Chapter 6—Lolitrops and Arckloths

By the time they reached the Weasley's home, Ed had re-thought his opinion of Luna's world. Since he was wearing his own boots instead of sharing one with Luna, he had sunk into every mud hole they had come across. The fact that there were people in front of him made little difference—they were all wizards and could do a their little disappear-reappear act. Luna had her boots, so she could just walk across. Ed had a metal leg and sunk like a rock. Plus he didn't dare to do alchemy and change the mud to something more walk-on-able, like cement. The only part about it that was semi-enjoyable was seeing Hermione's face as his swearing became more and more explicit.

After Ed had fallen into his eleventh mud hole and made up a few new curses, Mr. Weasley made an executive decision: It was his moral duty to help the muggle as much as possible, and therefore he must aid him in getting out of the swamp.

He also was having trouble holding back a chuckle or two at the mud-laden muggle. Ron had given up ages ago.

Mr. Weasley conjured a stretcher and Ed was placed upon it. It floated a few feet above the ground, and followed Mr. Weasley closely. With the stretcher they made good time, and broke free from the gloomy marsh just as the sun peeked its first ray over the horizon.

"Welcome to the Burrow," said Mr. Weasley.

Ed barely had time to take in the eccentric angle of the house's different wings when he was attacked from behind.

"I'm dreadfully sorry," Mrs. Weasley said for the thousandth time as she scrubbed mud and matted feathers off the back of Ed's neck. "Errol's such an old owl, but every time we think about getting a new one, I always feel guilty. We have Pig, of course, but he's away right now." She scrubbed a bit harder. "There now. My goodness, mud taken from the swamp at the quarter moon really doesn't come off easily, does it? Now, let me do your coat."

Ed pulled his coat tighter around himself. All he had under it was a black sleeveless shirt. He didn't know what would happen if these people found out he had a metal arm. Luna had been fairly accepting, but that was Luna. He didn't know if any of these other wizards would think of it as she had. He doubted it.

Mrs. Weasley smiled kindly. "I'm not going to bite, I just want to clean it for you."

Ed thought quickly. "Um…I…uh…don't like showing my…uh…arms to people because…um…because…uh…because I was in a fire and they're all scarred…and…um…yeah."

Mrs. Weasley touched his shoulder gently. "Oh, I'm so sorry I brought it up. Why don't I go see if Ron has an old robe you can borrow? Will that do? Then you can wear that one while I clean your coat."

Ed nodded, grateful that she hadn't asked anymore questions. There had been a fire, but it had been of his own making, and it had nothing to do with why he wanted to hide his arms. As Mrs. Weasley toddled off to a different wing of the house, Ed sat quietly and picked at the mud on his 'gloves'. It came off easily, but it brought powder with it, revealing the metal underneath. Ed quickly peeled the rest of the mud off and stuck his hands in his pockets where he had stashed some extra powder. It quickly covered his hands and he pulled them out just as Mrs. Weasley came back in the room with a garishly multicolored bundle.

Ron's robes had to be rolled up quite a few times for Ed's fingers to be able to just poke through. Ed was glad Mrs. Weasley refrained from making any comments about his height.

"There now. I think that will do. You stay up here by the fire and warm up, and I'll go down and make breakfast. You're welcome to stay here until your clothes dry, or you can come down in Ron's robes. It doesn't matter. Come down when you feel like it," said Mrs. Weasley kindly. She opened the door and made a noise rather like a mouse choking on a piece of toast. Luna was standing right outside the door, waiting to come in. "Oh, Luna dear," said Mrs. Weasley after she had regained her composure, "please try to stand a little farther away from the door."

"Sorry Mrs. Weasley," said Luna. She shut the door behind her and tip toed to Ed's side. "Are you alright?" she whispered.

"Luna, I've been mud-covered before and it'll probably happen again. Of course I'm alright."

"Oh, good. I was worried for a while there. Owl attacks are so rare. I was sure it was a Jemle or something like that."

Ed sighed. "What's a Jemle, Luna?"

"Oh, they live in ancient tombs in the mountains in South America and attack people with long sticks coated with venom secreted from the wisdom teeth of Blue-Back Glow Frogs."

"Luna, we were in a marsh, not the mountains."

Luna looked thoughtful. "I suppose you're right." She stood up suddenly, and snatched Ed's coat away from the fireplace. "Your coat is dry! Let's go eat—Mrs. Weasley makes the most wonderful jam."

Ed sighed. "Alright, just give me my coat and help me get out of this thing."

"It's called a robe, though it looks as though someone set a Lolitrop on it." Luna's eyes grew wider. "Quick! Check for swollen stitches along the seams of the armpit!" She wrenched Ed's arm up and peered closer. "Everything appears to be in order," she muttered. "One last test to check." She lifted her wand and pointed it at Ed's armpit.

"Luna! What are you doing?!" Mr. Weasley had come to tell them breakfast was ready. Luna turned with her wand still aimed at Ed.

"Checking for Lolitrops, Mr. Weasley."

"Well…stop checking and get your wand back in your pocket! Really, Luna, stop scaring the poor muggle. He's been through enough already!"

Luna sent a suspicious glance at Ed's armpit and placed her wand in her sleeve. "We'll come down as soon as Ed's changed." Mr. Weasley nodded and went back down to the kitchen. Ed changed quickly and he and Luna followed.

The kitchen was delightfully warm and smelled wonderful. Ed's mouth watered as he took his seat, which was right next to Mr. Weasley. Luna sat on his other side, and Harry was across the table. He was still looking at Ed suspiciously, but Ed decided to ignore it. After a sharp question about wearing gloves to the table, it seemed as though Harry would ignore him as well. It was a relief, because Ed was much to occupied trying to answer Mr. Weasley's questions about the muggle world—a world Ed knew nothing about.

"Ed, I really must know about this thing known as the 'World-Wide Web'. Do muggles use spiders to transmit information?"

"…um…What else would they use spiders for?"

"Fascinating! Just amazing! The ingenuity of muggles. They've discovered a way to use spiders that even wizards haven't!"

"Um…yeah. You know, it's all part of the…um…Web. Yeah."

"So how do you make the spiders do it?"

"…um…well…you….uh…bribe them. With…um…er…flies...um…dipped in honey."

Mr. Weasley shook his head in fascinated disbelief. "Amazing, really, what those muggles can do." He took a bit of his toast.

Ed hoped he wouldn't ask anymore questions. He didn't even know what a world-wide web was. Kind of sounded like the spiders were taking over the earth. He shoveled a large bite of eggs into his mouth and swallowed. He was about to take another bite when he realized the table was deathly quiet except for Luna humming tunelessly to herself. Ed tensed and looked up. He came face to face with the tip of a wand. Ed's eyes traveled up the stick to meet the angry green eyes of Harry Potter.

"You're not a muggle." It was not a question. The rest of the family stared, shocked at Harry's rudeness to the guest.

"Harry!" said the red-headed girl, Ginny. "What are you doing?"

"Really Harry, put the wand down. Do you have any proof?" Hermione's voice rang clear.

"He doesn't know what the internet is, Hermione."

She looked shocked. It was her turn to look at Ed with suspicion. "…oh."

Ed looked from one to the other and knew, for the first time since he had gotten to this strange world, that he had messed up. Hugely.

Evidently muggles didn't use spiders in the World Wide Web.

Luna finally stopped humming, and seemed to just realize Ed's dire situation. "Oh, come now, Harry. How do you know his brain wasn't just fried by an Arckloth and he forgot? After all, everyone knows that they target people who wear red and have blonde hair."

Harry didn't even glance in her direction. As he addressed Ed, his friends got up and stood behind him, all fingering the tips of their wands. "Listen, Ed—if that's really your name. The only people I know of that would have a reason to lie about their origins and impose themselves on a bunch of trusting wizards should be locked away in Azkaban. Now you're going to tell the truth about who you are and where you're from or else you won't like the consequences. Do you understand?"

Ed swallowed. He never thought he would be afraid of a stick, but when it's attached to the hand of a very angry wizard it warrants a little more respect. Ed didn't know what to do. Luna decided for him.

"His name is Edward Elric. He's a State Alchemist from Amestris known as the Fullmetal Alchemist. He landed in Mum's cemetery and I found him and brought him home," said Luna. Ed's heart fell faster than he would have ever thought possible. He should never have trusted her! How could he have been so stupid to trust a girl he barely even knew!

"Luna, shut up," said Ron Weasley. Ed looked at him incredulously. Ron continued, "We've all heard your stupid stories about alternate universes and magical creatures that don't really exist, and I'm fed up. There is no place called Amestris, and this guy's name probably isn't even Edward, so just shut up."

Luna's big eyes welled up with tears, but when Ed caught her eye he saw a laughing twinkle. Of course! She knew no one believed her stories, so she could tell the truth—the unbelievable truth—and no one would believe it! Ed felt bad for doubting her and reached to his side to take her hand.

Unfortunately, Harry didn't like the sudden movement, and Ed found his hand on the receiving end of a rather potent curse which had the unpleasant effect of knocking all the powder off his hand. His metal hand.

The Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione stared at the hand in shock.

"Harry…" whispered Ron.

Harry raised his wand back to point at Ed's forehead. Ed noticed the tip shook a little. "There's only one person I have ever met with a silver hand," said Harry, "and he received that from Lord Voldemort after helping him rise from the dead." He gripped his sand harder. "Now answer me! Who are you and where did you get that hand?!"

Ed knew he was in trouble. In trouble was actually an understatement. He would be in less trouble if he had just waltzed into a Homunculi tea party. Only Ed would know what to do in that situation. Here he was frozen by indecision. Plus he didn't dare reach into his pocket to get more powder, so Alchemy wasn't really an option.

Again, Luna acted before he could.

The spell activated before he could even think, forming a large shield in front of the two of them. Ed watched the shocked faces of those in the kitchen as Luna grabbed his hand and started to run. Luna dragged him out of the kitchen.

"Hurry, that spell won't hold forever! Harry and Hermione are better at doing them than I am, anyway, so they'll be here in a few seconds!" Ed picked up his feet and started to run. They made it to the front door and crashed through it, straight into—and over—a few men wearing blue robes.

"I say, watch it!" said one. He did a double take on Ed's clothing. "Wait, you can't be the muggle boy--!"

"Duck!" cried Luna, and she dragged Ed into a crouching run as the man shot a curse over their heads. They continued running.

"Who were those people!?" Ed breathed heavily.

"Ministry workers!" Luna gasped. She and Ed kept running toward the marsh as the men struggled to their feet. Ed could here their confused voices behind them, as well as the voices of Harry and his friends as they passed. Cries of 'Stop them!' and 'Don't let them get away!' reached Ed's ears and he ran faster as he shoved his hand into his pocket again. Luna glanced back. She pulled Ed closer to her and kept running.

"They're going to send a curse at us," she yelled into his ear. "You keep running and I'll stop and try to buy us some time!"

"What are you going to do?!"

"I'll try that shield spell again!"

Ed shook his head hard. "The only reason that worked the first time was because they weren't expecting it. But they still got past it in a few seconds! Don't you have anything stronger?!"

Luna looked worried and ran a bit faster. "…no, I don't think--!"

"Let me do alchemy!" Ed interrupted. "They won't be expecting that. You keep running!"

"No! I'm not going to leave the person I'm trying to protect!"

They had to do something, and fast. The others were gaining on them. Ed made a fast decision. "We'll do it together! I'll make a shield with alchemy and you make one with magic! Then we'll keep running! Together!"

Luna's big eyes widened. She nodded and tightened her grip on her wand.

"On the count of three!" Ed cried. "One, two, THREE!"

It seemed as if they moved in slow motion. Ed clapped. Luna raised her wand. They both planted their feet, halted, and turned to face the oncoming wizards. Ed pounded his hands to the ground and a wall of dirt and rock formed just as Luna yelled "Protego!"

Ed had just enough time to think that this may not have been such a good idea before the ground exploded.

Well, there's Chapter 6. Yippee! I'm not really liking the flow of the story at the moment, but I'm really excited to get more into action-y scenes and move the plot along. Six chapters and I still haven't really gotten anywhere...

Oh well! I'm enjoying myself and that's all that really matters.

Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed! I always get really excited whenever I open my email and see one. It makes my day!

Okay, I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is that my sister's wedding was spifftacular and now that she's gone I have my own room again! The bad news is that after she comes back from her honeymoon and gets all her stuff, I will no longer have a computer that doesn't edit out words it finds 'bad'. Watch out for that word 'red-head', guys. It'll getcha.

...

Anyway, so unless I find a way to get past the server or get my parents to take the filter off for a few minutes, I won't be able to update in a timely manner. I know, I know...college kids should get their own computers and stop living with their parents. But hey, I'm cheap and I'd rather be inconvenienced than spend money. And my university rents desktops for very little. Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I'm just apologizing now if I don't update regularly. I'll still keep writing, though, and try to update as soon as I can!

I may actually be making a bigger deal out of this than it actually is. My parents are generally understanding about computer things and they can take the filter off fairly easily. Yeah, I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill.

Well, cliche phrases aside, thanks so much for reading another chapter of my story! I'm thinking about changing the title, but I'm not sure what yet. I've thought of a few options, but I'm not sure. Whatever.

Thanks again to reviewers!

churu