Chapter XX

Cherry Syndrome

The Burrow was as warm and welcoming as it always was for Harry and the swell of affection towards the Weasley family only seemed to have amplified over time. It may have been due to the crackling fireplace or the dazzling Christmas decorations that fluttered across the rooms putting themselves into place but Harry felt more comfortable than he had in a long time. The holiday feeling was definitely settling in now that he was relaxed into the Weasely lifestyle. For Christmas Eve, they had been more than fed. All of Ron's family and even Remus had been there. Harry had spent the entire evening wedged between Ron and Ginny as they chatted away happily at him. The only twinge he felt was at the absence of his Godfather. Since the tiny article in the Daily Prophet in September, Sirius had not been mentioned once in the papers. Deep down Harry had hoped that maybe Sirius had merely gone underground for a bit, that the Order had sent him on a special mission. With time, he had even managed to convince himself that this were true. However, when Harry mentioned it to Remus, he could see it in his old professors eyes immediately. Remus was just as unsettled as Harry and the worried spark in his dull, weary eyes gave it all away. No one had heard from Sirius in months.

Harry's day had not begun as smoothly as it ended. A reporter from the Daily Prophet called Maximus Figglebun had managed to track him down at the Burrow and arrived unwelcomed, pleading for an interview with the Boy Who Lived. The topic of the article was to be Life After You Know Who. Apparently even though peace was reigning according to the wizarding public, they still wanted to know what Harry was up to. Now, there was little that made Harry more uncomfortable than being put in the spot light. One of the few things that did was actually having to lie whilst in the public eye. Because Voldemort was not dead and he had half the mind to tell Figglebun just that. However, when Harry explained this to Ron and Ginny in the brief moment he managed to pull them aside, they made sure to tell him that it was mad.

"Are you out of your mind? You can't tell them that. It'll cause panic. Which thank you for letting me know by the way." Ginny hissed, glancing towards the stout man in the middle of their living room. He must have been anxious. Figglebun was sat at the very edge of the seat, scratching the tragically balding part of his head.

"And that's if they believe you mate. What if we get a repeat of last year?" Ron asked and Harry had to clench his jaw in agreement. He did not want to have to live through the 'Boy Who Lies' once more, it had been exhausting.

"What are the chances they'd actually believe me this time?" He suggested hopefully.

"Not high."

"Of course."

So Harry had sighed and played along. On a whole, the interview ran smoothly but then once it was over Mrs Weasely let her kindness run away with her. She offered Figglebun dinner and he had keenly accepted most likely for the chance to see more of Harry. Either way, it meant that he sat uncomfortably throughout the entire meal, glancing inconspicuously towards him. But Harry was not about to let that ruin his mood. After dinner, Harry and Ron were sat in the living room having excused themselves from tea with the adults. It was then that the fireplace spouted into life, assuming the face of Hermione Granger.

"Wicked! When did you learn to do that?" Ron gushed, grinning in awe at the crackling fire.

"Only recently, I'm trying it out but its incredibly tiring. So please, can we keep it to the point. Harry, before we were interrupted on the train, what was it you were going to tell us?" Hermione replied and suddenly all focus was on Harry again. He had not wanted to discuss things this way. It would have been better if they were face to face. The only reason for this being that Harry hated feeling like he was going behind a friend's back but in this case it seemed that he had to.

"Ah right, I wanted to talk about Al... I think there's something going on..." Harry said hesitantly. "I think it's to do with Malfoy."

Both of his friends groaned.

"Oh Harry, not this again."

"No hear me out, I overhead them the other night at Slughorn's party. After the rescue act, Al followed Malfoy out, and the way he talked to him, he definitely knew something." Harry rushed, wanting to get enough out for his friends to stop thinking he was being irrational. It seemed to work.

"What exactly did you hear?" Hermione asked over the fireplace connection and so he told them. Harry recounted every moment from the tense argument between Snape and Malfoy to the even more strained argument between Malfoy and Alphonse. He finished with a quick cover of the moment between Alphonse and his brother. Harry did not consider it important, Edward had not said anything in particular that had seemed suspicious nor did he do anything but comfort his brother. So Harry glossed over the details, only quickly pondering on how bizarre it was that in a matter of mere months he had come to trust Edward Elric entirely. Why the same did not apply to Alphonse he did not know. Harry waited patiently for Hermione and Ron to think everything over and come up with a reply.

"Well Snape and Malfoy are definitely shifty." Ron muttered first. "What kind of 'responsibility' do you think they were talking about?"

"That's just the problem, we have no way of knowing and for that matter, what was he doing out in the corridor anyway? Why was Alphonse helping him? Cause I don't believe for a minute that he actually invited him along." Hermione continued.

"Yeah and even if he had, no way would Malfoy have accepted it. The git's too proud for that." Ron returned and Harry was momentarily impressed with his insight.

"But what about Al? I didn't hear it all but what I heard Al say was very similar to what Snape said. You don't think he's in on it too?" Harry commented, a sense of dread settling over him. No, he could not handle the idea of a friend possibly betraying him again. Hermione shook her coal face, breathing heavily, the connection probably would not last much longer.

"No Harry, from what you've told us, it sounds like Alphonse is just as clueless as us. He's picked up on the things that we have, come on you even told him about the time we saw him in Knockturn Alley. Maybe he found some connections that we haven't made yet. My guess is that Alphonse is trying a more direct approach to stopping Malfoy. You've seen how close they can be at times. I would almost call them friends if it weren't for the fact that it's Malfoy." Hermione reasoned, earning herself a nod of support from Ron. Harry felt his shoulders slack in just a hint of relief. It made sense, in a way. He could see that if Alphonse was anything like his brother, he would not bother using subtlety as an approach. Harry could almost feel a sense of ease wash over him until Ron slaughtered it with his next words.

"That does beg the question why he's so keen to help. I mean, when did they get so close?" He asked, probably not realising himself how terrible those words were. But it was not because of their meaning, no, rather because neither he nor Hermione could properly give Ron an answer.

"I don't know. It just seemed to happen. First time we saw them talk was just before Hogsmede right? Even then they seemed quite familiar." Hermione breathed, her voice cracking along with the flames. Harry shot up, his back straightening with a snap as something else sprung to mind.

"Yeah! Al knew that the locket thing was Malfoy too!"

"What?!"

"Ron, you weren't there but after the thing with Katie Brown, Al muttered something about Malfoy being an idiot. He must have known it was him." He gushed turning anxiously from Ron to Hermione then back again.

"Was it a guess?" Hermione asked doubtfully.

"Bloody good guess if that's true." Ron muttered with a grimace. Harry could tell that Ron was beginning to feel the same doubt and suspicion that had been festering away in himself. It made him feel bitter.

"I don't know, it still all sounds like guesswork to me. Assuming that Malfoy and Alphonse have been spending quite a bit of time together, and Malfoy did actually curse the locket, then it must have been in his possession at some point. That would have given Alphonse time to spot it and recognise it. It doesn't make him guilty." Hermione argued firmly. She obviously did not feel the same as them . For some reason it made Harry happy to see that not all of them had become cynics. However Ron saw it differently. He bristled at the conviction in Hermione's voice when she spoke about Alphonse.

"But if they're spending so much time together, it could just be that Al was in on it and was calling him an idiot for making a mistake." Ron suggested with a frown. Harry shook his head. He had seeded the suspicion but he found himself really wanting to go with Hermione on this one.

"No, I don't think..."

Harry was cut off by an ear-shattering explosion that ignited above their heads. Harry and Ron threw themselves to the ground as the entire house shook and rubble dropped from the ceiling. They buried Hermione's sharp questions in an avalanche of debris, first cutting off her voice and then the entire connection. Everything seemed to fall apart. The building caved in and furniture shook but then once the rubble had settled, Harry and Ron sprang to their feet, looking at one another with wide eyes and heavy breath.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron gasped, looking up to where the sound had come from. Then the house shook once more. Another explosion had gone off just by the window. This time Harry recognised them for what they were. They were curses.

"Its coming from outside!" He exclaimed, snatching his wand from his pocket and bounding to the front door. He thrust it open without thinking and looked around into the fields around them only illuminated by the flames ablaze on the roof of the Burrow. Harry took a few steps away from the doorframe so that he could catch proper sight of the caster of the curses destroying the house. The sky hung heavy with black clouds ahead, all rumbling with the small explosions that still seemed to be going off above his head. Harry was not listening to them. His entire attention was focused on the five dark tunnels of smoke, pulsing around the crooked corners of the house. He recognised them even before they dropped to the ground, pooling at the feet of five Death Eaters. Harry sensed the others in the house rushing towards the front door, wands in hands but by then it was already too late. Four of the Death Eaters had peeled off to set aflame the grassy fields surrounding them. The final Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange stood proudly in the centre baring her rotten teeth in a ghastly sneer.

"Oh Potter! Too long." She cackled, cocking both her head and her hip to the side, taunting him. "How's my cousin dearest? Oh wait, you wouldn't know, would you? How about I tell you then?"

"What?" Harry said, completely stunned. She could not possibly mean, "Sirius? Where is Sirius? What have you done with him?" He roared, charging towards her, without another thought. A satisfied smirk reached Bellatrix's face and she turned at a sprint towards the burning fields, parting the ring of flames just enough for Harry to slip through and it was not until Harry was alone in the dark, with nothing but Bellatrix's cackles reaching his ears that he stopped to curse his foolish stupidity. Bellatrix's words had made him see red. He could not have held back the rage if he tried, but now what? He was alone and could not apparate. The rest of the group were dueling the remaining five Death Eaters. Suddenly, Harry jolted back as someone's hand grasped around his arm. He turned in shock to see Ginny, gripping him tightly and gasping for breath. Behind her, stood the reporter a frown on his face and a fittingly, stout wand brandished in his hands. He looked scared but alert and Harry found himself surprised at the unexpected show of bravery. He must have been caught staring because moments later Figglebun was turned his way with a wry smile on his face.

"You lied to me Mr. Potter. Turns out your peace is occasionally disrupted." He chuckled and Harry grimaced in return.

"You jinxed me."

"Look out!"

However, Ginny's words were too late. The reporter and Harry were caught off guard, as a red jet of light shot through the darkness right at the reporter. He shrieked and writhed in pain as Harry and Ginny watched on helplessly. Harry was at a loss. He did not know what to do or where to look. There was too much dark and he could not take the chance at casting a spell to reveal themselves. All he could to was focus on the spot where the crucio curse was coming from. Behind him, Ginny tapped his shoulder once me and murmured something into his ear softly. Next, she was stepping away from them both, as she pointed her want towards the sky.

"Lumos Maximum!"

Everything burst into life and for one brief moment Harry saw it all; Bellatrix hidden behind the bushes, clutching at her momentarily blinded eyes; the reporter dropping to the ground and crawling back to the house as the curse was cut off and the green and red flashes in the background from the fierce battle at the doorstep of the Burrow. Harry grit his teeth. Ginny had saved them but now it was his turn. In the blink of an eye he reached Bellatrix, swiftly disarming her.

"Where is Sirius?" He growled, pointing his wand at her chest. He drove her back, through the waves of grass and overgrown crops, into the glade that held the Burrow. Around him, things grew quiet as all eyes, Death Eater and Order alike turned to look on. Bellatrix stumbled to the ground as she slowly backed away from him. Harry had her cornered but his hairs were still on end. He had goosebumps all over his skin. Something was not right. None of her allies were moving to help her and Bellatrix was not wearing the face of someone who had been defeated. In fact, she did not even seem ruffled.

"Oh Cousin Sissy, we took care of him. When we revived the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord made sure you'll never see him again. He really should not have got in the way."She drawled. Bellatrix dug her hands further into the wet mud, grasping them into fists so tight her knuckles paled. She cast her gaze over Harry's shoulder and suddenly she was laughing. "That's right! He's back!" It was unsettling and utterly insane but Harry felt transfixed as he watched this crazy woman roll gleefully around in the dirt cackling madly, repeating the words over and over again.

"He's alive! He's alive!"

"Stop it! What did you do to Sirius?" But Bellatrix did not answer. Her hands released the dirt beneath her and flung dust into Harry's eyes, blinding him and forcing him to gasp out in surprise. She seized the opportunity and leapt forward, back into the shelter of the fields around them. Screeching cackles and grating cheers of twisted joy swept up into the wind as one of the Death Eaters spun their wand arm around. Dust, dirt, debris and flames all flew into the air, following the path of the wand. It span its way into a tornado, enveloping the four figures and ripping anything loose into itself. Harry lunged for Ginny instinctively, pulling them both to the ground, desperately holding them together. All they could hear were shouts and people grappling for safety before everything was torn away from above them. Harry clamped his eyes shut and clenched Ginny's hand, making sure that at least she remained safe.

When the wind settled, everything was gone. The wind howled recklessly through the bare structure of the Burrow rooftop as they all slowly rose to their feet. The flames had died down to a simmer, white ash snowed upon them, clinging to them in the darkness. They looked anxiously to the sky, towards their only source of light, the Dark Mark eerily illuminating the darkness.

"Edward are those school records?"

Neither Edward nor Alphonse spared Roy a glance as he carelessly dropped into a seat opposite them the following day. He was dressed down in a simple shirt and loose trousers, holding nothing but a newspaper.

"Yes they are, we're doing some research on old students."

"On what? Their ancestry?" He asked incredulously. Edward did look at him then, glaring insolently.

"Yes, I'm trying to figure out whether stupidness runs in the family. Want me to check yours? Oh wait there's no nee—" Edward yelped and Roy chuckled spitefully at him. Alphonse had cut his brother off by viciously elbowing him in the side and glaring back in a way that only Edward could rival.

"Come now Edward, your students aren't that bad. You've got Miss. Granger and from what I've heard Mr. Potter is quite the whiz kid in potions. Won himself more than one prize in that class." Roy said, leaning back casually.

"Oh please, it was pure coincidence that won him that Liquid Luck potion." Edward scoffed, rolling his eyes. Roy just hummed his agreement, not particularly wanting to bicker about it. He had more important things at hand.

"So what are you up to?" He asked curiously. Edward and Alphonse glanced at one another. Roy sat by silently as the two seemed to have a conversation without a single word being uttered. It was odd really. He had always thought that sort of behaviour was reserved only for couples.

"We're looking into Tom Riddle's past."

On second thought, those two were much more functional than any couple. Roy glanced around at the stray library books riddled across the table. All of them were in some ways related to the castle of its former inhabitants save for a few of them. Between the mountains of Hogwarts related books were a select few that Roy recognised instantly as from the Restricted Section.

"Tom Riddle? You Know Who? Why?" He asked Alphonse, clearly the more cooperative of the two.

"Because we want to send him a basket of roses and some chocolate selections." Edward commented, raising his eyebrows pointedly at Roy. He rolled his eyes in reply.

"See now you're just being snide, why can't you just say that you're trying to investigate You Know Who's past for a potential weakness of his? Know thine enemy, as they say. " Roy refuted, tutting dramatically. Edward rolled his eyes.

"Because you've obviously already figured that one out. And for Merlin's sake, call him Voldemort. It won't kill you, you know?" Edward steamed, still frowning and now it was Alphonse's turn to roll his eyes. Any reasonable person would have thought that following the escapade on the train platform, Roy and Edward would have made some advancements in their relationship. This was what Alphonse had expected. However even now, Edward still loved to prove him wrong. The two had more or less reverted back to where they had been before the Moment That Must Not Be Named. Granted, the trust, the tricky friendship and the copious amounts of subconcious flirting were back but so was the bickering and the sniping. Alphonse was patient, but even he had his limits.

"So Mr. Mustang, how can we help you?" Alphonse asked, distracting the two who were pretty much about to go for one another's necks. Roy caught himself, sat back and cleared his throat.

"Well, it's not so much that as I was wondering whether I could help you?" The Elrics stared. "I know what you are up to, well not all of it but I certainly have the gist of it. Let me help you." He said, looking sternly at the brothers. It did not take another silent discussion. The two boys nodded their agreement immediately.

"Alright."

"Brilliant! What have you got then?"

Edward got to his feet, holding a book firmly in his grip. He walked around the table so that he was beside Roy and placed the book between them. He leaned down to point out the paragraph that the Brother's had just been reading.

"Ok, so what we know so far is that Voldemort has essentially found a way to make himself survive death. He was been weakened to the point of death several times yet still he manages to come back. What we're trying to figure out is how." He explained. Roy hummed in understanding, letting his finger trace the page that Edward set before him.

"Horcruxes?" He repeated from the title and the two brother's nodded.

"Yes, its our best bet. That is what we suspect him of having used. However, there's a problem. The basics in creating a horcrux are always the same. You even use the same ingredients. However there are small differences in the methods used for making them. This also means that there's different ways to destroy them." Edward continued, leaning forward and pointing out these varieties in the textbook. Roy ignored the feel of Edward's hand balancing gently on his shoulder and the prickle he felt against his skin from having him lean so close to him. Edward smelled curiously of parchment and aged books. Somehow, it did not surprise Roy at all. He decided he liked it.

"So we can't destroy these things unless we find out how You Know Wh- Voldemort made them. How do we find that out?"

"Don't worry about that. We've got someone else on it. Our job is to find out as much as we possibly can on destroying them and also to find out as much as we can about Riddle. These horcruxes will be made from items in Riddle's life. We need to find anything significant that he may have turned into one."

"So, memories, souvenirs, that sort of thing. I see." Roy confirmed, glancing from the Dark Arts book to the Hogwarts book containing records of Tom Marvelo Riddle. "Well that seems to be a bit of a widescope."

Edward grimaced and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the gold strands framing his face only to have them fall limply back into place. A tiny hint of the stress he was truly under breaking into his actions.

"I know but at this point, we have little else to work with. Other than this we-"

"Brother?"

"Yeah Al?"

"What the hell is this?" Edward and Roy glanced away from the book and up towards Alphonse. In his hands he held the Daily Prophet that Roy had brought to the table with him. He was gripping the paper by the top two corners so that the paper fell in his hand, proudly revealing the front page and its bold headline.

'You Know Who's Return'

Edward's jaw dropped a fraction as he grapple at the books before him, reaching for the paper. He tore it from his brother's hands and scanned the headlines.

"...The reign of peace to the Wizarding World was short lived as He Who Must Not Be Named's return was announced by his most faithful servants during an attack last night. The target of the assault was the home of a wizard family where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived was spending his holidays—ROY!"

Roy jumped at the sudden roar of his name. He looked with wide eyes at his colleague but Edward did not looked angry as much as he did utterly baffled.

"What?"

"You didn't think this worth mentioning?" Edward declared, shoving the paper in Roy's face. Roy leaned back, smiling sheepishly.

"I meant to. Got a bit sidetracked." He countered without much conviction but he lifted his hands up to shield himself, just in case Edward decided to go for his throat.

"Sidetracked?" He repeated incredulously.

"Nevermind that brother, is he alright?" Alphonse asked, reaching for the paper once more. If anything terrible had happened they would have reported it in the article. Although, if something had gone wrong then it would only cause mass panic if people were to find out. Edward was evidently thinking along the same lines. Suddenly, he jumped to his feet and shut the book.

"Let's go and find out. You know where the Burrow is don't you, Al?" He concluded. Alphonse nodded deftly getting to his feet, scooping as many books as he could into his arms and heading off to return them to their places. Edward was much more effective about it. He reached for his wand and with one wordless flick, he had them all dancing back into place. Roy remained relaxed in his seat, watching Edward lazily.

"You're coming too."

Roy blinked dumbly.

"I am?"

"Yes."

Edward turned from his work, looking Roy square in the eyes, letting the remaining three books fall into place on their own. He leaned his left hand against the arm of Roy's chair, looming over him in a way that might have been intimidating if it were not Edward. He did not look angry but there was definitely intent in his actions because this time Edward did go for his throat.

"I'll kill you for this later."

Roy swallowed down his excitement, smirking defiantly into Edward's eyes and leaning forwards, bringing them a breath together.

"Bit of an overreaction, don't you think?" He drawled, reaching for Edward but then he was gone, sauntering to the other side of the table. Roy tutted, frowning at Edward but he would be damned before he complain about the loss of contact. Instead, he sat back silently, not sulking but brooding until a throat was cleared behind them. Alphonse was walking towards them, dragging his feet and avoiding their gazes in a way that told Roy he must have seen precisely what just occurred.

"Are you ready?" Alphonse asked. He glanced between the two who shrugged nonchalantly. Alphonse then grinned and shouldered the bag he had left on the back of his seat.

"How are we getting there?" Roy asked them, rising too and summoning his outdoor robe with a quick "accio". A grin spread across Alphonse's face that had him instantly worried. It was a troublesome smirk when on his brother's face but on Alphonse's it was just plain unsettling.

"Don't look so scared Roy. We're flying." Edward scoffed and patted him on the back. Roy visibly relaxed. He had been on the Quidditch team during his time at Hogwarts. A broom, he could handle.

"Oh, that's alright then." He mused, following the two brothers out of the Library and into the snowy, morning air.

Mr. Weasley and Remus were the first out the house when three strangers landed on their doorstep. It was ludicrous in Molly's mind that they should have to be so careful , especially in their own homes however following the night before, the Order were not taking any risks. There were three men who landed on her doorstep. They nodded amicably towards her husband, Remus and then finally her. Molly was sheltered in the safety of the front door. The building had been magically repaired the night before, the moment they had recaptured their breath but the crackle of new magic was still in the air.

"How may I help you Gentlemen?" Remus questioned, obviously not trusting these men further than he could throw them.

"Oh, I'm Alphonse Elric, this is my brother Edward and his friend Roy." The two other men shifted at the mention but neither of them moved to say a word. Alphonse shook his head at their sheer stubborness then continued, "We're friends of Harry. We saw the news. May we see him?" He asked, adding his charming smile for extra measure. It did not work. Remus and Mr. Weasley steeled themselves, crossing their arms and frowning simultaneously.

"Sorry but Harry is not really up to seeing anyone..."

"Al? Ed?" It was Harry. He may have been shadowed by the entrance of the house but they recognised him and Edward was on him instantly. Chucking his broom aside, he barged past the two men trying miserably to erect a barrier and flew at the boy. Edward's hands were everywhere, checking him for any scratch or bruise that may have grazed him. Harry was fine, but the tickling from Edward's cross examination may just have done him in. He collapsed into laughter, trying to swat Edwards hands away.

"Edward! ED! Let me go! I'm fine!" He laughed, grabbing for the blonde's hands and pushing him off. Edward looked at him skeptically but nodded his approval anyway.

"and what about Ron? Is he alright? Is his sister alright? She's one of my brighter students. If anything happened to her so help me Merlin, I will..." Harry snorted.

"Ginny's fine. We're all ok." He reassured, shaking his head in sudden fits of uncontrollable laughter.

"Merlin, he's worse than Molly." Arthur muttered to himself but Alphonse caught it and chuckled, catching his attention. The man smiled broadly at him in sudden welcome. It seemed the suspicion was gone, no surprise considering the introduction Edward had given himself. Even Molly was looking on in approval as Edward seemed to smother Harry with questions and check ups. Alphonse grinned gratefully at them.

"Do you go to school with my son?" Arthur asked conversationally.

"Yes I do. We're in the same year. Those two are his teachers. Edward doubles as a personal tutor for them as well. When we read about what happened we thought it would be better to check that everyone was fine." Alphonse explained, glancing towards his brother and Harry. Ron, Ginny and Roy had joined them now, grinning at Edward in pure amusement.

"Yes it was quite a shock but we reckon it was only a scare tactic." Remus explained. Alphonse hummed his agreement, having already discussed the matter with his brother on the way. It made the most sense, especially considering they were all aware that Voldemort was fixated on killing Harry personally. The attack had been nothing more than a publicity stunt. The Death Eaters had always loved making a show, after all. Alphonse was brought from his thoughts when Edward clapped his hands together loudly as he retreated from the house.

"Well, all seems well here. We just wanted to make sure. If you'll excuse us we have a lost of work to do." He said and reached down for his broom. The whine in protest was instant. None of the students said a word but Harry, Ginny and Ron followed him out with a frown. Mrs. Weasley chuckled at them then turned to Alphonse and Roy. It did not take much to see they were the two sociable ones of the group.

"You can't fly back to Hogwarts now. Stay for a bit. We're about to have Christmas Dinner." She offered warmly.

"Oh no we..." Edward grimaced in hesitation but Molly just clucked her tongue and gripped his arm tightly.

"Young man, I am not letting you leave without a full stomach. I am a mother. It's against my instincts." She chuckled, smiling at him. And with just that, with just the word 'mother' Edward melted in her grip. He let himself be tugged back into the Burrow and Alphonse just followed quietly with an affectionate smile plastered to his face. When Alphonse, Edward, Harry and Roy were dropped into seats at the Weasely dinner table and forbidden to even offer any help, Harry recognised the look on their faces. Edward and Alphonse looked exactly the same as he had when he first entered the Weasely home. It was the shock of being faced with such a warm environment and above all, being faced with a family. The Elrics had told Harry of their time growing up. He knew that save for one another they had been just as lonely as he was for awhile. Especially in this world. In their own world they had friends however stepping through that gate had truly stranded them.

"You get used to it." Harry murmured to Alphonse above the bustle all around them and Alphonse just smiled.

"I don't think I ever will."

The rest of the night was wonderful. Mrs Weasley seemed to pull out all of the stops for Christmas Dinner. Harry could honestly not imagine a more filling or heartwarming meal. The food just kept coming and the conversation did not lull once. The topics were all over the place. They ranged from Ministry politics with Edward, Mr. Weasley and Remus to the benefits of pixies in exploding christmas crackers with Roy, Fred and George. Harry could not keep track nor did he at any point want to. There was beauty in the chaos and it was just that which Alphonse told him when the volume rose a couple of pitches too high. There was turkey, roast beef, roasted potatoes, mince pies, peas, carrots and he need not even cover desserts. It was everything that made a Christmas complete. Harry could barely contain the grin that cracked his lips so strongly that it twinged his jaw. So when Fred and George pushed him and Ginny under a mistletoe that glistened magically on the Weasley's front door, all Harry could do was laugh and sweep her into a kiss.

After dinner, Edward and Alphonse found Harry and Ron in their room playing Exploding Snap with a set of brand new playing cards. The two were deep into a game that looked like it was becoming quite competitive but dropped it immediately to listen to the brothers. Harry had expected them to find him after dinner and he had a feeling he knew what they wanted to talk about.

"This isn't about Alchemy is it?" He asked but really, he need not have bothered.

"No, it's Dumbledore. In view of recent events, he wants to know how things are coming with Slughorn. Have you got the memory yet?" Alphonse asked, seating himself on the floor with the two boys.

"No such luck." Harry said frowning. Ron sighed along with him.

"We've tried all sorts. Hell, we even tried pretending I was under a love potion so that Slughorn could help out and Harry could suck up to him." He complained, only scowling when Edward and Alphonse laughed at the plan's evident failure. They sombered up quickly and when Edward spoke his words were solemn.

"Well you better think of something. I don't think I need to tell you that Voldemort is on the move. Without this memory we have no way of stopping him." He elaborated grimly.

"We know." Harry and Ron sighed again. They sat miserably in silence for a moment before Alphonse and Edward got to their feet.

"Well, we should go, have to fly back to Hogwarts. Merry Christmas you two." They concluded. Harry and Ron murmured their halfhearted replies and with that, they were out the door.

Edward and Alphonse bumped into Roy on the staircase on his way up to get them. It was Roy who had decided that it was time to leave and apparently he had already bid everyone downstairs goodbye. Roy was in a cheerful mood. He did not come from a particularly large family and so Christmas with him had always been quite quiet. It only became moreso when he moved out and began to spend them alone with wine or with women. Recently, the quiet celebrations had grown more frequent and so it was a welcome change to be at the heart of a family so large and noisy. Although, to be perfectly honest, the depressing faces of the Elric brothers certainly were not doing well in keeping his mood alive.

"Come on boys, why the glum faces? It's Christmas." He huffed, stepping outside into the night air. It was chilling, his breath hung in the air as he spoke and if there was one thing that Roy disliked, it was the cold. Rain was a close second. Edward and Alphonse sighed.

"It's Slughorn. Remember what we told you about Riddle and the Horcruxes. Well he learnt about them from Slughorn, he was his Potions teacher at the time. This means that we can find out how Voldemort made them if we get our hands on Slughorn's memory. That was Harry's job but so far he's having no luck with it." Edward muttered dejectedly. He kicked the ground beneath his feet and with a sigh, reached for his broomstick. However, before he could lift it, a hand closed over his. Edward frowned and traced the hand up the arm to its owner.

"What did you say?" Roy's eyes were narrowed and his head was tilted to the side, as if to make Edward's next words reach his words even faster.

"That was Harry's job. He's having no luck with it." Edward repeated deliberately, as if Roy were purposefully being slow but the man just laughed ridiculously and tugged Edward away from the broom and back into the house.

"Oh you stupid idiot. Alphonse go ahead, would you?" Roy yelled over his shoulder. Alphonse made a move to protest but by the time anything was said, Roy and Edward had already disappeared into the house and up the staircase. So with a sigh and an annoyed huff, he mounted his broom and took off into the night.

"Roy! What are you doing?" Edward yelped as he rushed to keep up with the man. He was bounding up the stairs without any thought or consideration for their differences in stride(this was in no way height related), causing Edward to trip on the steps.

"Hush, just listen." Roy laughed once more and burst into the boy's room, making both of them jump and throw exploding cards everywhere. "Harry, Ron about that memory, I know what you can do..."

But Edward did not hear the rest of it, because Roy let go of his wrist and crouched to eye level with his students. Edward watched suspiciously as Roy whispered something to the boys in hushed tones causing both of them to have exactly the same reaction. Their jaws dropped and their eyes widened. Now Edward really was curious. Roy got to his feet again and grinned broadly at the boys who seemed to have recovered with new found hope in their eyes.

"Oh that's brilliant." Ron gasped, looking at Roy with admiration and just a hint of disbelief.

"Got it?" Roy asked not bothering to wait for an answer. "Great, then let's go Ed, we have a flight to make." Next, he was bounding out the door and back down the steps. Edward did not waste a moment on repeating goodbyes. He was after his colleague in a heartbeat.

"What did you say to them?" He demanded, rushing down the steps to catch up with him. Roy did not stop. "Roy! What did you say?" He repeated more brashly this time, pulling the taller man round to face him. Roy halted his step just as he was stepping out the front door. They stood face to face in the doorway.

"Nothing Edward, you'll see once the holidays are over." He assured lightly. Edward growled threateningly. The bastard was obviously enjoying holding something over him. Well, Alphonse was not around this time to stop him from causing the man pain this time. Roy seemed to sense this. He rolled his eyes and lowered his voice to a whisper "Patience is a virtue you know?" He teased just as smugly. Edward frowned.

"I know, one of the many I don't possess." He ground out, still scowling. Roy just chuckled fondly.

"Is observance another one?" He asked and Edward's scowl seemed to take a break to allow confusion to take over.

"What?"

Roy's grin broadened but it was not as smug anymore. It was downright affectionate. And as Edward stared into his eyes with fascination, Roy took the moment to lean forward and press a tender kiss to the corner of Edward's mouth.

"Now we're two-one." He murmured, reveling in the speechless look on the blonde's face. "Merry Christmas, Edward."

Edward was left alone in the doorway, below the mistletoe, staring in utter astonishment at the back of his colleague as Roy mounted his broomstick and flew off the ground. Then the cogs in his brain and his bloodstream kicked into gear again. A violent blush washed over Edward's face, as he charged out after his colleague, hurtling pebbles, rocks, anything he could find at the flying man howling with laughter.

"You Bastard! Just because we've kissed does not mean you have a free pass!" He roared, effectively missing Roy everytime. The laughter did not die down. With a final, filthy curse Edward ran back to the house, grabbed his broom and pursued his friend off into the night.

Behind the new roof of the Burrow, a blonde emerged with an entirely unimpressed look on his face. It turned out even he could be wrong. Maybe certain things between those two had changed. Perhaps, they were moving forwards. Alphone smiled and looked to the sky as silently the snow began to fall.

Hehe this was fun but wooah it was hard work. Totally shippy by the way, even in a canon way. Who knows whats going on? I sure as hell don't.