Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter.
Ed pulled his black trench coat around himself as he walked down the street, trying to block out the chilly morning air. He passed a few other officers, who gave him quick salutes as they made their way to Central Command. He checked his pocket watch, to find that he still had half an hour until he had to be at the train station. Upon arriving at his favorite coffee shop, he ordered his usual, a large coffee with sugar. A lot of sugar.
He made his way through the crowd of the station and glanced around, spotting the unmistakable blue of Amestrian military uniforms. He walked towards the unit and stood beside Lt. Colonel Hawkeye, who had Black Hayate sitting at her feet. He dropped his suitcase on the ground, barely acknowledging Mustang as the latter took another drink from his coffee.
"Looks like you're not late for once, Fullmetal." Mustang commented, with a typical infuriating smirk.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Ed grumbled, muttering a few choice words under his breath.
"Now, we have a train ride of three days and two nights." At this, everyone groaned. "Yes, I know it's a long time, but these are our orders, so suck it up." He said, giving them all hard looks. "Once we reach Creta, we will meet a man named Arthur Weasley, he will take us to their headquarters, where we will receive further instructions. Understood?"
"Yes sir! Understood, sir!" They chanted.
"Good. Let's go!" Mustang commanded, turning to board the train, the rest of the unit trailing behind.
The group walked down the aisle, making their way to an empty compartment. Once inside they put their luggage away and sat down. Ed felt another yawn coming on, he brought his cup to his lips, but found it empty. He sighed and looked out the window. It was going to be a long train ride.
After a few hours, Ed awoke with a start. He hadn't realized he fell asleep. A finger tapped his shoulder, Hawkeye was staring at him.
"It's lunch time." She told him. "We're going to the food car, do you want to come?"
Ed nodded, and followed the unit down the train. After walking through the other cars for a while, they reached the food car. They purchased sandwiches, and Ed bought another large coffee with extra sugar.
"How do you ride on trains all the time, Fullmetal?" Mustang grumbled, rubbing his lower back.
"It's not that bad once you get used to it." Ed replied, taking a bite of his turkey sandwich.
After all, he had been riding on trains since he was twelve, both before and after his search for the Philosopher's Stone. As such, after a while, pains and train sickness were just not noticeable.
"How do we know who this Arthur Weasely is?" Fuery asked.
"The file said that he has bright red hair." Mustang answered.
"That's all?" Falman asked incredulously.
"He will also be holding a sign." Mustang continued.
"That's really all there is." Havoc deadpanned.
"This mission seems to be lacking in information." Breda mumbled.
"Okay, here's the full report. We're going to Creta. We'll help them defeat a man named Voldemort." At this the men snickered. Hawkeye fed Black Hayate scraps of turkey quietly. "Apparently, he's a mass murderer, who has been killing anyone not allied with himself. Their government, known as the Ministry of Magic, refuses to acknowledge that there's a threat."
"Sounds like they're scared." Hawkeye observed.
"Exactly." Mustang responded. "Anyway, a man by the name of Dumbledore-"
"Does everyone in this country have weird names?" Havoc wondered.
"-has formed a group called the Order of the Phoenix, and they are trying to stop Voldemort." Mustang continued, ignoring Havoc's comment. "That's who we're going to help. Central Command doesn't know much about Creta or their magic, which is what we're going to learn about while we're there. They also speak a different language in Creta."
Everyone turned to look at Ed.
"What?" He inquired, looking around at them. "Oh come on, none of you know how to speak Cretan?"
"We know a little bit, how to introduce ourselves, and some other phrases." Hawkeye replied, petting Black Hayate.
"So, this plan was riding on the fact that you assumed I could speak Cretan?"
"Can you speak it, or not?" Mustang barked, looking pissed.
"Yes." Ed admitted, slouching in his seat.
"There's something I don't understand." Breda stated.
"What?" Ed asked curiously.
"The documents you gave us said Creta is more scientifically advanced; but not in alchemy, alkahestry, nor automail. I don't understand that." He said.
"It means that, while Amestris has developed alchemy and automail, Creta has moving pictures and portable telephones, among other things. alchemy is pretty much considered to be a dead art there." Falman explained.
Ed was surprised. He knew Amestris wasn't as advanced as other places, mostly because they focused on alchemy, rather than electricity, but still. Looking around, he could tell everyone was just as surprised as him. However, when he thought of it, Amestris was the only place that had automail, which was great. He wouldn't have a job if it wasn't for automail.
"I'd rather have alchemy and automail." Havoc echoed.
The unit nodded in agreement. If it wasn't for alchemy, Havoc wouldn't be able to walk and Mustang wouldn't be able to see. They made their way back to their compartment. Ed sighed as he sat down, sleeping sounded really good right now.
Arthur's POV:
Arthur Weasley stood on platform five at the train station, waiting for their Amestrian guests. He checked his watch, the train had ten more minutes to arrive. He was still unsure about Dumbledore's idea. Bringing another country into their war seemed like a bad idea, and to top it off, this military was muggle. Arthur watched as the train pulled into the station. He held up the sign that said 'Amestris', and waited, looking over the crowd. Muggles flooded off the trains, but none looked as if they were military. Suddenly a small group of muggles in blue uniforms stepped off the train. They matched the description. Arthur pushed through the crowd, making his way to them.
"Hallo! Mein name ist Arthur Weasley. Sind sie von Amestris?"* He asked them in badly accented German. He was proud of himself, as he'd been practicing all day.
One of them turned around and smiled at him. Arthur couldn't help but stare. The boy couldn't be older than sixteen with long golden blond hair pulled back into a pony-tail, bangs that were parted in the middle, framing his face, and one strand of hair that stuck upwards in the middle of his forehead like an antenna. Matching his hair were bright, brilliant golden eyes that stared back at him. What shocked him the most was that the boy was wearing a military uniform as well.
Suddenly a man with dark, silky black hair, and matching dark eyes turned around and saluted.
"Hallo. My name is General Roy Mustang. This is Colonel Edward Elric." He informed Arthur. He then gestured to the rest of the unit and introduced each of them in turn, finishing with Second Lieutenant Black Hayate. The dog barked at his name.
Arthur smiled and shook hands with each as they were introduced.
"We do not know much of your language, so Colonel Elric will be translating." Mr. Mustang informed him.
Arthur nodded in understanding.
"We should get going, I have the car ready just outside the station." He told them. They nodded, picked up their luggage, and followed him to the car. The Amestrians stared at the bustling crowds of London in wonder. Arthur helped them get their luggage in the trunk, all of them giving a "Danke sehr"** in return.
It was a short ride to the Order's headquarters, during which the Amestrians spent most of their time staring outside the windows as everything sped by. Occasionally Arthur heard a quiet mutter from one of them. He pulled the car to a stop as they reached Grimmauld Place. They hauled themselves outside the car, and stood on the sidewalk, looking around at the houses.
"Were is-?" Mr. Elric asked, but stopped suddenly a confused look on his face at not being able to say what was written on the paper.
"Oh, here. Read this, then destroy it." Arthur said, giving them a piece of parchment. They handed it around until it reached Mustang, who scanned it, then pulled a white glove with strange runes drawn on the back from his pocket, put it on and then set the paper ablaze with a snap of his fingers. Arthur stared in awe, he had heard Amestris had a form of wandless magic, but he hadn't realized that the military had wizards.
Ed's POV:
"What does this have- oh." Ed stared at the house in shock. 'This shouldn't be possible, I could see the house being hidden underground, but just suddenly appearing out of thin air? Ugh. I hate magic.'
"Well, follow me." Arthur said, gesturing for them to do just that.
They followed Mr. Weasley up the stairs into the house. Ed was surprised. Mr. Weasley's happy-go-lucky attitude was the complete opposite of the dark, gloomy, and musty house. Even the furniture was dark, was that a leg with umbrellas sticking out? The unit stood in a long hallway, lit by a large chandelier and gas lamps. Mold was creeping along the peeling wallpaper, the carpet was old and worn through. The hallway turned in an L shape, and Ed saw stairs to the left side of it, going upwards, and a fancy dining room straight forward.
"It's just down here." Arthur informed them, leading them down a narrow staircase by the entryway and into a kitchen. "I'll give you the tour of the house later."
The kitchen was in a cavernous room, with a large roaring fireplace at the end, and a long wooden table in the middle. He saw a door, which he guessed led to the pantry.
There were about eight people in the dining room, mostly redheads, which he guessed must have been Mr. Weasley's family. There was a pink haired girl who looked to be in her early twenties talking to a fourteen year old girl with bright red hair and brown eyes and a frizzy brunette with brown eyes who looked to be around fifteen. Bustling around a stove was a short stout woman with the same red hair. Sitting around the table were even more redheads, two boys who looked exactly the same, from their red hair to their brown eyes, and even their same mischievous expressions. They both looked to be around Alphonse's age. Next to them was another redheaded boy, who was freakishly tall and lanky, and looked fifteen. Lastly, there were two men talking to the twins, one of them had a hallowed, gaunt face, black eyes, and dark brown hair. Next to him was a mousey-brown haired man with sad brown eyes and a few scars on his face.
The moment the unit stepped through the door, all eyes turned to them.
"Hello all, I'm back!" Arthur announced, smiling at the occupants of the room.
"Dad, who's this?" The redheaded girl asked wearily.
"Oh! How rude of me!" The man chuckled and introduced the unit in order, starting with General Mustang and finishing with 2nd Lt Black Hayate, gesturing to each as he said their names.
"This is my family, Ginny is the youngest, Ron is my second youngest, the twins are Fred and George, my wife Molly, and the brunette is Ron's friend Hermione." He then gestured to the other adults. "This is the owner of this house, Sirius Black, his cousin Nymphadora Tonks-"
"It's Tonks, Arthur. Not Nymphadora, just Tonks." She interrupted.
"Yes yes." He continued. "And last, but not least, Remus Lupin."
Ed leaned back and whispered the introduction back to his comrades in Amestrian.
'I'm going to be doing this all night, aren't I?' Ed thought, slightly dejected.
"It's wonderful to meet you." Molly said, bustling up to them and shaking their hands. "Here, sit down. Dinner's almost ready, we're having beef stew."
The Amestrians nodded, smiling. Black Hayate dutifully followed his master, settling down at her feet on the floor.
Once everyone had been fed, the kids started asking questions.
"Where are you all from?" The brown haired girl- Hermione asked, in a know-it-all tone.
"Amestris. You would know it as Germany." Ed answered, taking a bite of his stew.
"How old are you? You can't be that much older than us." Ron asked.
"Eighteen."
"And you're going to be in the Order!" Ginny exclaimed in shock.
"Oi! If this pipsqueak can be in the Order, then why can't we? He's only a year older!" Fred and George chorused, looking incredulously at the other occupants of the room.
Ed trembled in anger. He had gotten better at controlling his temper, well actually he hadn't. During the war with Drachma, they had been interrogating a spy. The spy had asked why a 'Tiny little pipsqueak of a child' was interrogating him. Ed promptly shot him in the knee, and when the man fell to the floor crying in agony, Ed yelled in his face. 'who's the pipsqueak now?!" the man had told them everything they wanted, as long as they promised not to bring Ed in again. They had decided that Ed wouldn't interrogate anymore, unless it was an emergency.
"I'm not short." Ed muttered, thinking of all the ways he could pound the freakishly tall people into the ground "I have been in the military for quite a while, so I am a little more experienced then you."
"But how come you get to be in the Order? Fred and George are right, you're only a few years older than us!" She exclaimed.
"Oberst Elric hat Jahre der Ausbildung, und ich bin sehr zuversichtlich von ihm, selbst wenn er eine winzige klein göre." Mustang answered.
Ed nodded in agreement.
"What?" The pink haired lady asked, looking confused.
"He said 'Colonel Elric has had years of training, and I am very confident in him'." Ed translated. He decided to leave the 'even if he is a tiny little brat' part out. Maybe translating wouldn't be so bad after all.
"My colleagues don't speak that much Cre- ah, English." He continued. "So, I Will be translating For them until they learn enough."
"So, what's Germany's magic like?" Hermione asked, wanting to know as much about the other country as possible.
"Deutchland keine magische haben wir alchemie. Die wissenschaft ist." Breda explained as he put his spoon down and pushed his empty bowl out of the way.
"Germany doesn't have magic. We have Alchemy, which is a science."
"How does science help when fighting?" Ginny commented.
"Alchemy is deconstructing something and then reconstructing it into something else." Ed explained. He was hoping they'd stop asking questions, he really didn't want to explain the concept of alchemy to a bunch of 'magic' users. "It's also not just used for fighting. Plus it's hard to learn and takes years of studying, so not that many people choose to study it."
"Don't they have schools for it?" Said Hermione, her face showing her confusion, how could you learn alchemy without school?
"Nein, Sie haben einen lehrer für eine Ausbildung zu finden und selbst dann gibt es eine chance, dass sie sich nicht nehmen Universität im Central." Falman explained, like the human dictionary he was.
"No, you have to find a teacher for an apprenticeship, and even then there is a chance that they might not take you on. We do not have alchemy schools like you. Most people take over their family business or go to university in Central."
"Wow, other cultures are so fascinating." Hermione remarked, her face lighting up in wonder.
"So, what is the mission exactly?" Ed drawled, glancing around at the adults.
"Well, you're supposed to protect Harry, who isn't here right now." Sirius responded as he stood up and served himself more stew.
"Das ist alles?" Fuery wondered, surprised at the supposed ease of their mission.
"That is all?"
"Until You-Know-Who is defeated, yes." Remus replied. "It will be explained more during the Order meeting."
They all nodded, understanding that the Order didn't want to reveal too much to the kids. Everyone went back to eating, with the children occasionally complaining about not being invited to Order meetings.
"welche schule gehst du?" Hawkeye inquired, looking at the kids.
"What school do you go to?"
"We go to Hogwarts, it's a boarding school where we learn things like transfiguration, charms, potions, that sort of thing." Ginny explained.
'Transfiguration sounds a lot like transmutation' Ed thought, and judging by the look in Mustang's eyes, he agreed.
"I'm currently in fourth year," she continued. "Ron, Hermione, and Harry are all in fifth, and Fred and George are in their seventh, which is the last year.
"If you're done with dinner, we can go on a tour." Mr. Weasley announced.
"Das wäre fein." Mustang responded, the unit standing up with him and following Mr. Weasley out.
The rest of the house was just as gloomy as the first floor; peeling, molding wallpaper, covered in dust, and worn through carpets. The oddest things littered the halls, such as the stuffed heads of some strange creature mounted on plaques on the wall. They looked like half-melted lizard chimeras, with long noses and large ears. Mr. Weasley grimaced and said that they had been trying to clean up the house, apparently the previous owner was interested in the Dark Arts, whatever that meant.
The first floor of the four-story house had a bedroom, that Hawkeye and Black Hayate would be sharing with Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley, a bathroom, a drawing room, (which they were advised not to go in until it was fully cleaned out), and the dining hall.
The second had more bedrooms, bathrooms, and drawing rooms, as did the third and fourth. Ed didn't understand why so many drawing rooms were needed, maybe that's how rich people counted their worth, by how many drawing rooms each had.
Ed was sharing sleeping quarters with the rest of the men in the unit. Their room was nothing special, it was just as gloomy as the rest of the house, with just one window at the far end, five small cots, and a bathroom down the hall. Ed sighed, it was nice being in an actual bed, no matter how lumpy it was. He had been riding the train for days. With a yawn, Ed rolled over and fell asleep.
Thank you for reading. I'm going to post this story in different languages, if you want a certain language just PM me or put it in a review if you don't have a account. Remember to R&R.