Quick A/N:
Hey Guys! I just want to tell you that you should probably reread chapters 1 (not the prologue the actual chapter) and 3 because I edited them to add some elements that I thought were missing… Sorry for the inconvenience~
BTW Anyone interestes in becoming my Editor PM me and we'll see if it'll work out.
Now on the Story!
Last Time on Fullmetal Marauder:
He waved the shopkeeper over and told her that he had found what he was looking for and that he wanted the all of the necessary tools and supplies for the kitten.
She looked happy about the sale and hurriedly got together the equipment before exchanging that with the money, when she asked what he wanted to name the little guy (she had informed him that the kitten was male), Ed looked into the eyes of the feline and told her one word, "Alphonse."
Chapter 4: Lions, Badgers, Ravens, and Snakes, Oh My!
Ed landed with a loud thump thanks to his automail appendages after a particularly dizzying floo trip. With no small amount of amestrian curses under his breath he got up from the floor and dusted off his robes.
Exiting the (warded against muggles) floo stop, the blonde gave the place he landed a cursory glance, Ed had to give an appreciative nod to the place, King's Cross Station was a nice looking place for a public transportation stop. The arches and pillars were of good quality stone and steel, the trains themselves were polished and clean looking, there was some litter here and there but that could be said about anywhere in this world.
Looking back at the ticket he gave a slight huff. Train nine and three quarters, heh, seems a highly unorthodox number to make a train but whatever, wizards are weird, Ed thought as he lugged his trunk through the station with Alphonse the cat riding peacefully on his shoulders.
Ed stopped in between train stops nine and ten and glanced around again. Now where would I hide a nonsensical train stop…, he thought while leaning on the wall situated between nine and ten. Or at least he was until he fell right through the barrier and straight into another station.
Quickly regaining his balance and hoping no one saw the action previous he observed the magic folk all running around the large red locomotive before him. There were mothers doting over their children and families running around hoping to get good seats for their students before the rush at eleven and get all their things together before the train leaves.
This all left a slight pang in his chest as he thought of his own family before pushing those thoughts down, he'd see them again, eventually, and getting inside the train himself.
Finding an empty compartment and subsequently heading in there, Ed placed his trunk in the rack, though he did pull out a book to read on the ride, and made himself comfortable for the most probably long ride. Al apparently thought so too as he hopped off the blonde's shoulder and into his lap causing Ed to chuckle a bit and pet his companion before getting back to his book.
Losing himself in his Magical Theory textbook while the train pulled out of the station, Ed didn't notice the shouting of an argument outside his compartment* or the banging on the door until two boys, both first years, judging by the lack of crest on the robes, slammed opened the door, startling Ed out of his reading.
"Hey mate, sorry about that, didn't mean to scare you!" The first boy apologized; running his hand through his untamable, from the look at least, black hair, hazel eyes amused yet honestly sorry about startling the blonde behind round glasses, a small grin in place.
"Yeah, all of the other compartments are full of either pricks or people who are way too boring…so do you mind?" The second boy asked. This one had shaggy black hair and storm grey eyes that had a similar mischievous shine as his friend.
Ed looked them over before shrugging. The two boys closed the door and struggled to lift their trunks into the rack next to Ed's own. They eventually got them in and sat opposite to each other for convenient talking, the glasses wearing boy next to the alchemist.
"So" the silver eyed boy started, "what's your name? I'm Sirius Black and that's James Potter by the way."
Sighing, the blonde tucked his book away, he wasn't going to be reading all that much on this trip it seemed, responded in his accented English, "Edvard, Edvard Elric." The aforementioned blonde stuck his hand, the flesh one, and got a handshake out of both brunettes.
"Well Edward, it's nice to meet you" James said as he shook the hand, Sirius nodding in agreement.
"Call me Ed" the blond stated before petting Al again, that cat sure likes to cuddle.
Once again both boys nodded, the three then talked about other things to break the ice, their favorite food, what Hogwarts will be like (though Ed didn't say anything about how he had already been there of course), heck, even books they've read recently till they got to a pretty interesting topic. Houses.
"I want to be in Gryffindor, the house of the brave!" James exclaimed with passion and excitement.
Sirius looked a bit hesitant, though Ed had no idea as to why that was, and responded, "Well, I would like to be in Gryffindor too but my family has always been in," here he shuddered a bit in disgust, "Slytherin. I know that I would rather be in any other house, even be a 'Puff!"
Ed knew about the houses of course, Hogwarts, A History being one of the first of his school books he finished before getting on the train that day, And didn't really know which house he'd be in.
He was brave, he knew that, not being self-obsessed like the Colonel Bastard or anything but he went up in arms against the scariest shit one could find out in his world, some of it even by himself! But he couldn't see him being a Lion, the house of the brave, and the reckless.
Ed thought things through, he was a very analytical person, always thinking up new things to try and experiment, strategizing his next move in battle, thinking of what the consequences of said actions will be even if he was in combat. Hell, he did equations and formulas that would stump a scientist in this world for months in his head in mere moments! How do you think he can transmute all of that he did without that ability? Magic? Well actually now that he was in this world it was a valid option, but in his it wasn't. Maybe he'd be placed in Ravenclaw…
But then again, he was a very loyal person, not to his superiors and those that try to control him, his prior actions can atone to that, but to his precious people. They were all that he had left so as long as they were happy he was and he would make damn well sure that nothing would change that. So he would possibly be a 'Puff' as Sirius called it?
Then there was Slytherin, house of the sly and ambitious, though nowadays it looked a bit darker than what had been intended from his guess. He wouldn't lie to himself, he was sly and sneaky and he also had large ambitions back when Al and himself needed to get back their bodies (Al more so than himself), he would have done almost anything, other than a few undesirable means such as the Philosopher's stone and such, to achieve that goal… So it could always be a possibility…
He shook those thoughts away as he saw both boys looking over at him in excitement. Ed shrugged, "I do know vhat 'ouse I would be in to be 'onest."
They looked a little put out by his response but they just moved onto the next topic, which both seem to really enjoy, Ed thought amusedly, Quidditch.
That topic, with Ed interjecting every so often with his own information on the sport (a little light reading for when all of that magical stuff was starting to swim around his head), lasted until the end of the train ride and the boys all piled out of the train, though it took a little while to convince Al to stay there as he was leaving.
When they exited the train the rain was pouring down in sheets in the cobblestone pathway leading to many of the students to huddle under the cover of the overhanging roof of the small station.
"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" a familiar gruff and booming voice rang out.
Rushing out with the rest of the first years, Ed, James and Sirius were met with the sight of a very wet and ruffled looking half-giant. Upon seeing the short blond haired alchemist, Hagrid raised a hand and jovially waved them down, "'Ey! 'ow are you doin' there Ed?"
He gave his friend, because there was a nice and friendly air around the gentle giant that just made you want to be his, an unamused stare, "'ow do you think 'agrid?"
The large man just gave a hearty laugh and ushered the three into a small boat. Ed was a little anxious about it holding his, and his automail's, weight before gathering up his courage and hopping on…
…And inevitably led to the unavoidable tipping of the boat that almost threw him overboard.
His compartment mates would not be letting that go for a while if the amount of laughing they were doing was any indication.
Once everyone had settled into their boats they had taken off on their own across the BlackLake. It was a short and fairly boring trip, other than one of the first years going overboard and being put back in his boat by a large tentacle**.
"Duck!" was called out by their hairy friend, leading them all to do as instructed and not get nailed in the noggin by a low hanging branch full of vines and such. Once they were able to bring their heads up again many of the students gasped at the sight of the magnificence of Hogwarts Castle lit up from the inside in the blackness of night, it was so breathtaking that even Ed, who had lived there for the better part of a month, was in awe.
"'ere is your firs' sight of good ol' 'ogwarts! A beaut' ain't she?" the others couldn't help but agree with the large man.
They eventually reached the shore of the lake and carefully (with a glare towards the boat courtesy of a certain blond) disembarked the vessels. They all stood outside of the doors for a short while until the ever stern Professor McGonagal opened them and ushered the shivering eleven year olds into the grand halls.
Once they apparently reached where they needed to be for the time being she stopped and turned towards all of them. With a short flick of her wand all of their robes were clean and dry.
"Now I need you all to wait in here until you are called, and do try and straighten up." She ordered with a slightly pointed look to Sirius who had the front of his robes halfway unbuttoned and showing his white button up underneath ("What? It's more comfortable this way,") before striding out and into the large hall.
The rest of the soon-to-be Hogwarts students nervously fixed their hair and robes while trying to find anything that either might disgrace their family names or just embarrass them outright.
At Ed's apparent nonchalance to the whole ordeal James nudged him in the side playfully before asking, "What? Too cool to be nervous, eh?"
Ed chuckled a bit before pushing back, "No, I juzt do not zee the point ov getting nervouz abou' a zimple sorting," he responded, accent coming in thicker from his own, better hidden anxieties, but they didn't need to know that.
Suddenly a student in the most left side of the corridor let out a sort of yelp, drawing the attention of Ed and most others as they gaped at the sight of the floating figures ahead of them.
"…I'm telling you Nicolas. One say you may finally- Oh. Look! The first years," a rather happy looking monk smiled their way.
Of course during his stay in Hogwarts, Ed had met the wandering souls tied to the castle (and had subsequently demanded an answer from his host who calmly explained what they were) so they didn't really surprise him, earning him another shove in the shoulder courtesy of his bespectacled friend.
Sirius joined in before accidentally pushing Ed into a scruffy dirty blond boy who both stumbled. Ed managing to catch his and the boy's balance just in time before they both tumbled.
"Sorry abou' that. My acquaintances 'ere are juzt being moronz ("Hey!")." He apologized to the boy while insulting his new friends in the same breath, albeit teasingly.
The boy just nodded with a slight smile before the doors opened and they all filed into the enormous Great Hall. Now Ed has seen the Great Hall many times but this is the first time he had ever seen it really live up to its given name.
The hall had a multitude of floating candles (that somehow didn't drip wax all over those seated underneath them) adorned the hall, obviously Flitwick's work, the enchanted ceiling only being more amazing with the fact that it looked as if the place should be flooded at least by then with how much water was getting dumped. Not to be least of all there was more than just one large table for the teachers who had decided to stay at Hogwarts for the summer but four more that were decorated according to each banner hanging above them, students matching of course.
Getting over the amazement in time to see Professor McGonagal place a raggedy old hat on a stool and only be shocked as a mouth like tear opened up and it started to sing!
"Be you short or tall,
Large or small;
I am the hat
That is here to sort you all.
I am here to choose the table
Where you will be sat,
I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat!
If you are academically able,
Hardworking, wise and smart,
Ravenclaw is where you fit the part.
If you are crafty and sly;
Always willing to reach for the sky:
Slytherin is where your loyalties lie.
If you are friendly, loyal and true;
Hufflepuff is the place for you.
If you are brave
And adventure is what you crave:
Gryffindor is the home of such a knave.
So put me on and meet your fate.
Make haste; don't be late.
Take care
And begin this adventure if you dare…***"
The song ending on a rather ominous note for Ed but he shook that feeling off quickly though as he focused on the fact that someone bonded a poor soul to a hat of all things! And it was supposed to read your mind?! Ed did not like that at all.
His other friends though were clapping along in awe with the rest of the hall and seemingly oblivious to their friends plight.
Soon names were being called off one by one, Sirius was already placed in Gryffindor (he looked both shocked and overjoyed at the same time), and it wasn't long before she hit the E's and-
"Elric, Edward!"
Yup. That happened.
Walking calmly down the Hall he plopped down on the stool with a nod to McGonagal, and saw the world turn black as the over large cap fell before his eyes.
'Ah, What do we have here? An Alchemist? Haven't seen one of those in a long while.' A voice commented in his head. Ed would have jumped if he hadn't been expecting it and was glad that the voice was broadcasted in his mind and not aloud.
Well I haven't seen a soul bound to an inanimate object in a while either. Ed shot back, though not harshly.
'Oh I know I can see it all in your head, but don't worry, all is confidential. No one shall learn any of which I am seeing now. And I'm not digging too deeply, just the surface thoughts and memories in order to asses where you belong in his school.'
Well that's stupid. Why do they segregate students according to a few traits they have? That's just waiting to come and bite you right in the ass with all those stupid House Rivalries and such. Yes, House Rivalries had to be capitalized because of how ridiculous and sometimes dangerous those can become.
'I couldn't agree with you more, Edward but I do not make these decisions, they were made long before and wizards are notorious to sticking to old, biased rules and traditions.'
Well it's still stupid. Ed grumbled in his mind.
The hat chuckled, 'Yes it is.'
'Now where to put you? You have enough brains to outsmart most Ravens, enough courage to stare down Truth itself, enough slyness to beat The Truth at his own game even! And not to forget that undying loyalty to your precious people you possess. You could honestly go anywhere and still achieve many great things, even that goal that you intend to accomplish that you hadn't told the Headmaster.'
'So where do you wish to go Ed?'
Ed was surprised. He could choose?
The hat only chuckled again. 'Yes you can choose. There is nothing in the rules that say you can't influence your own destiny, and you have a certain penchant for that.'
Well… Wherever it is that will allow me to get my mission done the fastest.
'Then I know just the place…'
"I say you belong in… SLYTHERIN!"
The table of silver and green cheered as he went over to sit.
He looked over to where he could see Sirius and James looking a little betrayed and saddened that their new friend was really a snake but were quickly dragged back into the sorting as an Evans was called after him.
The sorting continued until every one of the first years were accounted for and Professor Dumbledor took a stand. "Hello everyone. It's good to see you all and I'd like to say a few words before the feast can begin. Linsether, Frigofind, Vencawarl, and Plufulfheff****. Tuck in!"
Ed snorted at his choice of odd words, but then again he already knew that the man was at least a little mad so he wasn't all that bothered and dug right in to the delicious looking food in front of him. Though he did notice that he didn't eat quite as much as he used to over in his world, maybe his hypothesis about giving sustenance to both himself and his brother was true.
That thought though was only brief as the dessert came around and he found himself indulging a little.
It wasn't long after finishing up that Dumbles came back up to the front of every ones attention. "Now before we head down to the dormitories I'd like to get in a few words. First I'd like to address the list of the banned items Mr. Filch has provided me is hanging in his office should anyone like to know of them. Second is that the ForbiddenForest is in fact forbidden so no student without a teachers permission is allowed. So now onto the school's song, everyone pick your favorite tune and sing along."
A few of the teachers grimaced at the statement (a few used subtle silencing charms on themselves to keep out noise) but got ready all the same as words made of conjured ribbon started to form from the Headmaster's wand.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling,
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
Ed couldn't help the grimace his own face adapted at hearing the uncoordinated and really, really off tune singing these wizards had done.
"Music is one of the purest magics of them all," Dumbledor said while seeming to whipe a tear off of his face, "Now off to bed you trot."
Soon the Prefects of the tables ushered out the first years towards their respective dormitories until the Slytherin's, a Martin or something (Ed wasn't really paying attention), led the boys over to the stairs.
"Congratulations! I'm Prefect Mathew Micmullin, and I'm delighted to welcome you to SLYTHERIN HOUSE. Our emblem is the serpent, the wisest of creatures; our house colors are emerald green and silver, and our common room lies behind a concealed entrance down in the dungeons. As you'll see, its windows look out into the depths of the Hogwarts lake. We often see the giant squid swooshing by – and sometimes more interesting creatures. We like to feel that our hangout has the aura of a mysterious, underwater shipwreck.
Now, there are a few things you should know about Slytherin – and a few you should forget.
Firstly, let's dispel a few myths. You might have heard rumors about Slytherin house – that we're all into the Dark Arts, and will only talk to you if your great-grandfather was a famous wizard, and rubbish like that. Well, you don't want to believe everything you hear from competing houses. I'm not denying that we've produced our share of Dark wizards, but so have the other three houses – they just don't like admitting it. And yes, we have traditionally tended to take students who come from long lines of witches and wizards, but nowadays you'll find plenty of people in Slytherin house who have at least one Muggle parent.
Here's a little-known fact that the other three houses don't bring up much: Merlin was a Slytherin. Yes, Merlin himself, the most famous wizard in history! He learned all he knew in this very house! Do you want to follow in the footsteps of Merlin? Or would you rather sit at the old desk of that illustrious ex-Hufflepuff, Eglantine Puffett, inventor of the Self-Soaping Dishcloth?
I didn't think so.
But that's enough about what we're not. Let's talk about what we are, which is the coolest and edgiest house in this school. We play to win, because we care about the honor and traditions of Slytherin.
We also get respect from our fellow students. Yes, some of that respect might be tinged with fear, because of our Dark reputation, but you know what? It can be fun, having a reputation for walking on the wild side. Chuck out a few hints that you've got access to a whole library of curses, and see whether anyone feels like nicking your good quills.
But we're not bad people. We're like our emblem, the snake: sleek, powerful, and frequently misunderstood.
For instance, we Slytherins look after our own – which is more than you can say for Ravenclaw. Apart from being the biggest bunch of swots you ever met, Ravenclaws are famous for clambering over each other to get good marks, whereas we Slytherins are brothers," that got him a nudge from the female Prefect standing next to him and continued, "and sisters. The corridors of Hogwarts can throw up surprises for the unwary, and you'll be glad you've got the Serpents on your side as you move around the school. As far as we're concerned, once you've become a snake, you're one of ours – one of the elite.
Because you know what Salazar Slytherin looked for in his chosen students? The seeds of greatness. You've been chosen by this house because you've got the potential to be great, in the true sense of the word. All right, you might see a couple of people hanging around the common room whom you might not think are destined for anything special. Well, keep that to yourself. If the Sorting Hat put them in here, there's something great about them, and don't you forget it.
And talking of people who aren't destined for greatness, I haven't mentioned the Gryffindors. Now, a lot of people say that Slytherins and Gryffindors represent two sides of the same coin. Personally, I think Gryffindors are nothing more than wannabe Slytherins. Mind you, some people say that Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor prized the same kinds of students, so perhaps we are more similar than we like to think. But that doesn't mean that we cozy up with Gryffindors. They like beating us only slightly less than we like beating them.
A few more things you might need to know: our house ghost is the Bloody Baron. If you get on the right side of him he'll sometimes agree to frighten people for you. Just don't ask him how he got bloodstained; he doesn't like it.
The password to the common room changes every fortnight. Keep an eye on the notice board. Never bring anyone from another house into our common room or tell them our password. No outsider has entered it for more than seven centuries.
Well, I think that's all for now. I'm sure you'll like our dormitories. We sleep in ancient four-posters with green silk hangings, and bedspreads embroidered with silver thread. Medieval tapestries depicting the adventures of famous Slytherins cover the walls, and silver lanterns hang from the ceilings. You'll sleep well; it's very soothing, listening to the lake water lapping against the windows at night.***** So boys, go onto towards the left and girls to the right staircase."
Ed was a little more relieved to get a less biased review of Slytherins from the Prefect and had to admit. He did think he'd like the style the male depicted and wasn't disappointed. They were just as lavish as said.
Going into the ensuite bathroom to change into the nightclothes (didn't want anyone to see the auto-mail) before hopping onto the bed that had his trunk next to it, Ed had to admit. Maybe this mission thing wasn't as bad as he had thought it'd be.
*The argument that had commenced after Snape insulted Sirius and James' choice of house which led to them insulting him with Snape's dear friend Lily (whom he had known before Hogwarts) hearing and joining in.
**Guess who? Hint: His son did the exact same thing.
***Sorting Hat song provided by Parsley the Lion and her Story "Sorting Hat Songs"
**** Real words. Unscramble and get a shout out~
*****Except from Pottermore's "Slytherin Welcome Speech"
NOTICE: This story for the Marauders Timeline needs help. I need to know what kind of pairings there should be. There may even be OC's that you can ask to enter into my story to be paired up with one of the boys/Lily if you want. These pairings shall not be permanent but simple school flings and romance will not be a big part of the story. I have never had romantic relations so I'd have no idea how that would go in any case.
Know that by 5th year or so (unless anyone can give me the exact year Lily finally agrees to date James) all previous pairings shall have been canceled (under the guise that it is to help them get more serious with their school work) and almost never mentioned again though the OC's entered (and accepted) shall be mentioned once or twice more once we move onto the HP story line.
Also any pairings including yaoi and or yuri shall be thought about carefully, please vote if you want such pairings in my story. There shall be a poll up on my profile by the time this chapter has been posted and shall remain until the next chapter. If said poll does not show up then please vote in the reviews with these choices and/or OC entries:
Should my Story Fullmetal Marauder have (Temporary) Yaoi/Yuri Pairings or just stay Het?
Yaoi
Yuri
Yaoi/Yuri
Het
Het with occasional Yaoi/Yuri
No Pairings other than Cannon
OC entry form (NOTE: Any OC's that are considered 'Mary-Sue or Gary-Stu shall be disqualified)
Name:
Gender:
Year:
House:
Magical Talent (ie: Charms, Potions, Book work, Practical, etc.):
Appearance:
Who they will be paired with:
Bio:
Hunny: OMG I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPLOADING! I HAD A HUGE WRITERS BLOCK, SCHOOL AND MY INTERNET WAS DOWN FOR A MONTH!
*takes a deep, calming breath*
Hunny: Sorry about that guys~ But I just want you to know I am not dead I have just had a hard time churning out this chappy while trying to stick close to cannon with some instances I am not going to change (which is surprisingly a lot) other than the HP timeline because all through 2nd to 7th year is AU to some extent.
Hunny: Anyway I hope to update more often but I probably won't be able to more than like once every other weekend so sorry!
Hunny: BTW I was thinking about starting some new stories, of the game Etrian Odyssey III: The DrownedCity and Homestuck AU's (with OC's). They'll probably only be a side story for sloshing around my creative juices into an artistic slurry of awesomeness (interesting imagry) for this story but still~
Edward: How is it that people still like this story anyway? You hardly update it and yet they still review, follow and favorite this piece of-
Hunny: *shoves his face* Anyway~ Thank you all so much for all of your support~ It's what to me to actually force out this chapter for you all! Well anyway onto the Responses!
Junday: Er no. This is happening in the Marauders Timeline so none of the books have occurred yet~
Anadylive: Thank you for the Constructive Criticism (of course that wasn't mean silly)! Yeah I realized those problems too and decided to edit my chapters. I have a really bad habit of making things into a more third person limited view (at first I was testing out first person but it ended up waaaaaaaay weird so I tried to change it and that didn't work out so well). The way I write is weird because I am an artist first and writer second so I imagine the scene in my head in third person view and try to get it down onto the page but since I have the worlds shortest attention span I end up leaving out huge chucks of what I want to actually put down in the story.
The Sin of Justice: Thanks! I do too *cries in corner for having such short chapters*
Red-Hot Habanero: That's great! I love it when people enjoy my work~ I'm a Slytherin on Pottermore and my username is ChaserSkull20630~
Sonnenfrost: Thank you! I'll try my best!
Lotrprincess: Thanks! Yeah I don't see a lot of potion liking Ed in these crossovers a lot either. Canon-y lol. Yeah I do need a beta but the friend that I had originally had for the beta-ing has a lot on her plate so I don't know
And Thanks to skiddliebop, Ice Night, gundamzbd36, yaoi yuri lovey dovey fangirl, Kaita-the-Creeper, Mon Esprit Libre, and killroy225 for reviewing last chapter as well!
Ja Ne
Hunny~