Prisoner of Azkaban
Chapter Nineteen
Lunch with Armstrongs
Armstrong Mansion
Outskirts of Central
Amestris
Alex led everyone into the mansion as he happily described the origins of the building and his family's ownership of the land. The Weasleys, Draco and Neville all nodded along having grown up in the wizarding world all of them had heard speeches similar as children. Hermione, for her part, was unused to the behavior but fascinated by the history even as Heymans patted Alex on the arm and said softly "Remember Alex, no one needs to know your entire history in one setting."
"Nonsense Heymans, look at them, they are interested." Alex replied happily and loudly.
"I've heard most of these stories though." Edward cut in before the men could argue further. "" What I am wondering is any of you would like to share any stories?" He added, turning to the children who seemed surprised to be addressed suddenly.
"Sir." The guard who had followed them back to the mansion after approaching in the market said stiffly, "Sir, we were meant to meet the Fuhrer."
"Oh yes, of course. Perhaps another time then." Edward smiled at them all in turn before leaving quickly causing his children to frown after him.
"What's going on?" Yuery turned to Alex and Heymans who both looked guilty of hiding something.
"Nothing to concern yourself with Yuery. Come now, I will show you all my sister's rose garden. She is quite proud of how they have bloomed this season." Alex said as he leads them through the mansion and out to the garden through the greenhouse.
It did not escape Yuery's attention that they were in the only walled garden on the property, putting three strong barriers between them and the outside world. He decided it was pointless to ask further questions however, especially with Maes looking a bit fretful. His first duty was to keep his brothers calm after all.
"I love gardens." Neville said quietly from the back of the group. "This one is lovely."
"Thank you. My sister, Catherine, spent many years cultivating these flowers." Alex beamed. "These over here are her favorites, the light pink ones."
Alex walked them through the garden for a few moments, pointing out various flowers before Heymans interrupted. "Now, if you kids promise not to touch the flowers you can explore on your own for a few minutes before lunch. We all know you would like some space." He then leads Alex away to the entrance of the greenhouse where they seemed to be whispering to each other.
"What do you think is going on?" William asked softly.
"Something was happening at the border earlier, and when they came to talk to your Dad Sev went with them, so it might be a magical breech of some kind." Draco worried his lip briefly, before he noticed the other children looking at them as well and stiffened his shoulders putting on a mask of disinterest. "I'm sure everything is fine though."
"I'm sure it isn't, but they haven't decided that we should know what's going on yet so we should probably try to detract the younger ones." Yuery said, with a nod to Maes and Ana who were both looking nervous.
"" You know Ana isn't that young right?" Elicia said as she approached them. "Really Yuery, she's about the same age as your visitors."
"Yet, she's always seemed younger when frightened." William said calmly, as he excused himself to go check on Maes.
"I was thinking mostly of my brother. He seems really scared. Ron's sister seems nervous too actually." Yuery defended. "Ana too, so there is that."
"Dad always said that he had to be brave and go to work, even if sometimes it seemed like it was scary." Elicia said calmly. She often quoted her father, who had died so long ago that Yuery didn't remember him even if everyone said they had known each other.
"Oh, is your Dad in the government too?" Asked Ron as he came up to them.
"He was. He died before Ana was born, back before Uncle Roy was Fuhrer." Elicia smiled. "Uncle Roy and Dad were best friends, so he was still my uncle even after that."
"She used to call my Dad her brother." Yuery added, Ron had looked like he was going to apologize for the question, but Elicia liked it when she was asked about her father. She said it helped her remember him. "Maes is named after him."
"Oh really, that was nice of your parents." Ron said, Hermione and Neville now joining them while William showed Ginny, Maes, and Ana the fountain which was always his favorite part of this garden.
"All of us are named after someone. It's Dad's tradition." Yuery said with a shrug. "I don't remember or never met some of them. Like I was named for Mom's Dad, Trisha was named for Dad's Mom, Sarah was named for Mom's Mom, but they all died when my parents were little."
"I can't imagine not having my parents, can you?" Ron asked with wide eyes.
"Yes, I can." Neville frowned.
"Well, my father isn't dead, but I will never see him again…hopefully." Draco added, while Yuery offered Neville a pat on the shoulder. He didn't know what had happened to Neville's parents exactly, but he wasn't going to ask. Everyone knew he lived with his grandmother so it must have been something bad.
"We should play chess soon." Ron tried to change the subject before anyone could get any sadder. "When we get back to school, I brought my set."
"Well, it isn't wizard's chess, but my grandfather has a chess board at home. We can ask him if we can borrow it this evening." Yuery offered, Neville was grateful they all moved on without asking any questions.
"Have you finished your homework though?" Hermione fretted as the others rejoined them.
"I finished my homework on Friday." Yuery said, William and Maes nodded in agreement.
"I finished this morning, fell asleep before the Drachma history page last night." Draco said.
"I did it all." Ron assured the others, though Hermione didn't seem to believe him completely.
"I leave you to explore my sister's favorite garden and you stand around discussing homework. You remind me of your father, he was always running off to the library when he was your size." Alex boomed behind them.
"When he wasn't running off to start some fight and cause Boss more of a headache." Heymans added.
"Did their Dad get into a lot of trouble when he was a kid?" Ron asked. "He seems so serious."
"Dad was a troublemaker, for sure." Yuery snorted. "You only think he's serious all the time because you haven't really seen him outside of 'work mode'. He was on edge the whole-time last year, and this morning."
"SO, what's he like normally then?" Ginny asked. So far, she and the others felt he was nice but stand offish.
"Edward Elric is one of the most famous alchemists in our history, and certainly the best of his generation. He is brilliant and is a wonderful strategist and leader as well…but he was terrible to try to keep track of as a child and not that much better as an adult. He barely remembers to tell anyone where he is going. Still. It drives his staff crazy." Heymans said.
"Well, you would know, you're in charge of his office." Alex shrugged. "Outside of work, he is far more laid back. He has a wonderful sense of humor and loves his family fiercely. His legacy is surely one that will be noted."
"Lunch time kids." Heymans added as they lead the children back inside. "Is your sister joining us today?"
"I believe she intended to join us for lunch provided nothing else caught her attention." Alex agreed.
"Well then, we should hurry." Heymans smile was strained, causing the Elric children further concern.
. More so when Armstrong lead the others inside, while Breda asked Yuery "Hey Yu, stay with me, we can catch up in a bit, but we need to make sure nothing is out of place out here."
As soon as they were alone, Breda turned serious. This boy reminded him a great deal of his father and grandfather, which was both concerning and comforting at the same time. After all, Edward had caused them no end of trouble in his youth, but he had also been one of the best leaders Breda had ever known. More importantly than his opinions on the child, however, was protocol. With both the Fuhrer and Lt. Fuhrer called away as they were, Riza was in charge, but Yuery would be expected to be seen publicly should anything happen to them now that he was older. "The border has been breached. It was confirmed a short while ago that whatever got in, it doesn't appear human, but it isn't an animal. Your Dad and Grandfather have been called out to investigate. You know what that means."
"Who are we going to war with and how long do we have?" Yuery asked seriously, before frowning with a thought to his guests. He shouldn't have invited anyone for a visit, not that he could have known.
"At the moment, we do not know. Severus Snape went with them to determine if the threat is magical in nature, and to get them there quickly. If all goes well, they will be home for dinner, however…"
"Hope for the best, plan for the worst. If Dad and Yeye are delayed, we need to contact the school and get the others out of here before nightfall. Then we can decide our next move." Yuery said seriously. "I want Mom and the others secured as soon as possible, if it comes to that."
"Your father would want you secured as well Yuery." Breda said, already knowing what the boy's response would be, and as predicted he shook his head. "Well, if you won't listen to me on that I must insist you at least agree to stay with a guard at all times. Your grandmother still has final say in the matter."
"We need to let the others know there is trouble." Yuery turned toward the mansion. Breda shook his head, the boy was going to be trouble, just like his father. Hopefully, his brothers at least would follow orders.
Once they entered the dining room, William bluntly demanded to know what was going on to the surprise of his guests who had long assumed he was the meeker brother. Which he was, to an extent. Armstrong sighed heavily, having known that once Yuery was pulled aside his brothers would be alerted to a problem bigger than normal. "As I am sure Breda is currently explaining to Yuery, our border was breached this morning or late last night by a creature that is unknown to us. Your father, grandfather, and Snape have gone to investigate further. It is likely that before this is over an alarm will be sounded and you and your siblings will be sequestered."
"Yuery will refuse." William frowned. "What of our guests?"
"We will contact your uncle for their retrieval this afternoon." Armstrong said as the others all looked up in surprise, they had been speaking to Catherine and hadn't paid attention to the conversation before Armstrong spoke louder.
"Why?" Ron asked as Neville and Hermione nodded.
"We are likely going to war, my father and grandfather are possibly in danger, and you are not from here. It would be irresponsible to keep you in danger." Yuery said as he entered the room. The others looked at him in surprise.
"You seem very calm then." Hermione said.
"This isn't our first war." Yuery sounded tired as he said it. William, Maes, and Draco nodded in agreement.
"Come children, let us have lunch before politics." Catherine interjected.
"I asked my Nan if I could join the self-defense classes Professor Elric teaches, but she refused." Neville said after they all sat in silence for a few minutes. "She said there was no reason for them."
"Mom and Dad said we were fine to take them ages ago." Ginny offered, "Ron hasn't joined us though."
"There are already so many classes, besides I have a wand." Ron shrugged.
"Underage wizards aren't meant to use magic outside of lessons though." Hermione fretted.
"If you were defending yourself or others, it is allowed. Both here and in England. We have looked at their laws." Armstrong assured the girl. "Still, to know how defend oneself in multiple manners is for the best. Look at the Elrics. Powerful alchemists, and skilled combatants both."
"Enough fight talks." Catherine frowned. "We are having lunch now. Tell me children, how are you enjoying your visit?"
"It is a lovely country Ms. Armstrong." Hermione offered.
"I liked the market." Ginny said.
"I liked the city in general." Ron added and Neville nodded.
"Our dad was always busy with very important work. One day, that work made him never return to us." Elicia said suddenly. No one responded to her, though Ana placed a hand on her arm. Elicia spoke often of their father, and rarely of his death. "If they think you should leave, leave. Don't protest, because if they want you hidden its thanks to danger."
"We know." William agreed and Maes nodded. Yuery said nothing, even when Elicia frowned at him. He wasn't going to leave his grandmother alone to deal with everything. Besides, his father and grandfather would likely be home by dinner as Armstong said.
"So, you grew the garden yourself, without any gardeners?" Neville asked Catherine to break the tension in the room.
"Yes, I learned the skill from my mother who learned from my grandmother, who had roses shipped all the way from Europe. This was not a simple matter as at the time the borders were still closed so they had to ensure that no one came in with the shipments that didn't belong here and then grandmother had to learn the proper care of the flowers which then passed down to mother who passed it down to me. I decided to begin a second smaller garden as you saw earlier that was separate from mother's garden about ten years ago just before I was engaged."
"Oh, I didn't know you were married." Hermione offered in reply, Catherine waving it off as mentioning that she still went by Armstrong.
While the others were talking about the Armstrong family tree, Yuery leaned over to Neville to whisper quietly, "If you are serious about taking Uncle's lessons, speak to Prince Huan on Monday. You aren't the first student to need a work around certain lessons, There is an agreement between the school and the Royal Family of Xing."
"What about my Nan though, she won't change her mind." Neville frowned.
"She won't need to give permission should certain conditions be met. I or Anya could also arrange it, though Huan would be the least difficult… I also do not know with other situations how difficult it would be for me to arrange it personally."
"How though?" Neville asked as Yuery became aware that Hermione at least was listening and likely Ron as well.
"Huan can apply to announce his intention to appoint you a member of the Court when you graduate. As such, certain lessons, especially defensive lessons, will become requirements instead of electives. Required lessons do not as for parental consent as they already gave consent for all core lessons when they enrolled you." Yuery said, not bothering to whisper anymore.
"You said you or Anya could also arrange it." Neville questioned.
"With our current relationship with England, it would be a longer ordeal for me though Anya would be as simple as Huan…however I felt the climate of Drachma would be less appealing for you." Yuery said.
"How long would I have to stay in Xing?" Neville asked.
"That would depend on what Huan was able to arrange, so I do suggest speaking to him." Yuery said again. "Any of you who are wanting to explore lessons not allowed are free to try this, though it is also subject to final approval, and I can tell you right now that if my uncle feels you are asking solely to be defiant it will be denied."