Chapter 10: A Two Part Affair
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so you know, part 1 is amazing, and part 2 is pure Edry (aka EdWin) fluff. If you hate the pairing, don't read past part 1. but on the plus side, those darn Amestrians will finally LEAVE!!!
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Part 1: A Curious Sale
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Ed woke up with the sun as usual. He sat up, and discovered his arm was draped around something.
Winry.
And from the looks of things, they had been sleeping veeeery close to each other.
Ed could feel his face turn bright red, and quickly left the room to change, muttering the periodic table as he did so. He splashed some water on his face, trying to make his embarrassment hide the memory of his nightmare.
It was the same one every night, where Al blamed him for what happened, Winry shooting Scar and ending up dead, the souls of Envy's true form screaming at him, ending with Truth staring at him with his maniacal grin.
Ed shook his head and recited a bit more to clear his head. Getting dressed so that his arm and leg were covered, he walked into the kitchen and got himself some water.
"Sigh."
Ed turned around, and saw Tonks in the hallway to the small sitting area, looking out a window. Or is that a picture? Ed wondered, walking over to her. Tonks nodded at him and stepped to the side letting him stare, at the frame.
It was a full color picture of a group of wizards. The people were moving. They were laughing chatting, waving, being grim, and were alive. Tonks smiled.
"We took that a few months ago, before the fiasco at the Ministry. There's me off to the side," Tonks pointed at herself. Ed looked confused.
"But your hair is different. And you're taller," he spluttered, flabbergasted at what he saw.
"I'm a Metamorphagus. I was born with the ability to change my appearance at will." Tonks screwed up her eyes, and her hair changed from spiky pink to a brilliant amethyst Mohawk. Ed smiled.
"Beautiful. Keep it just like that."
Tonks laughed, changing it back despite Ed's protests.
"But anyways, next to me is Remus Lupin, you'll meet him later. Beside him is Harry's godfather, Sirius Black. We're standing is what was his ancestral home – in the picture anyways. In the middle is Dumbledore, and next to him is Mad-Eye. He was with us when we picked you up. Beside him are teachers from Hogwarts, McGonagall and Snape. The family with the flaming hair is the Weasleys; their son is one of Harry's best friends. On the other side of me is Kingsley Shacklebolt, he's another Auror."
"I'm sorry, what's an Auror?" Ed wondered aloud.
"An Auror is a dark wizard catcher, employed by the Ministry. I'm an Auror, and Mad-Eye's a retired one." Ed's interest immediately plummeted, replaced by utter refusal. There was one thing he had to ask though.
"If they need you to kill someone, I mean." Ed paused, unsure of how to say it. "Do you have to kill people? Like, are their some people you don't even have the option to capture, you just kill them?" Ed stopped. Tonks nodded, eyes downcast.
"Yes, we do." She answered.
"Then there is no way I want to be an Auror," Ed said. "I already am a dog of one damn military, I won't become another one for a country I don't even live in."
Tonks looked confused, but decided to let it drop until the got his whole story. She thought it might be a good time to wake up the others.
"Hey, Ed can you wake up the others while I make some tea? They leave tonight, so we only have a short while to finish everything up." Ed left to go wake up Izumi and Winry. He stuck his head inside his brother's room, and asked him to wake Izumi. Al put his book down and started poking Izumi with a very long stick (so that her reflexes wouldn't send him flying, and alert Tonks to his hollowness.
Meanwhile, Ed walked into his own room, highly apprehensive. Deciding to act natural, he put him hand on Winry's shoulder, and shook her gently. She's so beautiful when she sleeps. Her face looks so peaceful, Ed thought, not realizing what he was thinking. After no response from Winry, he leaned down by her ear and said softly, almost tenderly, "Wake up Winry."
Winry sat straight up, smacking Ed in the forehead with the side of her head and knocking him over. She stepped over him dazedly, and went to go get dressed.
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"So, today we go to Diagon Alley to buy Edward's wand, and then we go to King's Cross where you three ride home, and then I'll find out where Ed'll be staying afterwards." Tonks finished. She hadn't told them about You-Know-Who, but instead she told them about how Ed would be going to Hogwarts, and what they would do that day. There was a slight surprise when Tonks found there was no milk anywhere in the "whole damn house", so they'd skipped having tea.
"But what about-"
"I'm sorry Alphonse. I can't tell you anything for your own safety. From what Izumi had told me, there is a whole country made up entirely of alchemists like Ed, so if word were to get out, you'd be safer if you could honestly claim ignorance." Al nodded, and Winry sighed. Why does everyone always feel the need to protect me? She thought.
The group set out for Ollivander's, and Tonks stood ready outside while the others entered the little shop.
Ed's POV:
I step into the shop and I see a small chair in the corner and thousands of boxes stacked up to the ceiling. It looks eerily like Sheska's house only with thin boxes instead of thick books. A small bell rings in the back as we come in, and I faintly hear someone moving boxes around, and suddenly an old man is standing beside me. His eyes were the color of the moon, but pierced me as if they had been fired by a gun Hawkeye was shooting at me.
"Good Afternoon, Mr. Elric. I had a feeling I would be seeing you here sometime soon. No one around you looks familiar, but then again you transfers are very eluding, are you not." He says in a soft voice that somehow fills the whole room.
"Hello?" I say, confused.
"Could you hold out your wand arm?" he asks softly. I am confused.
"What do you mean?"
"What arm do you write with? What arm do you feel the most ease when using? What arm do you draw with? All those questions are simply the same story with separate details. The answer is your wand arm."
I pause. I decide to use my non-automail arm, since it's better for writing. Mr. Ollivander takes out a tape measure and begins measuring, my arm, my height, and other random places, like the size of my antennae, and the length of my eyebrows. He breaks away from the tape measure, and to my surprise it keeps measuring, while Mr. Ollivander starts going through boxes. He comes back and examines one of the numbers in the tape measure. He looks puzzled and stares at me for a moment.
"I'm terribly sorry but could you please switch arms. I'm afraid that isn't your wand arm at all."
Confused, I switch to the arm that Winry made me, the one I know will always work, the one I know won't break down from overuse, the one custom-made for me, the one I used to write and draw with before I lost the real one. I realize now that it was the answer to all my questions – all my stories – and hold out my right arm. The tape measure begins to restart measuring, and Ollivander starts throwing back most of the boxes, and starts taking out new ones, almost frantically, as if to make up for lost time.
"That will do." He says, and the measure collapses on the floor.
"Try this wand, Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Please take it and give it a wave."
Feeling slightly stupid I wave the wand, and it is immediately snatched from my hand.
"No, not that one, take this. Beachwood and dragon heartstring. 9 inches. Very supple. Try it."
I wave the wand and it is snatched away too. I go through many, then dozens of wands, none of them seeming to be right. Mr. Ollivander seemed rather delighted by this than put off.
"Another tricky customer eh? You're my hardest since Mr. Potter came through here. But we'll find a match for you yet…Hm, I wonder…well, might as well have a try! Cedar and thestral hair. 13 inches. Fluid. Give it a wave."
I take the wand, and feel heat rush through my body, and down through my shoulder, and I literally feel it course through my automail into my wand. I wave it and elaborate patterns swirl out in streams of dark purples, blues, blacks, and a few pure strands of silver. They twist around in the air, and almost form a circle, when it vanishes. Mr. Ollivander starts applauding.
"Oh bravo! Very good job that was! I've never seen such a large display of magic come out of a wand before. Even when adults buy new ones, they never get that strong of a result!" He seemed to be enjoying himself, and as he went to go add up the cost for the wand he started muttering to himself.
"Curious…how very curious…"
"What's so curious?" I ask, wondering what's strange about my wand choice. The two moons look straight into mine again.
"Well Mr. Elric, thestrals are one of the darkest creatures in our world. They can only be seen by those who have seen someone die. And while that in itself is curious enough, it just so happens, that inside that wand is the blood of a thestral, for when I came upon it, the poor steed was badly wounded. And as cedars are known for being as vivid a red as blood, the wand was very curious," Mr. Ollivander came to stand very close to me, staring into my eyes. "This wand must think you worthy of it's wielding, for the wand is which chooses the wizard you know! Great things shall come from that wand Mr. Elric. Do not use it for the wrong purposes."
Though I am thoroughly creeped out by this, I buy the wand anyway and am exalted even so. This is my first real proof that I, me, can do magic.
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3rd person:
The Amestrians exited the shop quietly, all dazed at the fact that Ed could really do magic, that fact that it had been called highly powerful, and at the materials used to create the wand. Suddenly all four of them realized that any of them could see the thestrals, and that suddenly depressed them. Tonks decided not to ask questions, instead taking them to the Cauldron, and buying them all butterbeers. Knowing that whatever she said would lighten the mood, Tonks made an announcement she'd obviously wanted to make all morning.
"I heard from the Order, and they'll be sending Remus down here to meet me and Ed to escort him to King's Cross. Apparently I'm supposed to change my appearance to something that looks familiar to the 3 of you, so that people think I'm another Amestrian." Ed nodded, and Al asked
"Who's Remus?"
Tonks suppressed a flush and said, "He's a member of the Order. That's all you need to know at the moment." Al nodded expecting something like this, and suddenly Ed was hit by a sudden thought.
"Can you change your clothes appearance too, or just your features?"
"Just what I look like. Not my clothes. Why?"
Al nudged him. Thinking of Envy? He asked Ed through their little thought/whisper communication. Ed nodded, Yup. Because apparently what he is can be natural, well his power anyways.
"So you need to look like an Amestrian right?" Winry asked. Tonks nodded.
"Okay." Said Winry, and started drawing something. Izumi leaned over, and started writing things in margins as labels. After about 5 minutes of them drawing, and the others staring, Winry presented Tonks with a complicated looking figure of a person.
"Umm… Alright, I'll try it." Tonks said, screwing up her eyes really hard. Her hair turned blonde, and her height grew. Her eyes turned brown, and her skin lightened. Pinned back short blonde hair finished it off, and before them stood Riza Hawkeye. Only not quite Her, as Winry's memory was foggy, and Izumi tried to make the drawing look less specific. Also Tonks didn't have that military air, the formality. Instead she was Tonks, who looked a lot like Hawkeye.
Ed burst into laugher.
"All we need now is a military uniform and it's perfect. She'd blend right in, as long as no one recognized her!" exclaimed Ed, hysterical with laugher. Al rolled his eyes (or at least the light in his armor darkened, the head tilted back, and he sighed loudly).
"Big Brother you're so weird. You do look almost exactly like a woman in our military did a few years back though." Tonks/Riza's eyes widened.
"What? This person's a soldier? Why her?" Tonks said, frantic, shifting back into her normal appearance. Izumi put a hand on her shoulder.
"Relax Tonks. Everyone those boys know is either in the military, or they helped them out while traveling. What more do you expect from a state alchemist?" Izumi said, saying the words 'state alchemist' with such loathing, Tonks backed away. She looked questioningly at Ed, but he shrugged and mouthed the word 'Later,' at her.
Shrugging, she led them out of the Alley, and down into a subway station.
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Part 2: Unexpected Departure
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They finally arrived at King's Cross. Tonks was surprisingly good with Muggle money, but she explained that her dad was Muggle-born, so she'd needed to know when she saw people from his family.
The Amestrians' bags were taken out of a small duffel Tonks carried (it had a bottom-less charm on it), and she waited outside for them to say their goodbyes.
Izumi gave him a big hug, and waved to him as she got on the train. The brothers shared a tearful embrace before pulling apart.
"Write me," said Al. Ed nodded.
"Tell Izumi to be nice to owls." With another hug, Al stepped onto the train.
Winry stood awkwardly, and Ed impulsively wrapped his arms around her. They embraced for a long moment, and finally pulled apart.
"Well, I'll be seeing you." Ed said, trying to act normal.
"Yeah, see you," Winry sighed. On impulse she stepped closer to him. "I'm really going to miss you Edward."
Winry stretched up to place her lips on Ed's, and when met with no response she pulled away and started walking back to the train, very red.
It took Ed a moment to process what had happened. When he accepted that the thing he had been wishing for, for weeks, had happened, he ran to catch up to her, cursing his stupidity.
"Winry!" he called. She turned slowly, with tears in her eyes. Ed stopped in front of her and kissed her. Winry was stunned, but began responding, opening her mouth to deepen the kiss. Ed's tongue crept in her mouth, and massaged hers, biting her lower lip, making her suppress a moan. When they pulled apart, it hurt to do so, and Winry brought her lips back to his for one last soft kiss before stepping onto the platform, giving Ed a small wave before entering the train. Ed saw the tears on her face and remembered his promise to her, "The next time you cry, they'll be tears of happiness." He saw Winry look out from her window, and she gave him the largest smile he'd ever seen, tears dripping down her face.
Ed sighed, turned on his heel, and walked out of the station as the train pulled away.
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Yay!!! They're gone!!!
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and yes, this chapter DID use to be 2 chapters, but I decided that everything was taking far too long, and so I made this chapter 2 parts.
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Starts coughing up cotton balls Too…cough much… cough fluff…
Don't worry, Edry haters, that's the only non-letter fluff bit I'm going to do. Enjoy the pairing exempt rest of the story