The Order of the Pheonix
Chapter Eight
Reluctantly, Sirius sat next to his former friend, as Remus sighed. He had asked Ed directly before they left if he could speak to Sirius about this so the Vow would allow it. He needed Sirius to understand, he needed Sirius to believe the child was perfectly safe in the care of his parents and that Sirius taking him would cause him nothing but pain.
"Okay, here's the thing Sirius. I know you think somehow this situation has gotten completely out of hand. You firmly believe, understandably, that Edward and Winry are not fir parents for Yuery. I am going to do my best to assure you that they are, in fact, the best parents he could have asked for given the circumstances." Remus said he knew Sirius was about to protest by the stiffening of his shoulders. "That is not to say I wouldn't wish for things to be different in that had James and Lily lived, of course he would have been in their care. They are dead Sirius. They have been dead twelve years. Yuery will be thirteen soon, and for the majority of that time, he has lived here, in Amestris, with Edward and Winry. They are his parents. They haven't tricked him, or brainwashed him, or anything as you have decided is happening. They RAISED him, alongside their other children."
"How can you be okay with all of this Remus? They stole him!" Sirius demanded angrily.
"No. They saved him Sirius. Edward found him the night they died, alone next to his mother's body, and took him to safety, knowing full well that those who killed James and Lily were still after the baby. He then made the child his own." Remus helping others. sadly, he wished to get through to his friend, and was once again grateful for Edward's trust in this. Ed had given him permission (curtly) to share Yuery's adoption story if he truly believed it would make Sirius back off. Ed was tired of fighting multiple enemies over this, and Dumbledore was beyond reason. "They are good parents Sirius; the kind of people James and Lily would want to raise their son. He is self-assured, kind, and brave. Where do you think that came from? He is also selfless in his desire to help others, sometimes to a fault. Which though he may have gotten from Lily, I also see in Edward Elric constantly. Frankly, the man can be abrasive, but he is always helping others. Even taking Yuery, think about it. It wasn't HIS problem, his war. Taking on an infant, when he already was so busy couldn't have been easy, but never once in all the years I've known him has he shown any regret for that choice."
"Harry wasn't his to take. It wasn't his choice to make. I was meant to raise Harry, should the need arise." Sirius insisted.
"That was never going to happen Sirius. The night they died, Dumbledore sent Hagrid with the instructions to take Harry and deliver him to the Dursleys. He, of course, assumed the child dead and did not. Chances are had the child remained there until Hagrid's arrival he would be dead now, along with Lily's family." Remus sighed. "Hagrid told me that Dumbledore had instructed him not to let anyone else take the baby, especially you."
"Dumbledore knew I wasn't the Secret Keeper, why would he- "
"Because he believes the only way to win is to allow the prophecy to happen. "Remus sighed his whole body showing his exhaustion. "I didn't want to think he was capable of this either. He is. He has gone completely insane over this matter. Now Edward and Severus believe that the issue was the manipulations of Flamel made him so much worse. Not that either of them are willing to give him any form of leeway, they just wanted to explain how he could be so… crazy I suppose."
"Why do you trust them all so easily Remus?" Sirius asked, he wanted to trust his friend, but there was so much at stake.
"Severus took a Vow; he is incapable of bringing any form of harm to the child or tell anyone anything about the child without Ed's permission. I've actually taken the same Vow. It is why Edward allows us around the child. As far as Edward and his family go…There are things he hides, I assume they must be forbidden things from what I have gathered over the years. They will bring no harm to the child, and honestly, help assure me he is genuine over his love for Yuery."
Edge of Northern Border
Dumbledore made sure to avoid his bottles for several hours, he also cast several freshening spells over himself and his clothing, as he had to appear completely sober and calm if he wanted them to take him seriously, he had dealt with press before, he knew how they could be when brought information like this. They wouldn't listen if there was even the slightest chance the informant could be compromised. He had even donned a boring grey pinstripe suit before approaching the town.
He made his way calmly into the office of the first newspaper he encountered and asked to speak to an available reporter. The receptionist led him back to the editor's office and left him with a cup of tea and politely told him it would only be a few minutes.
Ten minutes later a tall middle-aged man entered the office and introduced himself as Hiro Yao. He asked how he could help Dumbledore today after shaking his hand. "I wanted to tell my findings to a paper, so that the people might know what is really going on inside their governments. Not just here but Drachma and Amestris as well." Dumbledore said politely.
Mr. Yao raised an eyebrow before gesturing for him to continue. "Recently, the princess of Drachma was kidnapped, held for an exchange of another abducted child. However, the leaders of Drachma, Amestris, and Xing refused to consider an exchange. I believe that the people should know that their leaders were unwilling to rescue this child in favor of keeping another child against their will. Further, it has come to my attention that those who run the joint school, Xerxes, are all related to the leaders of Xing and Amestris, yet they allow both a werewolf and a murder to teach there at the school. One Remus Lupin, and one Severus Snape. These are dangerous men, left unchecked among the youth of all three countries, influencing their future leaders."
"Sir, I do not know anything about your culture, admittedly, but here in Xing we do not concern ourselves with werewolves. They are perfectly safe to be around when the moon is not full, and when it is, that's what reinforced doors and potions are for. Provided of course, they were for some reason unable to be cured by our healers, which is rare. I see no reason to concern ourselves with Mr. Lupin. I am also aware that the school gave a notice when the man was hired and every new term it is repeated in case parents have concerns for the precautions taken. Perhaps you should familiarize yourself with the procedures it may eliminate your concern. "Mr. Yao explained. Then added with a small smile, "As far as the school staff being related to the leadership, that is also well known and hardly a surprise. Trace it back far enough, and most important people in Xing are distantly related to our Emperor myself included, and the Mustang-Elrics are powerful alchemists, that Mr. Alphonse Mustang-Elric chooses to teach is wonderful for the next generation."
Dumbledore was growing frustrated. How could they be so blind as to just accept that these things were happening. No alarm whatsoever over all the blatant corruption going on… this man just admitted to being related to the Emperor, perhaps that was the problem. "Now, I must ask, how do you know so much about Anya's abduction? We reporters had all agreed to leave out any details until she is home safe, and what other child has gone missing?" Yao asked while Dumbledore was brooding.
"Harry Potter was taken from his crib nearly thirteen years ago and hidden in Amestris under the false name Yuery Elric. All attempts to regain the child have failed, resulting in desperate measures." Dumbledore answered. At least they weren't completely ignoring him.
"So, you are saying that what an alchemist from Amestris just decided one day to take a random English child from their crib and bring them here to pretend to be his own? What proof could you possibly have to these claims, because the child has been in the papers for years, so it isn't surprising such a rumor popped up along with all the other unfounded rumors we refuse to publish." Mr. Yao demanded sounding angry.
"It seems perhaps you cannot remain unbiased in the face of this evidence. Perhaps I should take it the papers in Drachma instead." Dumbledore said in response. It seemed far more likely, now that he thought about it, that Drachma would lean more towards saving the princess than protecting the Fuhrer's grandson as they all believed Harry to be. Dumbledore started to rise, when the room began to fill with soldiers.
The receptionist had recognized Dumbledore's appearance from the messages sent out when the girl was taken, and the Editor had just been stalling for time before the arrest could be made. Dumbledore decided it was time to go and prepared to apperate out to the other side of the country, but the spell would not form around him as they reached to grab him, making contact around both arms at the same time.
Dumbledore struggled, and demanded to know how they could block his spell so completely even as he was shackled and lead out the door and directly into the path of the Emperor, Edward Elric, and Severus Snape along with several others he cared nothing about. It was these three men who ruined everything. Elric looked livid, the other two bored, even as the slew of crimes against him were listed on the way to the prison.
London, England
Diagon Alley
Voldemort was growing restless, as was Lucius if he was to be honest with himself, and the longer they waited to find someone to use for the spell, the more likely he would return his attention to the boy formerly known as Harry Potter. Neville Longbottom was of course the next best choice, but he too was out of reach. However, there were countless children to be found here in the shopping district whose parents were able to learn that there had been threats and they were treated seriously.
After following others around for a while, he decided on his target. A boy who appeared older than the other boys it shouldn't change anything. Cedrick Diggory worked just as well as any other child of the Order. At the very least, it would give Voldemort a distraction for a few days while they found Longbottom. He just had to be careful not to be seen following the boy or seeming overly interested in him at all. Just as the boy was about to enter the sweets shop, Lucius stunned him. He quickly dragged the boy off to disappear before anyone noticed.
Mr. and Mrs. Diggory noticed their missing son less than five minutes later, but no one in the busy market remembered seeing the boy. A search was begun, other parents as well as aurors searched the entire street, by nightfall he was posted in the paper as officially missing. The following morning, in desperation, they even went to the muggle papers listing the boy, to no avail as no one was forthcoming with information.
Cedrick, meanwhile, found himself in an unknown cellar, disuse obvious in the amount of dust surrounding the various jars and bottles on the shelves. He was brought a jug of water and loaf of bread sometime later by a small Weasley looking man, who refused to speak or look directly at him aside from warning him as he opened the door that they would snap his wand should he cause trouble. His wand was no longer in his pocket. In fact, nothing was in his pockets, but he hoped his father would find him soon.