In Times of Trouble
Chapter Eleven
Travel Abroad
Alphonse and Mei began the journey the day after the wedding. They were traveling in a private car, arranged by Alphonse's father. Darius, Heinkel, Zampano, Jesro, and Remus Lupin were traveling with them, along with four bodyguards sent by Ling who Alphonse had yet to meet, and he was only aware thanks to Mei's training.
His dad would have preferred they travel as he and Edward both had when they returned to Central, and had the last car only populated by Mei and Alphonse. A second car to house the entourage. However, they were already bound to draw some attention, therefore they were trying to minimize the amount they were noticed. Instead, Al was to seal his and Mei's room in the car unless they were eating or using the washroom. Remus Lupin assured him that everyone aboard was themselves as they entered. It was the best they could manage.
After two days on the train, Mei and Alphonse were grateful to be free of it, even in a strange country. They had decided to begin the honeymoon in France, and Lupin had helped them cover their travels with the right amount of misinformation that the hotel was aware that she was a high-ranking member of the ruling family of a small mostly unknown country. Therefore, her own security was allowed, and the entire floor was rented to them.
At the same time, he made them seem uninteresting enough that nothing leaked to the press of either the muggle or the wizard communities. This gave them enough freedom to actually snoop around, and to enjoy some of their trip free of the responsibilities of running the Academy. Al had cross referenced what He had written with the help of his Dad and Ed and had a pretty clear idea of where to look for information.
Dante was a Flamel by birth and marriage, a descendant of Perenelle as all of His chosen Perenelles had been. She had become his wife young, like the others and they were all from the same area. They decided this was the place to start. Remus had slipped away the first day to look into the family and see the best way to make contact.
As it turned out, the majority of the Flamel family had died out years ago, leaving three lines. Fortunately, this included an older woman, named Anna Flamel-Delacour who was, according to record, Dante's youngest sister. Remus had called ahead to see if the woman was willing to see them and arranged for them to meet her at the end of the week. That gave them three days to relax and research. For Al and Mei that was essentially the same thing.
Alphonse and Mei were glad to get the short break. The train ride had been long and stressful. They had been on alert throughout thanks to what had happened to Roy a few months ago. They hated that they couldn't trust their friends. These men had helped them during one of the most chaotic points in their history. At the time, it had been a risk to trust them.
This was what Al kept reminding himself as he sealed the door to their suite. It had been a gamble that had paid off then, and since. If not for Darius and Heinkel, Al would have lost Edward. Then, even after they originally saved him, the pair along with Greed had nursed him back to health and taken over care of Yuery. Al felt he owed them some level of trust. Jerso and Zampano he owed just as much. They had helped him keep Mei and Winry safe at the same time.
At the same time, Jones had been in the offices for years, and had been a trustworthy person. He'd even held all three of Edward's sons at one point. Yet he had been turned against them and didn't even remember it. It wasn't his fault, however, it meant that Al feared for his friends.
Luckily for Al's sanity and everyone's health the next few days were uneventful as the couple occasionally emerged to visit local stores or libraries, but mostly stayed locked away. Finally, it was time to meet with Mrs. Flamel- Delacour. To prevent notice, they took only Lupin, Heinkel, and one of Mei's guards. The rest were ordered to stick together and keep anyone from entering the rooms.
They arrived at the small house on time and knocked at the door unsure what to expect. Al was not expecting a woman who looked nearly identical to Dante. Her eyes were a slightly different shape, and she was a bit shorter, but otherwise she looked the same. Al had the same thing told to him about himself and Edward, so he tried very hard not to stare.
She invited them inside and led them into a small parlor. Everything was tastefully decorated in neutral colors and the couch was soft enough to sink into which cause Al to sit on the edge of his seat while declining the offer of coffee and food. Once they were settled, she sat herself and poured a cup of tea.
"I assume you're aware of why we are here?" Al asked, he assumed that Lupin had explained somewhat when he made the appointment.
"I didn't, until I saw you." She said with a smile. Al glanced at Lupin making a mental note to talk to hemp about it. "You know him, don't you? The one who comes to find a new wife every few decades."
"I'm here about the last one taken if you wouldn't mind. It's my understanding she is your sister?" Al replied politely.
"Yes, she is. Dante." She agreed with a nod. "I haven't seen her or heard from her in years though. The only reason I know she's still alive is he hasn't returned to pick the next one."
"Can you tell me more about her? What she was like when you were young maybe?" Al asked
"To be honest. She was completely obsessed." Anna replied.
"What do you mean?" Mei asked quietly.
"Well. It is a well-known secret in our family that Nicolas will return to pick a new bride. It is considered my most to be a great honor to be selected. After all, our family has enjoyed prosperity and good fortune for centuries thanks to these women agreeing." Anna said with a sigh. "Dante, from the time we were small, was convinced she would be selected. She insisted she alone had the correct combination of power and appearance to be selected."
"Well, I assume since he chose her, she must have been right?" Al asked.
"Yes. Because she made sure it would be her." Anna replied. "Our cousin Claudia, who was a year older than Dante, mysteriously decided to move to America just days before he was expected to arrive. Maria, who was her age, another cousin, fell hopelessly in love and eloped the day before he arrived. Our sister, Danna, disappeared altogether."
"I see." Al said, growing cold. He knew from the journals that Dante was unhinged. That their father knew she was but felt he didn't have enough time to replace her with the way things were going. This though, suggested that she had been crazy before he met her, so whatever he was doing that kept driving his wives mad would have been so much worse… "Do you know for certain she was involved?"
"Claudia came back a little over three years later. She had been put under a spell that eventually wore off." Anna said sadly. "She had become convinced it was her life's goal to abandon the wizarding world and become an actress. Overall, she was unharmed. She did remember it was Dante who came to visit her that day."
"Well, at least she meant no harm." Mei said.
"Maria came home less than a year after she eloped. She and her husband had been put under the influence of a love potion." Anna continued without acknowledging Mei's comment. "When the spell wore off, he was convinced she had drugged his drink to trick him into marrying her. He would never believe the pregnancy was his child, or that she had nothing to do with their situation. He treated her terribly before she finally just ran away from him. He had bullied her throughout childhood until she had gone away to school."
"That's terrible!" Al said, feeling a bit faint. What was this woman capable of and more importantly, how powerful was magic?
"Our sister was found. In St. Mungo's. The long-term magical damage ward. No one ever found out what exactly was done to her." Anna finished. "I was spared, I firmly believe, because I was sixteen at the time. Nicolas never choose a wife underage."
"Why did she want to be selected so badly? If your family knew he kept returning for new wives, then you knew that he wasn't making anyone immortal as the rest of the world believed?" Al wondered.
"She thought once she was chosen, she could be the one he would fall in love with. That she could give him children unlike the ones before her. In short she saw herself as some sort of fairytale hero who could save the cursed prince." Anna replied.
"Well, that was foolish." Mei grumbled.
"I don't know what happened after that really. She would write once in a while to begin with, but after a few years she just stopped. As I said, we know she's still alive because he hasn't returned. Who knows maybe she managed it. After all, he generally returns much sooner."
"No, I'm afraid not." Alphonse said, deciding they deserved an end to the story after everything that he had put their family through. "I know at least part of the story after they left, thanks to his journals."
"Really? I have always wondered…" Anna said eagerly.
"First. He informed her that he would never actually love her, it was more a business arrangement than anything. Then he informed her that he would never give her children. He offered to let her go, that he would pick another if she would prefer, but she insisted she understood." Al said. "With your part of the puzzle, that makes sense. She likely assumed in time she could change his mind."
"How much are you going to tell her?" Mei asked with a pointed look at the guards who had joined them and Lupin.
"Will you excuse us please? Heinkel? Maize?" Al said to the guards. They both nodded, but he allowed Lupin to stay. The man would not be able to repeat any of this to anyone except Snape, and he was in thick enough he should probably know too.
"Nicolas, which was an alias by the way, was a lot of things. Faithful to his wives was not on that list. He had many affairs over the years. He never understood why she stayed when she was clearly unhappy. Then, after a bit, he knew she was insane and dangerous. He considered replacing her but couldn't be bothered with everything else he was doing." Al continued. Contempt sneaking into his voice. "He couldn't be bothered to keep any of his personal life in order. Not his wife or his affairs. He thought he could keep her in line long enough to replace her. Only she went and managed to outlive him."
"Wait. Nicolas is dead?" Anna asked, shocked.
"Yes, nearly three years now. He gave up the last of his life force to end a debt. Don't think of him as a martyr. He was repaying a debt. His one good deed to balance everything he damaged. Once, I idolized him. I really did. Then I read his journals. He was selfish and cruel. Not unlike his wife. The real concern is her desire to destroy everything he built." Alphonse said, ignoring to look his wife was giving him. Mei was concerned over his mental health in regard to his feelings for Hohenhiem. She felt he needed to let it go and move on, and he had for the most part, unless something like this brought it up. The next few weeks were going to be hard.
"Dante is not a very strong witch. Comparatively, she is rather weak, but she's sneaky. Her best weapon has always been manipulation." Anna replied. "I suppose she could have improved over the years since she never cared about magic beyond being able to use it to get Nicolas. Since she got him, and it didn't go as she intended, I wouldn't- "
"He never mentioned her using magic really in the books. I know he taught her some alchemy, though she shouldn't have been capable. Actually…he never said he had. I just assumed because she was Izumi's teacher… Mei I need to talk to Izumi don't let me forget." Al said.
"She had to have, Alphonse. Remember the fire." Mei replied.
"I'm afraid I'm lost." Anna said, but Lupin shushed her.
"But He wrote- "Alphonse began.
"We have evidence his observation was not absolute. At least one." Mei replied.
"If you would like to enlighten the class?" Lupin said with amusement.
"He wrote that one could not be both an alchemist and a wizard. That it wasn't possible." Alphonse said.
"That's not entirely true, even in his writings. He knew there were exceptions, it was the basis of his experiment." Mei replied. "Trust me, I read more of it than you did."
"Because Dad kept them from me!" Al said, fully aware he sounded like a pouting child. "Anyway. Thank you, ma'am, for your help. I'm sorry to have dug up so many bad memories."
"Not at all. Thank you for visiting me." Anna said as they all stood. "I'm sorry I can't help you with more recent information. Don't worry, I won't pass on anything you've said to anyone."
"Thank you. Have a good day." Al replied as they stood to leave. Anna showed them out, so they all remained quiet until they had returned to the rented car. Then Al turned to his wife, "I'm sorry I snapped at you in there. It was uncalled for."
"It is a stressful situation all around. I am fine." Mei replied with a smile. "We did learn a great deal that could be helpful in understanding her behavior, but nothing to help us find her."
"We'll figure it out. If she didn't return here, then where is the most likely place, she would go do you think?" Al asked with a frown. They had already arrived at the hotel and had all remained quiet until returning to Al and Mei's suite.
"Well, aside from your family, who else would she have an issue with, that she would want to go after?" Lupin asked, trying to help narrow it down.
"Oh. His lover." Mei said, and Al nodded.
"Lover?" Lupin asked.
"Yes, he kept a long-time lover in England. I think that's where we need to head next." Mei replied.
"How long ago, do we know how to contact her?" Lupin asked as the couple stood to start packing things up.
"Well, I assume you would know how to get in contact with him." Al said. "I need to talk to Ed about this though, he's not going to like this."
Al walked out of the room, Mei gave Lupin a sympathetic look, before sighing. "I know you have to know what we're talking about, you lived with Severus Snape forever and he knew about this. Albus Dumbledore. He was Nicolas Flamel's lover and has been since he was about nineteen, I think it was. It was in the journals. She has as much reason to hate him as she does the rest. Which is to say none, but she blames the lovers for her husband's behavior."
"Well, to be fair if the lovers knew he was married then- "Lupin started.
"You'd have to ask Dumbledore what he knew, however, he used so many aliases it is impossible to know who knew what, aside from Dante, who probably doesn't know all of it either." Mei said.
"She really is insane as well, I heard what her sister had to say… this really is a mess." Lupin said with a sigh. "I need to talk to Severus; he seems to know a great deal he never said."
"Well, he does have a Vow to contend with, I'm sure there is much he wanted to let on that was impossible. Though it was his idea to take it so that he couldn't be compelled to betray the Elrics."
"Which was a wise move, even in light of how much would have been useful to know in all of this, he made the right choice on that one."
Alphonse returned a few minutes later with a tight frown and a tired stoop to his shoulders. He sighed heavily. "He wasn't happy to have to deal with Dumbledore, but he agrees this is a necessary conversation. He said to be sure Dumbledore knows under no circumstances is his son part of this conversation and to be sure to let him know if he once again tries to come back around saying Edward owes him something for this, Edward and Dad will make sure the entire wizarding world will know every single last one of his dirty secrets."
"I hardly think you will need to threaten him into helping you." Lupin said.
"I'm afraid the Dumbledore we know and the one you know have proven themselves to be different people." Alphonse said sadly. "It seems to be a common phenomenon."
"I see." Lupin replied.
"You don't. I don't expect that you would. This man has been a threat to my nephew since he learned where to find the boy. He just a few months ago came to my father demanding that he force my brother hand over his child. It is not going to happen. That boy has been a member of our family, raised in our home since he was three months old. We are who he belongs with, not to mention Dumbledore's intent to allow the child come to harm to fulfill a prophecy." Alphonse said. "I'm sure he has assured you that Edward was mistaken about his intention. Have you heard the prophecy? Because my brother told me and our Dad what Dumbledore said word for word, and he absolutely wanted to let the children die."
Lupin nodded, intent on talking to Snape over the whole situation as soon as they had resettled into the next location. Perhaps sooner if he could talk them into giving him an hour or two before they checked out of the hotel. Snape knew a lot about this, Lupin already knew that, but now that Lupin had been filled in by the family it was likely Snape would be able to tell him more about it than he had been able to say before.
"One more thing Remus. When we speak to Dumbledore, say nothing. I want to control how much he learns. He doesn't need to know about Flamel's other identity or anything we talked about today aside from Dante being a threat to him." Alphonse said. "I won't give him anything he could turn around and use against us."
"I need to talk to Severus, to make sure we are on the same page on all of this." Lupin said.
"Go now. We have time before we need to leave." Mei replied. "Let him know that he needs to keep a close eye on the Fuhrer's mansion while we are searching for her."
Lupin nodded, though he knew Snape was already watching over the mansion with Edward and Roy's blessing. He did feel he needed to have this conversation soon. Snape had been right it seemed to distrust Dumbledore if Alphonse was right about what Albus had been up to.
Amestris
Safehouse
Lupin had contacted Snape to ask him to meet at the safehouse where they could speak freely. It didn't take long for both men to arrive; Severus had brought along lunch from the deli nearby since he hadn't eaten yet and assumed Remus hadn't either.
"Alphonse said you know about Flamel and Dumbledore." Remus said as they sat down to eat and talk.
"I do. I know more about Dumbledore than he would have ever wanted me to know. I have tried, more than once, to tell Dumbledore he should look deeper into Flamel. The man was not a good person. His sons deserve to be left in peace, however. I assume you learned most of it now, since we can speak of it freely." Severus shrugged as he took another bite of his sandwich.
"Probably not everything. Still. I know what you have said before, but I had assumed for a while, that perhaps it was misunderstanding. That Dumbledore would not be mixed up so deeply in all of this trouble."
"Dumbledore is a terrible judge of character. Maybe not all the time, but often enough that I can say it. He also needs to sober up. Perhaps this will be the wakeup call he needed. I don't understand this woman though. She herself is bound, she's limited on what she can say, but she is trying as hard as possible to work around this to bring pain and suffering to the Elrics." Severus said with a sigh.
The two men finished eating as they compared notes on what they knew about the current situation in hopes of finding a way to stop the woman. She needed to be stopped before she could cause anymore harm to the family. Which was easier said than done with no one able to guess correctly where she was going to show up.
"So how are things going with your houseguests? I promise this time not to tease you, I am just curious." Lupin said.
"Well, I believe. They have settled in nicely. Drake is happy to be here now, he isn't expecting his father will be looking for him anymore. He also knows he can count on the people around him to help him get the things he needs now." Severus said with a smile.
"He seems like a nice kid from what you've said, I hope he stays that way as magic becomes more of a choice for training and not the status symbol his father wanted it to be for him." Lupin replied.
Both men cleaned up and were on their way back out to where they were needed. It had gone better than either of them expected, since they had managed the entire meeting without either of them saying anything to insult the other, which aside from those months they were forced to live together, was not common.
.