(14.01.18) AN/ If you had read this chapter before I changed it, you would know that I have made a bit of a change to how Ed finds out about Hogwarts. It just didn't sit right with me and seemed a bit cliche that Ed just happened to receive a mysterious letter ooohhhh. Nah, that's not how Ed rolls. He is a do-er and if he wants to get into Hogwarts, he's gonna go do it himself and not get offered a place on a silver platter like a good 'ol Gary Sue.

This new development of a possible wizard school, suddenly sparked something within Ed that he hadn't felt since he had last been in Amestris. He was excited. This whole experience was an adventure dressed in a nightmare's clothing, and may even be a lead to finding his way back home. If he found a way to get into that school he may even learn something that would help to bring Al's body back! Equivalent exchange was a hard rule-Ed knew that, but that must mean that this "magic" must work differently to alchemy to give the appearance of creating something from nothing. Ed was determined to find out how.

All it had taken was one small happening to make Ed come to his senses. All at once he felt slightly ashamed at being so apprehensive recently. He was the Fullmetal Alchemist for God's sake! He wasn't afraid of the truth. (He was a bit scared of Truth but that was a whole other kettle of fish). He would face this magic malarkey head on. His first priority however, was finding a way back to Amestris and back to Al. Nothing would come in the way of that now.

With his renewed perspective on his situation, Ed made his way into the thickened crowd which was no longer intimidating in the slightest. Now that he was over his initial anxiety, he realised that the place was actually fascinating. Nowhere in Amestris could you hope to find colour changing chairs, or large, fluffy owls on sale to be kept as pets! Everywhere he looked there was something new and interesting to be found and Ed started at the realisation that in his closed mindedness and fear, he had almost chosen to ignore a treasure trove of information and amazement.

Even though he knew that he was more or less penniless, Ed had no problem with just browsing for the next few hours, mindlessly gazing at everything and anything and jotting down notes and ideas when they came to him. The entire street was jam packed with crazy objects and people, even more so than back in that "London" place Ed had lived in. He wondered why this pocket of magical folk was so hidden away, so separate from the rest of the city, as if they had been forgotten. It was hard to imagine something like this happening to the alchemist community- they were so ingrained in society in Amestris, it would take a lot to suddenly push them away into isolation.

Another rush of excitement came to him when he stumbled upon a great book shop. It was a grand brute of a shop, packed to bursting with books which were no doubt written in the language he could barely understand but Ed knew that he could overcome that- especilly with his new found motivation. He dug around in his pockets for a few moments and pulled out the last dregs of his money. Six small coins of varying colour and size. He hoped it would be enough for something. He didn't want to have to resort to pickpocketing…again.

The prize of a book was firmly set on the teen's mind as he marched into the shop, red coat flapping behind him like a winged companion. Inside was just as busy as the street. The multiple stories were filled to the brim with browsing wizards and witches of all ages. He noted the large amount of teenagers and children inside the shop, who were no doubt getting school supplies for the new year.

A sudden idea popped into his head and a grin found its way onto his face. Scanning the near vicinity, Ed found a young wizard who looked to be about his age standing by a bookshelf with a large stack of books neatly under one arm. Ed discreetly sidled over to the teen and made a quick note of all of the titles he had with him, then continued to do the same thing for four or five other students of roughly his age. This was phase one of his quickly developing plan to get into the school- Learn as much school content as possible. Despite not having gone to any academic institution since he was about twelve, Ed had a pretty good idea of how education systems worked, he also knew for one thing: there was no way he'd get into the school with absolutely zero prior knowledge.

Now armed with a list of over fifty book titles, Ed immediately began to push his way to the very back of the shop where it was quieter and the books were dustier and began skimming the shelves for anything he recognised. The very top floor was much less populated and soon enough a small wall of literature had built around him and Ed was content to just sit and read. A small window just above him ushered in a small trickle of light that was just enough to read by. The moment his gaze fell upon the first page of slightly smudged words, he became lost in deciphering and decoding the foreign text.

The sun had dipped below the drooping rooftops of the buildings that lined the streets by the time Ed looked up from within his little fortress. His stomach had given out a growl that could not be ignored so he huffily began pushing books randomly onto shelves. He was slightly irritated at his lack of understanding of the many books he had tried to read because, as much as he was good at guessing meaning by context, he just didn't know enough. This and the fact that he had already been studying the language for the better part of three months made him particularly sullen. Every other word in those books was alien to him and now that he no longer had access to the extensive languages section in the massive city library, he was rather stumped. It wasn't like he hadn't already learnt a great amount of English; he was certain that he could hold a reasonable conversation by now but these magic books seemed to use a far greater vocabulary than he currently had at his disposal.

It was a slightly heartening thought that perhaps the only reason words such as "aconite" meant nothing to him was because they were wizard words. Nevertheless, he still wrote down each new word with every intention of finding out what all of them meant. It was fairly unlikely that a magic shop would sell any dictionaries however and Ed wasn't in the mood for a hunt, so for now he was stuck. He would just have to pick up some more books at the small library down the road or from the bookshop next door when he got back to the inn and continue guessing through context until he could find a way of discovering their true meanings.

Ten minutes later, Ed had nearly finished haphazardly putting the books back onto their respective shelves. On a whim, he decided to buy the final book from his destroyed pile. It was very small and tattered and had some circle drawings on the front which looked vaguely alchemical if he squinted, so perhaps it would prove useful and hopefully not too expensive.

The sound of his uneven footsteps startled the lady at the counter as Ed walked towards her. She must have thought that there was nobody left in the shop at this late hour, which was fair enough; she was just about to close.

She warily watched the strange blond boy approaching her, armed with a book that looked positively ancient. It was dog-eared and had probably come from the collection at the back. It was more or less worthless by now. Nobody bought that stuff nowadays. Oh well, a sale was a sale.

Ed handed the book over to the woman who was peering down at him through her large rimmed glasses with an unreadable expression. She took it gingerly between her thumb and middle finger and dropped it into a small paper bag as if it offended her- honestly, it was just a bit dusty! Then she said something in such a strange accent that it flew completely over Ed's head but he guessed that she was asking for payment.

He chucked all six of his "wizard" coins onto the counter and she delicately slid four, two larger ones and and two smaller ones, into a box beside her. She then handed him the bag with his book which he took with a stumbled "thank you" and he slipped his remaining two coins into a pocket. He was honestly surprised that he'd had enough to pay for the book and added "get someone to explain the currency" to his ever growing mental to-do list.

The little bell above the shop door announced his departure as Ed stepped out onto the practically deserted street. The chilly mist was back so he pulled his coat slightly tighter around himself and hugged the little book to his chest. It was strange walking back through the high street which now had very few signs of life on it. Ed almost wondered if something had happened whilst he was in the bookshop, however the small pockets of people milling around the cafés showed no indication of strife.

A steady ebb and flow of quiet conversation followed Ed as he walked back to the Leaky Cauldron. Despite the calm that only evening could bring, Ed once again felt uneasy, as if someone was watching him- which was entirely possible. The street was dark and foggy with patches of near black shadows dotted around every few metres. It would be all too easy for somebody to follow him, dipping in and out of the dark pools but Ed put those fears to the back of his mind. He doubted these magic folk could do any real harm anyway. Every shop he had seen today had been filled with gimmicks and interesting objects that looked about as dangerous as Mustang in the rain. Now that he was recovered and out of his slump, Ed was confident that he could beat anyone's ass that tried to jump him, even without his alchemy.

It was only once Ed reached the moving brick wall that lead back to the inn did the feeling of being watched disappear, only to be replaced by another problem. Ed was no magician and it was obvious that the passage back could only be created by one. The teen had no idea how to get back. With a sigh, Ed slumped down to sit cross-legged on the floor with his hands on his knees. For a solid five minutes he just stared at the unchanging wall, decomposing it in his mind as he would with anything he transmuted and reconstructing it as the hole that would take him back. He went through all of the circles but never clapped or tried to draw upon the alchemic energy that he knew was there but currently seemed further out of reach than any of the times he had tried circle-less alchemy before that day.

It was coming up to the ten minute mark by the time Ed jumped up. Attempting alchemy was futile and he didn't want to risk experimenting out on the streets where he might fall unconscious or accidentally blow up the portal wall...Again. Instead, he decided upon the tactic of poking at the bricks with his flesh hand, feeling for any give or weakness in the surface. He was still sceptical of this magic business after all and the logical part of his brain had decided that the wall must just be a trick, that there was a mechanism inside that when triggered would cause the bricks to slide apart. After all, everyone who had changed the wall before had tapped it.

He started at the bottom of the wall and made his way up systematically. Once or twice a loose brick shook under Ed's hand but soon proved to be nothing more than that after failing to do anything spectacular. By the middle of the wall, nothing had happened and Ed was beginning to feel a little silly. It was fortunate that it was dark and nobody was about otherwise Ed was sure that there would be some questions. He was about to give up when he felt a sudden jolt in his automail arm which was resting on the wall. The first time it happened, Ed shook it off as humidity. Dark clouds had rolled in, giving the moon a half mask and Ed could tell that there was going to be a storm. That thought spurred him on and he resumed searching the wall at a faster pace.

Soon enough, he felt another jolt. Frowning, Ed looked down at his arm to see that it had been resting on the same brick as before. His frown deepened and he tentatively touched the brick with his left hand. A tingle. Barely there. Then with his right hand again. A spark of something travelled through his port, but unlike the painful twinges he got before rain, this was different somehow. It wasn't quite painful but it was strange and powerful and reminded Ed all too much of alchemy. At that thought, Ed's mind began to buzz. Perhaps there was still a chance that he could use alchemy here. Was it possible that he had been thinking about this all wrong? He was in another world so what was to say that the rules of alchemy wouldn't be a bit different? Equivalent exchange must still be a constant- it was the foundation of alchemy itself, but perhaps he was approaching it wrong.

Throwing caution to the wind, Ed clapped his palms together and was rewarded with the usual metallic ring. Then, without thinking about the decomposition or the circles, or anything, Ed released the energy through his automail hand directly to the brick that had caused the spark. The immediate effect was a lot more underwhelming that Ed had hoped. Instead of the usual bright flash, there was a small pop and fizzle like a match being lit. A moment of silence had Ed doubting that anything had actually happened, then a tiny rumble came from the wall. All at once, the bricks began twisting and contorting and a massive grin broke out on Edward's face as he watched them dance into the formation of an arch. It looked very different from what he had seen earlier as instead of jagged edges, the arch was smooth, twisting and garish, similar to his creations back home. (Ed still had no idea why nobody liked his designs- they were awesome!)

Ed rushed through the arch and was pleased to find himself in the back area of the inn, not just on the other side of the wall. The sudden elation in his heart made him feel giddy. He finally had his alchemy back! Just to check that it wasn't a one-off, Ed went back to the arch and re-transmuted it back into a wall.

Pure relief and joy was coursing through his veins as he made his way back into the Leaky Cauldron. On his way inside he flashed Tom a bright smile which was given a look of happy confusion in reply. Too excited to think about food anymore, Ed bounded up the stairs to his room which had books and clutter strewn haplessly across the floor.

With the door firmly shut, Ed proceeded to violently shove everything that currently occupied his desk onto the floor. He then ran a hand over the smooth wooden surface, gauging the necessary information before taking a breath and clapping his hands together. He had to test his theory. If his alchemy was truly back, this would work. Once again the loud ring filled his ears and he firmly placed his palms down, thinking back to his first transmutations of small animal figures.

Fizz..pop..CRUNCH. Wait- wha-no,no NoNO"NO!" Ed's eyes widened in fear as the transmutation began to backfire. I just did this! What went wrong? Panicked, Ed began trying to pull his hands away from the table, but just like the first time he had tried transmuting, he was stuck, feeling as if his life force was being ripped away and unable to do anything but wait it out. Like a fish caught on a hook Ed began wrenching his hands back until the tendons in his shoulders were on the verge of ripping. He heard a small twang from his automail.

A rush of anger made Ed see red. He was not going to give up now! He had this and it wasn't going to slip away! His anger gave him a sudden surge of energy which instead of using to fuel his efforts of pulling away, he poured it all into the transmutation. The blazing white and purple light became brighter, filling his vision and forcing him to shut his eyes. Flickers of black began to close in from the corners of his vision which was still bright white through his eyelids, then with a final, brilliant flash, Ed was flung backwards. He landed in a heaving pile, bouncing from the wall to the floor with a crash that was bound to have been heard two buildings away.

It took Ed a few moments to gather his senses once again. He felt numb and dazed and his head felt as if he had a wad of cotton wool in there instead of a brain. Blinking away the flashes that remained imprinted on his retinas, Ed dragged himself upright once again and stumbled back to the wretched desk. He fell heavily into the chair and let his head rest in his arms for a bit, mulling and pondering. He closed his eyes. What went wrong? What am I missing? Something must have been different that time…but what?

Over and over again, these questions rolled and tumbled and churned in his mind but he could think of nothing. He had done it exactly as he had outside with the wall- no deconstruction, no circles in his mind, only a vague idea of the result.

With a growl, Ed banged his fist against the table viciously and brought his head up. He was about to get up to pace, hoping that it would help to clear his muddled thoughts when something stopped him dead in his tracks. There, in the middle of the desk, less than the size of a thimble was a tiny bird figure. Ed blinked twice. It was still there.

Quick as a viper, Ed bent down to examine the tiny wooden finch that was now perched on the table. It was exactly the one he had been thinking of. It even had the tiny antennae poking up from its head- a trademark of Ed's.

For a moment Ed stopped breathing. If he breathed it might blow away and cease to be real. Then he whooped. A great yell of triumph declaring his feat to the world. If he could do this once then he could do it again!

Again he tried. Another explosion of power that ripped him off his feet. The table was flat once more.

Again. Deconstruction. Yellow and green flashes and sparks that twisted and pulled. A small cat. His nose began to bleed.

Again. Circles. Green and red flames that dragged him to the brink of consciousness. An owl.

Again. More power. Black tendrils, like hands. A dog.

Again. A wrench

Again. A watch

Again. A gun.

All night Ed worked himself to the brink. Tirelessly he attacked the desk with transmutation after transmutation until he could barely stand and his heart was fluttering dangerously weakly against his ribs. He tried every combination of power, circles, deconstruction and reconstruction he could think of, varying the equations and ratios every time, but no matter what he tried the result would always be the same. A flash. A colour. A violent tug on his consciousness. A tiny figure. Blood.

He noticed that certain combinations resulted in fractionally less brutal consequences, but never enough that he would ever be able to use it outside.

It was five in the morning by the time he decided to call it a night. Ed was exhausted and the thought of performing even one more transmutation repulsed him. As he lay on his bed, still fully clothed except for his Flamel cloak which was draped over him, Ed stared at the ceiling. It was dark and only a sliver of moonlight crept in through the tiny window so Ed watched the fading zigzags and flashes blink out of his eyes. His final transmutation had been exceptionally bright and Ed had had to take a few minutes to even slightly recover from its intensity.

He wasn't down yet though. There were people who needed him. He would find a way back. No matter what.

Ed woke late the next day. A faint smudge of blood on his pillow made him grimace as he remembered the events of last night. He dragged his eyes over to the desk to see the last figure had made still standing there after he hadn't had the strength to take it down. He let his head flop back again with a groan.

He had been so hopeful but of course things were never that easy. Truth was probably laughing at him right now. Stupid alchemist. He would say. Use your head. So much has changed but everything is still the same.

Something clicked. Snapping upright, Ed ignored the head rush and sped over to the desk. He crouched so that his eyes were level with the top of the surface and he scanned, every inch, every bump and scratch. How could he not have seen this?

Closing his eyes, Ed brought back the equations he had been using the previous night and chuckled at himself. Stupid alchemist indeed. So much had changed. He had never stopped to think about how an entirely new world may be different to his own. They may be similar but not everything would be composed in the same way. Oak here may be very different than oak back in Amestris. It may not even be the same thing. However the fundamentals were always the same. Everything is still the same.

With that thought spurring him on, Ed clapped. He didn't need to remove parts of the process, he needed to add more! Drawing upon everything he knew about every type of wood he knew of, he planted his hands upon the desk. This was the riskiest transmutation he had done yet. For one, he was an alchemist who specialised in metal, not wood but the desk was the best he had right now. Also, what he was thinking of would require way too much energy if it backfired. If this went wrong he would die. But he was certain. There was no way he could be wrong.

A shit eating grin plastered itself on Ed's face as blue sparks appeared. They popped and fizzled like before but were stronger. Alchemical lines began to appear, morphing the light wood into an elongated sphere, growing and moulding. There was no surge, no crack, just a gentle fizz as the figure took shape beneath his hands. Moments later, an almost life-size statue of Alphonse's armour stood in the middle of the room.

Ed brought a hand to his face. No blood, no sweat. His heart rate hadn't even sped up.

Table. Alphonse. Table. Alphonse.

Five times each he transmuted the two. Each time it became a little easier and he could discard any unneeded information. After the sixth transmutation he was sure that he hadn't gotten it wrong. This wasn't a one off exception like with the wall, which he assumed had just been luck. He had it right. He knew what he was doing now and alchemy was back on the table. For good.

With a spring in his step, Ed strutted down into the main part of the inn. As usual, Tom was there at the bar with a smile as soon as he saw Ed.

"What was all the noise about last night?" He asked the alchemist slowly, giving him time to mull over the words before he answered.

"I was practing? No...um…practising some uh, magic." Ed rolled the word around in his mouth. "Very dangerous. Went a bit wrong, but now I've got it! You heard?" How could he not have heard? It sounded like the military training ground on artillery testing day!

"Ah, of course. I thought it was that, but you can never assume these days."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you see there's been a lot o' dangerous folk around- you follow?" Ed nodded. "Yeah, after the Quidditch World Cup fiasco," Ed looked puzzled at that word, "disaster, people have been on edge lately."

"Quidditch?" Ed asked. He knew what "fiasco" meant alright, but "quidditch" was certainly something he had never heard of before.

"Ya' don't know what quidditch is my boy?" Tom asked incredulously. He was so forceful in his tone that Ed wondered if he had personally insulted the man.

"I'm not from around here Tom." Ed gestured to the air. "It's probably different in my own language- I've only been learning for a few months."

"Oh, yes I almost forgot. You know, it's bloody remarkable. You managed to pick up more English in a few months than others do in years. Not to say it hasn't been done before, but I still think its damn brilliant…Anyway, quidditch, it's what we call the sport with our broomsticks- you know with the balls and the teams."

"Oh! Yes of course! I know exactly what that is- yes, where I come from we call that…" Ed had absolutely no idea what the man was on about. At least he knew that quidditch was a sport now, but other than that he was lost. He told Tom the Amestrian for "bullshit" because it was the first thing that came to his mind. No doubt the man would be telling all his friends how to say "quidditch" in a foreign language all day.

"Say," Ed butted in to Tom's ramblings about his favourite quidditch team, "you wouldn't happen to know of a magic school around here would you?"

"School eh? Yes, there are a couple in England- not anywhere near here mind, but I imagine you must be thinkin' of Hogwarts." Ed inclined his head. "Well at least, that's where all these kiddies are heading over the next few days." Tom gestured towards a small group of tiny wizard children before continuing. "You know, Hogwarts is one of the best wizarding schools in the world, some of the finest sorcerers have been taught there...some of the worst too."

Ed frowned at the ominous inclination of the man's voice but opted to ignore it on favour of digging for more info.

"So how would a person...you know, go about uh enrolling? Enrolling in Hog-warts? I've been looking for a way to carry on my..education."

"I gotta tell you lad, I'm not really sure. Every kid I've heard of that goes there has done so since they were eleven- it's kind of the done thing in our community." Tom paused for a moment as if considering something. "If you want, I could have a chat with some o the teachers that come by here- see if the headmaster might be willing to make an exception for you."

"Headmaster?" asked Ed. That word rung a bell but he couldn't place where he had heard it before.

"Yeah, it means he runs the school- Hogwarts. Haven't talked to the man in years though, might have to go through a couple a professors first to get to him. He's a difficult bugger to get a hold of these days."

"That would be amazing Tom! You would do that for me?" Ed practically jumped off of the bar stool he was balanced on at the news. Phase two was running much more smoothly than Ed had anticipated.

"Anything for my favourite customer." Tom quipped back with a cheesy grin.

/

As Ed made his way out of the front entrance of the Leaky Cauldron, things were beginning to look a lot brighter. With any luck, Tom would have talked to a teacher who could contact the headmaster of Hogwarts about Ed's possible enrollment in the school within a week. He was a sociable man so it didn't seem particularly far-fetched a thought. That meant that within the month, Ed could be out of the dingy inn and finally able to get started on some real research. Hogwarts sounded like a brilliant school and would no doubt be home to a lot more magic-specific information than anywhere else. A spring had found its way into the young alchemist's step as he rounded the corner, out into the main road of the muggle world. (Ed had learned the word "muggle" a few days prior after hearing it too many times to not ask Tom what it meant)

Unlike the wizard street Ed had discovered the previous day, the road at the front of the Leaky Cauldron was very unremarkable. Ed had walked down it numerous times on the way to the tiny local library, which was where he was headed now. It was a five minute jog that took him through a maze of alleys and a small park and during the afternoon it was pleasant enough if you could ignore the strong stench of petrol that clogged the air each day. Ed also passed a dated workshop on the way which he had stopped at once to pick up some small items, screws and nails and the such, for his automail. Well, he wouldn't be needing that any more, he thought. Any spare parts he needed now could just be transmuted.

Ed spent the day at the library. He had brought along his book with circles on it from the wizard bookshop in the hopes of deciphering it. His hopes were slightly dashed however when, two hours in, he realised that it hadn't been written in the modern English he was learning. It wasn't as bad as that Shakespeare stuff he had accidentally picked up a couple of weeks ago- a horrible mistake- but it would certainly take a much deeper understanding of modern English to even attempt, so he put it aside for later.

Along with his usual linguistics studies, Ed had now added some science books into his research. With this new development in his alchemy, he figured that it would be useful to get to grips with how the people in this world understood natural science. Most of it was fairly basic and coincided with Ed's current knowledge but there were other, much more advanced studies in engineering and power sources that Ed had never seen before. Out of interest, Ed read up about something called "nuclear power" and found it both mesmerising and terrifying. To think that these people had discovered a way to harness such raw power was amazing and Ed knew that there was no way he could tell Mustang about this. It was far too dangerous, and in the wrong hands could no doubt cause tragedy.

Edward never went back to the wizard street. He really had no need to and there he felt somewhat like an intruder. He didn't know magic and he knew nothing of their customs or culture. Ed was much more at ease living among normal people as he had for his entire life. He was used to the fact that alchemy was not widely practised by the public in Amestris, so he knew how to act around them. The same could not be said for wizards.

But now that he was aware, Ed couldn't stop noticing them. It was if a switch had been turned on in his brain and now he could actually see what was happening around him. Over the next four days whenever Ed went out, he would see things that would normally be unexplainable. Objects sometimes flew overhead, in the clouds where nobody would normally think to look. Daytime owl sightings became commonplace, and just once Ed had caught a glimpse of the rickety purple bus speeding down the road and a lamp post and multiple cars had moved out of its path of almost certain destruction. That explained a lot.

All too soon a week rolled by with no word from Tom. Ed hadn't really been counting but he had always had a smile ready for when he saw the innkeeper in the mornings and evenings- hoping that Tom would be the one to bring up the subject of Hogwarts. For some reason he felt a bit nervous at the prospect of going to school, like that time when he had to speak to Hawkeye after spilling juice on one of her reports. That was a horrific day. However, in usual Edward style, he ignored the small twinges of anxiety in his stomach in favour of his usual cocky grin that he wore when out and about.

It was extremely busy in the pub on that particular Sunday evening. There was an abundance of young children passing through as well, Ed noted. They were all headed towards the courtyard so he could only assume that they were there for the Portal Wall. Nobody spared him a glance as he slid into a seat in the corner of the room to watch the antics. Many of the children wore pointed hats that wouldn't be out of place at a fancy dress party, but it looked cute on them so Ed couldn't judge. He assumed that they were school children which brought his mind back to his current predicament. That morning, Ed had arrived back in the Leaky Cauldron after a long run to the sight of Tom engrossed in conversation with a tall, thin woman. She was obviously a witch in her long green dress-robe hybrid and she held herself with a grace not unlike that of Olivier Armstrong. Needless to say, Ed skirted round the back so as to stay as far out of her way as possible.

Although at the time Ed had thought that he had dodged a bullet, he was slightly dismayed to later learn from Tom that she had been one of the professors from Hogwarts he had mentioned. He had also learned that she would be returning later to talk to him and judge whether he was a suitable "candidate" to be enrolled at the school. She was due to arrive any moment and Ed could honestly say that he wasn't sure if he'd be surviving the next hour of his short life.

A sudden sound of roaring fire caught Ed's attention and he turned sharply to see something extremely peculiar. There, amidst a swirl of dying emerald flames stood the woman. It wasn't the woman that was peculiar- it was the fact that she was standing inside the fireplace! She looked very elegant for someone who had apparently just walked out of a ball of fire, but it seemed that that was a normal happening here as nobody else even batted an eyelid.

Ed resisted the urge to sink further into his seat as she practically glided across the room over to Tom who greeted her warmly. He wasn't really sure what he had been expecting, but this woman, like so many others in his life was extremely intimidating. She reminded him of his Teacher, Izumi and that was not a good thing in Ed's books. Ed couldn't hear what Tom and Teacher 2.0 were saying but a moment later Tom was pointing the lady in the direction of the rooms upstairs, no doubt telling her which one was Ed's. It was hard not to feel a sense of betrayal at the ease which Tom had told the woman where he would be. That was until he remembered that he had literally arranged the meeting between them, and had told Ed hours beforehand.

Deciding that he had stalled long enough, Ed slunk back through the mass of people and made his way back to his room. Upon seeing the woman, he knew that it would be in his best interests not to keep her waiting. Although physically, she looked harmless enough, he had no idea what she may be capable of in terms of magic.

When he reached his room, Ed found that the door was slightly ajar informing him of the woman's presence in his room. Whilst this might have seemed considerate, it made Ed's anxiety return somewhat. Ajar doors were never safe, often concealing rushed crime scenes or traps (at least in Ed's previous experience) so just as a precaution, he transmuted a very short blade into his arm so that it could be hidden under his coat sleeve. Once again, a smile graced his lips as the transmutation worked seamlessly. Warily, he pushed open his door and was met with the sight of Teacher 2.0 perched delicately on the edge of his bed. He couldn't blame her, it was the only place that wasn't trashed with books or pieces of wall that had broken off.

Edward was hesitant for a moment. Upon closer inspection, he found that the woman's face was much less severe that it had looked from far away. In fact, she looked more tired than anything else. They made eye contact and without waiting for the teen to even cross the threshold into his room, the woman stood and spoke.

"Mr. Edward I presume? I am professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. I was recently approached by Tom about the possibility of your enrollment, is that correct?" She spoke very formally and clearly which was a blessing for Ed- still however it took him a moment to un-jumble the sentence in his head.

Slowly, he nodded, "Yes Professor, I was hoping that there was a possibility that you could uh, allow me to continue my education at Hogwarts. I understand that it is...unusual to allow new, older students in but I have nowhere else to go."

"Why is that, Edward?"

Time to roll out the sob story. Ed bit his lip and, with what he hoped was a stricken expression, broke eye contact and dropped his gaze to the ground.

"My family..we were driven out of our home by the war. We were making our way across the boarder when the other soldiers caught up and- I...I was the only one who made it out. Even my little brother..he..." Ed trailed off, allowing McGonagall's imagination to fill in the rest. He hoped that he had kept the story vague enough to apply to any war that might be going on right now. It was a similar story to the one he told people who asked about his automail leg when he was in Central. The moment he mentioned "the war" or "the Eastern conflict", the conversation quickly came to an end, with many Amestrian soldiers preferring to avoid the topic as well.

"Oh, goodness you poor boy. Yes, I've heard of the conflict in the East, I never thought that it would impact the magic community in such a way..."

"I lived in a very...rural area. I'm mostly home-schooled in magic, my mother taught me before...-which is why I am...uh, concerned that I might not be at the right standard." Again, Ed allowed his face to morph into one of sadness before perking up slightly. "But I have been studying! I have read some books that I saw other students using."

Playing the role of the child eager to learn, Ed whipped around to reach for one of the many books he had picked up from some place or another before realising something. His Alphonse floor-statue was still standing, very much visible in the centre of the room. There was no way McGonagall hadn't seen it. Ed faltered for a moment, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights before opting to act like nothing was wrong. If she hadn't already brought it up, perhaps it wasn't a big deal. Perhaps it was commonplace for magic folk to keep wooden statues of suits of armour melded into the floor. Nothing weird about that at all.

Turning back, random book in hand, Ed grinned at her hoping to keep her attention on him for as long as possible. Nervously, he scratched the back of his head as he offered her the book- which turned out to be a short one on "transfiguration"- a branch of magic that was one of the closest to alchemy he had seen yet. "Heh, I found that one really interesting, especially the part about morphing two separate types of matter together into one, very...thought provoking. I haven't finished it yet though-my English isn't the best..."

"It sounds plenty good to me," she replied thoughtfully as she turned the book around in her hands. A few moments of silence passed between the alchemist and the witch, who seemed to be deep in thought as she mulled over the situation. Finally, she looked back up at Ed, peering searchingly through her glasses.

"If you don't mind my asking, where is your wand Mr..."

"Elric." Ed supplied shortly.

"Mr Elric."

"I lost it a while ago. On my way here I ran into a bit of trouble and it got lost on the fray. I haven't been able to afford another one." Improv like a pro- eat that Mustang!

"Indeed, however that does beg the question of how you were able to transfigure that without a wand?" Ah damn. Ed already knew what she was gesturing towards without even looking. He supposed it had been too much to hope that she would ignore such a thing.

Stalling for time, Ed slowly turned on the spot, his mind whirring with possible explanations he could offer. He didn't necessarily want to expose his alchemy just yet as it seemed to be a lesser practiced, if at all type of "magic". It would certainly raise a lot of unanswerable questions, and may even result in him being rejected from Hogwarts. No, he needed to turn this to his favour- try to impress her so that she didn't even think that he had no experience in using magic.

"Ah that! Yes..that is a magic that I can perform without a wand. I was taught it by my father- it's a bit of a family...how do you say it? Tradition? Look, I will show you."

Maneuvering himself quickly behind the statue so that McGonagall's view of him was obscured, Ed clapped his hands together and re-transmuted the floor so that it once again lay flat. Other than the tiny, telltale lines left behind by the alchemy, there was no sign that it had ever held a different form. Theatrically dusting himself off, Ed looked up again to see a slightly stunned expression on the professor's face.

For a moment, she seemed to struggle to find words before composing herself with a small nod.

"That was rather...unexpected. However, I see that you are an undoubtedly talented wizard to be able to perform not only wandless but nonverbal magic too. I shall speak with Professor Dumbledore about your situation. Expect to hear from me again by tomorrow, good day Mr Elric." Rather briskly, she let herself out of the small room without even waiting for Edward to reply. Something had obviously shaken her, given her response to Ed's alchemy but Ed couldn't understand how such simple alchemy had prompted such a reaction from her.

Choosing not to dwell upon it too much, Ed picked up the transfiguration book she had left behind on his bed and began to read it once again. With any luck, he would be receiving (fingers crossed) an acceptance letter to Hogwarts the next day, and if that happened,he had better be prepared to go back to school.

/AN/ Sorry for yet another long wait but I had this chapter on the go for a while and I kept editing it but it just never seemed right. I still don't particularly like it but I figured that I had to upload it eventually and this was as good as it was going to get. Anyways, Spiderman homecoming amirite.

(14.01.18) I changed a lot in this chapter- sorry if you don't like it but honestly, I couldn't bring myself to write any more of this, knowing that that plot was so cliche and that characterisation was shitty and that Ed was being treated like a special snowflake. Also, I had written myself into a hole that I wasn't sure how to get out of and I eventually decided that a complete rewrite of the last two chapters was in order. If you can remeber anything from before the change, please do tell me if you prefer this version :) I'm only just coming out of this many month long writing slump and reviews may inpire me to write the next chapter just that little bit faster. (Also, if you have a problem with McGonagall's characher please do tell- I got Dumbledore wrong before and I don't want that same thing happening again)/