A/n- this chapter is sort of a filler for time, but it addresses an important part of hp. And I decided Ed needed a release while I wrote it. (shrugs) reply minne, kudasai! Oh, and I don't own hp or fma.

Chapter 13- Learning to Fly

Tryouts were the next evening so Harry taught Ed how to fly during lunch. The young scientist had been weary of course, but it turned out to not be that bad. Harry had told him the commands to control the broom and how to lean in order to change direction.

"It's like riding a bike," the Gryffindor Seeker had said, "Once you get the hang of it, it's really easy and you never forget."

"More like a flying bike," Ed had mumbled to himself.

Despite the uneasy feeling in his gut, he stepped up to the side of the broom and put his hand out.

"Up," he said, but the broom ignored him. He said it again, only to get the same reaction.

"Get the hell up!" he bellowed this time.

The broom jerked upward on a path to hit him in the face. Ed stuck his right hand up in a defense block and caught the wooden handle in mid-strike. The broom, defeated, went limp in his forceful grip. He remembered the next step and straddled the broom, holding it with both hands in front of him. It floated underneath him, obedient at last.

"Good, now kick off easy, fly around the Quidditch field, and come back to land. Remember to keep calm and in control," Harry directed.

Ed nodded and did as he said. The broom wobbled under him as he took off, but righted itself once he got going faster. Surprisingly enough, he enjoyed the wind in his hair, so he made another circle around the playing field, this time going higher and faster.

He felt confident now as he went to land. That is, until he began to dismount and the broom kept going with his hand still attached. The momentum jerked him forward and off his feet, causing him to land face flat on the ground.

Edward looked up with a frown and a collection of dirt. He glared at the broom that was still hovering in front of him, quivering slightly and seeming to laugh at his fumble.

"Damn scrap of firewood," Ed insulted.

The broom wasn't amused by this and presently stopped vibrating. It closed the two-foot gap between itself and Edward, this time succeeding in smacking him in the head.

"What the hell was that for!" Ed bellowed, swiping at the broom with a karate chop.

The broom broke in two at contact and dropped to the ground as a lifeless cleaning implement. Meanwhile, Harry was laughing so hard his sides hurt. Ed glared in his direction and he calmed down so as to not invoke his friend's wrath.

"Sorry," he apologized with a chuckle, "I've just never seen someone go at a broom before."

"It wasn't too expensive, was it?" Ed asked, "I got carried away…"

"Don't worry; I can fix it," Harry said, taking out his wand and waving it, "Reparo."

"Huhn…I was hoping I'd taught the stupid thing a lesson by destroying it," Edward grumbled.

"We should get you more accustomed to it and then it'll obey you," Harry chuckled.

The two practiced until the bell. By the end of lunch, Ed could ride a broom with ease and pull off some minor swerves and flips. In the last ten minutes, Harry had chucked rocks at him and he'd dodge them or bat them away with a stick he'd found. All in all, Ed had enjoyed the experience and the regret he'd felt before from neglecting his home and brother, was beginning to dissipate. He was even hoping to get on the team, for Harry's and his sake.

Dinner passed with anxiety levels high, Harry because his position was on the line and Ed because, believe it or not, he was actually nervous. The young scientist knew this was crazy, but he couldn't control the butterflies in his stomach. Anger and fear he could deal with, but anxiety and sorrow were where this control ended.

Harry talked to Wood afterward, who took one look at Ed and frowned in discontent.

"Well, let's get this over with," he sighed, not seeming too confident in the blond exchange student.

Ed mounted his broom with minor problems this time, as he had been sure to take a different one. This broom seemed to have less of a mind of its own than the other. He took off and circled the pitch to warm up, then landed to wait for instructions.

"Have you ever played Quidditch?" Wood asked, receiving a shake of the head from the teenage boy in front of him.

"That doesn't mean he can't play," Harry cut in defensively.

Wood sighed again and gave Harry a look the Gryffindor seeker couldn't quite place the meaning of.

"I'm letting the Bludgers go. I want you to chase after them and hit them through the goal posts as hard as you can. Do it ten times and then come back and land. Here."

He handed Ed a heavy wooden bat and motioned for him to get started. Edward did so, flying with one hand on the broom and one on the bat, noticing as Wood kicked open a crate and ducked as two streaks hurdled out of it.

Ed took off after one with moderate speed and gripped both the bat and the broom tighter. He also kept an eye out for the other Bludger, which seemed to be following him closely. He swerved a bit to try and lose it, but the ball wasn't to be tricked so easily. All it did was continue straight, therefore gaining a few feet on him.

Edward picked this up immediately and leaned forward to pull away. He caught up to the other Bludger, took aim, and winged it with all he had.

The Bludger hit the bat with a loud 'crack' and flew off in the direction of the taller of the three goal posts. Ed hovered horizontal to it, about fifty yards away. It took perhaps seven seconds for the Bludger to go through.

Satisfied, Ed broke into a smile, completely forgetting the second Bludger until he noticed it whizzing toward him, not three feet away. Edward rose a meter or so in the air and had to turn upside down to avoid contact.

"That was close," he breathed to himself, before circling around and shooting after it as fast as he could; there was no way he'd let the damn thing get off so easily.

He made another successful pass through the hoop, this time from 100 meters away. He then repeated this eight more times from various distances, becoming bored by the end of the exercise. 'Is there another point to this?' he wondered as he touched down in front of Harry and Wood, his friend grinning ear-to-ear and the latter looking thoughtful.

"Alright, you're on the team," Wood declared, "You'll have to work hard during practice because there's definitely room for improvement. Namely, that would be your flying. You have a strong arm though; good job."

"Thanks," Edward replied, beaming like a child with candy; he didn't understand why, but he was thoroughly excited to have achieved at his goal, for once.

Harry was beaming as well as they left for the Gryffindor common room, ranting about how brilliant he did.

"Seriously, you're a natural," he exclaimed, "Once you got going you were amazing! Play like that at the match on Saturday and there's no way we'll lose!"