~Chapter One: Ten Years Later~
A/N: all things Harry Potter (c) J.K. Rowling
all things Fullmetal Alchemist (c) Hiromu Arakawa
"...Brother?"
Edward snored in Alphonse's face, his sleep undisturbed by his younger brother's talking. Alphonse was not about to be bested by Edward's beastly sleeping habits.
"Brother! Wake up!"
"BAH! Wha-what's going on? What happened?" Ed woke with a start, his groggy eyes looking into his brother's armor with fear. His abrupt awakening caused him to break into a small fit of coughing, and Al quickly raised his hands up to calm him down:
"Nothing, nothing, but breakfast's ready."
Ed glared at him for nearly a full minute before yawning hugely and shakily dragging himself out of bed. After sleepily slipping his pants on, he followed Al to the kitchen table, where Winry and Pinako Rockbell were setting down plates of warm, delicious-smelling food. Ed woke up immediately after catching a whiff of the mouth-watering sight and eagerly sat down at the table, fork and knife at the ready. Granny Pinako chuckled at the sight:
"Well, it's good to see you with such an appetite. It sure was strange to see you barely picking at your food right after your surgery."
Edward shot her a quick, pancake-stuffed smile and then quickly returned to shoveling food into his mouth. Pinako wagged a finger at him:
"Just don't eat it too fast! We don't want you coughing and throwing up again..."
She and Winry joined the brothers at the table, Winry's eyes doing a quick look-over of Ed's automail arm, double-checking that the new limb was working properly. It seemed to be fuctioning correctly, however his port wasn't looking too good. Even underneath his loose-fitting t-shirt, Winry could see that the stiching had re-opened during the night and a little blood could be seen on his collar. She pursed her lips, hoping that his leg was in better shape.
"Pass the eggs, will ya, Al?" Ed said, a piece of bacon hanging out of his mouth. Al handed him the plate of scrambled eggs wistfully, wishing that he too could partake in the cosuming of Granny Pinako's tasty meal. But unfortunately for Alphonse, that was no longer an option for him. So he just sat back and watched his brother stuff his face.
"You done?" Winry asked Ed as she gathered the dirty plates up to take them to the sink. He scooped up his last two bites of eggs and then nodded, leaning back in his chair, his belly feeling happy and full of food.
"Thanks alot, Granny!" Ed said as he lifted his arms to put them behind his head. He stopped abruptly as pain shot to his port, though, wincing slightly and gingerly lowering his arms. Al and Winry noticed this and looked at him in concern as Pinako gestured to the living room:
"...Let's have a look at that arm and leg."
"Ok," Edward said as he got up and made his way to the sofa, Alphonse trailing behind him.
"Your arm is bleeding, Brother."
Ed looked up at Al, then at his arm's port; he coughed once then said, "Nah, it's just dried blood from last night."
"Ok, then it was bleeding. Still, that's bad. The stiches should've dissolved by now."
"It's just that one up by the shoulder that has kept needing re-stiching that's the problem, that's all. The rest of them are healed by now."
"Take off your pants."
Ed and Al looked back at the doorway where Winry was standing, first aid kit at hand. Realizing how bad what she had just said sounded, she blushed furiously, raising her voice in defensiveness:
"You know what I mean, you big dummy, I need to check on your leg!"
"Sure, sure..." Ed said, doing as the scary mechanic said before he earned himself a wrench to the skull. Al giggled at their silly antics, moving over on the couch so that Winry could have enough room to properly examine her work.
"...ok, your leg and its port checks. Now, let's see the arm."
Ed slipped his shirt up and over his head, and Winry pursed her lips. The scarred skin around the automail was red and slightly puffy, the stiching on his shoulder incision caked with dried blood, just as Alphonse said. Winry blew a piece of hair out of her face and doused a gauze with rubbing alcohol.
"Sheesh, Ed, what did you do to your shoulder this time?"
"...Slept on it...?" Ed said innocently. "Maybe you should have Granny redo the stiching again."
"If we poke anymore holes into you you'll fall apart at the seams. No, this stiching will hold so long as you stop sleeping on your shoulder so roughly."
"It's not my fault," he whined. "Y'know my dreams aren't exactly peaceful."
Winry sighed:
"Yeah, I know..."
Close to five-and-a-half months had passed since that hellish day, and still the young Elric brothers continued to struggle to adapt to their punishments. Alphonse spent the nights alone and cold (figuratively speaking since his new form could not feel anything physically); Edward spent them drowning in his brother's and his own blood, the tears streaming unrelentlessly. The nightmares were never going to leave him be, he knew this. Still, that didn't stop him from waking up to screams of terror and hot, furious tears.
After the first month of automail rehabilitation Edward stupidly attempted to spar with his brother; this ended with his stiches ripping open and to him slumped onto the grass, throwing up half the blood in his body. Because of that, the vomiting began to occur more frequently, and his rehabilitation was set back even further than he had first wished it to be. Not only that but he received a long, harsh lecture from Pinako about how dangerous it was to rush the rehabilitation-"why, you still can barely walk and you wanted to try to fight?"-and how she was tired of seeing him hurt. It was hard enough that she had to be the one to cause him so much pain that week she spent connecting each and every one of his nerves to his metallic limbs.
"There, that should do it."
Winry set the bloody gauze down and turned back to the automail arm, taking hold of it and checking that there were no screws loose and no wires bent or tangled. It looked really good (if she did say so herself) and she nodded with satisfaction, letting go of the metal arm, allowing Ed to redress.
"Ok, everything seems to be in order. Just be gentle on that shoulder."
"Yeah, yeah," Edward waved her off, walking out of the living room.
~~*e.s.*~~
...
...Al! Alphonse! Alphonse?
...damn! DAMN! How could this have happened? It...it wasn't supposed to be like this...oh no...
HE'S GONE...!
HE'S GONE, and it's all my fault! No, no-!
ALPHONSE!
Edward jolted out of the nightmare, beads of sweat intermingling with his tears. Though he was sweating, however, he shivered, coughing as he pulled the blanket back up over him. His eyes darted around the cold, dark room, peering into each and every shadow fearfully. He tried to get his mind off of the nightmare, off of that feeling of dread, of guilt and lonliness...
He immediately calmed down a bit as he looked out the window and saw his brother sitting peacefully on the front porch, his metal head tilted upwards, looking towards the half-moon. Another tear slid down Edward's face as his mind played tricks on him; he slumped back down onto the pillow, his dreams empty of blood and filled with the image of his little brother's shining golden eyes reflecting the light of the moon.
...I'm so sorry, Alphonse. This was all my fault.
~~*e.s.*~~
The following afternoon brought forth more sunshine and customers for the Rockbells. Ed and Al sat in the living room rather than out on the porch like they usually would due to the heat bothering Ed's still-healing ports. Ed was reading about the State Alchemist's Examination, his frown becoming deeper and deeper as he read on. Finally, he finished the pamphlet; after throwing it down onto the coffee table, he slumped back against the couch.
"...guess I'm going to have to wait 'til next year to even try for that."
"Yeah, 'cause you don't want to push yourself so hard that you end up getting hurt even worse," Alphonse appeased to him. Ed looked at his brother's armor.
"I just want to hurry up and get your body back. I don't want to waste any time on me when I could be getting closer and closer to finding the Philosopher's Stone."
"Ed, how do you even know that exists?"
"What, the stone? It definitely exists. There's too much evidence out there saying so to deny it's existence."
He looked down at his automail arm, wriggling his fingers, observing how the different wires and hinges work to make them do so.
"I'm going to start by researching more of the ancient texts for background information, and then I'll work my way up towards the more recent discoveries and first-hand accounts. It's gonna take time, which is why I want to become a State Alchemist as soon as possible; I don't want you to suffer more than you have to, Al."
Alphonse sighed:
"What if you don't pass the examination?"
Edward paused for a moment, still looking at his arm. What Al said was a good point, after all.
"...All the more reason to hurry up and heal. Practice makes perfect, right?"
"Right," Al nodded in agreement. Ed yawned hugely, stretching his arms up over his head.
"Careful," Pinako said from the doorway, cleaning off a wrench. Ed and Al gulped, making the old mechanic laugh.
"Not to worry, Winry's the only wrench-thrower around here. Hey, Ed, will you go grab the mail for me?"
"Shouldn't he stay out of the sun?" Alphonse said concernedly. "I'll go get it for you-"
"Nah, I'm fine, Al. The mailbox is just right out front, I won't be in the heat long."
"Plus he could probably use the fresh air," Pinako pointed out. Ed nodded in agreement, smiling up at Al.
"Come with me if your so worried!"
"I was planning on it even if you protested," Al said, following his big brother out the front door. Ed laughed, then coughed once, shaking his head. Who's the big brother here? Ed thought it was him, but Alphonse was now not only now taller than him, but stronger also.
"Brother, look!"
Ed looked towards where Alphonse was pointing and raised his eyebrows in surprise; there, sitting atopt the mailbox, was a small brown and white fluffy owl. It had its head tucked beneath it's wing, obviously sleeping. Den barked at it once; when it did not react, however, he just yawned and slumped onto the ground next to the porch. The brothers approached the owl quietly so as not to wake it, observing it closely.
"What's an owl doing here?" Edward wondered aloud, staring at the sleeping creature.
"I don't know, but it sure it cute," Alphonse said happily. Edward's palm made contact with his own face.
"...We're not keeping it, Al."
"Aw, but brother-"
"NO," he said exhasperately. "Granny Pinako wouldn't let us even if we asked, anyway!"
"But it looks lost, and hungry, and-"
"It's sleeping, Al! The only thing it looks right now is lazy!"
"Don't talk about it like that, that's mean!"
Edward threw his hands in the air. I give up! Just let him take it to Pinako, he'll see! And with that he shook his head and opened the mailbox...or he at least attempted to.
"Shit; the lid's stuck."
Edward pulled once again, trying not to rock the mailbox too much so as not to wake the damned owl. No use; it was jammed good.
"Here, let me try."
"Ok, just don't shake it too much, Al."
Alphonse nodded, then turned and accidentaly bumped into the mailbox. "Oops!" he said as the owl jolted awake. Ed's palm made contact with his face again.
"Dammit, Al, I said not to wake the bird!"
"I'm sorry, I'm still not used to being so big!"
"Just hurry up and open the mailbox before-HEY!"
The owl had flown up and off of the mailbox by then and was now picking at Edward's bangs. As Ed waved his hands in front of his face in a futile effort trying to shoo the owl off, Alphonse looked back at the mailbox.
"...Hey, brother, look! The owl had a letter with her!"
"Oh, great, so now you're saying that somebody actually sent this creature? GET AWAY, YOU DAMN BIRD!"
After one last peck at his head, the owl flew out of his face, landing on top of Al's shoulder.
"...stupid owl..." Ed muttered, grabbing the mailbox's handle with his automail arm and yanking with such force that the entire lid came off. "...DAMMIT!"
"Here, Ed, I'll fix it. Just get the mail out before you hurt yourself," Al said, trying not to laugh at his furious brother, who was glowering at the mailbox as if it had just struck out and punched him in the face. Once he had extracted all of the letters, Alphonse handed Ed the envelope that came with the owl and took the lid from him. Edward huffed and looked down at the letter:
Mr. E. Elric
The Second bedroom
Rockbell Prosthetic Limb Outfitters
Resembool,
Amestris
"...what the...what is this?"
"What is it, brother?"
Edward looked up at his brother and nearly smacked himself in the face again; that damn owl was still perched on his shoulder, occasionally pecking at his helmet. He shook his head, then showed Al the front of the envelope.
"...Who sent this? And how do they know where you sleep?"
"I don't know!" Edward said, feeling equally perplexed. "But I sure would like to find out!"
He turned the thick parchement envelope over; not only was there no return address nor stamp, but there was a dark purple wax seal on the envelope, an ornate capital 'H' surrounded by a lion, a raven, a badger and a snake.
"Hey, you two, what's taking so long? Ed, you know you're not supposed to be outside in the heat of the day-Al, is that an owl?"
Ed and Al looked up to see Winry looking confused at the sight of the strange bird. Ed blew a piece of hair out of his face as he and his brother (with the owl still perched on his shoulder) made their way back into the house.
~~*e.s.*~~
"...And it was just sitting there on the mailbox?"
Edward and Alphonse nodded. Winry, who now had the owl on her arm, petted its feathers gently, smiling at its big round, black eyes.
"It sure is pretty."
Pinako nodded, looking back down at the letter Edward had received, specifically examining the purple seal on the back.
"Does it look familiar to you at all?" Edward asked. Pinako shook her head:
"Never seen it before in my life."
Ed huffed frustratingly; who the heck could've sent that letter? Pinako handed the mysterious thing back to him, saying as she did:
"Only way to find out is if you open the thing."
Ed nodded, peeling the wax seal away and extracting several letter-sized pieces of parchement from within the envelope:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT andWIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Elric,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary
books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Edward gaped at the letter in utter disbelief in the words on the page. Still not blinking, he looked at the barn owl still perched on Al's shoulder, then back at the letter, then at the letter once more.
"...the hell is this?"
"What is it, brother?" Al asked, curiously looking over Ed's shoulder at the letter. He read the first few lines and said "huh?" in the same confused manner that his older brother had. By now Granny and Winry were itching to find out what the letter said.
"Read it," Pinako said, puffing smoke from her pipe. Ed blinked finally, taking a deep breath as he recited the contents of the letter to everyone. When he was done, he set it down onto his lap, going through the other contents of the envelope.
"...Here's the supplies and book list...Standard Book of Spells, A History of Magic-the hell?" he screeched yet again, not believing what he was reading. "This can't be for real, magic doesn't exist!"
"It's probably some kind of prank," Winry offered, raising an eyebrow at the letter. "What kind of name is Albus Dumbledore...?"
"A wizard's name," Alphonse said matter-of-factly, chuckling as he playfully ruffled the owl's feathers. Edward slapped his brother's armor:
"Stop that, Al, wizards don't exist! There's no such thing as magic!"
"How do you know," Winry said mischeviously, purposely trying to rile Ed up some more. Needless to say, it worked:
"No, that's stupid! It's science that makes the world go 'round! Alchemy! Not some dumb hocus-pocus crap-!"
Edward doubled over after that last word into a fit of coughing; he covered his mouth with his left hand, and when he brought it away he could see a couple drops of blood on his palm. He gulped as Granny Pinako shook her head:
"Doesn't matter; even if this school existed, you wouldn't be in good enough shape to go by September first. Look at you, still spitting up blood."
Edward fumed, wiping his mouth, knowing that she was right. Winry handed him back his letter, shrugging slightly.
"Ah well; it was fun while it lasted."
~~*e.s.*~~
The damn owl wouldn't go away.
Edward tried everything to try to get it to flee, but nothing worked. He threw things at it, sent Den after it, and even dumped a bucket of water all over it and Al (earning him a wrench to the head from Winry; "leave the poor little thing alone, will ya? You're just jealous that it's getting more attention than you 'cause it's cuter!"). Much to his great disdain, Al and Winry weren't the only one's that stood up for the infernal creature. Even Granny Pinako had developed a fondness for the thing and had begun to feed it and even found it a place to sleep in the shed out back the second night. Ed was the only one in the house that didn't want it there.
"We should probably think of a name for it," Winry said on day three of Owl Madness, lying on her belly in the tall grass with Al and the owl as Pinako and Ed hung wet clothing on the clothes line for it to dry.
"We don't even know if it's a he or a she," Al pointed out. Winry tapped on her chin; the young Elric brother had a good point.
"...Granny, will you check and see what gender it is for us?"
Pinako looked over her shoulder at Al and Winry:
"Sorry, but I can't help you there; I don't know how to tell on owls."
Winry looked crestfallen:
"...Well, maybe we can just brainstorm some names until we find out for sure whether it's a girl or a boy."
"Sounds like a plan," Al said cheerfully. "Hmm...how about Hoot?"
"Hoot? Al, that's so uncreative!" Winry laughed. "How 'bout Zoey?"
"Too girly," Al complained. "Flamel?"
"Oh no, we are not naming this poor owl after some crackpot alchemy philosopher."
"Hey!" Ed shouted from the clothesline. "Nicholas Flamel was not a crackpot! He was the genius who discovered nearly everything we know about modern alchemy-"
"Save it, Alchemy Freak," Winry said, sticking her tongue out at Ed.
"Can it, Gear Head!" Ed screeched, causing him to cough.
"Oh, stop it, both of you," Pinako said, rolling her eyes. Ed hung up the last shirt upon the line and then walked over to where Winry and his brother were with the owl.
"...Onyx," he piped up. "Like its eyes."
"Onyx?" Winry said, contemplating the sounds of that.
"I actually kind of like that," Al offered. "Its eyes do look very gemstone-like."
"If we're going to be comparing it to gemstones, let her name be diamond!" Winry crooned, petting it lovingly. Edward rolled his eyes.
"You're such a girl. What if it's a boy owl? Sheesh."
Winry stuck her tongue out at him again. Al, still trying to keep the peace, spoke:
"Garnet's another gemstone name we could use. Its feathers' color, you know."
"They're more brown than garnet," Ed pointed out. Winry nodded in agreement, much to Al's relief; as long as they weren't trying to bite each other's heads off.
"Gabriella?" Winry said.
"Or Gabriel-the boy version," Al said. Ed sighed:
"Ok, and now we're getting Biblical. It's an owl, not an angel, guys."
"I like those names, though," Winry said, and Al nodded in back-up. Edward slumped onto the grass next to them, thinking. Suddenly, a mischevious smile crept onto his face:
"Nequam."
"Nequam? What kind of name is that?" Winry said.
"It's a name with a meaning," Ed said. "It's Latin."
"Latin for what? I don't think I know that one..." Al said. His brother always was better at memorizing languages than him, after all.
"Good for nothing," Ed smirked. Winry hit him in the (non-automail) arm:
"That's horrible! It's good for something!"
"It brings mail," Al pointed out. Ed rolled his eyes:
"Honestly, guys, how reliable can an owl be?"
"Reliable enough if that school trusts it to send out all of its letters."
"Al, I told already, there's no way that letter was real. The school, the letter, the supplies list-all fake."
"Sure, sure, whatever," Winry said. "Don't get all worked up about that again."
"Liluye."
Winry raised an eyebrow at the short alchemist:
"Why are the names you come up with so weird-?"
"Once again, it has a meaning."
"What language is that?" Alphonse inquired, eager to learn.
"Ancient Xergese. It means 'singing chicken that soars.'"
Winry slapped him again, making him and Al laugh out loud.
"Good one, brother!"
"Do not encourage him, Alphonse!"
Ed tapped on his chin:
"Aleda."
"I don't want to hear it," Winry said, crossing her arms.
"No, this one's not too bad. It's Latin for small and winged."
Winry paused for a moment, then looked at Al, who shrugged:
"Not too bad."
"I still like Gabriel," Winry said.
"Ooh!" Al pitched in. "How about Verchiel?"
"Oooo, good one, Alphonse!" Winry said.
"Yeah, that one's not bad," Ed said, nodding slightly. "The root 'verc' is in it. Bashfulness."
"Aww," Winry said, cuddling the owl as it picked at her blonde hair. Ed yawned, laying upon the grass, looking up into the cloudless sky.
"Should we go inside, Ed? It's getting kind of hot..." Al asked concernedly. Ed shook his head:
"It's still early, the heat's not too bad yet."
"But your port-"
"Will heal in time," Ed snapped, cutting off his little brother's nagging. Winry frowned at him for being mean; appearently the owl didn't take kindly to his meaness, either, for it flew on top of his chest and pecked at his nose.
"OWW!" Ed yelled, swatting at the owl, which didn't budge, instead looking at the cranky boy in a mocking manner. It cocked it's head all adorable-like, attempting to get an 'aww' out of him similar to those it could hear coming from behind from Alphonse and Winry. Edward rolled his eyes, though, refusing to let it pull him down into it's sea of unrelenting adorable-ness.
"You're not cute."
It blinked as if saying yes I am.
"No you're not. You're annoying."
Liar.
Edward narrowed his eyes at the creature.
"Malificent."
"Brother! The owl is not evil!" Alphonse cried, recognizing the Latin root in that one. Edward stuck his tongue out at the bird:
"You're lucky you have such a fan club, 'else Den and I would've gotten you a long time ago!"
The owl hooted in his face, pecking at his automail; Edward laughed:
"Can't feel that!"
He could've sworn the owl's eyes narrowed in visciousness before it continued to peck and peck at his prosthetic arm.
~~*e.s.*~~
Day five of Owl Madness, and the owl wouldn't stop following Edward around. She (Al and Winry finally found a farmer who could tell its gender for them) had obviously taken a liking to his shiny automail and took every chance she could to peck at it. Though Ed obviously couldn't feel her little beak, it was still annoying to constantly have to deal with the ding, ding, dings of the bird's fettish.
"Ok, seriously, bird? Al, can you get it away from me already?"
"I'll try..." Alphonse walked over to the couch his brother was lounging upon and gently picked the owl off of his right arm.
"Wanna go outside, pretty?" And with that Al and the owl walked out the door. Ed listened for the slam of the shut door, then quickly bolted up from the couch and closed all of the open windows.
"Phew! Finally away from that thing!" he exclaimed in happiness, flopping back down onto the couch, attempting to cross his right leg over his left. He quickly uncrossed them, however, once the weight of his right met the port of his left leg's automail, putting pressure upon an already-sensitive area. Cursing himself for not thinking, he leaned his head back on the pillow, closing his eyes. As he lay there, he drifted into near-unconsciousness, relaxing. Inhale, exhale, inhale...
"OW!"
Edward rubbed his forehead with his left hand, wrinkling his nose in disgust for his own stupidity. He almost freaking knocked himself out with his own automail! This stuff sure does take more getting used to than I had anticipated...
Turning his head toward the coffee table, he saw his discarded Hogwarts letter, lying open, the envelope it had come in lying face-down next to its contents. The emerald ink seemed to shine, popping out of the page, the green accentuated by the dull, plain color of the thick parchment. Ed's tired eyes just stared blankly at the words, ignoring their meaning. He especially looked closely at Professor McGonagall's signiture, his pupil's lightly tracing the loopy letters boredly.
"You doing alright, Edward?" Pinako said as she walked through the doorway.
"Yeah, I'm ok," he assured the old woman. "Just relaxing a bit."
He reached out to the letter with his automail arm, taking care to barely grasp the paper so as not to shred a hole in it. Luckily for him, parchment is thick.
"...Granny, do you think this letter is legitimate?"
"Hmm?" Pinako said from the kitchen. "The Hogwarts one?"
"Yeah."
She drank deeply from her mug of tea, contemplating how to answer the young Elric's question.
"...I don't see why it couldn't be real. Though I know how you are about the whole magic thing."
"Magic doesn't exist. But this school...I honestly don't know what to say about it. Who would go through all of this work to train an owl, get parchment and a bright green ink, snoop inside of this house and print off this letter just to prank an eleven-year-old?"
"That does sound far-fetched," Granny agreed, pouring a second mug of tea for herself and then one for to take to Edward. "So you're saying that you think it's easier to believe that the school's real than to believe it's all a prank?"
"No," Ed said, frowning. "What I'm saying is that I don't know what to believe."
Pinako walked over to the couch and set the mug down on the table, setting herself down in her chair next to him.
"Maybe you should write back to them."
Ed raised his eyebrows:
"Huh?"
"That owl obviously knows where they are. Write back saying how you're not interested in attending the school because you are skeptical about it. That and your health will not permit you to travel so soon."
Ed contemplated this, then nodded, agreeing that Pinako's plan was a good one. As he sat up on the couch, Pinako got up and fetched him the required materials to reply to the letter from Hogwarts. After a moment of pen-tapping, Edward set to work:
To Whom It May Concern,
I appreciate the notification of my acceptence into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and thank you for the letter. However, I must say that I question a few things mentioned in the letter-most specifically, all things referencing to magic. I am not a believer in such things, therefore I do not see why I should learn about it. I am also skeptical about the true purpose of your letter, wondering whether or not Hogwarts truly exists or if the letter was intended as a prank of some sort. The forementioned plus the fact that my current health is not quite up to par are the reasons behind my denying my acceptance.
Many thanks for you consideration, and I do apologize for wasting your time.
Edward Elric
After handing it to Granny Pinako to read over and getting her approval, he slipped it into the provided envelope and, feeling rather at a loss for what to write in the address space, simply scribbled 'Hogwarts' upon the envelope, hoping that the owl would understand.
As if on cue, Alphonse and Winry walked in with the owl flying behind them. It immediately flew onto Ed's shoulder and pecked at his automail, then stopped when it saw the envelope in his hands. Edward grinned:
"That's right, creature; I've got a job for you to do that involves you going far, far away."
"What is that, brother?" Alphonse asked, pointing to the letter in his hands.
"My denial letter to Hogwarts."
"You're not going?" Winry said. Ed shook his head fervently:
"I still don't know if it's for real or not, plus even if it was, Granny's right. I wouldn't be well enough to go. Plus I've got to start preparing for my State Alchemist's Exam as soon as I'm 100%."
Winry looked behind him at the discarded acceptance letter, then sighed.
"That's right; I had forgotten that you wanted to join the military."
Ed nodded, walking out of the room with owl on his shoulder. Alphonse followed him out the front door, standing behind him on the porch as he walked down the steps onto the path that leads to the mailbox. He showed the owl the letter:
"...I hope you'll understand what I'm about to tell you. Listen carefully: take this letter to the headmaster of your school, Hogwarts, ok?"
The bird stared at him, then blinked once, grasping the letter he handed her in her sharp talons, then flying off into the sunset. Edward stood and watched it until it dissapeared out of sight, feeling relieved both that the owl was finally gone and that he took care of whatever that letter was about. When he turned on his heel to walk back up the front steps, however, he saw Alphonse still looking out into the horizon.
"...Ed...are you sure you made the right decision?"
Ed nodded firmly:
"We don't need anything standing in the way of our search for the Philosopher's Stone."