Chapter 17—The Importance of Seven

Luna's big eyes, Luna's hair, Luna's nose—Ed could barely breathe. Luna was behind him, but this person—this thing—that was holding him…

…was Luna's mother?

Luna's face, no, Luna's mother's face swam in front of his eyes. This couldn't be possible. No. No.

"No!"

"Oh, yes, little alchemist." The cruel chuckle cut off his defiant shout. Ed vaguely noticed a giant stag keeping the Dementors at bay as the homunculus's face contorted into a wide unnatural grin. "Now, what to do with you…" She grinned wider, revealing pointed teeth. A long tongue reached out and stroked his cheek. Ed shuddered and the homunculus's smile grew even bigger. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear.

"I've always found it so much more gratifying to play with my food before I eat it."

Ed found himself flung through the air. Years of combat training with Al kicked in and he quickly spotted the ground and flipped to land on his feet, one hand out for balance. Before he could fully recover, Luna's mother—no, the homunculus—had grabbed his outstretched arm and tossed him thirty yards in the opposite direction. Ed swore. Neither of his arms were meant to be wrenched around like that, and he could feel a dull pain around his shoulder. He didn't want to give that monster enough time to grab him again. He clapped his hands, landed on his feet, looked up to locate his target, and found himself looking into ten rows of sharp teeth. He was too late, there wasn't enough time, he couldn't—

"STUPEFY!!!!"

A beam of light struck the Homunculus in the jaw, punching her head to the side with a sickening crunch of neckbones. The monster collapsed in a broken heap. Ed didn't look to see who had sent the shot, just leaped toward the Weasley's house. He saw Harry Potter standing with his wand outstretched and a mildly triumphant look on his face. The black haired boy grinned at him.

"That wasn't so hard."

Ed didn't waste time to roll his eyes. These people had obviously never dealt with a homunculus before. He clapped and transmutated a wall between them and the Homunculus. He could feel a jarring pain in both of his shoulders. "That's not going to hold it for long. We need to get out of here fast." Ed didn't look at Luna. He didn't think he could stand seeing her face at the moment.

"Ed." Note stepped forward. "What was that thing?"

"No time." He looked at the wizards. He was actually a little surprised to see their expressions. Where he expected to see distrust and fear he instead saw a grim determination and a willingness to listen. Maybe they had a chance of survival. "We need to leave now. What's the fastest way to travel?"

"Apparation," replied Mr. Weasley. "But—"

"Then that's what we'll do."

"No, we can't."

Ed looked at Mr. Weasley. "I'm sorry, but I've dealt with these sorts of things before. We can't fight it the way we are now. Harry broke its neck, but those things can't die like us. They're not human and they don't have souls so they don't feel anything about except enjoyment."

Mr. Weasley glanced at his wife and broke into Ed's tirade. "I'm not trying to undermine your authority on the matter, Ed, but we can't Apparate with a child that's younger than a year."

Ed fished for something to say for a moment and settled for a word said child probably wouldn't learn the meaning of for at least a decade or so.

Which saved him a bit of time, because he didn't have to think up a new one to say when the Homunculus shoved a long arm through his wall. It had lasted for less time than he had expected. "Listen, we need to go NOW! I don't care how it happens, we just need to go!" The Homunculus's arm bent in multiple places and started grabbing at the dirt that Ed had solidified to form the wall. The wizards' fear was evident on their faces, but Ed had to give them credit: each wizard drew a wand and in their eyes he could see a determination not to go down without a fight.

Which was all well and good, but homunculi were things better run and hidden from and plotted against rather than fighting head on in a battle on their terms. Ed was just about to explain this (with many profanities and irritated waving of his arms) when Note shoved a tuning fork under his nose.

"Um, what?"

Note rolled his eyes in a very Roy-esque manner and grabbed the Fullmetal Alchemist's hand, turned it over, and placed the tuning fork in it. "When I say 'now', hit the fork." Note then preceded to give a larger one to Luna and an even bigger one to Dean. The fact that he received the smallest one was not lost on Ed, though he chose to ignore it momentarily. Besides, nobody, judging by the looks on their faces, except the members of the Office of Passage (who each held a tuning fork of various size in their hands) knew what was going on.

"Buy us a little bit more time," said Note to Ed. He waved his wand, and there appeared a hunk of steel the size of a small car. Ed's hands shook. Steel. From thin air. He had thought he was getting used to wizardry, but this was a bit much. Every single thing he had ever learned about the Law of Equivalent Exchange raced through his mind. He froze. The Homunculus ripping through solid rock faded into oblivion. Note grabbed his chin and turned his face so that their eyes met. Even Ed's shock at the creation of the steel from thin air seemed to disappear.

Notes eyes were like looking into the gaping jaws of the Gate. Ed could see Truth there. It wasn't the same Truth that he had seen; it was something different, something much deeper. Ed was stunned silent. As Note spoke his voice reverberated through Ed's bones; his words seemed to come from every direction at once. "Fullmetal Alchemist. You do alchemy. We do wizardry. We do not follow the same laws you do." The intensity in his voice faded and Ed could breathe again. "Now Luna is going to perform a shielding spell, and you're going to work with this steel and make it stronger.

"Now go!"

Ed whirled around and crouched. He glanced at Luna, who was getting a similar speech from Charlotte. Ed grinned at Luna when she met his eyes. Together, perfectly in time, Ed lept to the steel as Luna shouted a thunderous "Protego!"

The steel burst into light as Ed's palms made contact. Tendrils of lightning rocketed to the sky where they held small shards of metal directly above Ed's head. Then, just as quickly as they had risen, the shards dropped to the ground to form a dome around the wizards and the house.

"Every one get inside," instructed Note calmly as Ed's original wall broke, revealing the very annoyed face of Luna's mother. His tone made even the Weasleys obey him. They proceded quickly to the kitchen where everyone stood dripping on the floor.

Note pulled out an old notebook with various bits of parchment stuck in it and opened to a page in the middle. "Alright, everyone with a tuning fork hold them up. Stand in a circle—no, Ed, switch with Tom. And Luna you need to go here…" Note pushed around Ed, Luna, Dean, Tom, Charlotte, and Bill until he had them where he wanted them.

"Um…" said Mr. Weasley.

His almost-comment received only a condescending look from Note, and he was quickly silent. Ed smirked and tried to look like he knew what he was doing while holding a teeny tuning fork like it contained the answers to the universe.

"Bill, you've got the bag?" Bill nodded and held up a small brown cloth pouch that looked centuries old. The drawstring was white leather, but even that didn't make the bag look at all special. Bill held the bag as Charlotte gently opened it and withdrew its contents. She reverently placed it in the center of the circle and then retook her place in the circle. Ed peered at the object they were standing around.

"Um…" said Ed.

"Um…" echoed Dean.

"Oh!" exclaimed Luna.

"It's hair," said Ron, who seemed to be unable to keep silent any longer.

Hermione suddenly gasped. Ed could almost hear the 'click' in her mind as she put everything together. He was glad she could do it, because he was absolutely clueless. "There's no way you're going to attempt that!"

Note paused as he read through the page on his book again. "What do you mean?"

"Yes, what do you mean?" asked Mr. Weasley. His expression of befuddled dread mirrored that of every other person in the room.

"You're going to try to sing the Seven Songs!"

Luna giggled, the wizards gasped, and Ed and Dean exchanged equally confused looks. Ed was at least relieved that the other wizards around his age looked like they understood just about as much of that as he did.

"That's impossible!" Mr. Weasley eyed the hunk of hair on his kitchen floor like one would eye a hunk of hair on their kitchen floor. Probably a carnivorous one.

"Not really," said Note as he turned back to his book.

"But the ancient texts were lost ages ago! They've reached such a mystical status among runes-men and –women that they're almost like the Holy Grail is to muggles!" said Hermione.

With an unperturbed shrug Not said, "So I found the Holy Grail."

Hermione shook her head emphatically. "Even if you did find the texts, there's no way to translate them. They were Spelled by Merlin himself—there's no way to break that code! You couldn't possible know how to sing the Seven Songs!"

Note glanced at his employees and they exchanged grins. "Seven Notes, actually," said Note with a smile

"What?"

"We're just going to use Seven Notes. The use of Songs is for a larger area."

"There's no way you would know that."

"Would you try a spell that messes with the fabric of the universe and not know everything about it?"

Hermione spluttered for a moment, giving Harry enough time to voice an opinion forming in each of their minds. "Wait a minute—messing with the fabric of the universe?"

Note sighed. "Charlotte, would you…?"

Charlotte stepped forward in such a Riza-like way Ed almost laughed. "The Seven Songs refers to the Seven Songs of Merlin, which, though they served a different purpose when he used them, can bend the space around an area so that it can only be found when you're not looking for it. Thought lost for centuries with the disappearance of Merlin and his journals, the Seven Songs have been relegated to myth and fantasy. However, the Office of Passage was given a way to perform the spell, though," Charlotte raised an eyebrow at Note, "it has yet to be explained exactly how this came about."

Note sighed and dismissed her comment with a wave of a hand. "Now," he said, addressing those in the circle, "if you would all hit your tuning forks when I point at you individually. And make sure you hold on. If you let go of your fork, the spelling is lost." He looked at his book again. "Oh, Charlotte, if you would take a single hair from the bunch and leave it there, the rest can go back in the bag." Charlotte complied.

"Alright, now…I will begin, to show you how it's done, and then I'll point at you."

"Howard," asked Mr. Weasley quietly, "do you really know how to do this?"

Note paused with his tuning fork half raised. "Of course I do, Arthur. I offered to do this before, remember? When Potter was hiding here. Extra protection, remember? I even offered to do it to specific people, and when it looked like Voldemort was targeting the Ministry I offered to do it around that building." Note gave a wry smile. "I even offered to do it to Hogwarts once or twice when things got really bad, but was never allowed to."

"The words 'insane' and 'ludicrous' come to mind," muttered Tom just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Mr. Weasley looked a little sheepish. "But it is quite outlandish, Howard. It's considered to be impossible."

Note just looked at him, letting him reach his own conclusions.

"Then how—" began Hermione and Ed noticed that she had the same yearn to learn and know that had so often kept him in the Library until the wee hours of the morning. He decided that perhaps Hermione was the least annoying of the Weasley group. Ed's thoughts and Hermione's protests were cut off quickly.

"This is not the time. We will discuss that at a later date when we do not have a ly monster knocking at our door. Now, to sing the Seven Songs."

"But--!" began Hermione, but she was quickly shushed by Mrs. Weasley.

Note held his tuning fork perpendicular to the ground and in his left hand held a small silver rod. He touched the rod lightly to the fork, and the hit it three times. A deep gong sounded with each strike, and the final note held, not wavering in pitch or volume. Note then passed the rod to Charlotte, to his left, and she copied his motions. Thus the rod moved around the circle, each tone higher than the last, until at last it reached Ed. He took the rod from Tom.

With the first strike, the hair on the back of Ed's neck stood up. With the second, he felt something pressing outward from his tuning fork. Ed lifted the rod for a final strike.

Something screamed, and it took Ed a moment to realize it was the air. His breath was sucked away, twirling at the center of the circle over the single strand of hair. Ed vaguely noticed Note taking the silver rod from his hand before saying with a loud voice,

"Hallia, Lady of the Lake and Forest and Meadow, we beseech thee to appear before us and bind this house, hide this house, protect this house!"

The room was silent. Ed suddenly had a brief feeling of being watched before a small light appeared in the center of the circle. The light grew larger and took form.

A glowing doe surveyed the room.

You are not Merlin.

"We ask for protection." Note bowed humbly.

And yet you know to summon me.

"The ancient father of my people has given me the ability to summon thee."

You know, then, of the Seven Powers.

Note started reciting, and as he chanted the doe joined in, their voices lifting and falling at exactly the same moments.

"The lesson Changing be the first,

A treeling knows it well.

The power Binding be the next,

As Lake of Face can tell.

The skill Protecting be the third,

Like dwarves who tunnel deep.

The art of Naming be the fourth,

A secret Slantos keep.

The power Leaping be the fifth,

In Varigal beware.

Eliminating be the sixth,

A sleeping dragon's lair.

The gift of Seeing be the last,

Forgotten Island's spell."

The doe bowed her glowing head. The spell is granted. She began to disappear, looking at each member of the circle in turn. At last she faced Ed, and with a flash of light she was gone.

And so was Ed.

I LIVE!

In a manner of speaking. I've already worked thirty-two hours this week and it's only Wednesday! Gah. Anyway, I decided that I wanted to write, and since I no longer have classes to worry about I could actually do it! By the way, not writing did not help with getting better grades. It was brutal. 'Organic Chemistry' should become a swear word. Ugh. I have to take it again.

But enough about me! Enjoy the update! I thought it was a little long-winded! And dull! But enjoy it anyway! Woot!

Hugs and kisses and cheesecake to all reviewers thus far!

There were too many sentences there that ended in exclamation points!

Good-bye!

Don't EVER take organic chemistry!

And keep your shirt on. I'll be back.

churu