"Brother, look look!" Al cheered and pushed the other blond and attempted to awaken him, "The owl came back!"

Blearily, Ed groped around and grabbed Alphonse, "5 more min-" he then proceeded to try and sway Al by pulling him towards the bed too.

"Brother!" Al complained and lightly hit his brother with the parchment. "Mr. Dumbledore replied."

"Dumb-" Ed weakly responded, ". . .bwa! Who has 'dumb' as a surname?!" his choked laughter turned into a fit of giggles.

"Dumb-bul-door!" Al stressed then pulled both Ed's arms so he was upright. "He says he'll see you at lunch!"

"Bah! I would've just liked for it to be a dream. . ." Ed grumbled but complied and got out of his position on the bed. He changed his clothes and tied his hair into a messy braid. Alphonse watched as his brother tied his hair back into a braid.

"Are you going to keep it long this time?" Al curiously remarked- thinking back to the days where Ed would cut his hair off bit by bit.

"If I feel like it, " was the only response that Al got in return. Alphonse pouted but then sighed. His brother acted like such a brat sometimes! Ed wandered into their bathroom and started to scrub at his teeth.

"Ugh, fine Brother. Granny is waiting downstairs, " Al tugged and pulled Ed down the stairs after he finally finished brushing his teeth.

"Tut, tut, tut, " Pinako disapprovingly clucked her tongue, " You're a growing child Ed, you're already 11! If you don't get proper nutrients, you will be the shortest in your year!"

Ed growled but then flopped onto his seat, "I thought you actually cared. " He pulled the bowl toward himself and started to devour the stew.

"I would if you would properly drink your milk, " Pinako calmly responded while pouring Al his stew. Al thanked her and started to eat in the same manner his brother had.

"I forgot to ask earlier but what is the owl's name?" Al asked in between slurps and gesturing to the brown owl that was also drinking from its bowl.

"Misty."

"What a nice name. . .Misty, " Al breathed the name and carefully rubbed the owl using his thumb. The owl have a delighted hoot and leaned toward Alphonse's touch.

"Ed, would you please roll up your pants? I want to see your left leg, " Winry commanded after walking into the kitchen. Ed grumbled but lifted his pants to show her the gleaming metal. Winry carefully poked the metal and took some measurements while observing the screws.

"Good! Its perfectly fine and in working order too!" Ed grunted again in response to Winry's findings and continued to eat.

"Are you excited Brother?" Al cheerfully inquired while holding the owl carefully. After they had finished breakfast, Ed and Al both settled by the door- waiting for Dumbledore.

"Meh, I don't really care that much really. . ."

"Brother, why did Winry want to check your automail?" Ed grumbled and muttered a reply that Alphonse didn't quite catch because of the quiet volume. He scrunched his body onto himself and kept his eyes glued to the script of a book. After a few minutes of Al's frantic cries, he responded again, ". . .she wanted to see if I grew and need adjustments. . ." he buried his head into the book even more.

Al was originally worried but after hearing Ed's response, he burst out in laughter. "Y-you didn't grow? Not a single centimeter?" He continued to laugh and quickly got Misty out of the way when Ed launched himself onto Al. They continued to wrestle until there was a POP sound that stopped them. Ed took the chance and flipped Al over and pulled his arm back.

"Yes! I win!"

"Cheater!"

The old man that appeared was very amused. His eyes twinkled and he coughed to get their attention, "Hello, I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore and I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I take it that you are the one who requested to confirm the validity of magic?" Ed nodded his head stubbornly. "Let's see. . .What would suffice. . .Ah! This is simple, lumos. " The man held out a stick that glowed at its tip. Both boys widened their eyes. "Is this enough?" Al broke out of the shock first.

"T-that was magic?"

"Yes, indeed, " Dumbledore nodded his head in confirmation. "Accio parchment, " the parchment that Misty had delivered flew over to where Dumbledore was standing and he caught it.

"How does it work?" Ed asked with voice laced with wonder, "I-I mean. . .the laws. . ."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, "Law? My, my dear boy, magic is not bound by certain rules. "

Ed shook his head furiously, "That's impossible though! To be able to do something like that without rule. . ."

Dumbledore smiled grimly and then turned the parchment into a small model of a person, "Wizards and Witches are humans that possess the ability to do magic. They are born with enough magical energy inside them and as for a rule? I think it would suffice to say that the only rule that stands is that you must have that magical energy inside you."

"So. . .not everybody can do this magic right?" Al asked hesitantly. If it required certain powers at birth then there was some difference with Alchemy already. And there was no rule. . . But. . .He watched as Dumbledore changed the model into a parchment- it just seemed too. . . easy.

"Yes, only those born with magical talent. Your mother, Trisha Elric was an amazing witch. Too bad we missed her earlier children."

"Her earlier children?" Ed and Al chorused in confusion.

"Yes, we sent a letter 5-6 years ago with no response. Guess your two older siblings weren't interested."

Both brothers looked at each other and they both nodded their head in agreement. Ed turned to Dumbledore. "We are those 2 children. " He ignored Dumbledore's confused look and continued, "6 years ago, I was someplace else in a. . . situation. 5 years ago- for my brother I assume- he would have no way to receive it. It is possible that someone intervened. " Maybe Wrath kept it away from us. . .

Dumbledore frowned. What the two were saying made sense but the fact that they looked 11 and 10 didn't make any sense to him. "Did any of you take an aging potion then?"

Ed gave him a disgusted look. "What the- No, we didn't. We were in a. . .predicament that led to us being in this form. And before you ask about my mom, she isn't here anymore."

Dumbledore looked crestfallen. "She was such an amazing girl too. Would've asked her to teach a class, such pity. "

Ed coughed loudly, "Anyways, if I were to decide on this school, where can I get information or the stuff that I need?" Noticing Dumbledore's objection, he cut him off, "I want to get as much information as I can right away. "

Dumbledore looked resigned to agree, "Then come, hold on to my robes. Alphonse Elric, would you like to come as well?" Al nodded and both of them grabbed his cloak and with a POP they Apparated to Diagon Alley. Al looked around in amazement and wonder after he got over the wave of nausea while Ed continued to grab his head in dizziness.

"Let's go to the bookstore first." Dumbledore directed the two boys to Flourish and Blotts and were amazed to see the 2 boys zip into the bookstore and start pulling books off shelves.

"So many Brother!" Al commented after looking at the sheer number amount of books. Ed agreed but drooped after realizing that they had no money.

"Crap, " Ed swore, "Do we have any money here?"

Dumbledore carelessly waved his hand, "I will pay for you since you are the son of Trisha Elric and she was a very good student so I have high hopes for you as well. Hate to let money hinder you in your advancement towards magic. " Ed looked at him suspiciously as he pulled books off the shelves. "These will be the most basic books you need for the year. Would you like anymore?" Ed looked back at the shelves and pulled two more and handed them to Dumbledore. "Ah, 'Daily Magical Spells for Magical Outcomes!' and 'Alchemy; The Dying Art?'" Ed nodded and Dumbledore went ahead to pay.

The rest of the shopping went pretty quickly- a little bit of fussing over robe measurements- and then they finally reached the wand shop. Ed entered the clean and tidy shop and left it in a wreck. He ended up getting Phoenix feathers, 12 ¾ inches and Pliable. The kind old man- Ollivander- said that it was good for transfiguration- like he knew what that was!

"That's an interesting wand Edward, " Dumbledore commented while Ed grunted in response and pocketed his wand. If he knew what mess he had inside, he wouldn't say that. "Last shop, pet shop. What would you like?"

"I think I will just keep Misty. No use in getting another one, "Ed grumbled and Al immediately agreed.

"Your mother's owl? It is an interesting one for sure, it was given to her as a gift if I remember correctly, " Dumbledore mused. He ushered the boys into the shop and showed them the owl treats. He let Alphonse and Edward choose which one they thought were better for the owl.

After that, Dumbledore Apparated them back to Pinako's shop.

"Well then, I'll see you guys when school starts."