Author's Note: Here is chapter 8. I'm not sure if my break has actually made for an increase in posting. I'm still busy, just busy in a different way and with different things. I will be heading back to my university in the middle of next week, crazy as it seems. Well. Provided I can rustle up the money for train fare. Somehow. Anyway, I will try to post again before that day. This chapter nearly wrote itself, maybe the next one will go that smoothly.

I hope you enjoy this chapter! Review, please!

Disclaimer: WolfishMoon does not own Hiromu Arikawa's Fullmetal Alchemist or J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. She never claims the contrary and makes no money off of the online publication of this free-to-read fanwork.

The Scientist's Lament

Chapter 8

Tentative Alliances, Tenacious Arguments

Of all the so called magic Ed had seen, this was the hardest to comprehend. The newly repaired plate fell to the ground all over again as he gaped at the two soot covered people who clambered, tumbling over each other, from the fireplace.

There was a sharp clearing of the throat from the tall, stern looking woman as she stood and attempted to brush the soot from her clothes with her hand.

"Professor McGonagall!" said the man in evident surprise. In his shock, it took Ed longer than it should have to realize that this was the person Red had wanted him to talk to.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley," the stern woman said. "It seems we accidentally tripped over one another in the floo."

"Err," Red, male edition, said. "Molly didn't say anything to me about you coming over. Otherwise I'd have coordinated my travel times."

Stern simply nodded, and with one last exasperated glance at her robes, pulled out her stick, flicked it, and suddenly was clean. The Ginger Man sheepishly did the same. Red rushed him, giving him a quick hug.

"Glad you're home, Arthur," she said. The two began a whispered exchange. Ed would have made an effort to listen in, but suddenly Stern was bearing down on him. Now Stern was as freakishly tall as Ginger Boy and had the grim set mouth of Hawkeye.

She looked from Alphonse to Edward and back again. To Al she said, "You're the professor, I take it?"

Ed's blood began to boil as Al's eyes went wide. "Ah! Nein! mein bruder-"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLINK SHORTER ZAN KINDERKARTENER?"

"Bruder! She never said zat!"

Stern looked at him with all the menacing authority of a disciplinarian. She took his outburst in stride and there was something in her eyes that quieted him all over again. "Mrs. Weasley tells me you have questions about your brother's education."

Ed nodded. "Damn vright I do!"

McGonagall dipped her head once. "Follow me, both of you. We will take this to the garden."

Red looked up from her conversation with her husband at that. "The boys haven't degnomed the garden in a while, Professor. I wouldn't take anything serious out there."

A slight smile graced Stern's face. "That will be fine. I imagine Professor Elric here might have some fellow feeling with them."

Now Ed wasn't quite sure what a gnome was, but it sounded like it was probably short.

"I'M NOT SCHORT, VERDAMMT!"

Stern fixed her eyes on him again - and behind the initial sternness fixed upon her face, there was something akin to amusement lightening her expression. "I was speaking more to the common gnome vulgarity, young man."

Ed glared, but Al had placed a hand on his shoulder. He was in control of himself. "Lead zee vay, Schtern."

"Brother. I wish you wouldn't try to make people mad," Alphonse said in Amestrian.

"We need info, Al," Ed said, following suit on the language. "And so I'm gonna use the same tactics I used on Colonel Bastard. It works."

If Stern registered their conversation at all, she did not show it. They stepped out of the house, and Ed noticed for the first time that evening was beginning to show it's face. The sun was low on the horizon and the edge of the oppressive summer heat had been dulled by a light breeze.

Stern halted by a row of clumsily trimmed bushes and turned to face them. Again, she looked between them. And finally she spoke. "I am appalled by a number of things," she said. "I am appalled that no school picked up your brother and that he fell through the cracks. I am appalled that he appears to be half starved."

Ed had been planning to make the initial onslaught. Not the other way round.

Stern continued. "And I am appalled that two as young as yourselves are left to fend for yourselves. You, Professor Elric, are not nineteen. Even if you do look younger than you are, I put your age at fifteen or sixteen. Seventeen at the very most."

Ed blinked. Scheisse.

It was Alphonse who recovered first. And that made a certain amount of sense. It was not Al who had been under attack.

"Zere haff been zertain circumschtances. And none of zem schould be laid at zee feet of mein bruder."

Ed gulped down a wash of guilt, said, "Bruder, I -"

Alphonse continued undeterred. "Given zose circumschtances, he has been zee best of mein caretakers. Outstrippink all of zee adults, bruder has risked life und limb vor my vellbeink. And given zee clearly combative mindset ov everybody here, vee bos have zee right to know vhat vee are gettink into."

"I see you are very close," Stern said. "I hope you know that spiel did nothing to assuage my own doubts. Rather it added to my questions."

Ed could hear Al shrink beside him. "Vell, I, ah - "

"You are right to vonder, Provessor - McGonagall? - McGonagall," Ed said. "But vee haff both done our best to make lives vor ourselves. And vee haff had help along zee vay. Vee are not zee results ov heartless people or non-schtop cruelty."

Stern fixed her narrowed eyes on Ed's, crossed her arms, said, "With that as settled as you seem to be willing to allow. What do you want to know? Please forgive me if I am only as forthcoming as you have been."

Ed closed his eyes. Of course she chose to apply equivalent exchange here. Even in a world where magic existed, unneeded equivalent exchange still had to get in his way. "Well," he said. "Vhat I am most vorried about ist zee conflict zat is makink your magic-children as jumpy as zey are. No vone ist villing to talk about it and it ist somezing I actually haff to know bevore I send Alphonse anyvhere."

Stern raised an eyebrow. "Conflict?"

"Don't play zee fool, Schtern. Your people are mired mile high in vhatever zis is. And I need to know vhat. Alphonse und I are already comink out of some crazy bullschite. I vant details bevore vee get ourselfes schtuck into more ov it."

Her already grimly held mouth receded further; her lips completely disappeared into a serious line. She seemed to take a moment to consider, and after that moment she nodded. "Our government is under attack by a group of terrorists who use guerilla warfare indiscriminately against civilians."

Somehow that was both more and less dire than Ed had anticipated. "Vell scheisse."

"Scheisse indeed, Professor Elric."

"Vell, bruder, Provessor," Al said blinking. "As awful as zat is, I sink zat ist somezing vee can handle, at least."

Ed nodded, then said in Amestrian, "We have to get you back into shape, Al. Starting tonight, thirty minuets to an hour of sparing both morning and evening."

"Agreed," Al said in the same. "Mrs. Weasley said something about putting me on a 'potion' regimen to help with the atrophy, whatever that means."

Stern, however, had gone somehow slack. She was almost as composed as ever. But her shoulders were perhaps a little rounder, and a little more lip showed in her mouth. Her eyes had widened just a smidgen. "They're very dangerous," she said.

"Vee can tell zat vrom our mutual schtudent," Ed said, snorting. "Iz no valk in zee park. But ist somezing bruder und I probably can survive." Ed eyed the atrophy of Al's muscles. "Vis a little vork, perhaps."

Stern blinked once, and recovered herself. "You realize this just makes me more concerned about your history?"

Ed inclined his head. "Yes. But zere is no point in pretendink if it might reduce our chances. To regain fitness, vee vill haff to be obvious about it."

Al grew funnily still beside him, then spoke up. "You say zat vee und our attitude are somevhat concerning. But zee children in zat house are almost as bad. Zey haff clearly seen combat scenarios. Vhy are vee so much more disturbink to you?"

Stern's eyes grew hard in a way they had not been before. "Those children jumped into battle with no plan, no backup, and barely a word to anyone. They were lured into a trap, and one of our number died when we stepped in to save them. You are not just hardened in the way they are. You also seem to be competent. That is what concerns me. "

Ed found that he couldn't argue with that logic without giving up more than he wanted to. He decided to change the subject "Right," he said. "Anyvay, Al's schoolink. Vat iz it vee haff to do?"

Stern looked at him strangely for a moment before going with it. "He will have to attend Hogwarts, the best and only magical school in the United Kingdom."

Ed narrowed his eyes. "And vhere is zis Pig Fungus place?"

"Hogwarts," McGonagall said, stressing the word. "Is hidden in the Scottish Highlands."

"I von't go to Scotland," Al said.

Ed put a hand on Al's arm. "How might I accompany mein bruder to zis Hogvarts place? He must go, but I vill be goink viz him, make no mistake."

McGonagall assessed him, clearly wanting to argue. She settled with, "I would have to discuss it with the Head Master, but there are a few positions you might be able to technically fill to explain your presence at the school and earn your room and board. But I must warn you. The building itself does not take kindly to Muggles, and there will be wards we will have to work around."

Ed was not quite sure what a 'ward' was. He could guess from the etymology, but that was never quite certain. He shrugged. "I've pushed my vay srough vorse to be zere for Alphonse. Vatever your school srows at me vill be no exception."

Al looked at him. "Vat about your job?"

"Teachink Chemistry has never been zee ultimate goal. It vas somezing I sought I might be gut enough at to support ourselves viz - vizout loosink my touch at vat vee do."

"What is it, exactly, that the two of you do?" Stern finally asked.

Ed smirked. "Vat Granger, Scruffy, und Sad saw me do," he said. "Rearrange zee structure of zee atoms in a substance and make it into zee shape and composition vee vant it to be."

Once again, Stern's composure slipped slightly. "You couldn't possibly mean?"

With a grin, Ed took a piece of chalk out of his pocket and twirled it between his left hand thumb and forefinger. Stern's hand came to her mouth. "Alchemy?" she said.

It seemed a demonstration wouldn't be necessary. He laughed a short, surprised laugh. "I vas beginink to sink zat nobody in zis Gott-forsaken country knew vhat it vas!"

"I teach transfiguration. Of course I know what Alchemy is. It's the very precursor to my own specialty. But I wasn't aware that muggles could preform it," she said.

Ed pocketed the chalk, deciding to ignore whatever this 'transfiguration' was. "Alchemy? Iz not magic. Ist zee ultimate science. And like all zee sciences zat schtem vrom it, Alchemy ist repeatable, reasonable, and rule-followink."

Stern considered both Ed and his brother for a moment. "And you both do this?"

Ed grinned and Al nodded beside him. McGonagall straightened, said, "Then I believe I know what the headmaster would want from you. He will be dropping a student off at the Weasley home this next weekend. He should have time to speak to you then."

Without another word, Stern turned pushed past them and turned into the doorway, disappearing back into the house. Ed exchanged a wary glance with Al.

"Was that a good idea, brother?" Al asked in Amestrian.

"I dunno, Al," Ed said. "But if it means I can go with you to that Pig Fungus place, it's worth it, right?"

Alphonse shrugged. "Just be careful, brother. I don't want you to get hurt." He began to head for the door and inside.

"Al?" Ed called. Alphonse came to a halt.

"Yes?"

"The Truth was as stingy as ever with his information, but I'm beginning to think that this is what it wanted us to get ourselves involved in."

Al looked over his shoulder at him. "I'm beginning to think so too," he said. "And that's why we need to be careful."

Ed nodded, stuffed his hands into the pockets of his plain brown slacks, and followed his brother back inside. "I hope these 'wizards' let me go to work tomorrow," he mused aloud. "Can't leave the brats hanging."

Word Count: 2106

These chapters are beginning to tend towards the longer end of things - on a sliding scale of my usual chapter length, anyway. I remember when I could fit three scenes into a thousand words. Gone are those days - I'm getting better with the little details, but it's a pain to relearn how much I can fit into how many words.

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. You get two height freak-outs courtesy of Ed. But he's not being as combative as I want to make him and I'm not sure why. I think his mindset at the end of Brotherhood is just... calmer and more settled than in any other point of the series. He's growing up, regardless of how I want to write him.

Anyway, please review and tell me what you think!