Chapter 6: "Brother, lets transmute the tapestry!"
Ed and Al woke up very early in the morning. They're the first ones to get ready and down the kitchen. Ed and Al began brewing the coffee (the muggle way), and started to set up the table for breakfast. Ed and Al sat down while drinking their coffee. It was silent in the kitchen as they are the first ones to wake up.
"Brother," it was that broke the silence, "how long do you think we're going to stay here. Do you think Dumbledore will really find a way to get us back home with out the aide if the philosopher's stone?"
"I don't know how long we're going to be here Al," said Ed after considering Al's question, "but as for Dumbledore finding way for us home, I trust him. After all, his the most powerful wizard in the world. And very brilliant one at that. But until then, we'll just have to wait. Besides, he told us, once we get to Hogwarts we'll become students and will be able to use the library; therefore, we have something to look forward to."
"Your right brother," said Al with a smile, "I trust him too. Somehow I feel that he really is our grandfather."
"Hey Al," said Ed, "do you miss everyone back in Risempool? And I don't mean just Winry and Auntie Panako, but teacher and everyone else that we know and helped while we were in Amestris?"
"Yes brother, I do," said Al. A frown beginning to appear on his boyish face, "not a day gone by since we've been here that I don't think of them. They must be really worried about us, especially Winry."
Ed took a moment before speaking again. He didn't quite know how to ask his brother this question, but he knows he must. He needs to know.
"Hey Al," said Ed without looking at his brother. Ed didn't continue, he just froze. Not knowing what his brother might say scares him.
"Yes Ed," said Al worried.
"Al, d-do you hate me?"
"What," said Al in astonishment.
"Do you hate me," Ed repeated, "do you hate for everything that I've done. It was my fault that you lost your body before. It was my fault for bringing mom back to life. And my fault that we are here. If not for me, we would have been in Risempool still with auntie Panako and Winry."
"Brother," said Al to Ed while taking his brother's hand in his own, "I could never hate you, remember that. It was I that had the bad feeling and I should have acted upon it. I know we should never have done the forbidden alchemy of human transmutation. We learned from that experience that we are not God. And that the flow of life is consistent, that it could never be changed. Don't worry anymore brother. We have gained what we have lost and that's all that matters. We're together again, and as long as that remains, I'm happy, and you should be happy too."
Out side the kitchen door, Sirius listened as the two brothers talked. Having to hear what they have to say surprised him.
So that's why their are punished. They must have lost something big, thought Sirius knowing the consequence of tampering with human transmutation. He have read books about that field, about wizards trying to bring something back to life, and they ended up dead in the end. They did the forbidden. They crossed the path of God. Don't worry boys, your secret is safe with me. I won't speak any of this to anyone until you are ready. I just wish that you two are my sons. That way I could better comfort you.
After his self moment of thinking, Sirius gathered his wits and put on a huge smile on his face, ready to greet the two brothers. He doesn't want them finding out that his been listening on their conversations.
"Good morning Ed, Al. Did you two sleep well last night?" boomed Sirius in the kitchen like nothing has happened.
Ed and Al looked at Sirius with a smile on their faces too.
"Yes, we did," they answered in unison. "Would you like a cup of coffee Sirius," offered Al as Sirius joined them in the table.
"No thank you," said Sirius, "I'm not a coffee person. So you two ready to help out to clean the study room."
"You bet Sirius," said Ed with a hint of excitement. His been wanting to help around the house to practice his alchemy with Al. And since they couldn't step out side to practice, and that Mrs. Weasely insisted that she and her children have everything under control, Ed and Al felt extremely restless.
"You know I can't wait either," said Al, "I been wanting to do some alchemy without circles. Cleaning that room would be great practice."
Sirius is not at all surprised by the revelation that the two brothers are alchemist. The order of the phoenix has been thoroughly brief in that subject matter.
After a little more talking, Mrs.' Weasely walked in the kitchen, greeting the three as she began to prepare breakfast, and soon Mrs. Weasely, her children, Harry, Hermione, Ed, and Al. Could be found in the study room; preparing themselves for the doxy extermination.
"Dammit," voiced an irritated Ed while spraying magical pesticide at the doxy infestation, "this is not what I had in mind when I volunteered for this job!"
Mrs. Weasley looking over her shoulder at Ed said, "well dear, it may not be as fast as you wanted it to be, but at least its safe. I will not risk danger in here while I'm around."
"But Mrs. Weasley," said Al, "we promise that its going to be safe. We just wanted to practice a little bit. Please just give us five minutes and we'll have this room clean in no time."
"What do you mean five minutes," said Ron in bewilderment, "the other rooms took us at least three days before it was absolutely clean! There's no way you two can clean this room in five minutes."
Although the Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione had known the Elric brothers for a while now, none of them knows that the two are master alchemist.
"Oh, we have our ways of cleaning this place," said Ed as he sprayed a rather fat doxy right in the face and handing it to George, whom he noticed was collecting doxies for one of their experiments.
"Well whatever it is," said Hermione with her nose held high as she sprayed an old looking tapestry, "it must be dangerous and reckless if Mrs. Weasley doesn't want you using it."
At this statement both Ed and Al growled at her. After all, both brothers didn't devote, not to mention, risk their lives just to learn alchemy. They prided themselves for being well versed in the art. However, both brothers didn't bother to argue anymore as it is pointless. They just kept to their business and did what they were told.
After and hour of doxy genocide in the study room, all the tapestries are drench from the ceiling down. Not one inch of the room was spared from the spray. Al handed Fred, secretly of course, some doxy eggs that he was able to salvage from crookshank for one of the twins experiment jokes that they plan to sell in Hogwarts this year. By helping the twins gather some materials for their experiments, brother Ed and Al, are spared from an unsuspecting tests that the twins may plan in the future.
"Just got done feeding buckbeak," said Sirius as he entered the study, dumping a bloody bag full of rat heads on the sofa that he used to feed buckbeak with. "So you guys done killing the doxies here," asked Sirius while walking towards Harry as he noticed his godson staring at the Black Family Tree.
"Yeah," said Harry, "say Sirius, what is this thing?"
"This Harry," said Sirius with a hint of annoyance, "is my family tree. They sure are not my family, that much I can tell you."
"Your not here," said Harry as he inspected the tree.
"Well no, my dear old mum blasted me off the tree when I ran away. She said I was not a good of a son, just a traitor."
"You ran away," said Harry looking at Sirius.
"Yeah," said his godfather forlornly, "when I was sixteen. I crashed in to your father's place. Your grandparents didn't mind at all. They sort of adopted me."
"Why did you ran away," asked Harry in curiosity. At this moment Ed and Al joined them so they could inspect the tapestry as well.
"Come on Harry, haven't you seen enough of this house to know what kind of wizards my family were. They are dark wizards. But they never joined Voldemort, but they supported his idea though. It was my brother that joined his ranks first. Believe me, my parents couldn't be prouder that day when joined the death eaters. Got himself killed in the end though."
Sirius looked at the tree with contempt. He hated that tree with a passion. "I wish I could take this down, but knowing my mother, she probably put a permanent sticking charm on this."
At those words Ed and Al's ears perked up. Finally something that they could do to practice their crafts.
"If you want Sirius," said Ed with a smile on his face, " my brother and I will be more than happy to take this down for you!"
Sirius looked at both brothers as if they sprouted an extra arm on their head. "Well boys, if you really can take it down, that would be amazing."
Ed and Al looked at each other with an identical smile on their face.
"Brother," said Al, "can I do it? I promise you can have the next one."
"Ok. Al, lets see what you can do."
Al stepped in front of the tapestry. Closing his eyes he concentrated as he prepared himself to do alchemy. Everyone in the room is watching Al, to see if he can actually do it.
Allifted his hands up to his chest as if on prayer. Taking them apart, he then clapped his hands back together. He then touched the tapestry and began to take to elements apart a bright blue light illuminated the whole room. Al didn't need to do a complete transmutation, only a partial one. By stopping at step two, he completely decomposed the whole tapestry.
Everyone including Sirius, who could not believe what he had seen, looked at Al in amazement not believing what he had just done. Although Sirius had read about alchemists, he didn't fully understand how an alchemist practice their crafts.
Ed was smiling at his brother, a clear hint of pride showing. Al who looked rather shy about it just smiled and said not a word.
"That was amazing," said Hermione, "how were you able to do that? Can you teach me? Is there a book in Diagon Alley that I could buy to read about it..."
Hermione kept her barrage of questions to the two brothers. They, however, did not pay any attention to her.
"Do you think you boys can help me take down a few things later that my mom charmed," asked Sirius looking at the two brothers.
"Of course Sirius," said Ed, "I've been meaning to ask you if I could take that painting of your mother down. She's such a bitch!"
"Edward," it was Mrs. Weasley that spoke after hearing the foul word come out of Ed's mouth as she brought it lunch, "I don't want to hear talk like that again!"
It took another hour to clean out the shelves in the study. They had thrown away a lot of knick knacks that Sirius parents collected while they were alive. Al had found a very old looking necklace that he asked Sirius if he could keep.
That night when Ed and Al were in their rooms resting from a long day of labor, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the Twins stayed in the study after dinner to talk.
"I can't believe that they are alchemist," said Hermione.
"I know, I mean how could mum or dad not tell us about their abilities," added Ron.
"Well if they are a member of the order, Dumbledore would want to make sure that it stays a secret," spoke Ginny,
"But still, wouldn't it be great if they could teach us alchemy," piped in Fred.
"Yeah that be great. Think of all the pranks we could pull in school and not be suspected," chipped in George.
"Yeah, but most of all, with that kind of ability, we have something that Voldemort doesn't," finished Harry.
"Lets just hope that they really are on our side. Their story being Dumbledore's surrogate grandchildren is a bit doggy," said Ron.
"Well, until we can fully trust them, we'll just have to keep an eye out for them," Harry concluded.
But unbeknownst to them all, a hidden telephone receiver behind a tapestry, that Al transmuted simultaneously with the destruction of the family tree, is getting all their conversation, being heard in the brothers room. Ed and Al listened with broken hearts. This world, after living for at least two months now, have not fully accepted, nor trusted them yet.
Authors notes:
I am not too happy about this fic. but rest assured that it will be finished. I stopped rewritting everything in my computer for this fic. since everything got erased. I will be working on another fic that hopefully will spark my flames of muse. (Little hint their on what that fic might be). Until then do wait patiently.
