Chapter 4

"He's lost the use of his right hand. Permanently."

Harry was speechless. He hadn't known, hadn't intended to do permanent damage.

Ron was in shock. "Snape'll kill you, Harry. He'll have you expelled or thrown into Azkaban or something. You lamed a fellow student, permanently, irreparably. Snape's going to absolutely kill you."

Hermione spoke. "Ron, shut up. I'm sure that Professor Snape, however irritated he may be, will understand and will see that Harry reacted to the best of his abilities in defense of another." Harry barely caught the faint "I hope," under her breath.

"I'm sure we'll get through it, guys. Besides, I hear Malfoy's ambidextrous. It'll all turn out for the best, I'm sure." Harry was trying to be positive. It worked a little, and the three set out for the castle.

In the weeks following, Malfoy was heard of very little, heard from even less, and Alchemy progressed fairly smoothly in his absence. The class was now performing simple transmutations, stuff like transmuting twigs and charcoal into pencils, and fixing small objects. One day, Goyle was found in the back of class, talking with Pansy Parkinson, who it was reputed had a crush on Malfoy, and they were drawing a small but complex transmutation circle. Onto it they'd placed two cages, one containing a rat and the other a garter snake. Ed was attracted by the noise of Pansy telling Gregory to be quiet and watch what he drew. "What are you two doing back there?" When he saw, his face was twisted into a harsh scowl, and he spoke again. "First, you will not be trying to use alchemy in that way in my class; you both lose twenty points apiece. Second, where did you find the design for that circle? Third, you are both utter rookies, and I'll not sit by and watch you two torment those two animals, so you two had better let 'em go. NOW."

Pansy and Goyle let the rat and the snake loose out the window, and Pansy turned to the very back of her book. "Here, Professor, there's a chapter about creating chimeras. We just thought-"

"No, you didn't think. That's the problem. I will tolerate no chimera creation in my class, and I doubt if you two could control it eve-"

Pansy cut him off. "But the Sewing-Life-"

"Thirty points! Never mention that bastard around me! And don't cut me off. In fact, you both get to help me clean up after class today. Now sit down, shut up, and don't ever try that again."

Hermione lifted her hand. "Um, Professor, why aren't we supposed to mention the name of the author of our textbooks? He is a gifted alchemist and a colleague of yours."

Ed sighed, and scowled. "I suppose you should know. But while I tell you, I want all of you to pile up your texts in that corner. Got it? Good. I suppose I should start at the beginning. When a person is accepted as a State Alchemist, they receive a second name, used to describe their specialty or something about them. My commander, Colonel Roy Mustang, for example, controls fire; in fact, he does what I did in my duel with Malfoy. Those were his gloves I was wearing. He's called the Flame Alchemist. Now Shau Tucker's specialty was creating chimeras, combining different creatures to create alchemic attack dogs, in essence. He was called the Sewing-Life Alchemist. He's most famous for creating-"

"For creating a chimera that could speak in a human tongue!" Hermione burst out.

"Yes, Hermione. That. Now let me finish. That chimera was what passed him in the State Alchemist Certification Exams. It died an hour later, having spoken one word. 'Why.' When I was getting ready to take the exams, I boarded with him. Him and his daughter. The night I passed the exams he created another talking chimera. He alchemically fused his dog Alexander and his own daughter! The bastard did it so well that to try and separate them would've killed them. The reaction to fuse two beings into a chimera is horrifically painful, enough to drive a man insane. Imagine the effect it had on a five year-old girl! She was found an hour or so later. Someone had tried to use alchemy to separate them. It resulted in her death. She was little more than a bloody smear on the wall of the alley where she was found. Never, ever, mention that bastard Tucker around me. Understand?"

The class was silent. In fact, Pansy and Goyle both looked rather ill. Ed had a feeling that they wouldn't go near chimera-making again. "Okay, class, I need a volunteer for a special project. From now on, we will no longer be using the textbooks. Thus, I need a volunteer to dispose of them. Any volunteers?" Ron raised his hand, and Ed looked at him. Ron was shaking. "Okay, Ron. Give it a whirl."

Ron got up, and walked to where the books were stacked in the corner. He knelt down, drew a transmutation circle on the floor, and tried a transmutation. He didn't transmute the books, but made a pedestal out of the stone. Ron was now shaking visibly, and tears were running down his face. He let out a howl, "THAT MONSTER!" and clapped his hands, performing a transmutation. When the blinding light faded, there stood atop the pedestal a beautiful wooden statue of a little girl, looking so real that it looked like she was sealed in the wood mid-laugh. Ron was on his knees, sobbing, and Ed and Al were agape.

Al was the first to speak. "You performed alchemy without a circle. I thought only Ed could..."

"Al, it seems we have a prodigy. Fifty points to Gryffindor, and Ron, I must say I'm impressed. You just put yourself on a level separate from the rest of the class. You are all dismissed. Ron, stay a while. I need to talk with you."

The class filed out, some talking about the story, some about the statue, but most about Ron and his transmutation. Ron himself, he sat on the floor and gazed at the statue he'd created. "Sir, I knew her. The Tuckers used to live next door to us, and Mum would watch Nina. How could he do that to his own...?" He trailed off.

"He's insane. He's spent his life after that trying to bring her back to life. He hasn't succeeded."

"Ed, how did I...?"

"The transmutation? It was your emotions. Strong emotions, like your sorrow, can negate the need for a transmutation circle. I remember the first time I ever did a circleless reaction. I was panicking because I was snowed in at a friend of mine's house, he'd left, and his wife was in labor. Don't laugh; I was honestly scared out of my mind, and I ended up heating a pot of water without a circle."

Ron took a lump of charcoal, and a stick, and laid them side by side. He clapped, and slammed his hand down on the table. No results. He tried again and again, and got the same lack of results.

"Visualize the circle in your mind, and let your emotions loose. Channel your emotion into your hands, and try again."

Ron took a deep breath, and saw the circle in his mind. He focused, and tried again. There was brilliant flash, and there on the table lay a pencil.

"There. You see? Now go and practice. Tomorrow's a big day. Very big."

Ron walked out into the hall, and from his bag took a faded photograph. It was of a little girl, barely two, and a puppy, and a smiling man in glasses and a rumpled shirt. They waved, and a tear rolled down his cheek. "Why would a man do such a thing, commit such an atrocity? Why?"