~Chapter Three: Perspicacious~

A/N: I don't usually like to leave big long a/n's to read, but I just have a couple of things to say. First and foremost, thanks sooooo much to everyone who reviewed! All comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated, y'all. :)

Also, just a note, I'm really sorry about any spelling errors in here. I unfortunately do not have Microsoft Word on my computer anymore, so I'm stuck with this stupid WordPad thingy that doesn't have spellcheck, and though I honestly put a good effort in on checking my spelling over and over and over again, I'm only human and I unfortunately do miss words. :( I'm sorry for that, guys, I really am.

And one last thing (last thing, I swear!): yes, this chappy is shorter than ther others, I'm aware of that, but I just felt like this intense convo needed it's own chapter. You'll see what I mean.

Ok, that's enough of my mindless drabbling. Enjoy! :))

all things Harry Potter (c) J.K. Rowling

all things Fullmetal Alchemist (c) Hiromu Arakawa

Professor Dumbledore sat on the sofa across from Edward, intently looking upon the young boy. He very well knew that Edward did not believe in magic-he didn't have to even mention that-but Dumbledore was curious to see if Ed would admit that at all, or if he'd just beat around the bush, suggesting that he was possibly somewhat skeptical about that one small thing and so on and so forth. Dumbledore was pleasently surprised to find that the boy was not only honest but to the point as well.

"I see," Dumbledore finally said after a pregnant moment of silence between him and Edward. "But it can be assumed that you are solidly convinced of that this was not a prank, correct?"

"Yes, that much is true," Ed agreed. "I thought that too much work was put into this for it to be a prank a while ago, actually."

"Did you feel that way before or after sending me your denial?"

"Before," Ed admitted. "I had other reasons for my denial other than just that suspicion."

"Right. The fact that you do not believe in magic being the main one."

"Yes," Ed agreed, feeling like Dumbledore already knew how he was going to reply to most of his questions and just double-checking, rather than actually asking. Who is this guy?

Dumbledore folded his hands in his lap, his unwavering eyes remaining fixated upon Edward, wondering which method of proving magic was real would work best with this skeptic.

"...I wonder if you will humor me, Mr. Elric, by answering a couple of questions about your past?"

Edward felt a lump hop up into his throat; what kind of questions? he wanted to ask the old wizard, but he unfortunately found himself unable to. He glanced at Alphonse, who's helmet was switching back and forth from Dumbledore to his brother and then back to the stranger. He then looked over at Pinako and Winry, both of whom were not looking at either the wizard or Edward. After one last moment of deliberation, Ed nodded stiffly at Dumbledore to proceed. The wizard smiled and began questioning:

"In any point in your childhood, have you ever made something happen, or done something extraordinary that you could not explain?"

Edward thought back, recalling all the times that he and Al did the extraordinary, all the times they had created and fixed things. How he sucessfully bounded a soul to a suit of armor while losing a huge amount of blood and being on the brink of death himself. But then he shook his head fervently, for all of those things were done through alchemy.

"No, because I was able to find an explanation for everything."

Dumbledore raised an impressed eyebrow:

"Really? Do explain your explanations, I'm interested in hearing about them."

Edward suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable, silently debating whether or not to tell the man that he and his brother studied alchemy together. Dumbledore saw this internal conflict as it occured and moved to change the subject:

"Let's backtrack a bit and then we'll come back to that question, ok?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Edward said, the relief he felt evident.

"Can you recall your father ever talking to you or your brother about magic?"

"Pssh," Ed retorted. "He was never around to talk to us about anything."

Dumbledore looked slightly taken aback at Edward's bitter tone; even as he recalled Pinako telling him that Hohenheim had left them at a young age, he didn't expect such a grudge. After all, Edward was so young when his father left, wasn't he? He stroked his beard thoughtfully as he prodded on:

"Ok, what about your mother? Did she ever mention it?"

Ed shook his head. Dumbledore looked slightly confused; something's not adding up here...

"Hohenheim did not marry a witch, Professor," Pinako suddenly piped up. All eyes were suddenly on her; Ed wore an especially surprised expression.

"Wha-?"

"That would explain why Edward and Alphonse know nothing then. Thank you, Ma'am, for clearing that up." Dumbledore smiled and turned back to Edward. "I know your father, Van Hohenheim. He and I have worked on and completed a couple of projects in the past, but I unfortunately have not heard from him in quite some time now. Appearently I'm not the only one, though."

Edward looked even more confused as he stuttered:

"Y-you know my father?"

"Mhmm," Dumbledore said. "Brilliant man, a pleasure to work with."

"Then you...him...if you two are friends, then-"

"Then Van Hohenheim is a wizard, yes. Good, you are catching on!" Dumbledore smiled. Ed and Al gaped at the wizard.

"Dad was...a wizard?" Alphonse said excitedly.

"Is," Dumbledore corrected the young Elric, frowning slightly. "I do hope he is well..."

"Impossible; Hohenheim's an alchemist," Edward said, shaking his head fervently. "There's no way that he could be a wizard."

"It seems there is," Dumbledore said, chiseling through Edward's fervent mental block against all things magic-related. "Alchemy, in many ways, is a form of magic-"

"No, you are WRONG," Edward said defiantly, rising from his seat, eyes blazing. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow; he had appearently struck a nerve. "Alchemy is a form of science," Edward thundered on. "It's what makes the world turn, what makes-!"

"Or so our dad used to say," Alphonse quickly covered for Ed, placing his hands upon his brother's shoulders and shoving him back down onto the couch. "It kind of caught on, you know."

"Ah. Well, Hohenheim always favored alchemy to wandwork, so it's only sensible that his sons see it in the same light."

"Ok, wait, back up! That still doesn't prove anything about magic existing!" Edward said exhasperately, really wishing that the old man would just give it up and leave already. Dumbledore began to stroke his beard again.

"This is true. Well then, Edward, pray tell; what will it take to convince you that magic does, in fact, exist?"

Edward thought about this; what would it take?

Dumbledore, however, saw fit to do a sort of presentation for the boy. He extracted his wand with a flourish, looking around the room for a moment or so. After finding an easy target (a wooden broom), he flicked it, transfiguring it into an intricately carved child-sized rocking chair. Though he received several 'ooo's and 'ahh's of impressed-ness from the Rockbells and the suit of armor, Dumbledore was displeased to see that Edward did not even blink.

"Still not convinced?"

"Nope, not at all. For all I know, you very well could have a transmutation circle hidden on your person somewhere."

Dumbledore froze, looking surprised at the kid's terminology.

"...Transmutation circle, huh?"

Ed bit his lip, internally cursing himself out; he just majorly flubbed.

"...So am I right to assume that you and your brother have taken up alchemy, just as your father before you did?"

Edward and Alphonse nodded, looking down and away from the man. Dumbledore looked both pleased and shocked, wondering what had struck that interest into them since their father was not around.

"How long have you two been practicing?"

"A while..." said Ed, twiddling his thumbs, not meeting the wizard's eyes. Dumbledore nodded, wondering why this bright boy wasn't openly bragging about his talents. He's obviously hiding something, something I need to know.

"Ok, then it seems that I will have to do better than a simple transmutation, as you called it, to convince you of magic's existence. How's this?" he asked as the china cabinet behind him caught fire. Immediately Pinako rose from her chair in outrage, but Dumbledore held a hand up to to stop her. He then flicked his wand and the flames evaporated on the spot, leaving the cabinet looking completely unscathed. He looked back at Ed:

"Well?"

"You could still be using a form of flame alchemy to torch the wood..." he said a bit uncertaintly.

"But how does that explain the fact that the cabinet is not burnt at all?" Dumbledore prodded. Edward struggled for a minute, then slumped, shrugging at the old wizard.

Dumbledore smiled:

"Are you at least somewhat skeptical now, rather than completely set against it?"

Edward shrugged again:

"I suppose the posibility is out there, but my thing is that I simply can't bring myself to accept something so...unscientific."

"Ah, and a man of science such as yourself does not want to have to bow before an invisible force greater than your own."

"Yes!" Edward exclaimed, then froze. "Ok, how do you do that?"

"Do what?" Dumbledore asked innocently.

"Take the words right out of my mouth like that!"

"Oh. Well, I've always been known to be especially perspicacious."

Everyone stared at the old wizard as if he had just spoken complete gibberish to them. Dumbledore chuckled.

"Come now, Edward, surely you are able to find the Latin root in that and work out the meaning from it. After all-if you are as skilled of an alchemist as I have assumed you are, having the blood of Hohenheim running through your veins-your should be reletively fluent in the ancient language, yes?"

Edward frowned, tapping a finger upon his chin. After about a minute or so of contemplation, he spoke slowly:

"...the only word I can think of as its derivative is...per...no, perspicācitās. Yeah, that sounds about right," he looked back up at Dumbledore. "So you've always been known to be especially sharp and insightful?"

Dumbledore looked extremely impressed.

"Yes. Very good; you certainly have inherited your father's brightness, haven't you?"

Edward fumed; he was getting reeeeally tired of being constantly compared to that bastard Hohenheim. Dumbledore regained his serious composure and leaned forward in his seat, looking Edward in the eye.

"...And this also tells me that you are far more skilled in alchemy than you have let on. And it's very likely that Alphonse here has followed closely in your footsteps. And yet there is still something missing, something so great that no matter the amount of perspicacity I contain within me, I cannot figure it out..."

Edward and Alphonse looked at each other. They knew that he was determined to find out, and that he would eventually weed it out of them anyway, even if they refused to tell him. The answers they provided to his numerous questions gave away more than the two boys thought they did, unfortunately, thanks to Dumbledore's keeness. True, he did not seem hostile in any way at all, but after all, they had just met the man tonight. He was still very much a stranger to them, appearing on their doorstep, preaching of the wonders of magic and some far-away school of wizadry called Hogwarts.

"...Should we tell him, Al? Can we trust him?"

"I don't know, brother...Professor Dumbledore, sir? May I ask you a question?"

"Certainly," Dumbledore said, directing his attention towards Alphonse.

"If brother is a...a wizard, does that mean that I'm one too?"

"Yes it does. You will most certainly be receiving your Hogwarts letter next year, the summer after you turn eleven," Dumbledore reassured the young alchemist, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon glasses. "Glad you asked."

"Brother, did you hear that?" Alphonse asked excitedly. "We can go together!"

"So you're convinced that the school exists, Al?" Ed said, raising his eyebrows at his younger brother.

"Yep. I wasn't as skeptical as you were though...you still are skeptical, aren't you?" Al said, the excitement in his tone of voice faltering slightly. Ed blinked, then looked back at Dumbledore. He really didn't want to tell him anything more, especially not about their mistake, their crime...that's right. Human transmutation is a crime, after all. This man could turn them in...and then there would be no way for his little brother to go to Hogwarts. Even if Edward didn't completely believe in magic or that this school was for real, Alphonse obviously did. And what kind of brother would Edward be to cost Alphonse an opportunity to go to this school that he is so excited about?

After relinquishing a deep sigh, he spoke:

"I'll tell you everything, Professor, only if you promise that if worse comes to worse, you will not punish Alphonse for his past actions. I don't really care if you keep me from going to Hogwarts because of this, given the fact that it was all my fault that it happend anyway-"

"Brother, stop it, it was-" Alphonse began to protest, raising a large hand to his brother.

"Let me finish, Alphonse."

Alphonse stopped, then lowered his hand, nodding at his brother to continue. Dumbledore rested his chin upon his hands, listening intently to Edward's confession.

"...I'll tell you only if you promise not to keep Alphonse from going to Hogwarts next year."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, thinking this over. Depending on the seriousness of whatever they have done-how serious could it be, though? They're just kids, after all-him allowing either of the Elric brothers attendence into Hogwarts could anger the Ministry of Magic greatly. Nonetheless, he looked Edward in the eye as he agreed to his terms, bracing himself for the worst, expecting something far less.

Edward looked once more at Alphonse, then looked back towards Dumbledore as he began:

"About four or so years after Hohenheim left me, my brother and our mom, a horrible plague swept through Resembool, and she caught it and died from it. Al and I felt so alone after that, enough that we became determined to find a way to bring her back, using alchemy-even though the law states that any form of human transmutation was forbidden..." Edward paused here, biting his lip as he tried to figure out how to go on.

"We just wanted to see her smile again, wanted to hear he say that she loves us one more time," Alphonse piped up. Edward swallowed and nodded:

"Yeah, that's right. So we studied with a brilliant alchemy teacher for the next three years after that, trying to become great, great enough to achieve the impossible. Together we came up with a theory that I had thought was flawless, but then...then, when we a-actually did it..." Edward swallowed again, forcing himself to continue on:

"It rebounded. The Gate opened up and took my left leg and Alphonse's entire body as payment. Equivilant exchange, I suppose, for trying to bring someone back from the other side."

Edward leaned over, placing his left leg upon the coffee table, pulling up his pant leg so that Dumbledore could see his automail. The old wizard's eyes widened slightly as Edward continued on:

"After regaining consciousness after the rebound, I saw that Alphonse was gone and in desperation grabbed this suit of armor from the corner of the room and drew a seal in it, trading my right arm for Al's soul so that I could transmute it into the armor." He sighed as he then rolled up his shirt sleeve to show Dumbledore his automail arm, then nodded at Al to take off his helmet. Dumbledore stood from the couch and walked over to Alphonse, looking closely at the seal.

"...It looks as if it was written in blood," he said after a moment's pause.

"It was. My blood," Edward said. Dumbledore looked at the boy increadulously:

"So you managed to bind your little brother's soul to a suit of armor even whilst nearly bleeding to death?"

"I had to!" Edward exclaimed, standing up defensively. He stopped, however, and took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing:

"I had to...he's my little brother. Al's all I have left."

Professor Dumbledore looked upon Alphonse with pity as the boy replaced his helmet upon his hollow body, then looked back at Edward as he sat back down onto the couch. He sighed, placing his head in his hands as he thought for a moment or so about what he had just heard come out of this eleven-year-old's mouth. A child should not have to go through all that Edward and Alphonse Elric have, should not have to live the rest of their life not just without a few of their limbs (or in poor Alphonse's case, trapped within a suit or armor), but full of guilt for something that was not entirely their fault. How awful that must feel thought the Professor, shaking his head.

"...I admit, I was not expecting anything of nearly this magnitude of severity," Dumbledore said darkly, his head in his hands.

Edward felt his heart leap into his throat as he suddenly found himself regretting admiting this huge sin to the wizard. He knew that the wizard would react this way, and now he probably just blew his and Al's chances of attending Hogwarts! They were in trouble now, he just knew it..

Dumbledore looked up from his hands and saw a pamphlet sitting on the coffee table in front of him, staring at it's title in curiousity. After quickly reading the cover, he immediately understood Edward's current feelings, and with that he looked back at the young Elric.

"Your story is an...an extraordinary one, that's for sure. But, my dear boy, why are you so worried about you and Alphonse not being allowed into Hogwarts because of this?"

Edward blinked in shock:

"B-because human transmutation is against the law."

"This is true, and it is also true that I will have to consult the Ministry of Magic about waving this crime, but after that I do not see why you two wouldn't be allowed into my school of magic. After all, you two are just boys, boys who miss their mother dearly."

Ed and Al nodded in agreement as the headmaster continued:

"It's quite obvious to me that you two posses great magical abilities within you. It's evident in not only your bloodline, but in your alchemy. It would be a shame to let such talent go to waste."

Edward sat dumbfounded across from Dumbledore.

"...So you're saying that our talents in alchemy exist because we're wizards."

"Precisely."

Edward ran a hand through his hair, wondering what to make of that. He looked over at Granny Pinako:

"Would I even be well enough by September first to go?"

Pinako pursed her lips slightly, thinking about his question. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows:

"...Was your automail surgery a recent procedure? Is that the health issue you spoke of in your letter?"

"He just had this surgery in late February," Pinako explained, shaking her head at Ed as she continued to think through Ed's question. Dumbledore once again looked impressed at the young boy's strength to recover as far as he has after only six months of rehab. His knowledge of automail surgery was slimmer than most other things he was knowledgable of, but he did know that most grown people would take several years of rehab in order to just get to Edward's level of recovery.

"I don't see why not," Pinako finally answered. "As long as you don't do anything stupid between now and September first, you should be fine. And am I right to assume that he won't be doing anything strenuous while at Hogwarts?"

"Yes ma'am," Dumbledore assured Pinako. "The most strenuous thing he shall be doing is waving a magic wand."

Waving a magic wand, Edward scoffed at the ridiculousness. Yeah, right.

"Are you going?" Winry suddenly asked, looking eagerly towards Edward. He shrugged; Dumbledore chuckled:

"You are welcome at Hogwarts, and I do hope you plan on going. I will have to ask you to keep your prosthetics well-covered, however, and I will ask you not to perform any alchemy while at the school."

"I was definitely planning on doing both should I choose to attend, whether or not you were going to ask me to do so," Edward said, grinning slightly. "Guess your perspicacity is catching, Professor."

"Oh, good," Dumbledore said happily, clasping his hands together.

"...I haven't transmuted anything since that day, anyway," Edward said under his breath, glancing over at his brother, who was looking expectantly at him. "What?"

"Well? Are you going to Hogwarts?"

Edward blinked; why was everyone pushing him to go? He turned back towards Dumbledore without answering his brother.

"...One more question, sir, about the supplies and book lists."

"Go on."

"Where am I supposed to buy that stuff?"

"Diagon Alley," Pinako piped up, once again, to everyone's surprise. Edward gaped at her:

"...You know, I don't even want to know how you know all of this-"

"You forget, Edward, that Hohenheim and I were drinking buddies. And people tend to let alot slip out when they are under the influence of alcohol."

"'Tis very true," Dumbledore said with a knowing look in his eye.

"And I have the key to his Gringotts vault as well," Pinako continued, standing up and walking over to the china cabinet Dumbledore had just 'burned' moments ago and extracting a small golden key from one of its many drawers. She tossed it to Edward as she sat back down in her chair. "Your mother said he had given it to her for you boys. 'They'll need it when they turn of age,' he said, though neither of us knew what Gringotts was or what exactly Hohenheim meant by you two 'turning of age.'"

"It's a wizard's bank in Diagon Alley," Dumbledore explained matter-of-factly.

"And where is Diagon Alley?" Edward asked confusedly.

"In London-oh, I see now. We do have a slight problem concerning location," Dumbledore said, tapping his chin. "Ah, I know what we'll do. I will send you an owl in two week's time explaining everything-that is, if you truly are interested in attending this year. Have you made your decision yet, Mr. Elric?"

All eyes on him, Edward thought back to everything he and the mysterious stranger had discussed. He was still skeptical, though only slightly so. Enough to make him question the laws of alchemy, or laws of anything, really. Is all he thought he knew meaningless now that magic has been thrust into the picture? He had to know, he had to find out...

But he had to get Alphonse his body back before he did anything else, and with that he firmly shook his head:

"I need to get Alphonse his body back. I can't be distracted by anything else until I do so...Thank you very much for your time, Professor Dumbledore, but I must refuse-"

"What if you find a way to get your brother's body and your arm and leg back that doesn't involve the military while at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore said suddenly, holding up the pamphlet he had stumbled upon when sitting on the sofa next to the coffee table. Edward stared at it, the words printed upon the front cover seemingly mocking him; when he looked up into Dumbledore's eyes, Ed could see that they had regained their serious sheen, the same glint they had when Dumbledore was being told of how the Elric brothers lost their bodies. "Magic is capable of much, much more than you can even imagine. Though it is not an all-powerful force, it can do great, powerful things when one knows how to utilize it to its full potential. You will learn how to do so while at Hogwarts, and who knows, you may find a way to restore yourselves without becoming one of these State Alchemists."

Edward gaped at Dumbledore, taking in the meaning of his words, struggling to fully register what he had just said. Before he could speak again, though, Dumbledore shrugged, tossing the pamphlet back onto the table.

"But, it is your choice, after all. If a soldier is what you strive to be, then so be it. I do not want to interfere with your plans."

The wizard then stood up, politely shaking Pinako's hand once more.

"I have intruded upon you all for long enough, now. It was a pleasure to meet you, Edward, and Alphonse, I do hope to hear from you in a year's time."

"Yes, of course, Professor, sir!" Alphonse stuttered as he shook the headmaster's hand again. Dumbledore kindly smiled once more at everyone as he bid them a good evening and made his way to the door...

"...Wait."

Dumbledore smiled as he turned back to face Edward, who had stood up from the couch and was now walking over to where the wizard was. He stopped right in front of the old man, his head tilted up towards Dumbledore's, looking him in the eye as he spoke:

"What you said, about there being another way. Were you telling the truth?"

Dumbledore nodded seriously:

"I do not lie to my students, Edward."

Edward blinked, then grinned widely at his new headmaster, his golden eyes shining with newfound determination.

"...Then I guess I'll just have to make myself one of your students," he said with finality, offering his hand out to Dumbledore, who took it with great enthusiasm:

"I knew you would not dissapoint, Edward Elric. You will be hearing from me soon."

As he relinquished the boy's hand, however, he looked around the room, his eyebrows suddenly knitting together concernedly as he remembered something.

"...Have any of you seen a little barn owl around here? She's the one I sent you, Edward. Do you know where she went?"

"Here she is!" Alphonse said, pointing at the little owl who not only seemed to be hiding, but also glaring at Professor Dumbledore with an accusing look that growled who do you think you're calling 'little?'

"Ah, there she is. She seems to be hiding from me, doesn't she?" he chuckled. "I think she has gotten attached to you all..."

Oh no, Edward thought with dread, not liking where this was going...

"...Perhaps you should keep her, Edward. An owl will come in handy for you at Hogwarts anyhow. Look as it as a gift, from your happy new headmaster."

Edward blinked, forcing a faux-gracious smile onto his face.

"Thanks so much, Professor!"

"Anytime. I shall talk to you in two weeks time. Ta-ta for now!"

And with that he was gone. Just...gone. Edward, Pinako, Winry and Alphonse stared at the spot he was standing at just a few seconds ago in shock. Pinako was the first of them to break the silence:

"That Professor sure was something, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, all that magic he did-I hope you two get to be that good someday!" Winry said excitedly, looking back at Alphonse who happily nodded in agreement.

Edward shook his head, turning and glowering at the owl.

"...No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get rid of you, could I?"

The owl blinked, hopping over to her new master, her adorable round, black eyes staring into his glaring amber ones (though his glare had softened out significantly. How could he be pissed at that adorable-ness?). Winry piped up:

"Well, since Dumbledore gave her to you, you should be the one to finally name her."

Edward sighed, gently picking the owl up from the floor and setting her onto his shoulder.

"...Nova. That's her name."

"That's actually really pretty," Winry said, impressed at Ed's name choice.

"It has a meaning behind it, doesn't it?" Al inquired. "What language?"

"Latin, of course," Ed said, yanking his hair out of the owl's beak as he turned to face Al.

"It means a new beginning."

~~*e.s.*~~