/an/ Neither the italics or the bold features are working today which is really annoying so if you think something should be in italics, it probably was when I wrote it but ffn decided to remove it for whatever reason. Also, my space bar is acting up and no matter how wany times I read through this mess, I always find more words that have fused together whoops. /

Waking up under a bush at six in the morning was a strange experience for Edward. Consciousness had decided to trickle back to him, ever so slowly until he suddenly jolted upright in a confused panic.

"Wha-what the hell happened here..?"

He gazed around, dazed for a moment, taking in the destruction around him. Everywhere within a ten foot radius of where he lay was in total disarray, with clumps of dirt and chunks of rocks strewn across the park. It was obvious what had caused the mess; alchemy lines were clearly visible on the ground, but Ed could not for the life of him fathom how he could have caused something like this and not remember it. He was the only person around here that knew how to perform alchemy...right?

Gingerly, Ed pushed himself upright, using the tree behind him for support until he swayed lightly on his feet. He stubbornly ignored the pounding in his head and the groan his automail arm gave at the movement in favour of moving forward to assess the carnage.

Something big must have gone down here...Damn it! Why can't I remember? He thought to himself, furrowing his brow.

For a moment he just stood where he was, stuck in thought and grimacing, trying g to recall anything from last night that would explain the mess. That was until he remembered he was in public ans realised how strange it would look if he was seen here amongst a load of rubble.

Giving his forehead an aggressive rub with the back of his sleeve, as if it would do something to jog his memory, Ed made his way over to the worst of the damage to begin repairing the park grounds. It was worrying for him that his automail arm seemed to be moving sluggishly when he went to clap his palms together, like there was thick, sticky grease in the joints, but for now he had bigger issues to settle.

He made swift work of tidying up and was actually quite pleased with how neatly the ground moulded back into place. It was as if he'd never been there. Well, almost. In usual Ed fashion he decided to leave a little something behind for the residents and as he walked away he was accompanied by the sound of running water from the massive fountain he had planted right in the middle of the park. He figured he might as well give back to the community he had been a part of for three months.

When Ed arrived back at the Leaky Cauldron it was only a little past 7 am but already it was surprisingly busy. Ed had to physically push his way through the blockade of people in the main bar to get to the stairs round the back, hoping that he would be able to sneak past the bar without being caught by Tom. The man had recently become something of a guardian figure for Ed and would often grumble at him for staying out too late. Alas he was stopped short, just at the foot of the old staircase by the sound of a stern cough behind him.

It was with a sheepish smile that Ed turned to face the landlord of the inn. However rather than the miffed and exasperated frown he usually received in return, Tom's face snapped into an expression of shock. At that moment Ed remembered that he had woken up in a bush. He probably looked hella rough right now.

"Ed what were you doing last night?" the older man grated out. He seemed torn between his need to scold the teen or to usher him into the back to get the medical help he obviously needed. "You're bleeding."

"Eh? What? Where?" Ed began to blindly pat himself down, in search of the blood.

"No I'm not, I'm fin-oh." He pulled his hand away from his temple, his gloved fingertips coming away with a few specks of dried blood on them. It was brown and flakey meaning he must have been bleeding for quite a while.

"When did that happen?" Ed muttered to himself.

Tom groaned. "Come on," he grumbled, taking Ed by the shoulder and pulling him into the kitchen. Wordlessly, he pushed Ed towards an upturned bucket by the sink then, as the teen sat, made his way over to a tiny cupboard. Inside there was an abundance of unlabeled little jars and bottles, of which Tom chose three to take back to Ed.

"My kid used to get into scrapes all the time." Tom began without prompt, kneeling down so that he was eye level with Edward. He unscrewed the first bottle, a strong alcohol smell attacking Ed's nose. The landlord poured a little of the clear liquid onto a clean rag and began dabbing at Ed's forehead. Normally the alchemist would have protested fiercely at the action but there was something about Tom that made Ed trust him. Also his killer headache made it a bit difficult to focus.

"Every week he would come home from school with a new wound. Sometimes just small bruises, but once he went and got his whole wrist broke." Tom chuckled sadly at the memory, unscrewing the second bottle. It contained a thick brown liquid which he smeared gently onto a long cut on Ed's forearm. He hadn't even realised it had been there. Almost immediately the cut began to lose it's angry red colour, fading to a slight puffy pink.

"I would always patch him up after, though he never told me what had happened. I had to guess what he was up to until his school told me he was getting into fights. That was a week before he got his letter from Hogwarts you see. I never hear from him nowadays. Gone and got himself a good job up in the country. There-" Tom's tone shifted suddenly as he finished up with the final jar, a black paste which he put on the slit in Ed's forehead. "-good as new."

As Tom put his supplies away Ed jumped up from the bucket with a grin. He flexed his flesh hand, watching the now tiny cut on his arm move with the muscle beneath and found himself amazed at the medicine the man had used. Back in Amestris even a small cut like that would have taken at least a week to heal but here, even as he watched it, the skin was slowly seeming to knit itself back together.

"Thank you Tom, this is, I mean...Wow. This is amazing." Ed started. "I really appreciate it, I guess I must have found some trouble last night." He laughed awkwardly.

"Ah, don't mention it my boy. Hey, speaking of trouble I've got a little something for you right...over...aha! Here it is." Tom turned back to Ed after a moment of searching through the many piles of papers on the front desk. They had made their way back to the bar and Ed was taken slightly bu surprise when the man thrust a small piece of paper under his nose.

Upon closer inspection, Ed could see that the piece of paper was actually a small envelope with a large, red wax seal holding it closed. A sudden burst of excitement rippled through Ed's stomach as he recognised the small lettering that was imprinted upon the wax.

Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

This was it, Ed realised. The moment Ed would find out if he'd been accepted. The moment he would find out if he'd done enough to impress the professor and would be able to begin his research to get home in earnest. There was a slight tremor in his hands as Ed took the letter, carefully peeled off the wax seal and shuffled the single piece of folded parchment out of the envelope. He glanced up at Tom who was watching him intently then began to read the careful cursive of the letter.

"Dear Mr Edward Elric,

I am writing to inform you, with great pleasure, that your application to enroll at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been processed and accepted. As of Monday the 5th of September you will officially be a pupil at the school and will be expected to arrive promptly and with all necessary supplies and equipment (please see list at the bottom of the letter).

I have been informed of your unfortunate situation and wish to grant you the standard financial aid that Hogwarts offers to all students in dire circumstances. This will be sufficient to cover the purchase of required materials, including a replacement wand.

Please join the students aboard the Hogwarts Express on the 5th as this will take you directly to the school, as well as give you a chance to get to know your peers.

Due to the unusual circumstances regarding your enrolment at the school, you shall be joining the first years upon entry. I shall then make arrangements regarding your education at a later date as currently your magic abilities are unknown to us.

If you have any questions, please ask Tom who I have been informed you are staying with currently.

You will be able to withdraw your money from Gringotts bank, under your name, simply make sure to present this letter to the staff and they should take you to your Hogwarts issued vault.

I wish you all the best and hope that you will thoroughly enjoy your time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Yours faithfully,

Albus Dumbledore.

Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Required items include:..."

Ed skimmed through the rest of the letter. Once again he was confronted with a smattering of words he didn't know but the message was clear: he was in.

Despite the nervous butterflies in his stomach which had decided to make a comeback, Ed looked back up at Tom with a smirk.

"It looks like I'm off to school." He declared, waving the letter at the innkeeper proudly. Tom returned the smile and nabbed the letter to read it himself. He assured Ed that he would help him find the train station because "it takes a bit of a knack to find the entrance." This confused the alchemist slightly but he didn't question it.

"You do realise that today is the 4th right Ed?" Tom inquired suddenly, as if the thought had only just struck him.

Ed's eyes widened.

"Oh shit!" he all but yelled, causing a number of heads to turn his way but Ed was too panicked to care. He dove forward and snatched the letter out of Tom's hands before racing upstairs. Tom watched his antics, slightly baffled. A moment later, after a loud crash sounded from Ed's room the boy reappeared at the bar with his signature red coat flapping around him, still running.

"Where are you going?" Tom called after the teen as he sped towards the back door.

"To get all this stuff! I have to be at Hogwarts tomorrow and I have literally nothing!" Ed hollered back, letter in hand.

"Alright, just don't come back covered in blood again. And Gringotts is on the North side of Diagon Alley- big building, can't miss it!"

"Thanks Tom!"

And with that, Ed was out of the inn and skidding through the courtyard. Once again he was faced with the portal-wall but this time Ed didn't miss a beat, clapping his hands together and transmuting the bricks in one smooth motion. Since he already knew how to decompose it, he barely had to think about the transmutation.

Ed didn't bother re-transmuting the wall, knowing that it would return to it's original shape without him prompting it so instead he made his way north, hoping that he would be able to spot this "Gringotts" that had been mentioned in the letter. Sure enough, after just a few minutes of brisk walking Ed was fairly certain he had found the place.

The building was simply enormous, towering above the rows of little shops that surrounded it. The bank was also a soft white colour which seemed an odd choice to Ed, it stuck out like a sore thumb but then again, that was probably the point. A nice flamboyant place to store your gold.

Ed was almost intimidated by the fancy design of the building as he made his way inside, through the large bronze doors. Much to his expectation, the interior was just as grand as the exterior, if not more so, however his attention was soon shifted when he noticed the people inside the bank. Or at least, they looked like people...sort of.

Ed was pretty certain that if he didn't already have experience with chimeras and all of the other sorts of awful creations alchemy could produce, his jaw would have hit the floor. Even so, he was still shocked to see the tiny humanoid creatures that made up the majority of the figures in the bank. Most of them were barely the height of his hip, with strange, gnarled features almost like that of a twisted tree. They were everywhere, either perched high at tall desks, feather quill in hand, or running around this way and that way in the busy lobby.

Ed could hardly tear his eyes away from them as he made his way into the building. That was until he was jolted out of his daze when a gruff voice addressed him and he realised that he had been standing at one of the high desks for at least half a minute without saying anything. He'd been too busy staring.

Dragging his eyes over to look at the figure at the desk he quickly discerned that these...creatures must run the place. Nobody else seemed to be having any reaction at all to them, so Ed decided to play along as best he could.

"Sorry about that. I'm Edward Elric. I'm here to withdraw some money." He employed the use of his "serious business" voice as he slid over his letter. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but Ed felt a little affronted when the creature snatched the letter away and began peering closely at it. It did something under the desk that Ed couldn't see, then nodded to itself, satisfied.

"Follow me." it grunted shortly and hopped off of the high stool.

Ed was led through a small maze of halls, down stairs, up stairs, left, right, right again, until they finally stopped in front of a dingy little door surrounded by thick stone. The creature strode forward and opened the door stiffly before gesturing for Ed to enter the room. Inside, it was fairly small with a high ceiling and the walls we lined with shelves, each stacked with drawstring bags of varying sizes.

"This is your Gringotts vault,"the little man recited, "you may deposit or withdraw items from it for the duration of your stay at Hogwarts. Take what you need." The creature made to leave the room until Ed suddenly moved into its path.

"I have a quick question-" He blurted out.

It didn't reply so Ed continued.

"I need to purchase all of these items," He gestured at the list in his hand, "and, well I'm not that familiar with this currency. How much would you recommend I take out?"

The little fellow seemed to consider Ed's inquiry for a moment. Then, without even looking at the list it walked over to one of the shelves withthe largeststack of drawstring bags and snatched up three.

"Here. This should cover everything you need and some extra for any emergencies."

With a nod and a thank you, Ed pocketed the littlemoney sacks and was escorted back into the main lobby of the bank.

Everything considered, that could have gone a lot worse, thought Ed as he left the building, this time weighed down by the coins in his pockets.

With the bank out of the way, Ed was able to check off his first item from his mental to do list. He then retrieved his letter from his pocket see what was up next.

Over next three hours, Ed spent his time running, ducking and diving through the crowds, into numerous shops on the high street in search of every item he could possibly need.

His first stop was at the book shop, of course. Ed purchased everything relevant and then even more, finding it difficult to resist any of the titles which took his fancy. It was a blessing that Ed could actually read most of the titles this time around, rather than just blindly guessing.

By the time Ed left the shop he was struggling to carry his enormous stack of books which was balanced precariously high. His battle with gravity was not helped by the fact that his arm was playing up again, the joints once again feeling as if they were moving through treacle. He would definitely need to check it out later.

The next shops Ed visited were all for small purchases of various miscellaneous items. However Ed did think that it was rather excessive that he had to buy an entire cauldron that practically weighed a ton. What on earth could he ever need that for? He knew potions were a thing but seriously? Why couldn't he just use a large bowl?

When it came to purchasing the uniform, Ed refused to buy anything more than absolutely necessary, which for him translated to exactly one set of robes and zero pointed hats. This was a decision that was fiercely argued against by the shop owner but Ed wouldn't budge from his decision. There was no way he would ever be caught dead in one of those monstrosities.

It was midday by the time Ed reached the final item on his list. A wand. Oh Boy, this would be interesting.

Finding the wand shop was easy enough. Ed stumbled across it quite by accident whilst he was browsing a quieter part of the street. He was immediately drawn towards it, intrigued by the dark windows and rickety design.

A little bell rang above the doorway as Ed made his way inside, however there seemed to be nobody around. Ed glanced around the small shop for a moment, taking in the shadowy corners and the walls which were stacked with rows of small drawers.

"Hello..." Ed's voice echoed slightly within the dusty room. He waited for a few moments with growing impatience before moving towards the main desk.

"Hey. Is anyone in here?' Ed tried again, a little louder. This time he was rewarded with a small crash from way back in the shop and some muffled yelling. Alarmed, Ed was about to rush towards the source of the noise when hurried footsteps sounded from down the hall. Then, almost out of nowhere an old man looking rather frazzled rounded a corner and marched into the room.

He took one look at Ed, his curiously pale eyes shining, before striding over and taking him firmly by the hand.

"So sorry about all of that." He said with vigorous handshake. "I've been run off my feet recently, what with the new school year starting. Lots of supplies to organise out back. Anyway I am Ollivander and I presume you must be here for a wand, correct?"

"Yeah. I'm not really sure how to pick one though, they all seem really diff-"

"Ah! My young lad," the old man cried, throwing his hands up, "as I tell many a young wand buyer: it is not you who chooses the wand, but it is the wand that chooses you."

Ed frowned at the man's words but was intruiged despite himself. Once again deciding to just go with the flow, Ed rubbed his hands together and stepped forward.

" Alright then, so how does this work?"

Without another word, Ollivander took out his own wand then flicked it a couple of times. A small tape measure came flying from a drawer on the wall and begun flitting around Ed like a small bird, taking measurements all over his body.

It was difficult for Ed not to gape at the flying object that moved as if it were alive.

After a while the old wand maker seemed satisfied and with another flick of his wand the tape measure flung itself back into the drawer.

"Now," he said, coming forward, "which is your wand arm my boy?"

"My what?"

"You've had a wand before, yes?" Ollivander peered at Ed questioningly when the teen shook his head. "I must say, you're a little old to be buying a wand for the first time. What ever did you use before?"

For a moment Ed's mind scrambled for something plausible to reply with before he remembered his usual fall-back story.

"My family, we were kind of poor so wands weren't exactly our main priority. We just had this one that we used between us, but I think it must have gotten broken or lost when we left." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Even ifwhat he saidwasn't entirely true, it still felt awkward to recite his sob story which contained just enough of his own past to be believable.

Ollivander nodded, his face unreadable as he thought. "Hmm, an unfortunate tale that is. A wand is never at its best when shared but I suppose you made do as best you could. Frankly, I'm surprised it worked at all. Now then, we must continue. Which is your dominant hand?"

"Right-actually, no left. I think."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm kind of, what's the word? Both-handed?"

"Ambidextrous? How curious..." The old man scratched his chin thoughtfully then turned on his heel and walked over to a stack of boxes. He flitted around for a few seconds, opening and closing various lids before withdrawing a single wand. Ed eyed the thing suspiciously.

"Here." Ollivander declared, holding out the stick to Ed, "Give this one a try. Just a flick will do. It's unicorn hair and Acacia wood. A bit short I must say but-"

Ed snarled at the word short, curling his lip as he grabbed the wand from the man with his left hand. He felt utterly stupid as he flicked it around once only to have nothing happen.

"Try the other hand." Ollivander prompted.

Ed switched hands but was once again rewarded with nothing. Less than a second passed before the wand was plucked from his grip and replaced with another and then, when that one failed to do anything, it was also replaced.

It was impossible to count how many wands Ed went through that afternoon; Ollivander worked quickly, being able to recognise a bad match within a split second of Ed taking hold of the wand. However, the more wands Ed tried, the more frustrated he became. He was so very close to snapping when suddenly Ollivander let out a small noise of triumph from where he was balanced on a small stool. The man had been searching for one particular wand which he claimed would be "perfect", right at the back of the shop. He was elbow high in a pile of boxes but then withdrew brandishing a thin, pale wand which was almost golden in colour.

"I have a good feeling about this one." Pale eyes watched closely as Ed took the wand. He had said that at least four times already, so Ed held little hope, but he still took the stick hoping to just get this over with already.

To his surprise, a minute wisp of blue light began to leak out of the tip of the wand. It was weak and Ed switched arms so that he was holding it with his gloved automail hand. A brief moment of nothing passed, then Ed twitched his hand ever so slightly and suddenly the room lit up as a great stream of icy blue and bright golden sparks leapt from the wand tip.

Ollivander gave a whoop at the sight, clapping his hands together. "Ah yes, simply wonderful! A true match if I ever saw one."

"Woah." Ed breathed, watching the lights dance and fizzle out until the shop turned dark once again. He had certainly been sceptical about magic. Even now, just a day before leaving to attend a magic school he had to admit he still saw it as little more than a gimmick, the scientist inside him unwilling to let go of what he knew. However, Ed could not deny the rush of warmth and wonder he had felt just now, witnessing his first ever use of magic. It was exhilarating and almost addictive and Ed knew that there was a smile plastered all over his face.

"A fine wand that is." Ollivander addressed Ed once again. "It's a dragon core, so you may find it rather stubborn at times however, paired with pine wood, I trust that you shall find this avery adaptable wand. Indeed, I may even be inclined to believe that you will go on to do great things with this wand. Great things!"

Ed paid for the wand with eight large coins, which he presumed were called galleons, and two smaller ones before sliding it into a small opening he created in the inside of his coat. Leaving the shop, Ed found that he suddenly felt a lot less like an outsider to this world. He had a wand, so now he was one of them. All he had t do now was figure out how to use it.

Full of optimism and determination, Ed began to make his way back to the Leaky Cauldron. He hoped he could use the rest of the day to make some headway with learning basic spells, however something soon caught his attention.

Back when Ed had skimmed through the required item list at the inn, he had instantly skipped over the part that stated that he could bring an animal toHogwarts with him. It had seemed trivial and unnecessary at the time, and still did for that matter but now Ed found himself stood at a storefront, transfixed with the abundance of little animals inside. He desperately wanted to get back to his room, but something made him hesitate.

I guess there's no harm in just taking a look. Ed shrugged to himself.

The inside the shop was much more cramped than it looked. Ed practically had to squeeze himself through the entrance hall which was cluttered with an array of different items, ranging from cages of every size, to bags of food and wooden posts. The main shop was just as messy, the confined space made even smaller by the sheer racket coming from the caged animals on the walls.

Once again, the shop owner was nowhere to be seen so Ed took his time, gazing partially in horror and partially in awe at all of different animals on sale. A large proportion of the creatures were just regular animals: cats and rats, owls, frogs and even large ravens that screeched when he got too close. The other side of the shop however, was populated with a strange assortment of unusual animals that Ed couldn't even begin to name. He decided to stay far away from them, fairly certain that they wouldn't hesitate to set him on fire if he so much as brushed past.

He was about to leave the shop, satisfied that there was nothing here that he could possibly want, when he made eye contact with a small grey cat. It was in a large box, distanced from the others, with a scowl on its face. It looked utterly miserable. In that moment, Ed knew that resistance was futile. Just looking at it, he could practically hear Al's voice ringing in his ear, telling him that he simply had to buy it because it looks so sad and lonely.

"Ugh, damn it Al." Ed groaned at his younger brother's influence over him, even across worlds. Begrudgingly, Ed leaned down and gently picked up the cat. For a moment, it struggled violently in his grip, hissing and scratching until he tossed it into his hood. Immediately, the cat settled down and contentedly looked up at Ed from where it was nestled in the thick fabric.

"Alright, let's just pay and get out of here little guy." Ed mumbled.

It turned out that the cat was pretty expensive. It cost Ed one more galleon than his wand had, making Ed question these magical folks abilities to price things correctly.

"That really made a dent in my emergency fund." Ed realised when he was back in his room. The alchemist had recently returned, hauling his day's purchases through the tiny back door of the inn. Somehow, he had managed to take everything up the stairs in one trip. This was truly a remarkable feat considering the sheer volume of items he had to carry.

Now, he was sat at the foot of his bed, cat curled up in his lap, trying to figure out how he was going to be able to fit all of his stuff into a single suitcase.

"You know, I really have to give you a name, don't I little guy." He said suddenly. Since there was nobody around, he spoke in Amestrian, finding himself unable to care about practicing English right now. It had been a rough day.

The cat looked up at him, wide eyes unblinking. Ed cocked his head down at the animal, studying it's little grey face before chuckling. Over the cat's nose were two jagged stripes of black fur that had gone unnoticed before. They curled down towards its mouth before tapering off into points. Kind of like a scar.

"Scar eh? What do you think? Sound bad ass enough for you? You act just like him." If cats could roll their eyes, Ed was pretty sure he had just witnessed it as the newly christened Scar slowly turned away from him and continued sleeping. A sudden thought struck Ed and much to the protest of Scar, he lifted the cat up to look at its stomach.

"Aw man, you're a girl?" Ed snickered, shrugging. "Oh well, it's too late to change your name now. I am so telling Scar about this when I get back." Ed laughed to himself as he plopped the little cat onto the bed. Offended at such treatment, Scar skittered to the far side and curled up next to the wall.

Distraction over, Ed returned his attention to his current predicament. How was he going to fit an entire room worth of stuff into what was barely a one meter bythirty centimeter case?

Narrowing his eyes, Ed sized up the black suitcase. Perhaps he could use alchemy to make it bigger? No, that would just result in him lugging a twenty foot long bag onto a train. Could he make the items smaller? No again. Equivalent exchange stated that the extra mass of the deconstructed items would have to go somewhere and besides, there was no way Ed would be able to reconstruct an entire book exactly how it had been before. That would mean knowing the exact contents ofevery book which kind of defeated the purpose of him taking them to Hogwarts.

Ed threw his head back to rest it on the edge of the bed and groaned. Normally he never would have had to pack this much. Whenever he traveled from place to place in Amestris, he would have a single bag to carry extra clothes and perhaps a book or two at the most. If only there was a way to reduce the mass of the items then...perhaps there was a way.

Snapping his head back up, Ed looked around for a moment before spying what he needed. He jumped up and made his way over to one of his stacks of books, grabbing one and promptly flopping onto his bed. Scar hissed as she was yet again displaced before she decided that Ed's side was actually a pretty comfortable place to curl up against.

Quickly, Ed paged through the thick book of charms he had retrieved, keen eyes looking out for anything that could relate to size. This book had been one of the first on his list, so surely it would contain some kind of basic spell he could use. Soon enough, Ed had two pages marked, each containing information on two specific spells that worked together to shrink and enlarge objects.

Frankly, Ed was actually surprised that he had found the spells so easily. And that they even existed. Apparently magic could actually be useful, who knew? Now it was just a question of whether he would be able to perform it.

Ed realised that he was really taking quite a gamble here. He had never performed any type of magic before so this could either turn out awesomely, or...not so awesomely. Either way, there was no way he wasn't at least going to try. It wasn't like it was dangerous or anything.

Grabbing his wand from where it lay on his desk, Ed found the item that had caused him the greatest amount of grief during his journey through Diagon Alley. The cauldron. If anything deserved to be destroyed by his first spell, it was that.

Ed hefted the massive iron pot onto the desk so that he had a clear shot at it, then re-read the page on the spell that he would be using. It seemed simple enough in theory. Say the spell, flick his wand and poof. It should be smaller. It irritated Ed slightly that there was no instruction on how to choose how much smaller the item would become, but that was just something he would have to deal with.

Ed picked up his wand, rolling it between his palms before choosing to use his right hand. "Alright...here goes. Reducio!" Ed put great effort into enunciating the spell properly, at the same time he flicked his wand up then down sharply. A bright flash of purple light shot out from the wand tip, but even as it flew Ed knew that his aim was way off.

The single flash of colour zoomed forward, sailing past the cauldron and hitting the surface of the desk instead. Brighter purple flashed around the desk for a moment before, quite suddenly it seemed almost to collapse in on itself.With the desk gone, nothing remained to support the cauldron, which crashed to the floor with heavy thunk that did not bode well for the floorboards.

Ed cringed at the noise, half expecting Tom to thunder upstairs and yell at him for destroying his inn again. Nothing happened after a full minute a waiting, so Edcautiously proceeded to pick up the the fallen pot, then gasped.

Hidden under the upturned cauldron lay an exact miniature replica of the large wooden desk that had stood there previously. Ed picked it up gently, easily able to fit it in the palm of his hand as he examined it in amazement. The spell had actually worked, Ed realised. His first spell had succeeded!

Ed let out a great yell of triumph, punching the air with his fist. It may not have gone exactly as planned, and he definitely had a long way to go before he would ever be able to perform magic without the aid of a book, but this small victory meant a lot.

Grinning, Ed readied his wand once more. Now that he had this one spell down, he knew that he had a long night of packing ahead of him.

/an/ ngl, I probably didn't dedicate enough time to the fact that Ed completely forgot about the fight but I kind of feel like it's not the kind of thing Ed would dwell on for that long. I dunno, it's not exactly my biggest plot point right now. Also, for anyone who was curious the obliviate spell didn't hit Ed directly which is why he only has slight memory loss.

On another note, that letter from good ol Dumbledore was weird to write and let me know that I have no clue how to write formal letters.

I wrote this chapter whilst sick so if you see any errors that you suspect may have been due to my illness induced haze, please do point them out and I will do my best to fix them. :)