Hello again~ And apologies for the late update, but it's a tad longer than usual (er.. I think..) to make up for it.
Bleh, I was planning to make a small time skip, then couldn't find a way to fit it in without missing out on... important stuff, so that idea was scrapped. Instead, there's going to be tiny little multiple time-skips (like conversations, explanations etc)
To the reviewers:
Dannichigo - Thank you~ It's always nice to see a new reviewer (you will be sticking around right *puppy dog eyes*
Jostanos - It's when reading your review that I realise Harry doesn't actually have an adoption case yet... just a crowd of people (figuratively) screaming "We'll adopt you Harry!" In any case, thank you for reviewing~ (and what is it with me and that curly-wavy-hyphen-y thing-y anyway...)
Fluehatraya - *innocent eyes* I make them seem deplorable? I thought they were already deplorable! Hehe~ I'm glad it turned out the way I wanted, although I'm hoping that the Malfoys'll get a bit less deplorable. And Dumbledore... will remain his meddling self, simply because I'm unreasonably biased for no reason that I'm aware of. Again, thanks for reviewing~
Random Person - (well I feel a bit weird for typing that,) Ed and Al were sort-of introduced way back at the start of the first chapter, although that was really just minor thing so people know that Ed and Harry are the same age. They'll really start playing a role once Harry gets adopted (well I suppose that this chapter makes it pretty clear that the Rockbells are going to adopt Harry - but that's actually somewhat obvious since this is a crossover). Harry will probably get adopted in a chapter or two; first he has to meet/make friends with some wizarding folk.
TNT - Thank you~ *snicker* Yes, Laciest Malformed, somehow that reminds me of the picture of Ed in a lacy baby-pink dress. It's fan art from Bluebird's Illusion, and there's an image on /ed-in-a-dress (or .com/bluebirds-illusion/BBI Goodies~/ed in a if people are paranoid about tinyurl directing them somewhere unpleasant) And yes, the spaces are supposed to be there. (Of you could just google it I suppose)
Singing Alice - Oh, my first death threat-compliment xD Should I be scared or happy? In any case, thank you for the compliment~
When I look back at the last chapter, I notice how Lucius first regarded the Dursleys as humans (albeit inferior ones), then places them in a cage (so dehumanising...), until at the end of the chapter he regards them as animals. Hmm... maybe I'll let Lucius stay deplorable. Grr why is it so easy to write them as really deplorable people, I've obviously been doing too much English/Lord of the Flies.
Extra thanks to Jostanos, after whose review I reread the chapter, facepalmed and edited so it actually makes sense. And that's why you shouldn't write while on a sugar-high...
Declaimer: I haven't owned Harry Potter or Fullmetal Alchemist for the last six chapters and the other story (Alike). Do you really think I'm just suddenly going to start owning them both now? No, I thought not.
Chapter Seven – Motives
If you accept everything you're told without question, you'll lose your ability to think.
Even if you reached the same conclusion...
It would still be worth analysing the reasons behind it.
~ Lacie (Pandora Hearts)
(Chapter 66)
-St. Mungo's ~ First Floor-
The next few days flew by in a blur for Harry.
When he awoke, he'd somehow been dressed in clothes that certainly weren't his (he knew because they actually fit him properly). A man with platinum blonde hair had been beside him, sitting in a poised, elegant way in the chair beside the bed. His mannerisms left no doubt that he had power and influence. Even if he was more than a little overbearing.
In that manner, he had reminded Harry of Vernon. Both were overbearing, with an air about them that stated their own self-importance, downplaying everyone else's. Still, Lucius was at least polite, if nothing else, although he got the feeling that although Lucius was being pleasant now, if ever the blond aristocrat turned on him, he'd find a bitterly determined, spiteful, and above all else, dangerous enemy.
His son, on the other hand, was a completely different matter. Draco Malfoy, at the age of six and only just learning about manners was brash and outspoken, rarely giving a thought to what other people thought of what he said, or of him. It was doubtful if he even knew when he was being rude, mean or was even aware of it when he hurt someone else's feelings. If nothing else, Harry found his honesty refreshing. When Draco spoke, it was neither with the cold politeness that his classmates had addressed him with; the tone that was a forced politeness and maybe a hint of pity, a quiet 'please go away before Dudley and his gang pick on us as well'. Nor was it the tone that Dudley and his Aunt and Uncle spoke to him with, a menacing, cold and demanding tone that discouraged telling others about what was really going on. Whenever Draco spoke, Harry felt that, more than anything, the young Malfoy was simply voicing whatever thoughts came to mind. It was different from how most nearly everyone else addressed him.
Over the next three days, the Malfoys had never failed to turn up at nine o'clock sharp. While the nurses had originally been disapproving of the daily visits, they agreed that perhaps spending time with people his age, who didn't abuse him, would be good for Harry after Lucius and Narcissa spend a near hour with them in quiet discussion.
Throughout the next three days, Harry and Draco spend much of their time exploring the hospitals, its catacombs and hidden passages, of which there were a lot more than one would think. Sometimes, Winry tagged along, but most of the time she was absent, either at school or playing with her dolls. He saw little of the Rockbells, and increasingly more of the Malfoys.
And yet, although he spent near all of his waking hours with Draco and his family, Harry was unable to picture living with them. Everything about them was too rich, aristocratic, noble. He wouldn't belong there, not with his ratty clothes, scrawny figure, messy hair and (thankfully fading) stutter. It was really, much too grand for him. If he had the choice of who he wished to adopt him, he would choose the Rockbells. It wasn't though, as if he could ask them to adopt him, not when he'd already caused so much trouble for them. He already owed them a great deal, increasing the debt was hardly the answer. He continued to think, lying back on white sheets, taking in the rays of the rising sun that illuminated his room. He shot a look at the projected display on the other side of the room. It was only seven in the morning.
He waited five more minutes until the last dregs of sleepiness seeped from him before sitting up and reaching for his clothes, neatly folded on a chair near the bed. To his surprise, he found a scrap of paper on top, the writing slightly messy, as if the writer had done it in haste.
Harry,
You are probably reading this in the morning before the Malfoys visit. It is rude of me to not talk to you in person, however my profession does not allow us to take breaks, so I will have to entrust my words to paper. We know that the Malfoys seek to adopt you, and it may be in your favour to accept their offer, so it is most likely selfishness on my part to propose this, however we truly believe that doing this would be in your best interests.
Thus, we would, if you have no objections, like to adopt you into our humble family. We will be by later in the afternoon, so we may talk then, but please consider our offer with the knowledge that we have your best interests at heart.
Sincerely, Urey Rockbell
Harry placed the scrap of paper down again, not knowing what to think of the situation. Some part of his mind was still struggling to awaken, and the rest didn't know what to make of some of the words that Urey had put in his letter. He was, after all, no genius.
-Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ~ Headmaster's Office-
Dumbledore shuffled through some notes, annoyed at the failure the attempt at tracking the muggles had been, although it could be said that he was perhaps more annoyed with the result he had faced. Petunia, Dudley and Vernon Dursley were sentenced to trial by the Wizengamot, for the abuse, physical and otherwise and captivity of one Harry Potter.
Which was utterly horrible for his cause. While he had no doubt that Harry had suffered at the hands of his closed living relatives, it had given muggles worldwide the right to be not jinxed or hexed by random passer-by pure-blood wizards. And that was very much worth the price.
Now that the Dursleys had been exposed, muggles would face renewed scorn, and it was likely to gain them even more extensive hexing than they had before.
Placing Harry back with his muggle relatives was now out of the question, and leaving him in the grasping hands of the Malfoys would be to allow the mistreatment of muggles. It would be hard to find non-wizarding, yet acceptable, foster-parents for Harry, even more so now that, with the disgrace of the Dursley's, all Harry's non-wizarding relatives were unacceptable. That he might find a wizard who was completely unbiased was near-impossible within the short time frame that he had. Time was slowly, but steadily, ticking away.
Dumbledore shuffled the papers concerning the Dursleys restlessly. Then he placed them down, checking the date of the trial. It was scheduled in two months so that, whatever happened, it would not affect Harry's adoption case. The Dursleys were very much not a candidate. Now that the Dursleys were no longer useful, they could be pushed down the priority list, although he'd still prepare an at least half-decent defence for them. After Harry was adopted.
He put down the papers, replacing them with his subscription of the Daily Prophet. He took a glance at the first page then raised his eyebrows. Finally, a suitable candidate to adopt Harry. They didn't stand much chance as they were against the Malfoys, but with his support they just might win. Of course, that was assuming that they'd agree to his conditions...
-St. Mungo's ~ First Floor-
"Look, I've got over five-hundred!" Draco bragged, waving a chocolate frog card in front of Harry's face for a second, before replacing it with another. Hundreds of cards of famous wizards flashed before his eyes, giving him only seconds to read the name and description.
"Look there's; Herpo the Foul - and there's his basilisk see, Armando Dippet – he was a headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore – another headmaster, Salazar Slytherin – he's really rare, Helga Hufflepuff – she's also a founder with Gryffindor, Godric Gryffindor – like I said, one of the founders, Rowena Ravenclaw – another founder, Archibald Alderton – he blew up a hamlet of Little Dropping while trying to mix a birthday cake of all things, Nicolas Flamel – he's immortal. And, this ones the rarest, Andros the Invincible. He made a patronus the size of a giant."
Harry picked up a card gingerly, staring at the moving picture.
"That's Ethelred the Ever-Ready. He's famous for taking offence at nothing and cursing bystanders, he was also an al- Draco was abruptly cut off as the door to the ward swung open, letting in a gust of wind that scattered the cards. He uttered a sound that, from any other person, would have been labelled as a shriek and scrambled to pick them back up.
Winry sauntered in, her eyes glued to the laptop she was holding in front of her. He doubted that she'd even noticed that Draco was in the room, and he felt a twinge of jealousy; he'd never been able to get such an expensive device, nor would he ever be able to save up for one. Suddenly, she gave an exclamation, and jumped backwards on the bed, squashing Andros the Invincible, who crumpled like the piece of paper that he was. Not that Winry, tapping away at the keys at an alarming speed, had noticed.
Draco, on the other hand did. He made a protesting sound as he stared woefully at Winry. He grabbed at another card on the floor (Fulbert the Fearful if Harry was not mistaken), and placed it on the other bed in the room. Far away from Winry.
As Draco attempted to gather the cards, Urey Rockbell strolled in, taking in the surroundings with slight amusement. He beckoned slightly to Harry, who followed his lead and said a soft goodbye to the pale blond boy.
Harry concluded the flashback, lying back and staring at the ceiling. Just minutes ago, Urey Rockbell had offered to adopt him and he'd accepted the offer. A smile had broken out on the medical wizard's face and they'd talked for a while (Harry noticed with a touch of satisfaction that his stutter was most definitely fading), although it was mostly about polite if not trivial topics before the man had left to turn in the legal application form.
Urey walked along, humming a silent melody to himself. After so long, the path to the floo-fire was familiar, though he couldn't claim to be able to make it there with his eyes closed.
As he scooped up a handful of the floo powder, preparing to throw it into the fireplace, the fire began to spin, forming a shape covered by a long blue robe covered in five-pointed stars and crescent moons. He stopped himself from throwing the floo power just in time; another fault of the floo system was that someone appearing in a fire could be accidentally sent away by another person wishing to use the fire.
As the fire whirled faster, the person came into more detail, revealing a face lined by time. He also wore half-moon spectacles that half-hid his twinkling eyes. There was, however, something disconcerting in that gaze. It was a look of quiet confidence, one that stated his side to be the right side; his side being 'good'. The twinkle was part amusement, part knowledge, as if he knew everything about you, as if he found your efforts amusing. As if everyone else were just children in his eyes.
The old man stepped stately out of the fireplace, and almost started upon noticing Urey. 'Is that not the man I saw, the first time I visited Harry? To think that is the candidate for Harry's foster parents..'
Dumbledore extended a hand to the man, ignoring that his pose clearly stated that he was waiting to use the floo. The man's own problems could wait.
Sorry if the majority of this chapter was a bit confusing. The large part which is in italics, is Harry's flashback. The few words which isn't in italics there is for emphasis.
A/N: So... while looking up chocolate frog cards, I found an 'alchemical genius'. At first I though 'Oh, there's someone I can have Ed meet and maybe compete with...' Then I read further... Paracelsus, alchemical genius, discoverer of Parseltongue, contributor to medicine and very secretive alchemist, turned out to be Philippus Theophrastus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim.
If we follow the anime events, Hohenheim stayed with Envy and Dante for a while before ditching them, so he could have discovered parseltongue during this time, or discovered it during the while that he spend in Envy's mouth (although he'd somehow have to survive getting killed – if that makes any sense, which it doesn't much), made his contributions to medicine while crafting new limbs for Ed and been very secretive since he was from another world, so it wouldn't be like he could openly announce where he was from. Although it doesn't quite explain how he supposedly died before WWII, but then again, Hohenheim is very mysterious... Whether or not Ed's father is going to ever play a role is something you're going to have to guess for yourself =)
The next update may be a week from now, or might get shifted back to the Wednesday. It really depends on how lazy I'm feeling.
Also, I might be making a bonus chapter for Harry's Christmas with the Rockbells. Although, of course, knowing me I'll probably only have it done by next Easter, because I am that lazy. But meh *is too lazy to care*
EDIT: Later update due to time taken editing this.