The Order of the Pheonix

Chapter Twenty-Two

Amestris

Riza Mustang called together the council of twelve shortly after speaking to her son, who had given her the plans her husband had made. It was decided that Amestris, and Xing, would be joining this war in England. The English and Wizard leaders would be announcing soon the aide was coming and Riza had been tasked with preparing everyone.

The council had all been expecting this message since their leaders had left to personally evaluate the situation. It had been obvious with everything that had been happening the others would not simply leave Amestris in peace. So now they needed to assign more to the boarders, and to protect vital areas of the country. Soon enough the attacks were expected to begin at their own borders. What Riza left out of the briefing was the knowledge that their primary target was her grandson, and one of his friends as well. It would do no one any good to worry about these things but it would be a distraction which they could not afford at the moment.

After the very short meeting, Riza returned to her apartment to speak with Winry and the children about the rest of the very dubious plan. Remus Lupin and Severus Snape were to arrive to collect Yuery and Neville and bring them to an undisclosed location where they were going to trust that the Order of the Pheonix would be strong enough to stand against Voldemort.

Bill and Charlie Weasley caught her in the hall, letter clutched in Charlie's hand as Bill addressed her, "My mother just wrote. We are to return with the alchemists, take them to the new safehouse of the Order. My mother requests that the younger ones remain here in safety if that is possible."

"Of course, we will keep your siblings and the other children safe here in the mansion if at all possible. The alchemists are set to depart in about an hour you should go prepare the others and warn the children." Riza nodded in agreement. Narcissa and Draco arrived as they were speaking, Narcissa carried a bag with them full of Draco's things as well.

"I received word a few minutes ago. My husband is either dying or dead. I will return with the other wizards to fight Voldemort; Draco can stay here with the other children." Narcissa said, ignoring her son's protests at being left behind. "It is critical you remain here Draco. Your father has just as many allies as enemies and the worst thing I can imagine for you is to be captured by his friends. Aside from that risk, this mansion and our hosts also need to be protected. Remain here, help Yuery keep his siblings safe. No more arguments."

"Fine." Draco said after a moment, Riza nodded at them both choosing not to mention that Yuery would be leaving shortly with the alchemists not wanting to spark another argument between the family. Instead, she directed them toward the guest wing and informed Narcissa everyone would gather on the parade ground shortly.

She had made it to the door of her apartment before being stopped again, this time by Heymans Breda. His expression told her everything before he began to speak, so she cut him off. "Yes, Alex is among those dispatching. Yes, we already factored in your refusal to be left behind. Alex already sent someone to pack your bags. Heymans, no one wants to leave you out of this I assure you. Aside from the obvious, I trust you above nearly anyone to watch over my son. After all you have done a remarkable job keeping him alive for the last few years despite his tendency to throw himself headfirst into danger."

"He has been doing much better with that post Promised Day." Breda defended weakly; they all knew if it came to protecting someone, he cared about Edward wouldn't hesitate to throw himself in the way of nearly anything. "I will do everything in my power to bring them both back to you ma'am."

"All three of them. My grandson will be joining you this time. Edward has summoned the boy to his side for the remainder of this situation unless something changes. He does not trust that he can keep the boy safe simply by remaining behind the boarders anymore. Not worth the risk. I will be keeping Winry and the other children here, though originally, she intended to take them to Reseembool I doubt our ability to keep them safe that close to our borders…now I have to go update my family and have everyone at ready."

Riza entered the apartment and knew instantly Winry had already prepared the children for at least part of it because William and Maes were furious. Trisha and Tad looked scared and sad, and the others confused. Alphonse and Mei were waiting in the sitting room with the rest of them as well. "I see word has already spread."

"I wish I was going with them." Alphonse said with a sigh.

"You are acting Fuhrer, along side me. You cannot return to England when we need a leader here. Chances are good that we will be attacked shortly, which is why we are only sending half the alchemists. It may not be fair, but it is what has to be." Riza reminded him, frowning again before she continued. "Roy will be distracted enough, will his concern for Edward and Yuery. Do not add to his concerns when you are needed here."

"I should go instead then. Edward is the second highest ranking man in this country, the father of six children and one of the best defenders this country has ever seen. I am a schoolteacher, a skilled fighter, and- "

"The father of soon to be two children, who has already put his family through enough and not an alchemist. Not anymore." Mei finished for him.

"Mei, we agreed not to tell anyone until this was over." Alphonse said without turning to her and clearly annoyed. "The last thing we need is to cause distraction."

"Yet you are fighting with your mother over your willingness to die." Mei glared. "Edward will return to us, he always does. You however are no longer equipped to aide in this battle."

Alphonse frowned at them both before he walked away, Mei continued to glare another moment then turned to Riza. "He is correct that we have elected to keep the news to ourselves for the moment. We all know several people will notice soon if they haven't already, but an actual announcement is not in our plans just yet."

"Understandable." Riza nodded before hugging the younger woman, "Congratulations, you know Edward and Roy will know as soon as they see you again?"

"Ling already did though he promised to remain quiet on the matter, as he remains true to his word, which is always a question, I will be happy for them to notice provided they return to us in one piece." Mei sniffed. "Children, I am trusting you not to spread the word about this to anyone."

"Yes, Auntie." William and Maes said together as Trisha and Tad nodded in agreement. Sarah just looked confused. Izumi, Elizabeth, and Sovann continued to play with the blocks in the corner. The adults took this as them all agreeing for the moment.

Guest Wing

Draco had joined the others, which had dwindled to Ginny, Ron, Fred, and George Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Cedric Diggory, and Hermoine Granger. All of the elder Weasley children were absent as were the adults aside from the Grangers. Apparently, from what they had been told, everyone else was returning to England to join the fight.

None of them were very happy about it, but then Draco asked "Where's Neville anyway? I mean, Yuery it makes sense they are keeping a close eye on him after what he did, but Neville isn't here either…neither are any of the Elrics?"

"Most of the Elrics are in their own wing I assume. Neville's grandmother came to collect him a few minutes ago to do something, she was not forthcoming with information." Hermoine answered with a frown. She suspected that Neville, and Yuery, were already on their way to fight.

"They mean to leave us locked up here until it is over." George frowned.

"We are not little children anymore." Fred added with a nod.

"We should find a way out." They said together and missed the horrified looks of the rest of the group.

"Fred, George. Please think about this. If you go now, today, you will be noticed. Wait, at least until after everyone has gone to bed." Cedric said as quietly as possible, as the Grangers came into the room to join them. Hermoine was frowning at them all and Ginny looked like she wanted to insist on being included in their plans. Ron seemed torn between calming Hermoine and joining Ginny.

"Alright children, whatever you think you are planning. Stop now." Mr. Granger frowned at them, shaking his head at their protests.

"We know all of this has been terribly hard for you all, especially with Yuery and Neville taken back into the situation, but you will remain here and leave it at that." Mrs. Granger added. She refused to hide those the other two boys had been taken back to England. She hadn't liked the plan to begin with but really hadn't agreed with the suggestion that they keep it quiet as long as possible. These children should be kept informed of what was happening, otherwise they would be greater danger for their ignorance.

"Why are Yuery and Neville being allowed to fight, and we aren't? We are old than them." Cedric demanded.

"They aren't being allowed to fight anything. They have been moved to a separate location to protect everyone involved, including several very young children who live in this building full time." Mr. Granger sighed with a disappointed glare at his wife. While he agreed they shouldn't keep the children in the dark, he also agreed with Mrs. Mustang that it was better to avoid mentioning the mission until they had officially left to avoid any of them slipping out.

"This subject is closed. No one who has not already been assigned the task of leaving Amestris will be exiting for the foreseeable future." Kain Fuery said as he entered the room followed by two other officers. "We are here to insure that no one does anything rash they will regret later."

"Is my mom gone already?" Draco asked, having remained quiet so far but worried about her.

"I'm afraid so." The woman, Maria Ross, frowned sadly to the boy. "She did say she had made sure to tell you goodbye before sending you to your friends."

"She did. I guess I was just hoping to see her off." Draco sighed. Both his mother and his godfather were heading off to join in this foolish war. What if they never came back, what would happen to him then?

Hermoine seemed to notice Draco's distress and guessed correctly the source as she took him aside to comfort him. Ginny and Luna joining her moments later, then trailed by Cedric and finally Ron. The twins and Percy remained out of it, not for lack of concern as much as not really knowing the boy and they didn't want to crowd him in a time like this. After all, they were all feeling the same as he was right now. His family, as well as theirs, were all out there fighting what they had all been raised to know was a monster. A monster leading an army, and here they were trapped inside a very safe and pampered prison.

Parade Grounds

Winry didn't want to do this, she admitted it to herself as she calmly walked with her eldest son to join the others leaving in a few minutes. Her son was far too young to have this on his shoulders. She knew she wasn't alone in feeling this way. Surely Edward had not changed his mind on it, nor had his parents. She could see it in the faces of Heymans and Alex as well as she handed off her son to the men charged with keeping him safe in the middle of a war. "I'll be okay Mom. I promise I won't do anything reckless." Yuery said quietly as his mother hugged him one last time.

"I'm going to pretend I believe you. Just come home." Winry sniffed as she tightened her grip slightly before letting go to turn to the others. "Keep him safe. Truth knows, he has too much of his father in him. Just…try to bring them both back to me."

"Winry, I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to keep them safe." Alex said in an unusually quiet voice. "Fear not, we will be taking him straight to his father and we all know how protective Edward is toward his children. I will do everything I can to protect Edward as well."

"I know I am outgunned in this, but trust me Winry, your son is my top priority." Heymans added, Winry hugged him as well then before stepping back.

"Everyone. I am not going to pretend this is going to be a short or easy battle for any of you. We all know that this is a war. We hope and pray for the safe return of all of you, however, should anyone feel they are unwilling or unable to carry out this mission raise your hand. This is far too important for hesitation. You will be in charge of keeping the Fuhrer, the Lt. Fuhrer, and the future Fuhrer safe. Should anyone has doubts in their abilities in the face of magic, now is the last chance to back out because once you are out there you will be on your own. The border will be resealed and will not open again until which time one of these men approach it directly and willingly." Riza then stated calmly to the assembled alchemists, wizards, and soldiers. No one stepped forward or protested. She nodded once before turning her attention to Remus Lupin who had been standing behind her attempting to be invisible judging by his hunched shoulders.

"My name is Remus Lupin. Many of you know me as one of the teachers at Xerxes. I originated in England. This battle…this war…it began when I was still a student myself. It took the lives of several of my friends, many families. Voldemort is the name he gave himself; he wishes to wreck everything and everyone around him, and he in particular has been hunting these two boys since their birth. We will be stopping him. This ends now. His reign of terror, his hatred, his lies. It doesn't matter, in the end why he is doing this because none of it can be properly explained in the time I have here. Rest assured though; the majority of my people are against him. Most of us hate the things he has done. None of us want him and his followers to do these things. I know this country is no stranger to war yourselves, and we are grateful for whatever help you feel you can offer." Remus had more to say, though he also felt he was rambling, but was surprised by the arrival of Chen Li. She nodded to him silently, before joining the group of people ready to leave any moment. He hadn't expected it. Ling Yao was already there, of course, so why would his sister also go.

He was distracted long enough everyone assumed he was done talking and began to gather their things. The arranged portkeys would be setting out in less than five minutes, and everyone needed to be ready. He did not want to do this, to bring these boys back into the danger zone and hope they were enough to keep them safe. It seemed it wasn't his choice. Chen arriving had thrown him off as well. Why in the world would they think sending her was a good idea. She wasn't a soldier or an alchemist, let alone a witch.

"I'm a strategist. My brother requested my presence to assist him as his advisor while away. Normally, his primary choice in single advisor is his wife, but he will not have her separated from their children while danger is nearby. As his only close sibling without children, I am the logical choice." Chen shrugged.

"You are not a fighter, or magic. It is not logical." Remus insisted, though he already knew he would lose this fight.

"Every single one of my father's children were fighters Remus. Huan was an exception at the time of the man's death as a toddler, but even he is now trained to fight. As are all of their children. Don't look so surprised. You weren't to learn that Edward's children were training, why would it be different for us?" Chen frowned. "I am not coming to spy on you, or anything else that may be running through your mind right now. Yes, some were angered by your defense of Black at the time but think. I told you, even then, that I believed you when you said you didn't truly understand his behavior. It was more concern for an old friend and disbelief."

"We will be staying in his house, you know. I don't know how anyone thinks sending Yuery or myself there is a good idea, but then there isn't a lot of choices anymore is there."

"It's going to work out." Chen nodded to him before she began to walk away to join the rest of those waiting. "I can't promise how the war will end, but I do trust you to not betray Edward's trust in you."

Soon enough everyone had gathered around a portkey, Riza and Winry watching off to the side. Six alchemists, including Alex Armstrong, and the Tringham brothers were returning to England as well as the adult wizards who had come here both recently and over the years before, including Narcissa Black. Heymans Breda, Chen Li, and Jean Havoc had offered to go as well. Havoc had been denied in light of the involvement of Sirius Black. Neville Longbottom and Yuery Elric would also be going of course, much to the displeasure of everyone involved.

As they all prepared themselves and the portkeys began to light up, Percy, Fred, and George Weasley appeared. They were insistent on joining the rest in returning to England but were refused. It escalated into a screaming match between the Weasley siblings.

"Enough." Riza demanded, and everyone froze to look at her. "You three boys move now you are not going. Everyone else try to stay safe."

Reluctantly Percy, Fred and George stepped back clearly wanting to argue more but her tone was too similar to their mother's to actually do it. Judging from the expressions on their brothers as well as several others they were not alone. Yuery waved at them and said, "Good luck, my mom is just as scary, and she also heard you." Everyone disappeared with several loud pops before the boys could reply.

"I know this seems terribly unfair; however, we are not sending in any children that we can avoid. I disagreed with sending Yuery and Neville, as did Mrs. Elric and honestly even the Fuhrer Mustang and Fuhrer Elric were not fans of the idea of them going." Riza said to the boys. "I know you feel that you are old enough to join in this fight, but I also know that your parents wanted you to remain here. Here is where you will remain. Watch after your siblings, help where you can."

"Next month I will be old enough to decide for myself you know." Percy said with a frown.

"Next month is not this month young man, and if you think a birthday will grant you some magic number that changes everything you will be sorely mistaken. Yes, according to wizarding laws of England you will be legally an adult. You will still be your parents' son, and their concern will not change because of it." Winry stated.

"They called Bill and Charlie back to them." Fred frowned.

"They sent them away to begin with didn't they. Sometimes you are left with little choice but to let your child be involved. It doesn't make it easier, or right. Now go back to the others, we have much to do and not very much time to do it in." Riza demanded. The boys grumbled but left. Percy seemed to have decided the two women were correct, but the twins were already silently plotting to find a different way back into the fight. None of the other children seemed surprised to see them return. William and Maes had joined them again, sitting with Ron and Ginny.