Chapter III

Cherry Syndrome

Harry stared at the blonde before him in silence.

"Your little battle is over but the war is still not won." He repeated deftly. What was he talking about? Ed smiled at him knowingly.

"It's the weather Harry." He explained, nodding towards the television screen. "The fog, it means something." He continued. Harry frowned in confusion.

"And what exactly do you mean?" He quipped. Edward sighed and turned his back to him, picking up a book from one of the many piles. The book was leather bound with a blank cover. Its appearance was old and frail. Edward tossed the book to Alphonse, who caught it with ease.

"Think about it Harry. The weather has been ghastly, it's been freezing cold, there's been a fog over the city for at least one month now. It doesn't help that everyone's been rather depressed recently. What does that usually mean where you come from?" Harry blinked his mouth hung open, speechless. Edward did not supply him with an answer but waited patiently as Harry racked his brains to come up with something.

"What do you mean where I'm from..." Harry began. He was not stupid. He had guessed what the Elric brothers meant but that was impossible. Was it?

"A Dementor is a dark creature, considered one of the foulest that inhabit the world. Dementors feed off human happiness, and thus cause depression and despair to any who are in close proximity to them. They are also capable of consuming a person's soul, leaving their victims in a permanent vegetative state, and thus are often referred to as soul-sucking fiends" Alphonse read aloud.

It was possible. Because when Harry turned around the page of contents that he was faced with was an almost exact replica of the one he had seen in the library last year. The book that had been hidden away in the restricted section. There was a list as there was in any book, and at the top of the page was the title "Secrets of the Darkest Arts".

"You're wizards" He breathed slowly. The Elric brothers grinned.

"Something like that."

"But what are you doing here? Why waste time in a muggle area like this...did Dumbledore send you? I keep telling him I don't need protection anymore."

"Shut up Harry he didn't send us." Edward chided, silencing him.

"We moved in here because we wanted to. The area was quite peaceful until the Dementors turned up." Alphonse explained. "Besides, we're not exactly wizards. We're alchemists."

"What do you mean?" Harry queried. He was trying desperately to put the pieces together however this puzzle was not making any sense. If the Elrics were wizards why were they here? Why had he never heard of them? How could he not have noticed? Edward groaned as he finally managed to shift himself from his position. He rolled onto the floor and picked up yet another book.

"It's exactly the way Al says. The ministry documents everything on every wizard from the day they're born, from family to medical history. But we have no records because we do not qualify as wizards. There are no names, no academic records and no job records. We are known only for one thing though, and that is that book you're holding. Oh and alchemy, you were given a taste of it in your years at school." Edward explained. Harry eyed the book in his hand curiously.

"Did you write this book?" He asked, however he almost stopped when he looked at Edward. A sad smile was now where the impatient look once was.

"No I didn't write it. It was written by a very dear friend of mine, Alphonse Heidrich. He wanted me to publish it in my name after he died. Technically they are all my stories, though; he was the one to write them down for me."

Harry frowned. The book "Tales of an Alchemist" had been published roughly fifty years ago. If Edward really knew the author then that would make him at least sixty years old.

"How old are you Edward?"

The question slipped before he could stop himself. Edward Elric had avoided the question last time it was asked. There was something, Harry was not sure what, but there was something and Edward's age may give it away.

"That is a bit hard to answer Harry. I will tell you, but some other time." Harry sighed. He had refused just as expected. Then it was on to the next question.

"You said you were alchemists but there's only one and that was Nicholas Flamel. The ministry has heard of him why not you?" To Harry's surprise both of the Elric brothers scoffed in disgust.

"What?" He probed.

"Nicholas Flamel showed himself to the Ministry, Harry they didn't find him. We were the ones to find him." Alphonse replied.

"That bastard did not deserve to call himself an Alchemist." Edward spat in disgust. "There are laws in alchemy and he bent his way around all of them."

"Wha...?" Before Harry could finish, Alphonse picked up where his brother and left off.

"The Philosophers stone you found in your first year at Hogwarts had the ability to makes someone live forever and also the ability to turn stones into gold. You see Harry; we have a rule, The rule of Equivalent Exchange. It states that to acquire something you must give something of equal value. The other rule is to never manipulate life, and do not turn anything into gold. To create the stone, Nicholas Flamel had to give something that was worth a life. What do you think is worth a life Harry?"

The conversation seemed to grow more intense as it moved on. Edward was showing expressions and emotions that had not been shown when he came over for dinner. He had seemed so calm and collected the first time he had met him. But now, he was seething at the mere memory of a man who had died five years ago.

"I don't know," Harry managed through strangled breath. The atmosphere was becoming unsettling. A grim smile made its way across the brothers faces.

"A life for a life," Edward recited monotonously. "Did you know that Flamel had a wife at the time?" He said grimly.

"It was like the Tucker case all over again." Alphonse mumbled, more to himself than Harry. Their smiles dropped as the sadness slowly conquered over the nonchalance. He had seen that look before many times. His friends from last year and even himself carried the look often. But Edward and Al's were far more grave, not only were they keeping secrets of the present but a haunted past was there as well. Harry started as Edward jumped to his feet and exclaimed loudly.

"That aside, Harry do you know why we lured you here? Don't look like that I was manipulating you the whole time. I knew what I was doing." Edward was holding a book in his hand; he walked over to Harry and placed it carefully into his receiving palms. Harry stared at it skeptically; it was yet another travelogue. They were littered all over the room.

"No I don't. Why did you and what is this?" Harry nodded towards the book as he flipped through the pages of the book, eyeing the locations as they past. Risembol, Central, Riole, North Riggs. He had never heard of these places.

"It's a travelogue but also a code, my code. I record all my alchemic findings in this format." Edward shrugged.

"We have a proposal for you Harry." Alphonse took a step forward, catching the wizard's attention. "How would you like to learn Alchemy Harry? Not everyone can do it but someone gave us a tip that you probably could." He smiled encouragingly. Harry fell speechless at Alphonse's words. He sighed and rethought what was happening. Two strangers had just come to him and asked to teach him Alchemy. They had told him that Flamel was a fraud, that neither of them truly existed and that someone was indeed watching over him...

"Do you mind if I sit down?"

"Go ahead." Edward laughed, running a hand through his blonde hair. Harry staggered over to the cetee and dropped onto it. Judging from past experience Harry knew that the right thing to do was to be suspicious of the Elric brothers. But he couldn't help but think over the proposal when he looked at them. The golden eyes held wisdom that could be so useful to him.

"What good would it do for me?" He shot distrustfully, trying to listen to his brain instead of his feelings. The brothers grinned. Edward moved first.

"Look at it this way..."

"AH!" ...thud. Harry landed on the floor. He legs sprawled apart and his pockets suddenly empty. He looked up at Edward in disapproval, but all he got in return was a smirk.

"I have your wand, what do you do now?" Edward challenged, balancing Harry's wand on the tip of his finger.

"Ok I see your point, but I know absolutely nothing about alchemy." He asked. Edward shrugged as he lightly tossed the wand back to Harry.

"Of course you don't know anything, that's why we'll teach you."

"But why?" That was the final question, the one that was directed at the whole conversation. Why did they want to teach him? Why had they told him all these things? And why the hell was he agreeing? The Elric brothers exchanged a glance before they turned back and smiled warmly at him.

"We're bored. Besides, it's about time we got involved in this war of yours."

It was that moment that Harry realised; Edward would be sticking around for quite a while. And with just a nod and a smile he accepted whatever chaos they were bringing into his life.

"So," Alphonse smiled. "Would you like some tea?"

Two hours and a drink later Harry was once again walking back down Privet Drive. When he thought about the afternoon he realised that it had not been very productive. He had left the Elric house with more questions than answers. But Harry knew that really that would not matter. He stretched out and grinned to himself. The rest of the summer was definitely not going to turn out the way he'd thought.

But whether it turned out the way he hoped? He'd have to wait and see.

Edward and Alphonse stood in the threshold as they watched Harry enter his house. Alphonse turned to his brother and was the first to speak.

"Why didn't you tell him the truth?" He asked tentatively.

"Hmm?"

"Brother,"

"I just don't think he needs to know who requested us yet."

"Why not?"

"Well, he has enough shit coming as it is." Edward stepped back into the house. He picked up a newspaper that was thrown carelessly on the counter by the front door. He tossed it to his brother. "And this may just drive him around the bend." With those final words he departed. Alphonse was left with a copy of the Daily Prophet turned upside down in his hands. He stared down at it and carefully turned the paper to the front page. There was a man on the cover and in bold print on top of the moving photo stood the words.

"Sirius Black, Disappeared?"

Alphonse sighed.

"How are we supposed to get our check if our client goes missing?" He mumbled, shutting the front door.

I could give you thousands of explanations as to why this is late. But Ill only give you two.

My parents discovered Im a member on FF and decided they didn't like it.

Im writing a fic on harry potter book 6 and I cant actually remember a thing that happens in it so im reading the book...veeery slowly

So im sorry . and lets pray that the next chappie doesn't take as long. At least the film is coming out. Im not sure when though

Please review :D