~Chapter Five: Spellbound~
A/N: HI! Sorry it took so long to update, but lots o' shtuff has been going on as of late, so yeah. It's starting to look like I am updating this here story at least once a month, so HOPEFULLY that's not too brutal on ya'll, lol. *sheepish smile*
BTWs thanks soo much for y'all that have reviewed faved and followed this story since its get-go! You all inspire me and make me love writing this story even more than I already do. I really do love hearing what you think! :))
Now, I think this here chapter's a little slower-paced than the others have been, so bear with me. I tried to spice it up best I can, but let's face it; this is one of those set-up chappies. I promise the sorting scene and more humor will be in Chapter Six. This is prep for all that.
JUST A QUICKIE REMINDER, there is still a happy link on my profile to my DeviantArt, where you may find various illustrations of *e.s.* done by yours truly. Recently updated; ya'll can now go and see what Ed's wand and Trisha's locket look like! :D
Kkz, I'll shut up and give the floor over to Edward and Harry now. Happy reading, all!
all things Harry Potter (c) J.K. Rowling
all things Fullmetal Alchemist (c) Hiromu Arakawa
{the morning of September first}
Edward lounged impatiently upon the sofa as Winry did one last check on his automail. His trunk was already packed and set down next to the fireplace, and Nova was all packed up and tucked into her shiny new cage. All that was left to do was to leave for the station…which was proving difficult whilst wearing Winry Rockbell-fitted automail.
"Oil it every day!"
"Right."
"Check for loose screws!"
"Right"
"Make sure you wipe it off really good after bathing!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Are you even listening?"
"Huh?"
"UGH," Winry groaned in annoyance, bonking Ed over the head with her wrench before dismissing him from the sofa. Ed annoyedly left her presence, rubbing his head begrudgingly as he approached Granny.
"You ready to go?" she asked, smoking her pipe impatiently. Ed nodded once, pulling his ticket for the Hogwarts Express out of his pocket. Alphonse looked over his shoulder in curiosity as Ed read:
"The place is called King's Cross Station, and the train leaves at eleven am from Platform…" he frowned.
"Platform what?" Granny asked as she grabbed Ed's trunk and wheeled it over by the fireplace.
"Nine and Three-Quarters," Alphonse piped up when Ed remained silent. Winry and Pinako raised their eyebrows in unison questionability.
"What kind of train station has a Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?" said Winry. Ed shook his head:
"Maybe the ticket got misprinted?"
"It doesn't look like a misprint to me, brother," said Al, who was equally as perplexed as the rest of the company. Ed shrugged:
"Ah well. We'll see it when we get there, I suppose."
And with that, he tucked the trunk into the fireplace and squeezed in next to it, a handful of floo powder at hand.
"King's Cross Station!"
Ed was immediately glad that he had braced himself and had a good handle upon his trunk when the familiar whooshing sensation overtook him once more, sending him spinning into a dusty, obviously unused fireplace located in King's Cross' abandoned boarding station. Ed hobbled out of the fireplace, trunk at hand, and stood back and waited for the rest of his family to join him, dusting his clothing off. Al was next; he looked generally unscathed as he emerged, obviously feeling less shaken-up than the last time he traveled by floo. Poor Nova could not say the same; Ed couldn't keep from laughing at his jostled, ash-coated owl, who was visibly shaking in her cage.
"Ed, don't laugh at her!" Al shouted in protest, setting Nova's cage upon Ed's trunk. "She looks so scared, poor thing…"
"She'll be fine, Al," Ed said. He glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was noticing any movement coming from the boarding booth, and after being reassured that it truly was abandoned, he turned back to Nova and Al.
"I wonder…let me try something real quick, since I won't be able to use alchemy for the entire school year…"
Al stood back, looking questionably upon his brother, wondering what he was up to. Just then, Ed clapped his hands together; to Al's shock, he placed them upon Nova's cage, and a large gust of wind blew through it, blowing all traces of ash and soot off of the barn owl. Ed removed his hands, looking pleased despite Nova's loathsome expression.
"B-brother-!"
Just then, another whoosh could be heard from behind Al, and Winry and Pinako emerged from the fireplace, Winry looking rather worse for wear.
"…That is by far the WORST way to travel, ever!" she said, frantically running her hands through her messy hair. Pinako chuckled at her granddaughter, assisting her in wiping the soot off her clothes. Al was still staring at Ed in shock.
"What?" Ed asked, Al's shock being painfully obvious.
"You did alchemy without a transmutation circle! Like teacher does!"
Ed froze, realization slamming into him as he grasped Al's words.
"…You're right. I did!"
He paused: "How did I do that?"
"I don't know! But it looked like you weren't even thinking about it; you made the transmutation look so easy."
"Can you do that too, Al?"
"Me? No way!" Al said, laughing. Winry, Nova and Pinako just kind of stood in silence, the three of them thinking, what in the world is going on here…?
"Wow…" Ed said, smiling only slightly before replacing it with a frown of concern. "How can I do something like that without even realizing I can do it? Especially transmuting…"
He looked back at Al and sighed:
"Not that it really matters; I can't do any alchemy while at school, anyway."
"Speaking of," Winry pointed out: "it's ten-thirty now. We'd better get going if you want to get on that train, Ed."
"Right," he said, leading the way out of the boarding station and grabbing a cart for his trunk and Nova's cage. King's Cross was visibly busy, with numerous crowds of bustling people trying to board trains and purchase tickets. There were big plastic numbers over each of the platforms, but as Ed and company continued down the line, they eventually got to the area between Platforms Nine and Ten and found nothing resembling an additional platform. Ed yanked the ticket out of his pocket to double check he had read right; sure enough, the ticket bore the same Platform Nine and Three-Quarters it bore beforehand.
"This doesn't make any sense," Ed said, bemusedly looking back and forth at the signs for Platforms Nine and Ten as if waiting for a third platform to magically appear in between. Pinako took the ticket from him and examined it herself, frowning slightly.
"There's probably some secret way of getting to this platform that Hagrid forgot to tell us about."
Damn, Ed thought frustratingly, looking now upon the brick columns in between the platforms, wondering which one he was supposed to tap upon with his wand…
Near one of the columns, however, Ed surprisingly found himself looking upon a familiar, red-headed face. He's that boy I met in the owl shop! Crap, what was his name? Richard? Ralph…?
"…Ron!"
The red-head looked in Ed's direction with curiosity; a huge grin broke across his face immediately after spotting the blonde kid.
"Hey, Ed!" Ron greeted Ed as he ran over to him, his family following close behind. His mother, who Ed recognized as the plump woman from the owl shop walked up to him, smiling kindly down at him.
"Hello, dear, I'm Molly Weasley, Ron's mum."
"Nice to meet you," said Ed, shaking her hand and then glancing up as Alphonse came to stand next to him. "This is my younger brother, Alphonse. Al, this is Ron and his mom."
"And his brothers!" two voices from behind Ron piped up, running up to the two Elrics, looking at Al in awe.
"Nice armor," one of them said, the other one nodding and grinning in agreement.
"Thanks," Al said sheepishly.
"Why do you wear it?" a third, taller Weasley boy inquired, walking up to the group with a younger girl hiding shyly behind him.
"It's a hobby," the Elric brothers quickly said in unison, quickly shooting each other a look. Al made a noise that sounded as if he were clearing his throat:
"Yeah, I'm really, uh…into armor and stuff."
"I see," the taller Weasley said.
"Cool," the twins chimed in awe. Molly Weasley spoke again:
"You're Ed's younger brother? What year will you be going to Hogwarts then, dearie?"
"Next year," Al said, nodding excitedly. The woman chuckled:
"Ginny's going next year, too," she said as she gestured to her bashful little girl. Al looked over at Ginny, friendly waving at her. After a short moment's contemplation she waved back, emerging just a little bit from her brother's cover. While Molly talked a bit to Pinako, Ron looked at Ed's owl.
"How many siblings do you have?" Ed asked, forcibly tearing his gaze away from the twins, who were currently swarming around Winry and making her laugh.
"Five brothers and Ginny, so six."
"Wow," Al said. "That's a big family."
"Yeah. They get really annoying at times," Ron admitted. "So is it just you two, or do you have a younger brother or sister at home?"
"Nah, just us," Ed said, leaning against Al.
"Do your brothers go to Hogwarts, too?" Al asked.
"Yeah, and they're all in Gryffindor," Ron said, sighing. "Which is definitely the House I hope to be in, too. I'll be the only one in the family not in Gryffindor if I don't get in."
"I'm sure you'll get in if your whole family's in it," Al said kindly. Ron half-smiled in thanks at the younger Elric.
"What House do you think you'll be in, Ed?"
"Uhm," Ed said, scratching his head as he racked his brain for all the information Hagrid had given him about the Hogwarts Houses. "I'm not sure. But I'm not gonna be picky about it, though, if you know what I mean."
"Really? You mean you'd even be ok with Slytherin?"
"I don't really understand what the big deal with that House is…" Ed shrugged:
"If I end up in Slytherin I end up in Slytherin. Oh well. I wonder how they sort people into their Houses."
"Yeah, same here; Fred and George won't tell me anything."
"Alright, boys, come along now!" called Ron's mom. "We've got to hurry up and get to the Platform…goodness; this place is packed with Muggles, of course…"
~~*e.s.*~~
Harry was beginning to get rather desperate.
The guard he had just talked to had never even heard of Hogwarts, let alone Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. On top of all that, the guard did not even know of any trains leaving at eleven o' clock! Harry sighed, looking at Hedwig; the owl stared back blankly, as if saying, sorry; I'm all out of ideas, too.
"—packed with Muggles, of course—"
Muggles? Harry's ears perked up immediately. He swung round and spotted the speaker in a group of people. Most of them were pushing a cart, and two of the carts had owls. Hedwig perked up at the sight of the owls, and Harry's heart began to hammer. He pushed his heart after them, stopping just near them to listen in to what they were saying.
"Now, what's the platform number?" the red-headed woman asked.
"Nine and three quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand. "I really wish I could go…"
"You're not old enough yet, Ginny. You'll go next year with Alphonse; all right, Percy, you go first."
Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it…but the boy just disappeared!
…huh…?
What…? Ed also was thinking, feeling equally as dumbfounded as Harry. But sure enough, when the two twins ran through, it was obvious what was happening; the barrier was allowing them to step through to an alternate platform. Ron grinned at Ed's amazed expression; little did he know that the boy was staring at the brick column in order to find a hidden transmutation circle, though, not because he thinks it's magic.
After all, it had to be a transmutation. There's nothing else for it.
"Excuse me," Harry said, finally getting the guts to walk up to the plump woman and ask for directions.
"Hello dear," Ron's mom greeted Harry kindly. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron and Edward are new, too."
She pointed at the youngest son and his companion, a short, long-haired blonde who had to tear his curious eyes away from the barrier in order to acknowledge Harry's presence.
"Yes," said Harry. "The thing is—the thing is, I don't know how to—"
"How to get onto the platform?"
Harry nodded sheepishly.
"Not to worry," she said with a smile. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important."
She turned to address Ed at the same time as Harry.
"Best do it at a run if you two are nervous. Go on, Harry, go now before Ron and Edward."
"Er—ok.."
What was left of the group observed as Harry took a deep breath and then took off toward the barrier and disappeared onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters. As Ron followed Harry, Ed turned to Alphonse:
"…Do you see a transmutation circle anywhere on that barrier?"
"No," Al said, meeting his brother's expression, knowing they were probably both thinking the same thing; not all alchemists need transmutation circles.
"Alright, dears, let's get a move on," Mrs. Weasley called to the Elric brothers. Ed and Al glanced behind them at Winry and Pinako, who followed them and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny into the barrier and onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
A scarlet steam engine greeted them with great grandiose and a mighty sheen. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Edward looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the platform name on it. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. One small tabby came right over to where Alphonse stood, rubbing against his large metal legs all cute-like. The younger Elric's heart melted at the sight of the adorable creature, and he happily scooped the kitten up into his big, gentle hands…
"Put the cat down, Al," Ed said, not even needing to turn around and look at Al to know what he was up to.
"But brother, it came to me—"
"It doesn't belong to you, Al; put it down!"
"Fine…bye-bye, Kitty.."
The kitten meowed its goodbye and toddled off in search of its true owner.
"Hey Ed, over here!" Ron called out to him. Ed quickly drove his cart up next to Ron's and, with Alphonse's help, loaded the two trunks up in through the train door. After carefully placing Nova atop his trunk and waving goodbye to her, he his brother and Ron walked back over to their families.
"Ron, come here; you've got something on your nose," Mrs. Weasley said, taking out her handkerchief and rubbing the end of Ron's nose.
"Mom—geroff!" he wriggled free.
"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins, causing Ed to crack up. Just then, someone yanked at his hair.
"YEOW!"
He turned and angrily glared at the culprit: Winry.
"You had something in your hair. Probably from breakfast; you're so sloppy, Ed."
Ron chortled at this, shooting Ed a that's what you get! look. Ed rolled his eyes, offering the pink-nosed boy a small smile as he blew his bangs out of his face. Just then the oldest boy came striding into sight; he had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Ed noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with a letter P on it.
"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have two compartments to themselves—"
"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. As they went on with their poking fun at the older brother's haughtiness, Ed questioned Ron:
"What is a prefect, anyway?"
"There's kind of like student leaders of the Houses. There are six per House, and they get to be real bossy to the other students in the House."
"I see," Ed said, understanding why Ron's older brother seemed so snobbish to him. He watched as Ron's mother fondly kissed Percy upon the cheek and then he left, his robes billowing grandly behind him. Then she turned to the twins.
"Now, you two—this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling you've—you've blown up a toilet or—"
"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."
"Great idea though, thanks, Mom!"
"It's not funny! And look after Ron."
"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."
"Shut up," said Ron, causing Ed to laugh at him again. The redhead glared down at Ed:
"'Least I'm taller than you," he pointed out. Ed fumed furiously, clenching his fists.
"Touché," he growled in reply, causing Ron to bust up, the pink tint in his nose only getting worse with his laughter.
"Hey, Mom," one of the twins suddenly piped up. "Guess who we just met on the train?"
Ron and Ed listened into this conversation.
"Who?"
"Harry Potter!"
Ginny gasped:
"Ohh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom oh please…"
"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo."
She looked back towards the twins.
"Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"
"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there—like lightning."
"Poor dear—no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."
"Is this Harry Potter guy some kind of wizard celebrity or something?" Ed inquired. Ron gaped at him:
"You've never heard of Harry Potter?"
"No…should I have?"
"Yes!" Ron exclaimed. "After all, he's the one that defeated You-Know-Who!"
"Speaking of, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" Fred asked. Their mother suddenly became very stern.
"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. NO. Don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day of school."
"All right, keep your hair on," the boy muttered.
A whistle sounded.
"Hurry up!" Molly Weasley called, and Fred and George quickly ran over and clambered onto the train. Ed sighed and turned back to Pinako, Winry and Alphonse.
"Well, thanks for everything Granny. I owe you one, big time."
"Of course you don't," the old woman said briskly. "It's like I've always said, I consider you boys family and I treat you as if you were my own grandchildren. Now, you go have a good term, and write occasionally, if you can."
"Right. I will," Ed said. He then turned to Winry, placing a hand upon his covered-up automail.
"...Thank you," he said, smiling slightly. Winry blinked, then quickly returned the smile.
"Just remember what I told you; you take care of yourself. And be sure you call if something happens, or if—"
She was cut off suddenly; Ed hugged her tight, holding her there for a short moment, then relinquished her.
"I'll take care, I swear."
Winry blinked again, then nodded once. Ed sighed, finally turning to face his little brother. As he looked up into Alphonse's metallic face, it finally hit him; for the first time since their mother died, the boys were being separated. He could feel a few tears burning at the back of his eyes but he refused to relinquish them, instead acting strong, because he knew that Alphonse was probably going to take the separation harder than Ed was going to. After all, he's the younger brother, not Ed.
"I guess I'll see you later, then, Al."
"Yeah…see ya, Ed."
Ed nodded, slowly beginning to walk away from the three of them, over to where Ron was patiently waiting for him.
"…Brother?"
Ed froze, turning to face Al again.
"Yeah?"
"I…I'll miss you."
Ed stared at Al, his chest becoming extremely tight, the tears punching furiously at his eyeballs. He stood there for a long moment, staring at his brother, and then he finally shook his head. Before he knew it he found himself running back at Al and wrapping his arms around his younger brother's big metal encasement.
"…I'm standing by what I've said before, Al," Ed hissed out of earshot of the other people around them. "I swear, I'll do whatever it takes to get your body back. I will do anything and everything to right all the wrongs I've involved you in."
He pulled away from Al, quickly wiping his eyes before anyone could see that he was unsuccessful in containing his tears.
"I'm gonna miss you, Al."
"I'll miss you to, brother," said Alphonse, his voice audibly breaking, though Ed knew that the child was unable to cry, because of that stupid, inhumane armor he was stuck in. Ed placed a hand upon his brother's hollow armor.
"I'll write. A lot. I'll tell you all about the school, and hopefully you'll be back to normal by the time you go the Hogwarts next year."
"That would be awesome!"
Ed smiled:
"Yeah. It sure would."
He removed his hand from the armor, looking behind him as Ron called for him to hurry up or the train will leave them. Ed smiled one last time at his brother, Winry and Granny before running off to join Ron onboard the Hogwarts Express.
~~*e.s.*~~
Houses flashed past the window; the city of London began to dissipate and soon a vast sea of trees could be seen through the train's windows. Harry found himself feeling more excited than he ever had in his entire life. He had no clue what he was getting himself into, but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind, right?
The door of the compartment slid open and Ron and his blonde friend from the train station stood in the doorway.
"Anyone sitting there?" the redhead asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry.
"Everywhere else is full," the blonde piped up, shoving his hands into the pockets of his long red coat.
Harry shook his head and the two boys sat down; he noticed that Ron still had a bit of a black spot on his nose.
"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.
Harry nodded.
"Oh—well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got—you know…"
He whispered, "scar," pointing to Harry's forehead.
"Oh, yeah," Harry said, pulling his bangs back to show the lightning scar. Ron and Ed stared.
"What a weird-shaped scar," Ed remarked. "Where'd you get it from?"
Ron turned and gaped at him.
"You mean you've never heard of him?"
Ed raised an eyebrow: "no offense or anything—Harry, was it?—but should I have heard of him?"
"Uh, YEAH," Ron said increadously. "He defeated You-Know-Who when he was only a year old!"
"You-Know-Who?" Ed said, his face a giant question mark. Ron's agape expression grew in shock.
"Well," Harry said, shifting in his seat. "It doesn't really matter, 'cause I can't remember it."
"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.
"Well—I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."
"Wow," said Ron. Harry then turned to Ed:
"Don't feel bad about not knowing about You-Know-Who. I just barely learned about him this summer, and apparently I'm the one who 'defeated' him."
"Is that his real name?" Ed asked sarcastically. "You-Know-Who?"
"No, it's Voldemort."
A large gasp emitted from Ron; Harry and Ed raised their eyebrows in confusion.
"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I-I'd have thought, you, of all people—"
"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry. "I just never knew you shouldn't."
He sighed heavily:
"See what I mean? I've got loads to learn…I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately.
"Don't worry," Ed said reassuringly. "I'm in the same boat. I didn't even know that magic existed until this summer."
"Same here!" Harry said, feeling relieved that someone else understood. "I bet I'm the worst in the class."
"You won't be, neither of you will," stated Ron. "There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."
Harry nodded, looking back at Ed.
"I don't think I caught your name back at King's Cross…"
"Edward Elric," Ed said, extending a friendly (non-automail) hand out to the fellow wizard.
While they had been talking the Hogwarts Express had quickly taken them far away from London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, that is, until a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the trolley, dears?"
Harry and Ed immediately leapt to their feet, but Ron's ears went pink. "No thanks, I'm all set," he muttered, embarrassingly lifting up a plastic baggie with a roast beef sandwich in it.
Neither Harry nor Ed had had very much money for buying candy back at home, so this was a real treat for them. However, there wasn't a single familiar type of candy to be found anywhere on that cart. After a moment's contemplation, the two boys looked at each other in contemplation…
Ron's jaw dropped at the sight of the two of them carrying armfuls of candy and sweets.
"Hungry?"
"Starving!" Ed said, hastily digging into a pumpkin pasty.
Ron pulled apart a bit of his sandwich and sighed.
"She always forgets that I don't like corned beef…"
"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on—"
"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron sulkily.
"Just take the sweets and enjoy it, Ron!" Ed said with a mouthful of pasty. Harry urged a pasty into the ginger's hands, eager to have someone to share with. Pretty soon they had all eaten their way through the mountain of sweets, each taking turns sampling scary-looking Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. The expression on Ed's face when he encountered a sour milk-flavored one was priceless, and he had Ron and Harry literally rolling with laughter at the hilarity of his outraged display.
As the countryside continued flying past the window became wilder and wilder with every passing minute, Ed eventually passed out across the seat, forcing Ron to move to the other side and take a seat next to Harry. The older Elric was exhausted, though; after a sleepless night, the lull of the Hogwarts Express was like a lullaby to him. The slightly rickety-ness of the train didn't bother him a bit, either, for he was so used to traveling by train after all the times he and Al travelled to Dublith to meet up with their teacher…
~~*e.s.*~~
"Brother? Are…are you there?"
I found myself laughing softly, humorlessly from the other side of the hellish transmutation circle. Yes, I wanted to say, I'm here. But you're still not.
"…sorry…" was all I managed to hoarsely whisper.
The armor's head jolted up, two small, white orbs visible in the eyeholes of the helmet replacing his dark, amber eyes that used to melt mom's heart. His small, ten-year-old voice gasped from within the armor as he leapt up from the floor and ran over to where I lay slumped upon the floor, bleeding for him. He froze before kneeling next to me, however, and I saw him lift a hand to his 'face,' examining why he was suddenly so tall, so big, so…inhuman.
"What-?"
"All I could get for one arm was your…s-soul…" I spoke in my broken, pained whisper, raising my remaining hand up to the stump that used to be my right arm.
Alphonse fell to the floor by my side with a great clamoring, his metal body creaking as his former self never would've. I closed my eyes tighter as I felt his giant hand rest gingerly upon my heaving back.
"B-brother…why?"
Edward awoke with a start, his breathing heavy. He shook his head clear of the awful dream, pleading with his mind; why can't I just stop dreaming about it already? As he took in the unfamiliar environment around him, he quickly recalled boarding the Hogwarts Express, and the candy wrappers upon the seat next to him reminded him of everything that had happened before he fell asleep. He sat up, rubbing his eyes with his gloved hand as Ron greeted him obnoxiously loudly:
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty."
"Heh," was Ed's still-drowsy reply. He looked up at Harry and Ron; Ron was still grinning about Ed's sleepiness, whilst Harry had a weird look upon his face. Ed raised an eyebrow:
"What?"
"You had a look on your face when you woke up. Like you were having a nightmare or something."
"Oh," Ed said, cursing himself internally. He shrugged it off nonchalantly, offering the two of them a smile to hide the fact that Harry had it right on the money.
"So what were you two talking about before I interrupted?" Ed said, anxious to get the conversation away from any supposed nightmares he had.
"Houses," said Harry. "We're hoping for Gryffindor."
"Ah," said Ed. "Which one was that again? The one for smart people?"
"No, that's Ravenclaw," Ron said. "Gryffindor are for the brave ones."
"Ah," Ed repeated, scratching his head. Ron nodded, chewing on a pumpkin pasty. "An' the other two are Hufflepuff and Slytherin."
"And Slytherin's the one no one likes, right?" Ed inquired.
"Right," Ron and Harry said in unison. Harry looked at Ron:
"That's the house Vol—I mean You-Know-Who was in, right?"
"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.
"What's wrong with you?" Ed asked.
"I'm just worried, y'know? If I don't get into Gryffindor, I'll be the first one in the family not innit!"
"Yeah, I remember you telling me that earlier. I'm sure you'll get in just by the fact that every Weasley that ever went to Hogwarts has been in it," Ed pointed out, rolling his eyes. Harry frowned at his inconsideracy:
"And what house do you want to be in?" he inquired of the blonde. Ed's answer was an unconcerned shrug.
Harry sighed; as he spent more time with the two boys, he decided that he liked Ron just a bit better than Edward; even though Ed was pretty funny at times, he seemed to have a 'I don't give a damn' sort of attitude about him, and it kind of bothered Harry. Ron, on the other hand, was fun to be around and was easier to relate to than Ed, even though he and Ed were practically in the same boat when it comes to being new to the wizarding world and all.
"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," Harry said to Ron, trying to take the boy's mind off of houses.
Pretty soon after that, it began to get dark. The three of them could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train was seemingly beginning to slow down.
Ed was the first one changed since he had left for King's Cross that morning with half of his uniform on already. All he had to do was switch out his usual red coat for his black Hogwarts cloak. Harry saw the black symbol on the back of Ed's coat and pointed to it:
"What's that for?"
Ed froze, racking his brain for an answer to Harry's question that wouldn't be alchemy-related.
"…it's an altered caduceus, a symbol from Greek mythology. I just thought it looked cool, y'know."
Ed held his breath, closely observing Harry and Ron's reactions to this statement, hoping that they'll fall for it. Ron nodded in approvement:
"It does look kind of neat," the redhead agreed. Ed exhaled, quickly turning away to stash the coat away in his suitcase.
The incognito alchemist failed to notice Harry's look of suspicion before he looked away, however; it was at that moment that Harry began to have doubts about Edward Elric. He shrugged this off as he and Ron pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him; you could see his sneakers underneath them.
A voice echoed throughout the train announcing their arrival at the school. The train came to a complete stop.
Edward followed Harry and Ron out into the crisp night air, clasping his cloak as he spotted a lamp bobbing over the heads of the students. He heard a familiar voice:
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
Hagrid looked over in their direction; his big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.
"All right there, Harry, Edward?"
Harry and Ed nodded at the friendly giant, then looked at each other in curiosity.
"You know Hagrid already?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, he took me shopping in Diagon Alley," Ed said. "You?"
"Same."
Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was rather dark on either side of them, meaning that there must be a thick forest on the school's campus. Nobody spoke much; they were all trying to take in their mysterious surroundings.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder. "Jus' round this bend here."
Edward was expecting something decent-sized, with several boring-colored buildings, like most other schools. What he saw was not that, however; he found himself instead gaping at a vast castle with numerous turrets and towers. Very medieval, magic-looking. The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a black lake, and the castle was perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky.
Edward wondered for a moment whether or not he was still on the train, dreaming, but then he recalled that his dream was not nearly this pleasant.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron immediately got into a boat without much hesitation; Ed, however, hesitated a lot more than the other students. Harry and Ron looked at him questionably.
"What's wrong?" Ron asked.
"I…I'm just worried about how much weight these boats can take. I'm kind of, uh…heavy."
The two boys in the boat stared at his petite figure with disbelief.
"Yeah right, just get in."
Ed gulped but obeyed the redhead nonetheless. Just as he expected it to, the boat did lurch a tad as he stepped in, but it thankfully did not sink. The three boys decided to be safe and just leave it at three rather than four to their boat.
"Why are you so heavy? You don't look fat in the slightest!" Ron said. Ed shrugged:
"Muscle, maybe…?"
"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then—FORWARD!"
And with that the little fleet of boats moved off all at once, floating on their own accord towards the towering castle. Everyone was silent as they stared at Hogwarts; it towered over them like a great beast just waiting to be challenged. Ed stared into its shadows with hard determination rather than with unsteady nerves or uneasiness. He looked upon the school with only one goal in mind, and that was to find out how to get his little brother's body back, how to fix everything…
The only thing Edward Elric was uncertain of was whether or not that now involved a Philosopher's Stone.
~~*e.s.*~~