Drums of War

Chapter One

What Happens Now

Central

Fuhrer's Mansion

Private Apartment

Edward sat patiently with Yuery and William as they were busy reading their books. Yuery, as usual, was reading another volume of theoretical alchemy, at five he reminded both of his parents entirely too much of Edward sometimes. William, as usual, was reading a book about animals. Will was three and a half now, and had shown no interest in attempting alchemy, though he enjoyed watching his brother and father. Fifteen-month-old Maes had no interest in the books his brothers were reading, instead he played happily at his father's feet with Franklin the Great.

Edward was trying to ignore anything outside of his sons today. They had been hitting nothing but dead ends on his research with Snape, and he felt like if he was forced to sit through one more meeting today his brain would explode. It wasn't that he didn't care about the state of the country; it was that he was tired after a long week of listening to budgets and arguments over supplies. It was important, vital to the country. He still needed a break.

When his adoptive father had tricked him into taking the title of Lt. Fuhrer, he had no idea how incredibly dull it would be. Roy had made it to the top as he had always planned and dragged Edward and Riza up to share the spotlight, when Yuery was still a baby, just a bit older than Maes was now. Ed didn't want to dwell on it however, not that he could help it.

Almost as if summoned by the thought, Roy came into the room and dropped tiredly into an empty chair next to William. He sighed heavily and rubbed the boy's head, ruffling his hair. Will whined for him to stop without looking up from his book, and Yuery deftly ducked his head as Roy reached to ruffle his as well. "How was work?" Edward asked, while smoothing Will's hair back into place.

"This country is going to kill me." Roy replied with a groan. "I don't need to put myself on trial, they're going to bury me alive in a mountain of paperwork."

"And being the gracious father you are, you decided to drag me down with you." Edward replied with an eyeroll. He had no sympathy to his Dad's plight, his own mountain of paperwork awaiting him in the office downstairs. "Is Ji Mu doing alright?"

"She's fine. The doctor said everything is going well." Roy replied. "The new baby will be here some time next week, if the doctor predicted correctly."

"Do we trust the doctor to predict correctly?" Ed asked. "What does Ji Mu think? She's more likely to be right."

"Not everyone is Winry, Ed." Roy said with a sigh. "And just because she correctly predicted when Maes would come doesn't mean she'll always be right about it."

"I trust her to know her body better than some random person who only sees her once a month." Ed replied stubbornly. "You'll see. When the new baby comes, she'll know when they are coming." Winry's second pregnancy had three months remaining.

"Regardless, Riza agrees with her doctor. Who she trusts, because she doesn't have a pathological need to argue with anyone remotely considered an authority of anything."

"That sounds like you may have a personal issue there Dad. Perhaps you should talk to someone about it."

"Daddy, Yeye. I finished the array." Yuery interrupted while holding up his paper. He had long learned that when his father and grandfather were arguing like that it was okay to interrupt. They weren't being serious, it was just grown-up playing, like when he teased William.

"Let's see it then." Yeye Roy said as he took the paper, before frowning at Daddy. "What in the world are you letting this boy read?"

"He was kidnapped a year ago, he has people watching him constantly, and we all know what happened when he was three months. Forgive me for wanting him to know how to defend himself." Ed returned with a frown as he grabbed the paper to look over the array. It was a simple defense array, it wouldn't harm whoever it was used against, instead trapping them in stone. Ed had used it himself hundreds of times over the years.

"He's just a little boy Ed, what are the chances he's going to need something like this?" Roy asked with a tired sigh.

"What are the chances he needed to know how to make a doorway?" Ed countered. "Good job Yuery. This is perfect."

They sat for awhile longer, before Ed announced study time was over for the day and shooed the elder two children to go play with their toys. Yuery and William rushed off to the sitting room to play with their trainset, Maes toddling after them carrying a couple of blocks. Ed could clearly see all three boys from where he was sitting, but they could speak quietly and not be overheard by the boys.

"We hit another dead end in the research this morning." Ed said quietly. "Severus said he was returning to England for awhile to look into something. He brought up me considering Lupin again."

"Perhaps you should. If he were willing to take the same vow, then we should be able to trust him correct?" Roy asked. Snape had been trying to talk Ed into talking to Lupin for a couple of months, and Roy had slowly warmed to the idea after thinking about it. Edward on the other hand did not want more wizards involved than necessary.

"I'll consider it." Edward said with a sigh. Roy nodded; this was an improvement. "I worry Dad, that when Dante burned her house, she took the answers with her."

"She can't have had the only answers Ed. Someone somewhere had to have written about this. We just have to find it."

"Maybe I'm going about it wrong. We know that Yuery's was broken on Promised Day. If we could just figure out a way to replicate that on a tiny scale, we might have the answer- "

"No."

"But- "

"No, Edward. No. You will not now or ever dabble in soul alchemy again. All that comes from it is pain." Roy said angrily.

"What if we can't find another answer Dad. What if there isn't another answer?" Ed said.

"There is another answer. There has to be. With everything that was written, there had to have been a better solution."

"Dad, you and I both know it doesn't work like that. It's never that easy." Ed said. "And you're not that optimistic so stop pretending to be."

"I'm not letting you go down this path Ed. I won't watch you half kill yourself again."

"Luckily, I'm an adult and it isn't up to you." Ed said with a frown. "I'm not going to risk my life, I wouldn't do that to Winry, or the kids, or you, or Al. But I have to find a way to help my son. Tell me you wouldn't do the same."

"Of course, I would! I want what's best for all of you. You know damn well I've spent just as much time as you looking for an answer Edward." Roy said with a sigh. "Alphonse is in Xing right now, looking up what he can find. Snape returned to England to do the same. You aren't alone in this, stop acting like you are. Everyone here cares about what happens."

"I didn't say that no one cares. I would never suggest that. I'm simply stating that if there is such a thing as Soul expert, it would be me and Al. So, it's unfair to forbid us at least looking into it."

"Let's agree to disagree and drop it for today. We're just going in circles at this point." Roy said as their wives came into the private suite.

Riza was very clearly pregnant, with roughly a week until her due date. Edward and Alphonse were both excited when Roy and Riza had announced the pregnancy. They were both looking forward to their new brother or sister. Alphonse had planned his trip to Xing, to be sure to return to Amestris before the baby was due, so he and Mei would arrive tomorrow. Mei had wanted to spend a few weeks with her own family, which Al agreed was important too, before the officially moved to Xerxes full time.

Riza and Winry could tell, as soon as they came into the room, that their husbands had been arguing about something. Since the primary argument for the last month had been soul alchemy, they assumed that once again the two of them were arguing about, especially as they had sent the boys to play on the far side of the room.

"Okay, then. How about we do not worry about alchemy until after this baby comes. Can we agree to that?" Riza said. She worded it like a question, but both her husband and her stepson knew better than to think it was anything other than an order. Both grumbled their agreement, as Winry laughed at their pouting.

London England

Leaky Cauldron

Private Sitting Room

Severus had arranged to meet Narcissa when he had last spoken to her a few weeks ago at Draco's birthday party. She seemed to be very distraught though she had hidden it well at the time. He doubted anyone else had really noticed, perhaps her husband had, but over the last few years Lucius had grown rather cold, so it was hard to say if he had noticed something was wrong with his wife.

Severus had been waiting for less than ten minutes when Narcissa slipped into the room. Silently, he poured her a cup of tea and waited for her to settle, before he spoke. "I've known you half our lives at this point Cissy. I know when something is wrong."

"I nearly forfeited my life, and possibly that of my son. For nothing." She said in reply.

Severus stared blankly for a moment blinking slowly. He wasn't certain what he had expected, but it wasn't that. "Start at the beginning, I'm afraid I am completely lost."

"Last year, a little less. I met with Dumbledore to discuss Draco's future at Hogwarts. I slipped into the bag of galleons a request for Dumbledore to help me get my son away from all of this. I never received a response. Lucius…Lucius I believe knows that I attempted to escape. He has never been overly affectionate, but since my meeting he has been cold, sometimes cruel. The worst part is it is not just me. He ignores Draco most of the time, which is a blessing, because when he notices my boy, he has nothing kind to say."

"Cissy." Severus begins, then sighs. "Narcissa, you should have come to me. Never ask Dumbledore for anything, it will only end in pain. Give me three weeks. Can you be safe that long?"

"Of course. I've kept us safe this long. It will be fine." Narcissa said, before changing the subject. "What are you working on anyway that keeps you so far from home all of the time?"

"I can't speak of it." Severus said. It was already pushing the envelope saying this much with as many layered vows he had on him. He hoped he could find a safe place for her and Draco quickly. If Lucius was truly going over the deep end, he needed to get his friend and godson away as soon as possible. Then once they were safe, he needed to find out why Albus had ignored her plead for help. The bumbling fool at least usually pretended he was going to help.

"Narcissa. Have you ever seen any dark books of forbidden magic in your libraries at the manor?" Severus asked. Hoping to find something on horcruxes had been one of the reasons he had wanted this meeting, but he felt bad for asking after her confession.

"I…Lucius doesn't like me to go into the library. He keeps his business paperwork in there. I haven't seen anything when I was allowed in, but that was before Draco was born."

"It's alright, I hadn't thought you would have such things. I know that the Ministry had bothered you with a few house inspections since the war ended." Severus said reassuringly.

"You could check Knockturn Alley. If anyone has what you're looking for, it would be them." She suggested as she finished her tea and set down the cup. "I should be going. I left Draco in with the tutor, but I promised to only be out for a short time."

"That's fine have a good day. Keep safe, I'll come as soon as I can arrange things." Severus said as they both stood and hugged briefly, the last part whispered just in case someone was listening in this close to the door.

After he saw her safely on her way, Severus turned to head toward the passage that allowed access to Diagon Alley. He still had research to do, and he needed to be quick about it so that he was back in time to watch over the werewolf when the moon turned. He had three days. He stared at Gringotts for a moment once he entered, wondering to himself if the answers he sought were available somewhere deep in the vaults. It didn't matter however, since he couldn't enter a vault that belonged to others.

Finally, he turned to Knockturn Alley. He had legitimate enough reasons to visit the shops around here. He needed potion supplies, and some were only available down here. He still felt like he was sneaking around was worth it. He would be here for a few hours; it would act as a nice cover for his earlier meeting as well. It wouldn't do for anyone to get wind of the meeting.

He had entered the second bookstore down the alley, in search of any obscure mention of horcruxes, when he ran into the groundskeeper, Hagrid. He had no issue with the man, Hagrid had always been nice enough to him, even if he did seem a bit dim. Snape wasn't in the mood to socialize, however, as Hagrid waved wildly knocking over a stack of books, he realized this served as yet another alibi.

He rushed over to help pick up the books as Hagrid apologized and the shopkeeper glared, to pacify the shopkeeper, or so he loudly claimed, Snape bought the stack of books, titles unread. Hagrid thanked him profusely, even as Snape shoved the bag into his small purse that he had charmed. Snape waved off the apology. "Don't worry about it Rubeus. That man's a git. I'll just donate the books to the library and Dumbledore will reimburse me. Now, why were you waving me down to begin with?"

"We ain't seen ya much this year, I was starting to think ya'd gone and quit on us, but Dumbledore said you had personal business best not asked about." Hagrid said loudly, before dropping his voice to a whisper. "I assume you're on Order business. Dumbledore said if I ran into you today to tell you he needs a moment of your time."

"I see. Thank you, Hagrid. I'll go see him straight away and get my accounts settled. I'll see you later." Snape said before heading back to the pub to Flue to Hogwarts. It had worked out well, he had found to books that had looked promising. They had gotten mixed into the stack of books he'd made a show of buying, so no one would be the wiser of his true intent. Meanwhile, he would be able to check in with the school and extend his leave. He still didn't trust leaving the werewolf around this many children and with the school officially opening soon, this was his first true test.

Snape and Lupin's house

Amestris

Remus Lupin had spent the morning packing. He would be officially moving to Xerxes at the end of the week and needed to have everything ready by then. He still had no idea what Severus was going to do once he had moved.

When Remus had been hired, they saw no reason to continue staying in a safe house that was bound to be discovered with the two of them living in it for so long and had rented a house on the edge of town. Now though, Severus would have to find a reason to explain why he was still living in Central should he stay in the house. Remus had asked Severus about it a few times over the last couple of weeks, but Severus had waved away his concerns every time.

Remus supposed Severus must have a plan, though he had no hope of figuring it out. They had been roommates for the last year, reluctantly, and in that time, they had made some progress in resolving the tension caused by their days in school together, however they were far from being friends, or anything like it. In the end, it really wasn't any of his business.

They'd discussed, at great length, what James and Sirius had done in school. They had discussed, in turn, the behavior of Nott and Malfoy. In the end, the only thing they both agreed on was that it was time to stop judging each other on the friends they kept in school. After all, Sirius and Nott had both ended up in prison. James and Peter were dead. Malfoy, for all his faults, was still a bully but had been quiet the last couple of years. Neither of them was responsible for the actions of their friends.

This particular conclusion had come to them while they were snowed in last winter. Likely, had they not been forced into each other's company like this they would never have gotten this far in working it out. Which would have been a shame. Remus also knew what Severus had never said, would never say. Severus had been in love with Lily as long as Remus had known him. When she chose James over him, Severus was hurt, and his already antagonistic relationship with James and Sirius had grown worse. Remus had been in the crossfire, only by association. It was well past time to let it go, they were no longer children.

Remus was still musing when Severus arrived through the flue network. Remus smiled tiredly, the moon would be full tonight, and asked how Severus' shopping trip had gone. Severus muttered something about nosey roommates and disappeared into his bedroom. Remus shrugged it off, before taking yet another bite.

Severus, meanwhile, set his purse carefully in the top drawer of his dresser until he decided this was the only safe place to keep it. Even when Remus took a turn at laundry, he always just left it in a basket at the end of the bed. Speaking of which, there was currently a basket sitting there waiting for Severus to put away himself.

He was going to be patient; he was not opening those books until his reluctant roommate started his new post. Until them, he would just worry about the situation at hand. He drew out the potion needed and walked back out to the kitchen. Remus was stirring something on the stove, as Severus walked into the room. Severus set the mug on the counter without a word and then leaned on the opposite counter with his arms crossed across his chest until Remus picked it up and drank it as quickly as possible before shuddering in revulsion.

"I made up enough for you for the next lunar cycle. After that, I'll have to make some more. Luckily, I was able to visit the shops today." Severus said with a sigh as he uncrossed his arms. "Dumbledore said to be careful, of course. He expects a report by the end of the quarter."

"When do you head back to England?" Remus asked after a nod.

"I don't. Not yet at any rate. I'll be staying right here until we are certain you are safe. At least one semester."

"Who is teaching your classes while you're busy out here?" Remus said, still refusing to mention the curse he had suffered from most of his life.

"Dumbledore finished last year himself. This year he talked Slughorn out of retirement to act as a substitute."

"Oh. You'll have plenty of time then. Slughorn was a remarkable teacher."

"As am I. That's neither here nor there. I'll leave you to your dinner and packing. I have a long week to deal with, so I'm going out for the evening." He didn't wait for a response, already half out the door before he had finished speaking.

Remus shook his head and returned to his dinner. Surely Severus would eat something while he was out, but just in case Remus would set some aside for him to reheat and enjoy later. Severus, meanwhile, headed off as he wandered to where he had agreed to meet Edward and Roy this afternoon.

Dublith

Ten Months Ago

Severus Snape had spent the night unraveling the spells around the mansion that had been triggered by the fire. Every time he broke a spell, two more were triggered. It was just before dawn when he noticed the arrival of Edward Elric and his brother, along with a sickly-looking woman with braided black hair. Edward waited until Severus had lowered his wand before speaking. "We arrived as soon as we possibly could. Have you made any progress?"

"Very little, I am afraid. It will take time. At the moment, no one of magical decent can enter the property. This lady could, however, I am uncertain if she would know what to search for should we send her." Severus said with a sigh. In the week since they had heard about the fire, his hopes of recovering anything useful had diminished, but were not completely ruined. With the protection around the ruins, it was entirely possible something useful was still inside.

"This is Izumi Curtis, my alchemy teacher and Dante's student. She knows that house far better than either of us, if anyone could find something in there it would be her." Edward said with a frown.

"Very well." Severus "There is a library. It would be sealed, unable to access. Should anything inside have survived the blaze we would need to gather it, as it could hold the answers that we are seeking."

"I know which room you are looking for, is there anything else?" Izumi said with a frown.

"Anything that would indicate how or why the fire was started." Edward said. "Dad personally came down to look at the body, but he promised to stop by here when he was done to see what he can see in the ruins."

"I'm going to start again, please remain silent" Severus said as he raised his wand, and the brothers nodded.

Roy arrived about an hour later and frowned at his sons sitting under a tree watching Severus with Izumi nowhere in sight. Edward saw him, raised a hand to indicate Roy should stay where he was, and rose to join Roy far enough away that a low conversation would not interrupt the spell casting. "We can't go in, Al and Severus and me, until he can break all the spells. Teacher went ahead to see what she can find. I said we could send you on in to look at whatever you see when you arrived too."

"Mrs. Curtis was right to be concerned. That was not the body of her former teacher, it was a fake. Either there's still a real body somewhere in that building … or she faked her death." Roy said calmly. "I would lean to the second option, why else would she go through the trouble of creating a fake corpse."

"I suppose there's a small chance this was a kidnapping, but it is unlikely given the evidence we are seeing at this point." Severus said from behind them, indicating he had heard the conversation despite the comment on Edward's involvement.

Before they could further consider what, it could mean, the answer came via Izumi. She walked toward them, with a different from. "I'm fairly certain that whatever you might find in there is going to be nothing more exciting than a normal housefire." Izumi said as she sat next to the boys, and Severus paused to join them. "I spent my training in that mansion, not to mention my recovery. I've been all over that building, I know where the unlockable doors were, I know every inch of that building with my eyes closed. The library is gone."

"Perhaps something inside survived if we were to shift through the ash?" Al suggested it.

"No, you misunderstood me Alphonse. The library is gone. It's been scooped out perfecting, as if the gate took an entire room." Izumi said.

"No, not the Gate. Magic." Edward replied.