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 definitely with FMA. rated T for language.

Disclaimer: I, just like most everyone else, do NOT own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. Of all the rotten luck, it seems I didn't turn into Hiromu Arakawa or J.K. Rowling overnight.

From the Author: I just wanted to tell everyone that there may not be any updates for the next week or so, and they may become a little more sporadic depending on what happens to my schedule now that I'm finally out of classes for the summer. :P but I'll do my best to continue getting a chapter up once a week, so don't worry! okay, so now to address some reviews.

Reta McClain - sure, you can translate it! that'd be very interesting to see. just e-mail me first and let me know the URL for the story. i had a plagiarizing escapade recently, so i'm kinda feeling a little bit paranoid. i just wanna be sure that i can contact you somehow.

strangeanimefreak - Hermione's pairing is kinda up in the air right now, isn't it? hehehe... i'll leave it at that for now.

Fae Elric - ohhhh, the fangirl urges to attack Hermione in a fit of jealousy are strong! but i think i would be angrier with her if she hadn't accepted, because how could anybody refuse Edward Elric for a date? I sure as hell wouldn't! if he asked me out on a date, I'd have to be crazy not to go!

Beboots - hehehe... i'm not gonna answer any of those questions right now. you shall just have to continue reading! XD

i AM the Random Idiot - hello again! XD right now i'm thinking that you are like, my favorite reviewer. i'm so glad that you got to watch FMA! but you should also read the manga because it's seriously just... so much better. if you can imagine that. OO

HecatonchiresLM - yes, i miss Al, too. but he shall make a great and victorious return, i promise you!

to everyone else - thanks for reviewing! i shall leave all questions regarding alchemy and Ed's auto-mail alone. they shall be answered in due time. :) and i'm always glad to see people stop to read CSAG in spite of themselves. and i'm even more glad that people like it! thanks very much! it really means a lot to me!

Chapter 12
The Sorcerer's Stone

Draco suddenly seemed to be getting into trouble with practically all of his teachers, much to his own chagrin. Though he still did well on tests in class, he was often chastised for his increasingly careless wand work and for several missing assignments. He landed himself several detentions among various teachers as time wore on. Much to the rest of their House's relief, his academic sufferings wasn't taking any points away from them, but because of his many punishments Draco was seen less and less with his usual flock of lackeys. As a result, Pansy spent less time with the boys and more with other Slytherin girls (a change which none of the boys complained about very much) and the world discovered that Crabbe and Goyle did in fact have the ability to think for themselves (to an extent).

On the other hand, the numerous detentions Draco received caused problems for Ed and his mission. He obviously wasn't allowed to sit in his detention times and just waiting outside of the professor's office or classroom didn't sit well with him. So, just as he had with the "Quidditch practices" (a trick which Ed was still furious about), Ed spent those times either at the owlery or at the library. However, he knew of Draco's trickery better now and always made sure to "accidentally" bump into the Slytherin the very moment he got out of detention. Though sometimes he also got detention, usually with McGonagall concerning his consistent and stubborn refusal to transfigure live animals.

Today, however, Draco had an unusually severe detention with Professor Vector for falling asleep in their Arithmancy class. His head had actually dropped down onto Ed's left shoulder, which he quickly shoved off and allowed to fall to the desk with a rather loud thud. The noise had drawn the attention of the entire class on to Draco, and Professor Vector's punishment came down as swiftly and sharply as a ruler on the table.

Ed therefore confined himself in the library for the time being, scouring every book he could get his hands on for answers to his burning questions. He had yet to find an explanation of magic and was starting to think that there was none, which was even more frustrating for a scientist like himself.

Libraries had always been appealing to the Elric brothers. They'd been in numerous libraries and studies in the past four years, almost always reading research journals and textbooks of the most complex material. One of their most recent trips to the library had been rather disastrous, however. Ten straight days of being holed up in the Central Library, decoding an alchemic research journal and finding "the truth within the truth." Plus another episode of the patented Edward Elric recklessness...

Ed groaned, shutting the latest book with a soft slap. He chucked it onto the table with the others and leaned back in his seat, rubbing his eyes free of the weariness. He must have been reading for several hours now. His eyes were starting to ache from the strain.

"Edward?"

He removed his hand from his eyes and looked up to see who was there. Standing next to one of the nearby bookshelves was Hermione, staring wide-eyed at the piles of books on the table in front of Ed. She was carrying several thick books in her arms as well, but she was clearly awestruck.

"Oh, uh, hi Hermione!"

"Did you... You didn't actually read all of these books, did you?" Hermione squeaked, astonished.

Ed scratched the back of his neck with a soft, nervous laugh. "Is it that hard to believe?"

Hermione nodded, her lips pursed together. She then moved forward, placing her books on the table and looking over some of the titles that Ed had gone through. She smiled slightly as she noticed some of the thicker books.

"And they say I'm a bookworm," she murmured amusedly. "I think maybe you should have been sorted into Ravenclaw."

Ed smiled wistfully as he recalled a certain mousy-looking girl with glasses. "Trust me, there are bigger bookworms out there." His smile grew as he remembered the piles of books she had recreated from memory. "There really are some incredible people in the world."

The Gryffindor looked up at Ed curiously. "How do you mean?"

He laughed softly and shook his head. "It's nothing. Forget it."

Hermione gave him an odd look before rolling her eyes and dismissing it. "Anyway, what are you reading all these for? Looking for something?"

Edward hesitated for a moment, his eyes traveling over the piles of books on the table. He couldn't just tell her that he was researching magic because he was a scientist and needed to understand how it worked. It would just be opening up a whole new set of questions that Ed was not willing nor was he allowed to answer. At length, he just nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.

"Just needed something to read."

She nodded her head knowingly. "I see."

"What about you? What's all that for?" Ed gestured at the books Hermione put on the table.

"Some light reading," she said, practically beaming.

"That so?" He reached over and picked up the first thick book in her pile and examined the cover. "'Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charms'? What's this for?"

Hermione just smiled, tucking some stray hair behind her ear. "Harry, Ron, and I came across this book during our fourth year and I never really got the chance to properly read it. I just thought it would be interesting to have a look at, that's all."

Ed nodded slowly. He definitely had to admire her work ethic and her dedication to school. He then put the book back down and looked at the next book in Hermione's pile. His eyes suddenly went wide. It was a heavy, musty-looking book with a dark brown cover. It looked extremely old, as though no one had touched it for years. Drawn faintly on the cover was what seemed to be a transmutation circle of some sort, though it was hard to tell because of the book's age. Ed opened the cover and looked at the title page, his eyes still wide.

"'The Beginner's Guide to Alchemy'...?"

He tried to mask his surprise, glancing curiously over at Hermione. The girl just smiled proudly, pushing some hair out of her face.

"Can you believe I found that?" she said animatedly. "I didn't know they had it here. I never noticed it before, but it was sorted out of its genre. Would you imagine, finding that in the fiction section of the library? Honestly!"

A small smirk had made its way onto Ed's face, genuinely amused that an alchemy book was in Hogwarts at all. "Why're you so interested in alchemy, Hermione?"

Still smiling proudly, Hermione flicked some hair over her shoulder. "Well, it started back in our first year. You see, Harry, Ron, and I heard about this..."

Ed nodded absent-mindedly, her voice slowly getting tuned out as he turned his attention to the book in his hands. What did these wizards know about alchemy? He'd never thought to ask anyone about the subject in order to keep himself and his specialty a secret. But to think that they might actually know something about alchemy was somewhat exciting. He flipped to the first page and began to read the introduction:

Alchemy is a form of very advanced magic that few are able to perform. When performed successfully, it can be used to transform, or transmute, one sort of material into another. It was a much sought after art in the past, mainly to find a way to turn lead into gold. However...

A disappointed frown appeared on Ed's face. Whoever wrote the book had no idea what they were talking about. Or they were talking about something else and had just called it 'alchemy.' Or maybe the book and its contents were completely outdated. Regardless, they weren't talking about his alchemy. For starters, alchemy was a science, not an art, and certainly not a form of magic. Ed quickly skimmed through the rest of the chapters. Not a single word on the principle of equivalent exchange, either. It was wrong. It really did belong with the other fiction books.

He sighed in annoyance as he shut the book with a soft slap. He was about to put it back down on the table when two words pierced through Ed's senses.

"... Stone, or the Philosopher's Stone, as some call it. He..."

He instantly froze, the book hovering just centimeters over the pile it belonged to. Slowly, Ed looked back up at Hermione, his gold eyes wide in amazement.

"What did you just say?"

Hermione looked confused and offended all at once. "About Nicolas Flamel? Well, I was just saying that he's a famous alchemist. He created the Sorcerer's Stone. Some people call it the Philosopher'sStone, but anyway..."

"He... He created it?" Ed choked out. "He actually created the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Well," Hermione stammered, "yes. Yes, he did."

An unsettling feeling erupted in his stomach and Ed thought he was going to be sick. He rubbed his forehead and his voice became soft, shaking with disgust. "What kind of sick bastard would actually..."

"Is something wrong?" Hermione wanted to know.

"Does anyone know how he made the stone?" Ed asked, raising his voice slightly as he looked at the Gryffindor with a very serious expression on his face. "Are there any records of his research, or any books he may have published?"

She gave a small start at the look on his face and turned away. "I'm not entirely sure, but... I suppose the headmaster would know something of it. After all-"

"Thanks."

Ed shoved the alchemy book into Hermione's hands as he brushed past and left the library, leaving a very stunned Hermione Granger in his wake. He quickly made his way down corridors and up stairs to the headmaster's office, walking with such urgency in his step that no one dared to stand in his path. He pulled out his pocket watch briefly and glanced at the time. He had just over an hour before Draco was released from his detention with Professor Vector.

By the time he reached the gargoyle that marked the entrance to the headmaster's office, Ed realized that he didn't know how to get inside. He vaguely remembered McGonagall saying some sort of password, but Ed couldn't remember what it was. Either way, Ed didn't have time to just stand out there dumbly. He glared at the gargoyle.

"I need to talk to the headmaster," Ed growled, as though the statue could understand him. "Lemme in there, or you're gonna be a pile of pebbles on the floor."

Interestingly enough, the gargoyle actually did jump out of the way and the moving staircase was revealed to him. Ed blinked in surprise. Had his threat actually worked? He shook his head, pushing the thought out of his mind. He then darted up the steps, taking them two at a time, and arrived in front of Dumbledore's office in no time at all. The headmaster obviously expected him, having moved the gargoyle out of the way upon hearing Edward's voice. The jovial twinkle in his blue eyes faded slightly when he saw the serious, urgent look on the young state alchemist's face as he burst through the doors.

"How may I help you, Edward?"

Ed clenched his fists at his sides and stepped closer to the desk. "Remember you offering to let me borrow any of your books at the start of the term?"

Dumbledore's eyes flickered over to look at the large bookshelves. "Yes, I do."

"I'm gonna have to take you up on that."

While the books in Dumbledore's office were much more informative than those in the library, Ed was still at a loss for leads concerning the Philosopher's Stone. He couldn't seem to find much of anything on alchemy, and what he found about Nicolas Flamel seemed to be the same thing over and over again. Even so, he wasn't about to give up. Ed was now sitting on the floor with his back pressed against the shelf and completely surrounded by a mess of open books that he was finished with, another thick text in his hands.

The headmaster had been watching Edward, leaning forward on his desk with his fingers interlaced. It was hard to tell if he was fascinated by the alchemist's behavior or if he was analyzing him. The boy had been at it for almost an hour.

"What are you searching for, Edward?" Dumbledore asked him at length.

It took a moment for Ed to even realize that the headmaster had spoken to him, having been so absorbed in the material he was reading. He raised his golden eyes slightly from the text of his book to look at the old wizard.

"Hm? Sir?"

"What is it that you are searching for?" the headmaster reiterated.

Ed hesitated before responding. "Headmaster, what do you know about the Philosopher's Stone?"

Suddenly, Dumbledore looked as though dawn had just broken out over his face. He nodded slowly, a small smile on his lips. "I see. The Philosopher's Stone. I take it you are searching for Nicolas Flamel's research, then."

The fact that the old wizard understood things so quickly was a little unnerving. Ed hesitated for a moment again, averting his gaze.

"I... I need to know how he did it," he said quietly. "How to create a Philosopher's Stone... When my brother and I first learned how it was done, we were... disgusted. I couldn't believe it. To sacrifice living humans... I thought about giving up completely, but then realized there was something more to it. So..." Ed looked back up, his gold eyes gleaming with determination. "I need to know. If Flamel knew something or used some alternate method, then I need to know."

Dumbledore wore an unreadable expression. He just gazed at Edward, studying every detail of his face. "May I ask... what you need the stone for?"

There was a long silence and Ed turned away again. He shut his eyes as the painful memories resurfaced and gripped his auto-mail arm. Images of his younger brother flashed in his mind's eye; images of both his true, natural born face and of his empty shell of armor.

"There's something I have to do," he said at last. "I... I did something horrible. It's my fault, and it's my duty to fix it."

The headmaster nodded again as he absorbed what Ed was telling him. After a moment, he rose to his feet and walked toward Edward solemnly. "It was here, you know."

Ed's eyes shot open and grew wide. What? He slowly looked up at the old wizard, his mouth slightly agape. "You mean..."

"The stone was here."

"It was?" he yelled excitedly, leaping to his feet. "Really? Where is it now?"

There was a pause. "We had to destroy it. Almost five years ago."

Ed's heart sank into his stomach. He suddenly felt sick again and had to grip the shelf behind him for support. The circular room seemed to be spinning. "Destroyed...?" he could hear himself say, his voice just over a whisper. "Then... the sacrifices of all those people... Their lives..."

"However, I do not believe that stone was the one you are searching for." Dumbledore placed a steadying hand on Ed's shoulder. "No lives were taken, or sacrificed. No one was harmed."

"A... different stone?" Ed murmured, his eyes still wide. "Then... what...?"

"The stone that Nicolas Flamel created," the headmaster explained, "gave a person the ability to turn lead into gold and was a key element in creating the Elixir of Life. Voldemort wished to create the Elixir and obtain immortality, which is the very reason we had to destroy it." He then looked meaningfully at Edward. "But the stone of which you speak appears to be of a different nature. It is meant to... act as an alchemic amplifier of some sort. Am I wrong?"

Ed was silent for a moment as he rolled the words over in his head. "No, you're right," he said slowly. He then sighed in relief, leaning back against the shelf. "So it's a different stone... No one was killed."

Dumbledore smiled slightly, nodding his head. "That's right."

"But that means," Ed muttered with a disheartened groan, "I'm back to square one."

He groaned again and hung his head in defeat, at which Dumbledore just laughed softly. He then pulled out his wand and used magic to return all the books that Ed had taken down in his frenzied search. Ed took a deep, calming breath as he composed himself.

"I'll just have to keep looking, then. Maybe there's a way to create the stone Al and I are looking for with magic."

"Let me know if I can be of any further assistance," said Dumbledore, returning to his desk.

"Alright, but for now, could you maybe keep an eye out for any of Flamel's research documents? I'm sure they'd really help out."

The headmaster's smile grew. "Of course."

Ed gave him a boyish grin as he turned to leave, but then halted when his eye caught on something. He quickly pulled out a book entitled 'Where There's A Wand, There's A Way' from the shelf and raised it slightly so the headmaster could see.

"I'm just gonna borrow this one," he said. "Thanks!"

"Oh, Edward," Dumbledore called out, "one more thing, before I forget."

The young alchemist froze in place and turned back to look at the headmaster expectantly. A merry twinkle could be seen in Dumbledore's blue eyes.

"The password is 'Acid Pops.' Just so you don't have to threaten my gargoyle anymore."

The headmaster winked playfully. Ed's cheeks flushed a little, a sheepish grin on his face as he pulled open the main door and slipped out of the office.

Author's Note: Hehe, hey, I couldn't resist. I mean, what's an FMA/HP crossover without mention of the great Sorceror's/Philosopher's Stone? I just had to have it somewhere. Just took my time putting it in. :P short chapter, I know, but... it shall suffice.