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: thanks again for all the beautiful reviews! though i still think that chapter 7 was kinda done just for the hell of it. :P (looks at people's reviews again) ooh...dost my eyes deceive me? did somebody ask for more interaction with the infamous Gryffindor trio? (evil grin)

Chapter 8
Encounters

Going to the owlery first thing in the morning probably wasn't the best idea. The arctic air of autumn was rendering Ed's face weather-beaten as he ascended the West Tower and he pulled his red jacket tighter around his body. His head felt groggy and a part of him was cursing himself for waking up so early. It was the weekend; he had no classes to go to, and he should have been free. The only problem was that every single day Ed spent in Hogwarts, he was on duty. When classes were done, that meant it was time for military duties to come back into play. He growled at the rolled up parchment in his hand as he trudged up the steps. His first report to headquarters.

He had merely written about the conversation Draco and his friends had on the train ride over to Hogwarts, confirming the fact that Draco was indeed a good lead on Voldemort. Ed also wrote about Snape, how he seemed to be a Dark Arts lover and was overall suspicious, and about Hermione Granger, who seemed to have some kind of connection with Draco. Other than that, there wasn't much to be said. The entire report was, as Ed had grown accustomed to doing since he became a state alchemist, encoded, in order to keep it inconspicuous and safe from interception.

Ed blinked slowly as he entered the owlery at the top of the tower, looking around sleepily for Eule, the tiny barn owl that Mustang had sent to him. He then approached her slowly, still wary of her from their first encounter in the Great Hall. Sure enough, as soon as Ed came close she tried to peck at his right arm, but he had been expecting it and quickly moved his hand away. Too sleepy to do much of anything else, he just glared at Eule.

"Dumb bird," he muttered. "I'm not lettin' you rip my clothes whenever you want."

The owl seemed rather insulted to have missed her target, ruffling up her feathers. Ed removed the glove on his right hand and rolled up his sleeve before reaching toward Eule a second time, expecting her to peck at his arm again. However, it seemed like Eule had just wanted to see Edward's auto-mail, as she merely tilted her head to the side and hopped a little bit closer. Ed blinked slowly and then smiled.

"I get it. Someone must have trained you to recognize me by my auto-mail."

He patted the top of Eule's head, amused by this cleverly trained owl. Ed then took out his report and unrolled it again. He transmuted something to write with and used it to add an extra note to the bottom of his report: Good job training the owl.

With a small, satisfied smile, Ed rolled the parchment back up and attached it to Eule's leg. The owl seemed to understand this perfectly and immediately hopped toward the nearest opening and took off for East City Headquarters. Ed watched Eule go for a moment, pulling his glove back on his auto-mail hand and tugging the sleeves of his jacket down. He then picked up the small pen he had transmuted and fiddled with it for a moment between his fingers.

"I should write something to Al. I'll bet he wants to know all about this place."

He searched for some parchment or something to write on and then began.

Dear Al,

Hogwarts is probably one of the weirdest places I've ever been to. You wouldn't believe the stuff they've got over here! There are all these ghosts wandering around, and the people in the paintings can move and talk when you pass by. Yes, they actually talk to you. It's hard to explain, but maybe I'll get to show you sometime.
I've been learning magic over here. It's really weird. I can do it, there isn't really a problem there, but it doesn't make any sense. There's no equivalent exchange anywhere! I already got detention when I questioned one of the teachers about it. I've been reading all these books, trying to figure this whole magic thing out. By all accounts, it shouldn't work, but it does!
Apart from the weird stuff, everything's going fine over here... I guess. That Draco kid is taller than I am! It's not fair! And his friends are one hell of an annoying bunch. Especially this girl that keeps playing with my hair. They keep making fun of this kid named Harry Potter. No idea what their problem is. I think he's alright, from what I've seen of him so far.
There's also this girl, Hermione Granger. Seems like she's pretty much the brain around here and everyone knows it. Not too sure about this, but Draco seems to have some kind of thing for her. Every time her name comes up, he starts acting weird. Can't say I blame him, I mean, she's pretty and all, plus her smarts... uh... Not a word of this goes out to Winry, okay? I'm just saying.
Hope everything's okay on your end. I know this owl thing is weird, but it's the only way to send mail from here. Maybe it's a British thing... Well, that's it for now. Say hi to Winry for me.

-Ed

Happy to have finally gotten some of his thoughts out, Ed rolled the sheet of paper up and attached it to the leg of one of the other owls. He watched as the owl set off for Amestris with a small, pleased smile on his face.

Since it was a Saturday morning, the Slytherin common room was empty; everyone was still in the dorms fast asleep. Everyone, that is, except for Edward. He was seated comfortably by the fireplace, warming himself up after his journey to the top of the West Tower. There was a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hands, which he was flipping through slowly. One particular article had caught his attention; he had gone over it again and again since the first time he read it. It mentioned a recent search of the Malfoy residence conducted by the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defense Spells and Protective Objects, acting upon a confidential tip-off. It hadn't yielded any results, but just the fact that the Malfoy home had been searched for dangerous items...

Ed sighed as he rolled up the newspaper and rose to his feet. He pulled out his silver pocket watch to check the time. It was almost 9:30; the other students would probably be waking up soon to go to the Great Hall for breakfast. After that, most of them would probably go right back to the dorms to sleep. Just thinking about that was making Ed feel like sleeping again. With a loud yawn, Ed stuffed his watch back into his pocket and went back to their room.

Unfortunately for Ed, as soon as he entered the room, Draco and Zabini clambered out of their beds. His shoulders dropped and Ed hung his head.

"Can't you guys go back to sleep for another ten minutes?"

Neither of them answered. Zabini stretched his arms out and yawned while Draco pulled out his robes to change. Crabbe and Goyle were starting to stir in their beds as well. Ed groaned, dragging himself over to his bed and flopping himself upon it face first. The others just looked at him from under their half-shut eyelids.

"What were you up so early for?" Zabini mumbled sleepily.

"Muhh reeffun," came Ed's response from within his mattress.

"What?"

Ed rolled his head over. "No reason," he said again. "I just couldn't sleep, I guess."

Draco pointed tiredly at Ed's clothes. "Why aren't you wearing your robes?"

"Didn't feel like it. We don't have any classes today, so I figured it wouldn't matter."

The young Slytherin shook his head disapprovingly as he rose to his feet. Ed groaned inwardly. He was starting to remind him of the colonel. Draco then eyed the rolled up newspaper that Ed was still hanging onto. Ed noticed this and raised the newspaper, extending it toward him.

"Here. I'm done reading it."

Zabini looked over at them both, the sleep still in his eyes. "Didn't know you lot read the news. What happened, then? Anyone get murdered last night?"

Both teenagers groaned at Zabini's ignorance. Malfoy reached over to snatch the paper from Ed's hands and then marched off to change into his robes. Ed watched him go from where he was still lying on the bed, wondering why he left the room since Zabini just changed next to his bed. He dismissed it as weird behavior on Draco's part and shut his eyes in an attempt to take a quick nap before everyone was ready and they went to the Great Hall.

It wasn't long before the entire Slytherin group (and Ed) was walking down the corridors to get something to eat, looking relatively intimidating as they did so. Strangely enough, Draco could not be found in the middle of the group as he usually was. In fact, he seemed somewhat disconnected from them, a thoughtful glaze over his silver eyes. But everyone was so busy laughing amongst themselves and bullying anyone who crossed their path that none of them noticed Draco's behavior except for Ed. After all, it was his job to take note of any strange behavior.

'Wonder if this has anything to do with that article...'

He glanced over at Draco and watched him carefully for a moment before turning away. Ed and Draco remained silent as they walked to the Great Hall, both seemingly lost in their own heads. If Draco's strange behavior did happen to concern the newspaper article, then it wasn't much to worry about. Who wouldn't be shocked to find out that their house had been searched? But on the other hand... The other Slytherins just went on their way without giving it a second thought.

It was only when they arrived at the entrance to the Great Hall that they really noticed.

"Where's Drakey?" Pansy squealed, looking around her in a panic.

Crabbe/Goyle slowly turned around, his eyes sweeping up and down the corridor. "Wasn't he just here?"

Pansy shuffled her feet anxiously, wringing her hands. "Ooh... Where did he go?"

"Could he have gotten lost?"

Zabini smacked the Crabbe/Goyle that spoke upside the head. "Since when does Malfoy ever get himself lost?"

"Draco...!" Pansy whimpered. "Where are you?"

Ed also looked up and down the corridor, his brow furrowed. He mentally cursed himself for not realizing that his charge had vanished and for having such a stupid job in the first place. And if Pansy was going to continue to worry about Draco in that annoying high-pitched voice of hers, Ed would have to wring her neck. With an annoyed groan, Ed started down the corridor.

"I'll go look for him," he said, hoping he sounded sincerely helpful. "You guys go to breakfast."

Crabbe/Goyle blinked in shock. "You're not eating, then?"

The mere mention of food made Ed's stomach growl. He ignored the complaints of his stomach as he turned back to the others and smirked slightly. "I'll eat later."

"But Ed-dy!" Pansy whined loudly.

He whirled around, a vein bulging out on his head. "STOP CALLING ME THAT ALREADY! And quit whining, you're pissing me off! Go eat breakfast!"

Everyone looked shocked as Ed spun back around and continued walking. Pansy was about to open her mouth to protest when Zabini practically pushed them all into the Great Hall. A part of Ed was amused by the fact that Draco played such a central role to their lives. He was their life-line; without him around, they were lost and confused. It was funny, but tragically pathetic at the same time.

The young alchemist hurried up and down the corridors, searching Hogwarts for any signs of Draco and getting increasingly hungry and irritated. Ed had abandoned speed walking and decided to run up and down the halls, in spite of the constant verbal scolding he was getting from the various paintings on the walls.

"No running in the halls, young man!"

"Goodness gracious!"

"Stop this instant!"

And so the people in the paintings all exclaimed as Ed dashed past them. He didn't really care much for their opinion since they were just paintings stuck on the wall... Until one painting of a proper, wealthy looking old couple glared at Ed as he passed.

"Look at that little boy! No regard for rules whatsoever."

"The very nerve of these first-years..."

Ed screeched to a halt and turned on them in a fit of rage. "WHO DID YOU SAY WAS A SUPER-ULTRA SHORT KID?"

The man in the painting blinked in surprise and then twisted his face angrily. "I do beg your pardon! I said nothing of the sort!"

"Honestly!" his wife scoffed. "Children these days. No manners at all."

"I am not a child!" Ed shouted. "And I'm lookin' for someone, okay? So sor-ry for being in a hurry, but I'm missing a meal for this!"

The lady narrowed her eyes. "He's quite rude, isn't he?"

Her husband nodded his head in agreement. "Quite."

"He could certainly use a few lessons in manners. There need to be fewer of these vulgar brutish types in the world."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Ed yelled angrily, stomping his right foot on the floor.

"That other boy just a while ago seemed polite," the old lady continued, still ignoring Edward. "He walked down the corridor and didn't utter a word."

The old man just nodded again. "Brought up right, he was."

Ed's ears perked up. "Other boy? What other boy?"

"Handsome young man, wasn't he?"

"That he was! Much like myself, in my younger days."

His wife merely laughed delicately. "Indeed! Though I can't say that you had the same platinum-blonde hair that he had."

He also laughed as his wife fingered the neat white fringe on his balding head. While they seemed to enjoy themselves, reminiscing about their painted memories, Ed's mind was racing. They had to have meant Draco. After all, how many kids at Hogwarts could possibly have hair that color? It was practically bleached!

"Which way did he go?" Ed asked the old couple in a loud voice.

They continued to ignore him. "Wasn't he wearing Slytherin robes, darling?"

"As a matter of fact, I believe he was."

Ed leapt forward and grabbed the edges of the painting. "WHICH WAY DID HE GO?"

Both the lady and man were flabbergasted by the loud outburst as they stared wide-eyed at Ed. It was clear that they had never been spoken to in such a way before, as neither one of the rich couple knew how to respond. They looked at one another as though looking for help, only to find none. Though the expression on his face was one of annoyance and impatience, Ed grinned inwardly, relishing in the fact that he had frightened the spoiled old couple. The old lady whapped her husband insistently with her fan, gesturing for him to answer Ed and practically hiding behind him.

"If I'm not mistaken, he was going to that stairwell." He pointed to a set of stairs further down the corridor that led up. The old man then turned back to his wife. "Strange destination for a Slytherin, don't you think? Doesn't that way lead to the Gryffindor tower?"

"Yes it does," she confirmed. "I wonder what on earth that boy could want over there."

The old man nodded his head thoughtfully and turned back to Ed. "But, I say, what is your business with the young lad?"

But Ed had already gone, dashing down the corridor toward the mentioned staircase. His mind was consumed with thoughts of his self-proclaimed reward; a big, hearty meal. The old couple watched Edward run away, more aggravated than ever.

"How utterly rude," the old lady said disapprovingly. "Not even so much as a 'thank you.'"

Edward whirled around as he ran down the corridors. He hadn't been on the seventh floor since the first day of school, and he had to admit that he liked it better there than in the dungeons. It was much brighter and roomier up there, and Ed wondered if the pleasantness of the seventh floor corridors was part of the reason why Slytherins didn't like Gryffindors. Being hidden beneath the lake was definitely cool in its own way, though. But no matter what, nothing could beat being outside in the fresh air, a sensation that Ed sorely missed.

As soon as he turned the corner, Ed found his white-blonde charge. Draco seemed to be wandering aimlessly up and down the hall, a thoughtful expression on his face. If Ed didn't know any better, he'd say that Draco looked lost and in desperate need of something. Forcing his anger to bubble just below the surface, Ed clenched his fists and walked over to him.

"Draco!"

He instinctively drew his wand and turned at the sound of his name, his eyes wide for a surprised moment. Once he realized that it was just Ed, Draco lowered his wand slightly, his face falling into an annoyed scowl.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped.

"Looking for you. What are you doing all the way up here?"

Malfoy sneered. "Looking for me? Touching."

"Don't get me wrong," Ed said with a glare. "I just had to get away from Pansy's whining and complaining. She was driving me crazy!"

Draco snickered. "Consider yourself lucky. You've only known her for two weeks. I, on the other hand, have been stuck with her for the past six years."

A disgusted chill ran up Ed's spine and he shuddered. "Damn."

The Slytherin smirked at his reaction. Draco then glanced up and down the hallway once more before walking away. Ed hesitated before following and looked around to see if he could find out what Draco had been doing until he arrived. When he saw nothing out of the ordinary, Ed turned to follow him. Malfoy glanced over at him, a mildly confused and agitated look in his grey eyes.

"Do you have to follow me around?"

For a moment Ed was confused, but he quickly recovered with a smirk on his face. "What happened to us being friends?"

"We're not friends," Draco growled. "I was just told to show you around Hogwarts by Dumbledore and my mother."

"So show me around," said Ed, jamming his hands into his pockets again. "You're supposed to be a... a prefect or something, right? Isn't that part of your job?"

Draco turned to look at Ed in confusion. "How do you know that? I never once mentioned my being a prefect to you."

A small part of Ed panicked. That was true. He had read about Draco's prefect position from the file he received at the start of the mission. Never once had any of the Slytherins mentioned it, which definitely struck Ed as strange. Someone like Draco would relish in the power that one was granted with being a prefect, and his friends were certainly the kind of people to take advantage of it. But Draco hadn't once exercised his authority since the school year began.

"Your mom said something about it," Ed told him quickly.

"Oh." Draco dropped his gaze and was quiet for a moment. When he raised his head again, his expression remained as stern as ever. "Well, Mother doesn't know anything anymore. She can't order me around, I'm not a child. I've my own agenda now."

The words hit a soft spot. Ed immediately stopped walking, his eyes wide. He suddenly felt like he had talked to himself. It was very strange, almost like he had looked into one of those magical mirrors he had come across in books. However, there was one very prominent distinction between them. Ed hid his eyes as he resumed walking, his pace quicker than before so that he could catch up to Draco.

"You should listen to your mother," Ed said in a quiet yet stern voice. "You don't know how much longer she'll be with you."

Strangely enough, there was a flash of fear in Draco's deep silver eyes. He watched Ed as they continued to walk down the hallway, stunned. A very serious, almost frightening expression was on Ed's face, as though he were enduring great pain. For one of the first times in his young life, Draco Malfoy was afraid of someone that wasn't his father.

That's when three familiar Gryffindors entered the corridor. As soon as they did, Ed's serious expression washed away and Draco's scowl returned. Harry and his friends had been talking amongst themselves as they walked, something about Quidditch and someone named Hagrid, but as soon as they saw Ed and Draco they fell silent. All of a sudden they looked rather upset, their almost vicious glares directed mainly at Draco.

"What are you doing up here, Malfoy?" Ron asked sharply.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Nothing a blood traitor like you would understand, weasel."

The red-head took a step forward, his lips tightly pressed together in a straight line. He seemed to be trying very hard to keep himself from doing something stupid. Ron's eyes wandered the corridor, lingering on Ed for just a moment before returning to Malfoy, a hint of a smile on his face. Ed rolled his eyes at Ron's slight rise in confidence; he obviously thought he had an advantage. Was he ever wrong.

"What's happened to your 'friends', ferret?"

The white-blonde sneered, fingering the handle of his wand. "Does it make a difference? With them or not, you're no match for me."

Harry slowly reached for his wand, but Ed grabbed his wrist and held him back. When Harry looked at him with his green eyes wide in surprise, Ed just quietly shook his head and released him. Meanwhile, Hermione had turned to Ron, laying a hand on his shoulder and pulling him away from the glaring contest he and Malfoy had engaged themselves in.

"Stop it, Ron. Honestly, it's not worth it, and we've got to get going."

The redhead glanced at Hermione briefly, contemplating whether or not he should obey. After a moment he quietly withdrew, rejoining his friends as they all turned to leave. Ed could have sworn he detected a hint of jealousy and hurt in Draco's face.

"What's wrong, weasel?" he teased. "Need your little girlfriend to care for you?"

Ron's face practically turned as red as his hair. Hermione quickly spun around, her hair swishing into her face.

"I am not his girlfriend!" she said angrily.

Before Hermione could continue, Ron turned back around and made an angry movement toward Malfoy. She tried to pull him back again, but this time Ron resisted and yanked his arm away from her grasp. He drew his wand and pointed it at Draco, but before he could even open his mouth to speak, Ed jumped into the space between them and pushed Ron's arm so he was pointing at the ceiling. Both Harry and Hermione gasped; the whole thing happened so quickly that there had barely been time to react. Ron blinked in surprise.

"What-"

"Cut it out," Ed said, his voice even and firm. He then let go of Ron's arm and turned so that he could see Draco. "Don't know about you, but we haven't eaten yet and I'm starved."

Draco quickly recovered from his surprise, straightening and walking casually down the corridor towards the stairs. "I suppose you're right, Elric. These filth aren't worth my time."

He pushed past the Gryffindors, giving Ron a particularly rough shove. Ed just followed after him without a word, sticking his hands back into his pockets. Ron looked especially aggravated, breathing heavily through his nose as they left. It was obvious that he felt the need to have the last word.

"Since when do you need a midget to fight for you?"

Ed's previously bottled frustration exploded forward. He instantly spun around on his heel to face the offender, his gold eyes practically spewing fire.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TINY BUG THAT ESCAPES THE WRATH OF A SHOE BECAUSE HE'S SO SMALL THAT HE FITS THROUGH THE GROOVES AND CAN'T BE SQUASHED?"

Suddenly, everyone in the corridor was completely thunderstruck. Ron paled slightly at the ferocious look on Ed's face.

"I-"

"I'M STILL GROWIN' HERE! WHAT ELSE ARE YOU GONNA CALL ME? A SHRIMP? A SUPER SMALL SPECK? BRING IT ON, REDHEAD!"

"He didn't say any of that, Ed!" Harry protested, trying to calm him down.

"DON'T JUDGE A MAN BY HIS SIZE!" Ed raged with his fists flailing in the air.

The sudden and explosive outburst on Ed's part was truly amusing to Draco. He tried not to grin as he reached over, grabbed Edward by the back of his collar and pulled him away. Ron staggered backward, bumping into Harry and Hermione behind him.

"Let's just go, please," Hermione said. "If Malfoy says we're not worth it..." She looked pointedly back at Malfoy as he walked away. "...Neither is he."

For the briefest of moments, a very pained expression flashed across Draco's face. His grip on Ed's collar tightened and he practically threw Ed forward. Ed blinked in surprise, noticing the abrupt change in his demeanor, and looked back to where Harry, Hermione and Ron were still standing.

"Let's get out of here before you hurt yourself, Elric," Draco said gruffly.

He then turned and just about stormed down the corridor. Ed hesitated before following, somewhat confused by the change. With one final glance back at the Gryffindors, both Slytherins disappeared down the stairwell.

Author's Note: hehehe... that bug squishing thing cracks me up. oh, that reminds me. all Ed's anti-short outbursts were gotten from Fullmetal-Alchemist dot com! i thank them eternally for recording them all on their site. it's hard to think of good anti-short outbursts so i just got ones that Ed really did have... until i can come up with my own. :P