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Chapter 19: Closed Prying Minds
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The pair raced to the Great Hall, and quickly sat down, before people had a chance to start staring at Ed. The few who noticed their entrance did, and people cycled in and out of "Staring at Ed suspiciously" rotations (or at least it seemed that way to Ed).
Surprisingly, Zaneh came over to the Ravenclaw table, and joined them and Jude during dinner. The four left the Hall laughing at some random joke Luna made about Malfoy.
That reminded Ed of the Slytherin's existence, and privately thought to himself, So, THAT'S where all those small insults are coming from… I need to have a nice LONG talk with him one of these days.
When they passed Gryffindor Tower, Zaneh and Ed bid farewell to Luna, and entered the Common Room.
The entire room fell silent the moment Ed walked in. All the sixth years stared at him with narrowed eyes, and the younger ones gave him looks of terror spawned from exaggeration as the story was told. Ed raised his eyebrows, and gave a small snort of amusement.
"Is this the best you can do? You're trying to shun me, or pretending to fear me, and this is all you can conjure up? I'd expect a bunch of wizards would be able to do something grand and magical to make me feel insignificant and alone. Instead all I get is narrowed eyes, and rumors of what happens when I see a boggart. Come on, Gryffindors, isn't this supposed to be 'where dwell the brave at heart'?" Ed said, openly mocking them. Half the room started glancing at each other shame faced, while the Golden Trio openly stared at him in shock.
"I mean seriously, you guys are supposed to be the brave ones, and here you are making someone an outcast because their fears freak you out. Hell, you guys make outcasts for reasons as stupid as someone losing a lot of House points because they did something they thought was right. I bet you don't know the names of half the people in your year. How long have you been living with these people? Lots of years now? Come on, pull yourselves together and get your priorities straight."
With that miniature monologue, Ed backed out of the portrait hole, muttering something about training. If someone had looked out the window in the next five minutes, they'd have seen Ed practicing a strange mix of martial arts, and gymnastics. As it was, they only saw him afterwards when he came back in, cursing under his breath, stalking back up to the boys' dormitories and flexing his right shoulder in irritation.
Flopping onto his bed, he didn't bother undressing, but instead closed his eyes, waiting for the interrogation he would be receiving. Ed didn't have to wait long for the Golden Trio to pry; when everyone else was asleep, Harry and Ron were shaking him "awake".
Sitting up, he glared at the other two. "What?" the alchemist demanded thoroughly annoyed.
Harry held up his Invisibility Cloak, and beckoned towards the stairs. We need to talk, he mouthed.
Ed rolled his eyes, and swung off his bed, ignoring the Cloak being brandished at him, and stomping down the stairs as if to prove a point. No one else woke. The most reaction was Neville's snoring. The other two crept silently behind him, pulling off the Cloak once they reached the Common Room.
Ed flopped onto a chair, and looked around. The other two sank into chairs across from him. They sat for a while, and seemed to be waiting for something. Ed kept looking around in confusion, then realized what it was.
"Waiting for Hermione, are we?" he drawled, the temptation to make a crack at their expense very large, but deciding against it. The other two sat silently, not looking at him.
They waited for a minute, then heard a loud whispered argument taking place in the stairway to the girl's dorms.
"I'm not doing anything, I'm just going to the bathroom!"
"Hermione, I'm not stupid. If you're only doing that, then why were you sneaking around?"
"I didn't want to wake anyone, Zaneh!"
"Then why is it such a big deal that I come along?"
"Come on Chioke, just go back to bed!"
"No! You're going to do something idiotic, and I'm sick and tired of just watching you sneak out every bloody year! What the hell are you doing?"
Ed smiled at Zaneh's protests, body starting to shake with silent laughs as the argument grew closer and more drawn out.
"Fine! Come with me! I don't see why this is just so important to you, but fine!"
Harry and Ron quickly disappeared under the cloak, and were motioning for Ed to join them (obviously trying to save face for Hermione) when the two girls walked into the Common Room.
"There! See? Nothing is going o- oh. Hi Ed," Hermione finished lamely, ignoring Zaneh's look of triumph.
"Hi Hermione. Harry and Ron are under the cloak in," Ed waved his hand around where the two had gone under the Cloak. "that general area. Go ahead and come out guys. Your other third is here, so you can start with the interrogation now!" Ed called cheerfully.
The other guys revealed themselves, glaring at Ed.
"What? Interrogation? What the bloody hell are you guys doing?" Zaneh asked, outraged on Ed's behalf.
Ron rounded on her, face furious. "Look, ever since he got here, he's said nothing about who he is, or where he came from. Three strange people showed up with him, Harry says they were talking about something dangerous when they were walking to Gringotts, and-"
"Whoa!" Ed interrupted, turning to Harry. "You were listening to us? What the hell did you hear?"
Harry stood up, starting to shout on his own. "There you go! It's bullocks like that that makes you so suspicious! You're doing bloody strange shit none of us have ever seen before, crazy stuff is happening without any explanation from you, and –I'm sorry to bring this up- what that boggart turned into was just bloody disturbing, mate!"
"Well I'm sorry Harry, but if the Order doesn't trust you enough to let you in on already disclosed information, then I don't see why I should tell you anything either!" Ed bellowed back, in full confrontational mode.
"Would everyone please STOP SHOUTING?" Hermione screamed.
The entire room turned to look at the usually quiet girl.
"Look, we've probably woken up the whole bloody House by now, so let's go to an empty classroom or something, then continue more calmly. How does that sound?" Hermione asked ferociously.
The room was silent.
"All right. Zaneh, you're staying here. It's already a stretch for three people to fit under the Cloak so-"
"Hang on a minute," Ed butted in, seeing a compromise. "I've been practicing Disillusionment Charms, I can cast it on Zaneh and I. It won't be as good as Harry's Cloak, but it'll be hard to see us in the dark."
Harry threw up his hands in exasperation. "Fine. Fine! Zaneh can come. Whatever. Let's just go and get this over with."
The Trio disappeared under the Cloak, and the Portrait door opened seemingly on it's own and stayed ajar. Ed could see their feet, and decided to follow them that way.
Turning to Zaneh, Ed pulled his wand out of his robes, readying himself.
"I didn't know you were practicing Disillusionment Charms," Zaneh muttered.
"Since Snape gave us that essay about Invisibility, I've tried it a few times. Actually," Ed lowered his voice. "I'm utter crap at them. It should work pretty well since it's dark, but you're going to have to keep close to me in case we have to suddenly disappear."
With that, Ed tapped his wand on Zaneh's head, and she became the texture and gradients of the wall behind her. Ed quickly cast the charm on himself, and the two crept silently out the door, both still painfully visible.
Thankfully, the charm worked better with mimicking shadows, and so the pair crept unseen behind the Golden Trio, Ed following the pairs of feet in front of him.
Eventually, the group made their way to an empty classroom, and Harry threw off the Cloak while his other two thirds lit their wands, and Ed took off him and Zaneh's enchantment.
"Alright, we're here," Ed said, hopping onto a desk. "Shoot. What do you want to ask?"
The Trio glanced at each other, and Hermione began.
"Where are you from Ed?"
Ed snorted. "I've told you a million times before, I'm from the country of Amestris. If you want to get really specific, I'm from Resembool, a small town in the East."
"Who were the people who came with you when you came to buy your supplies?" she continued.
"I'm pretty sure I've at least told Harry already, and if he forgot, then that's his problem."
Hermione shot Harry a frustrated glare before continuing, looking as if she were trying to remember notes. "What's a state alchemist?"
"That would be military information, and cannot tell you anything about our military operations, as that would be a breach of security. Also, I have already answered that question for the Order, so if they didn't trust you enough, or find it important enough, to tell you, then I don't see why I should," Ed replied coolly getting fed up with them. "Are you done?"
Hermione was about to ask another question when Ron butted in. "That-that…. thing that the boggart turned into. It was like a -like- like a pile of human remains. What was it?"
Ed's eyes narrowed, trying to both think of an excuse and a cover for his ambiguity. He decided on playing the "angry and offended" card.
"Why the hell does it matter what I'm afraid of? Those are fears, not realities. Maybe I'm just afraid of blood, or of death? Do specifics matter?"
Harry put a hand on Ed's shoulder, and the alchemist realized he was shouting.
"Look mate, I understand. That was stupid to ask, I'm sorry. Just please, don't let the whole castle know we're out here, alright?"
Ed shrugged, crossing his arms, and entering into a brief sulk, feeling warmer towards Harry than he had in ages. "Well, now what? Anything else? Mind you, I've already been put under Veritaserum by the Order and questioned, so I'm not sure what else you want to know."
The Trio looked at each other, obviously confused, and began conferencing with themselves. Zaneh however, came over to Ed, concern reading over her face.
"Veritaserum? Ed, that's serious. People only use that for heavy interrogations. And having Order members question you themselves? Do they think you're some kind of terrorist or something?" Zaneh asked, worried.
Ed laughed. "No they don't think I'm a terrorist. They just wanted to know if I could help them more than anything, though I highly doubt I'll be doing much to help them. Also, they gave me a diluted dose, so I wasn't forced to elaborate, but still couldn't lie. It's fine."
Zaneh relaxed, and was about to ask more, but the Golden Trio came out of their little meeting. Harry stepped forward.
"Okay Ed, turns out this was all a bit unnecessary. Sorry to bother you. Let's head back."
The groups went back to the Tower, then heading to bed.
That last bit was definitely forced, Ed contemplated, assessing the night. I could tell Ron wasn't okay with that move, and they obviously have more to ask. I could tell Harry and Hermione were a bit pissed at Ron's little outburst, since they probably would've ended up asking me more if he hadn't done that. Shit… I wonder what Harry heard. I really don't want anyone involved in what's happening in Amestris, and I definitely don't want them to know about Al. This is not good.
As Ed continued to contemplate and analyze the night's events, the last thought Ed had before sleep hit him was: I seriously need to start training more.
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Hey, did y'all catch how Neville's fear changed last chapter? It's a lot more substantial of a fear now, right? Right?
…maybe I was too subtle with that…damn inconspicuous details…no one ever notices them…
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"If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you ever tried"
–my friend Calli (after I told her the original "screw you!" version)