Author's notes: Well, since I've got 2 assignments due in less than a week and 2 exams to sit for that I've yet to study, I thought it would be the perfect time to start a hopefully long crossover fic. Probably won't be able to get a chapter up for a week or so. Or maybe procrastination will work wonders and it'll be up soon. Who knows. Enjoy.
Edward Elric groaned in frustration yet again. In his free time, besides physical exercise and being pestered to show off his alchemy, he had been working on the equations that could allow transportation of a human from one world to another. The theory alone was ridiculous enough, let alone the value of the sacrifices needed to successfully activate the circle. Solving the equations would bring Ed one step closer to identifying and uncovering the symbols on the Four-Point Circle, which would then in turn allow him to theorize on reversing the effect. If all went well, maybe Ed didn't even need to teach at Hogwarts.
However, the Fullmetal Alchemist had a problem that he never had before. Understanding. The first step in transmutation, and alchemy in general, and he, of all people, could not obtain it. That fact frustrated Edward to no end. None of the equations he came up with made sense. Even purposefully unbalancing the equations, putting aside the absurdity of the idea of magic, it still could not be balanced. Nothing seemed to be valuable enough to fit the idea of Equivalent Exchange. Nothing except...
No. That wasn't an option. No matter how bleak it seemed, Edward would not be selfish enough to come to that conclusion. And even then, there was no guarantee it would work. It wasn't a one-for-one exchange...
Edward shook his head vigorously, forcing the idea out of his head. He could not start thinking about the possibilities. He would not. Crumpling another piece of paper, he tossed it against the wall, starting again for god-knows how many times.
Before he could write down the first unknown, there was a sharp rap on the door. Ed stared at it, struggling between answering it and not. Another rap. Maybe a short breather could give him a new perspective on things.
Just as the sounds of footsteps leaving could be heard, Ed called out, "Come in!" Once he saw who it was, he wish he hadn't. Harry 'the world revolves around me' Potter. A scowl crept onto Ed's face. Harry looked equally happy to be here. "What do you want?"
Harry scanned the mess of crumpled papers in the room. "Never mind, it looks like you're busy..." he said, turning around to leave. Ed almost sighed in relief, but Harry seemed to have a silent argument with someone outside, before turning back into Ed's room, looking down at the floor. "Sorry..."
Ed raised an eyebrow, trying desperately to contain his smirk. "What for?" He didn't get many opportunities to make people squirm, and he was going to milk it.
Harry shifted in his spot, hands deep in his pockets, still not making eye contact. "For sayin- yelling, what I did that time."
"And why's that?"
Harry exhaled audibly, as if couldn't believing it was dragging this long. "I didn't know who you were or your situation and I shouldn't have taken my feelings out on you." Finishing that, he glared at Ed. "Happy?"
The smile he was holding in finally emerged on his face. "Very," Ed announced, before turning back to his work. He heard Harry turn around, about to leave.
A moment of silence later, Harry asked, reluctance in his voice, "What are you working on?"
"You don't have to ask if you don't want to," Ed immediately replied. Another hushed conversation happened behind him.
"No, it's fine," Harry assured, but his tone of voice said otherwise. "Go ahead, tell me."
Ed sighed, out loud this time. Whoever egged Harry on to come here really wanted them to play nice. Fine. "All right," he started, flipping his notebook to where he had tried to replicate the Four-Point Circle. "This is what brought me here, and what I'm trying to do is to find a way back home. To do that, I need to understand what this circle is and how it did what it did in the first place."
Harry seemed to grasp the idea easily. "But couldn't you just draw that and use it to go home?"
Ed laughed at the boy's simple-mindedness. "If it were that easy, I wouldn't be here, would I?" Harry made a silent 'oh', realizing what he said. "Where I come from, there's this concept called Equivalent Exchange. In order to create or do something of a certain value, you had to destroy or give up one or more items with the same value." Glancing at Harry, Ed could almost see the gears in his head turning.
"So, if I wanted to use this circle to get back home, I need to know the value of transporting someone into another world, so I can prepare the necessary ingredients to give up."
"What if you don't have what you need to use it, but do it anyway?" Harry asked.
"Then you would suffer from a rebound, the after effects of the forces, the ones being taken and the ones being given, trying to balance themselves out. You could mutate wildly out of control, be seriously injured, or, in the worse case scenario-"
"Death."
Ed nodded. Secretly, he was surprised at Harry's intelligence. He was expecting, hoping, that the explanations would confuse the boy so much he's just leave, but Harry seemed to be absorbing this quite well.
"So once you've solved those equations, you can go home?" Harry seemed to be a little interested, now.
"Nope. If I can solve it, I still have this to worry about." Edward handed him his notebook with the circle. "I have to understand this. All I can figure out is that the four elements are present within the circle, but the rest of the symbols are just mumbo jumbo to me. Some are even missing, so I can't fully study the circle. And then I have to reverse it..." Ed held his head in his hands, finally realizing how much there needed to be done.
"Isn't this the symbol for 'world'?" Harry asked.
Ed's head shot up, an incredulous look on his face.. "What?"
Harry put the notebook in front of Ed, pointing at a circle with a cross through it right beside the alchemical symbol for 'earth'. "Yeah, this one means world. And this one means earth. So the two of them close together have to mean Earth, the planet we're on." Harry looked at Ed for confirmation. "Right?"
Ed just looked back and forth between Harry and the new revelation. "How... what..." he muttered, disbelieving, brain racing with the new information, eyes darting erratically, visualizing the new possibilities. He stood up, snatching his notebook and scribbled furiously while pacing the room. Finally, he glanced at Harry. "Who told you that? Did you read it somewhere? Do you have the book with you?" His brain was firing questions faster than his mouth could ask them.
"I..." Harry stammered, still coping with this sudden change of attitude.
Impatient, Edward strode up to Harry, locking his gaze with Harry's (which required him to look up). "How do you know?" he demanded.
"I... don't know..." Harry got out, brow furrowed in thought.
Ed's eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and anger. "What do you mean, 'you don't know'?!" he half-yelled.
Harry concentrated hard as he tried to find the words to express himself. "I mean... I don't know!" he exclaimed in frustration. Before Ed could strangle something, or someone, he continued. "I just know it! I don't remember reading it; nobody told me about it, but I just know!" With all the shouting, Harry felt the anger bubbling inside of him. Edward wasn't going to believe him. Wasn't going to trust him. Nobody did. He started to yell, the emotions about to explode. "It's-"
"-the truth." Ed finished, leaving Harry agape. "I know." The blond seemed eerily calm, a massive change from his state just a few seconds ago. Just like when Harry yelled at him before.
"You... believe me?" Harry asked, his rage turning into doubt.
Then, Edward did something Harry didn't expect. He grinned. ""Course I believe you!" he said, tapping Harry on the chest with his knuckle. "Thanks, kid." Edward gave a small wave with his notebook at Harry, before sitting down and returning to his work with renewed vigor.
"Yeah... no problem..." Harry said, but Edward didn't seem to be paying any more attention. He left, closing the door behind him, and turned to face a group of very perplexed Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny.
"What... just happened?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, you didn't even make any short jokes!" Fred and George frowned in unison.
"That's not the point!" Ginny prodded them both, a frown on her own face.
"So you two are alright now?" Hermione asked, ignoring the lot of them.
"I... don't know..." Harry said the phrase again. As everyone tried to understand what just happened, he made the group chuckle by asking, "Did he just call me a kid?"
Edward didn't come out of his room for the next few days. Even when Molly tried to yell at him to eat something, he completely ignored her or, more accurately, didn't know she existed. It was like he was, ironically enough, in his own world. Every time someone peeked into his room, Edward was completely engrossed taking notes or drawing circles or even, sometimes, talking to himself, no matter the time of day.
Even as Harry ate his breakfast, preparing for his hearing at the Ministry of Magic a few hours later, they could hear the faint sound of scribbling and the mismatched thumping as Edward paced the room, one step sounding heavier than the other.
An hour after Harry and Arthur left for the Ministry, however, Edward finally emerged from his room, looking no worse for wear, happier than he's ever been since his time at Grimmauld Place. "Morning, Mrs Weasley! Anything to eat?" was the first thing that came out of his mouth.
"Uh... oh yes!" Molly answered. She wasn't sure the boy was ever going to come out of that room. "Bacon and eggs? Toast?" She suggested.
"Sounds good!" Edward said enthusiastically, taking a seat at the table. "Morning, Sirius, Remus!" he chirped.
The two former partners-in-crime looked at each other, puzzled. "Morning, Edward," Lupin greeted. "You're in a good mood today."
"Finally got that stick out your arse, eh?" Sirius joked, though his worry for Harry dulled the delivery.
Ed didn't miss a beat. "Yeah, and looks like it found its way up yours," he grinned.
"Edward!" Molly scolded, bringing him his breakfast. Lupin and Sirius both laughed. The boy could definitely improve the mood of the room when he wanted to. Or when someone makes fun of his height.
He didn't apologize, merely grinned like a juvenile, eyeing Sirius in particular. The latter had a bad feeling about this. Lupin had a knowing grin too. Uh-oh, Sirius thought.
"So, Sirius," Edward started, feigning interest, "what's so far up your arse that it's got you in such a fu-"
Before the word could fully be articulated, Molly screamed, "EDWARD!" The boy in question looked at her, a what-did-I-do-wrong look on his face. "Sirius! What have you been teaching the boy?!" she directed at the man, hands on her hips.
"I haven't been teaching the little midget anything!" Sirius lied, a snicker on his lips.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT EVEN INSECTS LOOK DOWN ON ME?!" Ed yelled as he stood up, ready to tackle Sirius over the table.
Two loud cracks nearly gave Molly a heart attack, and cause Edward to dive to the ground for cover. "DAMMIT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE MAGIC JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN!" Molly yelled at the newly-appeared Fred and George. "AND STOP YELLING, EDWARD!"
"We missed another one?" Fred sighed, ignoring his mother.
"Damn!" George cursed. He noticed Ed on the floor. "Looking for your friends, Ed?"
The alchemist kicked at Fred and George from his prone position, but they stepped just out of range. "Aww, legs too short, Ed?" Fred teased.
"You two shouldn't tease him so much," Ginny called from the stairs as Ron, Hermione and herself came into view. "He might get one of you these days." Hermione nodded her agreement.
Ron, too. "Yeah. Bloke's temper is just as short as he is."
Lupin chuckled as he watched Ed chase everyone around the room, with Molly desperately trying to quiet them down and Sirius having a great laugh at all of this. The mysterious boy had grown on everyone in the short time he's been here, and he didn't seem to wish harm on anyone here, not sincerely at least, but Lupin was wary. There was something dark and maybe even sinister about the boy. That, together with the inhumane obsession he seemed to be capable of, could turn him into a great threat. But for now, everything seemed fine. Lupin would have to ask Dumbledore to keep an eye on Edward.
It took a while, but everybody finally got settled down, spirits high. "So, something good happened?" Lupin asked Ed, as he ate his massive breakfast.
"Mmhmm!" Edward nodded, his mouth full. Taking a huge swallow, he spoke. "You could say that. And I've to thanks Harry for it." He looked around the room, noticing the person missing from the breakfast table. "Speaking of Harry, where is he?"
Everyone halted for a split second as they returned to reality. "He's at his hearing," Molly explained, trying to sound cheerful. Everyone took the cue and continued their breakfast. A solemn note hung in the air.
"Why?" Ed asked. "Who's he killed?"
Hermione awkwardly chuckled. "No, nothing like that. He was caught using magic outside of school trying to defend himself." She averted her gaze.
"So he's in trouble for waving his wand in public?" Ed asked, to the immature giggles of a few around the table.
"Well, it's against the law to use magic before you're seventeen here," Sirius explain, stifling his laughter under the gaze of Molly. "Something about not being prepared or responsible enough. Load of bull, if you ask me."
"And these two fit the criteria?" Edward gestured at Fred and George, earning a good laugh from the table. "I'm sure Harry's fine," he assured them, though it seems like they've heard plenty of it already.
As the breakfast progressed, with Ed eating at a speed even faster than before, the conversation slowly progressed away from Harry and his trial. Though it went somewhere Ed didn't expect.
"Did you hear?" Fred asked his fellow schoolmates. They all shook their head at the vagueness of the question. "There's apparently a new teacher coming to Hogwarts."
"Yeah, the DADA position needed to be filled," Hermione said, not surprised. "This makes it the fifth in five years." Ed wondered how terrible the students must be for no teacher to stay on for more than a year. He gulped.
"No no no," George corrected. "I heard this guy's for a new subject!" Ron groaned loudly while Hermione and Ginny looked a tad excited.
"More homework?" Ron started complaining already. He doubled over, like someone kicked him under the table.
"You don't even know what the new subject is, Ron!" Hermione chided. Sirius glanced at Edward, a glimmer in his eyes. Oh shit...
"I know for a fact," Sirius paused for dramatic effect, as everyone turned to look at him, "that your new teacher is in this room right now."
All eyes swerved to Sirius, then to Lupin, then to Molly. All of them debated which would be most suited and the most sensible choice.
It was only a matter of time. Ginny looked at Ed, a revelation dawning in her eyes. "Wait, Edward...?" Everyone looked at him, all waiting for him to deny it, calling him stupid or something very Ed-like.
"I'm gonna kill you, Sirius," was all he said, eyes squinted murderously.
The entire room exploded with noise. Questions, exclamations, apologies about short jokes all filled the air at once. All of the teens tried to get Ed's attention at once,
"EVERYONE SETTLE DOWN!" Molly shrieked. Everyone complied, but it was like trying to put five hyperactive puppies in a small cage; it wasn't going to last long. "Now, if you all would just ask one question at a time, I'm sure Edward would be glad to answer them, isn't that right?" she smiled sweetly at the new professor.
Not really, Ed wanted to say, but Hermione raised her hand with such enthusiasm that he would have felt bad for staying completely silent. She turned into a student almost instantly. "Yeah, go ahead," he halfheartedly waved at her.
"What are you teaching?" was the first question she asked.
"Alchemy. Next!" Ed looked to anyone but her. She looked around, wide-eyed, hoping no one goes so she can ask even more questions.
"Why?" Ron asked. A dislike for Edward started to grow, but only because Ron hated unnecessary homework.
"The old man has something that could help me get home, and I agreed to teach in exchange for it."
"Are you going to be teaching us how to do that magic you do?" Ginny asked excitedly, clapping her hands together and placing them on the table and mimicked the sound of the transmutations.
He chuckled. "Maybe. Depends of your capabilities. But don't get your hopes up," he warned. Some alchemists took years of study before being able to perform the simplest transmutations. Edward was doubtful any of the kids at the school could pick up transmutation in the short time he planned on being there.
"Got any tips for us?" Fred ask, unashamed.
"Yeah, you know, as friends!" George nodded.
"Yeah, but I don't think it would help much."
They all looked at him in confusion. "Why not?" they all asked in unison.
"Because I don't think the tips would reach you 'cause I'm so damn short!" The kitchen filled with laughter once again. Fred and George held some panic in their eyes, though. Ed's smirk was mischievous, almost menacing. Oh how they would pay.
A few hours of questions, jokes, and almost constant eating from Ed later, Harry returned from the Ministry with Mr Weasley. He had a solemn look on his face, and everyone stared, fearing the worst. Then, a smile grew on his face that threatened to split it in two. "Cleared of all charges!"
The entire room celebrated, with Ginny, Fred and George performing some war dance while chanting 'he got off'. Ed took this as the sign to leave them to their celebrating, but not before giving Harry a smile and a friendly pat on the back.
The house was filled with activity for the rest of the day. Ed could hear many voices celebrating Harry's acquittal. Loud, joyful celebration. He didn't like being surrounded by people, so Ed kept to his room for the most part.
Finally coming to terms with the fact that he wasn't going to be able to go home without Flamel's notes, he spent the day coming up with a rough skeleton on what he was going to teach. He was pretty sure ditching them on an island for a month would not fare well with the school's rules, so he had to come up with a simpler, safer way.
Though it would have to wait, as his door swung open, no knocks beforehand. Ed got up, ready to strike, when in walked one of the ugliest people he'd seen.
The man's face looked like someone took a carving knife and wildly hacked at a tree before coming to that 'masterpiece'. But that wasn't even the creepiest part. One of his eyes was almost bulging out from a eye-patch-like socket, and it spun around independently of his other, human eye. He walked with a limp, aided by a walking stick, and roughly strode into the room before slamming the door.
"Nice eye," Ed remarked, keeping his guard up.
The man growled, and his weird eye seemed to scan Ed from head to toe. It made him uncomfortable, like the eye could see right through him. "Can it, kid." The man growled. "I haven't decided whether you're a threat or an asset." He stood in front of the door, showing no signs of moving.
"Says the guy barging in here with no explanation," Ed retorted. He jerked his head towards the cane. "What's with your leg?"
"What's with yours?" he responded, his 'mad-eye' locked onto Edward's left leg.
"W-What?" Ed stammered. "What are you talking about?"
The man growled again, the one sound he seemingly only knows how to make, and walked up to Edward. The boy's instinctively threw a right hook, only to have the man catch it by Edward's forearm, and pulled the sleeve back, revealing the glinting automail beneath it.
Ed pulled back his arm quickly, away from the man. Fear was in his eyes, the same fear Edward felt when he first met Scar. "Who the hell are you?"
The man pulled the chair in the room towards himself and dropped onto it. "Name's Alastor Moody," he grunted. "Now, what's yours?"
Ed kept his back to the wall, hand still clutching the now covered automail. "Edward-"
"No!" Moody hissed. "You were in the military. You got a codename. What is it?"
This guy is dangerous, Edward thought. Whatever he was, whatever that eye was, whatever he did, this Moody guy was very good at it. But only trusted people could find their way into this house, according to the Weasleys, so this guy couldn't be that bad.
Still, that didn't make him any less of an asshole. "Fullmetal."
"That because of your arm and leg?"
"No." That was all he was giving him.
The tension was palpable as the two considered the possibilities of their next moves. "How'd you lose 'em?" Moody finally asked.
"Does it matter?" Edward asked defiantly.
"Yes, it does," Moody snarled. "And don't even try to lie, I'll know."
Edward considered his response. He tried to keep the truth of his automail a secret whenever possible. "Lost 'em in a war."
"Lie," Moody said nearly immediately. "Do it again and getting home would be the least of your problems."
Ed huffed. What was this guy, a human lie detector? "It was an accident." Moody started to react. "A mistake!" Ed hurriedly corrected.
Moody relaxed once more. "Go on."
"We were kids-"
"We?"
"My brother. We did something considered a taboo in our world." Ed looked at Moody. "You know what taboo is, right?"
"Yes, yes," he growled impatiently. "What is it?"
"We tried to resurrect our mother. Performed human transmutation." Ed said, regret in his voice. "God, or whatever that thing was," he shuddered visibly, "wasn't too happy. Took my leg as... payment for defying the laws of nature." He voice lowered to a near whisper.
"And your brother? He lost a leg too?"
"No. He was taken. Completely."
Moody fell silent, if just for a moment. "Sorry."
"Don't be," Ed half-chuckled. "You didn't do it."
"And your arm?"
"That happened when I brought my brother back."
Moody gave him a questioning glance. "You did it again?"
"Yeah. Bonded his soul to a suit of armor. That's all that came back."
Moody almost looked apologetic for a moment. Almost. He got up. "I've heard enough."
Ed grabbed the tail of his coat before he got too far. Moody turned around, eyebrows raised. "Don't tell anyone.' Ed's eyes looked glazed; empty. "Please."
Moody's gaze hardened, debating internally. "Only if it's irrelevant to any threat."
Ed's grip tightened.
"Fine. I won't. Now let go of my coat, Fullmetal." Ed promptly did, and Moody left.
The Fullmetal Alchemist slumped onto the floor, as the party continued downstairs. He pulled out his State Alchemist's pocket watch, and stared at the silver dragon insignia. It's taking longer than I expected, but I'll come home, Al.
I promise.
Author's afterword: Yes, Ed will be going to Hogwarts, but there's gonna be one or two chapters before that. Or until I've run out of things to write for Ed to do in Grimmauld Place. Whichever comes first. Review and whatnot if you want to, don't if you don't, thanks for reading either way. Buh-bye!
