Chapter 1 - Nightmares
August 27th
The air was frigid like ice and fear filled every crevice of the nursery. His body couldn't stop trembling as he felt the impending doom lurk ever so lightly towards him. He wanted to scream, to run. He wanted to be anywhere but where he was right now. This was it. He was going to die. Then in a flash everything went green. A blinding light, but he couldn't look away as he heard the deafening scream of a woman.
Ed's eyes flung open, and he tried to bring himself back to reality. He kept staring at the ceiling above. His forehead was dripping in sweat as he breathed in heavily. Another nightmare had plagued his dreams. He slowly sat up and pulled his sheets off his body to let the absence of his blanket cool him down. He looked out his window and saw that it was barely dawn. Most likely he was the first one up. He looked to the clock on his wall and saw that the time read 5:49 am. The thought of curling up in his bed and sleeping for another hour or two was tempting, but his dream had left him a bit shook up and he knew that even if he tried he wouldn't be getting anymore sleep. So he begrudgingly pulled himself out of his bed.
He made his way over to the window first and opened it up to let in the cool fresh morning air. He took in a deep breath to let his senses clear up a little, then turned back to face his room. It was dimly lit by the barely peeking sun. It was enough light to see the layout, but not enough to find the details in the furniture. It wasn't a big room, in fact it was quite small. His room mostly consisted of his twin bed, a nightstand, his dresser and a medium sized chest in the corner that was filled with his school supplies and other assortments of junk he decided was important enough to keep.
Parallel to his bed was a cot where his little brother Alphonse was currently sleeping. He seemed so peaceful as his chest rose with each breath he took. Ed was sure that he was having better dreams than him.
He made his way over to his dresser to get a change of clothes. He then quietly made his way out of his room, and crept down the hall so as not to wake anyone else. At the end of the hall was a small bathroom. One good reason for waking up before everyone else is that he got the bathroom all to himself without having someone banging on the door wanting him to hurry up.
He turned on the water and stepped into the shower. After a second he stepped into the cascading water and let the warmth envelope him. He closed his eyes and thought back to his nightmare.
It was the same one he's been having ever since he was little. It was always the same. He would feel horrifying fear and then he would see a flash of green and hear the horrid scream of his mother as she died. He had asked his dad about it when he was little, but it had made him extremely uncomfortable. So he had refrained for asking him again. It wasn't until he was 9 that his dad had told him the truth about the nature of his mother's death. It had definitely explained a lot. Why everywhere he went people would treat him like royalty, why he had that lightning shaped scar on his forehead and why he would have those horrible nightmares all the time. It was unnerving, seeing as those dreams where the only memories he had of his mother. He wished he could remember something else about her, anything else. That way he wouldn't be so uncomfortable thinking about her. His dad would tell him stories of her, about how wonderful she was. Those were the kind of memories he wished he could dream of.
He turned the water off, stepped out of the shower and got dressed. He toweled of his hair then used the towel to wipe of the steam that had stuck to the mirror. He used a brushed to untangle his hair, then braided it back so that it was out of the way. He made his way out of the bathroom and down the stairs into the kitchen. The clock in the kitchen now read 6:30, and the sun had begun to rise higher on the horizon, making the kitchen lighter and a little warmer. He quickly got himself a glass of juice and settled on the couch in the living room. The main floor wasn't too impressive either. It was a small living room with two love seats and an old worn out recliner that his dad would always sit in. It lead directly into the kitchen where the staircase to the second floor was. In the living room the front door faced the north while the backdoor faced southward.
Edward sat on the couch and drank his juice, enjoying the growing light of the morning sun shining through the bay window behind the loveseat he sat in. Just a few minutes had passed before he heard heavy footsteps descend the staircase. His head turned back to the kitchen as he saw his dad appear. His dad looked up and furrowed his brow in confusion.
"You're up early." He simply stated as he raised his brow and slightly smiled. Ed knew that he could tell his dad about his dream and he would feel comfortable talking to him about it, but he didn't want his dad to worry and thought it best to just put on a fake smile.
"You're one to talk," Ed began with a smirk, "You're the one who always sleeps in till nine." Henry just laughed.
"I'm up to make breakfast, or have you already forgotten." Ed then suddenly remembered that it was Al's birthday today. His little brother was turning 11 years old. It was always a tradition of theirs that whenever it was Ed or Al's birthday their dad would get up early to make breakfast especially for them.
"Right, no I didn't forget." Ed started, feeling a little embarrassed. "I've just had a lot on my mind." Ed finished in a whispered tone so that his dad didn't here.
"Well," Henry started, bringing Ed's attention back to him. "Would you like to help me get started?" Ed smiled as he pushed himself off the couch.
"Sure...Why not?" Henry and Edward spent the rest of the morning cooking up breakfast and setting the table. They had just finished around 7:00am when they heard small slow footsteps make their way down the stairs. The two quickly turned around to see a tired Alphonse make his way down the stairs, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he went.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Ed and Henry shouted out as they spread out their arms to show Al the beautiful morning feast they had prepared. Al jumped at the sudden loud noise. He looked over to where his dad and his brother were standing with huge smiles plastered on their face. Even though Al was still quite tired from just waking up he put on a huge grin as he remembered his birthday. He ran over and gave his dad and brother a big hug.
"Thanks guys!" He said as he squeezed them a little tighter before letting them go. Henry chuckled as he rested the palm of his hand on Al's head.
"Happy birthday son." Henry smiled. Al looked over to the food on the table.
"Wow, it all looks amazing!" He started. He then turned back to look at his family. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's dig in!" Al then turned back to grab himself a plate, before his dad stopped him.
"Hold on. Aren't you forgetting about someone?" Henry asked, as he folded his arms and raised his brow. Ed tried to conceal a chuckle as he looked over to his little brother who had completely deflated. The excitement he had shown just a second ago was now replaced with a look of complete disappointment. Alphonse looked down at the floor, trying very hard to avoid eye contact with his dad.
"Alphonse." His dad said in a very stern tone, but Al continued to stare at the floor.
"It's early, I'm sure she would rather sleep in." Al said, trying to come up with an excuse. Ed was struggling to keep the knowing smirk off his face.
"Alphonse, you are not taking a single bite of this meal until she is down here with us." Henry stated as he started down his then softened his expression and gave a slight smile.
"Why don't you go wake her up and then we can all eat together." Al sighed as he knew there was no point in arguing with him.
"Fine." He mumbled as he dragged himself back up the stairs. Al walked down the hall and stopped at the second door to the right. He paused for a moment not wanting to actually go in, but the hungry grumblings of his stomach forced his hand. He knocked on the door and waited for a reply, but none came. He knocked again.
"May, are you awake?!" He called out, hoping not to have to go into the room himself, but once again there was nothing but silence. He sighed as he reached for the doorknob and opened the door. He looked around the room and his eyes landed on the twin sized bed by the window. He saw the small girl wrapped up in the green covers, sleeping peacefully. He made his way over to the bed, noticing the features of her face. Her ivory skin was offset by her red lips and jet black hair that gently fell over her cheeks. If Alphonse didn't know her like he did, he would have thought she was incredibly cute. Unfortunately for him, that was only when she was sleeping. He reached out his hand and gently shook her.
"May." He started, trying to wake her, "May, wake up...MAY!" May jolted at the loud noise, and Al quickly stepped back. He noticed that she was wearing her pink silk pajamas, not surprising though. May looked around the room, a little disoriented, until her tired eyes found the young blonde boy standing by her bed.
"What are you doing in here?" She frowned, clearly not appreciating the rude wake up call. Al shoved his hands in his pocket and looked at the adjacent wall.
"I'm hungry, and my dad said I couldn't eat until you came down." He said enthusiastically. May looked over to the clock on the wall. She wanted to be mad at him for waking her up, but she noticed that it was time to get up anyways. She sighed as she threw the blanket off of herself and stood up.
"Fine, let's go!" She said as she quickly made her way past him and out the door. Al took a deep breath to calm himself, not wanting the frustration to show. He then followed her downstairs.
"Good morning May." Henry smiled, as the girl came marching down the stairs.
"Morning." She replied. She took a look around the kitchen before she realized why Henry wanted them all to have breakfast together. It was Al's birthday today. She didn't care too much though as she silently took a seat at the table, right next to Edward who was happily sipping on his juice. Al then came back down the stairs to join the rest of the family. He was about to sit on Ed's other side, but his dad beat him to it, forcing him to plant himself right next to May.
Despite the tension between Al and May, They all enjoyed the amazing food that Henry and Edward had prepared. As they talked Ed began to push his earlier thoughts of his nightmare to the back of his mind. It was Al's big day and he wasn't going to put a damper on it by being moody and depressing, though he couldn't say the same thing for May as he watched her stir her tea and take a sip. The girl was never happy it seemed. The only time he has seen her genuinely smile, was while she was reading a book.
After they had all eaten, Henry left and came back with a large narrow box that had been wrapped. Henry smiled as he placed the present down on the floor in front of Al.
"Happy birthday, son." Al immediately went to unwrap it, and grinned like a mad man when he pulled out his brand new broomstick.
"Is that a Cleansweep Seven?" Ed asked, taking a closer look at the broom.
"Sure is," Henry began, "And it's brand new, never been used." Henry felt a swell of pride in his chest as he saw the delighted look of his son. Nothing could ever compare to that feeling he got when he made his boys smile. Even if it cost him more money than he had. Al jumped up and attacked his dad with the biggest hug he could muster.
"Thanks dad! This is perfect!" Al then turned to his brother, "Let's go get the quidditch stuff and go out and test it!"
"Okay." Ed simply said as he followed his ecstatic brother upstairs. The boys grabbed what they needed and quickly made their way outside. It was beautiful out there, with nothing but fields and fields of grass stretching out as far as the eye can see. About ¾ of a mile behind the house was a dense forest and a small river that lead to a small lake that the boys would swim in during the summers. There was only one other house near them and it belonged to the rockbell family. It was a small house, smaller than theirs even. Although it was only occupied by two people. Winry, and her grandmother. They were nice people, granny would sometimes come over and give them some extra food she had made, or to just have a drink with their dad. Winry was a very sweet girl, but she mostly kept to herself.
"Here, you can use my old one." Al said as he handed Ed the broom. It wasn't anything special, but it worked. Ed didn't really mind anyways. He had never been very interested in quidditch. It was fun to watch, but he wasn't very good at playing it. That had always been Alphonse. He loved the game. Whenever he had the chance he would go out and practice as much as he could, and he was pretty damn good at it. Their dad always bragged about how Al was going to be the star of the quidditch team when he went to hogwarts. While Ed would be stuck in the library reading every single book he could get his hands on.
So Ed wasn't the biggest fan of the game, but he always liked playing with Al. They ended up playing the entire morning. Ed was starting to get tired, but Al looked like he could go on forever. He continued to zoom around on his new broomstick, having the time of his life. After a while though, Ed had to stop him from fear of passing out. If he didn't get something to drink soon he was going fall off his own broomstick. Al looked back at his out of breath, red faced brother and blushed in embarrassment. He hadn't meant to tire him out so much.
"Sorry." Al apologized, rubbing the back of his head, "I guess I got a little carried away." The two quickly made their way back to the ground. Ed went directly inside to get a drink while Al began putting away all of the equipment that they used.
As Al was putting away his pads, he heard a muffled sneeze across the yard. He looked up and found a young blonde girl digging around in the garden outside.
"Hey Winry!" Al called out as he waved to her. The girl quickly looked up to see the boy, but then immediately turned her attention back to pruning the flowers in the garden. Al's smile fell slightly at the bashful girl.
"What's up with her?" Al turned around to see Edward had come back out with a glass of water, but unfortunately he had brought an unwelcomed visitor.
"Why is she here?" Al whispered to Ed.
"She followed me out," He whispered back, "What was I supposed to do? Lock her in the house?" May ignored to boys as she continued to stare at Winry.
"I mean every summer I come over here and she's so distant." May then looked back at the boys, "I think you guys make her uncomfortable."
"Oh so it's our fault. Surprise surprise." Al mumbled under his breath. May glared at him for a second, not appreciating his retort, before continuing.
"I'm just saying, that girl is the most antisocial person I've ever met."
"Okay so she's a little shy." Ed started, trying to defend the girl.
"It's more than that I think."
"I think you're just overanalyzing it like you always do." Alphonse cut in. "Not everyone is as…" Al paused for a second, trying to choose his words carefully. "Outspoken...as you." He finished with the biggest fake smile he could muster. May ignored Al once again as she took a look at the quidditch equipment he had put away. She bent down and picked up Al's new broom and looked it up and down.
"I'll never understand how you can take so much joy out of such a ridiculous game." She stated, continuously examining the broom. Al frowned at the girl.
"Oh course you wouldn't understand." He began, "You wouldn't know how to have fun if they wrote an entire step by step guide to it." May furrowed her brow and gripped the broom a little harder in her hands.
"I know how to have fun!" She exclaimed. Ed couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he imagined May riding on a broomstick, playing quidditch. May immediately turned her attention to him.
"What's so funny?!" Ed instantly stopped laughing and stayed silent, hoping she would ignore him and turn her attention back to his little brother. Which, thankfully, she did. He continued to stand there watching the two argue back and forth. It's always been this way around those two. He knew Alphonse to be a very sweet and sensitive guy, but for some reason, May was the one person who could really tip him over the edge. At times it seemed the two couldn't stand each other. Although he could definitely understand why.
Ed and Al's parents, and May's parents made an arrangement before the two were even born. May comes from a family of muggles, so her family isn't very well versed in the wizarding world. They don't exactly have very good standings in it, although they were incredibly rich. They had more money than they knew what to do with. Henry and Trisha had absolutely no money, they were incredibly poor and always struggled to get by, but they came from a long line of successful wizarding families.
So when Trisha found out that she was going to have another boy and Yuli found out she was going to have a little girl, they decided to make a merger. In other words, Alphonse and May were engaged before they were even born. The Changs would get standings in the wizarding world, and the Elrics would get the money they so desperately needed. Title for money. So every summer May would either go stay with the Elrics or Alphonse would go stay with the Changs. Their parents hoped that this time would help them develope a friendship that could turn into something more later in life. Unfortunately all the two seem to want to do is bicker and stay as far away from each other as they possibly can. Alphonse and May both hated the fact that they had been stripped of their freedom to choose who they would marry, and that anger manifested itself in the form of resentment towards each other.
"Whether you like it or not, doesn't change the fact that it's the greatest game to ever exist!" Al began, "And once I get to Hogwarts I'm going to be the star of the quidditch team!" May rolled her eyes as she placed the bottom of the broom on the ground and leaned against it..
"You'll be a first year student Al, no first years have ever made them team."
"Well, Then I'll be the first." Al boasted with a smile, just the thought of finally going to hogwarts gave him goosebumps.
"I can't tell if you're ambitious or stupid." May retorted. Al's smile faded as he turned back to the smug girl.
"You just think you're so much better than everyone else, don't you?"
"Oh I don't think, I know." She smiled with the same smug look on her face. She then turned away and looked up to the sky as if she was thinking things over in her head. "I'll bet I get placed into Ravenclaw." She then turned her head slightly to look back at Al, "And I'll bet you get placed into Gryffindor or Slytherin. I bet you'll fit right in with those big headed morons."
"Hey!" Ed interjected. "I'm a Gryffindor." May turned her attention back to Ed and gave a cocky smirk.
"Exactly." She then tossed the broom back to Al who caught it with both hands. "Face it Al," She began as she started walking away. "No matter how much you dream, no matter how much you try, you will always just be second best." She then completely turned her back and began walking back to the house. Al's entire face went red as he watched her leave.
"Can you believe her?!" He exclaimed as he continued to watch her until she had entered the house. "I swear that girl never has anything nice to say to anyone!"
"Except herself." Ed chuckled. Al turned his head back to his brother, clearly not amused.
"Oh, you think this is funny huh?" He started, "How would you feel if you had to spend every summer with an arrogant, spoiled, controlling nightmare!?" Ed rolled his eyes as he listened to his brother rant about how horrible his fiancee is. He wasn't particularly fond of May either, and there were several times where she drove him just as crazy, but he always felt like Alphonse exaggerated how terrible she was. Probably because he was the one who had to marry the girl. Maybe Ed would agree with him more if he was stuck with her.
"Not to mention I can't even sleep in my own room when she comes!" Al continued, "And now that I'm going to Hogwarts I'm never going to sleep in my own room ever again! It's like she's taking over my life, but it's not temporary! I'm going to have to live with this for the rest of my life!"
"Don't you think you're overreacting a little bit?" Ed asked calmly, not wanting to upset him even further. "I mean it's not like you absolutely have to marry her."
"Oh okay, so I'll just ignore the wishes of our dead mother, that's great!" Al exclaimed sarcastically. He new that he did have a choice. If he really didn't want to marry the girl he knew he didn't have to, but with how poor his dad was and the fact that his mother had really wanted it to work out, he felt an increased obligation to go through with it, no matter how much he may dislike it. If it was any other girl maybe he wouldn't have minded so much, but no, it had to be the most spoiled ungrateful brat he had ever met.
Ed didn't really know what to say after that, and he just ended up saying nothing. He spent the rest of the day trying to cheer Al up and trying to give him the best birthday ever. By the end of the day Al had completely forgotten about the petty morning squabble he and May had had, and was able to enjoy the rest of his special day.
Later that night Ed sat in their now shared room trying to fall asleep. He looked over to Alphonse and saw that he was completely passed out. Despite waking up with a feeling of anxiety from his nightmare, he quickly changed his mood as he spent the whole day having fun with his little brother. He couldn't believe he was 11 now. It would be his first year at Hogwarts soon and he was looking forward to spending the next school year with him. He just hoped that his nightmares would eventually fade away with time. He would prefer not to spend the year feeling anxious and depressed all the time.
He shut his eyes and prayed for sweet dreams to fill his thoughts, but he was never that lucky. Once again he would wake up earlier than everyone else in a cold sweat, feeling like his past would never let him go.