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: As much as I wish and hope and pray that one day I will wake up and have all the rights to have the Fullmetal Alchemist series, it has not yet happened. So FMA, my most favorite and the absolutely most brilliant manga series EVAR, belongs to Hiromu Arakawa (and Studio BONES). All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling... and this story belongs to me and MJade-1! ^_^

Author's Note: nfufufu… just under two months. I MADE IT, WOOO!! I got distracted by the new FMA anime coming out. WHO DIDN'T SEE IT?? GO SEE IT NOW. IT'S AWESOME. AND EPIC. GO WATCH IT AND LOVE IT, RIGHT NOW.

.... Anyways! Once again, thanks to all you lovely, lovely reviewing people. I wanted to reply to as many as I could individually, but… alas. I suck. I'll address a few here, but to those I haven't gone and replied to somehow… just know that I love you too, and yes, I'll try to update soon. :3

Sailor Phantom of Middle Earth – HAH, I totally thought about it, but… maybe not just yet. Later, perhaps. We shall see~~

LachwenII – hmmm… I never thought about that before. O.O I'm gonna keep this in mind. Thanks!

EvilFaerie17 – LOL OMG DID YOU SERIOUSLY JUST QUOTE THAT OLD SONG? HOLY CRAP. XDDD Roy is so not Ed's boyfriend in my world, ewwwww~

Welp, now that that's out of the way… on with the story~

Chapter 40
The Lightning-Struck Tower

Draco Malfoy hates Hermione Granger.

"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."

"Good luck with that. You can try, but I really don't think you'll get far."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you've changed."

"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?"

"I'm not the one who said it. ...Hermione did."

"...She-"

"She said something about how there was something different about you this year. Something... easily overlooked, but that she still managed to see in you. She's pretty amazing, y'know? Always able to find the silver lining that no one else can see..."

That's right. I hate her. I hate her.

"If I fail this assignment, she'd be as good as dead anyway. If I succeed, I'll be wishing I was dead!"

"Death won't help! It'll just make things worse. If you die then you've given up. You've failed, and if you fail then your mom gets killed. The only reason she's being kept alive is to get used as leverage on you. Do you really think they'd just let her live when they have no more use for her? Your lives are expendable to him! At least while you're alive, you have the ability and the chance, the option, to do something to change things. Letting yourself die would mean throwing away that chance. And there's no one in this world that'll forgive you if you do that."

"No, Elric... Letting myself die means letting someone else have the chance to live. And right now, that's all that really matters to me."

I hate her... I...

"What the bloody hell is wrong with her?! Why the fuck isn't she saying anything?! I could've killed her! Was going to, as a matter of fact!"

"You wouldn't have killed her."

"Were you not there? Did you not see what-"

"I was there. That's exactly my point. And I have to say, all things considered, I was pretty impressed."

"If it wasn't for you, she would have been dead."

"You lowered your wand. - Whether I was there or not, you still wouldn't have killed her."

"What is she playing at?"

"Y'know, I've been wondering that myself. Why not throw the bastard that nearly killed her into the big house to rot. I sure as hell would've done it, without a second thought. - But y'know what? Hermione's different. She's giving you yet another chance to be an actual human being and not some... some arrogant self serving spoiled rich brat that you make yourself out to be all the time. Consider yourself lucky that it was her and not somebody else!"

"She hates me, every single part of me! I'm a fucking heartless monster to her, a bloody Death Eater, just exactly everything that she and Potter and Weasel had always believed me to be! She's not giving me a second chance, she's leaving me to wallow in my own guilt and-"

"Been there, done that, wrote the fucking book for it. -"

"You didn't understand then, you don't understand now. I don't fucking expect you to."

"Look, whatever the hell she said, she said it because she was scared. - She didn't mean it, not really, and I'd say the fact that she hasn't already gone and turned you in is proof."

I love you, Hermione Granger.

Goodbye forever...

Snape came hurtling out of his office, looking almost wildly up and down the corridor and giving Hermione and Luna quite a start in the process. Both girls yelped and jumped as they turned to him, blinking up at him in confusion. For a second he seemed equally confused by their presence, but within moments that was gone. He frowned at them, then inclined his head slightly toward his office.

"Professor Flitwick has collapsed," he told them. Hermione gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. "Attend to him at once. I'll be up to fight the Death Eaters, so be quick."

With that, he hurried up out of the dungeon. Hermione and Luna looked to one another before entering his office, finding Professor Flitwick indeed unconscious on the floor inside. They descended on him quickly, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him first.

"Professor! Professor!"

"Oh, please wake up, sir..."

No response. The small man seemed to be completely knocked out. Hermione frowned worriedly. Luna tilted her head slightly to one side, sighing.

"This really isn't a very good time to fall asleep," she mused aloud.

Hermione sighed a little and shook her head, reaching into her robes to get her wand. "Whatever the case, Luna, we've got to hurry. They're going to need all of our help upstairs! We'll have to try a spell, I know there's-"

A crumpled piece of parchment slipped out of Hermione's robe pocket. It had been tucked away in the same place as her wand, though she didn't remember putting anything in there herself. For a brief moment she thought it was the Marauder's Map, but then she remembered that Ron had taken hold of it, so it couldn't be that. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she reached to pick it up.

"Read it, all right? It's important, Hermione. Please."

Luna blinked at her in confusion, watching her take the parchment into her hands and unfold it carefully, as though she thought it would break. Her head was still slightly tilted, and after a moment of this silence, she shifted to try to get a look at what Hermione was reading so intently.

"Hermione?" she said at length. "Is that for the spell?"

The sound of her voice seemed to slowly pull Hermione's attention back to the present, her head finally rising slightly, but she didn't turn to look at Luna. She seemed frozen in place, that same worried frown on her face, and for a moment Luna thought that she too had been hit by some sort of spell. One never knew what the smell of Snape's office could do to someone, after all.

"Hermione?" she repeated.

She reached out to try to nudge Hermione out of her stupor, but before her hand could touch her shoulder the Gryffindor was on her feet. In another second she was gone, dashing back out the door and disappearing down the hallway.

Even more confused than before, still kneeling on the floor beside Professor Flitwick's unconscious form, Luna blinked owlishly. She then looked at the professor with a heavy sigh.

"Oh dear."

Edward couldn't move. He was suddenly bound by thick, magical ropes that were wrapped tightly around his entire body. He squirmed against it a little with a soft frustrated growl, but to no avail. At least his head and face could still move. Of course, it wasn't as though that was particularly helpful, but something was something. And as he took that moment to look around once again, his eyes widened as he took in the scene unfolding before him.

Dumbledore was leaning against the far wall, weakened and frail and looking older than ever. He was certainly alive, but barely so, it seemed. His face was deathly pale, yet his eyes, though drooping with exhaustion and void of all their merry twinkle, were locked on the blonde before him. Draco stood in front of him, a wand in each hand, one pointed between the headmaster's eyes and the other pointed right at Ed's chest. He was shaking.

"I wouldn't struggle too much, Elric," Draco muttered softly. He seemed to be giving Ed a pained, frustrated look, at which Ed merely frowned.

He met the Slytherin's gaze evenly, but when he opened his mouth to speak, he didn't speak to him. "I'm sorry, Professor. I should've warned you."

Slowly, as though the small movement pained him, Dumbledore shook his head. "No need for that, Edward..."

Draco's eyes darted between the two of them for a moment, his brow furrowing. "You're- You're in league with him?"

Ed hesitated to answer. "In a... manner of speaking, yeah."

"No... It can't be..." He looked shocked for a moment, shaking his head slowly. But then his expression hardened, a deep frown appearing on his face. He scoffed. "I must've been blind, it all makes sense now. You following me around, appearing everywhere I went, trying to be my friend, offering your help... You've been spying on me this whole time, haven't you? That's how he knows."

"What the hell're you talking about?"

"He knows everything," Draco ground out through clenched teeth, shaking the hand that held Dumbledore at wand point for emphasis. "The poisoned mead, the opal necklace- He knew what was going on because you fucking told him."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Like hell I did! What the fuck're you-"

"Just exactly who are you?" Both his voice and the wand pointed at Edward started to tremble. "You can't be part of Potter's little army, and you're sure as hell not a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Did you use some bloody potion to disguise yourself or something?!"

Ed's frown was deepening. He hadn't told Dumbledore anything about what he knew of the situation, surmising that it would be too risky, too complicated to let more people in on it. But the old wizard still knew, and Ed looked over at him with a question in his eyes.

"Professor...?"

Dumbledore looked right back at him, and for a moment that old twinkle seemed to appear in his eyes. He nodded deeply, slowly. Ed nodded in return and drew in a deep breath. Draco's eyebrows came together in confusion, watching their interaction with an increasing sense of unease. And then Ed spoke, and all his attention went to him, their gazes locking with one another.

"I haven't lied about my name or my age, but... I'm not a wizard like you or Professor Dumbledore, or anybody else in this school. I'm not from some magic academy in Germany. I didn't even know anything about this school or about magic until right before I came here."

"You can't be a Muggle," Draco snorted softly.

Ed shook his head. "No, not exactly. I..."

He paused for a moment, taking another breath. When he continued, his tone was soft and even but firm. He sounded very much like he was simply reading aloud a page from a textbook. For the first time in a very long while, he truly seemed like a full-fledged soldier.

"I'm Major Edward Elric, otherwise known as the Fullmetal Alchemist, working for the military of my home country, Amestris. A request for an undercover agent was sent to our government from one Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I was selected because I'm the youngest acting soldier, and would therefore blend seamlessly into the provided environment. I was to report only to either the headmaster directly or to Colonel Roy Mustang, my superior officer. The mission was to watch over one Draco Malfoy, to confirm his connection with one Dark Lord Voldemort, unveil his plans, and then to stop him by any means."

He would've ended it with a strict salute, but with his body bound the way it was, that was impossible. So he merely stopped, holding Draco's shocked stare with his own calm one. An eyebrow quirked slightly upward, the rigid act dropping at once.

"Happy now?"

Draco was quiet for just a moment more, swallowing thickly as his wand hand trembled still more violently. There was a look of horror and betrayal across his features, his eyes wide and his face going ever paler. "But you failed," he said at last. "You failed, you couldn't stop me-"

"I was still sure as hell trying!" Ed snapped. "Somehow you were always half a step ahead of me! Like I could've gone and told anybody anything when I was still in the middle of figuring it out! Sure, I more or less knew what you were up to, but I was trying to keep collateral damage to a minimum by involving as few people as possible! I could've contacted Mustang or Dumbledore at any time and had them just swoop in and arrest you, but I didn't, 'cause-"

"WHY?! Why the bloody hell didn't you?! 'Stop him by any means' you said, but you didn't! It would've been so much easier-"

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME GET TO THAT PART?!" Ed barked, squirming against his bonds a little more in his irritation. "Dammit, y'know what? Looking back right now, I probably should've! But then somewhere along the way I just had to go and get this idea that maybe, just maybe, there was some kind of hope for redemption for you. That maybe you were still human and could just be stopped quietly-"

"'Redemption'?" Draco almost spat the word out. "I thought you were intelligent, not idealistic! That's ridiculous. Where'd a stupid idea like that come from?!"

"From a certain girl who probably knows you a little better than you think she does!"

Draco twitched back, frowning. "What are you on about?"

Ed rolled his eyes. "You know what I'm 'on about'! She's the only reason I didn't just dismiss you as another arrogant self-serving brat, the reason I didn't just leave you to get mauled along with the Death Eaters. She's the only reason I bother giving two shits about what happens to you! You and your feelings toward her-"

"My 'feelings toward her' are nothing but a stupid infatuation!"

"Infatuation?!" Ed echoed incredulously. "Are you fucking kidding me?! We're talking about the very same girl you've been pining over since fourth-"

"SHUT UP!" he shouted, readjusting his hold on his wand so it couldn't waver, pointed directly at Ed. "SHUT UP RIGHT NOW, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER BLOODY WORD OUT OF YOU!"

But Ed wouldn't. He persisted, eyes narrowing. If he didn't say it, then there was a good chance that no one ever would. That was something he couldn't afford. "I'm no expert in the field, but y'know how she's all you ever talk or think about? Mudblood this, Mudblood that-"

"Stop it-"

"That's not just some 'infatuation', Malfoy! That's-"

"IMPEDIMENTA!"

Light burst out from the tip of Draco's wand and hit Edward square in the chest, paralyzing him completely. Only his eyes could move, and he didn't hesitate to fix Draco with a furious glare. The Slytherin knew Ed was right, this much was certain. Hearing the words aloud gave the words a kind of power, a power that the Malfoy heir wasn't willing to face. Ed fumed.

'Idiot,' his eyes seemed to be saying. 'You're a fucking idiot.'

Draco returned the glare just as fiercely, then quickly rounded on Dumbledore again, his hand becoming steadier as he jabbed the wand in the old wizard's direction. "And you, don't you speak another bloody word about 'my options' or some other bollocks like that! The mead didn't work, nor did the necklace... I can't afford any more mistakes. I have to kill you now."

He raised his wand a little higher.

"STOP!"

The door to the stairwell suddenly burst open, and a familiar set of Hogwarts robes and bushy brown hair emerged. Her eyes sought the group out quickly and she hurried toward them, her eyes on Draco.

The Slytherin turned to look over at her, his eyes wide in shock. For a long moment he just stared at her, like he couldn't understand where she'd come from, or why she was suddenly standing before him. It wasn't right. She was supposed to have been taken someplace safe. This could very well be the most dangerous place in the castle at the moment, and yet there she was.

After a moment he tore his eyes away, turning his attention back on the weakened figure of Dumbledore himself. The old wizard's eyes were half-shut, his breathing slow as he slid down the wall an inch. Draco gazed unseeingly at him.

"Go away, Granger. This has nothing to do with you."

Hermione frowned, defiantly moving closer. "Malfoy, put your wand down."

"Granger, didn't you hear me?!" Draco hissed, turning to glower at her. "I said leave me alone. This doesn't concern you at all."

She shook her head. "Edward is my friend. Dumbledore is my professor. If that doesn't concern me, I don't know what does."

"Granger, please just go!" he said again, his voice rising, a touch of desperation to his tone. "Get the bloody hell away!"

"No, I'm not going anywhere! I'm staying right here until you put your wand down-"

"What don't you fucking comprehend, Mudblood?!" Draco snapped, his silver eyes suddenly boring holes into her. He then paused momentarily, as if it was unusually absurd hearing the word "Mudblood" roll of his tongue. But why should it be? He had said it to her numerous times before, hadn't he? And yet all this year, not once did he call her Mudblood. Not to her directly nor did he say it to Ron or Harry in regards to her. Hermione froze up in shock, suddenly terrified by the intensity and vehemence of his anger. Her eyes were wide as she stared back at him, disbelieving and shocked - maybe even hurt. Draco shook his head mentally, his anger flaring up again.

"Who do you think you are? You think you can just prance about in your Gryffindor bravery and nobility and think you can tell me what to do?! I'm not like you. I'm not your precious Potter! I have a job to do! An honor to uphold!" He looked down at Dumbledore again, clenching his jaw tightly. "I have no choices, no options! This is my last chance! And I want you to stay the fuck out of my way!"

"Stay out of your way?!" Hermione echoed, finding her voice in spite of her fear. "That ended the moment that for some sort of bizarre, unfathomable reason you actually saved my life!"

Draco was suddenly stunned, rendered speechless by her words. Even Ed was surprised, his eyes darting to the side to get a look at her. She had thanked Edward that night, said that Edward was the one who had saved her. True, Ed had known that her gratitude was being expressed to the wrong person, but... this meant that all along she had known, too. She'd simply refused to acknowledge it until now. Something had changed.

Hermione's features softened ever so slightly, taking another small, careful step toward Draco. "Did I just imagine it?" she went on quietly, her eyes never moving away from his face. "Did I just imagine you lowering your wand? In front of all those Death Eaters, in front of Lord Voldemort himself... did I just imagine that you were refusing to kill me?" Draco clenched his jaw, quickly lowering his eyes to the floor once again. "Whether you want to admit it or not, Malfoy, you made a choice that night. You chose a separate option."

A silence suddenly fell between them. Hermione watched him anxiously, waiting for some kind of reaction. She couldn't tell if her words were reaching him, but they were clearly affecting him somehow. She drew in a breath and took another step forward. At once Draco twitched back, his expression hardening as he looked back at her.

"You've got me all wrong, Granger," he said, his voice a near growl. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Do you think I'm going to hesitate from killing you right here on the spot? What makes you think I'd listen to you?!"

He quickly turned the wand that had been pointed at Edward on her, his hand still shaking visibly as he held it there. Hermione stopped, but didn't move back. She simply continued to watch him, to just stand perfectly still and stare at him with a growing defiance.

"Do you think you actually matter?!" he continued, his voice rising again. "You're nothing to me but a worthless Mudblood! If I kill you the Dark Lord will certainly reward me! And it will be one less of the scum polluting the wizard world! What makes you think you know me at all?! You don't, so shut the bloody hell-"

He suddenly stopped short, his eyes widening as he caught sight of something that shouldn't have been possible. Hermione had suddenly reached into her robe pocket, and for a brief moment Draco thought she was going to get her wand out. Instead, she pulled out a piece of parchment that looked like it had been crumpled up and smoothed out one too many times. Slowly, deliberately, she unfolded it and held it out in a way that he could see it.

Immediately Draco recognized his own handwriting written all over the page, and for a second he forgot how to breathe. He just stared at the unsent letter in disbelief for a long moment. Then finally, his voice just barely over a whisper, "How did you...?"

Hermione kept her eyes locked with his as she opened her mouth to speak. "You may say that I don't know you. You say that I've gotten you all wrong, and that you could just kill me with a simple flick of your wand. And if it weren't for this, I would have completely believed you without a second thought." She paused, letting out a small breath and shaking her head a little. "Somehow, I always believed that there was something other than this front that you so desperately cling to. That there was something other than your cold, heartless exterior. That you're not as cruel, as ruthless, as brutally unfeeling as you appear to be. And it was as if I finally understood everything. All the pieces fell into place. Then Draco Malfoy was exactly who I thought he was."

The look in her eyes wavered slightly, taking on a sadder turn. It was as if she were disappointed by what she was looking at, by the face of the boy she couldn't stop watching. Draco wanted to turn away, to break from the intensity of her stare, but still it held him in place. His throat and chest had tightened uncomfortably, and returning her look was all Draco could do to keep from falling to his knees.

"But... is it too idealistic of me to believe that there's still some good in you? Is it foolish of me to still have so much faith in you? Because after all, this letter could be some kind of sick joke. I mean, it's not a far-fetched idea, right?" For just a moment, her eyes shifted, bringing the letter closer to her again and glancing over its contents quickly. "But I've never..."

She trailed off there, a sad frown on her face as she continued to look at the letter. There was a slight quake on her lower lip and she bit down on it to keep it still. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"And if every feeling, every emotion, every line in this letter is fake, false, a ruse... I wish to God that I never would have met you!" Her voice was shaking now, the anger, sadness, and frustration clearly evident with every syllable that she spoke. "So whether I'm desperately fooling myself or not, I want to know…" She looked up at him once again, holding the letter out and shaking it at him emphatically. "Is any of this real?!"

Draco continued to stare at her for a moment, his system completely rattled and his normally cool exterior crumbling. For the first time in a very long time his expression was pure, raw emotion. And, as though just realizing this, he tore his eyes away to look back down at the floor. The silence stretched, broken only by the sound of their breathing and the distant din of a battle that seemed light years away. It was as though Draco were trying to fix his mask and put it back on. But when he finally lifted his eyes to look directly at Hermione again, it was still gone, his face betraying everything in his heart.

Slowly, he lowered both wands, his grasp on them loosening as his arms fell limply to his sides. He'd finally stopped shaking. "Every word."

Snap.

Another Death Eater's robes burst into flames and he screamed, throwing his arms up in the air as he fell back, his wand flying some distance away. Roy waited for him to collapse to one side before taking away the oxygen and stifling the fire, then moved on to another opponent. The numbers were dwindling; most of the Death Eaters were unconscious, those who weren't either had the sense to retreat or were stupid enough to keep fighting. It was almost admirable. But mostly stupid.

The wizards, of course, had still suffered substantial losses so far. Many of those fighting on their side had received severe injuries of almost every kind. A good number of those fighters were students, not much older than the Fullmetal Alchemist himself. Roy clenched his jaw and snapped his fingers, causing a large explosion in the air mere centimeters from an attacking Death Eater's face. The robed figure staggered backward, leaving himself open for an attack from none other than Alphonse Elric.

"Colonel Mustang!" Al quickly shoved the Death Eater to one side as he hurried up to Roy. "Colonel, have you seen my brother? He ran off earlier-"

"Some time ago, yes, he was searching for the Malfoy boy- ALPHONSE!"

There was a loud CLANG as a spell hit one of Al's shoulders and bounced off, but not without leaving a neat dent in its wake. The younger Elric staggered a little from the force of it, whirling around to face his attacker: the Death Eater that he'd shoved aside just a moment ago. Roy quickly stepped forward and snapped his fingers, making the air around the dark wizard to explode malevolently.

"Th-Thank-"

"You can't be careless, turning your back on the enemy like that," Roy chided, frowning as his eyes swept over the expanse of the hallway. "Your brother can take care of himself, you know that."

"Yeah, but- I've got a bad feeling."

Roy frowned at him. "This is no time to act on hunches! You need to keep focused."

But as Al was scolded Professor Snape hurried by, sweeping past them and quickly vanishing up a staircase a short ways further down the hall from where they stood. Al noticed this and was distracted again, raising his head with a small gasp of shock. He took a step forward.

"Ah- That was-"

"ALPHONSE!"

The colonel shoved at the suit of armor once more, pushing him to the side and out of the way of a stray spell. He turned to where that one had come from and snapped again, making another explosion before looking back at Al, frowning still more angrily.

"Focus! This isn't the time to be-"

"But that was a professor- I saw Miss Hermione go up that way a moment ago too, and- Maybe nii-san's the-"

There was another bang, making both Roy and Al whirl around to see what was going on. It had come from further down, where Armstrong had transmuted a stretch of the hallway into a maze of spikes. They watched as some of those spikes were blasted apart, eyes widening ever so slightly. And before they knew it, more Death Eaters were surging through, joining the others. Behind them was a trail of wizards and a few of the Amestrian soldiers, following their opponents closely.

"Damn," Roy muttered under his breath, clenching his jaw and tugging at his glove a little. "They're all coming down this way..."

"But why?" Al shifted his weight uneasily, letting out a short breath. He looked around them, making an anxious sort of noise as the battles around them escalated. "There are so many- Ah!"

He jumped a little bit as he noticed a group of Death Eaters heads up the same stairway he'd seen Snape go to. Roy turned slightly toward him while bringing up a curtain of fire to keep the Death Eaters from progressing any closer. Upon noticing Al take that halting step forward to follow them, he reached out to grab onto his arm and stop him. The light resistance was still enough to make Al turn back.

"Colonel, the Death Eaters... I have to-"

"You don't have to do anything. If Fullmetal's up there, he can handle them on his own. Leave it to him."

Another group of Death Eaters rushed past them, led by something that looked like a hybrid of a man and a wolf. Al gasped again, following them very intently with his eyes and pulling back from the colonel more.

"I know about nii-san, but it's also Miss Hermione that-"

"Alphonse, you're needed here!!"

There was another loud bang, though this time it was most certainly the sound of a particularly good rifle. Again, they turned toward it, watching a Death Eater that had been coming up to them stumble to the ground as he took that shot right in the leg. Riza Hawkeye emerged suddenly and moved to Roy's side, almost casually reloading her rifle.

"Colonel, these ones are all that are left. The rest have retreated, some even taking a few of their wounded back."

Roy nodded at Riza firmly. "Good enough. Take whoever you can into custody, the wizarding ministry will deal with that."

Riza saluted quickly. "Yes sir."

The colonel then turned back to the suit of armor at his side. "Now Alponse, we'll need help getting the-"

He stopped short, eyes widening ever so slightly. Al had vanished. Roy frowned, whirling around and making another Death Eater burst into flames as Riza whipped out both of her pistols and shot the wizard right down.

"Damn."

The door to the stairwell burst open again. At first only the dark robes were visible, sending everyone back on their guard as Draco and Hermione both turned to face the intruder. The sallow face of Severus Snape frowned back at them as he magically locked the door behind him. His eyes darted between Edward and Hermione.

"Elric... Granger? What in the bloody hell are you all doing up here?"

Still bound and paralyzed, Ed could do nothing more than roll his eyes. The fact that Snape was there at all was worrisome to him: he hadn't forgotten that Snape was also a Death Eater and that he'd been offering Draco help all year long. He was certain that the DADA professor's presence was anything but comforting. Draco and Hermione said nothing, just looking at him in what seemed to be shock.

Snape didn't wait for an answer. He strode forward quickly, wand out. "Idiots! What business do you have putting yourselves in mortal danger! You need to leave now!"

Three sets of eyes widened. Did that mean...? "Professor-"

He flicked his wand in Ed's direction, undoing the spells that had held him bound. Edward sagged into a more natural position, stretching a little and flexing out his fingers, then turned to look at Snape in shock. He didn't understand. He was a Death Eater, and yet here he was helping them escape instead of forcing Draco to finish the job and kill Dumbledore.

"Why...?"

"Severus," came the headmaster's weak voice. "You must lead them away... Get Harry as well..."

Dumbledore raised a hand and gestured vaguely to his left. Hermione's eyes grew wide and she moved haltingly in that direction, one hand outstretched in front of her as though she were feeling through the air. Suddenly she struck something solid and her fingers curled around it, yanking her arm back and revealing a paralyzed Harry Potter, staring around at everybody.

"Harry!" Hermione gasped, quickly throwing her arms around him in a tight embrace. Draco and Ed both looked almost horrified to see that he was there.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Ed muttered. "The whole time, he was just...?"

The headmaster gave a weak sort of laugh at that. "Yes, Edward... He was."

Hermione quickly pulled back, making quick work of freeing Harry from his paralysis spell. He slumped forward at once, but the shock in his bright green eyes was still very clear as he stared first at Edward, then at Draco and Hermione. Draco frowned a little when he noticed this and quickly looked away.

"Malfoy..."

"Save it, Potter."

Snape fixed Harry with a disapproving glare. "There's no time to waste, the Death Eaters will be here any moment!"

Dumbledore agreed, nodding slowly. "Harry, go... Someplace safe..."

Harry turned toward the old wizard quickly, eyes widening as he gave him a pleading look. "But- Wait a minute- You have to get out of here too, Professor!"

Ed turned as well. "When they get here, they'll kill you-"

A small smile played on the headmaster's lips as he looked back at them. "Yes, I expect they will. Now you must hurry, and leave with the others..."

Snape called out again. "Potter, Malfoy, Elric, Granger, stop this needless dilly dallying. Get out now!"

Ed frowned, ignoring the sound of Snape's voice. All his attention was on Dumbledore. "With all due respect, sir, I can't leave you here to be killed. Dying may be okay with you, but if you think I'm gonna blindly follow that order, you're sorely mistaken."

Dumbledore merely looked up at Edward for a moment, and then suddenly that merry twinkle could be seen in his eyes again. The small smile on his face grew ever so slightly. But before he could utter a word, Harry was bending down to sling one of Dumbledore's arms over his shoulders and help him to his feet. Snape was yelling again as Ed took the other arm and they all started to move toward the door.

"Be quick! The Death Eaters are on their way up here as we speak! It will be even worse if Greyback is among them-"

Just as the group was reunited, the door crashed open and, with a scream from Hermione, everyone quickly backed away. It was too late to run now.

A group of Death Eaters suddenly piled out in an ever shifting mass of black robes and quickly looked around them. Before any of the others could whip out their wands, the Death Eaters were on them, grabbing at Harry and Edward, tearing Dumbledore away from them, yanking Snape to one side. At once, Harry and Ed struggled, trying to wrench their arms free of their grasp. Harry was recaptured easily, the Death Eater wrapping his arms tight about Harry's arms and shoulders, holding him fast.

"Let me go!"

Ed managed to free an arm and twisted around to face his attacker, bringing his knee up to hit the bastard right in the gut. But before he could land any further hits, another Death Eater came up and caught him around the wrist to stop his punches. With a growl, Ed tried to kick out at this new person, but just as he did so his first captor grabbed him by the other arm and yanked at him, throwing him off balance. He tried again, but when he turned slightly to face the other one, he suddenly found himself staring down the wrong end of someone's wand, his nose just inches from the tip.

He froze immediately, biting back a vicious curse as he glared at the thing. He turned a brief, hate filled glare up at the skull mask of his third attacker. A quick glance back toward the others told him that they were no better off.

Only Draco and Hermione hadn't been grabbed just yet, as there weren't quite enough Death Eaters to do so. But it still looked like they were in a much worse fix: a big, rangy man with matted grey hair and whiskers with Death Eater's robes that looked uncomfortably tight on him was facing them, licking his chops and flexing his long, yellow-nailed fingers eagerly. Something about him made Ed think he was some kind of human-wolf chimera. No, not a chimera. Ed corrected himself on this. A werewolf.

"Well well, look what we have here." His voice was grainy and hoarse, almost like a growl, but the tone he used was almost playful and light. He was amused, like a dog who'd found a wonderful new toy to gnaw on.

"Let the students go," Snape hissed, no longer paying the wand in his face much attention. "Your quarrel is not with them!"

"Silence!" shouted one Death Eater, shaking his wand in the professor's face. "I wouldn't be one to start giving orders, Severus, after the Dark Lord hears what you've been up to this year."

The werewolf immediately looked over to Snape. His lips twitched a little, flashing his teeth. "I don't take orders from you."

"Let them go, Greyback!" Draco shouted suddenly, balling his hands into tight fists at his sides. Several Death Eaters were taken aback by the exclamation, as were Snape, Hermione, and Harry. Ed almost wanted to smile. Draco had come a long way in a very short period of time. "Let them go or I'll-"

Greyback whirled around again to look at him, an amused smirk on his face. "Or you'll what? Call Daddy dear to kick me out of the Circle?"

A round of amused snickers and laughter rippled through the other Death Eaters at that. Ed and Harry squirmed a little, but the holds on them didn't weaken at all. The wicked smirk on the werewolf's face broadened into a predatory grin as he took a step closer to Draco and Hermione.

"Does it actually matter to you what happens to your classmates here?"

The Malfoy heir didn't answer, just stared back at the older man, his mouth twitching ever so slightly. Greyback rasped out a brief chuckle as his eyes then turned toward Hermione.

"Mmm... While we're all here, might as well have a taste of the Mudblood as a consolation gift, eh, Malfoy?" He turned fully toward her, his eyes gleaming, his tongue running briefly over his canines. Hermione shrank back with a small gasp.

Draco's eyes went even wider. "You- You keep away from her!"

His protest went ignored by the werewolf, his focus set completely on Hermione. His eyes moved over her entire form, from her head to her feet and back up again. His nose twitched as he sniffed at the air around her. Hermione had to tear her eyes away, quickly dropping her gaze to the floor. She gasped softly. Her wand: it had fallen to the floor and rolled a short distance away. If she could get it...

"She looks positively appetizing," Greyback mused allowed. "Never knew a Mudblood that smelt so good, can barely contain myself from ravishing her on the spot." His grin broadened. "Can hardly blame you, Malfoy, for being so infatuated with her."

"I said to keep away from her!"

He pressed closer to her, licking at his lips hungrily. "And just what will you do about it, boy?" he challenged, eyes rolling to the side to look at him.

Draco held his gaze, not daring to look away. He then moved, pulling Hermione back a step and positioning himself defensively between her and Greyback. Hermione's eyes grew wider and she found herself staring at the Slytherin in surprise.

"You'll have to get through me first."

Greyback's grin grew, a hoarse sound that could have been some sort of laugh escaping him. One of the Death Eaters looked back at him with a shout.

"Kill them, Fenrir! Bloody traitors and Mudbloods, dying's all they're good for!"

The werewolf laughed again. "Lucky me! I'll be gettin' a taste of a Malfoy tonight, too!"

Unable to wait another moment, Hermione hurried past Draco toward the door, making a desperate dive for her wand where it was lying on the floor. Seeing this, Greyback surged forward, reaching out with his claw-like hands to grab her. Harry's eyes widened and he squirmed against his captor again, trying to wriggle free.

"'Mione!"

Draco ran to cover her as well, but he wasn't fast enough to match the werewolf. Hermione screamed, falling back and throwing her arms up in front of her protectively. Both Ed and Harry were struggling, the Death Eaters all erupting in raucous laughter as their blood-thirsty companion descended on his prey. But that died quickly when, with a loud metallic clang, Greyback was quite suddenly knocked to one side, tumbling a good distance over on the ground before falling still. The other Death Eaters merely stared, clearly stunned, as the tall suit of armor moved in front of Hermione.

"Is everyone okay?"

Ed grinned. Taking advantage of their state of shock, he pulled himself forward, swinging and flipping up in his captors' grasp to drive the soles of his boots right into their faces. Their masks cracked under the force, their wearers falling gracelessly to the floor as Ed righted himself easily and landed nimbly (but heavily) on top of them.

Recognizing their cue, the others exploded into action. Al took the initiative to grab the nearest Death Eater, knocking him out with a single punch to the side of his head before moving on to another one. He didn't pay much mind to the spells they were throwing at him, simply stepping out of their way before throwing his punches. Harry wrenched himself free from his captor as well, whipping out his wand and quickly casting a Banishing spell to knock him away. Snape also quickly pulled away and used Flagrate against his opponent, making fiery marks on the other's robes. Ed moved in on those ones quickly, kicking at the Death Eaters' hands to knock their wands away before they could retaliate and following through with an automail punch to the face.

It wasn't long before all of the Death Eaters were down and sprawled out on the floor, groaning in pain or paralyzed stiff. The brothers turned to one another and, with a toothy grin plastered across Ed's face, bumped their fists against the other's.

"Not bad, little brother. Perfect timing."

"Someone has to pick up after you, nii-san."

Draco and Hermione were still a little stunned, watching them all with wide eyes. Al quickly moved to Dumbledore's side, helping him up and offering solid support. Harry went to assist him as well, all of which the headmaster responded to by smiling benignly and murmuring his thanks. Upon hearing a soft groan and a cough in Greyback's direction, Ed crossed over to where the werewolf had ended up and promptly seated himself on his back, right between his shoulders. That was one of the things about automail that Ed often found good use for: his collective weight was very heavy.

Greyback grunted at the sudden weight, the air rushing out of him as he was pressed more into the floor, but after a moment he started to struggle against him. Ed immediately slapped his hands together and transmuted the plating on his automail arm into a sharp blade, then slammed the pointed tip into the ground just scant centimeters from the tip of Greyback's nose with a resounding clang of metal.

"Now now," Ed chided in a playful, almost sing-song tone, "you have to stay down. Can't have you waking up before your friends!"

The werewolf growled angrily and Ed could feel him shifting beneath him, preparing to throw him off. But before he could do anything Ed had his wand out in his other hand and promptly cast Impedimenta on him, saying the incantation almost cheerfully. A toothy grin was across his face as the Death Eater was completely paralyzed, and Ed gave him a pat on the head.

"Atta boy."

Just then there was the sound of more footsteps in the stairwell and more wizards emerged from the opening. This time, though, they weren't Death Eaters. They looked like a fairly motley crew: several tall redheaded guys, a man in a violet top hat, and a pink-cheeked brunette lady to name a few. Not to mention that man with the worn brown suit jacket and the familiar girl with the heart-shaped face. They all looked around them in surprise, eyes widening as they saw all the Death Eaters on the floor and Dumbledore leaning against Alphonse.

"Headmaster! You're all right!"

Harry's eyes widened slightly. "The Order!"

Some of the members of the Order of the Phoenix quickly set about taking the downed Death Eaters away while the others attended to Harry, Dumbledore, and Hermione. Mere moments after their arrival did more people appear, except this time Ed knew some of their faces all too well. Colonel Mustang was pushing through the others to get in front, Lt. Hawkeye and Lt. Col. Hughes just behind him. A few more Amestrian soldiers, each looking thoroughly worn out, trailed in behind them. The colonel took one good look around before turning back to those soldiers.

"Good work, Fullmetal. Everyone, help the Order take these people into custody."

The soldiers saluted him before moving to do so. Ed moved out of their way as they reached to grab Greyback, transmuting his arm back to normal. Some of the members of the Order went straight to Harry, Hermione, and Dumbledore, speaking to them in soft, worried tones. Roy and Hughes, on the other hand, strode over to Snape and Draco, frowns on their faces.

"Draco Malfoy," Roy said coolly, "you're hereby under arrest for the attempted murder of Albus Dumbledore."

Ed whirled around in shock when he heard this, his eyes wide. They couldn't be serious. After all this?! "The hell- Colonel! He didn't murder anyone!"

"Attempted murder," Hughes repeated, an almost frighteningly serious look on his face as he looked between the two teenagers. "Whether he did or didn't, we're taking him in on account of working alongside the Death Eaters." He then turned toward Snape. "And Mr. Snape, I'll have to ask you to come with us for questioning."

"This is ridiculous," Snape scowled. "You've no authority here-"

"We're making these arrests on behalf of your own Ministry," Roy said quickly, cutting him off. "We have the authority to bring in anyone we deem to be allied with your Dark Lord."

He then nodded at Hughes who, nodding back, pulled some handcuffs out and stepped toward the DADA professor.

"Wait," Dumbledore intervened gently. "I can vouch for Severus, he's no longer a Death Eater... Young Mr. Malfoy as well..."

"My apologies, headmaster," Roy said with a small bow of his head. "But even if it is by your word, we can't take any unnecessary risks. If he's truly innocent, there shouldn't be any trouble proving that to your government."

The headmaster sighed heavily at hearing this, then simply nodded, too exhausted to say anything further as he leaned against Alphonse some more. Snape recoiled from Hughes' attempt to cuff him, insisting he would suffer no further indignity while resigning himself to going with them. Draco just watched silently, his face blank as Riza moved to put a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.

Balling his hands into fists, Ed ran over to grab onto Roy's arm and keep him from doing anything further. "And Malfoy? You've got no proof that he was-"

"What more proof would I need, Fullmetal?" Roy quipped, frowning down at Edward. "Look around you. We've just managed to take this battle. A battle that wouldn't have happened had it not been for Draco's actions."

"Innocent till proven guilty!"

Roy's frown deepened, his dark eyes narrowing. "Fullmetal, do you really expect us to believe that he had nothing to do with what went on here? After everything you'd reported back to me?"

"There were extraneous circumstances! He's as much a victim in this as anybody else, you can't just go and arrest him without-"

Draco gave him a sharp look, interrupting with a mildly annoyed, "Elric, just shut it."

"No, you shut up!" Ed snapped back before shooting Roy another venomous look. "After all this, no way in hell I'm just gonna let Colonel Bastard here go and-"

"Fullmetal." The colonel's voice became more stern, more authoritative. "Don't make me charge you for insubordination and obstructing justice. It'll be difficult to help anybody here from the inside of a jail cell."

Edward flinched back, but his eyes still narrowed as he gave the colonel a critical look. He then glanced toward Draco, who seemed equal parts fearful of his fate and resigned to it. He was frowning at the handcuffs on his hands, but it was almost as though he knew they deserved to be there. His eyes darted upward once, only to drop again upon seeing the look on Hermione's face.

After drawing in a deep breath through his nostrils, Ed addressed the colonel again. "What's gonna happen to him?"

Roy shook his head. "That's not up to me to decide."

Without another word on the subject the colonel headed out, following the other Amestrian soldiers and Order members as they took the Death Eaters away and leaving Ed, Al, Harry, Hermione, and Dumbledore behind. Snape walked alongside Draco, Hughes and Hawkeye following close behind them. Draco looked more sullen than ever before, his shoulders slightly slumped. Ed glowered at Mustang, jaw clenched. This was why he'd stopped reporting. He knew something rash like this would happen, and he didn't want that at all.

"Dammit...!"

Al looked toward him. "Nii-san..."

"This isn't right," he growled, then turned toward Dumbledore and the others. "Professor, you've got a strong influence on the wizarding world! You know what Malfoy's situation was like, don't you? Isn't there something we can do?!"

The two Gryffindor students were frowning thoughtfully, Hermione still hanging onto Harry's arm and clutching anxiously at the sleeve of his robes. She chewed on her lower lip for a moment, clearly doing her best to run every possibility through her head as fast as possible. Dumbledore was weakening by the moment, practically sagging in Al's grasp now as he let out a weary sigh.

"Yes," the headmaster said softly. "There should be... We must have this all straightened out..."

Then Hermione looked up. "Couldn't Draco have a hearing?"

Ed and Al exchanged a curious look, then both turned toward her. "A hearing?"

Harry's eyes seemed to brighten slightly. "Oh yeah, he could!"

Alphonse looked over at Harry. "What's a hearing?"

"Back in fifth year I was accused of using underage magic in front of a Muggle - that's illegal, after all - and I had to go right to the Ministry and explain what happened and why. There were witnesses called out and everything."

Al tilted his head slightly. "Oh, you mean a trial."

Hermione nodded. "Yes. He deserves that, at the very least."

Eyes widening, Ed looked to the headmaster again. "Professor?"

Slowly, Dumbledore nodded his head. "Yes... Yes, I agree. I'll talk to the minister as soon as possible. I'm sure I can get him to see reason..."

Only marginally cheered with this knowledge, the group started to leave. Ed, Al, and Harry all went with Dumbledore: Al did all of the supporting and carrying as they walked, but Ed and Harry had insisted on going with them back to the headmaster's office. Which left Hermione falling behind on the way back into the castle.

She hesitated before descending the stairwell, pausing to glance back at the surroundings. Everyone was gone, and there was scarcely a trace that anything had gone on there at all. The battle had come to an end as the sounds of fighting were no longer audible from there. All that was left was the green Dark Mark in the sky, and even that was already diminishing into thin air.

Nothing was left. Nothing but a crumpled piece of parchment that had fallen, forgotten once again, to the floor.

Author's Note: yep, that's right, guys. This story isn't over just yet.

until next time... REVIEW ON YOUR WAY OUT!! ILUGUYS!!!