A/n- sumimasen minne (sorry everyone) if it's been a while since I've updated. It's been busy since school is starting soon and I've been familiarizing myself with my livejournal account. Check it out if you want; I will most likely post news on my fic there. My username is Regaime. Big surprise there. Other than that, I've been reading Dominic Deegan, a webcomic, nonstop and now that I've finished, things should move along faster. My promise still stands. Enjoy! This is one of my fav chapters so far!
Chapter 21- Trial and Error
The following afternoon as soon as it was lunchtime, Edward headed in the direction of the Room of Requirement and after referring to his map to find the correct hall, he walked past it, muttering what he needed under his breath as Harry had done the night before. The door appeared, but the room it opened to was empty. He frowned, only in slight disappointment; he hadn't expected to find the Philosopher's Stone so easily.
He closed the door and repeated the process, this time asking for a complete copy of the book he needed. Sure enough, when he entered the room, he found what he'd asked for lying on a table in its center.
Ed rushed down the hall after viewing the pages to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. At this time, his father should be free from classes.
"Dad! Dad!" he yelled through the closed and locked door to his father's office.
"Edward…?" came a voice from behind him.
The alchemist turned to see his father coming down the hall and shifted the book to the opposite hand in anticipation.
"I have something to tell you," he stated, looking past the man in front of him and down the hall in sudden caution, "in private."
"Of course," Hoenheim answered, unlocking the office door and escorting his son inside.
As soon as the two sat down, Ed blurted out what he had to say; the excitement was too much to keep in check.
"I found the book," he said, a giddy feeling rising in him as he waited for his father's reaction.
"The book…?" Hoenheim replied in confusion.
"The one I told you about that had the pages missing," Edward supplied, confused as well, but for a different reason; his father wasn't usually one to forget things.
"Ah, of course. Sorry, I've been…preoccupied lately," the Professor apologized.
"It's okay," Edward said, brushing it off, "Anyway, I used the Room of Requirement to get a complete copy of the book and it worked!" he paused, took a breath for the next part, and in his excitement, lost himself in the possibilities now open to him, "I know how to make the Philosopher's Stone!"
"Are you serious?" his father blurted in disbelief, "How—!"
"It explains everything in here," Ed replied, referring to the book, "and the best part is that the technique isn't the same! There's another way to create the Stone without sacrificing human lives and using magical energy instead! See, it's right here."
He opened the book to the marked page and passed it to his father, who read it aloud.
"Creating the Philosopher's Stone is extremely difficult, even for the most skilled wizards. Many have died trying and those who didn't either failed to create one or were nearly killed. The Philosopher's Stone acts as a magical battery, a storing place for a wizard's magical energy that can be used later for their wants and needs. It takes an immense amount of magical energy to be put forth into a sizable jewel that can withstand immense amounts of pressure and heat. Rubies have been found to be the most effective in doing so, creating the nickname 'Red Stone', or 'Crimson Stone'. When finished, the substance is loosely structured and can take the form of a liquid or solid. From this, the 'Elixir of Life' or 'Crimson Elixir' can be made to grant one eternal life, however it has to be consumed on a regular basis or the user will revert to their human years, many times causing death from prolonged use. It can also be used to channel magical power when the user needs massive amounts of magic to perform advanced spells."
Hoenheim finished and his eyebrows rose to meet his forehead in amazement. Ed beamed from his place across from him; hearing the passage again had heightened his enthusiasm on the matter.
"All we need is a ruby—with that we can go home!" he exclaimed, then noticing his father's sudden frown, "It won't be a problem, will it?" I mean…you've been getting paid…if worse comes to worse, I can just transmute something of value."
"Of course not," Hoenheim replied with a grin, "There'll be no problem. By the end of the week I should have a ruby."
"Excellent," Edward stated, getting up, "I'll see you later; there's something I have to do."
He exited the office and hurried in the direction of the portal hole. When he'd retrieved his journal, stopping to give Alphonse some food, he set out again for the Room of Requirement. He arrived in the correct corridor easier this time, repeating the routine he'd done less than an hour ago.
This time when he opened the door, he met an almost vacant room, save for a box of chalk on the floor near the far wall. Ed set to work drawing the transmutation circle he needed to send his journal across dimensions.
When he finished, he scrutinized every last detail of the circle, knowing if one angle was off or one line slightly uneven, all his efforts would be in vain. The fact that he could always try again convinced him to set the leather volume in the middle of the circle and press his hands to its surface.
He concentrated, closing his eyes as the blinding blue light appeared and willed the alchemy to obey him. When he opened them, the journal had vanished.
With his hands shaking in anxiety, Edward reached into his robes and drew out his wand, releasing the familiar feeling of brotherly love into it.
Al appeared, hunched over a book on his desk with concentration in his soft brown eyes. Ed sighed in defeat; the journal was not there. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to pull away and let the image disintegrate. He kept watching, hoping, waiting for the journal to appear suddenly in a flash of blue light.
Minutes passed; sweat and strain collected on Ed's face. The transmutation had taken most of his energy; there wasn't much time left. The minutes morphed into half an hour and still there was no change. He was having trouble breathing now and a headache was slowly creeping from the base of his neck to his forehead. Ed refused to let go; there was still hope.
In Amestris, Al was beginning to fall asleep on his book, as he had the second time Ed had scryed him, when suddenly Winry appeared in the doorway. Ed's heart dropped when he saw her hands were empty, but the frantic look on her face caused him to hang on; something was happening.
"Winry…?" Al questioned as she burst into the room.
"Al, come quick! It's…I don't know what, just come!" she said breathlessly, almost incomprehensively.
"What is it?" Alphonse asked in alarm, following her to the kitchen.
"I told you, I don't know!" she exclaimed, coming to a stop before the kitchen table, "There, see? It just came out of nowhere all of a sudden in a flash of blue light!"
"Blue light…" Al pondered, picking up the leather journal, Ed's journal, off the table and opening it.
His eyes skimmed the inside cover feverishly and he froze almost instantly, speechless.
"Al? What is it?" Winry asked, trying to see over his shoulder, "Alphonse!"
"I don't believe it…" he whispered, his eyes filling up with tears, "It's from brother…"
"Ed? Ed sent this? How?" Winry blurted in astonishment.
"With alchemy…somehow…" Al replied, flipping through the pages to the last entry, the one Ed had written this very afternoon.
"What does it say?" Winry asked eagerly.
"It says, 'Dear Al, if you are reading this now it means my test worked and I am leaps closer to coming home. At this moment, I am watching you with a magical technique called scrying; the earlier pages will explain. Although you can't see me, I'm here, but I don't have much time. If there's something you'd like to say, now would be a good time. I'll see you soon; I promise. Love, Ed'…"
"What does he mean, he's watching us?" Winry asked, exasperated and confused.
"I'll figure it out later," Al replied, thinking hard now and mumbling, "Something to say…"
"I've got something to say," Winry stated suddenly, "How about, get your ass back here, pronto or else!"
"Yeah," Al agreed, "But without the pronto part. Don't let your anxiousness to come home make you careless. Take your time and do it right."
"This is where the 'or else' part fits in," Winry added.
"Yeah," Al repeated, "That and we miss you."
Edward broke the connection with joyful tears in his eyes, but he lost consciousness due to fatigue before he was able to wipe them away.
He awoke some time later, finding himself lying in a bed in the hospital wing. For a moment, he was confused as to how he got there, but then Harry appeared at the bedside.
"It's about time," he said, sounding angry but looking concerned, "I didn't know what to think when I found you dead still on the floor!"
"But…how did you know I was there?" Ed asked.
"I used my map, sort of like the one you have, only mine shows the location of people as well. When I didn't see you on it, I thought, bullocks, he left and didn't even say goodbye, but then I decided to check the Room of Requirement, just in case. It was a bloody good thing I did too!"
"Sorry…" Ed mumbled, "I used too much energy, that's all…"
"It's fine, just…promise me you'll at least say farewell when it's time, okay?"
"Sure," Ed replied, "So, about that map…can I see it?"
"Out of curiosity or because you have mischief in mind?" Harry asked in good humor, "It's a map for troublemakers, you know."
"Then I'm more than eligible," Ed pointed out with a shifty grin.
Harry laughed and dug the map out from his robes, tapping it with his wand and saying the incantation to activate it.
"Neat," Ed admired as the blank parchment morphed into an intricate map, "Hey, here we are," he said, pointing to two pairs of footsteps, "and there's Ron and Hermione walking past the Defense Against the Dark Arts room."
"Hey Ed, someone's in your dad's office," Harry said, furrowing his brow.
"Seriously," Ed asked, shifting his eyes to the pair of feet and freezing in horror as he read it out loud, "Envy…"
"What kind of a name is E—" Harry started, interrupted by Ed frantically throwing back the covers of the bed and jumping out of it, "Hey, what's the matter?"
"I know Envy; my Dad's in trouble," Ed stated swiftly, rushing out the door.
"Ed, your dad's not in the office," Harry informed him, running to catch up.
"Where is he then?" Ed asked as they both ran toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts room.
"In one of the dungeons," Harry said.
Edward abruptly changed course, Harry not far behind, trying to concentrate on running and talking at the same time. Faintly, he heard Madame Pomfrey yelling after them to return.
"Listen, Envy is the Homunculus that killed me. He can take any form, so it's nearly impossible to tell who's who. That and…it's nearly impossible to kill him."
"I remember now," Harry said, "You wrote in your journal that Envy was your half-brother."
"He's no brother of mine!" Ed ground out bitterly, "I'll see to that bastard's demise personally!"
"You're seriously going to kill him?" Harry exclaimed.
"You're planning on killing Voldemort, aren't you?" Ed pointed out.
"W-Well, yeah, but—" Harry stuttered, not quite knowing what to say.
"I told you already; Envy killed me. It's that bastard's fault I'm here! He did this to me…and Al!"
There was nothing else Harry could say; the hatred Ed felt toward his half-brother was the same hatred he felt toward the one who took his parents from him. Ed's feelings of revenge were stronger than his though, because unlike him, Ed remembered what had happened. For Harry, the death of his parents held no real memories, only facts he knew were true and the occasional bad dream; what Ed had was much more real. Harry wasn't able to ponder the matter any longer, as they'd already arrived at the dungeons.
"Dad? Are you here?" Ed called, clearly worried about his father's health; he wouldn't have believed this to be true a couple years ago.
"Ed…ward…?" came a faint call from somewhere deep in the tomb-like maze.
"Damnit! I can't see anything!" Ed cursed, "If only I had the components to make a light…" he muttered.
"Lumos," Harry said, a blue light forming at the tip of his wand, "Electricity doesn't work in Hogwarts. Hermione's repeated that enough times for me to remember."
"Oh, right," Ed replied, referring to the spell and copying it with his own wand.
They used the map to locate Hoenheim and found him a short while later with his hands chained separately to the wall so he couldn't transmute. His face was heavily bruised and dried blood trailed from his nose to his beard, but other than that he seemed unharmed. However, his state still sent Ed into a panic.
"Dad! Are you all right?" he asked anxiously, rushing to erase the bonds that held him prisoner.
"Ed…I'm fine but, how…how did you find out about…?"
"You mean Envy? Harry here has a pretty handy map," Ed answered with a relieved smile, then becoming serious, "How long have you been here?"
"I've no idea—hours maybe," Hoenheim sighed, "Envy captured me Tuesday afternoon."
"That's good then; it's Tuesday night," Harry informed the Professor.
"No, it isn't," Ed disagreed, talking to his father, "I went to your office this afternoon looking for you. It must have been Envy; he was coming from the direction of the dungeons and was acting out of character. Everything I told him is dangerous for us; he knows I can make the Philosopher's Stone."
"Philosopher's—you can—" Hoenheim stuttered.
"Yeah," Ed nodded.
"We need to hurry then," his father stated gravely, "Envy mentioned working for someone…someone who is interested in the Philosopher's Stone."
"Voldemort," Harry concluded.
"You're right—we need to hurry, before Envy has a chance to contact Voldemort. Let's go," Edward directed, the authority of a State Alchemist in his voice.
"What will you do, Edward?" his father asked as they exited the dungeons, "Silence Envy? There's no way to kill him; his remains are lost somewhere in Amestris."
"Well, I thought—maybe—"
"We need a plan," Hoenheim interrupted, "Not only is he imperishable, he also has my wand. I doubt he can perform magic, but there's always a chance he can."
"Harry, can you paralyze him?" Ed asked, a plan already forming.
"Yeah, no problem."
"Then the first chance you get, let him have it—no matter who he's impersonating."
Harry nodded in understanding and they continued to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom in silence, each thinking deeply about what was about to take place. When they arrived, Hoenheim hid around the corner while Ed and Harry knocked on the office door. Envy appeared as the Professor, looking tired and wearing a frown.
"Hey, I know it's late," Edward said apologetically, "But something happened and…we need your help."
Ed made sure his words sounded genuine, despite the rage that boiled beneath the surface. He stepped aside to let Harry in first when Envy motioned for them to enter.
"What is it?" he asked, unable to hide all of his annoyance.
"It's my wand," Harry said, "It won't work—I think it's broken inside. Can you fix it?" he asked, taking it out of his robes.
"Can't you do it, Ed?" Envy asked, suspicious at once.
"You're the one who said you knew how they work and wouldn't tell me," Edward replied calmly, "Have you forgotten already, dad?"
The gleam in Ed's eyes gave him away; that and a particular sarcasm in his words that Envy could not ignore.
"Heh, smart as usual, pipsqueak; how did you possibly find out?" Envy growled, rushing at the two in the midst of transforming into his favorite form.
"Petrificus Totalis!" Harry bellowed.
As Envy went rigid and fell to the floor, Ed clapped his hands and sent a spike up from it to pin him through the chest.
"Now," he asked coldly, "How many times will it take to kill you?"
"Is everyone all right?" came Hoenheim's voice from the door.
"Yeah; what took you so long?" Ed asked.
"I sent a message to Dumbledore. He should be here any minute."
"I see," Ed replied, turning his attention to Envy, "Do you really think he's working for Voldemort?"
"Why don't we find out?" came the Headmaster's unexpected reply.
A/n- sorry for the cliff hanger. The chapter was getting kinda long. Well, you'll have to wait to find out what happens!