Planning for a Better Future

Chapter Three

Research

Early Morning

Severus arrived early, several minutes before they intended to leave, to ensure the other were all ready. Roy Mustang, Edward Elric, Heymans Breda, Alex Armstrong, and Kain Fuery were to be transported directly into Snape rented house in Central.

Afterwards, he would help them sneak into the mansion because as far as their people knew, they had returned with the rest of the delegation and had simply taken a few days to spend with their family. Edward and Roy did not intend to officially return to the office until they'd spent at least a whole day with their children, so it wasn't a complete lie.

The children, as expected, were excited to see the men return, yelling happily and running to Ed, and Roy. Snape smiled at them all, and as little Yuery greeted him as well, he laughed. He was going to miss these people while he was back in Hogwarts, but he needed to keep both them and his godson safe and there wasn't another way. Eventually, he excused himself to take his leave, promising to return on Saturday.

Hogwarts

Late Evening

Snape's Office

It was nearing midnight and Severus Snape remained at his desk. He did not have as much to go with as the Elrics had uncovered, however, he had managed to dig up some information on horcrux. He was now pouring over the limited knowledge in hopes of finding a way that they could be detected and destroyed.

Unfortunately, the destruction of the vessels seemed to be an even more unpopular subject than their creation. Severus was certain that surely somewhere something had been written on the subject. It was a matter of finding it. Perhaps, he thought with a sigh as he closed yet another book, it would be best to leave the research to the brothers. Research was their real area of expertise if Mustang was to be believed.

Snape however was not one to just sit back and let others do his work for him. He had set himself on this path and it was his to find the answers. Even if it seemed impossible. He briefly wondered if answers may lie in Dumbledore's private library. It was pointless to consider though. Getting into Dumbledore's library was not possible.

He opened the next book, as he decided to switch gears and look for ways to detect them. After all it wouldn't matter if they knew how to break them if they couldn't find them to begin with. The other question was how many were there. From what Dumbledore had implied, he seemed to think there must be several, but several was not a clear number.

Part of him wanted to go to Dumbledore and demand to know everything the man knew about them. Demanding answers from Dumbledore would be like demanding a wall to move. Completely pointless… unless you found the right spell.

Headmaster's Office

Dumbledore knew Snape was looking into the horcruxes. He even considered calling the younger man up to his office to see if he had found anything useful. However, the trust between them was stretched to its limit and he needed to allow them time to calm and heal their anger before he attempted any sort of conversation with the man.

He had had a great deal of time to think on the matter, and though the idea had come to him at the bottom of a bottle, it was still valid months later. Edward and Severus were correct. The child needed to be protected, to be kept safe. He needed to remain the final piece. It was the only way. The other two needn't know that he was the final piece of course. He just needed to find a way to convince them that he was sincere in his dedication to protect the child as well.

He had made an error, years ago, when he had given the summery of the Prophecy to Elric. Somehow the boy had managed to unravel it and understood that the child was to die, yet he refused the idea. Now, with years in between and the loss of the Potters, Dumbledore understood better than he had then.

The child himself was to stand against Him. The child had to be the one, or it would not end. Therefore, the boy had to be kept safe and he had to be trained to fight. In that end, perhaps having Elric raise the boy was the best option after all.

From what Dumbledore understood of Amestrian culture, if the boy hadn't already begun training in combat and alchemy, he would soon. Though there was no guarantee the boy could USE alchemy, training would go a long way in helping him prepare for his magical training. Further, combat training could only help with the battle that was surely coming.

Tomorrow, Dumbledore would call Snape into a meeting, and explain that for now the boy was to remain with Elric. Until it was time to collect him for school, they would watch but would no longer interfere. It would come as a relief surely. Dumbledore had seen Harry. He looked remarkably like James, who had been Severus' rival.

Fuhrer's Mansion

Edward's Study

Winry found her husband pouring over the books he had brought home. This wasn't the first time since he came home that she woke in the night to find him gone. He was nearly as obsessed with finding the answer now as he had been as a teenager.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked suddenly, surprising his wife who had assumed he was too absorbed to notice her. "Are the kids okay? Do you need me to take Trish for a while?"

"No, the kids are all sleeping. I just wanted to check on you." Winry said as she came further into the room.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Edward said as he placed a bookmark between pages and put the pile of books back into his bag. "I didn't mean to become so absorbed. Thanks for getting me."

"Ed, it's fine. Go back to reading. I know it's important." She said. She hadn't meant to make him feel guilty. This was Hohenheim's research materials. Just reading it was drudging up old wounds, she didn't need to add to it.

"No, no. It's time for bed. I have a meeting at nine with the head of Western Command and another at eleven with Ling." Ed said before placing the bag in his pocket and leading her back out of his study. "I think maybe that I might have to go on another trip eventually. Not right now! But if I do, I have to be sure the kids know it's temporary. I also need to be sure everything is running smoothly at command."

"Edward, the kids are fine. How many times have I had to go to Rush Valley since we married, and they are fine aren't they? It's no different if you have to go. They know we will come back." Winry said in an attempt to assure her husband.

"I'll make sure to schedule any trips, so they don't overlap anything you have to do in Rush Valley." Ed said before they walked into the family suite. "It's just, I think I'll eventually need to hunt these pieces down, from what I'm reading."

"…You're not doing this alone." Winry said with a worried frown.

"No, I'll have others help me." Ed agreed. "Only those I trust."

Winry sighed, she assumed in the end, he'd do this alone. Ed's version of trusting someone with something like this began and ended with his brother. It was possible after everything they'd been through it may now include Roy as well, but she couldn't imagine anyone else falling into that group.

Ed was asleep as soon as he laid down, which was not unusual for him, but Winry was still wide awake. She was worried about her husband and his tendency to try to do everything on his own. She sincerely hoped that in this aspect none of her children took after their father, and she feared that her eldest already did.