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... Over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." But now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... 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: just a short chapter this time. I would have included more, but there isn't a whole lot more that really goes with what's happening in this chapter. So I'm keeping it short, which is kinduva nice change from all the long chapters we've been having recently.

Omg… y'know, just from reading everyone's reviews, I get like, a million brain blasts of ideas from all the suggestions and it's like, creative onslaught. And it eats me up because some of them are just really cool ideas, but I know that I can't use them! you know I love you guys. Like, so much. :) I'm totally craving having a scene where Ed tears his clothes off… but that'd just be pure fanservice… and he does that often enough in the anime that I really should be satisfied… but it'd be so amazing. (and the crazed Ed Elric fangirl in me raises her head, only to be smacked back down)

(from the anime) Ed: (tears off his top) IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?!
Hordes of fangirls: YES!!!
Ed: (sweatdrops) Oh shit.

o-kaaay, that's quite enough out of me. enjoy your reading!

Chapter 34
Full Steel Lies

Ed shifted his weight onto his prosthetic leg, trying to keep his expression as passive as he could under the circumstances. He didn't like the smell of Professor Snape's office (there were too many weird things decorating the place) and was extremely annoyed to find himself standing in the middle of it. Snape himself was seated at his desk, rifling through papers that were scattered about his desk and ignoring the fact that Ed was there at all. But Ed knew exactly what he was doing: he was killing time in order to rack up Ed's nerves before he finally spoke with him. He was taking an exceptionally long amount of time doing so since Snape could tell that it wasn't quite working on the boy. Ed just let the professor go about his "business," waiting with a surprising amount of patience for their little discussion to begin.

The past twelve hours hadn't exactly been the most pleasant hours of Edward's life. He hadn't been able to sleep very well after talking to Draco: his thoughts just darted haphazardly around his head as he tried to find some way to help him, but continued to draw a blank. Even the few moments in which he'd managed to sleep, his dreams had been filled with the most bizarre images of Voldemort, wands, and random, unfamiliar words. Unable to make any kind of sense out of his restless thoughts, Ed had gotten out of the hospital bed that morning in a horrible mood.

Neither one of the boys had gotten up until it was well into first period. Madam Pomfrey re-examined them both all the same, removing the layer of dittany that covered their freshly healed wounds and giving them both one last check-up. It seemed that both Ed and Draco were going to have to deal with their new facial scars. They weren't too noticeable, however, and neither one of them really minded. Ed was confident they would disappear over time. As for Draco, the faint diagonal line between his eyes actually did make him look pretty cool, just as Crabbe/Goyle had said the night before. Because his injury was much less serious, only Edward was released from the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey assured him Draco would be along by the weekend.

As soon as he entered the common room, a flock of Slytherin girls (not a single one of whom Ed recognized) descended on him from all sides. And, despite his numerous attempts to escape, started to pester and bombard him with questions. What happened? Where was Draco? Would he be alright? Did Ed need anything? A drink, some food, the company of a woman? That last one was posed by one of Zabini's other pervert friends, and had made Ed shudder. He gave short, precise answers and refusals, trying very hard to control his temper and not punch anyone in the face.

The commotion finally died down to idle chatter, with Ed on one of the couches and still in the center of it all. The Slytherins assured him that Harry Potter would be rightfully and relentlessly jeered at in the hallways by all the Slytherins. Though this notion didn't strike Edward as being any different from their usual behavior toward the boy. He almost told them not to bother with that, but stopped himself. That would've been really bad. And besides, he was sure that Harry was now used to being taunted by the Slytherins all the time. But when he later heard about how angry his fellow Gryffindors were upon finding that their team's Quidditch captain couldn't play in the final match of the year, Ed couldn't help but start feeling sorry for him.

Though Ed's situation wasn't much better. The moment second period was over and before they could make their way to the Great Hall for lunch, some random lower year Slytherin handed Ed one of the most unpleasant notes he'd ever received. He'd been summoned to visit Snape in his office. Knowing that there was simply no way out of it, he grudgingly obeyed. He had, after all, practically been ordered to see the Head of Slytherin once he was released from Madam Pomfrey's care. Which was how he had arrived at that precise, uncomfortable moment in time.

Snape finally pushed everything to one side and settled his dark gaze on Edward. "Alright, Elric. Explain."

'Doesn't hesitate at all, does he? No wonder Voldemort holds him in such high regard.' "Explain what, sir?"

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Don't try to feign innocence with me, it won't do you any good." When Edward still didn't reply and continued to set him with the same firm, passive look as before, he elaborated. "What's happened to your arm?"

"It got scratched up and wounded by Potter's spell," Ed answered without missing a beat.

"Your right arm."

"I was talking about my right arm, sir."

This lack of cooperation on Ed's part was obviously setting Snape into an even fouler mood than before. "Why is your right arm made of metal?"

The boy shrugged nonchalantly. "It was an accident a few years ago. That's all."

"What sort of accident?"

"A bad one."

The professor rose slowly from his seat, his eyes flashing angrily. "I'll make this very clear, Mr. Elric. If you continue to sass me and choose not to answer my questions directly, I can hold you as a liability and a threat to the safety of the students and to this school."

Ed fought down a snort of laughter. A threat to the school? He'd never felt more flattered in his life, especially not by someone who knew next to nothing about him. Still, he put on an innocent frown and gave Snape a worried, confused look.

"Have I hurt anybody since coming here, sir?"

Snape scowled. A feeling of triumph welled up in Ed's chest at the sight.

"So that's a 'no'."

"I believe I have a right to know the truth about you, Elric."

"No offense, professor," Ed drawled, a hint of sarcasm in his tone, "but I don't see how my having a mechanical limb is of any concern or consequence to you."

"As your Head of House, I will be held responsible for your actions-"

"Actually, I think Professor Dumbledore is the one responsible for me, since he's the one that oversaw my transfer to Hogwarts."

Clearly agitated by Ed's responses, Snape plunged a hand into his robes and pulled out a small vial of clear liquid. He held it up in front of him so Ed could see it.

"Do you know what this is, Elric?"

The young alchemist coolly shifted his gaze onto the bottle and surveyed it for a moment. It looked like plain water to him. "Veritaserum?"

Snape's eyes seemed to glitter with dark amusement. "It seems that head of yours is actually capable of absorbing knowledge. Well then, since you know what it is, you must be aware of exactly what it does."

"The use of Veritaserum is controlled by very strict Ministry guidelines," Ed deadpanned, looking directly into Snape's face. "Using that on me without the proper authorization or documentation would result in some not too pleasant punishments for you, wouldn't it, sir?"

Professor Snape scowled. "I doubt getting authorization for your interrogation would be difficult if I were to tell the Ministry of your body's mysterious condition."

"How do you figure that?"

"With the rise of the Dark Lord the Ministry has been in a state of high alert all year, searching for his supporters. Surely they would be interested to hear about a foreign boy with a mechanical limb infiltrating Hogwarts." One of Snape's eyebrows arched slightly. "I would have expected someone like you to have known that much, Elric."

Ed took in a deep breath through his nostrils. It suddenly dawned on him that he wasn't sure of whether or not the Ministry of Magic knew about his being in Hogwarts. As far as he knew, his whole situation had been set up with the Amestrian military by the headmaster alone. And Ed hated to admit it, but Snape was right. If he was indeed an unchecked presence in the school and they found about him, things were likely to rapidly spiral downhill. Ed cursed mentally. His little game to annoy Snape hadn't run for very long; then again he hadn't really expected it to. But he also hadn't expected the game to turn on him like this; now he was starting to get annoyed.

"If you think that my having a metal arm means I've used some weird Dark Art or that it's a sign of me being in league with Voldemort-"

"Do not say his name!" Snape hissed as he slammed the vial onto his desk as hard as he could without shattering it. The glitter of amusement in his eyes was gone.

Edward stopped abruptly in favor of giving the professor a long, curious, questioning look. At length he dismissed it. He supposed he should have expected such; after all, Snape was a Death Eater. He was probably more used to hearing people refer to Voldemort as "Master." Ed sniffed irritably and shifted his weight.

"If you think I'm on his side then you're way off." He stopped there, but upon noting the grim expression on Snape's face, he added, almost as an afterthought, "Professor."

There was a pause in which they glowered at one another over Snape's desk. Then finally, Snape spoke again, slowly and deliberately. "Then explain. What happened to your arm."

Ed hesitated. "I prefer not to talk about it."

"Why is that?"

"Because it's a sensitive subject."

There was another beat of silence between them, during which they simply continued to hold each other's hard gazes. Ed clenched his jaw, trying not to look as angry as he felt. He wanted to leave that office. He didn't feel the need to explain himself to Professor Snape of all people. After a moment Snape sank back into his seat, his eyes never leaving Ed's face.

"And that's why you've hidden the condition of your arm from the entire school?"

"Not from the entire school," Ed muttered. "Obviously Professor Dumbledore knows."

"Well then, since you've told the headmaster, there should be no problems whatsoever in telling me."

Ed frowned. "I trust Professor Dumbledore."

Snape quirked an eyebrow. "And Professor Dumbledore trusts me."

The young alchemist resisted the urge to roll his eyes. 'Can't imagine why...' "Then why hasn't he already told you about my arm?"

"I can only assume he is taking your feelings on such a 'sensitive subject'-" He sneered slightly as he echoed Ed's words. "-into account. It seems he would prefer I hear it directly from you."

Edward took another deep breath through his nostrils to calm himself. So he'd already gone to ask Dumbledore about the issue. Fine. If Snape wanted to hear the story that badly, then he might as well give it to him. Ed lowered his eyes so that he was no longer staring into Snape's face, but at one of the piles of parchment on his desk. He hesitated for a second to arrange his thoughts so that they made sense before speaking.

"I... Growing up, my home country was in a state of war. There was an uprising in the eastern region, a sort of... civil rebellion near my hometown. Led to a lot of fighting. A lot of death. Some really terrible, bloody battles took place in those days. Let's just say that one day, one of those battles came a little too close to home."

He glanced back up into Snape's face, hoping that this vague explanation would be enough. Apparently not. The older man's tight lipped frown was a clear prompt to continue. The corners of Ed's lips pulled down into an equally displeased frown. Back in Amestris he was never asked to say more than that, since people had a tendency to fill the blanks in on their own. This was one of very few times he'd been made to elaborate further. He fought down a frustrated sigh and quickly tried to remember the rest of his story. Consistency was everything.

"We were little at the time, so we didn't really understand what was going on. So we were-"

"'We'?"

Ed paused, slightly disoriented at being interrupted. "Me, my little brother, some friends."

Snape gave a shallow nod of comprehension. Ed continued.

"We were out playing on the hillside, and... There was an explosion. It hit close, so naturally we got scared and decided to go home, but then another one came and..." Ed dropped his gaze again, making a pained face and gripping his right arm with his left. "Well, we kinda got caught up in it. A big chunk of shrapnel flew out and lodged into my shoulder. Right here." He demonstrated, tracing a finger over an imaginary line that went over the ball of his right shoulder and almost reached his armpit. "Practically shattered the bone, made my right arm completely useless. Plus, since we couldn't make it to a proper doctor in time, it got badly infected and had to be amputated. Later, I was fitted with this prosthetic. And that's what happened." As he reached the end of his cover story, he raised his eyes again to give Snape a pointed, challenging look. "Happy?"

The professor was silent for a time, his expression cold and analytical. "You didn't think to re-grow the arm with a Skele-Gro potion?"

"It happened before I was accepted to the magic academy. And I wouldn't have known how to brew that potion either way."

Snape paused for a moment to scrutinize him. With a jolt, Ed suddenly wondered if he'd said something that didn't fit. "And so what is stopping you from taking Skele-Gro now?"

"Are you kidding?!" Ed cried, completely forgetting to remain polite. Snape narrowed his eyes at the outburst. Luckily, Ed managed to keep himself from going on in that manner and quickly recomposed himself. "After all this time, I've gotten used to the mechanical arm. And besides, that's eight hours of pain that I can live without."

"Surely the pain would be worth it in the long run, Elric."

Ed frowned. Of course it would. It would be nice to have an arm and leg of flesh again, but re-growing them through magic was out of the question. The way Ed saw it, that was cheating and utterly defeated the purpose of his journeys. He wanted his old arm and leg back, the ones he'd been born with. Not new ones. And more importantly than that, he wanted to get Al's original body back first. Until then, he didn't even have the right to think about restoring himself.

"Really, sir," he said evenly. "I'm fine as I am."

Snape didn't relinquish his stern gaze. He continued to watch Ed with a piercing look, as though he were trying to see right through him. Edward ran his hand up and down his right arm in a nervous gesture, allowing his curious eyes to dart around Snape's office. He wondered briefly if Snape was trying to read his mind. For all he knew, Snape had that sort of ability. Ed wasn't about to take any chances and tried to push all conspicuous thoughts out of his conscious mind. He thought instead about his empty stomach and his desire for food and sleep.

As though on cue, Ed's stomach rumbled and growled loudly. He didn't have to fake the mildly embarrassed blush on his face as he glanced back up at Snape. "If that's all you want from me, sir, I'd like to go have lunch now."

The professor stayed silent, but Ed decided that he was free to leave. He forced himself to bow very slightly in Snape's direction before turning to exit the office. He'd barely laid a hand on the doorknob when Snape spoke.

"I'll be keeping a very close eye on you, Elric," he said in a solemn voice. "Don't think you've escaped me just yet."

Ed glanced back at Snape over his shoulder. "Of course not. I wouldn't dream of it, sir."

He nodded to the professor in a goodbye gesture, then quickly opened the door and slipped out. A slight scowl marred the older man's face as he did so. Once he was safe on the other side of the doors, Ed let out a deep breath of relief. He patted his still-growling stomach lightly, as though to inform it that it would be amply rewarded for its expert timing. Then he slipped his hands into his pockets and casually made his way up to the Great Hall for his meal.

No sooner had he emerged from the stairwell to the dungeon than he encountered the familiar, albeit gloomy looking face of Harry Potter. They both stopped rather abruptly when they saw one another, and a tense, awkward atmosphere descended over the corridor. Ed's expression became stony, revealing nothing of his thoughts at the moment. Harry became visibly nervous.

"Hey," Ed deadpanned at last.

"H-Hi... Ed."

As Ed continued to look at Harry, he realized that the Gryffindor's eyes kept darting down toward his right arm and then back up into his face. He didn't move. He was partly curious to see if Harry was going to say or do anything. And maybe it was because he'd just been stuck in a room with Snape (or maybe it was because he was starving and missing out on lunch), but he couldn't help feeling the need to be exceptionally horrible to everybody for the day: Ed sort of enjoyed making the poor Gryffindor feel uncomfortable.

Harry squirmed for a minute before finally opening his mouth to speak. "I-"

Ed swiftly cut him off, closing his eyes and letting out a soft sigh. He decided against turning into Severus Snape. It would ruin his appetite, and he really needed to eat.

"I know. It's okay."

A pair of bright emerald green eyes blinked at him in shock. "'Okay'?" he echoed incredulously. "How can anything about what happened be okay?"

The blonde merely shrugged, a mysterious smile dancing on his lips. "I've been through worse, believe me."

"It doesn't matter..." Harry shut his eyes for a moment and slowly shook his head. He took a deep breath as he looked back up. "I could've killed you, Ed."

Ed almost wanted to laugh. It wouldn't have been the first time someone tried to off him. "Well, good thing you didn't, huh?"

Harry's eyebrows knitted together, his face settling into a disconcerted frown. "How can you be so nonchalant about this?"

"Because I've had it worse, Harry," Ed replied with another slight shrug. He resumed walking toward the Great Hall, closing the distance between himself and the young Gryffindor. "It's no big deal. We walked away from it, didn't we? All I got were a couple o' measley scratches."

"And... your arm..."

Harry's words stopped Ed cold in his tracks. His golden eyes narrowed and the casual smile that had been on his face fell right off in an instant. He'd come to a halt just inches past Harry. He could just see the boy's features out of the corner of his eye. Slowly, Ed turned his head to face Harry fully.

"What about it?"

The seriousness in Ed's eyes made Harry falter slightly. "I-"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Ed said quickly, before another word could escape the other boy's mouth. He didn't wanna go through this again, not after Snape. "It was an accident that happened a long time ago, end of story."

Harry held Ed's gaze. "I wasn't going to ask what happened to it..." He gave a shallow shrug. "I didn't think you'd tell me the truth anyway. I just wanted to apologize..."

"For what? I already told you, didn't I?" Ed scoffed, turning back to look toward his destination. The words came out sounding much too harsh, even in Ed's ears. There was none of the warmth that had been in Ed's voice just moments before. Catching himself, he sighed tiredly and rubbed his eyes before speaking again, more gently this time. "I already told you. It's fine, I forgive you for what happened so long as you never do anything that stupid again."

Harry sighed as well. "It was stupid, I agree. But Malfoy... He's alright?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah, he's fine. He'll be back on his feet soon enough, quit worryin'."

"Right. Sorry." Now Harry nodded, as though confirming the fact to himself. Then he turned in the opposite direction. "Well, I've got to be getting back. And don't worry," he added quickly. "I won't tell anyone about your arm. I didn't think it was something you'd want to be waving around anyway."

As Harry started walking off, still turned half-way so that he was looking back at him, Ed managed a grin. He was sure Harry knew all about being in the center of a bad rumor.

"Thanks. Glad to hear it."

Still grinning slightly, he gave Harry a short nod of approval before turning back around, resuming his walk to the Great Hall. It was nice to find some semblance of peace beginning to settle in over Harry and himself.

But peace has a funny way of not lasting for very long.

Author's Note: okay, completedness! Like I said, it's short, but it gets its point across and that's good enough for me. Draco, by the way, now looks like a blonde version of Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII (look him up, if you don't know him). Which makes him a whole lot more awesome and attractive, in our opinion (please don't hate us! we're just a bunch of crazy girls, after all, we can't help but noticing these things...). :P As for the confrontation… obviously Ed's not going to tell the truth about his arm – it's not exactly something he likes to discuss, hence the hiding of it – so Snape's just going to have to be satisfied with what he's been told. (glances uncertainly at Snape) damn, he makes me nervous… as for run-in with Harry…

For a while I had a scene with Harry discussing what he saw with Hermione and Ron, with Al overhearing and jumping in, but Mjade and I ultimately decided that Harry ought to know by now when it was appropriate to spill somebody else's secret. Though I'm keeping said scene in a separate file to have fun looking at every now and again. Maybe I'll have like, an omake chapter when CSAG is all done, just to show you guys some concepts and scenes that got thrown out. Some of them are quite interesting. :)

hehe... I'll think about it, okay?