Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold
by hikaranko

Summary: Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and with FMA. rated T for language.

Disclaimer: I, just like everyone else, do NOT own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. It would so rock if I did, but I don't. That's life. It's unfair to us all.

Author's Note: just wanted to thank everyone again for their reviews.and please continue to review. reviews beget new chapters :D

Chapter 5

Magic 101

Ed was sprawled out on his bed amidst a pool of papers, staring up at the ceiling as his mind swam with information. He had spent the last few hours pouring over the last group of books he had bought from Diagon Alley, still trying to figure out how he had used magic. So far, he hadn't succeeded, and all of the books he had read were scattered haphazardly on the floor around his bed. After reading those, he went back to the thick file that had been given to him and gave it another run through. While he learned nothing about any basic logistics behind magic, he did manage to find the answers to some of his other questions. This had pleased him enough to finally stop, which left Ed with nothing to do but stare at the ceiling.

Part of the main reason he had even bothered to go on this insane studying spree was because of the other Slytherins. The entire walk to the Slytherin common room, various Slytherins whose names and faces Ed had already forgotten kept telling him all about how superior their house was to the others. And every now and again someone would ask Ed a question about himself, similar to the way Pansy had interrogated him on the train. Except this time he didn't have to answer, seeing as whenever Ed even thought about answering, someone else had something new to say. Either that or Pansy would answer for him, as though she now knew everything about him.

Basically, Edward was thoroughly annoyed with the other Slytherins at the moment and wasn't about to go and rejoin them in the common room. He knew that they were still there, laughing amongst themselves as they found something to make fun of. Their laughter was very loud and very annoying. Ed groaned, covering his ears with his hands. He wished again that Al was here. Then he would have someone to rant to. As it was, he was just getting more and more frustrated.

With an angry growl, Ed ran a hand through his hair and got off his bed. He hastily stuffed all the papers back into the envelope and stashed it at the bottom of his trunk along with his auto-mail maintenance kit and his pocket watch (the bottom of the trunk was quickly becoming the place to hide all things related to Amestris). Then he started looking for something to wear to sleep.

Normally, he would just take off his outer jacket and pants and sleep in his black tank and boxers, but he had to be careful now. He and Al had overlooked this little detail while packing, and now he was regretting it. Ed transmuted several blankets (that probably weren't going to be used) into a simple pair of long pants, a long sleeved shirt, and socks. Making sure no one would see him, Ed quickly changed into his new pajamas, stopping only briefly to check his auto-mail for any malfunctions. He then flopped down on the bed and drew the green curtains so that he was completely hidden from view.

He had just barely begun to drift off to sleep when he heard the others enter the room. There was a brief moment of silence and then a stifled laugh. Ed groaned, rolling onto his side and trying to ignore them. He was half-asleep and grumpy. He didn't need noisy roommates at the moment.

"Look at all those books! Looks like Elric's a bit of a swot, eh?"

"Yeah, he could probably give Granger a run for her money."

"Haha! Yeah!"

"Don't even mention that filthy Mudblood. Just the sound of her name makes me sick."

"Have a look at these! 'Magical Theory: Volume VI,' 'A History of Magic,' 'Advanced Potions'... Bloody hell, it's like he's got every textbook for every class in Hogwarts!"

"Maybe we can get him to help us in class."

"We'll have our very own bookworm to boost our marks! Just like Granger!"

"Hey, yeah! A real guy version of Granger, right here with Slytherin!"

"I told you to shut it about that Mudblood."

"You're real iffy when it comes down to Granger, y'know that?"

"What are you on about?"

"Spill it, Malfoy. What do you really think of Granger?"

Ed gritted his teeth, pressing his pillow to the sides of his head. 'Who the hell is Granger?' he thought, having half a mind to actually voice himself. 'And why the hell does it matter?'

"If you don't shut that filthy mouth of yours, I'll-"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you-"

"Hey, what d'you suppose this symbol is? The one on Elric's jacket?"

'Get away from my stuff!' He was so close to exploding out of bed and attacking them.

"Would you lot just piss off already?"

"Oh, but there are so many questions left unanswered!"

"You want an answer? Fine. I hate Granger. I absolutely despise her mere existence."

"Denial is unhealthy, my friend."

"Don't make me hex you, Zabini."

"Hey look! Elric's got a book of spells!"

"Useful."

Ed growled, scratching his head in frustration and rolling from side to side on the bed. 'GAH! SHUT THE HELL UP! GET AWAY FROM MY STUFF!'

"And get away from Elric's books. You gits are getting on my bloody nerves and I'd like to get some sleep."

"Oh, come on, Malfoy. Tired already?"

"Bugger off."

"Sheesh, touchy."

"Get to bed or get your asses out of here."

With that, the room fell silent and the rest of Ed's roommates settled into their beds, for which Ed was eternally grateful. However, this didn't change the fact that he was very angry. He immediately decided to figure out some prank he could pull on them... when he was lucid again. Comforted greatly by this thought, Ed smirked to himself as he finally fell asleep.

Ed woke up to find himself surrounded by green curtains. For a brief, panic-stricken moment he was completely disoriented and was about to call out for Al, but he quickly remembered the events of the past day and slumped back into the bed, running his hands through his long hair. He then raised himself slightly and poked his head out from within the curtains of his bed. The other boys were still sound asleep in their beds. It was still early.

Slowly, he pulled himself out of the bed and rummaged through his trunk. Before doing anything else he grabbed his silver pocket watch and opened it up to check the time. It was apparently a little bit after six o'clock, which meant that it was just barely light outside. Ed blinked slowly as he stared at the clock face before putting it away.

He then grudgingly changed into the Hogwarts uniform, retrieved his wand from his trunk, and headed to the Slytherin common room armed with one of his books. He had read this particular book several times already, but Ed couldn't help but feel like he was missing something crucial. He stretched out on the long black couch by the fireplace with his feet propped up on the armrest, holding his book up above his head as he read.

Ed pretty much had the basics of this magic stuff down, but none of the books could give him a simple explanation of how the magic really worked. They only had instructions on how to hold your wand and what to say. It seemed like magic had no bounds or rules the way alchemy did. And worst of all, he still had no idea how he had fixed Harry's broken nose.

With a disheartened sigh, Ed pulled out his wand and examined it. There was nothing special about it, really. It was just a simple stick of mahogany wood. How was it possible for something so plain to do such unbelievable things? Sitting up on the couch properly, Ed switched the wand to his left hand and decided to try one of the simpler spells. After reading through that spell book about three times, Ed had many of them memorized. He put his book on top of the table and pointed the tip of his wand at it.

"Well… Here goes nothing. Literally." He took a deep breath. "Wingardium Leviosa."

Much to Ed's surprise (and frustration), the book rose up and hovered in the air. For a while he could do nothing but stare at the book as it floated before him. He then shifted his surprised gaze onto his wand, still trying to figure out how it worked. It shouldn't have. All he had done was wave the wand and say some funny words. Nothing had been exchanged. It was frustrating to find that magic seemed to completely disregard the principle of equivalent exchange, especially since Ed believed that everything in the natural world followed that law. There had to be an exchange going on somewhere. Nothing could be gained without sacrifice.

Before long a few other Slytherins began to enter the common room, looking just as exhausted as Ed was as they rubbed their eyes and yawned. Putting his wand into his pocket, Ed snatched the book out of the air and quickly thumbed through the pages so that he looked too busy to talk to them. That was when he remembered that he had to plan some way to prank his roommates and a slight grin appeared on his face.

"'Spells and Charms: The Nature of Magic'(1)? What the bloody 'ell are you reading, Elric?"

Ed practically jumped at the voice and spun around in his seat. Standing just behind the couch was a sleepy version of Draco and his gang. Crabbe and Goyle were so tired it looked like they were sleep walking and Draco had seated himself lazily on the far armrest of the couch. Zabini was the one who had spoken, inspecting the book in Ed's hands as though it carried a disease.

"Just reviewing," Ed said defensively. "Got a problem with that?"

A mischievous smile played on Blaise's face and he shook his head. "Not at all."

The blonde narrowed his eyes at him before turning back to his book. Any idiot could tell that Zabini was planning on using Ed to get better grades. He may have been half-asleep when the jack asses came into the room last night, but he heard every word they said. Still smiling, Zabini walked over to rejoin Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. Ed could have sworn that he heard Zabini whisper something to them and laugh softly. Draco rolled his eyes and got up, ready to leave. Crabbe/Goyle looked back at Ed, a sleepy look still on his face.

"Coming to breakfast, then?" he asked.

They all stopped walking suddenly and turned to look at him. Ed glanced up from his book, trying to hide a frown. Their faces were mostly expressionless as they watched him, waiting for some kind of answer. With a heavy sigh, Ed shut his book with a loud slap and rose abruptly to his feet. Everyone watched him as he marched back to the room, waving slightly over his shoulder.

"I'll meet you there," he muttered, which obviously pleased them enough to make them leave. 'I kinda have to, don't I?'

Breakfast had been relatively uneventful. Ed rejoined Draco's gang as they ate and talked about something that had little relevance to anything. Draco didn't seem to be taking part in the conversation and just ate his food in silence. Ed didn't care to talk to them either, but even if he had come up with anything to say, he was so busy eating as much as possible that he paused only to breathe and drink his pumpkin juice. Pansy joined them shortly, once again taking her rightful place at Draco's side with an annoying, girlish giggle and linked her arm with his.

As soon as Ed had eaten his fill he rested his head on the table with a contented sigh. He was loving this seemingly endless supply of food. For a wandering alchemist like him, food was always sought after and immensely appreciated. He watched Malfoy and his buddies for a while, his mind churning with possible pranks he could pull on them. Particularly on Zabini.

A few moments later, hundreds of owls entered the Great Hall through the open windows. Ed raised his head off the table and watched in surprise as they all descended onto the tables and the students reached over to untie something from their legs. He realized that this was how mail was sent to and from Hogwarts. He vaguely remembered the colonel saying something about sending him an owl in order to send his reports back to headquarters.

'I wonder how I'll know which one Mustang sent...'

As though on cue, a small, beautiful brown and white owl with a heart shaped face landed on the table in front of Ed. It stared at him for a moment with its large black eyes and Ed just stared back. Then the owl quickly pecked at Ed's right hand, tearing the material slightly and revealing the glint of metal. Ed panicked and hid his hands under the table, looking around him urgently to see if anyone had noticed. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found that barely anyone was near him, and Draco's gang was much too busy helping themselves to a bag of treats that Draco had apparently received from home.

Making sure that no one would see anything, Ed clapped his hands softly under the table and repaired the rip on his glove. With this, the owl seemed to come to a decision and raised its leg slightly as though telling Ed to take the attached note. He only glared at the owl as it hopped over and began to nibble at his long bangs, its leg still raised in offering.

"Mustang definitely sent you," he muttered.

The owl just cocked its head curiously to one side. Only then did anyone notice that there was an owl facing off with Ed and everyone turned their attention to it. Pansy practically squealed at the sight of its beautiful, soft feathers.

"Your owl is beautiful!" she breathed. "It's a barn owl, isn't it?"

Ed just laughed nervously as he reached for the small note on its leg. "R-Really?"

He didn't know much of anything about owls and wasn't about to pretend that he did. What he did know was that this owl was starting to bug him, since it wouldn't stop nibbling his hair.

"They're very rare!" Pansy went on. "How on earth did you get one?"

"It's awful small," Draco commented bluntly. "Even for a barn owl."

The small owl seemed to be angry as it stopped what it was doing at once and turned its head sharply to look at Draco. The young Slytherin scowled in disapproval and muttered something under his breath about it being just like Ed. The other boys laughed and Pansy scolded Draco gently as Ed unfolded the note and read its contents.

Fullmetal,

A tiny owl for a tiny alchemist. Her name is Eule.
Don't forget your reports.

-Col. Roy Mustang
The Flame Alchemist

With an angry, hateful growl, Ed leapt to his feet and quickly tore the note to shreds.

"Damn that Mustang!" he hissed, his gold eyes burning. "Leave it to that bastard to be hundreds of miles away and still insult me!"

Everyone's eyes went wide as they watched him. They were very lucky Ed had managed to keep himself from jumping into the air with his arms flailing, shouting and swearing profusely. Clearly frightened by his behavior, Eule flapped her wings and followed the other owls as they left the Great Hall and flew toward the owlery.

Ed left what remained of the note scattered in pieces around on the table as all the students began to line up in front of Professor Snape. Apparently, the sallow-faced professor was handing out schedules to the students of his house and as much as Ed hated to think about it, he belonged to Slytherin. When Ed came up to retrieve his schedule, Snape eyed him suspiciously.

"Mr. Edward Elric, correct?" he said dryly as he rummaged through his stack.

"That's right," Ed confirmed politely.

Snape pulled out a timetable and examined it. "Seems as though Dumbledore took the liberty of drawing your timetable up himself. I'll have to trust he knows what he's doing. And I trust that you'll be able to keep up. I won't tolerate any falling behind in my class." He then handed the timetable over to Ed. "Is that clear?"

The young alchemist took it into his hands, looking Snape straight in the eye. "Crystal. You want me to wag my tail while I'm at it?"

Professor Snape sneered as he turned away, seemingly unable to take Ed's sass. That greasy teacher had no idea who he was messing with. Ed had dealt with infinitely more intimidating people than this character. He was in the military, after all. He smiled secretly as he wandered back toward Draco and his gang. He then read through the classes that were listed, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Zabini looked at Ed curiously as he approached, craning his neck to get a quick look at Ed's schedule. Ed glanced up at him and snorted in annoyance.

"If you're so curious, you could just ask," he said gruffly as he held the timetable out for everyone to see. "Here."

Pansy made a face, comparing Ed's schedule with hers and Draco's. "You're in all of Draco's classes!" she whined, clearly annoyed that she didn't have the same luxury.

Draco grimaced as he also compared their schedules. "Bloody hell," he muttered softly.

Though this came as no great surprise to Ed, he still faked shock and looked over at Draco's, pretending to compare timetables and saying something about weird coincidences. Pansy looked at her schedule, pouting about not being able to spend more time with Draco throughout the week. She then turned to Ed, a pleading look in her eyes.

"How about switching with me, Eddy?"

Ed glanced at Pansy and almost burst out laughing. He hid it with an apologetic smile. "Somehow, I don't think it works that way." 'If I could, I would. I don't want to be in his classes!'

Draco rolled his eyes in annoyance, putting his schedule away. "Like you would want to take arithmancy, Pans." He smirked slightly. "In fact, I don't think any of you lot could handle most of the classes I'm taking."

"I would if you were there, Drakey."

Crabbe/Goyle gaped at Draco and Ed. "I can't believe you're both taking arithmancy."

"You saying I'm not smart enough?" Draco snapped.

"What, is it supposed to be hard?" Ed asked.

Everyone but Draco looked at Ed in shock, their mouths hanging open. He just looked back at them, blinking in confusion.

"What?"

He soon discovered the reason for getting the odd stare. Apparently, arithmancy was really complex math as it related to fortune telling and magic. Not only that, but Professor Vector, the rigid looking teacher, was terribly boring to listen to. She seemed to know the material perfectly, but the boring lecture was just short of torture. Fortunately for Edward, he had endured worse verbal abuse than this and had already read the assigned textbooks from cover to cover. He knew that the subject matter was extremely complex and wasn't quite sure he believed in fortune telling of any sort to be scientifically sound. But for someone who had done heavy calculations required for human transmutation and designed his own alchemic theories... it was about average difficulty.

There were maybe three or four other students in the class besides Draco and Ed; one was from Gryffindor and the others were Ravenclaws. It was much too small to be divided between only two houses and it seemed like they decided to put everyone of the same year into one class. None of the students said a word throughout the entire period as they quickly wrote down what Professor Vector had read from the text and written on the board. Ed couldn't be bothered and only half-listened to her monotonous voice as he scribbled complex transmutation circles on his parchment.

Every now and then Ed noticed Draco's attention drift to one of the other students. A girl, obviously. His silver eyes would linger on her backside for a few moments as she listened to the teacher eagerly. He would then avert his eyes hastily, replacing the thoughtful glaze on his face with the usual sneer as he quickly wrote down what he had missed. Ed couldn't really see the girl's face from where he was sitting, but he couldn't help but wonder who she was.

He chose not to ask about her as they walked to the next class, since Draco seemed to have turned completely sour as soon as the class ended. Ed walked a few steps behind the Malfoy heir, partly to stay out of his way and partly so that he could follow him to class. He had absolutely no idea where their next class was supposed to be. Draco shot a few annoyed glances over his shoulder as they walked. It seemed like he wasn't sure what to think of the young blonde, a confusion at which Ed smiled inwardly.

They met up with Blaise and Pansy near the Great Hall before going to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They made some snide comments about having to take the class with the oh-so-noble and brave Gryffindors, which Ed rolled his eyes at as he entered the Great Hall to see if he couldn't grab something to snack on. Ed was greeted with strange looks when he rejoined Draco's group with a sandwich wrap in his mouth. Unable to do much of anything else with his mouth so full, Ed just returned their stares, blinking his eyes innocently.

Then they made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts and waited in the corridor with the other students. There seemed to be a low buzz of excitement as everyone asked one another about what they were expecting now that Professor Snape was the teacher. Some people seemed very excited while others looked completely horrified. Ed surveyed the waiting students quietly as he finished his sandwich. He had to wonder why so many of the Gryffindors seemed to be afraid of Snape. To Ed, he wasn't particularly scary. Loathsome, maybe. But not scary.

As Edward continued to study the faces of his fellow classmates, he noticed Harry Potter approaching the room with two other Gryffindors. Ed thought he recognized them from somewhere, though he couldn't be sure. He watched the trio for a moment before looking away and caught the vicious glares that Draco and his friends were giving them. The Gryffindors didn't seem to notice.

After a few moments the door to the classroom opened quickly and the chatter instantly ceased. The sallow-faced wizard stepped out, glaring balefully at the students before him.

"Inside."

Snape had all but hissed the word before turning on his heel to reenter his classroom, his black robes billowing behind him. Everyone filed in quickly, murmuring softly to one another. Pansy once again latched herself onto Draco's arm, clinging to him as though they were about to enter a haunted house. Draco gave her a blank look while Ed rolled his eyes.

As they entered the classroom, many students (including Ed) gazed about their surroundings. The room was extremely gloomy, lit only by candles as the drapes had been pulled and blocked the windows. Gruesome pictures lined the walls, at which many people cringed while taking their seats. Ed followed Draco, Pansy, and Blaise to the second row and sat with them quietly. He rested his head on his hand and continued to stare at the paintings.

"I have not asked you to take out your books," said Snape as he closed the door. Several students hastily stashed their textbooks away. "I wish to speak to you, and I want your fullest attention."

The professor then stalked up to the front of the room, his eyes darting from face to face as he did so. His black robes billowed around him as he walked, the sallow expression on his face unchanging. He spun sharply on his heel to face the classroom and allowed his dark eyes to wander. He shot Ed a particularly nasty look.

"You have had five teachers in this subject so far, I believe," he said dispassionately. "Naturally, these teachers will all have had their own methods and priorities. Given this confusion I am surprised so many of you scraped an O.W.L. in this subject. I shall be even more surprised if all of you manage to keep up with the N.E.W.T. work, which will be much more advanced."

Everyone kept their eyes on Snape as he began to stalk around the room. Ed didn't like what Snape had implied with those comments. If there was one thing that he hated, it was adults who looked down on him and doubted his intelligence. He'd show him. So what if he hadn't taken that "owl" test or whatever it was? Edward Elric was perfectly capable of keeping up with whatever was thrown at him. And he would definitely prove it to them.

The professor lowered his voice slightly as he continued.

"The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating... indestructible."

A slight frown had formed on Ed's face as he listened to Snape talk. He couldn't help but hear a slight caress in his voice as he spoke, as though he admired these evil things more than he feared them. It was somewhat unnerving, and extremely suspicious.

Professor Snape made his way to the paintings along the wall and looked at them with a stern expression on his face. "Your defenses," he went on in a louder voice, "must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo. These pictures give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse..."

He pointed out a picture of a witch that was shrieking in agony. The students gazed at it, reacting in various ways; some were horrified, others were repulsed, and still others seemed indifferent. Snape continued and gestured to another painting of a blank eyed wizard, slumped against a wall.

"... feel the Dementor's Kiss," Snape continued with a soft hiss.

Several students, including Edward, shuddered visibly. Ed had come across an account of a Dementor in one of the books he got from Diagon Alley. He definitely didn't like what he read, and had hoped with all his might that the book was wrong and they didn't exist. Apparently they did. That picture proved it to him. Professor Snape paid no heed to anyone's reactions and continued, pointing to one last picture of an anonymous bloody mass upon the ground.

"... or provoke the aggression of the Inferius."

Ed only glanced at the last picture, refusing to take the image in for too long. It reminded him too much of the sin he and his brother committed... He shivered, staring intently at the top of his desk, gripping his right forearm and forcing the memories out of his mind. He didn't want to relive that moment. It was his own childhood trauma, and anything that reminded him of that... that thing...

Pansy noticed the anxious look on Ed's face. "What's happened to Eddy?"

Zabini glanced at the young blonde. "The images are gettin' to him, I suppose."

"Poor little Elric," Draco muttered. "Afraid of a few bloody pictures."

He had half expected Ed to immediately turn and glare at him, his teeth bared and growling like a wild dog. After all, Draco had used the word "little" in a description of him. However, Ed was so distracted with his own thoughts that he had barely heard the comment.

A dark-skinned girl raised her hand nervously in the air. "Has an Inferius been seen, then? Is it definite, is he using them?"

Snape gave a small smirk. "The Dark Lord has used Inferi in the past. Which means you would be well-advised to assume he might use them again. Now..."

He then made his way back to his desk and began to shuffle through various papers. Having finally come back to his senses, Ed looked up and watched Snape carefully, studying his features. There was simply something about the way he had answered that girl's question that Ed didn't like. He wished desperately that he could do some kind of background check on this professor. Everything he had said was unsettling to Ed. Mention of Snape was most certainly going into his report.

Seeing the life back in Ed's face, Pansy leaned toward him and tugged on a lock of Ed's hair. "What happened to you?"

He blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"You looked like you pissed your pants," Zabini chuckled.

Ed just shook his head, his thoughts suddenly turning to ones of vengeance. "Nothing."

Pansy raised an eyebrow and Blaise shrugged his shoulders as they returned their attention on Snape. Draco glanced at Ed out of the corner of his eye, remaining thoughtfully silent.

"...you are, I believe, complete novices in the use of non-verbal spells. What is the advantage of a non-verbal spell?"

Almost simultaneously, every head turned expectantly toward a girl with bushy brown hair in the back, whose hand shot up immediately. Ed glanced over at her offhandedly then back at Snape. The professor seemed to be looking around the rest of the class, avoiding calling on the only person who knew the answer to his question. Ed shrugged to himself.

'Might as well.'

He raised his hand into the air as well, though not with nearly as much enthusiasm as the girl in the back. When Professor Snape saw this he raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback.

"Mr. Elric?"

Everyone suddenly turned to look at him, some of them completely perplexed. The rest of the class cast uncertain glances between Ed and the bushy-haired girl. Draco smirked and leaned back in his chair, preparing himself to watch what promised to be an amusing show.

"Your enemy has no warning about what kind of... attack you're gonna do," Ed said nonchalantly, deliberately avoiding saying the word "magic." "Which would obviously give you a split-second advantage in battle."

It seemed like Snape was trying his hardest to mask the impressed expression on his face. "It looks as though the magical institute in Germany lives up to Hogwarts standards. However, it only covers the essentials. Yes, those who progress to using magic without shouting incantations gain an element of surprise in their spell-casting. Not all wizards can do this, of course; it is a question of concentration and mind power which some..." Snape looked pointedly in Harry's direction. "...lack."

Ed glanced at Harry curiously. The young dark-haired wizard glowered at Snape until the professor turned to address the rest of the class.

"You will now divide into pairs," he announced. "One partner will attempt to jinx the other without speaking. The other will attempt to repel the jinx in equal silence. Carry on."

The young alchemist raised his eyebrows in affected surprise as he wondered whether or not he should attempt to join in. After all, he had only cast his very first spell the previous day, restoring Harry from his paralysis. He quickly realized that he was going to have to; Snape had told him very clearly that he was not going to allow any falling behind.

Pansy immediately paired herself off with Zabini, since she didn't want to hurt her precious and most beloved Draco. Ed had to admit that he was disappointed not to be paired with Zabini, as it would have been a perfect opportunity to exact vengeance on him. But he did have a few issues with Draco and immediately decided that this wasn't a total loss. Except for the part where Ed had very little experience with using magic. Ed pushed the shadow of doubt away. He'd figure something out.

Draco seemed to pick up on the technique rather quickly and was starting to succeed in casting spells without saying a word. However, he hadn't managed to hit Ed with any of his jinxes, since Ed kept jumping out of the way of his wand. Maybe he didn't have that split second warning of a verbal incantation, but judging by the direction in which Draco's wand was pointed, he could at least stay out of harm's way.

"Keep still!" he demanded, still firing his wand.

"Yeah, right!" Ed retorted, jumping back. "I'm not stupid, y'know!"

"Then I'll make you keep still," Draco growled.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Ooh. I'm so scared."

Malfoy cast another spell and missed his target yet again. A smirk could be seen on Ed's face. Of course, he hadn't just been dodging; the entire time he was figuring out the trick to non-verbal spells. He had only used magic a few times and therefore lacked the experience and control that the other students had. This knowledge obviously made it easier for them to wrap their heads around the concept behind these non-verbal spells. So Edward had to quickly figure out what exactly he had done those few times and imitate it, putting the incantation aside.

It wasn't long before he grasped the concept. Ed grinned.

Draco's upper lip curled as he lowered his wand. "I'm sick of this," he muttered.

He was just about to call for Snape's attention when Ed decided to put his theory into practice. He waved his wand, aimed for Draco's mouth, and cast silencio on him without saying a word. Edward couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face as he watched Draco try to call out for Snape, only to realize that he was unable to make a single sound.

"Weren't expectin' that, were ya?" he teased. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Speak up, Malfoy, I can't hear ya!"

The young Slytherin's grey eyes burned in rage. Maybe he was just starting to go crazy from being around too many wizards, but Ed was starting to like magic. Ed watched with an amused smirk as Draco flapped his lips and nothing came out. A part of him wondered what the Malfoy heir was saying, but he decided that whatever it was, it couldn't be very important. He thought he recognized the lip movements of Draco's lips as they formed various swear words.

After a while, Ed got bored of watching "angry Malfoy in mute" and turned to call the professor. He had completed the task of the day and intended to leave that classroom as quickly as possible. He opened his mouth to speak and suddenly found that his own voice was gone. He had been jinxed! His gold eyes wide in disbelief, Ed turned on Malfoy in rage. Draco folded his arms over his chest and smirked while Ed's face began to turn a very bright shade of red.

It was really a very funny sight. Two very angry, blonde Slytherin boys trying to scream at each other and failing. Their eyes burned as they glared daggers at each other, silver clashing with gold. The vicious sparks were practically visible. But before either boy had the sense to realize that they could continue to hex each other in spite of the silence...

"Protego!"

A loud clatter was heard on the other side of the room. Everyone in the class stopped what they were doing and turned to see what had happened.

It looked like Snape had been thrown across the room and slammed straight into a desk. The culprit appeared to be none other than Harry Potter himself, who had the tip of his wand pointed right at the professor. Harry didn't move an inch as he glared in Snape's direction, not even to lower his wand.

The professor scowled as he picked himself up off the desk. "Do you remember me telling you we were practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?"

"Yes," Harry answered stiffly, wand still raised.

Snape's expression turned even sourer. "Yes sir," he corrected Harry sternly.

"There is no reason to call me 'sir,' Professor."

Ed was actually grateful that no sound was escaping from his throat, because he was unable to stop himself from laughing. He didn't care what Draco and his lackeys said; from that comment alone, Ed knew he liked Harry.

Professor Snape, on the other hand, was not as amused as Edward. "Detention, Potter," he snapped. "Saturday night, my office." He then added softly, "I do not take cheek from anyone. Not even 'the Chosen One.'"

Everyone then slowly returned to their task except for Harry, who refused to move as Snape brushed angrily past him. Ed was still smiling as the sallow-faced professor approached. He looked at Ed and Draco, raising an eyebrow as Draco tried to speak and nothing came out. Understanding what had happened, Snape shook his head in frustration and undid the silencio spell that Ed had cast on him before continuing on his way.

Ed's eyes grew wide when Snape failed to do the same for him. His expression soon changed from shock to anger as he watched the professor stalk around the room. He had been ignored! Ed balled his hands into fists at his sides, his eye twitching.

'I don't like you at all, Snape,' he thought bitterly.

Draco's trademark smirk played on his lips as he looked at Ed. The young alchemist turned back to Draco, folding his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes. He gritted his teeth and growled, muttering several insults that no one heard. Much of it was directed at Draco. He was feeling the need to knock that smirk off of his smug face. He itched to clap his hands together and wrap the floor around Draco's body. But he couldn't. Ed once again cursed his job and his mission.

"What's the matter, shorty?" Draco mocked. "You get overlooked there? Professor Snape must not have been able to see you, since you're so little."

It was a lucky thing - a very lucky thing - that Ed had been silenced.

Author's Note: Not a whole lot happening in this chapter. Just a few… Draco/Hermione things (hehe) and Ed's first day at school, getting him settled into this new world… interactions with various HP verse characters… the standard stuff. :P oh, and if you're wondering about how Ed was able to cast a non-verbal spell even though he'd only used magic three times in his life... well, he figured it out. i don't know how. i only know that he did. XD i love Ed, he is so smart.
(1) Copyright 2001 Amy Z. "Spells and Charms: The Nature of Magic" is an essay about magical theory that I found on HP Lexicon. I wasn't really sure what to entitle some of Ed's books, so… yeah. I don't own the rights to it, and even if I only used the title of the essay in the story, the writer shall be credited.