It wasn't until well after dinner that they were contacted by Dumbledore. Edward was covering yawns, grumbling about being up so late. "We 'ave to wait for Dumbledore," Hagrid insisted.

"Yeah yeah," Edward stifled another yawn, "I didn't know it would involve spending five hours in a bar." They had moved closer to the fireplace as the evening set in, thankfully for Edward's joints, and Hagrid wasn't too bad of company. A little obsessed with large and dangerous animals, perhaps, but once Hagrid had found out he could see thestrals, and Edward described some of the stranger creatures he'd seen in Germany, they had hit it off alright. Still, five hours was a long time. He'd been ready to crash and sleep hours ago. Unfortunately with the unpredictableness of the Dursleys, they were going to need to apparate at moment's notice.

Finally, as the clock on the wall hit 11:47, a sudden but brief puff of fire shot off just above Hagrid's lap, dropping a golden feather, a letter, and a small note into his lumpy coat.

"There it is!" Hagrid grinned and fumbled for the items. Ed leaned over to read it around his arm.

The Dursleys have settled. Address is on envelope. Stormy night tonight.

The letter was another Hogwarts invitation. Edward inwardly groaned at the mention of the storm, but they paid for their final drinks (warm butterbeer), went outside, and ducked into an empty alleyway. "Hut on the rock? In Cokeworth..." Edward frowned, "Sounds lovely."

"This migh' be tricky. They went a long ways teh get away from these letters. I've been delivering all of 'em myself." Hagrid grumbled.

"Well, we won't know until we find out." Edward said, throwing the cake under one arm as he fumbled for his wand, eyeing the stick distasefully once he removed it from his cloak pocket. "Grab on."

Apparration was as horrible as ever. Edward could not deny the usefulness of such a spell, but he still preferred train, or even walking, when he could. For now, he had to face the sickening sensation of being squashed through a twisting pipe.

With a pop, they appeared at the top of a rock and immediately stumbled as the splash of a large wave slapped against their backs. Edward's loud swear was lost in the wind and torrential downpour. Hagrid steadied him by the collar.

"Think tha's it?" The large man pointed at a flimsy-looking stone hut stationed in the center of the rock island. The whole island was small, the only thing populating being driftwood up the beach, a single dingy boat tied to a dock, and a sparse spattering of sickly bushes and grass. The hut stood obnoxiously alone, a scraggly stone building with a worn roof, the sides chalky from years of sea spray exposure.

"Must be," Edward had to yell to be heard over the storm. They stumbled toward the excuse of a house, Edward hiding from the driving wind behind Hagrid's sheer girth. Reaching it, Edward pulled on the handle. It didn't budge. "Locked!" He shouted up.

"I got it." Hagrid scooted Ed out of the way and banged thunderously on the door. One, two, three booming knocks. There was no way that the Dursleys couldn't have heard, but there was no answer. Hagrid banged on the door again, this time the wood cracking slightly. A muted sound came from inside. Hagrid's next comment was lost in the wind, but he pounded the door for a third time, harder, and the wood splintered and shuddered as the whole thing ripped off of its hinges and fell to the floor. Inside was quite dank, four terrified-looking figures staring at them. A very large, very angry red-faced man stood in the center of the room holding up a gun, a bony woman cowering behind. On the couch sat an equally large, terrified boy Edward could only assume was their son. Lastly, on the floor covered in a flimsy blanket was a very skinny boy staring at them with wide green eyes, that Edward immediately knew was Harry Potter. Indeed, if he gained a little bit of weight and muscle, he would have been the spitting image of his father.

"Finally," Edward muttered, stepping inside and ignoring the gun for the time being. He knew all too well what it looked like when someone was intending to actually shoot, and the man he assumed to be "Dursley" wasn't anything close to threatening. Hatred stooped in after him and hung the door back on its hinges, abruptly cutting off the cold rain and wind to Edward's relief.

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? Terrible weather out there." He went for the sofa where the terrified boy sat while Edward clapped his hands together and sealed the door back into the wall with blue sparks. The last thing he wanted was for the weather to knock it back in again.

Dursley with the gun made a strangled noise at the sight of the alchemy while Hagrid butted his son off of the couch.

"Oh, shut it. And put that thing down before you accidentally shoot someone," Edward glared at the large man whose finger was trembling so badly it couldn't even stay on the trigger. At this point he was going to shoot it on accident. Edward fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"An' here's Harry!" Hagrid exclaimed, gazing at the bony boy in the floor, "las' time I saw you, you was only a baby! Yeh look a lot like your dad, but yeh've got your mum's eyes."

Harry blinked owlishly at him in stunned confusion.

"I will not put this gun down! You are intruding on our privacy! Who are you? I d-demand you leave at once!" Dursley swung the gun back and forth between them, face now purple in fear and rage.

"Ah shut up Dursley, yeh great prune."

"That's enough. We're not here to hurt you. Now, let's put the gun down. It's not a toy." Edward intervened, putting the cake down to clap his hands and touch the end of the gun while Dursley was focused on Hagrid. Another flash of blue later and the weapon was fused shut. Dursley, upon the electrical sparks and failure of the trigger to budge, dropped it in shock.

"What are you trying to do?! Make it a bomb?!" He sputtered in rage, "Step back, Petunia, Dudley. I demand you leave at once! If you harm my family you will pay!"

"I just said, we're not here to hurt you or your family, Dursley. Look, I'm sorry we broke in, but I fixed the door," Ed rolled his eyes and kicked the broken gun into a corner. Vernon made a choking noise and took a step back. "We're just here to deliver Harry his letter. I hear you've been taking his mail away from him. That's illegal, you know."

"My letter?" Harry said from his spot on the floor. The kid hadn't moved, watching the newcomers and the Dursleys like a tennis match.

"Yer letter! Tha's right! An' about time yeh received it, too." Hagrid pulled the wrinkled envelope out of his coat pocket and held it out to the bony boy on the floor.

"S-s-stop this instant!" Petunia's voice quivered as she spoke up, cowering behind her husband still, "the boy is not allowed to see it!" But it was too late. Harry snatched the letter with a glare at his aunt and scrunched his eyebrows at the address. Peeling the letter open, he grew visibly more perpelxed at the contents.

"...Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" He read aloud, confusion evident in his voice, "what does that mean?"

"Yer going to the finest wizard school in all of Britain! Just like yer mother and father!"

"He's not going!" Vernon spat. Petunia was nearly in tears. Harry and Dudley were dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry, what? Wizardry?" Harry said from the floor.

"Yes," Ed supplied, holding up his wand, "pointy sticks. Bang bang. Magic." He didn't really expect the kid to believe them. Hell, it had taken a hard knock for Edward himself to believe it existed. It sounded absolutely ridiculous- Was absolutely ridiculous. However, the kid beat his expectations.

"But I'm not a wizard. I can't do magic… neither did my parents, right?" He looked back and forth between the two newcomers and the Dursleys, seeking confirmation.

"HE WILL NOT BE-" Mr. Dursley started at the same time Petunia sputtered.

"Y-your mother wasn't-"

"DURSLEY!" Hagrid's voice boomed over all. They all cowed in fear. "You mean to tell me, that this boy- this boy! Knows nothin' about ANYTHING?"

Dursley deflated, muttering something incomprehensible. His wife was white as a sheet.

"Nothin' at all…" Hagrid moaned, pawing his face.

"I'm really a wizard? What about my parents? I thought they died in a car crash… they wouldn't die in a car crash if they were wizards, right?" Harry spoke. He sounded unsure.

"CAR CRASH? LILY AN' JAMES POTTER? DURSLEY!" Hagrid's anger soared again. Edward sighed.

"Hagrid… just tell him. He's confused enough already." The whole situation was more chaos than Edward had desired to experience. With his soaking clothes dripping on the floor, he decided to set a quick example. "Look- siccus." He pointed his wand at himself and then Hagrid, the water evaporating right off of them. Wordlessly, he lit the flimsy fire as well. Harry gaped.

"Yer parents were both wizards- thumpin' good ones at that, no worries. And yer one too. Been signed up fer Hogwarts since you were born." Hagrid assured, "Only the best of schools."

Petunia made a high pitched scoff. "Nasty, they were."

"You knew about this? About my parents and-and me?" Harry started dumbfounded, rounding on Petunia.

"And we swore to squash it out!" Dursley spat.

"Knew?" Petunia shrieked, "knew? How could I not know, my dratted sister being what she was, coming home every summer to blab about her filthy school and turning teacups into rats! Our parents adored her- Lily this and Lily that- proud to have a witch in the family! I was the only one who saw her as she truly was- a freak!

"And then she met that Potter boy, ran off and got married, and had you! I knew you would be just the same as her, and then she got herself blown up and we got landed with you! We knew the instant we took you in that we were not going to tolerate another freak in the family!"

Harry stared at her wide eyed. "Blown up?"

"Shut up yeh bloody muggle! Don't you dare insult Lily and James- and Harry- like that!"

"Harry," Ed spoke, "your parents didn't blow up. They were murdered."

"Murdered?"

"Are yeh sure we should be telling him this? It's not our place…"

"Then whose is it? Dursley?" Ed motioned at the cowering family slightly incredulously. Hagrid sighed.

Righ'... he needs teh know the truth, I s'pose…"

"What truth? What happened to my parents?" Harry asked, now agitated.

"I will explain, okay? To start... and this is relevant, I promise- you are not just a wizard, Harry. You are the most famous wizard alive." Edward supplied unhappily. The whole situation was ridiculous.

"I'm famous?"

"Very." Edward answered gravely, "Years back now, there was a dark sorcerer by the name of T- ah, Voldemort, who rose to power."

"Don't say his name!" Hagrid moaned.

"Fine. I won't. Anyway, he gathered a bunch of followers and killed thousands of people, men, women, and children alike. They spread mass fear and death wherever they went, all in the name of power. And "purity," I guess." he spat out with distaste, "Asinine reasoning. It was… a dark time. Eventually, he went after your parents too. They were part of the resistance and I guess he didn't like that. Your parents were killed by him. They died trying to save your life. However, when he tried to kill you, something went very, very wrong."

"What happened?"

"He disappeared," Edward said simply. "You destroyed him. Or something. Some say he is dead, others say he is wounded or biding his time, some say he is afraid- scared of you. Nobody knows how or why, but he is gone now and you are alive with only that scar of yours to show for it." Harry touched his forehead thoughtfully.

"When I was a baby… I remember a green light. Was that… it?" Understandably, the boy looked very disturbed, hesitant to reveal his memory but too curious to not.

"Avada Kedavra, most likely. The killing curse." Edward explained softly, "You are the only known human to be hit by it and survive. That, and you defeated the dark lord somehow in the process. Every wizard knows your name."

"It's so sad though," Hagrid's annoyance seemed to have left him entirely at the story. "Yer mum and dad. The Prewetts, the Bones, the McKinnons- all gone because of you-know-who. Nearly you too… picked yeh up from the ruined house myself. Took yeh to this miserable lot. Wish I'd known how shoddy they were before." He glared down at Vernon and Petunia, still taller than them both while sitting on the couch.

"That's a load of old rubbish!" Dursley butted in, courage seemingly reclaimed. "Sure, you have something weird about you, boy, but it's nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured! And your parents, well, no denying they were weirdoes too, and the world's better off without them in my opinion- asked for all they got, mixing with these wizarding types- always knew they would meet a sticky end-"

"One more word, I'm warning you," Hagrid hefted his pink umbrella threateningly.

"Hagrid," Edward warned. Dursley, thankfully, fell silent.

"I can't really be a wizard though, can I? There must be some mistake… I can't do magic..." Harry spoke.

Hagrid laughed. "Not a wizard? Lily an' James' son? Never. Yeh ever made weird things happen when scared or angry?"

Harry frowned in thought, but looked back at Hagrid and nodded, breaking into a relieved grin.

"That's it! See? A wizard!" The bearded man affirmed, "Now just you wait- you'll be right famous at Hogwarts!"

"I said he's not going!" Dursley snapped, "He's going to Stonewall high and he'd better be grateful for it! I've read those loony letters of yours and they want all sorts of rubbish- spell books and wands and cauldrons and-"

"If Harry wants teh go, a great muggle like you won't stop him!" Hagrid stood from the couch in a rage, the furniture groaning and creaking in relief.

"Hagrid, calm down," Edward warned, sensing danger.

"Yer mad of you think Harry Potter- the Harry Potter! Won't be going ter Hogwarts. It's the finest wizarding school in the world! Seven years there an' he won't even know himself! He'll grow up with wizards an' witches his own age, not your bloody fool of a muggle school. No, Harry will be under headmaster Albus Dumbledore hims-"

"I WILL NOT PAY FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" Dursley exploded, losing his fear to rage and stepping towards the oversized man. That was enough for Hagrid.

"NEVER," the man thundered, looking dangerously over Dursley, "INSULT- ALBUS- DUMBLEDORE- IN FRONT- OF-"

"HAGRID." Edmund stepped between them warningly, grasping the end of Hagrid's pink umbrella with his right arm and trying to look fierce despite being nearly lifted off of the floor from the force of the large man's arm, "Enough! Both of you! You're acting like children!"

Grabbing the umberella was a mistake.

Unfortunately, Hagrid was already mid-swing. The half-formed spell shot from the end and ricocheted off of the wall into the fire. The flames rose pink with a squeal from nowhere and the smell of fresh bacon filled the room. There was a burning smell of fabric and rubber from Edward's hand. He released the umbrella and dusted his hand on his coat, grumbling under his breath and glaring at the bearded man.

"Sorry!" Hagrid said sheepishly, "Shouldn'ta lost me temper… your hand!"

"It's fine." Edward shook his sleeve over it, not really wanting to explain the automail. He'd gotten a little too cozy with hiding it over the long years, especially after the 1930s and '40s. True, bionic arms were starting to exist in this world now, but they were bare and primitive compared to what he had. It was best not to get questions.

"Y-You just-! Utter madmen! Murderers!" Dursley spluttered in terror, herding his family hurriedly into the other room and slamming the door.

"Well, that was… interesting." Edward commented, eyeing the door behind which there were now some interesting thumps that sounded like moving furniture. He looked at Harry. "Don't care about you much, do they?"

"Uh, no they don't. Er... ...sirs. Who are you?"

"Heavens me! We never introduced ourselves did we?" Hagrid exclaimed. He held out a large hand for Harry to shake. "Reubeus Hagrid. Keeper of the Keys and grounds at Hogwarts! This here is Edward."

"Edward Elric," he supplied, "I'm… teaching alchemy this year." The words still felt foreign coming out of his mouth. Bitter.

"And you both use magic?" Edward thought the boy's question a little stupid. Obviously, they had both displayed magical prowess at some point during the whole interaction. Edward's glove was still smoking. Absently, he clapped his hands together, a piece of sleeve between, and mended the fabric. It would have a reddish pink splotch in the middle and his sleeve would be a little thin, but it would do for now.

"Yes." He answered shortly. Hagrid scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Well, I'm not supposed ter… I got permission to use it to help find yeh if needed… but I'd be grateful if yeh didn't mention, well, that teh anyone at Hogwarts…"

"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?"

"Well, it's a long story but - ah - I got expelled from Hogwarts to speak the truth. In my third year. Snapped my wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."

Sometimes. Edward thought.

"But why were you-"

"The cake!" Hagrid interrupted loudly. "Almost forgot. Where did it go?"

"I put it over here." Edwars brought the damp box over. Hopefully the cake wasn't too wet. Harry started at it in utter confusion. "It's your eleventh birthday, right? Happy birthday, kid."

Harry gingerly took the box, opening it up to reveal a slightly squashed cake. He stared at it for a couple of seconds, slowly breaking into a wide smile. "Uh, thank you, Mr. Elric," he stammered.

"You can just call me Edward. Look, I know this is probably a lot to take in so suddenly, but it's all real, I promise."

"I noticed. I mean- stuff like that doesn't just happen by itself, right? But I don't- but what if I can't learn magic?"

"Nonsense!" Hagrid rumbled in amusement. "If yeh've got the gene- which yeh very well do- the Ministry of Magic's proved that by authorizing the letter- then yeh can learn. And you will. Now, how abou' we have some cake, and get some sleep. Lots to do tomorrow."

After cake, and explaining patiently that there was, indeed, a ministry of magic, they settled down to sleep; Hagrid on the couch, and Edward and Harry on the floor. Edward lay close to the fire, ignoring his aching stumps from the weather outside, head on his neatly folded cloak, and eyeing Harry Potter's sleeping form in the shadowy light. The boy was small- perhaps a little too small- but became extra dwarfed under Hagrid's massive coat. The very opposite of threatening. But still- there was something about him. Something that unnerved Edward in the very pit of his soul. He didn't have an explanation, but he was going to keep a very careful eye on him. Something wasn't right. The souls in his body didn't like it either, roiling nervously in his chest. Edward shifted in discomfort as a rumble of thunder crossed the sky outside. Maybe he was just getting too old and losing it. It could have just been the storm. Sighing, he closed his eyes and resigned himself to a fitful sleep.

[Year 1343]

"Elias, sir?"

"Hm?" He looked up from where he was staring blankly into the flames of the fireplace, a few crumpled pieces of parchment burning merrily among the logs. "What is it, Nicholas?"

"I-I've been thinking- about what you said the other day- about the philosopher's stone and getting home, and- well, I had an idea."

"An idea," Edward tiredly put his pen down and sat back in his chair with a sigh, crossing his arms, "and what kind of an idea is it? Trust me, I've tried everything."

"Well, I was thinking about alchemy and equivalent exchange, and how magic kind of, well, skips over that, and then I realized. What if we combined them both! Alchemy and magic! It could work- alchemy was the process you got here by and you probably need to ride it back since you say magic doesn't exist in your world- but with a fusion of magic… it could work! You could override equivalent exchange! What if… what if we made a philosopher's stone with magic and alchemy together! Magic could overwrite the death and then you could ride that home, right? A casualty free stone!"

"Alchemy doesn't work like that, Nicholas. And neither does magic."

"It's still worth a try, right?"

"No. Nicholas, you don't understand."

"What don't I understand? If you combine the two then-"

"Have I taught you nothing? Alchemy always needs equivalent exchange. That's the first rule-the very foundation of the art. You cannot have it without its number one component. It's like… like trying to cook without the ingredients."

"Well if you don't have the right ingredients then you have to make something new! That's what this is. A new kind of philosopher's stone!"

"It's too dangerous to play with. Clearly, you don't fully understand alchemy as much as I thought! This isn't different ingredients, Nicholas, this is no ingredients! It will not work." Edward glared at his student, rising from his desk.

"But what if-"

"No! I forbid you to try it, Nicholas. You will cause death if you do. If I catch you trying, your apprenticeship is over. I will not encourage this. Never bring it up to me again." With that, he stalked out the door, leaving the young man alone in an empty room, unwanted notes still burning on a tiny pyre.

"...Fine, Elias," the young man spoke to the flames, a hard, determined light in his eyes, "then I shall not speak of it again."

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A/N: And enter Harry! Dialogue felt a little long in this chapter and I'm not happy about it, but the exposition had to get out.

Thank you for reading and reviewing (if you do!) 3

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And now, since I totally forgot to do this last chapter, guest reviewers!

Thenforgotten- Thank you so much! I'm glad you do! It's definitely going to be going places. :)

Guest- Thank you so much as well! I'm really glad people are enjoying this big 'ol brain worm 3