Disclaimer: I own neither Fullmetal Alchemist nor Harry Potter. This story takes place post episode 51 and book 5. Read at your own risk for spoilers.

The Foundation of Truth

Bard Linn

Chapter 5: Discovery of the Reason

Ed rummaged through the library, leafing through books and placing them back on the shelf. He noted a few titles down for his side project but found nothing else of interest concerning his main goal. He kicked the wall with his left foot in irritation. He wanted to go home damm it! The Golden Gryffindor Trio had plagued him with questions on his abrupt departure since he left to interrogate Dumbledore three days ago. At least he was still progressing in his studies.

He kicked the wall again only to nearly fall over as the brick slid into the wall. A door similar to the one that lead to his room opened right in front of him. Ed pulled out his wand and quickly cast Lumos. The room was dirty; dust covered his boots after two quick steps. Edward didn't notice though. The entire room was covered in manuscripts and old books. Quickly he cast a general cleaning charm which rid the books of the dust at least.

"Hello."

Ed jumped three feet into the air. "AHHHHH!"

"Terribly sorry. Let me get to where I can see you." A ghost floated out from behind a large pile of books. "Hello. I'm Alexander Ravenclaw."

Ed blinked. "As in Rowena Ravenclaw?"

"That's my older sister. I'm the third in the family. One older brother, one older sister, one younger of each." The ghost seemed to brighten. "So what are you doing here? You're not a student, are you?"

"I'm looking for some information," Ed replied glancing around at the room. "And no, I'm not a student."

"Good, there's some things in here kids really shouldn't read."

"What is all this stuff?" Ed asked gesturing to the books.

"Oh, well it's mostly old journals and the like. Nearly all of the writings here are from first point of view and tend to be rather skewed so they aren't good for much research. Some relate the greatest achievements of wizarding kind though. The foundation of Hogwarts, the formation of the First Council, the Gate-"

"THE GATE!" Ed whirled away from the books back to the ghost. "What about the Gate?"

"You know about the Gate?" Alexander looked surprised. "Most wizards don't. The rest think its rubbish and unimportant since they can't use it."

"Look, Mr. Ravenclaw-"

"Alex, please."

"Whatever. I need to go to the other side of the gate."

Alexander stared at Edward. "That's impossible. No one has ever moved from one side of the gate to the other."

"I'M FROM THE OTHER SIDE!"

"Really! This is extraordinary. I've been here since Hogwarts was built, I was the first librarian, and I've never heard of such a thing! Next think you know someone will survive the Avada Kedavra spell."

Ed blinked. "When was the last time you were out?"

"Not for about a century. A Hufflepuff got rather annoyed at me and managed to bind me in this room until someone opened the door."

"Right. You go gossip with the other ghosts and get caught up. I'm going to start digging." Ed rolled up his sleeves.

"I would suggest repairing the books first if you don't want them to crumble," Alex warned then floated through the ceiling.

It was a long task. Ed had found the room early in the morning and hadn't finished repairing them until after lunch. (Delivered by Winky who chided Ed about leaving his study without getting something to eat. What would Master Edward do without Winky?) Finally he looked at the huge pile with slight feeling of despair. Where should he even start?

"This one would be the best. It's the diary of one of the core wizards who worked on the Gate project." Ed stared up at Alexander unaware the ghost had returned. "Well I was a librarian and I was stuck with these books for several years." Ed nodded his thanks, grabbed the book and headed to his study. The book wasn't exactly encoded; it was however written in very old English. It took Ed a bit to figure out exactly how the language had shifted. By then it was after supper.

The Dark Path has claimed another life. Today we have confirmation on the "Were-Wolf" curse. Damm them! They continue to only serve their own ends not caring about the side effects! If only we could take from them their greatest source of power then perhaps we could stop them from coming up with these dreadful transformations of human flesh. Already they have created vampires and now they have begun a race of wizards that transform into a mindless wolf like creature on the full moon! However, as long as man retains its mortality we cannot win.

Great news! Lord Hyuffle has come up with a solution to the problem. While death energy will undoubtedly still exist, if we sent it else where those of the Dark Path wouldn't be able to use it. At the moment we are looking at sending it to another dimension. However, we must be careful. If we open a door it might swing both ways. We must create some way to keep them from reaching the energy of that world as well!

We have made progress. The basic plans for the 'gate' are set. It will gather death energy and twist it into a new form. We have already made precautions to allow only energy through the gate. We are looking at tying in energy from that world into the gate as well. Should we be successful then Dark Wizards will only be able to use energy they manage to 'harvest' before it goes to the gate meaning they will have to do it in person rather than simply drawing of the energy of natural deaths.

Ed placed the book down mind whirling. There was quite a bit more in the rest of the book: exact incantations, potions, and spells used to form the gate. But these bits and pieces scattered amongst them provided the most important information.

When his father had revealed Alchemy's power source he had felt as if the world had fallen out from under him. He valued human life on a level few did. He hated to kill anyone, even the homunculus. How could the alchemy he loved be taking lives of innocents? Maybe he should have expected it. The Philosopher's Stone was created by human sacrifices; the stone was only a battery after all.

But now he understood. When alchemist drew power through the gate they created a void allowing more energy to flow through. If alchemy hadn't existed the wizards' efforts to cut of dark wizards power would have been for nothing.

Ed pulled out his notebook and quickly started analyzing the spells in front of him. He might just be able to leave soon.

End Chapter 5