, but since his aunt latched herself onto him, he knew that taking her along would defeat the purpose of going there, since the enchantments will think she was with him and let her through.
He double thinks his destination, and with his concentration being broken, a great, erratic flux in the magical current breaks Bellatrix off their transport, splinching Malfoy in the process. They were spat out into an unfamiliar, rundown shack.
Edward realizes that Draco was injured badly and could die without immediate medical attention. Without thinking twice, he performs a similar healing transmutation as he did to his stomach before, offering his own life force as payment.
Unfortunately for them, Bellatrix was spat out the floo system into the same rundown shack. So as soon as Draco's shoulder was sufficiently healed, the boys makes a run for it, with Bellatrix and Peter hot on their trail.
Eventually, they get caught amongst the tall reeds. Desperate and inexplicably fatigued, Edward opts to confine himself and Draco in a dome of hard-packed earth. Although, such an attempt may just be prolonging the inevitable.
Molly was doing more housework in the middle of the night due to insomnia when Dumbledore and Harry knocked on the door. She quickly let them in and gave them food and drinks. They had a few small talks and soon Arthur arrived home.
The light conversation was set to continue when the sneakoscope Moody got them for their protection started spinning and lighting up and whistling. Suddenly, the unmistakable green light of a killing curse lit up the sky outside. Knowing that such an unfriendly curse could only mean trouble, the adults set out to investigate, leaving Harry behind to warn the other children.
Bellatrix lined up to fire another blasting curse at the stupid dome that protected the two boys within when the order members arrived. Battle erupted between the witch and the Weasley couple. However, Pettigrew, realizing that they were, in fact, quite close to the Weasleys' Burrow, decided to make a quick exit and get his sorry behind out of there as fast as he could.
With the addition of Dumbledore to the Order's roster, Bellatrix realizes that she was now outnumbered. Hastily, she, too, makes a retreat back to the Malfoy Manor. She was afraid that her failure to capture and bring back the boys would mean a severe punishment for her.
To her surprise, the Dark Lord Seemed to be in a relatively good mood. The reason being that the memory, the same one that came out of Grindlewald's box, was retrieved. He must've already seen the To her surprise, Bellatrix finds Nagini alive and well again, but something about her seems different, though she couldn't know what exactly.
The scene ends with Voldemort sharing with Bellatrix the secrets of Grindlewald's legacy.
So that was it, the abridged version of what has happened so far. I tried to tell it as chronologically as I could, but some scenes just happen concurrent to each other that there's no other choice than to use "Meanwhile", as much as I'd hate to make this summary complex, too.
I hope this cleared up a few things. I don't think I'll be taking this down anytime soon, since some details that makes the overall plot cohesive at this point has only been mentioned in this short retelling of the story.
I do apologize if the narrative gets a bit hard to follow, since it is told in many different points of view. Know that the story is not necessarily told in chronological order. Sometimes the story jumps forwards, sometimes back, depending on who's talking and where he/she is coming from. Kind of like a Netflix original movie, if you're familiar with their story-telling style.
Some POVs are essential (like Ed's, Draco's and Harry's). I think it'll be these three who will really push the plot forward at this point, but I think it has mostly been Ed and Draco so far. I might add another main POV later (probably Al's, but that would take a while). But I do hope you still read the other POVs since a.) I think they're also fun and b.) I sometimes add key plot clues in the secondary POVs that will be important later.
Anyway, that being said, please don't be shy to let me know if the narrative gets too complex to follow, I'll try to clarify things with abridged versions like these. Flag me down when you think I'm going overboard with the whole juggling around perspectives thing, cuz I really get trapped inside my own head most of the times.
Thanks for the support, by the way. Really, I'm flattered. I'd love to hear your thoughts on things, and maybe even try to suggest how you might want things to go or what else you'd like to see coming up. I think I could find ways to incorporate them into the narrative (after all, my plot line's flexible enough, I think).
Next chapter will be Ginny's, and we'll be moving on with the story. Till next time, toodles!
PS- I made the name of the hospital up, if it was mentioned anywhere in the manga or either of the series, please do let me know what the military hospital in Central Command is called.