Chapter II

Cherry Syndrome

Harry was pulled from his sleep at around six 'o' clock in the morning by an insistent tapping at his bedroom window. He lay lazily in his bed trying to will the annoying noise away but when it did not he rolled over. Perched on his window sill glaring bitterly at him was Hedwig. Harry jumped to his feet, suddenly completely awake when he saw the piece of parchment tied to the owl's foot. He rushed over the window and wrenched it open. Hedwig flew into the room and to the top of the cupboard. Harry sighed, she was upset about being left out in the cold, foggy night. Recently, anyone that went out at night would see nothing but a heavy blanket of fog no matter where they went. The streets had an unsettling feeling about them and the people that walked them were growing less by the day.

"I'm sorry Hedwig." Harry pleaded looking wide eyes at her. "Next time I'll wake up right away." A few minutes of coaxing later Harry had two new letters in his hand. He opened them quickly in anticipation. However his excitement dropped. The letters were from Sirius and Hermione. If Harry was honest with himself they were not who he wanted to hear from.

He picked up a letter he'd written before he went to sleep and growled, ripping it into shreds. That had been his fifth try. They weren't going to answer.

The letter from Hermione was the second thing he picked up.

Dear Harry,

How are you? I hope you've stayed out of trouble over the summer. My family and I spent the summer in Italy. It is really beautiful here however recently there has been some awful weather. I heard that Ron and his family were invited to stay at Fleur's house in France for the summer. Bill and she seem to be growing really close.

As to your question, I haven't had much access to my magic books recently but I recognized the name Elric. There was a book I read in Muggle School once. It was a fantasy book about alchemy. It wasn't the kind of alchemy we know, it was very different. I believe the author was a man named Alphonse Heidrich-Elric. It was written around the 1940s. I hope that will help you.

Take care and I'll see you soon.

Hermione

Harry sighed at her antics. What was she expecting him to do? Commit a mass murder? But Heidrich Elric could not possibly be the person he was looking for. It was the wrong name and even if it were merely a pen name Edward Elric was too young. But if the book did have some sort of relevance it would do for a start.

Harry threw one last glance at the letter before he cast it aside. He kneeled down onto the floor and pulled at one of the loose floorboards. There was a small space beneath the floorboards where Harry stored all his possessions that would otherwise be confiscated. Among these was a small pocket of muggle pounds. They had been a just in case present from Hermione a few years ago. Harry had never thought that he would need them but had of course kept them anyway. He grinned to himself. It should be enough to buy a simple book.

It was well into the afternoon when Harry finally returned to Privet Drive. His day so far had consisted of him struggling his way out of Vernon Dursley's grip and into town. Despite him only having bad memories of his muggle times, seeing everything after six years of wizardry was somehow comforting. He was overcome by a wave of nostalgia.

He did succeed in buying the desired book however it took much longer than expected. The book, The Tales of an Alchemist, was a very popular book when first published. But when the author died it seemed the book died with him. There was not a single copy to be found after 1941. The only place that had a copy was a small book shop that was safely tucked away in a corner. The shop could only be found after Harry followed many winding roads and alleys.

Harry stared down at the cover. So he had the book….but what now? Did he really have the nerve to walk up to Edward Elric and ask him what his connection to this man was? His eyes wandered down the street. Number 7 was just in sight. The garden was slightly less cared for than the other houses on the road. The windows were all thrust open, it seemed that he was airing the house. Unconsciously, he found himself wandering towards the house. When Harry noticed this he shrugged his shoulders and took the rest of the stretch with a determined walk. After all it never hurts to ask.

When he reached the front door Harry hesitated only for a moment before he pushed the doorbell with a decisive frown on his face. But the person who opened the door…..

"Edward have you cut your hair?"

….. Wasn't quite who he thought it would be. The boy in front of him was the spitting image of Edward Elric. The only difference was that this boy's hair was not the same vibrant blonde that Edward's was. The boy in front of him laughed.

"I've always been told we look alike but I didn't think it was that much." Harry blinked. His eyes were darker too. "If you're looking for my brother he's inside reading." He smiled warmly, inviting him in. "I'm sorry about the mess though, we're just unpacking.

Harry cocked his head to one side. Hadn't Edward said that he lived alone? And who was this boy? He could barely be older than he himself was. Harry matched his step to the other.

"Pardon me for asking but who are you?" He questioned cautiously. The boy's eyes widened when he realised he had not introduced himself.

"Oh sorry, that was rude of me." He bowed slightly, when he stood up straight again the comforting smile had returned to his face. "My name is Alphonse Elric. I'm Edwards's younger brother."

Harry let slip a small gasp. Alphonse…there was that name again.

"Is something wrong?"

Harry jumped, having lost himself in thought.

"Ah no everything is fine." They were in front of an archway now. When Harry peered inside the first thing he saw was the books. There were mountains of them. They buried and covered almost all the furniture. In the corner of the room perched a small, old fashioned TV. It was turned on, blaring the muggle news across the room. Just a few metres away from the TV was a royal blue sofa and sprawled across it with a book on his face was Edward Elric.

"Ah it looks like he's asleep." Alphonse walked up to his brother and poked him gently. "Brother, there's someone here to see you."

Edward Elric stirred, pulling the book from his eyes. After blinking away the sleep he looked around. His eyes fell on Harry and he grinned.

"Harry Potter. What gives me the pleasure?" He said sleepily. Harry stole a glance at the pile of books closest to Edward. It was a pile of black notebooks and with a closer look they turned out to be travelogues. Harry frowned in confusion.

"I just thought I'd drop by to say hello. I was at the book shop earlier and I happened to find this." Harry pulled the book from the plastic bag and showed the cover to him. "Were you related in anyway?" Edward merely smiled in reply.

"If you're hoping to discover something about my family with that book you're going about it the wrong way." He laughed cheerfully. The frown on Harry's face deepened at Edward's reaction.

"Brother don't be rude." Alphonse chastised. "I'm sorry, he can be a bit rude sometimes." He excused. Edward threw his hands up as if in surrender.

"Fine, fine yes I do know it. It was written by a friend of the family." Edward sent a knowing glace towards his brother before he continued. "That's all I know." He continued mockingly.

Harry did not believe him and judging by the look on Edward's and Alphonse's faces they both knew it. He sighed and put the book back into the bag. It had been foolish of him to think that he would get information this easily.

"The fog that has been resting on London for the past few weeks sadly seems to not be moving, the weather will remain to be cold throughout the week but hopefully it will clear up in a few days. Up North…."

Harry picked up those few lines of the weather report and sighed. The awful weather was not going anywhere. He had been hoping that the weather would clear up at least for the last few days of the holidays.

Edward had also heard the report. He rolled idly onto his side and almost glared at the screen.

"Looks like your friends left more work than I thought they had." He complained loudly. It took a while for Harry to register that Edward was talking to him but once he did his mind worked like wild fire.

"Which friends?" He probed cautiously.

"Brother," Alphonse hissed at his brother but Edward was not going to shut up.

"Let's just say Harry, your little battle is over but the war is still not won."

I know its short and I know that it took really long and I will not stop apologizing. I'M SORRY! But from now on I will be updating regularly…well I'll try I hope you're not upset and I REALLY hope you like it. *looks intensely at the review button*