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 now Ed knows that there's something more to it, and he's gotten too involved to pull out... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

Disclaimer: For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty me. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

Author's Note: lol, everyone has such different reactions... i love you guys! you guys rock my world! and melgar! i thought i told you to stop tin canning people. Blaise Zabini isn't so bad, he's just a tad... sex-obsessed. like most boys, really. XP so don't tin can him, he doesn't deserve that.

oh wow, this chapter is another long one... man, what's going on around here?!? XD well, i guess that means it's worth reading, eh? enjoy!

Chapter 26
Love and Taint

Edward peeled his eyes open to a world awash in colors of silver and green. His mind was momentarily disoriented and he immediately had to remind himself (for the umpteenth time) that he was in the Slytherin dorms at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He sat up groggily, stretched out his limbs, and smothered a large, exhausted yawn. Judging from the fact that it was still dark in the room, it was probably very early in the morning. Ed scowled. He hated days that started like this; waking up way too early and being unable to go back to sleep. What was worse was the fact that there were far too many of them these days.

Quickly tying his long hair into his usual braid, Ed dragged himself out of bed and stepped carefully across the room to get some clothes out of his trunk. He glanced around, checking up on his roommates. As usual, they were sound asleep, which gave Ed the opening to get to the bathroom ahead of everyone else to take a shower. Ed counted the occupied beds: Goyle, Crabbe, and Zabini, all still snoring away in their plush four poster beds. Everyone accounted...

He blinked, doing a double take. 'Wait a second. Malfoy's not here. Actually...' Ed frowned as the next thought came to him. 'I can't remember him turning in at all last night...'

Frowning, Ed pulled on his clothes and hurried quickly but quietly out of the dorm. Doing the usual "frantically search Hogwarts grounds for the missing Malfoy" at this ungodly hour (which, he discovered upon retrieving his pocket watch, was precisely 4:17 AM) was the last thing he'd ever hoped to find himself doing. Mustang's fault, obviously. In the end, this entire situation was Mustang's fault.

Ed was already planning out the routes he would take to efficiently scout the school grounds as he entered the common room. He'd barely taken two steps toward the exit before all of his mental processes ground to a halt.

Draco Malfoy was in the Slytherin common room. End search.

Heaving a deep, thoroughly annoyed sigh, Ed walked toward the fireplace, in front of which Draco could be found sitting with a thick, hard-bound book in his hands. Ed's annoyance slowly washed away, replaced by curiosity and some level of fascination. "Slytherin Bookworm" was his title. Not that he was proud of it or felt the need to defend it, but... Since when was Draco so completely focused on a book?

He took a few more careful steps toward Draco and leaned forward to peer at the title embossed on the book's cover.

"'Principles of Deadly Poisons and How to Brew Them'?" he read aloud. He raised an eyebrow. "You planning on doing me in, Malfoy?"

The sound of Ed's voice seemed to pull Draco's nose out of the book. He seemed rather shocked at first, but he quickly changed his expression so that he was shooting Ed a particularly murderous glare.

"If you refuse to keep your nose out of my business, then I just might. And now that you mention it, you'd be the perfect target."

Ed smirked slightly. "Well, if you're gonna look up which poison to use, you shouldn't be reading the book right in front of your victim."

Draco quirked an eyebrow amusedly. "Or maybe it's all part of some greater plan, Elric, and I'm trying to throw you off the trail."

"Ooh, a murder mystery!" Ed trilled in mock excitement, taking a seat on the couch. "Let me guess; Draco Malfoy, with the poison, in the common room."

Draco narrowed his silver eyes at Ed before returning to his book. Ed sank back into the couch cushions, wanting to go back to sleep. He let his eyes wander around the room for a little while, but his gaze eventually settled back on the book in Draco's hands.

"What's that for, anyway?"

There was a brief pause. "I'm going to poison you, remember?"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Seriously. What's it for, Malfoy?"

At length, Draco lowered the book and sighed. "It's... an extra credit work for Slughorn. I'm sure you've noticed my marks slipping, I've got to bring them back up. He wants me to write him an essay on poisons and antidotes."

Ed raised an eyebrow at him, but remained silent. He hadn't heard anything about extra credit work, but it seemed likely that one of Draco's more recent disappearing acts had included a trip to Slughorn's office to discuss his grades. Then suddenly, something else grabbed Ed's attention. His eyebrows knitted together as he studied Draco's face.

He had somehow gotten even paler and more sickly looking than before. It was clear that he hadn't been getting enough to eat and was losing a lot of weight. There was a distressed air about him that implied that he was stressed and overworked. Considering that it looked like Draco had been up all night just for that extra-credit in Potions, for a moment Ed wondered if his condition really did have something to do with schoolwork. But it still seemed impossible; nobody would go to such lengths just to maintain a decent grade in school. And there was still the unsolved matter of what Draco was doing every time he slipped under Ed's radar...

"You don't look too good," Ed told him casually. "Maybe you should get some rest."

"And maybe you should keep working on that disappearing talent like I told you to," Draco snapped.

Ed clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowing slightly in annoyance. At length, he let out an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You know, Malfoy... I could help if you want."

Draco glanced up from his book, looking mildly confused as he turned his gaze on Ed. "Come again?"

He could kick himself for what he was doing. Once again, he blamed it all on Mustang. "You heard me. I can help you. I mean, you look way too overworked to do this on your own."

"Spare me, Elric," Draco scoffed, snapping his book shut and getting up to go to the dormitory. "I don't need any help. I can catch up with schoolwork just fine, thank you very much."

Ed leaned his head back into the couch cushion and shut his eyes tiredly. "That wasn't what I was talking about..."

Draco stopped walking abruptly and spun back around to face Ed. "Oh? Then enlighten me. What exactly were you talking about?"

"Look," Ed sighed, slightly frustrated. He knew Draco enough by now to expect such an answer, but it still irritated him. "I just thought I'd offer-"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Draco hissed angrily. It was obvious that he was keeping himself from yelling so as not to wake anyone else up. "I don't need anyone's help! Least of all from you! What the bloody hell makes you think I can trust you?"

Ed sprang up from the couch and spun around to face Draco. Before he knew it, he found the words flying bluntly from his open mouth, "Hermione, that's what!"

Draco raised an eyebrow curiously. Realizing what he had just blurted out, Ed frowned and settled back into his seat.

"I- Well, I mean... I know how you feel about her, and..." His mind wandered back to the letter that was safely stashed at the bottom of his trunk. "And I know it's not just some silly crush or whatever. And, well, I know you never actually made me promise, but I haven't said a word about it to anyone."

Which was the truth. Technically. He hadn't given Al any details on the matter.

The Malfoy heir snorted and looked away. "What of it, Elric?" he muttered softly. "I told you, she no longer matters to me. And I'm going to try every single day to forget that Hermione Granger ever existed."

A sad frown crept onto Ed's lips. "Good luck with that. You can try, but I really don't think you'll get far."

Draco shot Ed a hateful glare. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you've changed."

He cocked an eyebrow, and then turned back around with his arms folded indignantly over his chest. "Elric, you have no idea what you're talking about. You've known me for what? One bloody semester! Who the hell do you think you are to tell me such total bollocks?"

Ed sighed and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I'm not the one who said it."

There was a long moment of silence. Ed glanced over at Draco and, upon noticing the confused look on his face, continued.

"Hermione did."

Another moment of silence. Draco's eyes had gone slightly wider as he stared at the back of Ed's head. "She-"

"She said something about how there was something different about you this year." He strained to remember exactly what Hermione had told him at Slughorn's party. "Something... easily overlooked, but that she still managed to see in you."

Draco was stunned speechless. His mouth hung slightly agape, for once unable to think of a single intelligible thing to say.

"She's pretty amazing, y'know?" Ed went on, smiling ever so slightly. "Always able to find the silver lining that no one else can see..."

For a moment, Draco had to wonder if they were talking about the same Hermione Granger. The one he had known for the past six years. The one who had hated him since day one. The idea of her ever finding any redeeming quality in him seemed ludicrous. Draco was growing increasingly skeptical, refusing to believe it. He tried convincing himself that Ed was just a good liar... yet, it didn't sound like something Ed would say about him. It could only belong to someone who could see the beauty in others, even those who could not see it in themselves, someone like...

"Sh-She... She said that?"

Ed stole another glance at Draco and smirked inwardly at the amazement and confusion that could be found on his face. He leaned back into the couch again, folding his arms behind his head and closing his eyes so that he could fully enjoy the warmth of the fire.

"But hell," he said with a shrug, "what do I know, right? You said so yourself; I've barely known you for a year."

They were both silent for another short while, Ed on the couch basking in the warm firelight and Draco halfway to the dorm. At length, Draco snorted softly and turned back around.

"Listen closely, Elric," he muttered, heading toward the dorms. "This will be the only time you'll hear this: I won't poison you."

Ed chuckled softly. "Good to know."

"Just consider it gratitude for not telling anyone about Granger."

With that, Draco took his leave and headed back to their room. Ed remained in the common room, his eyes still shut as he let the fire keep himself warm. He allowed his mind to drift freely from thought to thought in the hopes that it would lull him back to the comfort of sleep. But all it did was keep him awake, making him obsess over trivial things, like...

His eyes suddenly snapped open.

Gratitude?

"Did Draco Malfoy just thank me?"

Alphonse leaned back against the railing of the bridge and sighed. The scenery around Hogwarts really was beautiful. He liked being able to step outside of the castle, no matter how strange other people found it, but Hermione and Ginny were always nice to him and never minded when he tagged along with them if they went around the grounds. That day was one of those lucky ones, the day after Valentine's Day. Hermione had asked Ginny and a blonde girl named Luna Lovegood to wander the grounds with her after the morning's Apparition lessons. She had told them that she wanted to get some fresh air and neither one of her friends questioned her.

They had been walking around for a while before finally stopping for a break at the bridge. The girls were leaning on the railing and looking out over the grounds, talking amongst themselves. Al kept a fair distance away, sure to at least remain within earshot. He had a rather hard time preventing himself from staring intently at Ginny and the way the breeze billowed through her fiery hair... He had yet to give her his Valentine gift and spent a good portion of this walk worrying about when and how he could make it reach her.

So while Al kept to himself on one side of the bridge, the girls gossiped on the other.

"It was crazy, Luna!" Ginny raved to her friend. "You can't have been that engrossed in the Quibbler article of drastic side effects of Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction to not notice it!"

Luna raised her pale blue eyes to look back at Ginny serenely. "I'm surprised at you Ginny. Medical magic is much more important than a lover's spat between Malfoy and his girlfriend."

"BUT SHE WASN'T HIS GIRLFRIEND!" Ginny shouted animatedly. "THEY WERE NEVER TOGETHER! THERE WAS PROOF RIGHT THERE! And here we all thought they were famous for shagging each other rotten in the dungeons on top of Snape's desk! I can't believe you missed it Luna! Everybody was stunned speechless just by staring at them! Even Hermione saw the whole thing, didn't you, Mione?"

Both girls turned to Hermione, Ginny expecting support and Luna simply out of curiosity. But Hermione didn't seem to have heard a thing. She was just leaning on the railing, staring out onto the grounds of Hogwarts with a thoughtful, almost sad expression on her face. Ginny and Luna exchanged concerned glances.

"Hermione?" said Ginny softly, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Did something happen yesterday night? You've been like this since this morning." A thought suddenly crossed her mind and her face twisted in annoyance. "Did Ron do something to you? Bloody hell, I'm going to kill that ignoramus!"

"Ginny," Luna sighed, "now that isn't very fair. How can you be so sure Ronald did anything wrong? He may be incredibly stubborn, slightly temperamental, scatter-brained, and sometimes very disorganized..."

As Al listened to Luna list off Ron's shortcomings, he didn't think that she was helping him any. If ever, she was only making it seem like there was all the more reason to accuse him.

"...but Hermione has said nothing to imply that Ronald had done something to her."

Hermione sighed, finally coming out of her reverie, and turned her sullen gaze to her two friends. "It isn't Ron..."

She started to walk away, taking slow, small steps as she did so. Luna nodded slightly to Ginny with a proud grin on her face as they both moved forward, falling in step with Hermione.

"You see?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and quickly turned back to Hermione. "What is it then?"

"What is what?" Hermione asked, sounding slightly exasperated. She sighed upon seeing the suspicious look on Ginny's face. "Nothing's wrong. Nothing happened, especially not last night. Really, there is nothing bothering me." She sighed again, moving toward the railing on the other side of the bridge and leaning on it. She gingerly massaged her temple. "It's just all these N.E.W.T. classes I'm taking. I just feel a bit overworked."

Al continued to watch the girls from his spot several yards away. He knew very well how to read through obvious lies (he was, after all, Edward Elric's younger brother) and he could tell that Hermione was holding something back. He didn't know what could possibly have happened the night before, but whatever it was, it bothered her immensely.

"I've been trying to tell you that for years," Ginny said, putting her hands on her hips. "Come on, spill it!"

"Ginny, let her be," Luna chided her. "She'll tell us when she wants to. Right, Hermione?"

Ginny released an exasperated sigh, raising her eyes to the sky and shaking her head. "Hermione, could you at least tell Luna about that scene that Malfoy and Parkinslut caused? Because someone has not been listening! Everyone's talking about it! Can you believe that he said that out loud? He's in love with someone else! The question is who..." She trailed off, taking on a thoughtful look.

Far off in the distance the clock tower could be heard striking noon. Ginny made a face, looking up at the clock tower as though she disapproved of its toll. Then, stealing a glance at Hermione, she walked forward and joined her in leaning on the railing. She looked around the school grounds and at the melting patches of snow before turning slightly to look at Hermione.

Luna tilted her head to one side as she looked at her friends. "Ginny?"

Eventually, Hermione realized that Ginny was practically staring at her and turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "Have I got something on my face, or is there some other reason as to why you are staring so intently at me?"

A light bulb seemed to switch on in Ginny's head. "That's it!"

Luna tilted her head to the other side. "What's it?

"That's what I'd like to know, too," said Hermione, starting to feel irritated by Ginny's behavior.

Meanwhile, Ginny suddenly looked like she was bursting to speak. "Staring so intently at you!" she said pointedly, as though each word was of extreme significance. "Remember, Hermione?"

"Remember what?"

"Oh, Luna," Ginny cried, running her hands through her hair, "I forgot to mention it to you!"

Luna turned her dreamy gaze on Ginny. "Hm? Mention what?"

"Indeed!" agreed Hermione, getting increasingly annoyed. "Mention what?"

"Malfoy's not in love with just anybody!" Ginny cried triumphantly, sparkles in her eyes. "HE'S IN LOVE WITH HERMIONE GRANGER!"

Al twitched slightly. Both of Ginny's friends looked surprised to hear this, though in Hermione's case there was also blunt rage.

"What?!?" Hermione cried indignantly. "Now I know you've gone mental, Ginny!"

"But don't you remember?" Ginny insisted, clutching Hermione's arm excitedly. "Remember how he was staring at you during our snowball fight before? He never once took his eyes off you! No other boy would look at you that intently for so long!"

Hermione frowned. "Gee, thanks."

Ginny grinned. "No offense, Hermione! But don't you see? THIS IS THE GOSSIP OF THE CENTURY!" She then turned to Luna. "It's like that Romeo and Juliet story we read for Muggle studies, Luna! 'For never was a story of more woe, than that of Hermione and her Draco.'"

"EXCUSE ME, GINEVRA WEASLEY!" Hermione all but shrieked, outraged. "Draco and I are not a pair of star-cross'd lovers! After all, Romeo and Juliet were two foolish teenagers, one of whom went around slaughtering people and the other using semi-fatal poisons for her own selfish desires. I mean, no offense to Shakespeare, but where was the point in that? Their stupidity and petty desires cost them their lives. And besides, Malfoy and I despise each other."

"That's the beauty of it!" Ginny continued, practically jumping in excitement over this outcome. "Malfoy has fallen, and he has fallen hard! Don't you see? He hates you so much he loves you!"

"What? That's it Ginny, I'm taking you to the mental ward at St. Mungo's!"

Meanwhile, Luna had taken on a thoughtful look (in her quirky way). "Come to think of it," she murmured softly, "Ginny may have a point, Hermione."

Hermione rounded on Luna in shock. "Luna! How can you even say that?!?"

Luna put one finger to her chin, her eyes cast toward the heavens as she thought aloud. "It's just that during meal times at the Great Hall I've noticed Draco Malfoy casting furtive glances at you, Hermione. And not just every once in awhile. It's actually rather frequent."

This served to excite Ginny further. A broad smile across her face, Ginny shook Hermione eagerly by the arm. "YOU SEE, HERMIONE? OH, LUNA!" She released Hermione momentarily to hurry over and embrace Luna. "You're not as oblivious as I thought you were!"

"Ginny!" Hermione shouted in a scolding tone. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're supposed to hate Malfoy!"

"I never said I didn't hate him," Ginny told her friend coolly. Then her grin grew. "But you must be blind, Hermione! Sure he's an evil bastard, but he's a gorgeous one!"

Al suddenly felt rather downhearted. He twiddled his thumbs nervously as he tried to imagine what he would look like by now if he were still human...

Hermione turned away, looking scandalized as she ran her hands through her hair. "Merlin, I can't believe I'm hearing this!"

"Oh, Hermione!" Ginny gasped as another light bulb lit up in her head. "Do you think he could be your secret admirer?"

"What secret admirer?"

"You know! The one who sends you a bouquet of red roses every Valentine's Day!"

A horrified expression spread across Hermione's face. She quickly rounded on Ginny, her eyes as wide as saucers. "How do you know about that?"

Ginny smiled smugly. "You share a room with Parvati and Lavender, don't you?"

The horror on Hermione's face didn't disappear. The reddening of her cheeks just made things worse for her. "Oh, BRILLIANT! So what now?!? Suddenly my love life has become the highlight of Hogwarts society?!? DOES EVERYBODY KNOW?"

Ginny laughed good-naturedly at the humiliation on her friend's face and rubbed her back soothingly. "Oh Hermione, calm down. I think that's very sweet of Malfoy. Who knew he had a soft side under that cool and collected exterior? He was probably attracted to you all along."

"KILL ME NOW!" Hermione wailed, burying her reddened face in her hands. "I CAN ONLY ATTRACT GUYS WHO HAVE HATED ME FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS AND CALLED ME AWFUL NAMES, AND PRACTICALLY-"

"Worships the ground you walk on?" Ginny offered, grinning.

Hermione looked back up at Ginny, her face twisted angrily, and then turned away, running her hands through her hair again. "ARGH! That's it! I'll be going now! I have no interest in indulging your insane fantasies, Ginny! If anyone asks then I'm in the library, chucking hardbound books at the first years with MALFOY!"

She then shot both girls angry glares before spinning around on her heel and stalking off toward the school. So Alphonse and the two fifth-years were left on the bridge, Al still maintaining a safe distance from them (a distance that had grown significantly since Hermione started yelling). Eventually, Luna turned to look at Ginny, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Why is she so upset, Ginny?"

Ginny sighed and shrugged. "Some conceited, horrible, but amazingly hot, devilishly gorgeous looking guy likes her. Only Hermione Granger would consider that a problem."

Ed took a large, almost vicious bite out of his sandwich wrap. He had been feeling the need to vent to someone ever since they were released from the Apparition lessons that morning, and Draco and the other Slytherins were definitely not his first choice. He tried to pull Al aside, but Hermione and some of her friends beat him to it. So he spent the remainder of the morning studying, finishing off his homework, and then once again losing himself amidst his research.

Not that the other Slytherins didn't try to distract him. They certainly did, and it did absolutely nothing for Ed's mood. In fact, he had started the morning out simply feeling annoyed, but by the time lunch rolled around, he was furious. Between Zabini still prodding him about girl advice and Pansy pouting about Draco's outburst (if Ed didn't know any better, he would have said that Pansy was trying to use him as her rebound boy), he felt like he was really going to lose his temper.

So for lunch, Ed grabbed as much food as he could carry and abandoned the Slytherins in favor of eating in the hallway with Al. He had a lot more to rant about now than before.

As always, Ed found a sympathetic ear in his younger brother. It often amazed him how mature and wise Al could be, and he could always trust him to (literally) knock some sense into his skull. But this time, even though he really did listen to Ed and tried to ease his rage, Al's attention seemed to be drifting in and out. He kept throwing glances toward the entrance to the Great Hall on occasion as though he were expecting something or someone. And once Ed actually gave it some thought, he probably was.

He swallowed his mouthful of food.

"Hermione or Ginny?" Ed asked nonchalantly.

Al's head snapped right back around to look at his older brother. "H-Huh?"

"Which one are you waiting for? The charge or the crush?"

"Nii-san, what're you-"

"Did you give it to her yet?" When Ed received no answer, he gave Al a wry grin. "I'll take that as a 'no.'"

Al dropped his gaze into his lap, embarrassed at having been put on the spot so suddenly. Ed let out an exasperated breath. He may not have whole-heartedly approved of the idea of Al trying to get into a relationship with a girl (at least not until he got to restore their bodies to normal), but it was really up to Al in the end.

"It's just that... I'm nervous, that's all."

Ed nodded sagely, stuffing the last bit of his sandwich into his mouth. "I guess that's natural..."

"I mean, it's not like that time we competed over Winry."

Some part of his food became wedged in his throat.

"We've always been close to her and known her forever, plus we were so little at the time, so it wasn't really awkward."

Ed thumped his chest and coughed repeatedly to clear the passageway. 'I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that.'

"But this is different, isn't it? I mean, I can't even remember the last time I..."

Al let his voice trail off and he seemed to shrink further into himself. Ed just took a long sip of his drink. He had already gotten way too involved with everything that was going on in Hogwarts. First it was him becoming part of some weird love triangle with Draco and Hermione, and now here was Al with his crush on Ginny!

'Geez, what the hell am I doing trying to play matchmaker with all these guys? I'm just here to make sure Draco doesn't do anything stupid and Voldemort related!'

He suddenly felt much more irritated than before. Maybe he should work on trying to break everyone up, instead. As soon as the thought came to him, Ed changed his mind. He didn't like that idea very much at all. It would make too many enemies for him, and he didn't need that.

"Things have changed since the last time you had a crush on someone, right? I mean, being a suit of armor, your hormones don't exactly rule over your mind-"

"I-Is that supposed to be a good thing...?"

"-so any feelings you have toward someone would have to be driven by something deeper than physical attraction. But..." Ed ran a hand through his hair and sighed, frustrated. "Al, you can't get too attached to this place."

Al raised his head. "Nii-san...?"

"I'm serious, Al. We've obviously gotten carried away, lost track of our duties because of all the exposure to people our own age. It's been a long time since we've had this much interaction with other teenagers and we're... We forgot, Al."

"Forgot...?" Al echoed, sounding worried. "Forgot... what?"

Ed looked straight into his younger brother's eyes. "We're not-"

"Luna!" cried out a plaintive voice. "Hermione wouldn't even look at me during lunch! I tried talking to her, but she flat out ignored me!"

The sound of Ginny's voice had an amazing effect on Al. He immediately seemed to forget that Ed was having (or at least trying to have) a serious talk with him and turned to look in the direction that it had come from. Students were starting to pour out of the Great Hall, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood among them. However, while everyone seemed excited - either because it was a Saturday or because of the Apparition lessons that morning - there was an annoyed frown on Ginny's face as she looked almost pleadingly to her friend. But whatever was bothering her obviously hadn't fazed Luna.

"What do you expect?" said Luna with a dismissive shrug. "You were the one who made her angry. Though I still don't understand why..."

Ginny let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh, I was only teasing. As if Malfoy would fall for her, or vice versa."

Ed's eyes grew wide as their conversation reached his ears. He turned to Al. "What the hell are they talking about?"

Al didn't seem to notice the hint of irritation in Ed's voice and just sighed tiredly. "So Miss Hermione is still upset about that..."

Ed gave Al a piercing look. "Upset about what?"

Alphonse gave a small start upon hearing the growl in Ed's voice. His anxiety only grew when he turned back to look at him and was greeted with an angry frown.

"Um..."

A cold, almost malicious aura began to radiate off of Ed's body. "What did you tell them?"

"N-Nothing!" Al protested, waving his hands frantically in front of him. "I just..."

He let his voice trail off as he became increasingly worried. He fidgeted slightly, now fully aware of the fact that he had indeed made a grave error and Ed would know if he lied about it. The narrowing of his golden eyes practically forced Al to speak.

"I... I mentioned before that you said Mr. Draco got jealous because you went with Miss Hermione to Mr. Slug-"

"AL!" Ed barely restrained himself from smacking his helmet off. "What part of 'don't tell a single soul in Hogwarts about Draco and Hermione' did you not understand?!?"

"You never said that, nii-san!"

"Well, it was implied, wasn't it?!? It was supposed to be a secret!" Ed groaned, running his hands through his hair. "Shit. If this catches on with the rest of the school, Malfoy's gonna blame me and I'll be as good as dead."

"He wouldn't do that!" Al insisted. "You're exaggerating!"

Ed rolled his eyes at Al's naïveté. He was apparently clinging to the idea that Draco was blameless and couldn't possibly do anything so horrible. Though to be perfectly honest, he had no clue where Al could have gotten that into his head. Ed drew in a deep, calming breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to think of some way to make sure that none of this got leaked out to the rest of the school. Then, with a heavy sigh, he reached for the last piece of food left to him and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Here's what we'll do," he announced. "You go talk to Ginny and make sure that she was really only kidding."

"Nii-san, don't talk with your mouth full."

Ed glared at Al upon hearing his comment, but still swallowed his food before continuing. "Make doubly sure that nobody else hears about what she and Hermione argued about, and see if you can't get them to make up or something." He then rose swiftly to his feet, dusting himself off. "Go take care of that right now, Al, or else we'll both be in trouble."

Al nodded and also rose to his full height. He glanced toward where Ginny and Luna were still talking about how angry Hermione was. They were walking rather slowly down the hallway in the general direction of the dorms. It wouldn't be too hard for Al to catch up to Ginny and talk to her. He then turned to his brother, who was surveying the thinning crowd of students that was exiting the Great Hall.

"What are you going to do, nii-san?"

The elder Elric grimaced slightly as he finally found his Slytherin charge. "Damage control. Again. This guy seriously ticks me off." He started to move toward Draco, but hesitated and turned briefly back to Al. "And while you're taking care of all that, give Ginny your present already."

An invisible blush came over Al's face. "Wh-What?!?"

Ed smirked. "Good luck, little brother!"

He then spun back around and hurried over to rejoin Draco and the other Slytherins. Al sighed as he watched him, partly exasperated by his behavior and partly nervous about being told to give his present to Ginny. He then shifted his attention back to Ginny and Luna, moving toward them as discreetly as he could, which was no easy task for him and his hulking body of armor.

"Well, I wasn't lying when I said Draco Malfoy stole glances at her," he heard Luna say in her usual casual, nonchalant tone of voice.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Probably coming up with ways to infuriate Hermione. Honestly, he could give Ron a run for his money. Most of Hermione's anger usually seems to lie with Malfoy."

Luna shrugged again. "If you say so, Ginny. I'm heading back to the Ravenclaw common room. I have a few more butterbeer corks to add to my necklace."

She then waved goodbye and turned around, walking off in the direction of her House. Ginny smiled slightly as her friend left, shaking her head. "Just as loony as ever." Then, noticing a familiar figure lurking about from the corner of her eye, she smiled and laughed softly. "Honestly, Al. If you're planning on making yourself known, you might as well do it now."

Al flinched slightly at being caught out, but still obeyed and stepped out of his hiding place. He walked slowly toward Ginny, twiddling his thumbs. "Sorry, Miss Ginny."

"How many times do I have to ask you just to call me 'Ginny'?" she smiled, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, Miss - Oh! I mean..." Al looked down at his twiddling thumbs. "Sorry... Ginny."

Ginny's smile broadened into a grin. "There. That's better, isn't it?"

It was one of the few times that Al was grateful to be a suit of armor. If he had a human face, the blush would have been impossible to cover up. So (thankfully) without knowing a thing, Ginny just turned around and looked outside, sighing dreamily.

"It's such a beautiful day! I can never understand why everyone else would rather stay inside and study." She then turned to look at Al, who - though Ginny didn't know it - was entranced simply by watching her. "You know, Al, unless you've got something better to do today, how'd you like to come walk with me?"

"You don't mind having me along?" Al asked, surprised.

"Not at all!"

"But..." Ed's orders suddenly bubbled forth in Al's consciousness. He was supposed to try to get Ginny and Hermione to make up! "But shouldn't we call Miss Hermi-"

"Don't be silly, Al, I don't bite," Ginny laughed, walking toward Al and taking him by the arm. "It'll just be us. Come on!"

She then pulled Al along with her as she made her way outside of the castle. Part of Al wanted to protest, but the rest of him didn't mind at all.

"So..." Ginny looked pensive as she straightened out her thoughts. "This nurse you two met in Spain turned out to be a thief."

Al nodded.

"And this governor you met in a town near Turkey claimed that he could bring people back from the dead?"

He nodded again. "That's right."

Ginny laughed. "That's insane! Wow, you and your brother seem to have traveled all over Europe. It must be fun, I wish I could go to all those places. But..." She sighed wistfully. "With seven kids, my parents can't really afford that."

Her eyes took on a dreamy glaze that was worthy of Luna as she looked out over the lake. She and Al had been walking all over the school grounds, Al telling Ginny about some of the misadventures he and Edward had embarked on over the past five years. He had to modify all of them slightly so that Ginny wouldn't ask any questions about Amestris. He wasn't sure how detailed Ed had made his undercover back story about that magic school in Germany, but it was safe to assume that anything Amestris related shouldn't be leaked.

Suddenly, something seemed to come to Ginny's attention and she turned to look at Al in confusion. "Wait a second, don't you two have school? Where do you find the time to do all that?"

"Oh right! Well, um..." Al laughed nervously as he frantically searched for a way to respond. "Well, um... You see, my brother and I were accepted to a... special... program of sorts... where we're free to do a lot of... independent study work."

Ginny blinked. "Independent study? Well, Hermione did say Ed seemed a bit aloof when she first met him. Now, you two are everything she talks about." She laughed slightly. "It seems to really annoy Ron! I guess she finds you two quite interesting." She then looked seriously at Al, smiling. "And somehow, I couldn't agree more."

Al quickly averted his gaze, suddenly too embarrassed to look Ginny full in the face. He couldn't think of a single thing to say. His shuffling feet had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world to him.

"Er... Al? I'm curious..."

He gave a sudden, surprised start. He still didn't dare turn to look up. "Y-Yes?"

"Well, I was just wondering... What are the girls like in Germany?"

"The girls...?" Al echoed, obviously confused. "What do you mean by that?"

Ginny grinned somewhat teasingly. "I don't know. I mean, are they pretty? Are they smart? Are they charming and funny? You've traveled everywhere, you must have something to say about them."

Al slowly turned to look at Ginny, still confused. He then looked up into the sky, thinking back on the girls that he knew and had met in Amestris. There was his mother, Winry and Pinako Rockbell, Riza Hawkeye, Roze, Scieszka, Maria Ross...

"Well..." He tried to pick his words out carefully. "Hmm... I'm not really sure how to describe them... but..." He looked timidly back at Ginny. "They're nothing like you."

A pink tint suddenly came over Ginny's cheeks, at which Al couldn't help but be surprised. It was the first time he'd ever seen Ginny blush. It was strange, since she always seemed to be so confident about herself. Either way, she quickly covered up her rosy cheeks with a broad smile, clearing her throat nervously.

"Well, I imagine you must miss your school."

"Oh, yeah," Al answered rather lamely, nodding. "Just a little bit."

Ginny's smile grew. "Well, I'm glad they chose you to come here."

Al smiled inwardly. The truth was that he was happy to be Hogwarts as well. It was the first time in a long time that he had truly felt human and had been accepted by people his own age. And yet... alarms suddenly began to wail in Al's head.

"B-But, I'm just here visiting!" he said hastily. "It's really my brother that got transferred, so..."

"Speaking of your brother," said Ginny, sounding rather thoughtful. "Do you know if Ed has a thing for Hermione?"

"Hmm... Actually, I've been wondering that myself..."

"Well, Ed did send Hermione a letter during Valentine's, after all." Ginny's teasing grin graced her face once again. "And according to you, he and Malfoy seem to be fighting over her, am I right?"

Al would have sweat dropped. "Actually, Ginny, about that..."

Ginny didn't seem to hear him and simply continued with her train of thought. "Either way, that was really sweet of him. I mean, Dean's letter was okay but... I don't recall seeing you, Al."

Al jumped slightly, instantly becoming flustered. "O-Oh... um... I was... I was kind of busy..."

"Busy? With what?"

"Umm... well..."

He turned all the way around so that Ginny couldn't see his front and began to toy with the latch of his chest plate. He'd stored the silver statuette that he transmuted inside his chest, just in case the chance to give it to Ginny arose. But he was so overcome by his own nerves that his fingers were fumbling with the simple latch, unable to release it.

"Um... I, um... uhh..."

Ginny tilted her head to one side, confused. "Yes?"

His chest plate finally became unlatched on one side and Al carefully reached in to pull out the silver cat. As he looked at it, examining it for the millionth time to see if it had somehow gotten messed up, he suddenly lost all of his confidence. Now that the moment he'd been waiting and looking for had arrived, he didn't know if he could go through with it.

"It was... I mean, about Valen... Va...len...tine's..."

Every word he tried to say was coming out in a stutter. He was getting more anxious with each passing second.

"Seriously Al," sighed Ginny, somewhat exasperated, "just come out and say it! I'm not going to devour you."

Were it possible for him to, Al would have turned completely red, from head to toe. "I, uh... I... I...!" When he heard Ginny sigh again, Al quickly decided to get it over with. He whirled back around, extending the small silver statue toward Ginny, his gaze still glued to the floor as he refused to look at her face. "FOR YOU!"

Ginny blinked in shock. "For me?"

"Y-Yes..."

He didn't dare look up. No, he didn't dare. He was absolutely terrified of what she might think, or say... or what the look on her face would be. That in itself would have spoken volumes.

They were silent as Ginny reached for the silver statue. She turned it over several times in her hands as though she were inspecting it before looking back up at Al.

"Al... What's this for?"

"It was..." Al withdrew his hands, clasping them tightly in front of him. "Well, I... I was going to give it to you on Valentine's Day, but..." He laughed nervously. "I didn't really find a chance to give it to you that day. I didn't know the next time I could find time to see you, so I thought today would be the only time I could..."

Another silence. He slowly raised his gaze so that he was looking at Ginny. She was silent, just staring at the silver cat statue in her hands. Al couldn't tell if she was happy with it or not.

"You... don't like it?"

"Oh no, it's not that! It's..." Ginny looked up at Al and smiled warmly. "It's lovely. This is really sweet of you, Al... Though you don't need an occasion to spend time with me you know. All you have to do is ask."

Before Al could think of a way to respond, the clock tower chimed from off in the distance. They both looked up at it in alarm, neither one of them realizing that it was getting late into the afternoon. Ginny gasped suddenly, clasping one hand over her mouth.

"OH!"

Al turned to face her. "What's the matter, Ginny?"

"I'm so sorry, Al, but I have to go," she moaned, running her fingers through her long hair. "I completely forgot I was supposed to meet Dean! I have to go..."

Al's shoulders slumped slightly. "Oh..."

Ginny smiled apologetically as she turned to race off toward the castle. "Bye!"

For a brief moment, Al just watched Ginny leave, secretly hoping that she would change her mind and come back. When nothing of the sort happened, he sighed sadly and turned back around, seated himself on the ground, and looked out over the lake. He knew that he should also be getting back to the castle soon, but he just couldn't at the moment. He decided to wait until Ginny had completely gone.

"Oh, Al! Hang on a second!"

He jumped slightly at the sound of Ginny's voice and turned to look at her in surprise. She was jogging back up toward him, smiling cheerily.

"Miss Ginny! Did you forget something?"

"Absolutely!"

Before Al could get back up to his feet, Ginny had already rushed him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek - or at least, what would be his cheek were his body made of flesh. She then pulled away and turned to go once again, the broad smile still on her face.

"Bye, Al! See you at dinner!"

And for a long, silent moment that seemed to be stretching into an eternity, Al was frozen in shock, staring after Ginny with one hand raised close to the spot where she had kissed him. Despite his cold, armor body, Al could feel warmth spreading through him, as though it was his very soul that was tingling. His mind had been wiped completely blank, save for one thing.

Ginny Weasley had just given Alphonse Elric his very first kiss.

By some sort of miracle - according to Ed anyway, which says quite a bit about his beliefs - Draco was relatively obedient for two solid weeks. He wasn't randomly disappearing anymore and instead spent most of his time reading the poison book he'd gotten and fiddling with what appeared to be a gold coin. The gold coin thing was weird, Ed had to admit, but if playing with it meant fewer instances of having to search Hogwarts for Draco, it was a godsend. And if Edward Elric thought that anything was a godsend, then it was obviously a big deal to him.

Either way, Ed actually enjoyed the two week period and got to feel like a real Hogwarts student for once... Even though he was often plagued with the thoughts and questions that popped into his mind purely out of military influence and his extensive background in alchemy. Other than that, he honestly felt his age.

It was kind of weird.

February moved into March with no change in the weather other than an increase in windiness as well as rain. Ed was starting to get used to the consistently foul weather, though it certainly did nothing for the occasional aching of his auto-mail ports. Just before March arrived, a sign went up in the common room announcing that the next Hogsmeade trip was cancelled. Ed wasn't too surprised to hear this; the Katie girl still hadn't returned from the magic hospital she'd been sent to and the whole opal necklace incident was obviously still fresh in the minds of the Hogwarts professors. Not only that, but Ed had come across several reports in the Daily Prophet about people disappearing, including the relatives of various Hogwarts students. It seemed only natural that extra safety precautions would be made.

Losing the Hogsmeade trip seemed to irritate Draco slightly, though his reasons were really anyone's guess. He wasn't the only one who was upset, however; almost the entire student body spent the morning of the announcement complaining. The sixth and seventh-year students also whined about their Apparition lessons. It was as difficult as ever, even though it had already been three weeks. Only a few more people had managed to Splinch, the sight of which continued to sicken Ed to the pit of his stomach. He'd hoped that he would get excused from the Apparition lessons after what happened during the first lesson, but he had no such luck. But Ed did enjoy taking part in the discussions all of the students had about them, in which they made fun of Wilkie Twycross and his three Ds. They had come up with some great nicknames for him, "Decrepit Disapparating Dickhead" being among Ed's favorites.

Making fun of Twycross quickly became one of their favorite things to do in their spare time. Which was why Ed and several other Slytherins were coming up with new nicknames on their way to the Great Hall for breakfast the morning after their fourth (failed) Apparition lesson. But as soon as they entered the Great Hall, they found the place in chaos. It was nowhere near as frenzied as the morning after Katie's incident at Hogsmeade, but students were still running excitedly back and forth across the Hall to spread the news.

"Did you hear?" cried some random fourth-year that Ed didn't recognize as he raced past the doorway. "Slughorn's poisoned a student!"

They all jumped slightly in surprise upon hearing the boy's loud, squeaking, just-reached-puberty voice. Everyone's eyebrows arched upward in surprise, practically hitting their hairlines. Then, exchanging confused looks and eyeing the boy warily as he ran all over the Great Hall to spread the gossip to whoever had yet to hear it, they made their way to their usual spot at the Slytherin table.

The rumors they were hearing varied slightly as they were told by different people. The fact that someone had been poisoned was clear; it was simply a matter of details. Some people were saying that Slughorn poisoned the student himself while others said someone was trying to knock off Gryffindor's Quidditch team one player at a time. It took a while for all of the actual facts to reach Ed and Draco's gang, but eventually the victim's name surfaced: Ron Weasley.

As soon as he heard this, Draco almost choked on his mouthful of pumpkin juice and Pansy had to rub his back soothingly. Zabini, Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle all snickered softly, since they were always amused to hear about any misfortune that befell a Gryffindor. Ed, on the other hand, just frowned slightly, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Why would someone wanna kill Ron of all people?" he muttered.

"Damned if we knew," Nott snickered, biting into an apple. "Him and his weasel family definitely don't strike you as prime targets, but... Hey! Maybe it was a group of pureblood extremists eliminating the blood traitors!"

Ed's frown deepened at the excitement in Nott's voice. "Don't add to the rumors, Nott."

Nott smirked as he took another bite out of his apple. "But you must admit, this whole thing is dead funny."

Ed narrowed his eyes. "There's nothing funny about someone almost dying," he all but growled. "What did Weasley ever do to you?"

This question seemed to irritate Nott, since it was obvious from the look on his face that his only answer was "he's a Weasley and a Gryffindor," and he knew that it wouldn't be reason enough for Edward. He was becoming widely known across the school not only as the Slytherin bookworm, but for his talent in winning these sorts of arguments. They both looked away, each finding a mutual dislike for the other.

Also, Ed was getting tired of hearing one distorted rumor after another. One moment it was an accident, the next it was a murder attempt, and then suddenly it was Ron drinking poisoned mead to save someone's life, the identity of whom kept swinging between Professor Slughorn and Harry Potter. All the uncertainty was making Ed's patience wear thin.

Strangely enough, Draco's expression had been twisting sourly as breakfast wore on. Ed couldn't understand why hearing about the incident seemed to bother him so much. If anything, Ed would've expected him to be highly amused, just like Nott and Pansy very obviously were.

He would have allowed his mind to wonder about that longer, but the sounds of everyone discussing the incident amongst themselves and trying to figure out which rumors were true was getting on his nerves. It didn't take too long for Ed to decide that he was fed up with the rumors. He was a scientist. He needed facts. Real facts, not these rumors that were bouncing off the walls and evolving with every student that heard the story. Which left him with only one thing to do.

Ed quickly rose from his seat and started to walk away from the Slytherin table. Zabini - along with several other members of Draco's usual gang - gave Ed a funny look.

"Where're you going, Elric?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he muttered. "The one place I can get the facts straight."

Ignoring the shocked looks on everyone's faces, Ed made his way across the Great Hall, through the ensuing chaos of the lower year students still running around spreading the ever evolving rumors, toward the Gryffindor table. If there was anyone around that really knew what had happened to Ron, it was going to be either Hermione or Harry.

It was only by the time he had reached them that he realized he could have asked Al. Since he was supposed to be in charge of keeping watch over Hermione, he was sure that Al would have had some straight facts. But he was already standing a few feet away from where Hermione and Harry were sitting, apprehensive looks on their faces. Most of the students around them were occupied with discussions about the upcoming Quidditch match, and it seemed like very few (if any) of them were too concerned with what had happened to Ron.

Not that it really mattered. If the Gryffindors wanted to dismiss Ron's poisoning as an accident, that was their prerogative. As for Ed, he didn't like hearing about students and their near death experiences, and it was even worse when the story kept changing.

"Hey."

The sound of Ed's voice seemed to have pierced through Hermione and Harry's consciousness and quickly brought them both around. They looked over at him, blinking in surprise, then exchanged confused looks before finally turning to face him properly.

"Erm... hi Ed," Harry greeted him awkwardly.

A few heads nearby had swiveled around to look at Ed. After all, it wasn't exactly common practice for a Slytherin to go to the Gryffindor table. Ed looked around at them warily before refocusing himself on his task.

"I heard about Ron. Or... sort of, anyway. No one seems to have the story straight. What happened to him?"

Hermione sniffed suddenly, and Ed's eyes flitted over to look at her. She had turned her gaze back to her plate on the table. Harry looked at her uncertainly from the corner of his eye.

"Well..." He took a deep breath. It was pretty obvious by his expression that he'd gone over the story a thousand times now. "Ron accidentally ate some Chocolate Cauldrons that had been spiked with love potion - he thought they were a birthday present to him, you see. So I took him to Professor Slughorn to get the antidote. Slughorn whipped up an antidote, then said that he would need a pick-me-up afterward and brought out some mead, but when Ron drank it something strange happened..."

So it really was the mead. At least somebody out there had gotten that fact straight.

"Suddenly he turned rigid, then looked as if he was having a fit, that's when he started foaming at the mouth..."

Ed made a face. That definitely didn't sound pleasant.

Hermione spun around in her seat. "Ron had been poisoned!" she said loudly. "Lucky for him, Harry thought about the bezoar and shoved it down his throat!"

Ed raised an eyebrow at the borderline hysterics in Hermione's voice, but dismissed it. Ron was a close friend of hers, after all. Why wouldn't she be upset? "Smart move. So then where is he now?"

"At the infirmary," said Harry. "McGonagall turned up and brought him there, and Madam Pomfrey reckons he'll be all right. She insisted he stay for a week or so, though..."

Ed's gaze was locked to a spot on the floor, his brow furrowed thoughtfully and one hand cupped around his chin. "Hmm... Foaming at the mouth, huh? You think it was meant to be fatal? Then again, who in their right mind would want to kill Ron?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Something's not right here... Slughorn did mention the mead was supposed to have been a gift for Dumbledore, and a few months ago Leanne told us that cursed necklace was meant for someone in the castle, remember?"

"Uh-huh," Ed murmured quietly, still mostly lost in his own thoughts.

Harry sighed in exasperation, running a hand through his messy hair. "First the necklace, now this..."

Ed nodded slowly in agreement. "Hmm..."

Then, just as Hermione and Harry turned to face one another and began to talk in hushed tones, an image suddenly sprang forward in Ed's mind. A whole new possibility was now brought to Ed's attention. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. The pieces of this new puzzle fell into place so simply and easily in Ed's mind that his eyes immediately grew wide.

'No way...'

His mind was suddenly filled with close-up images of a book being read in the dark comfort of the common room... That was it. It had to be! Ed's gaze slowly traveled across the Great Hall and came to rest on a very sour looking face. He narrowed his gold eyes at him, frowning angrily.

'Draco Malfoy, you are fucking busted.'

Author's Note: well, let's see... Al finally gave his present to Ginny. people asked to see the scene, and i have delivered :D and also, i have just recently discovered that a girl kissed Al in one of those FMA novels. i don't know any details though, since i've never read the book and i only read that on a site or a forum somewhere... so i don't even know if it's true. for that reason, i'm keeping Ginny's kiss as Al's very first one ever from a girl he likes.

Ed is also now perfectly aware of his bizarre position as matchmaker and is not too pleased with it. XP

and just because i've gone a little (okay, maybe more than a little) crazy, i have named that random fourth year with the "squeaking, just-reached-puberty voice", and his name is Aaron. :P and in case no one gets that reference, i'm paying tribute to Alphonse Elric's english VA as he sounds in "Conqueror of Shambala." it's not meant to be an insult, 'cause i quite like the english FMA dub, but it was just something amusing that i noticed when i watched the movie in english. XD