In Times of Trouble

Chapter Six

Interview

Xerxes Academy

Lupin's Cottage

"Will he tell you who sent him?" Lupin asked as they stared down at the man tied to the bed.

"Once the spell is broken, he's not likely to remember and before it's broken he'll be unable to say anything." Snape replied as he shifted through what appeared to be a coin purse, though his hand and forearm were completely hidden inside of the impossibly small bag.

"Then how-"

"I have my ways. Dumbledore would be able to get answers out of him, a handful of others as well. I have learned from the best." Snape replied. Finally finding the series of bottles he had been digging for. He pulled out three before closing the bag and putting it back in his pocket. "You don't have to stay for this part. I may hear unpleasant things that you will be unable to repeat. If that is the case, they tend to haunt you."

:I think I'll take the risk. I need to know what threat this man is to the child." Lupin replied.

"Suit yourself. Once I begin, do not interfere or you could break his mind. Remember he is not a bad man, he was being controlled." Snape replied.

"Are you sure you don't need more time? Or someone more experienced?"

"I am sure. I won't be able to find everything we need today, or reverse it. This will take a few days, but I will be able to stop after every layer. It's simply a matter of knowing when I've reached our limits, mine and his."

"Okay." Lupin said nervously and sat in the corner. Snape finished laying out his bottles, and then a series of magical instruments, before pulling out his wand and setting it with the rest.

"Most of this is not strictly speaking necessary." Snape said as he pointed to the table. "I am already administering a truth potion therefore I don't need these deceit detectors. However, they can further loosen togues for the fear of them when one does not know their purpose."

"Are you teaching me how to interrogate people?" Lupin asked with a smirk.

"If you insist on staying, you should at least learn." Snape said with a sniff. "Now first and foremost, I will attempt to enter his memories. This is done before administering any potions to ensure valid recollection…I'm afraid this is the boring bit."

"That's quite alright. I assumed parts would be and brought along some neglected homework to grade." Lupin said as he pulled out a stack of papers.

Snape nodded before returning his attention to Jones and casting the spell. He entered the man's mind, and began his search.

Unknown bar in Jones' memory

He was sitting at the bar with a beer in front of him, and a couple of friends beside him as they laughed at a joke made by the shorter friend. Snape approached through the crowd until he was close enough to overhear them through the music.

"So, tell the truth. What's it like working under THE Flame?" his taller friend asked.

"Honestly? As dull as any other office." Jones said as he took a gulp of his drink. "Unless those kids drop by. They're always funny."

"Yeah, I heard he was running a nursery school out of his office, and has been since he was over in East City."

"Nah, I wouldn't call it that. Besides, he is the Fuhrer now you know." Jones replied, looking annoyed at his friend. "I think I'm going to go ahead and head out. Early morning and all. You can go ahead and stay here."

Jones walked through the crowd and out of the bar as the second friend smacked the first one across the back of his head. "You know better than to talk shit about Jones' boss, he loves the guy! Everyone knows Mustang is Jones' hero."

Snape shook his head as he followed the slightly intoxicated man out of the bar and into the streets of Central. Jones was clearly annoyed as he stumbled along, stopping a couple of times to lean on a car or lamppost.

He finally reached his apartment building and made his way slowly up the stairs to the third floor without encountering anyone. He fumbled through the pockets of his uniform until he found his keys and put them in the lock before hearing something behind him. Snape saw a figure, but it was only a silhouette as Jones turned and it melted out of the shadows. It glided closer as the air grew cold before a deep fog descended on the memory.

Lupin's Cottage

Snape rubbed his forehead as he was thrown from Jones' mind. The memory of the encounter was protected, as he assumed it would be, but the spell was more powerful than he expected. He would have to find a counter spell to remove the block. It shouldn't take long, as soon as he figured out which spell was cast he would be able to undo it.

He turned to dig through the items he had set aside for his spell book before he noticed Lupin clearing his throat. "You should quit for the day. Neither of you look like you're up to a second session and it has been hours." Lupin said.

Snape looked at him in surprise. He knew he had had to fight through the resistance surrounding Jones' memories but he had no idea it had taken that long. A quick glance at the clock confirmed Lupin's statement before Snape set back down the book.

"He can have some broth later, but do not untie him. We still do not know the exact nature of his orders." Snape said before returning all of the items to his bag. "I will be back tomorrow to finish looking through his mind."

"Very well. You look a little sick, do you want some dinner before you go?" Lupin asked politely.

"No I promised I would be home in time for dinner tonight. Perhaps some other time." Snape said, not really meaning it. He had no intention of becoming friends with Remus Lupin, any progress they'd made was lost to Lupin's teasing.

Resembool

Elric Mustang House

Edward and Alphonse were locked away in the study to discuss Al's latest research. Roy and Riza were enjoying time with the kids. Winry was taking a nap. The events of the last couple of days had caught up with her and she needed the rest.

Edward had insisted, since they were only talking and not experimenting, on keeping Trisha with him. He had originally tried to keep the boys as well, but they had begged to play with their Yeye. Edward had agreed after a few minutes before disappearing into the study.

Roy was now sitting on the floor in front of the couch with Yuery and William as they played with their toy farm set that one of Winry's friends' had brought over the other day. Maes was playing near by with blocks, since he grew bored after he had made every animal bark, and helped make a fence.

Riza was sitting in the chair next to them, taking a break to feed Tad before returning to the block game. It had overall been a peaceful morning. Everyone was still waiting to hear what Snape could uncover of course, but the papers had believed the story that Ed had told the day of the crash.

As far as anyone knew, Roy had not been onboard and the fight that broke out in the Fuhrer's car must have resulted in the one who had done this going on the run. Meanwhile, the Fuhrer's Office had quietly released a statement assuring the country that the Fuhrer was safe and unharmed. He was simply taking a short family leave but had entrusted the safety of the country to the Armstrongs until his return. They did not release his location of course, though some reporters were more persistent than others none of them wanted to let it go until Roy reappeared to the people. The only issue Edward and Roy had with him appearing was someone had done this, and Snape had not finished his interview yet so they were uncertain where the threat lie.

Roy was also simply enjoying this time with his family which was rare. He knew all along running the country would be time consuming, though when he set his goal, he never envisioned having a family. He never envisioned living this long either, his intent was to put himself on trail for war crimes once Ishbal had been restored.

Then he's adopted the boys, and he knew he couldn't just leave them. They had already lost more than any child should, and he loved them too much to cause them anymore pain. So, instead of finding himself the shortest running Fuhrer he was sitting here with a beautiful wife, three wonderful sons, and four grandchildren. He still didn't feel like he deserved them, but he would do everything in his power to keep them safe and happy.

Which is why this latest threat scared him so much. He knew next to nothing about magic. More than any non-magic user should know, but not enough to actually do anything aside from watch his son and grandson try to stop a threat beyond his control. He was terrified he would outlive them. This was not a fate he could endure. Loosing his best friend had driven him to madness, what would loosing one of his children do?

"I can hear your negativity from here." Riza said as she lifted their youngest to her shoulder to burp him. "Stop it Roy. You will be fine. The boys are safe. Severus Snape will get to the bottom of this mess and we will fix it together as we always do."

"I'm not a wizard Riza." Roy said simply.

"No you're not. You are an alchemist. One of the best alchemists in the world. You are the fuhrer of one of the most powerful countries on the continent. You are the most loving father I have ever known." Riza said with a smile.

"That last one goes to Edward, we both know it." Roy said with a scoff.

"He is the other most loving father I have ever known." Riza said simply.

"I can't protect them from magic Riza. I don't know how." Roy said with a sigh.

"So protect them from everything else, and trust Edward to do the rest."

Roy frowned at the idea but the conversation was interrupted by William loudly announcing that he had to go to the bathroom. By the time Roy and William had returned the conversation had been forgotten for now.

Central City

Armstrong Estate

Breda had managed to wait a whole two days before saying anything about the new Elric baby. Surely by now Mustang had not only been informed but met the child. The papers were all claiming he was with his family, and Havoc had given him the press release to use from Roy himself.

Which is why when Alex asked if he had slept well Heymans had used the news to distract him. "Ed and Winry's new baby is here. She arrived the night of the crash. I hear she looks just like her mom and she was named after Ed's birth mother, Trisha."

"That is glorious news! When did you find out? It doesn't matter. Come we must celebrate this momentous occasion." Alex said practically sparkling.

"Alex no. Ed doesn't want it announced, only a handful of people have been informed and I had to promise we wouldn't say anything. Besides we have to leave for command in about ten minutes." Heymans said, now concerned he shouldn't have said anything.

Alex nodded solemnly before he agreed that the official announcement should come from Edward and Winry. Heymans sighed with relief. Sometimes he forgot how excitable his friend could be. He could never admit this of course, because he knew Jean would make fun of him forever and want to know how he had managed to forget such a thing.

Very few people had seen Alex depressed, though Heymans knew Roy was on that list and suspected Ed was too, Jean was not. Therefore he wouldn't understand that they could go through long periods of time in this house of near silence.

Before long their driver arrived and they left for the day, as they were getting in the car however, Alex simply said "Do not think I forgot my question Heymans. I assume the answer is poorly, since you didn't answer."

Heymans groaned, before shaking his head. Perhaps he was better off living alone after all. He sat there most of the ride thinking about it before he decided that no, as annoying as Alex's concern could be some days, he was doing better now. Living alone had given him too much time alone to think about it all, with no one around to pull him from his thoughts.

Xerxes Academy

Lupin's Office

Remus wasn't expecting anyone to interrupt him as he sat in his office tonight. The students were all in their dorms, and the other teachers were in there homes or rooms. He nearly jumped in surprise when there was a knock on his door, followed by Mei and Chen walking in before he could respond.

He rarely saw the sisters together, it was his understanding that they were not very close with each other or their brother who was the Emperor of the country on the far side of the desert. He hadn't asked much about it though, nor had he had the time to look into the history of all the countries hidden on the continent. He was fairly certain Snape knew more about it.

"It is my understanding that this man who attempted to kill the fuhrer is here?" Mei asked as her sister nodded along.

"He is normally not a dangerous man, I assure you. He is currently under the influence of a spell which an associate of mine is unraveling." Lupin said, surprised the girls knew so much about the situation.

"My future husband's father was the one who was attacked. I wish to interview this man as soon as possible following the breaking of this spell." Mei said with anger in her tone.

"He won't remember any of this." Lupin replied.

"That is for Princess Mei to determine." Chen said stiffly. "We take threats to the ruling caste seriously here Professor Lupin. I don't know how things are done in Europe, but here a threat to a ruler is very serious."

"I assure you Professor Li, threats are serious in Europe as well. I simply meant he will not be able to provide any answers to an interview." Lupin replied.

"Princess. Not Professor." Chen said with a sigh. "I have not forsaken my title nor do I intend to. Princess Mei will be able to tell much from the interview that you would not understand. I do not pretend to understand how your power works, do not insult Mei by pretending to understand hers."

"Of course Princess." Lupin said, suddenly feeling as though he stepped into a political landmine without meaning to move at all.

"Thank you sir. See to it I get the chance to speak to him before he's transferred…and keep him under lock and key. I do not like having such a man near our students." Mei said with a nod of her head.

Lupin sighed with relief, then cursed Snape under his breath for putting him in the middle of this. When he saw the other man next he was going to lecture him on getting others involved like this. He knew he should have refused to let the man be held here at a school.

Fuhrer's Office

Late Evening

Armstrong and Breda were the only ones left in the office, as Alex was waiting on a call from his sister. Breda would have left awhile ago, but it made no sense to him to order a car when Alex would be headed to the same place in less than an hour, so instead he stayed to get ahead of the paperwork.

He could hear Armstrong speaking now, so he had to have received the call from Olivier Armstrong. Hopefully there were no problems involved that needed attention tonight because Breda was tired. He had deflected the questions earlier but it was true that he had had a bad night. He had barely slept, with nightmares of the bombing and the train crash peppering his dreams until he had finally given up around two and sat up in his room quietly reading.

His next appointment with the therapist was tomorrow afternoon, and he hoped the doctor could offer some solution to these dreams. Perhaps he should consider getting a pet after all. It had been suggested before, but the idea of a dog was terrible…perhaps a cat could work too.

It had helped, a great deal, to no longer live alone. The knowledge that the maids were just a floor below, and Alex was just three doors down, helped most nights. Sometimes though, he ended up intentionally falling asleep on the couch in the parlor, just so he would hear people quietly moving around him. Even his room was too quiet some nights. He didn't want to burden Alex more than he already had, so he hadn't mentioned this.

Alex came out of the office then, Breda standing quickly. Alex nodded at him and led the way down to the car, not saying anything until they were out of the building. "You didn't have to wait for me Heymans. You're clearly exhausted." Alex said as they got into the car.

"I don't mind. It seemed a waste to call for a car when you would be heading the same direction shortly." Breda said with a shrug.

Alex stared at him for several long minutes before starting the car. "You're having nightmares again. You're afraid to be alone."

"How-"

"I was the same way, coming back from the desert. It took a few years before I was comfortable alone with my thoughts." Alex said. "If the dreams get bad, just come wake me. I don't mind."

"I can't do that. You already are helping me" Breda said, embarrassed.

"I am your friend. That's what I'm here for. It does me no good to sit up worrying that the dreams are keeping you up. If I knew you would come to me when they get bad we would both get more sleep." Alex said, shamelessly appealing to Breda's guilt. Whatever worked to get his friend to let him help.

"Actually…the doctor suggested that perhaps a pet would help. Something living that would be nearby for when the nights are bad."

"An excellent idea! What were considering?"

"I don't know, a cat perhaps? They're low maintenance, and I can't stand dogs."

""Excellent. We will look into it tomorrow. I can send Clara out to look for one for you." Alex said, referring to the maid.

"Alright." Breda said with relief.

"I still want you to come to me with your nightmares though. Let me help you."

"I'll try."

Resembool

Elric Mustang House

Edward was sitting up with Yuery, helping the boy with his latest alchemy book. Trisha had woken a bit ago, and after her feeding Edward had brought her down so that Winry could get time for a shower. William and Maes were on a walk with Roy, Riza, and Tad.

"Daddy?" Yuery said after they had closed the book for tonight. "Are the bad people going to try to hurt us again?"

"Not right now Yu. Don't worry, Daddy is watching over you." Ed replied. He wished he could promise his son that no more bad people would bother them, but he didn't want ot lie and he couldn't say for certain what would happen. The child was under enough threats that Ed was sure he would have to deal with them again sooner or later for Yuery.

"Why do the bad people keep trying to hurt us?" Yuery asked.

Ed sighed. He didn't know how to explain it all. He didn't completely understand himself why they were so obsessed with his son. He knew they had their prophesy and expected great things from Yuery because of it, but to him that was just foolish. As far as the local threats went, that was somehow easier to answer. "Yeye is a very powerful man Yuery. He is in charge of the whole country and sometimes that makes people angry so they try to hurt him to get him to stop being in charge."

"That's stupid. Yeye is a good person." Yuery said.

"They aren't going to make him go away easily Yuery, and most of the people are happy he's in charge. Just sometimes some people get upset." Edward said before ruffling the boy's hair. "Now, stop worrying so much about grown up things and go play."

Yuery sighed as he got down from the table to go to his room to play. He knew that Daddy hadn't answered completely truthful. He knew it probably was a grown up thing that Yuery wouldn't understand even if it was explained to him, but it still made him sad that Yeye and Daddy were always being scared by something.

Soon enough, before Yuery could decide if he should ask more questions, Will and Maes were back and the three of them started playing together, the subject forgotten for now in favor of arguing with his brothers that they had to wait until their turn before asking for a card.