Chapter 1- Diagon Alley

Disclaimer – I don't own the characters. I don't even own the plot my friend does. I own nothing.

AN- I hope you all enjoy this story! My friend wrote it and I'm posting it for her. Please review so I can tell her what everyone thinks! Other Anime characters will also be included, but all main characters will be FMA.

Actual Author's Notes - For those who are curious, current main characters will be from FullMetal Alchemist, Inuyasha, and probably Naruto, Azumanga Daioh, and Fruit's Basket. And very likely other characters'll make an appearance. This is part of a little Pet Project I'm doing over Christmas Break to keep me occupied, so there will probably be other stories focusing on different characters. So enjoy! Or not.

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"Maple and phoenix feather, seven inches. Give it a try,"

This wand was soon discarded into the ever growing pile, joining about twenty others that just didn't seem to work. The customer, an eleven-year-old boy just about ready to start wizarding school, stood silently in the center of the shop as the owner dug out another wand. The boy fidgeted with his hands, wondering if maybe the letter had been sent to the wrong address, or there had been a mistake of some sort. Maybe he wasn't magical at all; maybe his mother would really have to find a normal muggle school for him this year, maybe--

"Willow, unicorn hair, ten inches," The shopkeeper handed the boy yet another wand, snatching it up just as soon as he realized that wasn't the correct type either. The boy looked down at his feet, not wanting to watch the wand be thrown in with the others.

"Don't worry, Al. Sometimes it just takes a while." The boy looked back to his older brother, who gave him a reassuring smile.

"Easy for you to say ..." he muttered, turning his grey eyes back to the shopkeeper, who had arrived with another wand.

"Alright, here's one. Beech-wood, dragon heartstring, twelve inches."

This one was once again thrown into the pile.

Alphonse wasn't sure just what would happen if he was to find out none of the wands worked for him. He had remembered the elation he had felt when he, too, had received the letter stating he was allowed into Hogwarts. His brother had received it only two years earlier, much to the surprise of their mother, a muggle woman who had only thought wizards lived in fairy tales. Then when he had returned for the summer, Al was amazed by the textbooks and spells his brother had returned with. He had been told that it was possible that he wouldn't be magical at all; that his brother was just lucky, but the letter that had come in the mail a week ago had reassured him that he could also learn how to turn people into toads. Now, among the pile of wands, Al was afraid he'd have to let his brother down.

The shopkeeper returned with another wand, one that looked to be somewhat dusty, as if it hadn't been tried in a while. This did not reassure Al's fears at all. That meant they were down to last resorts, right? "Alright. Mahogany, Unicorn hair, eleven inches."

The sandy-haired boy reached out to grab the wand, and immediately felt this one was special, better than the rest. He flicked it, as he had done with the others, almost expecting nothing to happen. But something did happen. Gold sparks shot out from the end of the wand, causing the tired shop-keepers face to light up. "This seems to be the one," he said, sounding quite relieved.

Alphonse's older brother paid the man in the strange wizard currency they used and grinned as he led his younger brother out.

"That took a lot longer than it did for me," he said, brandishing his own wand. "I only had to go through about five before I got this one. C'mon, we gotta meet Winry at Flourish and Blotts." Al nodded, overwhelmed as they stepped out onto Diagon Alley. There were so many people there ... He unconsciously kept a hand clasped on his brother's arm, not wishing to be lost in the sea of witches and wizards.

Al's older brother, Edward, was a third-year student at Hogwarts, though Al was already a bit taller than him. Or, he would be if Ed didn't insist on wearing elevator shoes. In his two years of being a part of the wizarding world, Ed had gained the top grades in most of his classes. He was a quick learner, much like he had been back in the muggle schools. He had been placed into Ravenclaw, and Al hoped he would follow suit. He had missed his brother the past 2 years he had been at school and was hoping he could make up for it

"OK, we're here. Lemee see the list." The older boy snatched Al's book list from his hands, scanning it thoroughly before saying, "They haven't changed anything this year. That means you can just use my old books." He paused, looking up from the list. "You're OK with that, right?" Al nodded. He was used to hand-me-downs by now; especially clothing that was just as small on him as it was on Ed. At least it wasn't necessary to wear books. "Good. That means we can save these," and at this Ed shook the small pouch of wizarding money, "for some nicer things." Unfortunately, due to the distraction of the money bag, he was soon hit in the back of the head with a text book titled "Modern Muggle Marvels." courtesy of a certain blonde-haired girl.

"What took you so long? I told you to meet me here at one o'clock, and it's nearly one fifteen now!" she demanded, picking up the large text book.

"Getting Al's wand took longer than expected," Ed mumbled, rubbing the back of his head with a sour expression.

"Hi, Winry," Alphonse said, smiling slightly. Throwing something at Edward's head was Winry's usual greeting. Both he and Ed had known the girl since childhood, as she lived just down the street, but it turned out she was magical as well. However, when she received the letter it wasn't as much of a surprise; her grandmother worked at the school as the nurse. They were the ones who had assisted Ed in his first year, helping him find school supplies and such. Edward didn't rely on their help any longer, but the two were still useful from time to time. "Where's your Grandmother?" he asked, noting the absence of the short old lady making fun of his "shrimpy" older brother.

"She's off ... somewhere. She didn't give me details. Probably getting some new medicine and stuff." Winry shrugged, then turned to Ed. "By the way, I have all of your school books. You owe me three galleons." She held out a hand, looking expectant. "So pay up." Edward, who looked none too happy about this, pulled out three of the gold coins and plopped them into Winry's hand, who traded him a large stack of books.

Thanks," Ed grumbled, not really know what else he could say.

"Now we have to look for Al's books, right?" Winry asked brightly.

"Well, actually, I'll be using Ed's books so we don't have to--"

"ED'S books? You mean the ones he scribbled on in the middle of class?" At this point, Ed seemed to have shrunk, if such a feat was possible. Winry gave him a withering glare. "Are they THOSE books, Ed?"

"It's OK, Winry. Really. I don't mind," Alphonse said, not wishing to see if Ed could achieve a negative height measurement. Winry turned back to Al, looking as if she were going to continue yelling, but instead she let out a soft sigh.

"If its fine with you. What else do we need to get?"

The rest of the school shopping had gone pretty well, and without much incident. Al had seen many other people who looked as if they were heading to Hogwarts, some looking just as lost and confused as he felt. Others seemed to be completely fine with all of this, thinking that walking down a street with sales on flying brooms and owls was perfectly normal. Winry seemed perfectly fine with the concept. Well, she would, seeing as how she had grown up as a witch, but even Ed seemed perfectly fine, greeting some people he must have known from school while passing the Quidditch' store.

Alphonse still wasn't sure what Quidditch was, though Ed had described it as "soccer for wizards". That didn't exactly help much. Despite getting many lectures about the sport, all Al could really figure was that it had something to do with flying brooms. Ed had eventually given up, saying he would learn about it at Hogwarts.

Al could hardly get to sleep that night, eager to go to his new school. He knew that school didn't start for another two weeks, but it didn't matter. His first sight of the wizarding world was an exciting one. When he finally did doze off, his dreams were full of flying around on brooms, and turning bullies into toads.

(o)

Alphonse stared at his train ticket incredulously, as if trying to pick up a hidden meaning. There must have been something wrong, why would anybody make a platform 'nine and three quarters'? It was ludicrous! Yet, it said the exact same thing on Ed's ticket, and he didn't look at all worried. Their mother wasn't around to help them out either; she had simply dropped them off at the train's station. Al didn't understand why she did this, but he supposed it might have been because she was a 'muggle', so she thought it best to stay out of magical affairs.

Still, though Al did trust his brother, he still saw no sight of platform 9 3/4. He clearly saw the sign that marked platform nine, and there was a sign just beyond that marked station ten, but there was nothing between them. He slowed down a bit, unconsciously wishing the number would suddenly materialize out of thin air.

"Al! Hurry up!" His older brother shouted, already quite a bit ahead of him. Al quickened his pace; hoping Edward knew what he was doing.

"Um... Ed?" Al asked upon catching up. "Where's the platform we're supposed to be on?"

And at Edward's reply, Alphonse began to seriously consider the fact that Winry had hit Ed one too many times.

"It's right here. You just need to run into the barrier."