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.

Author's Note: sorry it took so long! i've been having a bit of writer's block lately, too, but i'll manage. and to my family, vacation is a busy time. :P we always have to be doing something. sheesh. but anyways, here's the next chapter! i tried to upload this last week, but the site was having some sort of weird problem, so i decided to try again later... oddly enough, "later" ended up lasting a few days. ehehe... so thanks for everyone's patience and i hope that you guys continue to enjoy the story.

Chapter 13
The Dating Problem

Winter descended upon Hogwarts with a thick blanket of sleet and snow (which was never a good thing for someone with metal limbs). The first semester was almost over and their winter break would be starting soon. Everyone at Hogwarts was brimming with excitement; some just wanted classes to end and others were eagerly anticipating their Christmas presents.

As for Edward, he suddenly found himself swamped with letters from Amestris. Several were from Al, but the larger bulk came from headquarters, all with essentially the same message: Have you seen Roy Mustang? Roy had apparently told everyone that he was leaving on business to check up on Ed, but since Ed hadn't seen the bastard and therefore had no idea where he was, the colonel had just plain gone missing. Ed didn't really care what had happened just as long as it meant that Mustang wasn't around to bother him. On the other hand, he had to wonder where his reports were going.

By now, everyone had heard about Slughorn's upcoming Christmas party and it quickly became the most popular thing to talk about. Many students that wanted to go were slithering up to those who were invited. Zabini had asked some blonde Ravenclaw girl or something and many girls were apparently competing for Harry's attention. Fortunately for Ed, no one was pining over him since they already knew he was going with Hermione (which Alphonse was still teasing him about). Yet every time he walked past a group of girls in the hall, they would all watch him forlornly and release a round of dramatic sighs.

All the excitement over the party seemed to irritate Draco more than anything, probably because he hadn't been invited. Every time he heard someone mention the party he would scowl in annoyance and mutter something about how he had something to do that night anyway.

The last day of classes for the semester arrived and the student body was alive with thought of vacation and Slughorn's party to be held that night. Those who were invited were fussing over their dates and what to wear while the people who wanted to go were still trying to find a way in. Ed couldn't say he was really looking forward to Slughorn's party, but he couldn't help feeling anxious about it.

"So Elric, what time are you and Granger meeting tonight?"

Ed practically choked on his food at the question and was thrown into a full blown coughing fit. Crabbe and Goyle snickered at the reaction while Draco turned indignantly away, refusing to pay attention. Pansy pulled a disgusted face when she heard the question, even though she was currently engaged in a conversation with some of the other Slytherin girls. Meanwhile, Blaise Zabini, the fiend that asked the question, was looking at Ed with a smug expression on his face.

"H-Huh?"

Zabini gave a sly smile, elbowing Ed teasingly. "Your Mudblood date to Slughorn's party, remember?"

He could feel his face burn slightly as he reached for his pumpkin juice and started to gulp it all down. Blaise's smile seemed to be growing.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten! Hard to forget an ass like hers, I'd think."

His pumpkin juice almost sprayed out across the table and straight into Crabbe/Goyle's dumb face. Pansy looked just as shocked and even reached over to slap Zabini's arm, interrupting the conversation she was having with the other girls.

"Would you shut the bloody hell up, Zabini?" Draco snarled, his attempt to ignore the conversation failing miserably.

Zabini just laughed out loud. "Well don't leave us hanging, Elric!" he grinned. "It's a simple question, you know."

Ed took a deep breath to compose himself, though his face was still slightly red. "I don't know, okay? I haven't talked to her about that yet."

"Sheesh," Zabini muttered, though still pleased at the scene he had caused. "You're a total amateur at this, eh, Elric? You realize the party is tonight, don't you?"

The blonde just rolled his eyes as he worked on properly drinking his pumpkin juice. "Just leave me alone. I'll get around to it."

Zabini sighed, exasperated. He suddenly rose to his feet, grabbing hold of Ed's arm and pulling him out of his seat. Ed yelled out in surprise as Zabini dragged him across the Great Hall, his gold eyes wide in shock.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'll show you how it's done."

"N-No!" Ed shouted, struggling to break free. "I don't need you showing me how it's done! Back off! Lemme go!"

He looked around the Great Hall frantically. Everyone was staring at the scene they had caused and a few people were holding back their laughter. Ed wanted very much to hit someone as they passed to shut them up, or maybe transmute the tables and scare them all so much they'd forget all about what was going on. But he had no choice in the matter. He could only look on as the Gryffindor table drew nearer and nearer. There was a bewildered look on Hermione's face as Zabini dragged him toward her.

"Hey, Granger! Elric's got something to say."

Zabini grinned as he threw Ed forward. Edward stumbled slightly, but quickly straightened himself. He stood with his back straight and his arms pinned to his sides as though he were standing at strict attention in the Fuhrer's office. Ron was giving Ed a mean look, in spite of the girl who had wrapped herself around him. Harry, as well as most of the other Gryffindors nearby, just looked completely dumbfounded. Hermione squirmed slightly in her seat, uncomfortable with all the attention they were getting.

"Hello Edward," she said, rather awkwardly.

"Uh..." Zabini gave Ed a rough nudge forward, prompting Ed to speak. "H-Hi... Hermione..."

"Is there... something I can do for you?"

His cheeks were starting to burn. He'd never been forced into a situation like this before. He wasn't sure what to do and just stood there, his mind racing, desperately searching for something to say. Ed was painfully aware of almost everyone in the Great Hall watching him, waiting to see what would happen next. Zabini was growing increasingly annoyed with the silence and rolled his eyes.

"Since Elric's obviously lost the ability for coherent speech," he said, slinging an arm over Ed's shoulder, "let me translate for him. He'll be waiting here for you at, what say, eight o'clock sharp? Ready to take you to Slughorn's party tonight. Fine by you?"

Ed felt like his entire head had turned red. Everyone turned their expectant gazes from him over to Hermione. She glanced about her quickly then lifted her chin into the air.

"Um, sure," she said, trying to sound confident. "That's fine."

Zabini smiled, giving Ed a hearty slap on the back. "Right! Then he'll see you later tonight!"

Hermione nodded her head and turned back to her meal. Ed still felt like his face was on fire as Zabini pushed him back in the direction of the Slytherin table.

"See?" he told him, clearly pleased with himself. "That wasn't so bad now, was it, Elric? You take notes for the next time?"

"Next time," Ed growled, finding his voice at last, "you can get dragged and shoved around like a rag doll, and I'll be the one publicly humiliating you."

The grin on Zabini's face only grew. "Very generous of you."

The rest of the day seemed to speed by. Ed and Draco had no classes after lunch, so they spent the afternoon just lounging around. Draco decided to take a nap in the dorms while Ed went through his books again, still trying to solve the great enigma that was magic and searching for information that may help his search for the Philosopher's Stone. He had started taking notes in his research notebook and was constantly examining them to see if he had overlooked anything. Ed also killed some time wandering the halls while Draco was still asleep, stretching his cramped limbs. While doing so, he saw a strange looking creature of some sort swooping up and down all the corridors screeching "Potty loves Loony" in the loudest, most annoying manner possible.

As night began to fall, Zabini came into the dormitory to get ready for his date to Slughorn's party. Ed took that as a cue to get ready as well and excused himself to change into his usual black outfit. When he reentered the room, Zabini was dressed in a black and white tuxedo and was standing in front of a full-length mirror that he had evidently conjured up. Ed looked him over, his face expressionless.

"Nice tux."

"'Tucks'? These are dress robes, mate."

Ed raised an eyebrow at him then shrugged, moving toward his trunk to put away the school robes. As far as he was concerned, it was a tuxedo, and why any guy would want it to be known as "dress robes" was beyond him. Draco just narrowed his eyes at both of his roommates from where he lay stretched out on his bed.

"Zabini, you look like a bloody penguin," he muttered.

Blaise examined himself in the mirror. He turned around to examine the backside and then ran one hand over his head, giving the mirror a charming smile as though he intended to seduce it.

"I think I look good," he said after a moment. "If anyone needs to rethink their clothes, it's Elric."

Ed shut his trunk with a loud snap. "Bite me."

"Very charming," Zabini grinned. "You're sure to get Granger into your bed that way."

Suddenly Draco sat straight up in the bed, his face red with rage. He kept switching his angry glare between Zabini and Edward as though he couldn't decide which one of them he wanted to kill. Ed's cheeks instantly flamed upward and he shot a dangerous look in Zabini's direction.

"Who said anything about getting her into my bed?" he shouted indignantly. "I'm not a sick pervert like you!"

"Damn right you're not getting her into your bed!" Draco yelled, finally deciding that he would hate Ed. "You keep your hands off her!"

Just as he yelled, Crabbe and Goyle entered the room, only to freeze in their tracks at the doorway. Everyone was now looking at Draco in a blend of amusement and shock. Malfoy looked at each of them in turn, faltering slightly as his face started to redden even more, then finally leaned back on his bed.

"She's a filthy Mudblood," he said quickly. "For your own sake, keep your hands to yourself."

Ed smirked. "Right."

"Ease off, Malfoy," said Zabini with a sly smile. "I was only kidding. Besides, I doubt if Granger would let Elric touch her at all."

Ed made a face. He wasn't sure whether or not to be offended by that comment. Crabbe and Goyle exchanged confused glances before finally shrugging and stepped into the room. They both went to their respective trunks and started to pull out some school supplies and textbooks. When Draco noticed this, he sat back up in bed, an incredulous look on his face.

"Crabbe, Goyle, what the hell are you doing?"

One of them looked up at Draco and groaned. "Snape's given us detention."

"WHAT?" Draco shouted indignantly, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "Detention? On the bloody last day of school?"

The other one shut his trunk and hung his head. "Yeah. We're not doing so well in DADA."

"But what about-"

"Sorry, mate," Crabbe/Goyle mumbled as he walked toward the door.

"Yeah, sorry," said the other Crabbe/Goyle as he joined his other half at the door.

Then they both left the dorm, heading off to meet Snape and do whatever he told them to do as punishment. Draco stared off in the direction they left, his eyes wide. He then flopped back down in his bed, running his hands through his white-blonde hair in frustration.

"SNAPE!" he shouted, his voice shrill with rage. "Bloody Snape and his damned DADA class! He doesn't know what the bloody hell he's doing! He just... DAMN HIM! This is total bollocks!"

Zabini snorted as he checked himself in the mirror again. "Well, this is new, you ranting about Snape..."

"What?"

"You've always been the one to stick up for him. Thought he was your favorite teacher or something."

Malfoy grunted in response, settling himself comfortably into his bed.

"Come to think of it," Ed said slowly, "weren't you supposed to go to his office after class the other day? I thought I heard him say something."

"Uh-oh," Zabini winced. "You know how he gets when you miss his appointments."

Draco snorted. "Like I care."

Ed raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Draco. Malfoy just glowered back at them with a look on his face that demanded silence. Zabini smirked slightly as he tweaked his appearance, removing his tie and leaving the first few buttons of his white shirt undone. Then, quickly spinning in place one last time, Zabini bid the others farewell and went off to meet his blonde Ravenclaw date.

Draco grunted after Zabini as he made himself comfortable on his bed, propping his head up with his arms and falling into a silent, thoughtful reverie. Ed watched him for a moment, as though waiting for him to do something suspicious. There were so many accusations at the tip of the state alchemist's tongue, but he still had nothing to support his claims. He hadn't even really reported every detail of the situation to headquarters; he only gave them half-truths and things they really needed to know.

As Ed watched Draco, he realized that the Malfoy heir looked more ill than ever. He had noticed Draco starting to look more fatigued and sickly as time passed, but now there were definite shadows beneath his eyes and his skin had a distinct tinge of gray to it. Ed narrowed his eyes. He couldn't figure out why Draco was in such a state. He didn't believe for a second the excuse Draco had been giving to Pansy and the others; that it was just the stress of receiving so many punishments and detentions. He knew there was something else.

"What were you and the idiot duo supposed to do tonight?"

The Slytherin opened his eyes and glanced at Ed. Ed studied his features, trying to see if he could figure something out just by looking at him. But his blank expression gave away nothing.

"It's none of your business, Elric."

"I thought you'd say that," Ed grumbled. 'Looks like I'm gonna have to try to worm my way into your business.' "I just wanted to know if I could help or something."

Draco's face twisted into a sneer. "You wanna help? Bollocks."

Ed grunted. 'Untrusting, suspicious little...' "It was just an offer..."

"Besides," Draco hissed in disgust, "aren't you running late for your date with Granger?" He put a special, disgusted emphasis on the word "date."

"Fine then," Ed muttered, narrowing his eyes. "I'm going."

He looked down at his white gloves and adjusted them carefully so that nothing metallic could be seen. Then, making sure he was presentable at least, Ed moved toward the door to leave. Just before he stepped out of the room, he glanced back at Draco over his shoulder.

"Don't do anything stupid."

Malfoy threw him a dangerous glare. "Get out of here and take your bloody concern with you. I'll be just fine, thanks, so leave me alone."

He hesitated briefly before finally leaving the dorm and shutting the door behind him. Ed wasn't concerned about whether or not Draco would be alright. He was concerned about what that boy did when no one was looking. Ed hated to admit it, but Mustang had been right at the start of term. He had to befriend Draco somehow. Otherwise, he wasn't going to get anywhere.

'Maybe this was a bad idea.'

Edward shuffled his feet as he waited for Hermione in front of the Great Hall. He couldn't help but feel nervous. He'd never done this before and he couldn't for the life of him remember the one time that he did ask a girl out (asking Winry to marry him when they were five). Any chances for interaction with people his age had been shot the day he left to become a dog of the military. He'd never imagined - not once - that he would actually have to ask a girl on a date as part of a mission.

"Give me a war over a date any day of the week,"he mumbled miserably to himself. "I'll take it. How the hell do people manage to do this?"

He switched his fidgeting from his feet to his hands, pulling at the material of his jacket and glove to hide his auto-mail. A sudden realization hit him, along with a whole new wave of panic.

'What if Hermione wants to dance?'

Dance? Would she really want to dance? Did people still do that at parties? And what if she did? Hermione would have to touch his arm and she'd feel his auto-mail! She would know the difference between flesh and metal right away! Ed pushed the thought out of his mind immediately. If worse came to worse, he'd run away. It was that simple.

After a while of waiting, a small crowd of girls began to form near the doorway. They were all staring at Ed and releasing their overly dramatic, forlorn sighs. Ed did his best to ignore them, but their collective sighs were so loud that they were getting on his nerves.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Edward."

At the sound of Hermione's voice, Ed instantly spun around to face her. He had been planning on instantly grabbing her arm and dragging her away from the Great Hall and those crazy, sighing girls as quickly as possible, but as soon as he saw her, he froze.

She was wearing a faded green tube dress that had a slight frill at the top. The dress clung tightly to her torso, emphasizing her slim figure. The skirt fell down to her knees in many intricate folds. She had flattened her hair slightly, so it was no longer a bushy, frizzy mane of chestnut brown but had turned into elegant curls and waves. Over her shoulders she had self-consciously pulled on her black cloak, though it didn't hide her very well. Ed instantly forgot all about escaping the amassed girls at the door, a faint blush coming to his cheeks.

"H-Hi..." He caught himself before he was full out gawking at her and tried to force himself out of his daze. "You, um... You look nice!"

Hermione shifted uncomfortably under his amazed stare. "Well, Parvati helped me. Erm... You look good, as well! Very distinguished."

"Oh, um... Thanks!" Ed's cheeks turned a shade redder as he looked away, embarrassed. He knew she meant it as a compliment, but he'd never thought his usual black outfit was distinguishing. 'Maybe I should have taken Zabini's advice and given more thought to my clothes.'

At the same time, a round of disappointed sounds came from the girls at the door, making their (unwanted) presence known to both teenagers. Ed glanced over at them, making a face.

"Let's get out of here. I don't think I can handle being around those girls any longer."

Hermione nodded, the look on her face saying that she felt the same way. Ed took Hermione by the arm and led her away quickly, only slowing down the instant they turned the corner. He paused and took some time to make sure they weren't followed, then released a relieved sigh and started walking to Slughorn's room with Hermione at his side.

"Shouldn't we be hurrying?" she asked him. "I think we might be late."

Ed just stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "I'm not really in any rush to get there."

The Gryffindor nodded her head slowly and was quiet. After a few moments of walking, Ed glanced over at Hermione and groaned inwardly.

'This is awkward...'

Somewhere deep down, Ed knew that part of the awkwardness was because he couldn't help feeling like a wrench was going to soar through the air and smack him square in the face at any moment. As he thought about it further, he realized it was only going to get worse. At some point, Ed knew he was going to have to ask Hermione what she could tell him about Malfoy. He already knew that it was going to be an immensely awkward conversation and had no idea how to bring it up other than to just ask her directly. Ed mentally slapped himself. Some wonderful date he was turning out to be.

Hermione chose to break the silence first. "So Edward-"

"Oh, uh, just 'Ed' is fine."

"Alright, then," she said, taking a breath. "Ed. How's your first term at Hogwarts been?"

Ed looked up at Hermione, realizing for the first time how much taller she was. "It's... been good. It just took some getting used to."

"It's a wonderful place, isn't it? I imagine it's rather different from the academy in Germany."

There was a proud tone in her voice that Ed almost laughed at. Was she trying to compare Hogwarts to a school that didn't exist? Ed smirked, deciding to play along.

"Definitely," he told her with a slight laugh. "Back there, the principal is an irresponsible bastard who's only interested in flirting and going out on dates with girls."

A scandalized look suddenly appeared on Hermione's face. "What?"

"Yep!" Ed went on, enjoying himself. "He only does his work when the vice principal fires a few shots near his head. Other than that, I guess it's a pretty standard school. The students mostly just do what they want. I mean, we've all got independent study projects to work on, so it's no big deal."

Hermione looked stunned by the half-truths that Ed told her. "Well, that sounds... interesting."

He just grinned broadly, pleased. Ed suddenly realized how much he had missed Amestris, even if it was full of strange people that (for the most part) enjoyed annoying him. He definitely missed the freedom that he had there, getting to wander around the countryside with Al and helping people on the way.

"It's not much, but... it's home."

A wistful smile appeared on Hermione's face. "Well, Hogwarts has become like a second home to me," she said. "It has to all of us, really. We practically grew up in these halls. Me, Harry, Ron..."

"And Draco."

The words flew out of his mouth before Ed could stop them. Hermione turned to look at him, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Erm, well, yes." Hermione bit down on her lip. "Though we didn't really grow up with him..."

"Well, you said that you've known him for six years..."

There was a short, awkward silence, and Ed was starting to regret his own bluntness.

"I can't say that I really know him," Hermione said at last. "He mostly just spends time insulting Harry and Ron."

Ed laughed slightly. "I noticed that."

She drew in a deep breath and took on a thoughtful look. "He's... Well, he's an insufferable git. He just likes provoking Harry and Ron, and it's ridiculous how they give in to it repeatedly."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Well, yes... I suppose so. I don't know what he expects to gain from it, though."

He couldn't stop himself from snorting. 'Maybe it's because he's a spoiled elitist bastard that has nothing better to do.'

"I always try to stop it, and I don't even know where I get the incentive," she went on. "On second thought, I think it's because I want to believe that it's just a mask he puts on."

Ed cupped his chin in his hand, his gaze lowering thoughtfully to the floor. "A mask, huh? Interesting... but what would he be hiding...?"

"Oh, Ed, I don't know," Hermione said with a sigh. He looked up in surprise, not realizing that he had spoken out loud. "Maybe I'm just being silly. Making Malfoy seem like some misunderstood person. He's always been so horrible to me, yet this year..." She looked thoughtful. "It's different. He hardly ever talks to me directly, but when he looks at me... it's a strange feeling. Like it's some other person looking at me, not the cruel, loathsome, foul person that he is."

"He does space out a lot, come to think of it," Ed murmured. "I sorta just figured that that's how he is, but... Cruel, loathsome, and foul, huh? Does that have anything to do with all that shit about mud and blood? What is that?"

"Oh. That." Hermione sighed again, exasperated. "You haven't heard of that term? Germany must have a different word for it then."

A nervous smile passed over Ed's lips. "G-Germany. Right."

"Mudblood's a really foul name for someone of non-magic heritage. Like me." She took a deep breath, shaking her head slowly. "Malfoy thinks he's above everyone because he's what people call 'pureblood.' It's utter nonsense, I know, and I used to... get really upset when he called me that. If there is one person I'd hate most in the world, that would be him."

"Just for that?" Ed shook his head in disapproval. "Man... I really don't get the customs around here... But it's just a word. It doesn't actually mean anything, Hermione."

"Perhaps," she said with a nod. "But... either way, I can't blame him, with the kind of environment he grew up in."

"Yeah," Ed snorted, as he thought of the screaming house-elf in Malfoy Manor. "Everyone back at that house was insane."

"Insane?" interjected Hermione. "Well, I'd think of a few more words to describe his father."

Ed raised his eyebrows. "His father? Lucius Malfoy?"

She just nodded, pressing her lips into a tight line.

"What about him?"

"He's a horrible man," she said, practically spitting the words out in disgust, "and I thought Malfoy was going to turn up just like him. I was just a child then, and everything seemed black and white to me. But now, I can't help feeling that Malfoy has reason to act like that. I mean it doesn't justify his calling me that awful name all this years... However, I don't feel he really means it anymore. I'm not as affected as I had been for all those years. It's absurd, but I want to think that it's not his fault, that somewhere deep down, he's a different person. I can never be sure though, he can be such a mystery sometimes..."

"Wow," Ed murmured, nodding his head. "I never thought of it that way... I guess the aristocracy really does run deep."

Hermione let out a small, nervous laugh, shaking her head. "Oh, Ed, I'm sorry. I'm getting carried away. I must sound ridiculous..."

"Not a problem," Ed smiled, waving a hand dismissively. "It's interesting, actually. Really interesting..."

The last words came out sounding more shrewd than he intended and Hermione gave him a strange look. "Why do you want to know all this?"

He shrugged his shoulders casually, ignoring it. "Just out of interest. Well, anyway... looks like we're here."

They had finally reached the entrance to Slughorn's room. The door stood partially open, allowing the jovial sounds of celebration and loud music to filter into the outside corridors. Hermione and Ed just stood outside for a while as though they were considering whether or not they should enter, then finally stepped inside to join the party.

Author's Note: credit for most of Hermione's dialogue in this chapter goes to MJade-1. and her dress is basically what Emma wore to the premiere for Prisoner of Azkaban, i'm just really really bad at describing clothes. i'm still jealous of her...

this chapter was originally... much much MUCH Longer, so i decided to split it in half. i'm a little anxious to know what everyone thinks so far, so your reviews would be oh so beautiful to read and greatly appreciated! XD