Disclaimers: Found in Ch.1

-------------

Harry woke up, panting. He saw Ed standing over him and Harry felt an irrational trail of fear travel down his spine. Harry squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus on his dream. It was important. Looking back up at Ed brought back a trace of the fear he had felt.

"Ed, what are you doing up?"

"It's morning."

Harry pulled his glasses onto his face and blearily peered out the window. He could the sun just beginning to rise. "Right, so it is. Though, I would hardly call sunrise a decent time to be awake."

Ed merely shrugged and looked down at Harry speculatively. After a short but intense scrutiny under Ed's golden penetrating eyes, Ed turned and walked back to his bed. "Then maybe you should go back to sleep," Ed retorted. He then turned on his heel and strode out of the dormitory.

Harry stared after the strange enigma of Edward Elric, bewildered by what had just happened. It had felt like there was a whole another conversation going under the one they were having, and Harry had no idea what had been said.

Sluggishly Harry managed to stumble out of bed. He was up earlier than usual and he could feel himself just wanting to go back to bed. Even though he had slept the whole night, he hardly felt rested. Trying to not wake the others, Harry crept to his trunk and got out some clothes. Changing quickly out of his pajamas he made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Harry stared at his reflection in the mirror. A pale face with black smudges under the eyes stared at him reproachfully. Harry winced at the painful obviousness that his sleep wasn't all that restful. Harry sighed as he bent down to splash his face with cold water to wake himself up a bit more. He left the bathroom feeling a bit better than he had. As he walked by his bed on the way to the common room, he heard Ron roll over and mutter in his sleep.

In the common room he saw Ed and Hermione both sitting near the fire, reading. Smiling at the familiar sight, he made his way over to them. "Morning, Hermione, Ed."

"Morning, Harry. Is Ron up?"

"This early? No, he will probably sleep for a little while longer. Besides, it's the weekend. No harm in letting him sleep."

Hermione looked like she was about to say something then abruptly decided that it wasn't worth it. Harry shook his head before taking a glance over at Ed. He apparently hadn't moved during the entire conversation. "Hey, Ed, are you doing anything next weekend?" Harry asked.

"Probably doing more research. Why?"

"Well I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with us. That is me, Hermione, and Ron."

"Hogsmeade? The village just outside the grounds of Hogwarts?"

"Yeah. Students third year and above get to visit."

Ed looked a bit dubious.

"C'mon, Ed, it'll be fun. Besides you probably need a break from all this researching you're doing anyway. Spending all your time in the library can't be healthy."

Ed looked down at his book. Harry could see that Ed was weakening.

"Fine, I'll go. I wouldn't mind seeing something new for a change."

Hermione and Harry shared a triumphant look.

--------------------

Severus Snape and Madam Pomfrey were meeting with Dumbledore in a room that housed the two bodies found in the Great hall. Cleaned of all the blood and grime, the sight was less gruesome, but still distinctly horrible. "Headmaster, we really have nothing to report. Besides confirming that the infant is indeed the woman's, we only can tell you what caused their deaths," Madam Pomfrey stated.

Albus nodded and looked at the bodies more closely.

"It appears that the woman was stabbed once. Whatever stabbed her punctured her lungs. She drowned in her own blood. The object that stabbed her was jagged. Also she has an unusual tattoo behind her left ear. The infant however appears to have died from the Killing curse. He has no apparent mark or wound upon him. He also has a tattoo behind his left ear, though different from the mother's, they do appear related," Pomfrey reported, pointing out the tattoos.

"I would like to add that the child appeared to be able to act a vessel or container for magic. I have never heard of anything like it."

Albus bent down to inspect the tattoo on the woman. He frowned as he recognized it. It was a flamel. A snake wrapped around a cross, with wings, and a crown. He pondered on how the badge of his friend, Nicolas, could have popped up five years after his death. Though, this wasn't the first time he had seen it recently. Young Mr. Elric wore the symbol on his coat. He would have to have a talk soon with Edward Elric.

--------------

It was Monday morning and Ed was feeling restless. While he was desperate to find a way home, he also felt like he couldn't stand sitting for another minute. He stood abruptly, startling Madam Pince. He smiled at her sheepishly. She apparently had a soft spot for him, as she didn't scold him like she would somebody else. He walked over to her, boots making a dull clumping noise. "Madam Pince, do you know of anyplace where I could work out?" Ed asked her with an innocent smile.

"Work out? Well I suppose you could go out onto the grounds."

"Ah, do you know of anywhere more private? I wouldn't like the students staring at me."

Madam Pince looked puzzled for a second. "I'm sorry, Edward, but I don't. Perhaps you should ask a student. They know this castle better than anybody else. They'll know where all the best spots are."

Ed nodded in acknowledgement. He pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. Perfect, class was about to end. He could corner one of the pesky trio, Ron would probably be his best choice, and ask them where a good spot would be. Smiling in thanks at Madam Pince he walked out of the library and to the Potions classroom. If he wasn't mistaken that is where Ron was right now. He reached the beginning of the corridor right as the bell rung. He stood off to the side and watched as the students streamed past him, eager to escape Snape. Spotting the tall redhead he called out. "Oi, Ron! I wanna ask you something!"

Ron looked up startled, as did Harry and Hermione. He waved for them to go on without him and they reluctantly continued to walk forward. Ron pushed and shoved his way through the crowd till he reached Ed. "Hey, Ed. Why aren't you in the library?"

"I was feeling a bit restless. I was wondering if you know of anyplace I could work out. Someplace private."

Ron studied Ed before answering. "On the seventh floor, there's a place. At the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, walk along the stretch of the wall opposite three times, thinking of what you want. A door should appear. You can work out there. It's called the Room of Requirement."

Ed looked up at Ron skeptically. He shrugged and nodded. "Thanks, Ron. I really appreciate it." He and Ron walked together for a short way before Ron left to go to class. Ed continued up to the seventh floor. When he found the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, he stared at it for a moment. He snorted. Wizards had some weird tastes in art. Proceeding to walk in front of the wall three times, thinking of what he wanted, and fully expecting that it wouldn't work, he was surprised when a door appeared in the wall. He cautiously opened it. He blinked in surprise as he saw a wide grassy field, with a few trees here and there, and a pile of junk tucked away unobtrusively in the hollow of some tree roots.

Ed felt a wave of nostalgia as he thought about the days when he had first learned how to fight. He could see Teacher, Al, and himself, with Teacher quickly taking him and Al down quickly, and afterwards instructing them how they might have done better. He and Al were both younger, and much more innocent. Not to mention Al had had his body and Ed had his arm and leg. He felt himself grimace at the unpleasant reminder of one of his reasons to get home. He had to restore Al.

Moving farther into the field, Ed began a series of exercises designed to loosen and stretch the muscles. As he finished those, he moved onto a more difficult set, speeding up his movements. Before he moved onto the next set, he stopped to discard his coat. He could feel sweat running down his face and he was slightly winded. Taking one last gulp of air, he started a series of complicated kicks and punches.

About an hour later, Ed collapsed to the ground and gasped for air. He felt pleasantly exhausted and relaxed. Something about working his body always made him feel like he accomplished something. Even though all he had really done is get rid of some energy. He sighed heavily as his breath returned to him. Looking at the heap of junk, an idea popped into existence.

--------------

Harry sighed as Defense Against the Dark Arts seemed to drag along. The teacher was droning on in a voice that reminded Harry vaguely of Professor Binns, just slightly less monotone. Fighting against the sleep threatened to overcome him, Harry was suddenly thrown back into the dream he had last night.

He stood in a field of dirt. There was a cage in the middle of an elaborate circle. It was filled with people. There were two shadowy silhouettes standing opposite of each other outside the circle. Harry could heard a crackle of static, and suddenly he could hear. The people in the cage were weeping, pleading, screaming for mercy, their lives. The two silhouettes stood, implacable, as unforgiving as statues. Harry could feel a sense of growing horror. These two people were about to do something horrible to the people who were caged.

Harry shook his head and tried to find something else to focus on. He looked at the circle on the ground. It was beautiful, curving and sweeping across the brown ground. Now that Harry was inspecting it closely, he could that there even more circles and sweeping designs inside the main huge circle. Harry could hear the people's screams crescendo into a screaming hysterical wail, before being brutally cut off. The sound had gone. Whirling around as he heard the rustle of robes, he saw Voldemort.

He was dressed in rich black robes, with a silver trim. His red, snakelike eyes were regarding Harry with barely concealed venom. His slit nostrils flared as he breathed in deeply. Harry reached into his pocket to find his wand to protect himself and gasped heavily in fear. His wand wasn't with him. Wherever he was, whatever was happening, he had no way to defend himself.

"No need to fear me here, Potter. Neither of us can harm the other in this place. Being the ignorant little brat that you are, you probably don't even know what is happening." Voldemort smirked.

Harry ground his teeth as he resisted the urge to hex the loathsome Dark Lord. "Well, everyone can't be as persuasive as you. Never mind that you have to torture, blackmail, or bribe your way to the information." Harry's satisfaction grew and Voldemort's smirk turned into a glower.

As their short conversation ended, the sound snapped back to life. Harry jumped as he heard the sound of people clapping. Whirling back around, he saw the two silhouettes had clapped their hands together. When they bent and touched their hands to the circle, a light erupted and started to crackle and lash around wildly. As the light made it way to the innermost part of the circle, the screams of the caged turned into wails of horror. A few prayers could be heard, begging for mercy and forgiveness. When the light touched the cage, the wails turned into screams of agony before abruptly stopping.

Harry turned away, sickened. He could see Voldemort, his face contemplative. His nausea worsened as he thought of what Voldemort could possibly be planning on seeing this…atrocity. Harry might not have known what was going on but he could instinctively feel that it was horribly and terribly wrong. As he thought this, a red glow bathed the area. Harry looked up and could see a bright point of brilliant red light, descending from the sky. The two silhouettes were together now, and the taller of the two reached up and took the point of light in its hand. As the silhouette touched it the light dimmed and suddenly it was only a stone that the silhouette was holding. Harry gasped as recognition flowed over him. He knew what the stone was. He had seen it his first year, in the Mirror of Erised.

Harry woke with a gasp and sat straight up. DADA was still going on and it seemed that only a few minutes had passed. Ron and Hermione hadn't even noticed that he fallen asleep. However Harry couldn't even begin to attempt to listen to the lecture. He could only see the shadowy hand reach up and take a Philosopher's Stone into its hand as it descended from the sky, as if it was a gift from the gods.

------------

Edward Elric was being unusually elusive. Albus had been trying to find him for over an hour. He had disguised his search as a stroll around the castle, but so far everywhere he had looked had turned up nothing. Normally the boy could be found in the Library, the Great Hall, or Gryffindor Tower. His frustration growing, he decided to return to his office and wait until later to have the talk with the boy. However, it seemed that someone had taken pity on him for as he rounded the corner, there was the blond boy himself, his back towards Albus, and he was hauling something. Approaching on silent feet, Albus stood behind the boy and peered over his shoulder.

"Whatever are you doing, Mr. Elric?"

The boy jumped and whirled around, dropping whatever he was carrying. "Headmaster! Make some damn noise when you walk! You can give someone a heart attack sneaking up on them like that."

"Sorry, but I am rather curious as to what you are carrying."

The boy looked down at the floor and grinned sheepishly. His left arm rubbed the back of his head as he spoke. "It's just something I found. For my research. I have an experiment I want to conduct, and this should help speed it along. Anyway, I have to get to back to the Library. Was there anything you wanted?"

Albus looked over the boy carefully. His braid was messier than usual, his coat was slightly crooked and he could smell sweat. The boy had been up to something.

"Actually, yes. I was wondering if you could come to my office. I have something I want to discuss with you."

"Right now?"

"It would be preferable."

The boy grimaced and then looked at the metal junk on the floor. Albus wondered where the boy had found it. He must have had some magical help since he couldn't just have found a bunch of metal pieces lying around the middle of the hallway

since even Hogwarts didn't just have that much metal around in a convenient pile.

"Alright. Let me just drop this off then I'll meet you at your office." With that the boy picked up the edge of the sheet and started to carefully drag it down the hallway.

--------------

As Ed dumped his own collection of random metal junk, he sighed noisily. He didn't want to go talk with the headmaster. It reminded him of talking to Mustang. He scowled at the remembrance of that bastard. Well that was one thing this place had going for it. Turning he left the Library again and trudged his way to the second floor. Upon reaching the stone gargoyle he realized he had a problem. He didn't know the password. Trying to remember what Harry had said last time was here brought a vague recollection of some strange phrases. "Dammit, just open up! I don't feel like dealing with this!"

The gargoyle gave him a glare before sliding aside. Rather grudgingly, Ed thought. He let the moving staircase take him to the door. Just as he raised his hand to knock, the door swung open on its accord. He jumped a bit, before walking into the office. It was as he remembered, except with a few more gadgets here and there. He slumped into a chair and gave the headmaster a tired glare.

"What do you want?"

"Lemon drop?" Was the reply he got.

Ed's ire increased. "I don't want any candy. I want to know why I am here."

The old man's eyes looked at him and seemed to see straight through him. Unfortunately for said old man he was used to such looks from Mustang. His irritation started a slow smolder.

"I can see that you want me to get to the point so I shall be blunter than I usually am. Mr. Elric, they symbol on your back, it is a flamel?"

Ed's eyes widened in surprise. He had seen nothing that would suggest that this world had alchemy. He had never suspected that the symbol would be recognized. Even in his world, many didn't know what it meant. "Yes. Why do you wanna know?"

The headmaster's eyes took on a gleam of something that Ed couldn't identify.

Ed felt a dark foreboding as the headmaster studied him.
"If I may inquire as to why you wear that symbol on your coat?"

Ed considered many different answers before replying. "My teacher passed it down to me. Just as her teacher passed it down to her."

"What exactly did your teacher teach you?"

Here, Ed knew that he wasn't going to risk the truth about his alchemy. "She tutored me. In my world, there is no real official schooling like this. If you want an education, you have to find someone to teach you. Otherwise, you grow up, learn what you can from your parents, find a job, and live as best you can. You don't need an education to find work with a few exceptions, of course. Me and my brother though, we wanted to learn something more."

Ed could see the headmaster eyeing him speculatively. His eyes narrowed at the sign he took as disbelief at what he said. Ed started to finger the earring he wore, something he had started because of the unfamiliar weight on his ear and had quickly become a habit.

"I see, Mr. Elric. Perhaps you could tell me a bit more about your world? I must admit that I have a small amount of curiosity about it."

It was Ed's turn to eye the headmaster speculatively. He nodded, once, sharply. "What do you want to know," he ground out.

Ed could feel his blood pressure rising as a smile spread across Dumbledore's face. He knew that the old man was searching for answers to something Ed had no idea about.

"I was wondering about just general things. Some history, maybe some politics."

"I should say that the military is a big part of life in Amestris. Our country is ruled by a military dictatorship. Fuhrer King Bradley is our current leader. Our country had had a long history of civil wars. No one really likes the military, but the branch of the military that I am associated with is pretty much despised. I work for a branch that does a lot of research and field work with practical applications of the research. So, as a consequence, we have access to libraries that no one else does. This means we also have access to material that no one does also. We are called 'dogs of the military'. Mostly because of the Ishbal Massacre. What the soldiers did there, it was a massacre. The Ishbalans had no way to defend themselves. Their people were almost wiped out because of our military. The State does not take kindly to anything that could threaten its power. It is utterly ruthless.

"The people of Amestris are kind hardworking people, overall. Some places, though, are oppressed by corrupt military officials. In those places, you will find an absolute hatred of the military." Ed stopped to take a deep breath. Everything he had revealed was common knowledge among the people of Amestris and, in fact, the people of Amestris would have known about the State Alchemists. Being so vague about something that was a part of every day life was harder than Ed would have thought. He would never have even considered trying to hide his alchemy in his own world. He was too well known for that. Besides, his pocket watch gave who he was away. "Anything else in particular?"

Ed's face was carefully blank. He could sense the maneuvering that the headmaster was doing. He was trying to extract information from him without actively questioning him. It was pissing him off.

"Earlier you mentioned that to get education you had to find a tutor. What kind of education would you receive?"

"It depends on what you want to learn. Generally any tutor you will find will be a specialist in something. Or be a master of a trade. Me and my brother, we learned mostly science. I suppose technically you would call me a scientist. Essentially, if you want to be something other than a laborer you find someone who will teach you. It's expensive but ultimately it is worth it."

Dumbledore's eyes seemed to take on a glint of triumph. Ed scowled. This conversation reeked of manipulation and he couldn't help but want to escape it.

"If that is all, I believe I will be going," Ed said as he started to stand.

"One moment, Mr. Elric. I have one more question I want to ask."

Ed reluctantly sat back down and stared at the headmaster, sullenly expectant.

"I was wondering if you could look at something and tell me your opinion."

Ed warily looked at the headmaster. "Look at what?"

"Just a few pictures."

"Maybe. Now I really have got to go," said Ed as he stood up and walked out of the office. When he reached the first floor he leaned against a wall and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Unfortunately it wasn't working. Al had a plethora of ways to calm him down and Ed didn't know how he did it.

--------------

Albus frowned as the boy left his office. The boy had barely let anything slip that was remotely useful. In fact, the only thing Albus had gained from the conversation was the boy's interest in science. Well that and some useful facts of this 'Amestris' that the boy said he was from.

----------------

Harry stumbled of Defense against the Dark Arts in a daze. Ron and Hermione seemed to finally notice that Harry wasn't quite all there. They glanced at each other from the corners of their eyes and silently agreed to leave it for now but would talk to him about it later. Instead, they surreptitiously guided him to his next class.

When Harry finally realized that he had somehow got from one class to the other with no conscious recollection of how he got there, he looked around in confusion trying to place where he was. Seeing only the familiar walls of the Transfiguration classroom brought only mild relief. He shook his head slightly in an attempt to clear the last of the fog that he had been in. But that only brought him back to many of the reoccurring thoughts that he had been having. For instance, why had he and Voldemort been able to talk they way they did? Or why had they been able to see each other. The way those damn dreams were supposed to work was with Harry along as a passenger in the dark lord's head. As much as he hated to admit it, Harry would have preferred that than this new style of dreaming. At least then he would have been doing something that was vaguely familiar.

-----------------

By the end of the week Ed was noticing the mounting excitement of the students. Even the teachers seemed to be more excited than usual. Finally, his curiosity overcame and he asked the blasted trio what had everyone worked up. Harry and Hermione exchanged surprised looks.

"Don't you remember, Ed?" Hermione asked.

"Remember what?" Ed snapped.

"You agreed to go to Hogsmeade with us this weekend. That's why the students are so excited. The teachers too except they hide it better. Mostly," Hermione said with a glance at a overly excited Professor Flitwick as he tumbled from his chair, mid sentence, while waving his enthusiastically to demonstrate the best way to mix some gilly water.

Ed looked between Harry and Hermione in disbelief. Ron was also looking at the two with shock. "What! You invited him to go to Hogsmeade with us! Why didn't you tell me!?" Ron half shouted. Harry and Hermione exchanged guilty looks.

"We're sorry, Ron. We forgot to tell you," Hermione said quietly. "You don't mind do you? It's just that we thought that maybe Ed could use a break from all that research he has been doing."

Ron looked down at Hermione and seemed to be slightly abashed. His cheeks reddened as he continued to look at her. When he looked away he shrugged his shoulders and muttered a "whatever" before resuming his eating.

Ed just looked at Ron strangely for his sudden about face and could that Ron was glaring angrily at his food. And muttering under his breath. Shaking his head at the strange behavior he continued eating his own breakfast.

----------------

A/N: I am ALIVE!!! cackles like a mad scientist Seriously though, sorry for the long wait. I had most of this chapter written like halfway through October, and then I just kind of let it sit for like two weeks. I am such a slacker. If anyone is still reading this story I will be surprised. Also, say hello to my NEW longest chapter! chapter waves shyly It's a bit shy, so it doesn't like large gatherings.

Anyway! I would like to thank all the reviewers. You all make my day. I swear reviews are like a drug. I get a high when I read them. Wonder if there's rehab…?

Visit my profile for my updates too, few though they are, for how the story is going.

Next chapter: Hogsmeade!

Review or I'll sic my attack hippos on you!