Chapter Six
As class began, Harry looked around the room. Everyone was looking very gloomy, and the members of the Quidditch team were all giving him dirty looks at all opportunities. Ed came into the room, and Al behind him. Al had played a small role in the class up until then, mostly doing after-period tutoring while Ed handled the mountains of paperwork that seemed to be stock-in-trade for both the military and teaching both. Harry also noticed Madame Pomfrey, the nurse, sitting along the back wall. Harry wondered what brought her down from the Infirmary.
Ed came to the front of the class. "Today, class, we will be doing a little applied alchemy work. As you know, before I came here to teach, I was a State Alchemist in my homeland. I held, and still hold, the rank of Major. Alchemy can be used for many things; it's a very versatile science. Nearly anything is possible, if you take a care to always follow Equivalent Exchange. Militarily, alchemy can be used both to attack, and to heal. For example, I need a volunteer. Preferably someone who has no qualms about injury."
Nobody raised their hands. Finally Harry was about to when one of his teammates, Angelina Spinnet, walked the front. "I'll do it, Professor."
"Thank you. And will everyone please quit calling Professor or Sir? I prefer Ed, thanks. Now, back to business. Angelina, I'm going to ask one more time before I do this, Are you want to do this? You will get hurt, and it will be very painful."
"I'll do it, Ed. Do your worst."
"You asked for it." Ed clapped his hands, and slammed them to the floor. A piece of stone liquefied, and wrapped around Angelina's left leg. As the class looked on, the Slytherins in rapt approval, the liquid stone forcibly contracted. The whole class heard the snaps like a pair of pistol shots, and Angelina's Agonized scream. "Madame Pomfrey, an anesthetic, please. And a spell so the class can see the damage I just did." As Madame Pomfrey said the spells, the class looked on in mixed horror and amusement. "Class, I have just demonstrated the use of alchemy for attack. I liquefied the floor, and wrapped it around her leg. That in itself would hinder an opponent. But when it contracted, I broke her leg in four places, at the ankle, the tibia, the fibula, and the femur. Now, I will set the leg using alchemy, and offer Miss Spinnet my apologies for inflicting this pain upon her." He clapped, and barely grazed Angelina's leg. The class watched in amazement as the bones slid back into place, and when the reaction was done, it looked as though the leg had never seen a break. "I'm sorry to put you through this, Angie. Apology accepted?"
"No worries, Man. My family shrink says I display masochistic tendencies; that some chemical imbalance in my brain makes pain feel like pleasure. It felt great! You just made my day, Ed. You need to break my leg more often. But yeah, apology accepted."
"Okay, ladies and gents, that is your lesson, so here's your homework. I want you to pair off, and take turns using alchemy to attack your partner. Then once you're all black and blue and wheezing, you'll doctor each other up. Just a few rules. Don't inflict mortal injury. I don't want any cadavers. That's next week. Second, if I, Al, or Poppy tell you to do something, you will do it without any question. By letting you hurt each other, and leaving the degree of damage in your hands, I'm already taking a huge risk. Third, if your partner says to stop, do it. You can hurt them, but not torture them. Poppy, as the one with the most medical experience, I leave triage entirely in your hands. You're in charge of the medical part. I just teach alchemy. Ready, steady, go!"
The class swiftly paired up, and in mere seconds the room was engulfed in light, and noises from moans to shouted expletives were heard. Ron and Hermione were partners. Ron could tell Hermione was having a bad day. It showed, and in five minutes, He was on the ground. This wasn't his day. She had the floor liquefy and bind him to the ground, and she was now using a pair of wooden hammers made from a desk and a chair to, somewhat half-heartedly, but unfortunately not painlessly, beat him about the shins and chest. Ron managed to wriggle one hand free, clap it to his other, and Hermione now held two handfuls of toothpicks. He freed himself, and with a look of utter sorrow on his face performed the coup de gras. Hermione never saw it coming. He called Madame Pomfrey over and she walked him through what Hermione's injuries were, and He put her right. It was little more than a slight bump on the noggin. He, on the other hand, had severe contusions all about his body, a cracked hip bone, a dislocated shoulder, and two broken ribs. He'd never felt any; the adrenaline from the fight must've blocked it out. Hermione apologized as she mended his ribs and relocated his shoulder. Ed graded them, and they sat down to watch the rest of the class.
Harry was paired with Neville Longbottom, whose transmutation managed to leave little more than a slight tingling all over his right arm. Harry slapped him across the shins with a liquid brick, and they called it quits. Harry was drawn to Malfoy's duel with Fred Weasley. Malfoy had donned a pair of black falconer's gauntlets, perhaps as protection from his enemy's attacks. Then Harry saw Malfoy clap, and apparently do alchemy without a circle! From the stone floor arose a wicked-looking sword, and before anyone could see, Fred was on the floor, unable to stand, and Malfoy was crouched behind him. Fred tried several times to regain his feet, but could never make it. Malfoy clapped again, and Fred was hurled into the wall by a huge blast of wind. He lay against it, stunned, but still pretty coherent. Malfoy walked over, lay the blade on Fred's shoulder, up against the neck, and said to him, "Do you yield, Weasley? Do you yield to a superior swordsman, and a superior alchemist?" What he got was a bloody wad of phlegm in his eye. He roared in indignation, and was about to do a great ill to Fred when Al stopped him. "What do you want!"
"You've done enough. Now you have to doctor him."
"He can doctor his own damn self. I wash my hands of it." He turned to walk off. "Wait, I correct myself." Malfoy whirled with lightning speed and thrust, burying the sword in the wall. Fred was now sporting a deep gash on crook of his shoulder and neck, bleeding heavily. "Now I wash my hands of it." He turned and left the classroom.
Hermione rushed over to Fred, as did Ron and the rest of the class. Fred was very much unconcious, and upon examination by Hermione and Madame Pomfrey, it was revealed the extent of his injuries. Malfoy had slashed both Achilles tendons in Fred's ankles, rendering him unable to stand. The blast of air and the impact of the wall had broken several ribs, his collarbone, and one arm. The gash had nicked the artery, but wasn't fatal. He'd live. Ed released him to the Infirmary, and class was dismissed.
Hermione walked over to where the sword Malfoy had used was still protruding from the wall. She wrenched it out, and looked at it. At first glance it was a regular broadsword, but a funny pattern of light on the blade caught her eye. When she ran a testing thumb over the flat of the blade, it was very rough, and her thumb was scraped raw. The cutting edges had microscopic serrations in them, as well. Even a light, glancing blow would deal damage. She mentally applauded Malfoy's skill, then physically retched at the thought. She took the blade to Ed's office. "Ed, are you there?"
"Come in. I need to speak with you as well." She entered. Ed was at his desk. The alchemist pulled a bottle of Butterbeer out from beneath the desk. "Here, have a drink. Combat's thirsty work, ain't it?" He also went to a cabinet and pulled out a glass and a bottle. He noticed Hermione looking at it as he poured a glass for himself. "Want some? It's Jim Beam bourbon. Real smooth."
"No thanks. Oh, what I came to see you about. I have the sword Malfoy used today. He left it in the wall."
Ed came over to look at it. He picked it up, swung it in a few basic techniques, and looked hard at the blade. "It's a samehada blade, but I thought you only saw those back east, in around Lior and Ish-" He cut himself off. "The blade has microscopic scales on the flats, and microserrations on the cutting edges. The blade is literally like sharkskin. I'm impressed."
"What do you suppose we do with it?" Hermione asked, intrigued.
"I'll keep it. Perhaps Malfoy will want it back."
"You said you wanted to speak with me, also?"
"Yeah. I wanted to ask you if you would care to help me with a little work I need done. It'll count extra credit, and twenty points a day to Gryffindor if you do it. What do you say?"
"What kind of work?"
"Research, sling some spells, and work as my assistant out in the field. Al's good, but he has some issues with the outdoors, especially around moisture. Rheumatism, or some such."
"I'll do it. I have some free periods in the afternoon, if that's okay."
"Great. See you tomorrow. Oh, and could you send Ron down when he has a spare minute. I want to discuss a few minor details about his performance."
"Sure. Goodbye, Ed." Hermione left, a great deal on