Hello, all! How are things? Yaay! A new update! That's a reason right there to be in a good mood! I've been so busy lately – sorry I didn't get this chapter up over the weekend like I had originally said I would! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter! Be sure to review! Oh, and go out and buy the 13th FMA volume and the FMA movie "Conqueror of Shamballa" – they came out today! Whoopee!

I do not own FMA – but my Best Buy was all out of the 13th DVD! Sob! And they only had two copies left of the movie! They sure went fast! Sigh… what a waste of gas… No episodes, and I'm buying the Limited Edition of the movie that comes out in November… Sigh…

Chapter 21: "New Findings"

Roy reached a hand out towards the etched circle before him. The transmutation circle grew brighter, and, his palms inches from its surface, the light vanished. Roy's hand flinched; he paused, then slowly set his ungloved hand on the circle, feeling the stone's coolness and the roughness of the edges of the hewn array. He passed his hand slowly back and forth, letting each line, each curve, each symbol, sink into his being as he drank the sight of if with his eye, vainly, desperately trying to memorize it, to know it, to feel it, to will it to do what he so desperately wanted it to do. Havoc watched on sadly, mind trying to comprehend what Roy already knew. A single tear slid down Mustang's cheek at the images and voices floating through his mind as he continued to keep his hand firmly on the circle in front of him. "Trisha…" he whispered before closing his eye and letting his hand fall to his side.

…

"You're kidding!" Hermione exclaimed as she jumped to her feet, sending Hedwig flying off in a panic. The great white owl hooted in annoyance as she landed on Trisha's shoulder.

Harry's face split into a huge grin. "Nope! He's not! They should be destroying it as we speak!"

"But where was it?" Hermione asked.

"In Kreacher's closet!" Ron told her with a mix of sarcasm and pride – he still couldn't forgive her for standing up for the house-elf in the first place.

"His closet? How?" the young witch asked skeptically.

"The horcrux was the locket!" Harry told her.

"the locket? What locket?"

"The one we found at Grimmauld place, remember?" Ron said.

"What? Oh, that locket!"

"Yeah! We found it when we were cleaning – "

"And Sirius tried to throw it out – "

"But Kreacher kept it!"

"That's right! But how will they destroy it?"

"Burn it, I suppose."

"Ronald! That wouldn't work!"

"How do you know?"

"I just do! But if it was a horcrux, how did the locket get to Sirius' in the first place?"

"Maybe Voldermort put it there…"

"Maybe a Death Eater was hiding it there…"

"Sirius wasn't a Death Eater!"

"I know, it was Snape!"

"No it was not, Ronald!"

Hedwig and Trisha kept darting their heads back and forth between the three as if at a ping-pong match, neither one of them exactly understanding what was going on. "Who's Sirius?" Trisha asked finally.

All three wizards turned their heads towards her at once – Hermione shot her a deadly glare, Harry had a subdued look, and Ron stared at her, goggle-eyed and surprised to see her – he hadn't even seen her enter the room.

"Of all the nerve – !" Hermione started to rant before Harry quickly cut her off.

"Quit it, Hermione. It's ok…"

"Humph!" Hermione snorted before snatching the letter from Ron and stomping off towards the other room. "I'm going to go pack!" she called out furiously behind her; a few seconds later they heard the door slam.

Ron's eyes darted back and forth nervously. "Umm… I'll… I'll just…"

"Ron, you wait here – let's give Hermione a chance to cool down," Harry suggested, evoking a sigh from Ron.
'Doesn't he understand how difficult it is to be in the same room as your ex-girlfriend?' the gangly red-head thought gloomily. He plopped down on the bed, deciding it would be easiest to feign sleep. Harry walked over and sat at the edge of the bed, facing Trisha with his back to Ron, trying to ignore his best friend's pathetic attempts at snoring. His fingers fiddled with the dull blue bedspread as he looked out the dusty window, watching the bustle of late afternoon London's traffic, wondering who everyone was, where they came from and where they were going. Trisha watched him somberly, knowing that whatever he was about to tell her was going to be a painful subject. With a soft rush of wings, Hedwig had flown to Harry's knee, gently pecking at her master's hand. The snowy owl's soothing presence seemed to snap Harry out of his reverie. He dropped his head, avoiding Trisha's eyes by concentrating on the owl in his lap. It was depressing enough just to think about Sirius' death – if he had to look at another person's face, he was afraid that he might break down. He inhaled deeply, chest rattling with anxiety and emotion. He began to stroke his owl's white back, trying to calm himself down.

"Sirius…" he began softly, "was my godfather, and one of the best people in the world. I didn't even know him until I was about 13 – even when I did first meet him, I thought that he was the man responsible for my parents' death. I know now that that isn't true, that he was actually my dad's best friend; I also know that the man who's really responsible for my parents being killed is a man named Peter Pettigrew…" Trisha sat quietly, thinking back to her own mother's death, and how she had been told stories of her grandparents' murder by non other than the general she had befriended back in Amestris almost a week ago – Roy Mustang.

After a long pause Harry lifted his head, finely meeting Trisha's eyes. He noted the sad look on her face. They stared at each other for a moment, Ron quietly watching them, until Trisha finally asked, "What happened to him?"

Harry's mouth set into a grim line, trying desperately to keep all of his pain and feelings inside. "He died," he told her finally. Trisha silently nodded, showing her understanding. From his position on the bed Ron quietly sighed. No, Harry didn't know how hard it was to be in the same room as your ex-girlfriend…

…

"Chief? You ok?" Havoc asked, concerned for his friend and superior's well-being – the general didn't look so good – he definitely needed more sleep. 'I'll have to talk to Riza,' he thought. 'Maybe she could get him to go home and take a nap or something…'

Roy finally opened his eye. He gave the circle on the wall one last look before turning and facing his lieutenant colonel. "I'm fine, Havoc," he replied tersely as he stalked off. Havoc's eyes followed him. Roy paused as he reached the yellow tape, lifting it so he could pass underneath. "… Thank you," he said. Havoc smiled. "Now go continue your search and immediately report to me anything that you find!" he barked.

"Yes, sir!" Havoc shouted as he snapped to attention.

Roy waited until Havoc's running footsteps receded in the distance before continuing down the sidewalk along the wall. He put his hands in his pockets to protect his fingers from the slight chill – the last remnants of a late winter. He tilted his chin back, letting the breeze blow his hair back and out of his face, fully revealing the large black eye-patch that he had won himself over 9 years ago on the night he had fought against Bradley.

There was no one along the street, and the only sound that could be heard was the rustling of leaves. "You know…" he suddenly said out loud to himself, "I think I'll go home and take a nap." He let out a soft chuckle. "Yes," he said amiably, "I should probably go do that before she comes and gets me herself!"

…

"So…" Trisha finally said after a while, intent on changing the topic to something a little less painful for her new friend, "who's this 'Snape' person you were talking about?"

Ron quickly sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed to that he was sitting next to Harry. "Only the meanest, slimiest person ever!" he told her vehemently.

Trisha blinked in surprise – she hadn't expected a response like that!

Harry shrugged. "Well, that's the easiest way to describe him…"

Trisha looked back and forth between the two boys – Ron's brow was furrowed and his face red with anger and resentment; Harry was back to looking at Hedwig, face contorted in a scowl. "Umm…" she began nervously, "what exactly did he do?"

Ron looked uneasily at Harry, whose body was beginning to shake. He clenched his fists tightly – Hedwig turned and looked up at her master nervously. "He killed Dumbledore…" he said viciously, voice filled with a quiet rage. Trisha stared at him levelly, sorrow in her eyes – it was obvious to her that this "Dumbledore" person was just as important to Harry as Sirius had been… she could hardly imagine such a pain.

There was a soft knock at the door. All three turned to see Hermione standing in the doorway, Lupin's letter in her hand. "Harry," she said calmly, as if speaking to a troublesome child, "do you remember what time Lupin said to be at the meeting place?"

"Yeah, 6:00, why?" Harry asked, slightly confused.

"Because," Hermione explained in that same tone of voice, "it's now 5:30 and we haven't even reached Hogsmeade yet."

Harry and Ron quickly looked at each other, wide-eyed and panicky – it would take at least 20 minutes just to reach the forest from the small town… They both jumped up and dashed about the room, throwing quills, parchment, clothes and other things haphazardly into their bags. Hermione gave a "tsk!" and went back down the hallway, shaking her head. A slightly confused Trisha watched these goings-on with a general bemusement. Hedwig fluttered onto her knee and looked up at her.

"Well," she told the owl genially as she watched with a flinch as Harry and Ron ran into each other in their haste, "I suppose it's a good thing that I never bothered to unpack when we got here!"

…

How was that? A little longer, yes? Good! Maybe not as long as past chapters, but I'm still getting back into my stride! The next chapter will be even longer than that one! Sorry it took so long to update this, everyone… Let me know what you think! Also, I know that I already explained that the three HP characters would be a little OOC for the most part, but am I doing an ok job? Or is it just too terrible to describe? Please, though, keep your reviews friendly! Thanks so much! I look forward to hearing from you all and seeing you in the next chapter!