Chapter XIV

Cherry Syndrome

The weekend promised to be very busy for Edward. To begin with, at this point, he was in his office awaiting the arrival of one Draco Malfoy for detention. As soon as dinner finished, Draco was meant to make his way there. Edward predicted that they would probably be spending most of the night together, as he was never one to let people off easy. So that was his Friday evening gone. Furthermore, it was a Hogsmede weekend and naturally, Edward was meant to go along with Roy and supervise. Then there was also the alchemy lesson for the three Gryffindors that same evening. This meant that any work for his actual class would have to be done on Sunday. And trust me; there was a lot of it.

So, all in all free time was not something Edward would have for the next few days.

-knock knock-

He sighed and with a flick of his wand, opened the door. It swung open to reveal Malfoy on the other side. He wore a frown on his face as he made his way into the room.

"Looks like you can be on time after all Mr. Malfoy. I'm impressed." The look on the Slytherin's face darkened slightly but he was obviously in no mood to argue.

"What will we be doing tonight, Professor?" He asked curtly, ignoring Edward's snide comment. Edward was once again forced to sigh as he recognized his own childish behaviour. After dinner last night, Al had pulled him aside several times, in order to discipline him on acting professional. So in order to act according to his age and not, well, his looks, Edward straightened himself out and assumed a more professional tone.

"You will be assisting me in marking reports from our class trip at the beginning of this year." He said, ushering Malfoy into the seat beside him and setting the papers in front of him. Malfoy blinked at the work.

"Professor, I don't think I'm exactly in the position to mark my classmates work." He said with the same even tone. He took one report and flipped through it nonetheless. Edward snorted.

"Mr. Malfoy, yours is one of the few I've actually read, it's better than the others by far. Although that's not really saying much, those other papers were an embarrassment to the Ministry. Besides, I'm not asking you to put a mark on them. Just write comments." Edward sat himself down as well and pulled out some papers of his own. "Trust me, you're in just the right position." Edward said, lazily going about his work.

Although his attention was returned to the reports, Draco continued to blink dumbly in confusion. That had almost sounded like a compliment, he mused to himself. He stopped this thought pattern though when he came across the name on the report in front of him. He had recognized the report as brilliant, so really he should have seen this coming: Hermione Granger. His nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought of having appreciated anything from that Mudblood's hands. He should mark it down…

"Oh and Mr. Malfoy one more thing." Draco looked up to meet the golden eyes or his teacher. Edward smirked, once he had his attention and continued. "No bias please."

….

Could the man read minds?

Draco moved his gaze to the bookshelf directly opposite him and pondered on this very fact. It took a while before he shook his head at this ridiculous thought and returned to the folder. However, something lingered in his mind. He had seen something important…what had it been? Draco looked up once more to the bookshelf and found just the thing he was looking for. The books that had once been in the Room of Requirement were placed comfortably on the top shelf for all the world to see.

Draco unconsciously turned to the man beside him. They had ended up in Professor Elric's hands. This meant that whoever that blonde boy had been the other week, he and Professor Elric were connected. That was bad news. It would have helped if Draco had caught a proper look of the boy, however he had not. Blonde may be a recessive gene but that did not mean there were few at Hogwarts. No, it was only after witnessing the boy in the Room of Requirement, that it had come to Draco's attention just how many there were.

Either way, he had been lead to the Theory Professor. That was a step forward, so the blonde boy hardly mattered now. With this final thought he returned his attention to where it should be, no longer dwelling on the old questions. The new ones could wait.

As fate would have it, the moment Draco dismissed his search, it suddenly fell right into his lap. That exact moment the boy he had been looking for chose to walk through the doorway.

"Brother, I know you're busy but Madame Pince has been complaining about how you're putting her out of business with all the books you're taking. Perhaps you could return a few once you're finished with them." Draco's eyes widened. Speak of the devil. Hang on, did he say brother?

Edward growled and rose to his feet, snatching the book away from Alphonse.

"There's got to be a couple thousand books at her disposal, she can wait. Besides, what use are they collecting dust in the restricted section anyway?" Edward complained. He replaced the books in Alphonse's hands with used ones and flicked through his new information source.

"Brother, you…" Alphonse went to reply but was rendered silent by the hesitant voice of a third person in the room.

"What are you researching Professor Elric?" The brothers turned their attention to Malfoy. Alphonse was, obviously wondering how he had managed to miss the boy. And Edward was merely surprised at the genuine interest he was showing.

"Just a little on protective charms for the school." Edward said nonchalantly. Alphonse threw him a questioning look. It was clear that Malfoy was playing for the wrong side. Giving away even that little information could endanger Hogwarts. Edward merely continued. Alphonse was going to have to trust him. "We've been asked to do so by Dumbledore. Apparently there was an attack last year which we can't afford to happen once more."

Alphonse saw by the way Malfoy's expression changed that he had taken in the information. He was obviously going to pass it on.

"You read a lot then Professor?" Malfoy asked, more confidently this time. Edward shrugged.

"Well it is my job." He reasoned. "Why? Is there anything you need help with?" Alphonse had to resist the urge to say anything at this point. He saw what his brother was doing. Equivalent exchange, Malfoy was not going to give them anything unless they relinquished information first.

"I was wondering about, transport. You know, other than floo powder and portkeys." Malfoy commented. "I'm planning a… trip." Alphonse smiled and fished two books from his arms and handed them to Malfoy. One of them he had found in the Room of Requirement several weeks earlier. The other was one Madam Pince had been threatening his brother's life for….she could wait.

"Try these two Draco. I'm sure you'll find them to be helpful." Alphonse provided. "Anyway I should be leaving. I didn't mean to intrude on your detention. I'll see you tomorrow Brother, good night."

Before Malfoy had the chance to thank him, Alphonse was gone. The student and the professor were left standing in silence.

"So," Edward began clapping his hands together. "Shall we continue?"

"Sexual frustration."

Ron and Harry both almost spat pumpkin juice onto the Common Room floor at these words. Both of them moved their gazes to Hermione.

"Huh?" They exclaimed simultaneously. Hermione shrugged innocently.

"That would probably explain why he's been so on edge recently." Ginny elaborated for her, making the excuse sound absolutely plausible. "You two just want to see destruction everywhere you look, especially when it comes to him." Harry raised his eyes incredulously.

"Hermione, Ginny, there's a heck of a lot more wrong with Malfoy. It's definitely not that he isn't getting laid." He defended. "Besides, I haven't seen it make Hermione any different." As Hermione set about maiming Harry, Ron returned them to the initial topic by whining.

"Never mind that. Can we please never mention Malfoy and sex in the same sentence ever again?" Hermione snorted.

"I couldn't agree more Ron." Harry concurred. "And it's not true anyway. I've been checking the map almost every night. He's rarely in bed before three AM." Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance.

"What the hell is he up to?" Ron asked cautiously.

"Did you check other people's beds?" Ginny grinned mischievously, causing Hermione to giggle.

"GINNY!" Both boys exclaimed. The giggles became full blown laughter.

Alphonse returned later that night to his brother. This time, he ensured that they were alone, before speaking.

"You used equivalent exchange on Malfoy. After all this time, you're still an alchemist at heart." Alphonse mused, smiling warmly towards his brother. Edward rolled his eyes but did not neglect to smile too.

"Harry was right. Malfoy has got to be working on a way to get Voldemort into the castle." Edward muttered, fingers going to his chin as they so often did when he thought.

"Well then, at least now we have control of what information he sees and what he doesn't." Alphonse replied. Edward nodded.

"Yes that will certainly make it easier to stop him. He doesn't seem to know about the stone though." Alphonse raised an eyebrow at his brother's comment.

"Really? Then what could Voldemort be after?" He questioned thoughtfully.

"He's after me." The Elric brother's jumped at the sudden presence in the room. It was Dumbledore and in the doorway on the other side, stood Snape casting silencing spells. Edward was the first to recover.

"After you Headmaster?" Edward prompted, curiously raising an eyebrow. Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, if all goes to plan, by the end of the year, the Death Eaters will be given access to Hogwarts and Draco Malfoy will have killed me." Dumbledore said lightly as if he were discussing the weather.

"You know of his plan?" Alphonse gasped. "Then why are you still playing along with it?" He challenged his face changing to a frown. Dumbledore smiled at the boy.

"That, Mr. Elric, is because it must happen in order for Voldemort to be defeated." The Headmaster replied. Both brothers opted to raise their eyebrows, a clear indication for him to explain. "Well, Mr. Elric as you might know, I had Sirius Black ask you and your brother to teach Harry and his friends alchemy. This is because it is one of the few ways to destroy a Horcrux. Yes, I know about the Horcruxes, they were brought to my attention last year by the exchange students, if you might call them that."

Edward and Alphonse had remained silent and merely nodded in understanding. They then blinked at him, urging him to continue.

"Well, unfortunately, one of them got the better of me." Dumbledore sighed halfheartedly and held up his hand. The Elric brothers observed the hand in what can only be called sick fascination. It was as if it were rotting away. "I am dying boys, and unfortunately, I need Harry to take over my quest. If my suspicions are right, there are more out there. For light to obtain victory, Voldemort must succeed temporarily." Dumbledore finished confidently. The twinkle stronger than it had been before. Edward and Alphonse exchanged a glance.

"So what you're saying is that you and Snape have the next two years planned out completely." Edward asked doubtfully.

"We like to be thorough, Elric." Snape drawled, staring Edward down. The reply he received was a growl and a dark glare.

"Now, Severus no need to pick a fight." Dumbledore calmed. "Yes, we had everything planned." He admitted. "Everything but you, Mr. Elric. You and your brother are sharper than we anticipated." Edward smiled proudly.

"So, you've decided to include us then?" Alphonse asked. He was obviously still wary of the two. "Have you come to ask us not to interfere with Malfoy? You want us to simply let it happen? "

"Precisely." Dumbledore smiled. They all fell silent for a moment, allowing the weight of the demand to sink in. It seemed like an eternity before Edward chose to speak.

"No."

Snape bristled and the smile on Dumbledore's face dropped just a fraction.

"Elric, when the Headmaster asks something of you, you go along with it." He sneered. "Or do you not care about the outcome of this war."

"Snape, how much I care about this war doesn't matter. What you're asking is for us to stand by and let you make a killer of a child. I'm sorry, but I cannot let that happen." Edward snapped confidently.

"Murder is not something a sixteen year old should have to go through." Alphonse added taking a stand beside his brother. Snape's expression darkened but it was Dumbledore who spoke.

"It sounds as if you are speaking from experience Mr. Elric." Dumbledore commented. The expressions on their faces darkened.

"As a matter of fact, we are. I will not let it happen. Malfoy is not working from free will and if there is a way to change his mind we will do it."

The group once again fell into an awkward silence, each side staring the other down. Then Dumbledore sighed.

"This is most troublesome indeed." He sighed. The brothers tensed, preparing for another argument however it never came. "It seems we will have to find a way around this. Putting the guilt on Mr. Malfoy hardly seems fair. Oh I know, Severus, you can do it." Three sets of eyes widened at this.

"Headmaster…" Snape began, but he was interrupted.

"Severus, you made the unbreakable vow did you not? If the Elrics intend to stand by what they said, which I do not doubt they do, then you will have to execute the vow." Dumbledore resumed merrily.

"Headmaster, you cannot simply decide such things like this." Snape said, looking more than slightly frazzled.

"It does, of course mean that the Elric brothers must continue to discourage Malfoy. Not of the entire plan, but only of the murder itself." He may have been speaking in third person, but at this point Dumbledore turned to Edward and Alphonse looking them straight in the eye accusingly. The brothers smiled.

"We can do that." They replied instantly. The smile once again graced the headmaster's lips and he turned his back to them.

"Wonderful, well then Severus how about you join me in my office for some tea and sherbet lemons? We can discuss things further there." Dumbledore sang as he swept out of the room.

"Yes, Headmaster." Snape sighed, following in step.

Once the two had left the Elric brothers each released a breath they did not know they had been holding. Alphonse smiled.

"At least we know who we've actually been working for this whole time." He offered.

"Oh yes and what a comfort that is. That man is off his rocker." Edward laughed in reply, to which Alphonse could merely smile.

"So true."

The Elrics successfully made it to their beds that night and rather than sleeping, used the time to ponder the shocking events of the night. It seemed as if another assignment had been added to their list: Befriend Draco Malfoy.

Edward sighed as he sat up in bed, flipping through the pages of yet another book.

"I need to stop being such a workaholic." He muttered to himself. He stopped reading when he felt his stomach grumble and groaned. He had not eaten for a couple of hours and his body was beginning to catch on. He supposed it was his own fault for skipping dinner in order to work but there was little he could do about it now. He had no food on him except…

Edward glanced towards the chair resting in the corner of his room. On it rested the cloak he had worn yesterday and if he was correct, the candy he had received with it. But could he eat it? After all, it had been a present. Really he should hang on to it. All it took was a loud reminder from his stomach for Edward to make up his mind. He leaped from his bed and tiptoed over to the robe. Sure enough, inside was the small chocolate Roy had given him the night before. Edward unwrapped it and popped it in his mouth.

Satisfied that this was all he could do to satiate his appetite, Edward returned to his bed. He rested the book on the bed side table and laid his head against the pillow. The same small smile spread across his lips as he curled onto his side and pulled the duvet up to his chin.

"Thank you Roy."

The next day had Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at the breakfast table in silence. Not much had been said on the topic discussed last night, as all three of them were focused on their own thoughts that morning. Ron was, of course, reflected on his triumph in the Quidditch field for the past few weeks. Hermione was still sulking at Harry for calling her sexually frustrated.

Harry, himself had begun by thinking of Malfoy but had since moved on to Ginny. Yesterday, had proven to be surprisingly fun thanks to her. He'd have to make sure to spend more time with her in future.

So they all remained lost in their own thoughts until the sound of hurried footsteps was heard. They were heading right for the Gryffindor table, more specifically towards Harry.

"Harry, have you seen Professor Slughorn?" Alphonse panted. Harry blinked in confusion. He had obviously run across what must have been half of Hogwarts, judging by the breath he'd had knocked out of him. Hermione was the one to provide the answer for him.

"Professor Slughorn isn't here. He's gone to some fancy reunion or something." She said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Shit!" Alphonse cursed, causing all three of the Gryffindors to fall silent. It was one thing to hear Edward swear, but Alphonse was a whole other matter.

"Al, what the hell is wrong?" Harry voiced what all three of them have been thinking. Alphonse swallowed before turning to Harry.

"It's my brother….I think he's gone mad." The panic was evident in his voice. The trio exchanged glances.

"What's he done, mate?" Ron asked, putting his cutlery down. This time Alphonse did hesitate, before he forced out as if embarrassed.

"He says he's in love with Roy Mustang."

"WHAT?"

Sorry for the utter seriousness of this chapter. I think it's due to the lack of Roy. He's sort of my comic relief but don't let him know ;)

I hope you can tell that the next chapter most definitely won't be as serious as this one. You can also expect some RoyEd dear readers! Yes it's only taken me 15 chapters, which is kind of soon for me. Thank you for your patience. Anyway please review. Next chapter will be out next week!