A/N-I now have access to PoA! Yay! Now I can get my facts correct. Though I only have it for two weeks, unfortunately. I am also finally off of pain medication! Another yay! By the way, sorry if I don't make everyone sound 'British' enough, I really am trying. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

"blah blah"- Speaking Greek

"blah blah"- Speaking Amestrian (I have become aware that bold script does not show up well on computers, so that's why I'm switching it.)

'blah blah'- Thinking

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Fullmetal Alchemist, or Percy Jackson. Good thing too, or they wouldn't be nearly as good as they are now. They belong to J.K. Rowling, Hiromu Arakawa, and Rick Riordan.

Percy

Nico practically dragged Percy and Thalia out of the infirmary. They were barely a few steps away before Nico yanked them into a small alcove in the wall.

"There is definitely something up with him!" Nico hissed.

"Uh…what?" Percy asked, confused.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "He's talking about Professor Elric, Seaweed brain. We already know about your 'weird feeling' Nico, did you find out what it meant?"

Nico looked uneasy. "No, not yet. But when I grabbed his arm…" Nico hesitated. "It was metal."

Percy and Thalia stared at him in disbelief, before Percy spoke. "Metal? Are you sure? He couldn't he have been, I dunno, really tense or something?"

Nico shook his head. "I'm sure. It was metal."

"But that's not possible, is it?" Thalia asked. "I mean, his arm moves exactly like a normal one. I don't even know if Hephaestus has made anything like that. And even if he did, why would he give it to a mortal? Unless he's a demigod…but even then…it just doesn't make any sense." Thalia shook her head, perplexed.

"I know, but I'm sure about it." Nico said, determined.

Percy glanced up. "Oh, here comes Professor McGonagall! Perfect!" The three demigods jumped out of their alcove and faced the professor.

"Professor McGonagall, ma'am!" Percy called.

The transfiguration teacher stopped an looked at them. "Mr. Jackson, Mr. Di Angelo, and Ms. Grace. How may I help you?"

"Well, it isn't us that need help," Percy began. "Professor Elric got hit with a blinding charm or something, so we had to help him get to the hospital wing, and his translation spell had worn off, and Hermione was only able to cast a spell so that he could understand us, so we need you to fix that." Percy said in a rush.

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows ever so slightly. "Well, that is indeed a problem. Thank you for informing me." She marched off in the direction of the hospital wing

Percy, Nico, and Thalia exchanged a look. "We'll look into this more as soon as we have the chance." Thalia said firmly. The other two nodded, and they hurried to catch up with the surprisingly speedy professor.

A few days later, in the library, the six young wizards were discussing the young professor's cryptic 'clue.'

"Transmutation…circles…" Ron said slowly, as if analyzing each word. "Circles…of transmutation…" He furrowed his brow. "I don't see how this is supposed to help us!"

"It's obviously some sort of clue, Ron, or he wouldn't have said it." Hermione said, barely looking up from the book she was intensely studying.

"What's that book for, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I'm searching for anything on transmutation, specifically in relation to circles. We have less than one month now to figure this out, and we only have one guess, meaning we have to get it right on the first try." She gave each of them a sharp look. "You five should be researching! Don't you want to progress in this class? Especially you, Percy, Professor Elric said that you would learn alchemy the easiest!"

"Yeah, what was that about, mate?" Ron questioned. "Do you have any ideas about the riddle?"

Percy shook his head. Honestly, he didn't know why Professor Elric had said that he would have it easiest-except that is somehow related to him having taken a Chemistry class. Other than that, he was clueless. He certainly didn't know if it would help him with the riddle. That riddle…it felt familiar, somehow…as if he had heard something like it before, perhaps when he was younger, before Camp Half-Blood. He tried to think, but he couldn't remember. It was starting to annoy him.

Ron sighed forlornly. "Well Hermione, you better figure it out then, otherwise we're all doomed."

Hermione's head shot up. "You ought to be figuring it out yourself! You shouldn't rely on me to solve it for you!"

"Well, Professor Elric never said that we couldn't have help, right?" Ron smirked. "I don't see anything wrong with it."

Thalia quirked an eyebrow at Hermione. "Is he always like this?"

"Both of them are insufferable sometimes!" Hermione hissed through clenched teach.

Suddenly, Percy leaped to his feet. "Of course! The Lion King!" He grinned at them all as if he'd just unlocked the secrets of the universe. They stared back, confused.

"Uh…what?" Harry said, speaking for all of them.

Percy was still grinning. "I figured it out."

"You did?! Hermione exclaimed, shocked. "How did you do it?!"

Percy's grin turned into a smirk. "Well, I would love to help you all, but like you said Hermione, everyone should figure it out for themselves."

Hermione's pressed her lips together. "Yes, of course." She said stiffly as she went back to her book.

"Oh come on mate, at least give us a hint?" Ron begged.

Percy shook his head, enjoying that he was the one with desirable knowledge. "Oh no Ron," he said with a serious face. "I wouldn't want to prohibit your learning"

Ron scowled, and muttered something under his breath. Percy didn't hear what he said, which was probably a good thing considering that it probably wasn't anything flattering.

The days of September flew by quickly, and the trio of investigators weren't any closer to unraveling the mystery that was Edward Elric. His classes consisted of him drilling the periodic table into their heads, which the students did not seem to appreciate; Draco Malfoy in particular. Nevertheless, Malfoy seemed oddly determined concerning the Alchemy class. Percy figured that he didn't want to be bested by a muggle only three years older than him.

Hermione threw herself into her work, absolutely determined to solve the riddle. The fact that Percy had solved it before her seemed to have added onto that determination. Thalia and Nico puzzled over the riddle with perhaps even more drive than Hermione, though they had an ulterior motive for wanting to pass the test. Ron and Harry…well, they said that they were working on it, but Percy had his doubts. He had noticed that the two Gryffindors were quite the procrastinators.

"Well, even if we don't get it, at least you'll be in the class." Nico said mournfully to Percy.

"Shut up, Death breath! We're going to solve this stupid riddle!" Thalia said angrily.

They were sitting in the common room around the fire, Ron and Harry scrambling to finish homework while Thalia, Nico, and Hermione were attempting, yet again, to solve the riddle.

"I almost have it…" Thalia muttered. "It reminds me of something from–" She stopped herself abruptly before she said anything that would seem out of place. "One is all, all is one…and something about circles…" Thalia stared into the fire, watching the wood slowly burn away into ash. Suddenly, a light of realization came over her face. "Of course…why didn't I see it before…" She breathed.

"Oh don't tell me you got it too!" Nico groaned.

Hermione's head jerked up from her book. "Really? You have? But you haven't even studied anything!"

Thalia grinned. "I know. I don't think you're going to be able to find the answer by studying, Hermione. Maybe you should try…going outside."

Hermione looked scandalized. "Don't be ridiculous, there has to be something in the library!"

"Well, I am the one who figured it out, aren't I?" Thalia said smugly. "You should be taking my advice."

"She does have a point, Hermione." Harry said.

"Yeah! I told you we wouldn't have to study for this!" Ron cried jubilantly.

"That doesn't mean that you should stop trying altogether." Thalia said.

"Yeah yeah, I get it." Ron frowned, bending over his parchment again. "By the way Hermione, were did your cat run off to? I don't want him attacking Scabbers again."

Hermione looked annoyed. "It's just instinct, Ron! It's not his fault!"

Percy ignored their arguing, which had become almost routine by now, and focused on Nico, who had an intense expression on his face. Percy could see that the pieces were starting to come together in his mind. After all, he was the son of Hades, lord of the Underworld, king of the dead. And death had a key part in the riddle. Thalia's almost-comment about the hunt had probably helped as well. Percy wasn't worried about whether or not Nico would figure it out. Hermione, Ron, and Harry on the other hand…he wasn't so sure about them.

"…telling you, that cat has got it in for Scabbers! It's not natural, no matter how much you say it is!" Percy turned his attention back to the argument, which was growing quite heated.

"Calm down you two," he said. "After all, nothing bad has happened to Scabbers yet, right Ron?"

"Yet," Ron grumbled. Hermione huffed and went back to her book.

Percy glanced back at Nico, who now had a slight smile on his face. He hadn't said anything, but Percy was willing to bet that he had solved the riddle. It hadn't helped their investigation a single bit, but at least now they would continue to have once-a-week opportunities to observe the strange professor. He was interrupted from his musings when Fred and George walked up to their spot by the fire.

"We heard you were having trouble with the riddle, my dear brother." Fred or George said.

"Oh don't tell me you've figured it out too?!" Ron burst out, looking thoroughly annoyed.

Fred and George grinned. "Well, it was just a matter of-"

"-looking at it the right way, and of course-"

"-our frequent excursions outside have helped us immensely." They finished.

"See, Hermione?" Said Ron with a nod. "Go outside." He turned back to his brothers. "Is that all you're going to tell us? Can't you give us more of a hint? C'mon, you are my brothers, after all!"

Fred and George's smiles didn't waver. "Ah, my dear brother, we wouldn't dream-"

"-of keeping you from this wonderful learning experience!"

Percy was still getting used to how the twins spoke, finishing each other's sentences as if they had the same mind. If he closed his eyes, it was as if there was only one of them. He shook his head. Only Fred, or only George? That would be ridiculous! Percy shook his head as he headed up to the boys' dormitory.

The weeks slipped by quickly as Percy and the others fell into a routine. It was one of the first times that Percy had actually attended a school where he had friends, he wasn't causing problems everywhere, and the teachers actually seemed to tolerate him. His grades were the same, but at least the same could be said for Nico and Thalia. Their dyslexia made anything that involved reading a challenge, not to mention their ADHD made it twice as hard to focus and twice as easy to forget things.

History of Magic was a lost cause; they had stopped trying in that class after the first homework assignment. Transfiguration was very hands-on, as well as charms, so those classes weren't quite as difficult. Astronomy was easy for Thalia, and Nico and Percy didn't have to much trouble. Divination was laughable, though the demigods suspected that the professor could be a descendant of Apollo; she had made a few 'correct predictions' here and there, not to mention that one of her ancestors was a famous seer.

Potions wasn't going to great either. Professor Snape was obviously biased against Gryffindors, which made the class harder than it already would have been. Not only that, but all of the instructions for creating the potions were written on the blackboard at the front of the room. With people standing, sitting, and moving around in front of the already-hard-to-read words, reading the directions proved to be impossible.

Thalia grumbled that Percy ought to have an advantage considering his connection to liquids, to which Percy replied 'these magical ingredients are like the worst possible thing to go in the ocean, they feel all wrong.' Thalia had left him alone after that, which Percy was immensely grateful for. Truth be told, he wasn't sure if he could create a perfect potion with his powers. He didn't want to try controlling anything that wasn't water ever again. It brought back bad memories. 'Some things aren't meant to be controlled.' Percy pushed the thought away.

Alchemy class was immensely boring. For Percy, it was like repeating the torture of high-school Chemistry; with extra things thrown in here and there, such as 'equivalent exchange' and 'the three steps of alchemy (understanding, deconstruction, reconstruction), which the young professor drilled into their heads over and over again. Percy only hoped that the class proved to more interesting after the month was over.

Hermione had reluctantly ventured outside as the month drew to a close, and Percy believed that she was actually worried about whether or not she would be able to answer the riddle. Percy could tell that she was getting closer. The young witch was very intelligent, and Percy believed she would have a breakthrough soon. Either that or a mental breakdown, whichever came first.

Harry had entered the common room one night after quidditch practice with an odd smile on his face, and declared that he was an idiot for not seeing it before. Ron was now attacking the riddle with a determination that Percy hadn't thought he possessed. Though being the only one (excluding Hermione) who was left out would give one quite the motivation. With only one week remaining in September, the two were growing desperate.

As far as the investigation went, the one thing that they had been able to figure out was that Edward Elric was very smart. He was studying the dictionary that Hermione supplied him with almost whenever they saw him, and Percy figured he would have the language down by the end of the year at least, maybe even sooner. Other than that, their investigation had come to a standstill. They had tried what seemed like everything. They'd had Nico tail him for an entire day, but all he ever did was stay in library with stacks of books, sometimes forgetting to leave to eat or sleep.

Nico had discovered that his password for his room was 'alphonse' but none of them knew what that meant. They couldn't look for it in dictionary, so for the time being they assumed it was name. It couldn't be a foreign word because the translation spell would have translated it. The trio had discussed entering his quarters now that they knew his password, but they were hesitant to do so, not wanting to be caught so early into their quest. They had finally agreed that if nothing else turned up by the beginning of October, they would try it, which gave them plenty of time to plan. Now the day was drawing near. Soon they would know a great deal more about the mysterious alchemist. For some reason, Percy felt that they were going to regret their decision.

A/N-Thanks for reading, and please review! I could have made this longer, but it would have taken me a while, with school and life and all that jazz.