"blah blah"- Speaking Greek
"[blah blah]"- Speaking Amestrian
'blah blah'-
––––––– - Begin/end flashback
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. Just to be safe, I also don't own the song 'This is War' by Thirty Seconds to Mars.
Percy
"So…are we sure about this?" Percy questioned Thalia. The two demigods were standing at the end of the hallway that led to Edward Elric's room.
"Yes, we're sure. We've been over this, Percy. We need to get information, and-" Thalia cut herself off.
"What? What is it?"
"Don't you hear that?"
Percy furrowed his brow, listening. "Who could that be? Nico is watching the library, so it can't be Elric."
Thalia frowned as the footsteps got closer, but still no one appeared. When they were right next to them, she reached out towards the sound. She must have made contact with something, because she grinned triumphantly.
"Aha! Got you!"
There was a muffled squeak, then Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared, holding a silvery cloak. They stared at each other in disbelief.
"What are you doing here?!" Thalia hissed.
"What are we doing here? What are you doing here?!" Ron retorted.
Neither side answered, causing a rather awkward silence. Finally, Harry spoke.
"Well, we were…uh…" He trailed off.
Percy raised his eyebrows. "You were following us, weren't you?"
The three wizards nodded sheepishly.
"You snuck out of the room at 11:30, of course we followed you!" Hermione said. "What on earth are you three doing? you could get in trouble!"
Percy and Thalia exchanged were both thinking the same thing. If they didn't tell them, then they would be suspicious. But if they did, then they needed a reasonable excuse. Thalia nodded slightly.
"We want to know more about Professor Elric." Percy said.
Hermione's eyes widened. "Are you planning on sneaking into his room?!" The two demigods nodded reluctantly, and Hermione's eyes grew even wider. "But why?"
"C'mon Hermione, aren't you curious?" Ron interjected. "I know I am." He turned to Thalia and Percy. "We'll come with you!"
"Ron!" Hermione squeaked. "We can't break into a professor's room! We'll get into serious trouble!"
"You can go back to the room if you want, but I'm going with them." Ron declared.
Hermione frowned. "You won't even be able to get into his room without a password. How are planning on getting past that?" She inquired triumphantly.
Thalia grinned. "We know the password, of course. We wouldn't be doing this unprepared."
Hermione hesitated. "Well…how will you know if he's coming? He could come back at any minute and catch you!"
"Nico's watching him in the library," Percy answered. "When he leaves, Nico will come back and tell us. But we need to go now, we don't know how much time we have."
Thalia and Percy began walking down the hallway. Ron and Harry followed closely behind. Hermione followed less enthusiastically. The five hurried down the hallway until they came to the room.
"That's an interesting picture," Hermione commented.
Percy turned to the picture. He hadn't really payed attention to it before. It showed a room, probably an office, with several desks. There were seven people scattered around the room, and six of them wore blue military uniforms. The seventh was in a towering suit of armor. Looking closer, Percy realized that it was the same armor that Professor Elric had created on the first day.
"Well, he is in the military." Thalia reasoned. "That's probably where he works."
"I still wonder about that." Ron said. "How on earth could a fifteen-year-old be in the military?"
"I would ask him, but I don't think he'd appreciate it." Harry said. "I heard that Micheal Corner asked, and it didn't go over well."
"Enough gawking, we need to hurry!" Hermione said nervously. "You said you know the password. What is it?"
Thalia turned to the picture. "Alphonse." The blonde woman in the picture eyed them suspiciously, but the picture still swung open.
The five teenagers hurriedly entered the room. As far as Percy could tell, it looked like an ordinary bed in the far left corner, a desk against the right wall, and a dresser on the back wall. The desk and the nightstand were piled high with books and papers. They spread out quickly.
Percy walked over to the desk. To be honest, he was glad that three wizards had joined them. It would have been difficult to read anything that they found, but now that wouldn't be a problem. Percy picked up a stack of papers that looked like letters. He squinted at the writing, trying to make out any words.
"Hey, guys, I think I found something." The others hurried over to his side. Percy handed Hermione the letters.
Hermione peered at the letters, fascinated. "Well, they're written in a different language. I'm sure it's Amestrian though, that would make sense."
"Well, can you translate them?" Harry asked eagerly.
"I think so. I translated that dictionary for Professor Elric, so I should be able to use the same spells for these."
"We don't have time right now," Thalia said. "Make copies of the letters and we'll translate them back at the tower."
Hermione nodded, and began copying the several letters. She had barely started when Nico appeared behind them.
"We need to go. He's on his–" Nico stopped abruptly. "What are THEY doing here?!"
"We ran into them on our way," Percy explained. "So they came with us."
"Never mind that, how the bloody hell did you just appear behind us?!" Ron yelled.
"Shh!" Thalia hissed. "You were probably too distracted to notice him coming in."
Ron and Harry nodded, though Hermione still looked skeptically. They rushed out of the room, being sure to place the letters back on the desk and closing the door securely. With Harry, Hermione, and Ron under the invisibility cloak, they slipped back to the Gryffindor tower.
~o~O~o~
"Alright, we made it." Nico sighed with relief as they collapsed into the seats around the fire.
"Hermione, can you translate those letters now?" Percy asked eagerly.
"Give me some time!" Hermione huffed. "I can't do it right away, it'll take a day at least for me to work them all out. I could do it faster, but we want an accurate translation. I'll tell you as soon as I'm done."
"How many did you manage to get?" Harry asked.
"Only two," Hermione said. "Hopefully they'll have something. I would hate to have done all that for nothing."
With that, the six students headed to their respective beds.
~o~O~o~
The next night, long after everyone else was in bed, they huddled around the fire in the common room, eagerly waiting as Hermione put the finishing touches on the translation spell.
"All right, I think that's it. I suppose I'll just read them out loud," Hermione said nervously. "Dear Brother, Everything that you've told me about magic seems unbelievable. I wish I could see it for myself. You'll have to bring something back to show me at least. I love the owl you bought! She's beautiful! We're going to keep her when you're done with this job, right? I know you think that we can't keep animals because we travel so much, but an owl wouldn't be as bad as cat, right? Have you named her yet? You didn't tell me a name, so I've been calling her Ruby. I really miss you brother, and it's only been one week. All of that magic hasn't messed up your automail, has it? You know if you break it then Winry'll have to come all the way up there to fix it. And she'll definitely charge you extra, so you should really be careful." Hermione paused here.
"What in the world is automail?" Ron asked.
Percy, Nico, and Thalia looked at each other. Not for the first time, they had a silent exchange. 'should we tell them?' Percy nodded, followed by Nico. Thalia sighed, but she nodded as well.
"I think that's his arm," Nico said.
"What?" Harry said, confused. "Wha do you mean, his arm? It's just an arm, right?"
"Well…when we helped him get to the hospital wing, I noticed that his arm seemed to be made of metal." Nico explained. "We didn't tell you because we figured he wouldn't want everyone knowing."
"You mean his entire arm is metal?!" Harry exclaimed. "How could that be possible?! It moves just like a normal arm!"
"At least the lower half is. I'm sure that's what 'automail' is." Nico said.
"We'll talk about that later, finish reading the letter!" Thalia said.
Hermione read the rest of the letter. Nothing especially interesting came up, except for a mention of some goal that needed to be accomplished, possibly with magic. The letter was signed 'Alphonse'.
"Oh, so that's what his password means!" Percy said. "It's his brother's name!"
Hermione nodded. "That makes sense. But what was all that about a goal, and maybe reaching it with magic?"
"I don't know. This has answered a few questions, but really it's just caused more." Percy sighed. "Why don't you read the other letter, Hermione."
Hermione picked up the second letter. This one was much shorter and more professional looking. Clearing her throat, she began to read.
"Fullmetal, I've learned more about the situation in England, and it doesn't look very good. If you really did read the file I gave you, then you will remember that a dangerous criminal, Sirius Black, has escaped from a highly secure prison. I have learned that Black may be targeting a student at the school, Harry Potter. I'd like you keep an eye on him, and keep him safe if need be. Anything to help our relations with this country. They are not very good right now, so please try not to do anything to make the situation worse. The last thing we need is a country with magic as our enemies. Remember, they requested this teacher arrangement to gain trust, so don't mess it up. And if I get more paperwork because of you, you'll be sorry. Notify me if the situation changes. It's signed Colonel Mustang, the Flame Alchemist." Hermione finished reading and set the letter down.
"Well," Thalia began. "That didn't give us much."
Hermione seemed to be thinking. "I think it did. This letter seems to be from a superior officer in the military. I'm guessing that 'Fullmetal' is Professor Elric's military title as an alchemist working in the military."
"What makes you think that?" Ron said, looking puzzled.
"It's obvious, Ron," Hermione said. "The letter is signed 'the Flame Alchemist' which is obviously his alchemist title. So it only stands to reason that Professor Elric is the Fullmetal Alchemist. We also know that Amestris and England don't have very good political relations. That's not very surprising. I hadn't even heard of Amestris until this year. The two countries probably don't trust each other much. The minister of magic must trust the government to some extent, because they know about the magical community. Though it seems that it isn't common knowledge, because they talk about magic as if they can't believe it's real. So magic is most likely either non existent or very rare in Amestris. And the Ministry of Magic wants to further our relations with Amestris, so that's why the arranged for a teacher to be brought. I'm willing to bet that they also want to learn more about Amestris's alchemy, to asses their threat level in case we end up fighting them."
There was a moment of silence after Hermione had finished her analysis.
"Wow…you got all that from such a short letter?" Percy was impressed. Hermione really was smart.
Hermione looked flattered. "Well, it wasn't that hard to figure it out. I was only putting the pieces together, really."
"Well, you did a good job of it," Harry said.
"We didn't learn much, but at least we have something." Inwardly, Percy knew that they had made progress. 'It isn't much, but now we know why he's here. The Time Jumper somehow convinced the Minister of Magic that they needed to establish a more trustful relationship. He or she may have even arranged for Edward Elric specifically to be sent. But why? We still don't know that. I can see how alchemy would have plenty of advantages, but what is he or she planning? We have to figure it out, but we don't even know where to start looking. I hate to say it, but we could really use a prophecy right now.'
–––––––
"Chiron, don't we need a prophecy before we leave?" Thalia looked reluctant to ask, but she did anyway. "This is a pretty important quest, after all."
"Well, normally that would be true." Chiron replied. "But time travel is…complicated. You wouldn't very well be able to receive a prophecy about past events, even if they haven't happened yet."
"Uhhh…what?" Percy had been confused before, and he was even more so now.
Chiron sighed. "Like I said, time travel is complicated. It would be ideal if you had a prophecy, but it will be difficult to procure one."
"Wait! Chiron!" Rachel burst through the door, panting.
"Rachel?" Annabeth looked surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard that I needed to come."
No one asked how she heard. They had learned not to question Rachel when she got like this.
"Chiron, someone needs a prophecy. But it's odd…it's like the prophecy can't be given. It's there, but…I don't know how to explain it. What's going on?"
"Well, this is an unforeseen development." Chiron seemed to be thinking very hard. "It may be that the prophecy can not be given in this timeline."
Nico frowned. "Ok, I'm lost."
"I think I know what you mean," Annabeth said. "In the timeline that we're in now, the prophecy wasn't needed. But if the timeline changes because of the Time Jumper, then the prophecy will be needed. But because the timeline hasn't been changed yet, the prophecy is…stuck. That's the simplest way I can put it."
Chiron nodded. "I think you're on the right track, Annabeth." He turned to Rachel. "The prophecy could be given after they jump back, but you won't be there."
"What do you mean, when they jump back? What's happening?" Rachel looked even more confused than before. Annabeth quickly summarized the situation.
Rachel hesitated before speaking. "I think…I think I know what to do. I can't speak the prophecy right now, but…what if I gave it to you, unspoken?"
Even Annabeth looked confused now. "What do you mean, unspoken?" She asked.
"I don't know if I can explain it…let me just try." Rachel's eyes glazed over, and she looked as if she were about to speak a prophecy.
Instead of speaking words, a green smoke poured out of her mouth. The smoke swirled around, condensing into a small swirling green mass. Annabeth scrambled for a jar, and collected the smoke before it dissipated. Rachel returned to normal, collapsing into a nearby chair.
"I think that's your prophecy, but I'm not sure." Rachel's voice was strained, as if she would pass out at any second. "Giving a prophecy like that…I think it may have major consequences. Definitely don't open it until you've jumped back. Even then, only do it if it's absolutely necessary. It could have huge consequences, or none at all. Please, be careful." With those words, Rachel had slipped into unconsciousness.
–––––––
Eventually Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to their rooms. The three demigods sat in silence around the fire. Finally, Nico broke the silence.
"I think…we need to use it." Thalia opened her mouth in protest, but Nico cut her off before she could start. "I know what you're going to say, Thalia, but we don't really have a choice! We've tried everything we can. We have more information than we did, but it's still not enough. It's been two months now! If we keep going at this pace, then the damage will be irreversible! I don't want to do it any more than you, but we have to!"
"I know, Nico." Thalia said softly. "We really don't have any other choice. We aren't making any progress. I just hope-" Thalia's voice hitched slightly. "I hope that Rachel doesn't get hurt because of us."
The three time jumpers sat in silence once more. This time, it was Percy who spoke.
"So…we're sure about this then?" He had pulled out the jar and was holding it as if it might explode. Thalia and Nico nodded solemnly. "Alright then. Be sure to pay attention, we need to remember it. There's no guarantee we can hear it again." Taking a deep breath, Percy unscrewed the lid.
Immediately, the green mist expanded, swirling around the floor. The all-to-familiar voice of the Oracle spoke from the swirling green haze.
A warning to the people
The good and the evil
This is becoming a war
To the soldier, the civilian
The martyr, the victim
This is already war
A warning to the prophets
The liar, the honest
It's the moment of truth
The moment to lie
The moment to live
The moment to die
The moment to fight
To the edge of the earth
From the last to the first
You will fight to the death
This is war
The mist disappeared, twisting up into the air before evaporating. Before any of the three demigods could say anything, they heard an incredulous voice from the stairs.
"What the bloody hell was that?!"
A/N-Yes, I know. I used song lyrics for my prophecy. I was going to make up my own, but then I was listening to 'This is War' and realized that the lyrics fit almost perfectly, and I couldn't resist. I did alter them a bit though. So yeah. Sue me. (please don't though)
