Hey! Sorry that this chapter took longer than I expected; I said I was half done last chapter because I am bad at math. To be more accurate, I have chapter 13 about 10% done, as it comes out to about 10 pages untranslated and I've gotten one down. But I have been working to do at least a few paragraphs of translating every day, so hopefully they'll keep coming relatively regularly. Anyway, rambling aside, enjoy the chapter!

A few days after New Year's Eve, the five Hogwarts students prepared to travel by floo to the castle. Edward obviously had no luck with the wizarding means of transport as he sprawled out on Professor McGonagall's carpet, hardly holding back the urge to vomit on the beautiful carpet in the strict teacher's office. Pale and with his hand over his mouth, the young Ravenclaw left the room, muttering curses about wizarding means of transport. Behind him, his friends could hardly suppress a smile: Ed might have been such a genius rarely seen in a century, but he remained terribly human in these sort of cases.

As they reached the Great Hall, Luna arrived and handed Harry a piece of parchment noting his meeting with Professor Dumbledore was scheduled for tonight. Harry was happy, he was going to be able to find out more about Voldemort and maybe the mysterious ring as well. His good mood also increased when he saw the announcement that Apparition lessons were going to be given from February. The teen was sure the Circle would need it and he knew that although it was a difficult magical act, he had to master it at all costs.

When he came for dinner around seven, just before his class with Dumbledore, he found Edward in the midst of a fit of despair: he had just realized that he would need to know how to Apparate to be able to move magically. However, the blond's hatred for all forms of wizard transportation was likely to handicap him in learning to Apparate. The sight of Edward with his head in his hands and Luna trying to console him was very funny but unfortunately he couldn't linger any longer.

That evening Harry first told Dumbledore about Scrimgeour's visit to the Burrow. Apparently the Minister was no happier with Harry than with Dumbledore but the latter seemed indifferent to Scrimgeour's mood as he humorously pointed out. Harry wondered for a moment if he should reveal to Dumbledore that he had listened to the conversation between Snape and Malfoy but finally decided not to because the spy or, at worst, Mr. Weasley, had very certainly already reported to Dumbledore what they had heard from Harry.

Soon after they plunged both into the Pensieve to see the last memory of Morfin Gaunt before his departure to Azkaban for three murders he did not commit. Harry also saw that Riddle had also stolen Peverell's ring from poor Morfin before he was charged with his crimes.

The second memory was more interesting: it showed Tom Riddle and Slughorn, the former trying to question the latter about Horcruxes. But the memory was falsified and a thick fog covered what had happened. Unfortunately, Dumbledore himself admitted not being able to get hold of the true memory.

When Harry asked him how he planned to get the memory, Professor Dumbledore finally explained to Harry his real mission regarding the fat potions professor. He had to get hold of Slughorn's true memory and bring it back here so they could see what had actually happened. Harry accepted the task even though he felt he would need more than just charm to achieve it. Then he went to bed because it was already very late.

The next day he met Hermione, Ron and Edward in the Room of Requirement to discuss what Dumbledore had shown him. Ed had finally gotten over his little nervous breakdown and was ready to listen to him very carefully:

"So, if I'm understanding you, Slughorn gave Dumbledore a forged memory and that memory was about something called a Horcrux, right?"

"Yes... do you know what it is?" Harry asked hopefully.

"No, I have no idea," Edward said as if not knowing it was a personal affront.

"Neither do I." Hermione replied, shaking her head before adding, "But it must be some very old Dark magic or Voldemort wouldn't have asked the question."

"That's likely it and now I'm going to have to get myself Slughorn's real memory. If he didn't reveal it to Dumbledore, one of the most powerful wizards in the world, I don't see why he would reveal it to me."

"Maybe you could, I don't know, take advantage of your undeserved reputation in potions to try to find the answer," Hermione replied in a tone that revealed her displeasure.

"Hermione, now is not the time to be jealous of that stupid Half-Blood Prince. The most important thing is getting that damn real memory. And the best way to do that is for Harry to stay in Slughorn's good graces whether you like it or not." Edward said firmly.

"Well, too bad for you three. Today we're going to study Golpalott's Third Law, and I don't think your Half-Blood Prince had a shortcut for that!" Hermione stated.

"You mean the law that says that the antidote to a complex poison is equal to the sum of the antidotes of each of its components plus a last component which will allow these antidotes to be combined into one?" Edward asked enthusiastically much to Hermione's surprise. "It's practically alchemy. But on the other hand, it takes a solid knowledge of herbology, spells, potions and arithmancy to succeed with it."

"Indeed," Hermione said, addressing Ron and Harry, "and if the two of you just foolishly followed the Prince's book without trying to figure out the logic behind the preparation, then, unlike Ed, you've failed!"

"How are we going to do this?" Ron moaned. "I already hardly understood anything in Edward's explanation... "

"It's an alchemical concept that basically says that for every natural poison there is a counterpoison that also exists in nature. The trick is to know it. Except that to be able to allow all these counter-poisons to cooperate, we must add an element 'x' which will allow all those compounds to co-exist. This is the first time that I have found potions class so interesting!" Edward sighed in relief as he stretched.

Hermione decided to finally take pity on her two friends and showed them how to do Scarpin's Revelaspell which would allow them to discover the ingredients of their poison because, according to her, Slughorn would give them different poisons to avoid any cheating. When they got to the dungeons, she allowed Harry to sit between her and Edward so he could get the most out of their advice since he was the one who needed it most at the moment given his task.

After Professor Slughorn's explanation, to which Harry was for once particularly attentive, they each received their individual dose of poison. Harry began with the charm that Hermione and Edward had taught him just before class. Before his eyes, astonishingly, his potion began to decant into several doses of individual poisons which he hastened to put in vials in order to study them more effectively. He then began to leaf frantically through his potion book: the pink component seemed to be digitalis, the dark green one appeared to be hemlock, the grayish white could be from the death cap… He began to leaf through his copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and the Half-Blood Prince's book to find the antidote to each of these poisons, weighing them, and throwing them into his cauldron.

When Professor Slughorn walked past Harry, he nodded approvingly although he looked disappointed at how slow he was. Hermione and Edward kept glancing at him every now and then to make sure he was making progress. When the young Gryffindor was done, there were only two minutes left to find the additional element that would coordinate all of the other antidotes. No one around him seemed to have finished, not even Hermione. At that moment, Edward told him, frantically:

"All your poisons are alkaloids- vegetable poisons. There is only one beast that can eat them without risk. I'm sure you know which one! Go get this ingredient, I need phoenix tears, all my poisons are made from snake venom."

Harry rushed towards the cupboard, grabbed a unicorn horn - a magical animal that could eat all plant-based poisons without the slightest harm and whose horn had the property of purifying all contaminated water. He also grabbed the phoenix tears for Edward but knocked over a box of Bezoars in the process. Not having time to collect them all, he inadvertently kept one in his hand. He rushed over to Edward and Hermione's table and added his ingredient after handing out the phoenix tears to Ed. His potion then took on an auspicious silvery color, Edward's taking on a golden color. Seeing that he still had his bezoar, a funny curved stone, he put it next to Hermione, whispering "bezoar" at her. Hermione's eyes widened and she seemed torn between feeling like she was cheating and wanting to succeed. It was finally the latter that won because she threw the bezoar in her cauldron, the contents of which let out a beautiful silvery smoke.

The three friends received full marks for their accomplishment and for once Hermione didn't say a word about cheating, having a bitter taste in her mouth herself after taking the easy bezoar route. As Ron told her wisely, the main thing was that she got there, no matter how. Nonetheless, Hermione had decided to go back to the Room of Requirement to remake her antidote anyway, but to her surprise she couldn't enter, a sign that someone was already using the room for something else.

Meanwhile, Harry had tried to get the memories from Slughorn with no other result than pissing him off. Apparently, whatever memory he had to extort from Slughorn had led him to wariness of any hint of Riddle-like charms. So he categorically refused to tell Harry about it. Worse, he rescinded his little Slug Club invitations, which meant that the young Gryffindor was left with nothing but potions lessons. But as soon as they were over, Slughorn would go and lock himself in his office so as not to meet Harry, which was starting to annoy him. How could he try to convince him if the professor kept running away from him?!

As for researching Horcruxes, Hermione and Edward had gone through all the books in the library, including the restricted section, to find any clues on the subject. Unfortunately, even the worst books of black magic only referred to them as the vilest of all magical inventions. However Edward had found empty places right next to Magick Moste Evile, a sign, according to him, that the works that had been there were more than just talk...

However, time was running its course, classes continued to go on and already February had arrived. Professor Snape was tackling the realm of humans right now in alchemy class, which was of great interest to Edward who wondered if this world where magic reigned saw things the same way as his own universe. So he was very attentive to the course, scrupulously noting every word of the professor:

"When we talk about the human being, we are referring to the being made up of a body, a mind and a soul. Take one of those things away and what makes a man a living thing is gone. The body is the envelope that houses the soul, the principle of life and the person himself and the spirit connects the two in a perfect way, so that they coordinate perfectly. What seriously injures the body, mind or soul necessarily has a more or less long-term impact on the other two components of the living being. Thus, the use of an unforgivable spell is prohibited because they can have a lasting effect, even irreversible on the body, mind or soul. Alchemically, we can see that each of them concerns an aspect of the being: the Cruciartus mutilates the body and if administered for too long a period, irreversibly breaks the spirit; the Imperius violates the mind of the person, and the killing curse forces the soul to leave the body in a theoretically irreversible way."

The professor let silence hang in the room before resuming his speech:

"A soul is unique and can never be replaced. And now a solemn warning: even with magic or alchemy, it is impossible to resurrect someone under pain of losing soul, spirit or body. There is never a sacrifice large enough to balance such an exchange. Venturing on this path leads the alchemist or the sorcerer to the domain of the darkest and most obscure magics such as necromancy, a path from which it is difficult to return and which permanently damages the soul. If I catch even the slightest hint of any of you trying to do the impossible, you will be kicked out of this school immediately."

Edward bit his lip seriously, wondering what state his soul was in after all the experiences he had had while in Amestris. When he saw the Truth again, he would have to ask it. He raised his hand and asked:

"Is there any way to come back from such a path if we have already ventured there? "

The students were now looking at him suspiciously but Edward knew how to keep his expression neutral, as if asking the question out of intellectual curiosity. Professor Snape seemed to think for a long moment before he answered in a voice that seemed to express no apparent emotion:

"Perhaps by very deep regret and sincere repentance. In any case, that's what I let myself be told by a certain person."

Everyone wondered about this person wondering what sage Snape could have spoken to to get the answer, except Edward who had just realized that the professor was talking about him and their conversation they had after the test with Nicholas Flamel's scales. Obviously, Professor Snape had thought a lot about his words and the subject. However, Edward didn't let it show and remained unmoved when in reality his mind was in turmoil. Could it really be that by passing this ordeal, he had obtained the answer? But anyway, he had to continue his efforts and all the sacrifices he could make would not replace the years that Alphonse had lost after being dispossessed of his body, nor would they make up for the lives lost in the process on his way to the Truth. Regret and repentance only took effect if they were sincere and therefore followed by action. So the least he could do was make sure he didn't waste his life in vain.

When they left the classroom, Harry, Hermione and Edward began to discuss the very interesting class they had just attended. Hermione was among the most passionate about the subject and, quietly, asked Harry if he didn't think the Horcruxes might be related to necromancy, to which Harry replied that he was mostly wondering how Voldemort had been able to come back to life:

"When he was in the graveyard, I'm sure he must have still had a soul and probably a spirit and he was placed in some sort of body, like a miniature golem. But I wonder how it is that he did not die during the thirteen years he was without a body. If these Horcruxes are the reason, then I'm really curious as to what they are."

"Me too. You told me what happened and the strange potion he made. In my opinion, it wasn't a simple potion but a very precise ritual of alchemy and necromancy. Did you notice any runes inscribed on the cauldron, or some strange lines on the ground?" Edward asked.

"No, I was too busy being scared to death." Harry snapped back, unwilling to relive that memory.

"Sorry…" Edward whispered- he hadn't noticed his lack of tact… Without another word, he walked back to his common room.

The next day, the friends of the gang were reconciled again and they made their way to the Great Hall where the Apparition lessons were to take place. The enchantments preventing Apparition inside Hogwarts had been suspended for an hour to allow training. However, Edward and Harry were more concerned with Malfoy arguing with Crabbe over something the Slytherin henchman had to watch out for. Malfoy insisted on not revealing the reasons to his comrade but they couldn't hear more as Snape quickly separated them before the argument escalated and brought shame on his House.

Meanwhile, Twycross, the Apparition Instructor, explained to them the three Ds: Destination, Determination, Deliberation - the three essential steps to perform this magical act. Harry saw that Edward had seemed to take on a slight greenish complexion and wondered if his friend was really ready to Apparate… The first attempts at Apparition were unsuccessful. On the other hand, by the fourth they had two semi successes: Susan Bones and Edward Elric who had, for the first left her left leg behind and for the second, left his prosthesis and his right arm behind. Edward gave a cry of fear and Susan did the same. There were three big bangs as spells were hurriedly cast by the Heads of the Houses and when the plumes of purple smoke cleared, the two teenagers were whole again but completely traumatized. There was a loud sound as poor Edward vomited his guts out on the floor.

"Wizarding transportation really hates me," Ed whispered in a pitiful attempt at a joke.

"At least you managed to move. Twycross says all you need is the Deliberation. In my opinion, you just don't want to magically move so subconsciously you try to stay in place, which causes splinching." Hermione explained sententiously.

"In the meantime, go to the Room of Requirement," Harry ordered Neville, Edward, Ron and Hermione. As his friends hurried up to the seventh floor, Harry hurried up to his dormitory through the usual shortcuts and secret passages to pick up the Marauder's map. When he saw his Circle friends outside the Room of Requirement, he asked them:

"Why didn't you go in?"

"The room must be occupied," Ed replied, shrugging his shoulders as if it were a common toilet. "Anyway, we scared a little Slytherin before we tried to enter… I didn't think I was that scary. So, why did you want us to meet here?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the most comprehensive map of Hogwarts, created by the Marauders. With it, we'll find out where Malfoy is." Harry said confidently.

But after several minutes of inspecting the map with his six friends, they still found nothing; Malfoy seemed to have vanished from the castle.

"What if he used one of the secret passages leading to Hogsmeade? After all, Pettigrew must know them since he was one of the Marauders." Ron said intelligently.

"I don't think that's possible. I don't know if you've noticed, but the three secret passages Filch didn't know about are now being watched. I think Remus had to reveal their location."

"That's not fair!" Ron grumbled before being interrupted by Hermione who retorted that he had done this for the good of all of them.

"Anyway, from now on, I'll keep my eye on him…" Harry promised in a tone full of certainty.

However, after two weeks, the mystery of Malfoy's disappearance began to get more and more frustrating. At times, the Slytherin seemed to vanish as if he was no longer in the castle. This riddle annoyed the Boy-Who-Lived deeply, who wished he could find out what Malfoy was up to right now. They had reviewed their clues: they were pretty sure it had to do with some mysterious cupboard and that Malfoy was planning to kill someone but they still didn't know who. Suspiciously possible victims were numerous: Slughorn, Dumbledore…

Another thing that was proving frustrating were the Apparition lessons. Edward was the one who alone accounted for most of the splinching, more than all the other students combined. He was also the first who had managed to Apparate- unfortunately, not in his hoop but near the Great Hall door as if he wanted to run away from the lesson as soon as possible, which he probably did. Still, he was the one who swore the most about Twycross despite receiving the most compliments from him.

However, the Circle members did not spend all of their time spying on Malfoy: helped by Edward, they also learned Occlumency. The young Ravenclaw cast the Legilimens spell and his friends had to try to defend themselves: Harry had retained good reflexes from his lessons with him, Hermione was using the same defense as him of focusing on unnecessary information. Ron had devised a protection system centered around a giant chess game. Neville had, like many heirs to Pureblood families, received Occlumency lessons and his defense consisted of a hedge of carnivorous flowers. Luna's mind was the most difficult to read as it seemed to be written in a code. Ginny was the one who suffered the most from the after-effects of Riddle's Diary in her first year. His mind had been violated in such a merciless way that even Edward himself had been appalled. According to him, it was a miracle that Ginny had done so well and become such a strong young woman. So he was helping the redhead to rebuild barriers to protect her mind.

However, the teenagers used the Room of Requirement less and less because it seemed more and more often occupied. Harry and Edward often wondered with a smile if a couple from the Support Courses the previous year hadn't thought of using this room as a makeout spot.

On March 1st, Edward got up and while on his way to the Great Hall to have breakfast and found himself in front of a pretty comical spectacle: Ron under the influence of a love potion driving him mad with desire for Romilda Vane and Harry trying to persuade him to come to Slughorn's in order to get the antidote. Edward decided to join them so that maybe he could help Harry extort the memory from old Slughorn if they managed to get into his office. After all, Edward could boast that he had a few manipulative gifts and he might as well put them to good use.

The two teens soon found themselves outside the door to the large potions professor's office and knocked on his door. Slughorn opened the door and his two best students explained the situation to him while Ron played the role of the distraught lover very well, to the point that he even began to try using violence to enter, thinking that his "beloved" was in the room. The professor agreed to let them in and began to prepare an antidote for the Amortentia that had been administered to the unfortunate redhead.

When the latter had come to his senses, Professor Slughorn offered them a glass of fine liquor intended for Dumbledore for Christmas. The party had already passed; he would not know what he was missing. In any case, that's what Edward was thinking as he swallowed the contents of his glass at once, before Ron or Harry could even sip their drink.

Harry was watching Edward then, secretly marveling at his ability to drink without feeling the least bit embarrassed when he noticed, before everyone else, that something was wrong with the young Ravenclaw. His eyes rolled back, he was foaming at the mouth and he had turned very pale, his body shaking with spasms. Harry yelled at Professor Slughorn to do something, but the latter was paralyzed. The Gryffindor therefore took matters in hand and rushed towards the potion kit that had remained open and took out the bezoar and as quickly as possible, thrust it into Ed's throat. At that moment, after a horrible gurgling sound, Edward closed his eyes as his two friends screamed his name.

Ed opened his eyes: he was standing in front of his Gate and he wondered for a moment if he was dead. This would mean that he would have failed, both Alphonse and his friends from Amestris but also this world where magic reigned and to which he had ended up becoming attached. As if it had read his mind, the voice of Truth answered him:

"You are not dead. But you came close to it. If your friend hadn't found a bezoar, I would have been forced to send you to the afterlife."

Edward refrained from retorting wryly and instead carefully felt his throat. He now swore to himself not to drink alcohol anymore without taking basic precautions, namely to check if what he was offered was not poisoned… Maybe he should emulate that paranoid Auror and carry around a flask that he himself would fill with water. In the meantime, he decided to take advantage of this little interlude in the space between the worlds to ask questions of the Truth:

"Why did you send me to this world of magic?" From what I can see, they already have a 'hero' who is even the subject of a damn prophecy! And besides, why am I the object of a freakin' prophecy? I'm pretty useless and even complicating the situation by embedding myself in this world."

The Truth seemed to sigh but it nevertheless agreed to answer:

"It's true that at first glance, you don't belong in this world. They already have a 'savior' in fact, not that you believe in that, by the way." The odd Being added in an ironic tone before continuing: "But you see, I see time in the long run and in the long run, you are necessary, as the entire prophecy affirms. Your role is not so much that of a savior as a catalyst: you precipitate things and you change the course and time for this world to go in a better direction. But you will have a better explanation when you finish your task."

"Wait, you haven't really answered my questions!" Edward exclaimed indignantly.

But he already felt himself returning to his aching body and his mind collapsed in shock from the pain.

"I don't think Edward will have very fond memories of my birthday…" Ron muttered morosely.

"No, indeed, and I wouldn't hold it against him, if I were you…" Hermione pointed out. "I mean, he was poisoned with a deadly poison."

At this point, Hagrid walked into the hospital wing, his towering height filling the rest of the space around Edward's bed.

"A misfortune, a real misfortune what happened to little Ed!" A grumble came out of Edward's mouth but Edward lay unconscious much to everyone's disappointment. "And on top of that Dumbledore arguing with Snape…"

"About what?" Harry asked immediately, not giving Hagrid time to realize he had made a mistake.

"Nothing, nothing… I just heard Snape tell Dumbledore that he was a little too inclined to take him for granted but he, Snape, might not want to do it anymore…"

"Do what, spying?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"I don't know, but Dumbledore said he agreed and it was pretty hard on him… And he also talked about an investigation Snape was to conduct in his House. But that was the case for all the Heads." Hagrid said frantically.

"Do you think he was asking him to investigate Malfoy?" Ron asked in a low voice to Harry who nodded at his question, unwilling for Hagrid to know too much.

"Well, I must go back to the forest. Poor Aragog's condition has worsened. I have to go read to him."

Unconsciously, Edward's three friends crossed their fingers that Hagrid wouldn't ask them to come with him but that was obviously not his intention as he left, leaving large muddy tracks on the tile floor. Once he was gone, they wondered again about the attempted murder of which Edward had been the unfortunate victim:

"I'm not sure Edward was the one targeted. I think it was someone else, maybe even you, Harry." Ron said.

"No, I don't think so. You were out of it from that love potion, but from what I heard this was the bottle Slughorn was giving Dumbledore. So it was Dumbledore who was targeted from the start." Harry said.

"But it could be Slughorn as well," Hermione objected. "Anyone who knew him at all knew he would keep the bottle for himself."

"That's true. That memory is crucial to understanding how to wipe out Voldemort… I need to focus on how to get it from him… I was thinking of giving him a drink to lower his defenses but now I think he's going to become as paranoid as Moody. Not to mention that we still have to watch Malfoy who seems to want to assassinate Dumbledore or Slughorn…" Harry said with a frustrated sigh.

"Slughorn's memory should be the priority, Harry. Who knows what might happen if our last witness to Voldemort's deeds disappeared?" Hermione asked.

"But who knows what would happen if Dumbledore were to be murdered?!" Harry exclaimed.

"Dumbledore is able to fight on his own, Harry, but he himself has said that he needs your help to get the memory back because without you he won't be able to." Insisted the young witch.

"I personally think you have to do both," Edward's weak voice whispered from the bed. "Watching Malfoy to prevent him from killing other people by mistake and getting your hands on that damn memory. As soon as I'm better, we'll work out strategies for both, okay?"

"Ok, but above all, rest first. You really are in terrible shape." Hermione said like a mother hen, Mrs. Weasley style.

And Edward sank again into a restful sleep.