A/N: I forgot to mention it in my first author note, so please forgive me. The story takes place two years after the Elric brothers are reunited (making Edward 20 and Alphonse 15) on the other side of the gate, after the Conqueror of Shembala. However, it is also set during Harry's sixth year. (Disregarding HBP) However confusing it might be, the conflicting timelines will not affect the story in any foreseeable way. Hehe, that's what I love so much about Fanfiction.
Edward awoke the next day with his face pressed against the decrepit hardwood floors. His two arms were awkwardly splayed about his body as if to cushion an ill-fated fall. His body felt stiff and unyielding as he tried to pull himself up from the dirty hardwood floors that his body now rested on. He groaned in exhaustion and let his tired fall back into the position he had awoken to.
With his face pressed so close to the floor he could feel the dust rise up and tickle his nose whenever his breath danced at the surface. Grimacing, he realized just how battered and uncared for the blemished wood actually was. Scars and fissures marred the wood covering, dirt escaping in and rotting it from the inside. Edward was sure that diminutive insects had found their way in-between the cracks and had made it their home. Sighing in annoyance, he noted that he would have to gut the floors and start it anew.
"Nii-san? Why are you on the floor? Did you trip?" Edward looked up at his younger brother in mild frustration. However, the frustration had no place to be aimed at his brother; it was instead aimed at himself. Did he trip? Edward couldn't be sure. In all honesty, he couldn't remember how he had gotten on the floor in the first place.
His anger dissipated, he stole a long look at his younger brother. His was the spitting image of Edward now that his body was back, though their eyes and golden hair were a different shade. They had both inherited it from their father. While Alphonse had inherited his mild and gentle temperament from their mother, Edward has obtained a furious temper. Unfortunately, he had not inherited it from any unseen relative but from years of frustration and anguish thrust upon him at such a young age.
"Yeah, sure. So…are you going to help me up or am I going to be stuck here for the rest of my life?" Alphonse blushed in embarrassment and reached down to latch onto Edward's cold hand. Edward huffed with fatigue as he, with assistance from Alphonse, righted himself up and sat down on his bed.
"I'm surprised you're up so early, nii-san. You haven't gotten out of bed this early since-" Alphonse caught himself before he said what they had been avoiding for months. They had an unspoken agreement, something that would save them both a lot of sorrow.
To be truthful, Alphonse had come to accept his loss of alchemy. He was just happy to be reunited with his brother and losing his ability to transmute did not seem like that big of a price when he put it in perspective. However, seeing his older brother's face whenever it was mentioned killed him to the point were he would avoid mentioning at all costs. It just wasn't worth seeing the pain and torment it caused Edward.
"I know. But, there's no use moping about it any longer. I know I've been a horrible brother lately Alphonse and I want to change that. Please forgive me." Edward looked away, shame covering his face like a veil sheltering him from the outside world. His eyes were pinched shut; he refused to allow any tears to slip past and add more shame to what he was already feeling.
Alphonse cringed. "Nii-san, please. You have always been a great older brother. I would never have gotten my body back if it wasn't for you! Please, Nii-san, pull yourself together. For my sake, please." He pleaded with his brother. He himself was almost in tears by his declaration. His brother had gone through so much more than him and yet it had left Edward so broken and unsure.
Edward laugh was short and bitter. "Maybe. But, don't forget Al, I was the one who was responsible for the loss of your body in the first place. If I was stronger, I would never have suggested using the Devils Mag-"
Edward's eyes widened in surprise. He remembered someone saying that too him. It seemed like the memory was miles away and every time he tried to grasp it, it would fly off even further.
Edward clamped his hands over his ears in frustration and gritted his teeth as his brother watched in confusion. Alphonse took a step forward to comfort his brother, his arm outstretched in sympathy, when a sharp tap came from the closed window.
Both brothers looked at the window in surprise, the previous conversation forgotten, when they saw a beautiful tawny owl tapping impatiently at the hard glass.
"Nii-san? What do you thinks wrong with that owl?" Edward shrugged and, getting a flash of déjà vu, got up from his spot on the bed to cautiously make his way to the windowsill.
He unlatched the window with a dull click, his brother close behind him watching in curiosity. The bird flew past Edward and landed on the cluttered desktop on the other end of the room. She gave a hoot in annoyance and thrust her leg out impatiently.
"There's something tied to its leg, Nii-san."
"I know, I see it." Nevertheless, Edward stayed where he was and watched the bird, his face crunched up in befuddlement.
The owl watched him with an ill-mannered gaze, as if looking down on the young man for being unaware of her given objective. She trundled a bit before she gave out another hoot of impatience and thrust out her leg again, this time in the direction of the younger Elric brother.
"Why does everything strange have to happen all at once?" Edward muttered underneath his breath before he sighed and made his way to the desk. Edward kneeled in front of the desk until he was eye level with the bird and peered at the letter that was tied gently to the owl's delicate foot. The second he reached for the letter and yanked it from her limb, the owl nipped at his artificial finger and flew out the window.
"Well, that wasn't very polite."
"Stupid bird, I've never liked birds. Lucky it didn't bite my other hand or I would have lost a finger, right Al?" Alphonse laughed with his older brother and walked over to stand by him so he could examine the letter in Edward's hand.
"What does it say?" Edward shrugged before he turned the envelope in his hand.
Written on the front, in perfect German, were the words:
To: Misters Edward and Alphonse Elric
Topmost bedroom
176 Steifes Street
Munich, Germany
Precariously, Edward ripped the top of the envelope and pulled out two pieces of parchment, one of them completely blank. Edward handed the blank piece to Alphonse to examine and read the first one aloud.
Dear Misters Elric,
It has come to my attention of the need of a new professor, as well as an assistant, to teach Alchemy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you are interested, I would love to arrange a meeting to discuss the specifics. Please write your response on the second piece of parchment enclosed.
Yours sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
"Wow, his title is almost as long as the actual letter. " Alphonse turned to his brother, his excitement hardly hidden. "Are you going to reply?"
"Don't be stupid, Al. This has to be a joke. Magic?" Edward snorted and threw the letter on the desk in aggravation.
"If it's a joke, Nii-san, how do they know about Alchemy? Nobody should know about it here." Alphonse had picked up the parchment and clutched it to his chest in desperation. Whoever this Dumbledore was might know how to use Alchemy in this dimension. Moreover, maybe, he could help his brother regain some of his humanity.
"I don't know, Alphonse. But I'm not going to get my hopes up. I got you back Al, what more do I need?" He turned his back and made his way to his dresser where he sifted through the drawers absentmindedly.
Alphonse scowled and grabbed a pen from one of the drawers of the desk and wrote three word simple words on the blank parchment. He watched in a mixture of surprise and triumph as the words dissolved into the paper and disappeared.
"Nii-san! Come look!" Edward cocked his head at his brother, his artificial arm halfway through the sleeve of a plain button up shirt. His eyes widened in shock as he saw words appear on the parchment as if written by an invisible hand.
Haphazardly pulling the sleeve the rest of the way up his shoulder, he hurried to his brother's side. He watched in amazement as a reply of gratitude and a time and address to meet the following day was scribbled onto the paper in the same handwriting as the letter.
"See! This has got to be real!" Alphonse smiled and wove the paper in the air as if it were a trophy of some magnificent defeat.
Edward scoffed but in his head, he was doing the same as his brother. A second chance at alchemy, ever since he got his brother back, it was the only thing that occupied his mind. Science in this world could only divert him for so long. He tried to act strong in front of his brother, pretend that he was fine, but he was positive his brother was smart enough to see through his façade.
Edward shifted uncomfortably on the stone bench, his fingers nervously twitching every few seconds towards his pocket watch. Beside him, Alphonse was bouncing excitably. Clutched in-between his fingers, wrinkled and creased, were the letter and envelope. It was as if it were evidence in its self that alchemy would be in their grasp soon enough.
After a few more moments creaked by, Edward gave into temptation and checked the silver watch in pocket. Only a few more minutes before this Dumbledore was due, and he refused to wait a second after the scheduled meeting time. If there was one thing he had learned in the military, it was the importance of punctuality. Though, he couldn't remember one time he was actually on time for anything.
"Nii-san!" Edward looked up in surprise to see a tall man standing a few feet from the park bench, his robes rustling in the calm summer air. He looked so out of place and remarkable in the city streets of Munich.
While everything seemed to be painted in odd shades of brown and ash, this man was like a beacon of light. His robes were a gentle shade of purple that matched the bizarre looking hat that sat on his white hair. Most remarkable however, was the long white beard that draped well below his chest to his waist.
"Nii-san, why can't anyone see him?" Alphonse asked in confusion.
Indeed, the streets were hardly deserted, the reason why Edward was so skeptical about the meeting place, and yet no one was sparing a way-word glance at the odd man. Maybe he and his brother were so close they were having joint hallucinations. Well Edward had heard weirder things.
The old man, who strangely reminded Edward of Fuhrer Bradley, walked up to the pair sitting on the bench when neither made a move to join him.
"Hello. You two must be the famous Elric Brothers." He outstretched his old hand in front in greeting, his eyes twinkling in amusement at the brothers' twin expressions of uncertainty.
Edward's eyes narrowed before he shook the offered hand, "You know way too much, old man. Are you from beyond the gate? Or maybe the Thule Society?"
Edward refused to release the hand, waiting for the response that would either save or condemn the man's life. His grip faltered, however, when he was meant with a slight chuckle.
"No, no, dear boy. I am exactly the person I claimed to be in that letter you received yesterday morning. My name is Albus Dumbledore. And I wish to give you a teaching position at my school, if you choose to accept my offer." He replied, his lips twitching as if he were in on some sort of secret.
Edward relaxed his grip and allowed the man's hand to slip out from his. Albus smiled sincerely before he shook Alphonse's hand and made to sit beside the pair on an adjacent bench.
"As you may know, though I have no idea how you know so much, Alchemy is not possible here. Thus, I cannot teach it." Edward and Alphonse waited with bated breath for the contradiction that would free them from the shackles that now held.
"Ah. The great science of Alchemy. It is true that Alchemy is not commonly practiced in this world, though it does still exist."
"But how?" Alphonse looked at Albus then at his brother in embarrassment for interrupting before he folding his hands into his lap, trying to contain his excitement. His heart was beating so fast in his chest, he could hardly control himself.
Albus laughed in amusement before he continued, "You do know that only certain people had the aptitude to use Alchemy in your world, do you not? It is the same here, except the people that have the ability choose to keep it a secret from those without it. But, Alchemy is just a branch of something bigger, something that your dimension only skimmed the surface of. It's called magic."
Edward sat in silence, his mind deep in thought. So many questions and conclusions swirled and rushed through his brain, he could hardly believe he was still capable of breathing at the same time.
"But, if we can still use Alchemy here, why can't we use it?" Alphonse asked.
"In this world, you need something to channel the raw energy into your transmutations; the energy gathered is just too broad. Though, I have learned of one such Alchemist who was able to cast this aside after some years of practice."
"Just what exactly is this converter?" Edward stared at the old man, his voice solid and assured.
The brothers watched as Dumbledore withdrew an elongated stick, or at least that's what it looked like to them, from his pocket and waved it in front of them with a flourish.
"A wand. "
Edward looked at the wand in scrutiny, his hope overshadowing his doubt. He turned to Alphonse in questioning. He nodded in silent understanding and approval. Besides losing each other, it was worth anything to get Alchemy back.
"We accept. Though we have more questions we would like answered in due time. Just out of curiosity though, who was it that was able to do it without a wand?"
Albus's eyes twinkled, "A man I meant many years ago, he called himself Hohenheim. Hohenheim of Light."
