A/N: Seriously, you people are so nice. And so, I finished this chapter up early and posted it. I think I'll still be able to write the next chapter too by Friday or Saturday, but I have Allstate auditions with my clarinet on Saturday, so I really need to practice. But really, thank you all!

Also, I forgot to mention, when Ollivander said Ed's wand is "the survivor's wand," I didn't mean that wand in particular, that applies for any wands made of that wood. Al's is so "optimistic," as Ollivander so eloquently put it, because it serves as a nice foil. But if I talk much more up here about this, then I'll end up giving spoilers, and obviously, every good writer doesn't do that. Hehe.

If anyone wants to know the specific descriptions that are on Pottermore about the wand woods and the wand cores, I can put it up here or send you a PM.

reply to Guest: Thanks :) And yes, they do know of the Shamballah incident, though it isn't quite history because in this story, it was just last year. However, they don't know all of the details, or even about the other world, so it doesn't seem to be such a big deal for them.

Cracked Plate
Phase 7.

Somewhere, just down the street and to the left, there were two boys sparring in the backyard, eagerly stretching their limbs after many months of inactivity, laughing as inevitably, the younger would win yet again.

Tom stared at the cracked plate.

Two boys who had seemed so happy, so caring for one another...

And yet, undisguised tension when the younger had noticed Tom still in the room. As if he was a complete stranger. A weight of sorrow around them, as if they had seen far too much sorrow than they should've at that age. The uncanniness of earlier, when Alphonse had spoken with a voice older than he was.

And a cracked plate.

He hadn't noticed it until after they had left, when he began working on the dishes that they earlier had been scrubbing. It was then that he found this plate, almost split into two, lying meekly in the sink as if it had seen unspeakable horrors.

But why was it even there? He knew the two boys didn't have bad intentions. He was sure of it. So why would there be a broken dish in his sink right after they had helped him clean his dishes? It just didn't make sense.

He sighed and set the mystery aside for now, instead opting to continue his own work. Business was starting up again; it was nearing the later hours, when all the regulars and newcomers and everybody would be there. It was time to work, and he couldn't simply drop it to wonder about a cracked plate and two boys he had already resolved to protect...

So he only added it to the growing pile of questions about the Elric brothers, and then moved on.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Oftentimes, life holds many victories as a surprise, so that the joy will even be greater. A victory despite all the odds, defiance among the times when hope seems least. It is for this that we yearn for, hope for –

Edward Elric did not win in the face of countless defeats. He only lost yet again, another terrible victory to his younger brother.

"I thought you would be out of practice!" he groaned he walked, favoring one side. It had been a fairly spectacular defeat this time, and he suspected that while his own reflexes has died down, Al had still been honing his.

"Should I be?" his little brother replied, a little too smugly. Ed huffed.

"Of course. It's not like you've been practicing in secret or anything…" His eyebrow raised, a teasing gleam in his eyes. "Or have you?"

Al grinned and didn't say anything.

Ed took that as a yes, he definitely had.

"When?" he demanded. The obnoxious grin did not leave, and Ed sighed in defeat. "Fine, fine. Keep your secrets." There was a slight tensing up at that, but they both tried their best to ignore it. Ed was glad for that; if Al had tried to press him so soon after discovering… that, he wasn't sure what he would do.

"So," he said conversationally as he held open the back door graciously for Al, just like the perfect gentleman he was, "Wands."

"Wands," Al agreed, and almost as if on cue, they both took out the sticks that they had been carrying.

Ed looked at his own curiously, even as he closed the door behind him. It seemed like regular wood… expected weight for its size, trademark wooden patterns running through it. Without alchemy, he couldn't confirm it, but all of it's chemical properties seemed to match with his observations. Just a regular piece of wood, with perhaps something inside.

No, what was truly strange about it was the feeling he got as he held it. Not quite the rush of alchemy, where you knew the intrinsic inner workings of anything you touched, but rather… a warmth. A strange flow of electricity, of energy, coursing through the wood. As if he could do anything.

It made Ed distinctly uncomfortable.

"Do you… feel anything, Al?" he finally asked, looking over at Al's face screwed up in concentration. When he spoke, he relaxed and his eyes opened.

"Not like alchemy. It's different. But there definitely is something there, so you're probably right about the wands being some kind of amplifier." Ed nodded.

"But we can't be absolutely certain of that yet. If that were true, then why doesn't alchemy work in this world? And how were these 'wands' created anyway? And…" he paused. "Why the heck do unicorns and dragons exist?"

His little brother burst out laughing.

"It's not funny, Al!" he protested, but there was a smile on his own face too.

"Brother," Al said, almost chiddingly, "You're the one who said we shouldn't jump to conclusions. Just because our wands apparently have a 'core' in them from a unicorn or a dragon, doesn't mean that they actually exist. It could just be a name for something else." Ed shrugged.

"Remember Envy? In this world, he was in the shape of a dragon. So it is possible."

"But that's different," Al protested. "Envy's from our world." Again, Ed shrugged.

"The Golden Dawn didn't seem too surprised at seeing him."

"But they were looking for him. They would've already known that he existed!"

"Yeah, yeah." Ed yawned. "All I'm saying is that it's a possibility." He turned away and opened the fridge before Al could say anything else. "Want some lemonade?"

"Brother –" But for some reason, he didn't continue, and when Ed turned to look back at him, there was once again a smile playing on his face. "Are you sure you don't want milk?"

Ed blanched.

"Al!"

"I'm joking." He walked over to the fridge himself and took out a jug of milk, pointedly pouring it into his own glass. "But it is good for you."

"What – where did you even get that? I know I didn't buy it!"

"Come on, Ed. I'm practically the one who feeds us anyway. It's not like you bother with cooking anyway."

"I perfectly well know how to cook. It's only the process of mixing everything together where it messes up," he denied cheerfully. But somehow, Al's remark had cut a little too close. Shouldn't he be doing more to take care of his little brother? It was just like…

He pushed the thought away, instead pouring his own cup of perfectly healthy (though sugary) lemonade, and settled down into his familiar armchair. He sighed as he sat down, welcoming the soft comfort of the pillows around him.

"I'm definitely too old for this," he grumbled quietly, but loud enough for Al to hear. "Maybe now, I'll just get a little bit of time to –"

The doorbell rang.

" – relax." He glared angrily at the door, not wanting to move to answer it.

"I'll get it," Al said, and opened the door to a cheery Jean Havoc. For a moment though, he seemed slightly taken aback, as if surprised by something, but Ed must have imagined it because he immediately launched into his usual overly-cheery requests.

"Hey! Are you guys up for –"

"No," Ed cut in sharply.

"Brother," Al said, making his exasperation very clear. Ed sighed. Of course Al would take his side.

"So does that mean yes?" Jean asked with a grin. With a sigh, Ed got up and drained the last of the lemonade with a long gulp. He hadn't had the chance yet to take off his coat, so he was ready to go already.

"What are you planning?" he asked resignedly. Jean only seemed to take this in stride.

"I wanted to apologize for last time, so I picked out a movie we can watch –"

Ed groaned.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

As it turned out, the movie he had picked wasn't absolutely terrible this time, and it wasn't a sappy love story either. Instead, they had marathoned a fast-paced adventure series: The Adventures of Indiana Jones, and had enjoyed nearly every bit of it.

Yet, Ed was still glad when they finally made it back home, late at night. There were experiments to run, research to be done, and they had already put it off for long enough. Now, they finally had wands and could come up with definite tests and results.

He grinned at Al. "Ready?" Al nodded and opened one of the books, flicking it open until he came across a certain page.

"Here it says that a spell called 'Wingardium Leviosa' is beginner material, so it should be easy to try out. It can make an object fly, and requires a 'swish and flick' motion. Like this." He demonstrated, and Ed watched his movements carefully. When he finally nodded confirmation that he got it, the grin finally broke out on Al's face too.

"Great. Ready to try it?" As an answer, Ed pulled out his wand, began the swishing motion, and spoke the words.

"Wingardium Leviosa."

A moment passed as they stared in excited anticipation.

Nothing happened.

"Maybe you should try pointing it at something?" Al finally suggested. Ed frowned, but now, pointing it at the book, tried again.

Nothing happened. Again.

Ed growled, and glared at the offending book.

"Stupid magic, it's not even –" he began, but Al interrupted his tirade before it could even really begin.

"Maybe I should try." He raised a dubious eyebrow at his little brother, but then again, graciously, allowed him the chance to try.

"Wingardium Leviosa."

When the book successfully began to float, Ed found that he couldn't even begin to express the dark feelings that were bubbling inside of him.

"How come you could do it when –" he attempted anyway, but stopped when a moment later, there was a pop, and a letter suddenly fell onto their table. The book went down with it as Al's concentration broke. They both stared at the letter that had come from nowhere.

"Magic?" Al suggested halfheartedly. Ed nodded gravely.

"Magic," he agreed, as if it explained anything at all.

As if there weren't any mysterious occurrences of their own that the Elric brothers would have trouble explaining.