Hey, all! Welcome back to a new chapter! I hope you all enjoy it. And please, leave a review; I love hearing all of your feedback!
Nero Angelo Constantine: I believe the only way Draco would have lost something is if he were performing human transmutation. I think if you mess up the alchemic formulas or the circles, you still have a rebound, just not as extreme. I could be wrong, but it wasn't really covered in the show or manga that I remember. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Transmutational: Dang! I never thought about transmutations and transfiguration in that way, but you're totally right! And thanks! If I'm being completely honest, Goblet of Fire is my least favorite (I think it's because when I see Harry Potter on TV it's almost always Goblet of Fire), but as we all know, Voldemort returns and Harry's dealing with Moody who we all also know isn't actually Moody. I've seen sooooo many take place during their fifth year, and I defiantly want to do that after this one, but I wanted to start here first.
Lisad80: True, Draco has a lot of pressure on him by his family (particularly his father) to be the best, and seeing someone better him is probably scary in a way.
The halls were alive with the chatter of students as they talked excitedly about the up and coming Yule Ball that had been announced just a week before. Apparently this was the first formal dance the school had held, and everyone was excited. I didn't know much about school because Al and I had dropped out so early, but from listening to the students, apparently a formal dance was the most important thing that could happen to them.
As excited as they all were, I was less than thrilled. Ever since we had finalized the details of getting Winry into the wizarding world through the Truth, I had been anxious. We honestly didn't even have a set date, just some time the month before the ball. There was so much to think about. I had to worry about my students and their learning as well as Harry's safety. On top of that, I was worried about when Winry would get here and what I was to say to her. My mind couldn't handle every topic all at once, but it certainly was trying to.
I was also dealing with the fallout of Draco's alchemic rebound. Not only were the other students terrified, but I was receiving heat from the ministry who still didn't know I wasn't even a wizard.
"Edward, Edward, look at me," a female voice demanded, and I looked up to see Poppy standing in front of me, her eyes wide and terrified. "Edward, are you okay? Are you injured?" she demanded. I looked back down at my bloody hands and shook my head.
"No," I whispered. "None of it's my blood," I promised with a whisper. I screwed my eyes shut, trying to banish the sight of Draco's blood from my mind. This only caused me to picture the blood that seemed to cover everyone on the Promised Day. It covered hands, clothes, hair, faces, even the streets. There were white sheets all over Central that day, every single one of them soaked through with blood.
My eyes shot open with a gasp when there was suddenly a gentle hand on my shoulder. Looking up, my heart threatening to beat out of my chest at the unwanted touch, I met the eyes of Poppy. At that, I sighed and let my body relax.
"Edward-" the nurse began, but I cut her off. I wasn't the one that needed the nurse right now.
"Is Draco okay?" I asked. The nurse was silent for a moment before she nodded.
"He's fine. We were able to clean up the laceration and heal it fine. I'm just worried about you right now, Mr. Elric," she admitted. I shook my head and brushed the woman off.
"I'm okay. I've seen worse," I said with a grim smile.
"Worse is an understatement, Edward!" I heard another voice exclaim, and I looked over to see Minerva looking at me in shock, her eyes wide and face pale. I followed her eyes and looked down at my naked torso. Oh.
"I'm okay," I promised again. "They've all long since healed," I informed the women looking on in fear as I absentmindedly traced the huge scar on my stomach. "Nothing I couldn't handle." Minerva huffed, shaking her head.
"Well, let's at least get you cleaned up," she said firmly before she and Poppy produced a basin of water and a few washcloths. The water in the basin as well as the white cloths were stained pink by the time I had removed Draco's blood from my skin and from underneath my fingernails.
A day later, I was called to Dumbledore's office to be met with a man with long platinum hair as well as a stout man dressed in black. Both looked livid, and it didn't take me long to figure out who they were and that they were not happy in the slightest. The platinum blonde, to no surprise, was Draco's father, and the man in black was no other but the Minister of Magic himself. I supposed anyone else would be cowering in the presence of a man of such power, but I had threatened the Fuhrer's life during my State Alchemist exam. This man was nothing compared to that son of a bitch.
Draco's father immediately stepped forward and grabbed me by the front of my white button down, his wand pressed to my throat. I was half tempted to throw the man to the ground, knowing despite what he thought, I had the upper hand in his particular situation, but I quickly decided against it. If the Minister of Magic was here, I was already in enough trouble as it was.
Thankfully, I didn't have to do anything because the Minister was quickly pulling the blonde man away with a startled, "Lucius!" When I was free, I took a step back from the blonde man, straightening my clothes as I fought to keep an insult from escaping my lips. "Get a hold of yourself," Fudge demanded.
"Please, everyone have a seat," Dumbledore said, speaking for the first time since I entered the room. "Let us remember that Draco is safe, and Poppy said he would make a full recovery in just a few days. I've heard Draco's classmates say that Professor Elric here is the one who applied pressure to the wound and kept the boy from bleeding out," Dumbledore supplied, but Lucius wasn't having any of it.
"This incompent boy you call a professor is the reason my son is in the Hospital Wing with a life threatening wound!" the man shouted in a fit of rage.
"If he hadn't performed a transmutation without my permission, we wouldn't be in this mess!" I snarled at the man. I was tired of being told I wasn't capable just because of my age. Back home, my young age made me a legend.
"Gentlemen, please," Dumbledore broke in, his voice soft and placating. The old headmaster then turned to look at Draco's father. "I can promise you, Lucius, that Edward is one of the most renowned specialists in alchemy. I could have no one better teaching the class," the headmaster informed the raging father, his voice calm and collected. "I was also granted permission by Cornelius himself to employ anyone I thought would be capable of handling the subject. And so I picked Mr. Elric here," Dumbledore reminded him. The headmaster looked at Fudge who simply nodded, though he looked far from happy. The platinum blonde didn't look happy but took a seat. Fudge and I followed his lead.
"Mr. Elric, would you please explain to me what happened in class with Draco the day of his injury?" Fudge asked as he turned to look at me. The man wasn't happy, that much was evident, but at least he was willing to hear my side of the story. I nodded and sat up in my seat a little straighter.
"That day in class, the class was going to be attempting their first transmutation. As I spoke to the class before we even began, and I had spoken to them multiple times before this lesson, that they were not to be trying alchemy on their own," I explained.
"And why is this, Edward?" the minister asked. "I will admit, I do not know much about performing alchemy. It is a lost form of magic I'm sure you know." My eyebrow twitched at alchemy being called magic, but I let it be in the name of not spilling my secret.
"Alchemy relies on the law of equivalent exchange. If you want to create something, something of equal value must be given," I recited. 'Alchemy can be dangerous because if you don't follow the law of equivalent exchange or have every single alchemic equation absolutely perfect in your transmutation circle, a rebound will occur. It can cause injury and even death." I took a deep breath and continued. "My brother and I didn't follow the law of equivalent exchange, and we nearly lost our lives." I pulled the collar of my shirt to the side to reveal the scar on my right shoulder where the port of my automail used to reside. "Al and I are lucky to be alive.
"In class on Monday, Neville Longbottom had just successfully completed his first transmutation," I heard Lucius scoff, "and the next thing I know, Draco is transmuting without my permission, without having me check his transmutation circle. I tried to stop him before he could follow through, but it was too late, and there was an explosion." The room was silent for a moment before Fudge spoke.
"His story matches up from what I've heard from other students," Fudge admitted. "I'll let you off with a warning, Mr. Elric, but if anyone ends up hurt again because of alchemy, your teaching time at Hogwarts will end before you can blink," the man warned.
"Trust me. No one is going to transmute without my permission after this, that much I can promise." Then, I turned to Lucius. "Draco's done; I'm not teaching him alchemy any more."
I was also still trying to process the article Rita Skeeter had written about me. It had been short and sweet, but it had been wrong in every way possible
EDWARD ELRIC: THE YOUNGEST PROFESSOR HOGWARTS HAS EVER SEEN!
By: Rita Skeeter
The fiery new professor known as Edward Elric is the youngest professor Hogwarts has ever had, coming in at only seventeen years old! He's hardly older than the seventh years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but already, he had made quite a name for himself.
Not only is his mind as sharp as they come, he's tongue is one of the sharpest I have ever come across in all of my years of interviewing, even among some of the ministry officials! His students say he's a real spitfire! They say he's already removed at least half of all of his students for not answering a simple riddle: All is one and one is all? Whatever could that mean and does it really warrant keeping students from learning a lost form of magic?
And watch out! Though the young professor is as handsome as they come and has his female student lining up for his office hours, he's got a very special someone waiting for him by the name of Winry! Right in the middle of the interview, a little owl dropped off a letter written in red ink and covered in hearts! How sweet is that! The poor boy spluttered, saying it wasn't a big deal, but we all know that means exactly the opposite; the young professor is in love! Before I could hear anymore about the special young lady, the Professor was whisked off his feet by two excited students! Clearly, Professor Elric is quickly becoming quite popular among the students at Hogwarts, male and female alike.
Not only does Mr. Elric has a special someone waiting for him back home, he apparently has a younger brother by the name of Alphonse Elric. Professor Elric said his younger brother is an even more talented alchemist than he. Such talent must run in the family, but when I breached the topic of family, he turned ice cold. Despite having a wonderful relationship with his brother, his relationship with his family seems quite the opposite.
What kind of background brought him to be so close with his brother, so cold regarding his parents, and with such a wonderful talent in alchemy?
Ever since the article had been published, there were whispers from students and teachers alike everywhere I went. There were questions and rumors flying all over the place, and they showed no sign of dying down. It didn't help that almost every single one of my scars had been on full display for that Gryffindor and Slytherin class.
"Elric," a gruff voice said, and I looked up to find the defense against the dark arts teacher loitering in the doorway to my classroom. I set my pen down and regarded the man carefully. "Staff meeting in Dumbledore's office. Now," he said, and in a flash, he was gone. I was left to jog behind him. For a guy with a peg leg, he could move fast.
When I walked in the door of the headmaster's office, I was surprised to see Winry sitting in one of the chairs around the regular conference table. She looked uncomfortable as she sat among the other teachers.
"Edward!" she called once her eyes landed on me. She stood from her seat before running over to me. She threw her arms around me with almost enough force to knock me over. It was the same type of greeting Al and I had received after returning home for the first time after getting Al's body back. I put my hand on the back of her head, and in turn, she nuzzled her face into the crook of my neck.
We broke apart when someone cleared their throat, a prominent blush on both of our faces as we jumped away from each other hastily. Dumbledore was just looking on with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Uh, this is Winry Rockbell," I said as I gestured to the girl beside me. "Winry," I said, turning to this girl, "these are my fellow teachers." I then took the time to introduce her to every single one of the Hogwarts' professors.
"It's nice to meet you all," she said with a bow of her head. "And thank you, Mr. Dumbledore, gain for having me," she said kindly, though there was still a raging blush on her face.
"Of course, Miss Rockbell. I'm glad we could work something out," the man said.
"Albus, what exactly is Miss Rockbell doing here?" Poppy asked politely, looking between myself, the headmaster, and Winry before going back again.
"I thought I would at least let Edward bring someone from home for the Yule Ball," the headmaster explained. "He is quite far from home."
"Speaking of," Winry said as she returned to where she was previously sitting at the table where I now noticed a box was sitting. "I was talking to Ms. Hawkeye over the phone and mentioned needing to find something nice for you to wear. She said she would have it handled, and the next thing I know, she and Mr. Mustang are knocking on our door a few days later. They came to visit Al while they were in the East and dropped this off. All I got for instructions from Roy was, 'don't open it before Fullmetal does. And I want his full reaction written in a letter.'"
"Great," I grumbled, taking the box from the blonde. "How is Al?" I asked as I opened the box.
"Good!" Winry said brightly. "He's walking for longer periods of time, he's putting weight and muscle back on, and Granny's really happy with how his physical therapy is going," the girl informed me. I smiled and nodded as I took the blue cloth out of the box. My eyes widened when I realized what it was. A military uniform, stars and all.
"What the hell is this?" I exclaimed, pulling the coat out of the box followed by the pants and waist cape. On the bottom of the box sat at least a dozen medals and ribbons.
"There's a note here, Ed," Winry said, handing me a small slip of paper. I recognized Mustang's handwriting in an instant.
"'Who's the colonel bastard now?'" I read from the note, my eyes going wide. Taking a closer look at the stars on the shoulders of the jacket, I realized the number of stars residing there signified the rank of colonel. "Colonel!" I all but shouted.
"Did you never send in your official resignation papers to Brigadier General Mustang?" Winry pressed as she looked through the numerous medals and ribbons littering the bottom of the box.
"Brigadier General?" I spluttered. "What buffoon decided that would be a good idea?"
"The Fuhrer, Edward. Fuhrer Grumman," Winry deadpanned. "Whether you like it or not, Mustang saved thousands of lives on the Promised Day, just as you did," she chided.
"Still Colonel Bastard to me," I huffed.
"Back to the original question," she said with a sigh. "Did you never send in your papers? I'm assuming the answer is 'no' seeing as you've been promoted two ranks," Winry pointed out. I scratched the back of my neck and chuckled nervously as the girl glared at me.
"Pardon me, but what are we talking about?" Poppy interrupted as I opened my mouth to respond to the blue eyed blonde. "Brigadier General? Colonel? Resignation papers? Do you mean to tell us that you were in the military, Edward?"
"Yes, I was a State Alchemist back home. Umm, am a State Alchemist, I guess," I quickly corrected, my eyebrows furrowed. After the Promised Day, I was too worried about getting Al back on his feet to send in my resignation paper. Hell, the original plan was to give up my alchemy and retire. I guessed this new plan changed things. I just hadn't had the time to sit down and think over and actually get the papers filled out.
"But you're only seventeen!" Professor Sprout exclaimed, her face ashen.
"I've been a part of the military since I was 12; there's no age limit to take the State Alchemist exam," I explained. "If you're skilled enough to pass the exam, you're skilled enough to be in the military." That didn't seem to satisfy any of the other professors. Only Dumbeldore looked like he understood - because of course he did - and Moody and Snape were of course indifferent. I then turned to Winry.
"And no, I guess I didn't turn my papers in, or even begin to fill them out," I admitted. "I was too worried about getting Al back on his feet." She nodded.
'We can talk about it later," Winry suggested, and I nodded. It would be much easier to talk about it when we didn't have an audience.
"Well, now that you have been caught up on our visitor, I would like to speak with Professor Elric and Miss Rockbell privately," Dumbledore said as he stood from his spot at the table. The next few moments were filled with shuffling as the other professors left the headmaster's office, some of them shaking hands with Winry and telling her how nice it was to meet her. Finally, the three of us were left alone.
"Ah, some peace and quiet," Albus said through a sigh as he returned to his seat. "Something we didn't discuss previously that needs to be decided on is Miss Rockbell's sleeping arrangements," he said, and we both nodded. "We have several options," Albus started, "you could have your own room, but it won't be near Edward's; the closest empty room is one is a few floors conjoined with an unused classroom. You could also very well stay in an empty bed in one of the dorms, but I doubted that would be preferred, so I could also have another bed brought into Edward's room if you would like." The man's words certainly weren't meant to be suggestive, both Winry and I knew that, but that didn't stop us from both blushing.
"Winry, it's your choice," I told the girl sitting next to me.
"I'll stay in Ed 's room," Winry said after a moment, once again causing us both to blush profusely.
"Alright, we'll have that all settled by this evening," Dumbledore promised with a kind smile. "Please, Miss Rockbell, enjoy your time here at Hogwarts."