~Chapter Two: Two Missions~
A/N: quick little thing, since I've gotten questions about this: everything FMA-related in this story is following the original manga-which means, to all you anime-only peeps, that it follows Brotherhood, NOT the original anime. Hope that clarifies anything that needed clarification.
all things Harry Potter (c) J.K. Rowling
all things Fullmetal Alchemist (c) Hiromu Arakawa
Alphonse walked across the front porch in the light gray sheen of the early dawn, sorely missing his little feathered friend. If she were here, he wouldn't be alone at this time. Not that he wasn't already used to being alone in the night, but it was nice to have a companion to join him in his lonliness. Otherwise, the nights just dragged on and on, the darkness becoming darker with every minute that passed.
The only good thing about his not being able to sleep was that he never missed a sunrise. Al looked forward to seeing the colors creep up over the horizon line every morn, loved witnessing the birth of every new day. But still, he was alone; the only people in the household that sometimes sat out front and watched with him were Den and Granny Pinako if she was up already for her morning pipe-smoking.
This morning, however, Alphonse saw a surprise visitor sitting on the front steps, and as he approached, he saw that it was Ed. He was still in the loose-fitting shirt and boxer shorts that he wore to bed, his long, golden hair down and wisping around his face in the gentle morning breeze.
"Brother? You're awake so early?"
"Couldn't sleep," Edward said, hugging his knees to him and rubbing his eyes. Alphonse sat next to him, looking down at him with concern. His ports weren't bleeding again, though he did notice that his leg looked a bit reddened...well, at least he thought it did. Al didn't really know much about that medical-type stuff. All he knew was that if it was bleeding, something was wrong. And he knew to tattle on Ed if he tried doing anything strainuous again.
"Why couldn't you sleep?" Al asked his fatigued older brother. Ed frowned slightly:
"...I had too much on my mind. I was trying to think about everything at once and couldn't. Gave myself a headache, too."
"You can't be doing that to yourself, Ed. Granny says you need your sleep-"
"And I'll get sleep, Granny doesn't need to worry about that, and neither do you, Al. It's not your job to worry about me, it's my job to worry about you. I'm the big brother, remember?"
Alphonse sat in silence for a long moment, then asked softly:
"Is that what you were thinking about all night long, Ed?"
Ed looked up at his little brother, or rather, looked at what had become of him. Close to seven feet tall now, he looked more menacing than lovable, which completely differentiated from his actual appearence and personality. Just as it had done so last night and several nights before, Edward's mind played a cruel trick on him, for instead of seeing steel armor, Ed saw young Alphonse's true form, what he was supposed to be. The look on his usually-smiling face broke Ed's heart, and as their identical amber eyes met, Ed slowly reached out a hand towards him, just as he had that fateful night, trying to keep him with him, to save him...
Ed abruptly awoke from his mirage as his automail fingers made a metallic sound upon Al's hollow armor. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily, his head drooping.
"Yeah, that was a part of it," he admitted to Alphonse. His hand dropped from his brother's armor to the porch below, his steel joints bending, clenching as he held back tears. Men don't cry, and if Ed was going to be in the military, he had to stop that. Starting now.
Alphonse could see right through his tough-guy ruse, however, but he found himself at a loss for words. He wanted to reassure his brother that he knew who the big brother was, that it was he who owed Ed his life, not the other way around. That he was still the same Alphonse, just in armor-form. Instead, though, the only thing that came out wasn't even a reply at all, but yet another question.
"What else was keeping you up?"
Edward opened his eyes, trying to stay awake. He lifted his head up:
"Various other things; the requirements for the State Alchemist's Examination, that whole Hogwarts letter thing, my automail rehabilitation progress (or lack of...), those sort of things. The usual."
"Since when is your Hogwarts acceptance usual?" Alphonse said, silently pleased that Edward hadn't stopped thinking about the mysterious letter after all.
"It's not. I just bunched that into the load of crap that's been happening to us lately."
"Ah. That makes sense."
"Yeah."
Edward yawned hugely, stretching his arms out in front of him. He could feel his eyelids dropping as exhaustion began to catch up with him. As he rested his chin on the palm of his icy steel hand, he followed Al's suite and peacfully watched the sky turn from gray to red, then from red to pink, pink to orange, and so on, and so on...
CLANG.
Alphonse looked down in shock to see that his brother had finally given in to sleep, his head bumping into Al's side as he collapsed. Al moved his arm out of the way so that Ed could be more comfortable as he leaned upon his little brother, his hair falling over his peaceful face as his breathing slowed, relaxed. Turning his attention back to the sunrise, Al thought about all of the 'load of crap' that has happened to them, sighing when the list kept going on and on, starting from when their mother died. He secretly wished that their human transmutation worked, though never saying such a thing out loud, for it would only bring about a gloomy mood and bad memories. Even so, he knew that Ed bitterly wished the same thing. But one cannot change the past; the only thing Alphonse and Edward could do was try to fix the future, fix their lives. He knew Ed would stop at nothing to get his body back, and that both relieved and worried him, because the last time Ed became so determined about something, their lives were nearly lost completely. Which is why I need to stay by my brother at all times, no matter what, so that he doesn't do something stupid and gets himself even more hurt...he thought. As Alphonse continued to silently watch the sunset this morning just as he would do every morning, for once he did not feel so lonley.
The sun was finally breaking past the horizon line just as Granny Pinako walked out the front door, pipe at the ready. She stopped in the doorway, however, and her eyes bestowed the heartwarming sight of Ed and Al sitting next to each other, their bodies sillouetted against the beautiful morning sky. Both were still and quiet, Edward sleeping soundly against his brother, Alphonse's helmet tilted up towards the rising sun. Pinako quietly lit her pipe and leaned against the doorframe, watching a scene more gorgeous than any sunrise she had ever witnessed before in her lifetime.
~~*e.s.*~~
{two days after the previous event}
KNOCK-KNOCK.
Hagrid opened the door to his little hut and beamed at his guest:
"Professor Dumbledore, sir! Come on in, have some tea."
"Thank you, Hagrid," Dumbledore said, accepting the mug of tea as he sat down at the groundskeeper's large table. Hagrid helped himself to a mug of hos own as he asked:
"So what brings you here to-night?"
"I've a little mission for you, Hagrid."
Hagrid sat down across from the Headmaster, listening intently, instantly curious about his mission. Dumbledore took a sip from his mug of tea and then took a deep breath:
"I fear that Harry Potter still has yet to receive his Hogwarts letter, Hagrid; his aunt and uncle have taken him and their own son out of town, and though my owls have found them everytime, I have a feeling that Vernon Dursley has gone out of his way to make sure Harry doesn't read his letters."
"Bleedin' Muggles, the lot o' them," Hagrid growled angrily. Dumbledore nodded once, then continued:
"What I would like you to do-just so we can be sure that Harry is set to go September 1st-is go to where they are staying right now and pick him up to do his shopping. I will allow you, just this once, to use any means of magic that you may find completely necessary to use in order to get to Harry. After that, though, Hagrid, I cannot allow you to use anymore of it in front of the boy."
"Oh, o' course not, Professor, sir!" Hagrid said, nodding in complete understanding. Dumbledore smiled:
"I trust that you will get Mr. Potter to Diagon Alley safely, Hagrid, just as I trusted you that first night to get him to his aunt and uncle's safetly. You did not dissapoint me that time, and I know you won't this time, either."
"Yeh have my word, Professor Dumbledore, that I see to it that Harry Potter receives his letter and buys all of his necessaries for his first year at Hogwarts. I'll leave to-morrow at dawn."
"Wonderful. Thank you very much, Hagrid, for doing this for me," Dumbledore said, shaking his groundskeeper's giant hand, his smile genuinely thankful. When he let go of Hagrid's hand, though, Dumbledore remembered.
"One small thing, while you are in Diagon Alley, if you will..."
He handed Hagrid a parchment envelope adressed to Gringotts Bank. Hagrid's eyes widened as he realized what the letter must be about, what Dumbledore wishes for him to fetch from the old wizard's bank.
"The letter gives specific instructions. Just hand it to the goblin at the front desk and he will understand completely. I trust you will bring it here unscathed, correct?"
"Aye; I wouldn't dare let it fall into the wrong hands..." Hagrid gulped as he tucked the letter carefully into his big coat. "An' I suppose I should take care not to mention what is in that vault to Harry, right?"
"Correct," Dumbledore said. "It would be very bad if Mr. Potter found out about the Sorcerer's Stone-at least so soon it would be."
Hagrid nodded yet again to show Dumbledore he understood his instructions completely: fetch Harry, take him to Diagon Alley, and while at Gringotts, pick up the stone for Dumbledore.
TAP-TAP-TAPPITY-TAP.
The half-giant and the old wizard looked out the window to see a small, brown-and-white feathered barn owl carrying a letter tapping at the window with its beak. Hagrid hurried over to the window and opened it; the owl hopped and, after hooting a quick greeting to Hagrid, flew across the room towards where Dumbledore stood, dropping the letter down upon his shoulder. Dumbledore took the letter in his hands and smiled his thanks to the owl. The owl, instead of flying off towards the owlery like it would usually do in that instance, however, stayed right where it was, appearently waiting for Dumbledore to open the letter. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at the owl:
"Does this letter require a reply of some sort?" he asked curiously, for he had initially thought that it was simply another Hogwarts enrollment acceptance letter. The owl blinked. Dumbledore looked back down at the letter: Hogwarts.
"Well now, look Hagrid," Dumbledore said in slight amusement. "It seems that I have recently changed my name from Albus Dumbledore to Hogwarts." And with that last remark he finally ripped open the envelope and began to read the lettter, the owl and Hagrid both waiting patiently, curiously, to hear what it's about and, in Hagrid's case, who it's from. Dumbledore took his time in reading every word, every sentence, and when he was done, when he saw from whom it came from...
"Just another acceptance reply, sir?"
"No," Dumbledore said, slightly disbelieving. "A denial."
Hagrid's jaw dropped:
"What? Yeh mean to say that someone has actually written to deny their Hogwart's acceptance?"
"That is exactly what I mean to say. It's very strange, though, given who's son this is...hmm. Something doesn't feel right here."
"Why? Who's son is it, Professor?"
Dumbledore looked up from the letter at Hagrid, then at the owl. After a moments pause, Dumbledore answered Hagrid's question:
"No one I have told you about, unfortunately, but he is a great wizard nonetheless-a great wizard that never would've allowed one of his son's to deny a Hogwarts acceptance."
Hagrid looked confused:
"Then...what happened?"
"I do not know, Hagrid." Dumbledore gestured for the owl to come with him; she understood and immediately flew up and perched herself lightly upon the old wizard's shoulder. "But I do intend to find out. I will return in a few day's time. Take good care of Harry and the stone, Hagrid."
"I will, Professor Dumbledore! Yeh can count on me; and I do hope your visit goes well, sir!"
Dumbledore waved as he walked away from Hagrid's hut. The owl turned her head around and hooted her farewell to the kind gamekeeper as well, then quickly returned her attention to the headmaster. Dumbledoore glanced down at her, then sighed:
"I honestly wasn't expecting to see you back here like this, little owl...I wonder what has gotten into Van Hohenheim as of late..."
~~*e.s.*~~
{the morning after the previous event}
"Winry! Granny! Help me!" Al cried from the bedroom. The two Rockbells stopped what they were doing in the kitchen immediately after hearing Al's screams, running as fast as they could to the back of the house.
"What is it, Alphonse?" Pinako asked with worry.
"It's brother, I can't wake him up! I think something's wrong with him-he said he wasn't feeling good last night and that his ports were hurting, but then he went right to sleep, so I just thought-I don't know, but I can't wake him up, and look at how much he's sweating!"
"Winry, go grab the thermometer," Pinako ordered, kneeling down next to Ed's bedside. "And the first aid kit. Quick."
Winry bolted out of the room on Granny's orders, her adrenaline running rampant in worry. Al watched with worry as Pinako uncovered his brother, revealing that his leg's port was swollen and red. When Pinako gingerly touched it with the flat of her hand, she felt feverish heat radiating from the surgical sight. Cursing under her breath, she gestured for Al to help her sit Edward up against the pillows so that she could pull off his t-shirt. Ed stirred a bit but did not awaken, even after being jostled around that much. Pinako bit down onto her bottom lip as she saw that the arm's port was in very similar shape to his leg's.
"Surgical site infection," she informed a worried Alphonse. "Doesn't look too serious, but then again we haven't checked to see how high that fever of his is. And the fact that we can't rouse him isn't good, either."
As if on cue, Winry ran into the room and tossed Pinako the thermometer, which the old doctor placed underneath Ed's left arm. As they waited for the temperature reading, Winry pursed her lips at the sight of Ed's arm and leg.
"Was he complaining last night?"
"Yeah, but it was in that whiney voice of his, so I couldn't tell if he was joking around or what..." Al said, suddenly feeling guilty. Winry offered him a small smile:
"It's not your fault, Al. This isn't as bad as it looks."
"37.7 degrees Celsius.* Barely under 38." Pinako set the thermometer on the bedside stand, taking the first aid kit from Winry as she thought.
"...I'd like to put an antibiotic drip on him for about three hours or so and see if that takes care of it, but I know how Ed is about needles..."
"What about that amoxicillin we had in the fridge from-?"
"I dumped it out the other day, worried that it was too old to be used. I'm severely regretting that now."
"Well," Winry reasoned, "Maybe if we just clean the ports three times daily for the next few days and see how that goes, it'll just clear up?"
"Al...?"
"Brother!" Alphonse cried, running over to Edward's bedside. "You're awake!"
"My head hurts...HOLY SHIT," he yelled, gaping at his leg's port. "It's-"
"Infected, yes," Pinako said, frowning. "It's not too bad, just a little redness and a small fever, but we do need to get you on some sort of antibiotics."
Ed exhaled in relief, lying back down upon his pillows, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. Al, Winry and Pinako looked at each other, and then Pinako and Al stood back away from the bed and nodded at Winry. Winry gaped at them, then regained her composure and took a deep breath.
"Granny wants to put you on a drip," Winry quickly informed him.
The effect was immediate; all the color drained from Edward's face as he leapt off of the bed away from the old lady.
"NO! No no no no, no needles! You have liquid medication you can give to me, right?" he appeased to the old lady, desperate to be able to escape from the torture of having to sit in bed with the awful feeling of having a thin piece of metal intruding into your flesh the entire time. He had enough of that with the damn IVs during the surgery itself, and then with the stiches when they were put in.
"Nope," Pinako said, obviously taking evil pleasure in making the boy squirm. "I dumped out all of the liquid amoxicillin the other day. The needle is your only choice."
"I won't do it!" Ed screeched, hiding behind his younger brother's gargantuan armor. "Save me, Alphonse! Don't let them stick me!"
"Uh, uhm..." Al looked at a loss for words. Then he looked up at Granny Pinako and Winry, into their threatening glares, and he side-stepped away from his brother. "Sorry, Ed. It's for your own good-"
"TRAITOR!" Edward bawled, diving for the door.
CLICK.
"There's no escape, PIPSQUEAK," Winry said, flames dancing in her pupils as she guarded the door like a demented gargoyle that had just emerged from the innermost circle of Hell below. Edward gaped at his mechanic as he slumped to the floor in fear, his bottom lip quivering miserably. Winry saw this and held her expression as long as she could, but she suddenly felt bad for little Edward and couldn't keep up her fierce look; it wasn't his fault that needles scared him so much.
"Aw, Ed, don't look at me like that-"
Ed jumped up like a grasshopper and swung open the door, flying past the shocked girl with lightning-fast speed.
"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR CALLING ME A MOUSY LITTLE PIPSQUEAK!"
"GET HIM," Pinako ordered, sprinting out of the room with surprising speed for a woman her age, Winry and Alphonse following close behind her.
*37.7 degrees Celsius = approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit. (A/N: for our Standard System-only friends out there ^_^)
~~*e.s.*~~
...drip...drip...drip...
Edward fumed as he sat in bed with the infernal needle stuck into his left arm. Yawning slightly, he asked Winry for the umpteenth time:
"How much longer?"
"Two-and-a-half hours still, Ed. Stop asking me," she growled as she finished wrapping his leg's port. "There. Leave that on there until after lunchtime, and then I'll clean it and re-wrap it again."
"Great," Ed said as he tied his hair back into a loose ponytail. "So, how much longer?"
"UGH."
And with that Winry stomped out of the room. Edward frowned after her: "it was just a simple question..."
After being dragged by the hair by Granny Pinako back onto the bed and being held down by Winry and his own brother, Edward felt that he was not only bitterly unsuccessful at escaping the horrid fate that was the needle, but also betrayed. His abhorrence to needles wasn't a particularly serious phobia (not even a phobia at all, really, just an extreme dislike, but Ed acts like it's a mortal fear...), but he would always put up a fight to get out of having to be stuck every time such a thing was mentioned. Sometimes he would win; most of the time, not so much. This was one of those times, unfortunately, and though his ports really were painful, Edward found himself feeling more bored than anything else.
"Still can't believe you turned me in, Al," Ed muttered, purposely not looking at his brother. Alphonse sighed:
"It was for your own good, brother."
Ed ignored him.
"...The silent treatment? Really?"
Ed ignored him.
"Aw, come on, Ed!"
"Hmph!"
Alphonse mentally rolled his eyes, resting his head atopt his hands as he watched the medicine flow from the plastic bag on the hanger into Edward's vein. For someone that was supposed to be sick, Ed sure did put up quite a fight to escape. But then again, this came as no surprise to Alphonse at all; knowing Ed, he was most likely plotting ways to rip the needle out without spilling too much blood and then escaping out the window. Too bad Al was right there in the room, stationed specifically to make sure something like that doesn't happen. Winry and Granny simply knew the little alchemist too well.
"Since you've been forced to guard me, Al, entertain me," Edward ordered his armored brother. "It's the least you could do after betraying me."
"It's not a betrayal if it benifits your overall health!" Alphonse retorted, feeling utterly exhasperated at having to deal with his brat of a brother.
"I would've gotten over it eventually!" Ed screeched.
"And if you didn't?"
"Shut up, Al, there are no ifs about it. I said I would've, therefore I would've. End of discussion."
"Ugh," Al shook his head, giving up on reasoning with Ed. "And no, I won't 'entertain' you. Entertain yourself."
"Fine. Fine." Ed slumped. "Hand me that book over there, will ya?"
Alphonse got up from his chair and walked over to the foot of the bed, where sat a large box of books the two of them had gotten down from their attic last week. After handing Ed the book of alchemic equations he had originally pointed to, he returned to the box, kneeling down next to its edge in order to reach down and pull out various volumes and titles. Most of them, since they had belonged to their father, we on alchemy, obviously, but there was the occasional novel or nonfiction title on a subject other than alchemy. As Ed dove right into his thick book, Alphonse peered into the box.
"...Wonder what this is."
Al pulled a thick, leather-bound book out of the big box, looking at it's worn cover with interest. The Tales of Beedle the Bard...?
"Hey Ed, have you ever heard of anyone called Beedle the Bard?"
Ed's head popped up from behind the pages of his alchemy book.
"Is that a person?"
"I think so."
"Never heard of him. Or her. What kind of person has a name like Beedle the Bard, anyway?"
"I have no idea...hmm," Alphonse said, opening the front cover and reading the introduction on the first few pages; Ed did not dip his head back into his book, however, instead waiting impatiently to hear about the mysterious book. Al gasped at the first sentence of the second page.
"What? What is it?" Ed demanded curiously.
"...Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of stories written for young wizards and witches-brother! These are wizarding fairy tales!"
"Al, wizards don't exist-OOF!" Ed shouted as Al threw the heavy book into his brother's lap.
"See for yourself!"
After shooting his brother a look of annoyance, Edward picked the book up, first taking a chance to examine the old, dusty cover. When he finally got around to opening the thing and reading the intro, he found that what his brother had said was true. The book's first few pages stated clearly that its contents were a collection of old bedtime stories written by this Beedle character specifically for the Wizarding audience, printed in both its original ancient runes text and in English translation.
"I told you," Alphonse said, reading his brother's astounded expression to be a symbol of his correct-ness. "This proves it; magic does exist. That Hogwarts letter wasn't a fake after all!"
"Whoa there, Alphonse, let's not get carried away. This book could mean alot of things, including what you just said. But it could also have been written just as a fantasy-themed entertainment source for young children, just like all other fairy tale collections. Beedle the Bard could just be this author's pen name."
"But what if it is his real name? And what if your wrong?" Oooo. Alphonse quite liked the sound of that; the more his brother got proven right about things (which he was right alot of times, unfortunately), the more cocky he got. Edward shrugged, appearently unfazed by the possibility.
"Then I was wrong. Big deal, there's no way we can find out, anyway."
Alphonse thought about this, then sighed in defeat:
"Oh well. Let's read them!"
"What, these stories? Al, their children's stories!"
"So what? They'll be entertaining!"
Ed considered this as he flipped inquisitively to the book's table of contents. The titles of the stories within, however, made him bust up with laughter.
"What's so funny?" Alphonse demanded.
"These stories! The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, Grumble the Grubby Goat, Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling S-Stump-ah, this is rich!" Ed howled, clutching at his chest as he tried to calm down enough to set the book back down onto the bedspread. Once he regained his composure, he grinned at Alphonse.
"Ok, sure Al. We'll read some of these stories."
"Really?" Alphonse asked happily.
"Yeah. It'll help pass the time that I have left hooked up to this damn needle," Ed said, tossing his alchemy book to the ground before turning back to the storybook, flipping the page over to the first story. "You want me to read first or do you want the first story?"
"You go ahead, brother," Alphonse said, resting his arm upon the side of the bed and leaning upon it in order to be able to see the illustrations accompanying the stories. Ed leaned back against his pillow, clearing his throat before he read:
"'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot: There was once a kindly old wizard who used his magic generously and wisely for the benefit of his neighbors...'"
~~*e.s.*~~
Winry approached Ed's door curiously, a tray full of warm food in her arms. She stopped once in front of the door, listening in to the sounds of laughter from within. What are those two doing in there that's so funny?
"Hey you two, what's going on?"
Winry set the food down onto the bedside table, looking back at Ed and Al, who were both looking intently at the contents of some really old-looking book, Ed reading out loud from it.
"'"Very good," said the stump, "but you have not yet made amends to Babbitty!"
"What are you reading?" Winry asked, giggling at the name Babbitty.
"Some funny old children's stories we found in Hohenheim's old box of books," Ed said, turning the page.
"They're supposedly written for young witches and wizards!" Alphonse piped up. Winry raised an eyebrow.
"Witches and wizards? Ed, I thought you didn't believe any of that magic stuff," Winry said confusedly.
"I don't," Ed clarified. "But these stories are still entertaining." He looked at his bag of antibiotics. "How much longer, anyway?"
"Thirty-five, maybe thirty minutes."
"Ok, cool. Al, it'll be your turn as soon as I finish old Babbitty Rabbitty's tale," Ed said, chortling once again at the ridiculous name.
"Which story is next?" Al asked excitedly. Ed turned and glanced at the next page.
"...The Tale of the Three Brothers."
"Cool. Hurry up and finish," Al said excitedly. Winry laughed at them.
"Well, Ed, here's your food, whenever you get hungry. I'll be back in thirty minutes time to finally unhook you from your torture device."
Ed, however, was already back to reading the story and didn't even react to Winry's comment. Winry rolled her eyes and exited the room, feeling somewhat relieved that Ed did not pester her to unhook him early. But then again, why would he? He was having way too much fun reading those silly little fairy tales with his brother...
...wizard's fairy tales, Winry corrected herself, once again wondering-almost hoping-that magic really was real.
~~*e.s.*~~
{two nights after the previous event}
Edward was laying in bed that evening, feeling much better now that the infection in his ports was pretty much cleared up, trying to clear his mind so that he could get a decent night's rest. As he stared up into the ceiling, he yawned, feeling more relaxed than he had felt in a while...
TAP-TAP-TAPPITTY-TAP.
"What the...?" Ed ward said, reluctantly sitting up and looking around the room for the source of the taps. After seeing nothing out of the ordinary during his quick sweep, he fell back down against the pillows, deciding that he was simply hearing things...
TAP-TAPPITTY-TAP-TAP-TAAAAAP.
This time, Ed got out of the bed to check it out.
TAP-TAP-TAP!
"Ah hell. YOU again!" Edward screeched when he looked out the window, for there, tapping upon the glass with her little beak, was the damn owl. Ed snapped his fingers to get her attention, then pointed away into the night, trying to mime to her to get lost. Seemingly unfazed by the order, the little owl blinked, then tapped on the window even harder than before. Sighing heavily, Ed gave in and opened the window to let the little owl in. She hopped onto the window ledge, then turned around and grabbed the letter she had brought with her in her tiny beak, dropping it in Ed's hands. After taking one last look at the owl, Ed tore open the letter:
Dear Mr. Elric,
I am very sorry that you do not wish to attend Hogwarts due to the fact that you are skeptical about the existence of magic. I wish to pay you a small visit, in hopes that I can convince you otherwise. By the time you read my signiture at the bottom of the page, I will most likely be on your doorstep.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore.
"...WHAAA-?"
There was a knock at the front door. Ed could hear it distinctly, even though he was at the back of the house. He could also hear quick footsteps running up to the front of the house, and before he could open the door to the hallway, Alphonse and Winry entered through it.
"Wonder who that could be-AWW, LOOK AL, SHE'S BACK!" Winry squealed in delight.
"The owl! I knew she'd be back!" Alphonse procalimed, clapping his hands in happiness as she flew off of the bed onto his shoulder. "Did she bring you another letter, brother?"
"Yeah, UNFORTUNATELY." He handed Alphonse his letter from Dumbledore.
"...That's who's at the door?"
"Who?" Winry demanded, looking at the letter in Al's hands. She gasped:
"He's here? Let's go meet him!"
"Come on, brother, maybe he can convince you to go to Hogwarts after all!"
"No way, I'm trying to sleep!" Edward complained, crossing his arms as he turned his nose up to the owl. She didn't take kindly to that, however, and swooped down to perch upon his head, pecking at his nose.
"OW, you damn bird! GET OFF!"
"Don't hurt her!" Alphonse said, gently lifting her off of his brother's head. Winry huffed and grabbed Ed's arm, attempting to drag him out the door.
"Don't be rude, he's come to visit you. You can sleep later!"
"Alright, woman, FINE! Just let go of me-and at least lemme get dressed!"
Winry obliged, leaning against the door so that she could listen in to see if Granny got the door or not while Ed put his clothes on. She could here two different voices, one belonging to a man, but she couldn't tell what they were talking about. She impatiently looked back at Ed.
"You dressed yet?"
Ed slid his boots on, then stood up, straightening his jacket.
"Brother, your gloves," Alphonse reminded Ed.
"Ooo, good call, Al."
Ed quickly grabbed his gloves off of the bedside table before following Winry and his brother out the door.
~~*e.s.*~~
"Would you like some tea, Professor?" Pinako asked as she led the old wizard into the living area.
"Yes, tea would be nice. Thank you," Dumbledore said politely as he sat down upon the sofa.
"And Edward should be out in a moment. You said you sent that owl after him?"
"Yes, she should've gotten the letter to Mr. Elric by now."
"Mmk then," Pinako said, retreating back to the kitchen to get the wizard's tea. As he waiting for Edward, Dumbledore looked around the room he was in, observing his surroundings. Though he had been to Resembool once before, he had not paid a visit to the Rockbell Prosthetic Limb Outfitters before-not that he would've felt so inclined to do so. But still, it was nice to find oneself in a new scene every once in a while. He could see bits of mechanical arms and legs lying upon a workbence in the far back corner of the room, and a cabinet of various medical supplies in the other back corner. The rest of the room, however, looked like an ordinary living space, thus Dumbledore assumed that most of the familiy's pratices occured in the back rooms of the house.
Pinako returned with a tray of teacups and a tea kettle. After pouring herself and Professor Dumbledore a cup, she sat back in her chair, sipping carefully at her hot tea.
"So, you are a wizard," she stated, attempting to start up a conversation.
"Indeed I am," Dumbledore smiled at Pinako. "I'm assuming that Hohenheim did not tell you about his affairs in the Wizarding community, then?"
Pinako blinked in surprise:
"You know Van Hohenheim?"
"Yes, I worked with him on several projects in the past. I am sad to say that he and I have not caught up with one another in a while, though. Is he around?"
Pinako shook her head:
"He left Resembool back when the boys-Edward and Alphonse-were little. We haven't heard from him since."
"Ah," Dumbledore said dissapointedly. "That's a shame. So who is raising the boys now, their mother?"
Just as Pinako opened her mouth to answer Dumbledore's question, Edward, Alphonse and Winry walked into the room. Pinako smiled at them.
"Here he is, Professor. Edward, this is Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of-"
"Hogwarts, yeah. I got your letter," Edward said, snubbing the wizard's offered hand and sitting on the couch across from where he was sitting. Dumbledore looked Ed over, then smiled.
"It's an honor to meet you, Edward Elric."
He then turned toward Winry and Al:
"And it's a pleasure to meet you, too, Miss...?"
"Winry Rockbell, sir," Winry said politely, shaking the wizard's hand. Dumbledore nodded, then offered his hand to Alphonse, looking curiously into his armor.
"Alphonse Elric, sir," Al introduced himself. "I'm Ed's younger brother."
"I see, pleasure to meet you," Dumbledore said, choosing not to ask the young Elric about why he wears the armor, assuming that his question will be answered eventually in the conversation to come. Instead, he sat back down, folding his hands in his lap, looking across the table at Edward.
"So, Mr. Elric, as you know the reason for my sudden visit is to inquire as to why you denied your Hogwarts acceptance."
Edward blinked, took a deep breath, and looked the old wizard in the eye as he stated bluntly:
"I do not believe that magic exists."