Chapter Five: The Ministry of Magic

Note: So, I'm really sorry to all my readers for not posting in so long. (Begs readers still following me for mercy). This chapter was more of a pain then I thought it would be. I had most of this chapter written out then I got stuck by the end, and I became so frustrated with it that I took a break for a while. Then I would come back to it again, get frustrated, then quit all over again. Work, returning to school, and finding new interests also got in the way. Even if it takes a while to get chapters out I will not abandon this story if I can help it. I have an account on AO3 now under the same name and I'm planning to post my stories there as well.

At least after these past few years my writing has improved a bit and I've gone back and edited my previous chapters a little. Nothing drastic, just some grammar changes and a few other alterations to make the story flow a bit better. These new changes will be on AO3 when I post this there.

The next morning after a rushed breakfast in his quarters, Edward was once again at his usual spot in the library, pouring over a large book. Dumbledore watched him while standing next to a bookshelf, with a small smile. 'Once he has his nose in a book nothing can break his concentration. Not even Miss Granger has that much focus.' As if to prove his own point, the headmaster cleared his throat loudly, trying to get the young man's attention. As expected, Edward, so engrossed in his reading did not react. He did not look up until Dumbledore tapped him firmly on the shoulder.

"What?" He grumbled, annoyed at being disturbed.

"I apologize for interrupting Edward, but if you recall from our discussions last night, today we need to come up with your cover story for our meeting with the ministry tomorrow?"

Edward groaned with exasperation. "Yeah I remember but is this all really necessary? I realize that I can't tell them my true story since it is so unbelievable, but do we really have to go to so much trouble. From what I've been hearing since I got here your ministry is just a bunch of idiots who like to bury their faces in their own asses."

Dumbledore ignored Edward's crude language. "I'm afraid that it is. The Minister is becoming increasingly paranoid, especially with anything to do with me. Since I was the one who suggested starting this new alchemy class, he is no doubt suspicious of my intentions. Despite the fact that your fathers' assumed name, Nicholas Flammel, is not well known in the wizarding community, he was known to be a close friend of mine. So being his son, suspicions will be placed on you for your implied association with me. And most importantly, we must hide the fact that you're a muggle since that would put an even greater target on your head."

Ed hung his shoulders with an irritated huff. "All right I get it." He shut his book none too gently and replaced it on the shelf. "Let's get this over with."

It took the two men most of the day to come up with a detailed cover story. They had to be thorough, so Edward would be ready to answer any question that the Ministry might come up with. "Normally," said a tired Dumbledore, "in this situation the school governors would likely conduct the interview, but in this case the Minister will most likely want to do this himself. I wouldn't be surprised if his Undersecretary will be with him too, so be wary of her since she will be joining us as a professor this year as well."

They were currently in the headmaster's office and Ed was leaning back in his chair, tired eyes half focused on the ceiling. "For my State Alchemist Exam, I had to do an interview in the second part with the State high ups. At that time, I had to be careful not to reveal that I had performed human transmutation, which would have landed me in jail and my brother in a science lab. I think I will be able to handle this."

The headmaster nodded approvingly. "Then if that is settled, shall we head to the great hall for some dinner and then to bed? We will both want to be well rested for tomorrow." The blond rose up from his chair with a stretch. With barely a nod of acknowledgement, he exited the office.

"Goddammit, do we have to?!" The next morning, a grumbling Edward was standing next to the fire in Dumbledore's office, which was currently dancing with emerald green flames. Dumbledore just smiled serenely, inwardly pleased that the complaining teen was acting more his age for once instead of being serious all the time.

"I'm afraid Edward that the floo is the fastest and most convenient way of getting to the ministry. So, I suppose you will have to just grin and bear it." Edward groaned dramatically and hung his head, not looking forward to the nausea inducing spinning. He peeked upwards through his bangs to look at the smiling headmaster.

'Why do I get the feeling that the old coot is enjoying himself?' "Fine let's just get this over with," Ed muttered. He apprehensively approached the flickering green flames.

"Just say 'Ministry of Magic Atrium', and don't forget to be very clear." Edward just nodded in resignation and stepped into the flames. As soon as he said the words he was once again sucked into that vortex of spinning green flames and fireplaces.

'Please just let this be over already.' Despite keeping his eyes tightly shut his stomach still lurched uncomfortably. Luckily, his wish was granted almost immediately as he fell face first onto a dark marble floor. 'I really hope this won't be a reoccurring thing.' Groaning he picked himself off the floor just as Dumbledore appeared out of the fireplace behind him. "All right Mr. Elric?" Asked the headmaster who still had a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Ed rubbed his aching face with his left hand before taking a good look around him. He was in a huge hall with hundreds of cloaked people bustling by. Along the wall they were standing by, and the one opposite were a large number of fireplaces, like the one they had just came out of. More people appeared out of them in flashes of green fire. He noticed the windows that were streaming in sunlight and frowned. "I thought you said this place was underground?"

"We are. It's just a bit of magic." Edward frowned, not happy that he found it easier all the time to accept magic as the explanation for all the strange things he has been seeing of late. He then noticed that a number of people had stopped to stare at the unlikely duo. Towards Edward, they looked at him only with mild curiosity. But when they looked at Dumbledore their expressions turned to ones of suspicion, anger, and ridicule.

"Not very popular here are you?" Asked Ed, annoyance building in him as the number of gawkers increased.

"As of late not very much," said the older man, appearing completely unfazed by the unpleasant looks that were being thrown his way. "Shall we press on Edward?" Edward shrugged his shoulders, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets as he followed Dumbledore through the busy crowd.

He sent glares at the witches and wizards who continued to stare at them, getting a feeling of satisfaction when most of them turned away and went back to their business. He paused for a moment as they passed a golden fountain, sneering up at the smiling faces of the witch and wizard that stood in the center. 'Way too gaudy for my taste,' he thought.

"This way Edward," said Dumbledore. Ed looked away from the statues and followed the headmaster into what appeared to be an elevator. "The first floor is where we want to go. That is where the Minister's office is located," explained Dumbledore. Edward hummed in acknowledgement but was caught by surprise when the lift moved sideways instead of up or down.

After a few stops, a number of flying paper airplanes, and wizards carrying the oddest assortment of objects, they reached the first floor. They strolled down the hall until they reached a door that read 'Minister of Magic'. Dumbledore rapped on the door then waited. A moment later, the door was opened by a young man with awfully familiar red hair.

"Minister, its Albus Dumbledore and the new alchemy teacher."

"Show them in Mr. Weasley."

"Yes Sir." He opened the door wider and stepped aside so the two guests could enter.

Stepping into the room Edward noted the two people by a large desk. His eyes were drawn first to the horrible, pink monstrosity standing to the side. For a moment he mistook it for a chimera due to its toad like features. He started to feel nauseous the longer he looked at it-her. 'Ugh, how can anyone wear that much pink?'

Not wanting to throw up he turned his attention to the second person in the room. Sitting in a fancy looking chair behind the desk was an unimpressive man with grey hair, an ugly green hat, and a rather withering scowl that was being aimed at Dumbledore.

"Good day Cornelius. I hope you are well?"

"Just fine Dumbledore," the portly man grumbled. "Let's just get this over with." He moved his gaze to Edward, his expression turning from irritated, to incredulous. "Dumbledore, you can't seriously be telling me that this boy is supposed to be the new teacher. He is way too young. It's ludicrous."

Ed could feel a vein pulsing on his temple as he forcibly tried to keep his famous temper from exploding. Dumbledore remained as serene as ever. "I assure you Cornelius that Mr. Elric is fully qualified for this position. He is of age so according to the Board of Governors; he is old enough to be hired on as long as he has thorough knowledge of the subject that he is to teach. I can assure you as one of the current, leading experts on Alchemy, that Edward is more than qualified. His expertise in this field far exceeds most who still study the subject, and I am including myself among this number."

Fudge grimaced, but although he was not completely convinced, he did not comment. Unsure as how to proceed, his undersecretary saved him by speaking up with a simpering smile. "You said in your owl that he is the son of the late Nicholas Flammel did you not? Then why does he go under the name Elric?"

Edward answered this time, using all his self control to keep from shuddering in revulsion at the toad woman's overly girly voice. "Elric was my mother's maiden name, which I prefer to use over my fathers since I hadn't seen him much since I was very young." The pink woman's toad-like smile widened, not a hint of sympathy on her face.

"Your mother, she is a witch then?"

Edward gritted his teeth, "no she was a muggle."

"I see. You would be a half-blood then?"

"Yes, I suppose I am." Edward was already fully informed on the whole blood supremacy crap, but it disgusted him even more now that he was seeing it firsthand.

Umbridge's widening smirk reminded Ed of a toad watching a juicy fly. "I suppose your mother was quite upset when she learned about your father's magic. I gather that was his reason for leaving?"

'My mother is not that kind of person, you nosy bitch!' Keeping these thoughts to himself he answered, "no it was nothing like that. My mother was perfectly excepting of my father's magic. There were mitigating circumstances for his departure, but the main reason was my father's reluctance to inform her of his…longevity. There were also a few incidents in his past that he was ashamed of. So, by his own admittance, he took the cowards way out and left."

"Yes, yes, truly a shame," the Minister waved his hand dismissively, starting to feel the tension beginning to rise between the young man and his still smiling undersecretary. "Let us get back to the issue at hand, determining the competence of this, erm…this young man for the position of professor. I will admit I know nothing about alchemy, and I doubt anyone in the country but Dumbledore," he said the name scathingly, "knows much about the subject."

"To tell the truth Cornelius," interjected Dumbledore. "Edward's skill in alchemy is far greater than my own. While I have done many studies of the subject with my friend Nicholas, I focused more on combining it with magic, which limited my field of study. Edward is much more versed in pure alchemy and has done research in some of its more obscure aspects as well." Fudge still did not look convinced, so Dumbledore said, "perhaps a demonstration is in order Minister?"

"Very well, get on with it then." Ed was not fazed by the Minister's rudeness whatsoever, instead pulling out a small block of wood from one of his pockets and setting it on Fudge's desk. He ignored the two ministry officials confused looks and instinctively clapped his hand together, picturing the array in his mind. Placing his hands on the wood he saw the familiar flash of crackling blue light, revealing a small wooden statue of the Minister, bowler hat and all.

Fudge and Umbridge both gaped at the little effigy. Umbridge snapped out of it first exclaiming, "isn't that just transfiguration? And you didn't use a wand?"

Edward scowled at the toad woman. "You don't use a wand for alchemy and what I did is called transmutation. From my father's notes, I've determined that transfiguration completely changes the molecular and physical structure of an object into something else. Transmutation basically breaks down a structure and reshapes it, which is what I just did." Dumbledore had to stifle a chuckle at the blank faces of Umbridge and Fudge. This sort of thing seemed to happen a lot around Edward.

Fudge gave a little cough before saying, "well I suppose that demonstration was enough. Just a few more questions are required in private then everything will be settled." Both guests knew this was coming. The headmaster had warned Edward the night before that the Minister would want to speak to him alone in order to determine where his loyalties lied.

Dumbledore kept his face neutral and said, "I'll be waiting just outside minister." Fudge dismissed him with an impatient wave of his hand, so with a gentle sweep of his robes he quietly exited the room. Edward felt awkward being left alone with these people, but he knew he couldn't show any weakness in front of them. He would have to be careful with his answers since he didn't want to get on their bad side at this time.

'In all honestly I would rather be facing the bastard colonel then these fanatics.' He eyed the toady witch, who was still looking at him as though he was a large fly. 'Dumbledore really expects me to work with this bitch for the next year? I've just met her, and I already hate her.' Ed returned his focus to Fudge when the wizard cleared his throat.

"Now Mr. Elric, could you kindly explain to us your relationship with Albus Dumbledore?"

"I'm afraid you will have to be more specific on what you want to know."

"How long have you known him?"

This question was easy. "We only just met a couple weeks ago."

"Did Dumbledore specifically seek you out?"

Another easy question. "No. Our meeting was completely accidental. He didn't recognize my being related to Flammel at first either."

Fudge seemed satisfied with these answers for the moment. Then he began to press a bit harder. "What is it that Dumbledore wants you to do and what is he offering you?"

Edward's expression hardened, knowing what this was leading to. "To teach alchemy, nothing more or less. I have my own research to focus on, so I have no time for anything else. As for what he is offering, he will be granting me full access to Hogwarts library as well as my father's personal notes, and he will be providing any materials that I might require."

"And what, prey tell are you researching?" The question came from Umbridge this time, her barely disguised eagerness prompted Ed to glare at her.

"That is none of your business. My research is a private project, and any alchemist knows better then to freely share their knowledge, so it does not get stolen or abused." Edward felt smug satisfaction at the woman's disappointed expression.

"Of course you wouldn't want your work compromised, its completely understandable." Said Fudge, trying to draw attention back to him. "Be that as it may, wouldn't it be more profitable to turn to the ministry for assistance with your research. We would be able to provide you with much better resources, as well as funding."

Edward regarded Fudge disdainfully. "I see. Then what is it you want?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Equivalent exchange. Nothing comes without a price and I don't believe for a moment that you would be willing to help me out of the goodness of your hearts. So, I will say it again. What do you want from me?"

They both looked affronted by his scathing words, the toad woman especially, but the minister was able to mostly regain his composure. "If you are willing to take up our offer, we hope that you could provide us with some insight, as to the goings on inside the school."

'Here it is,' "So basically, you guys want me to play spy for you. I've been told that this old lady will be at the school as well, so you don't really need me as well."

Umbridge bristled at being addressed in such a crude manner. "Now, you listen here! The minister is making a very generous offer, and you should be grateful that he is giving a young upstart like you, his time. Unless you buy into that nonsense Dumbledore is selling about You-Know-Who."

Edward had reached the end of his patience. Compared to dealing with the military, these people were a joke. "Look lady, I just want to finish my research in peace, and not get involved in any political games between you and the old professor. I have no intensions of being anybody's spy or lacky. I will teach my students alchemy in the way I see fit and won't get in your way, as long as you don't get in mine." 'Unless you guys try to pull something stupid or nasty at the school, then I might get involved a little bit,' Ed thought. Despite what he said, he wouldn't hesitate to meddle if he thought that people would get hurt.

Fudge, sensing that the conversation would not progress further then this, motioned for his still fuming undersecretary to back down. She quickly changed her expression back to the sweet, sickening smile she had earlier. "Very well Mr. Elric," said Fudge. "I hope your research goes well and that you and Dolores will be able to get along together at the school."

'Like hell I would. I'd rather work with Colonel Mustang any day then with this toad.' Edward stood up. "I'm done here, can I go."

Fudge glared at the young man for his disrespect, but grudgingly dismissed his with a terse, "you may go." Edward walked curtly out of the Minister's office, to where Dumbledore was awaiting him outside, to return the both of them to Hogwarts.

Note: I'm still not completely satisfied with how this chapter was finished, but it's caused me enough frustration already so I'm going to leave it as is, and maybe somewhere down the line I will come back to it and edit it again. I don't know when I will get the next chapter out, but the ideas are still floating in my head so they will get out somehow.

Just a reminder that I will be posting this on AO3 too, and I hang out on that site more often than this one these days.