“Malfoy!”

Draco turned around. There was the ‘boy-who-lived’ heading towards him. Draco wondered if Potter was coming here to yell at him. After the side remark he made in potions class, he wouldn’t be surprised.

However, he was not expecting Potter to say ‘catch!’ and then disappear. Draco caught whatever it was with ease. He still wasn’t expecting to catch a small box that said ‘Merry Christmas, Malfoy.’ Did Potter just give him a gift?

&-----End of Flashback------&

Draco still didn’t understand. He fingered the small box. Why the hell did Potter give him a gift?! It didn’t make any sense at all!

&------Christmas Morning-----&

Ed awoke to Shinka’s meowing. She was meowing rather loudly. There was a light ‘thump’ and Shinka’s meows turned into hisses. Ed half assumed that someone threw a pillow at his kitten. He felt sorry for whoever it was.

Havoc’s yells and screams were heard as Shinka got her revenge. Annoyed, Ed threw a pillow in the direction of the noise. The sudden stop of screams told him that he hit his target. Ed was just feeling that sleepy feeling returning to him when Ron and Harry busted into the room.

There were two groans and a yelp. Shinka bit Havoc’s leg, which explained the yelp. The two groans came from Ed and Roy, both whom wanted to sleep. (‘I should burn them.’ –Roy) Al merely looked up and Armstrong was still sound asleep, not noticing the commotion that was going on.

“Merry Christmas,” said Ron happily. There was a big smile on his face.

Ed considered hurting (Roy greatly considered burning) Ron, but decided against it and fell back asleep. After all it was too early. Six in the morning is always too early. So unless there was a fire or danger there was no way Ed was getting up.

“How can you still be sleeping?!” asked Harry. “It’s Christmas morning!” He got two grunts and another ‘Ow’. (Shinka was still attacking Havoc. “Damn cat.” –Havoc -bite- “Ow!” –Havoc)

“There's no use trying,” said Al. “You wouldn’t be able to get them up without getting hurt in the process.”

“Yeah, but don’t you want to open presents?” asked Ron.

“Ah... well... we don’t really celebrate Christmas,” said Al.

The two boys just stared in shock. Not celebrate Christmas?! That was absurd! “Why not?” asked Harry. That was all he could muster. He never had a true Christmas before and never thought he would meet anyone who DIDN’T want to celebrate Christmas.

“Nii-san and I are always traveling. So if anything, we get each other something small. Everyone else is kinda busy all year round and some don’t even have families to celebrate with,” explained Al.

Hawkeye appeared in the doorway. “Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning,” said the three boys who were awake.

Just then Shinka came trotting by, carrying a fuzzy nightcap. Havoc tripped, covered in scratches and teeth marks. “Come back here, you damn feline!” Harry wondered if Shinka was actually a lion/tiger or even a dog underneath that reddish-brown color fur because she certainly didn’t act like a kitten.

Hawkeye then noticed that Roy was reaching for his spark glove. The Flame Alchemist was not a morning person at this hour and if they didn’t get out of here fast, they were all going to become cinders soon. Acting fast, she threw Havoc out of the room, pushed Al out, grabbed Harry and Ron, and closed the door.

“What did you do that for?” asked Havoc. He rubbed his head where it had hit the wall. Another thing he could add to his list of injuries.

“Do you really want to become a pile of ashes?” asked Hawkeye. Havoc’s mouth shaped an ‘o’ shape when he realized what she meant.

&--------&

An hour later, Armstrong appeared, wishing a Merry Christmas to everyone and giving everyone a bone-crushing hug. An hour and half after that (8: 30 am) Roy and Ed woke up. Shinka was on the prowl, having found the pile of presents which acted like a hunting ground. She managed to attack Havoc twice already.

“Good morning,” said Al as his brother and Roy walked into the common room. Ed yawned and mumbled a soft ‘good morning’. Roy just collapsed into one of the chairs still half asleep.

As you are probably wondering why Roy, Hawkeye, Havoc, and Armstrong are in the Gryffindor common room, that answer will be explained. Dumbledore, knowing almost everything, allowed the four adults to board in the near empty Gryffindor tower. Harry and Ron didn’t really question why, just assumed that Dumbledore had a good reason to do so and the four adults seemed to be good friends of Ed.

The four adults, the two Elric brothers, Ron, Harry, and Shinka were the only ones in the common room. Fred and George opened their presents, grabbed Percy (Ron’s brother, third oldest, and Gryffindor perfect) and left. There was a second year Gryffindor that stayed back for the holidays, but he left early this morning too.

Harry and Ron were playing wizard chess (a game Roy had taken a liking to) in the corner. Hawkeye was going through some of the papers Roy finished. Armstrong was reading a book and Havoc was on the look out for Shinka, who attacked him again in the past ten minutes.

Half an hour later was when Ed and Roy were finally awake. Everyone opened his or her gifts.

Ed:

-Several books –Al, Hawkeye, Armstrong, (“Geeze Ed, you’re going to have more books then Hermione soon. You sure you weren’t supposed to go into Ravenclaw?” –Ron)

-Shinka –Havoc “Here kid. You can have your damn cat back.” –Havoc “Very funny.” –Ed “Meow!” –Shinka)

-A box of chocolate frogs –Hermione (“Hmmm.... This is coming from a girl whose parents are dentists.” –Ed)

-Various other candies and a book titled “How to Fly For Dummies” –Ron and Harry. (“Haha very funny guys, very funny.” –Ed)

-A bottle of milk and an IOU a gift –Roy (“Milk?” –Harry. glare -Ed)

-A Weasley sweater, red and black. –Weasley Family.

Roy:

-His paperwork and a bag of coffee –Hawkeye and Armstrong (twitch -Roy)

-??? –Havoc (Roy wouldn’t let anyone else see but he did blush a deep shade of red.)

- A box of chocolate frogs and a request to browse the restricted section –Hermione (“She’s bribing me?” –Roy)

-A wizard chess set –Ed and Al (“We were thinking of getting you coffee too,” –Al)

-Various other candies –Harry and Ron. (“Let me guess, the two of you went shopping together.” –Roy)

-A Weasley sweater, blue with red streaks –the Weasley family.

Hawkeye

-??? –Al, Ed, Roy, Armstrong, Havoc (“It’s waiting back home.” –All of them)

-A box of chocolate frogs –Hermione

-Various other candies –Harry and Ron

-A Weasley sweater, yellow –Weasley Family (“Tell your mother thank you for the sweaters.” –Hawkeye.)

Havoc:
-Shinka –Ed (“Shinka you are allowed to attack Havoc all day if you want.” –Ed “Nii-san!” –Al “WHAT?!”- Havoc “HISS!” -attack- -Shinka)

-Earplugs –Hawkeye (“Why?” –Havoc)

-A gift certificate to his favorite restaurant and a annoying singing hamster –Armstrong (‘So that’s what the ear plugs were for.’ –Havoc)

-A box of chocolate frogs –Hermione

-A book on ‘How to Get a Date for Dummies’ –Roy, Al, ((and Ed))

-Various other candies from Harry and Ron. (“Every flavor jellybeans? You’re kidding right?” –Havoc)

- A Weasley sweater, gray. –The Weasley family.

Armstrong:

-A gift certificate –Al and Ed (“We didn’t know what to get you.” –Ed)

-Weights –Hawkeye, Havoc, Roy ("Why did we think of that?" -Ed)

-A box of chocolate frogs –Hermione (“What did she do? Buy them by the boxful?” –Ron)

-Various other candies –Harry and Ron (“Sorry we didn’t know what you guys liked.” –Harry)

-A Weasley sweater, white. –Weasley Family (“Thank you!” –Armstrong -Hugs everyone-)

Harry:

-A wooden flute –Hagrid

-fifty-pence piece –Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia (“They’re sure thoughtful.” –Ed “Fifty-pence? You think they would sent more.” –Roy “This is money?” –Ron)

-A box of chocolate frogs –Hermione

-Various other candy –Ed and Ron (“Sorry we didn’t know we would be celebrating with other people.” –Armstrong)

-A Weasley sweater, emerald green –Weasley Family

Ron:

- Various Candy –Ed and Al (“Sorry.” –four adults)

-A box of chocolate frogs –Hermione

-Rock cakes –Hagrid (“This is cake?” –Havoc)

-A new set of quills –Harry (Ron broke his last one in potion class. He’s been borrowing one of Harry’s for a while.)

-A Weasley sweater, maroon –His family

There was one more package for Harry lying hidden under his covers...

&---------&

Without a home to return to and no family left, Ed had never seen a Christmas feast this big, this grand in his life. The table was covered with a hundred fat, roasted turkeys; mountains of roasted and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce –and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. Ed pulled one and it went off like a cannon. (Roy, Hawkeye, Armstrong, and Havoc all jumped and almost reacted to the sound.) Out popped a wizard chess set and several live white mice. Shinka quickly attacked them. Ed gave those mice until the beginning of dinner to live.

By the time dinner was over and everyone was stuffed, Ed collapsed onto his bed. This Christmas had been great. It had been years since he had one this fun. A wave of sadness passed over him as he suddenly remembered the last time he spent Christmas having fun and opening presents. His blood ran cold.

As he pushed those memories back into the corner of his mind, Ed didn’t notice Harry was opening one more gift...

&---------------------------------------------------&

"Hai!" Yoh said backing away. But as he did, he tugged at Hao’s cloak one last time and said calmly, "Nii-chan, don’t worry. Everything will be okay."

-Yoh, ‘Aniki’ by Shiroi Ai, Chapter 1

&----------------------&

Yoake Mae
&----------------------&

Chapter VII

Shards of Fate; The Things I See

&------------------------&

Kanpeki to chau, jinsei no shuushi

Puramai zero da nanteba honto ka na?

I think the balance sheet of my life is imperfect.

If I add up the plusses and minuses, will it really equal zero?

&-------------------------------&

Ed had just fallen asleep, his stomach exposed, when he felt someone shaking him. Ed opened his eyes. There was Harry... or at least his head. Golden eyes snapped open in shock. Before Ed could even yell, Harry covered his mouth.

"Shhh," whispered Harry. "I want to show you something."

It took a few minutes for what Harry said to sink in Ed's sleepy mind. "Why can't you talk someone else," snapped Ed. He was tired, he wanted to sleep and he was certainly not in the mood to deal with whatever Harry wanted to show him. "And how come I can only see your head?!"

"Shhh," repeated Harry. "Don't wake everyone up. I couldn't get Ron up. I have no idea where your brother is and I didn't want to wake any of the adults."

Ed groaned. Why him? Harry didn't even answer his other question about why he could only see his head. "So why can I only see your head?" Last time he checked they weren't learning how to be invisible this year.

Harry bit his lip. "It's an invisibility cloak. It was my dad's. Someone sent it to me." Ed eyed him dubiously, then got out of bed. Might as well go and look since he was already up. Throwing on his red coat, Ed made sure not to wake Shinka and the others.

"Alright," said Ed. He tossed his braid over his shoulder. "Show me whatever you wanted to show me."

&------&

Moments later Ed found himself in an unused classroom. He could make out the dark shapes of chairs and desks. The air was cold and silent. Time seemed to freeze. Then... a random moonbeam shone through the window. Golden eyes widened.

There, in the center of the room, stood a tall mirror. The moonlight revealed a golden frame standing on two clawed feet. At the top there was an inscription engraved into the golden frame. Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

Ed blinked. The gears in his head were already trying to figure out the riddle before him. Then it clicked in his head; it was backwards. 'Ishow no tyo urfac ebu tyo urhe arts desire'

Altering the words even more the message finally said: 'I show not your face but your hearts desire.'

Ed's nose crinkled. What did that mean? Harry pushed him closer. "Look. It's my family," he said excitedly. Ed blinked. He didn't see anyone. The mirror was blank.

"I don't see anyone," said Ed.

"Hmm... maybe you have to stand where I am," said Harry. Ed did so. Then his body started to tremble.

There were four images. The first was him... without his automail limbs. In the distance he could see his mother, alive, and Al with his body back. The last image was the clearest of the four images, but fire distorted it. There was a pang of pain and a sense of knowing that filled and tugged at Ed's heart. He paled greatly. 'A mirror that show your heart's desire,' thought Ed. Sweat ran down his face as his body trembled and shook. He knew what the last image was. He knew that was his heart's deepest and darkest desire. He just didn't want to believe it.

"So, what do you see?" asked Harry, snapping Ed out of his thoughts.

"It's nothing," said Ed. "I didn't really see anything in the mirror.

Normally the look of disappointment on Harry's face would have caused Ed to cringe or cave in and tell. However, Ed was dealing with his own troubled heart to notice.

&-----------&

Ed didn't sleep after that. How could he? The one thing he had been denying for the past few months appeared in that mirror. How many days had it been since he realized? How many weeks did he deny it? How many times did it frustrate him to no ends?

Ed buried his head into his pillow. Even though he laid two beds away, Ed could still hear Roy's steady breaths. Ed stared out into the dark... Yup, he wasn't going to be getting any sleep tonight.

&------------&

Before anyone could realize the holidays came and went. After a tearful goodbye and a cheery hello, Al and the others left as Hermione came back. Then the term restarted again. Everyone went back to being swamped with homework.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had nearly given up on finding out about Flamel. But they were still skimming the books during their breaks. Ed, who was still slightly shaken by what he saw in that mirror, was also found reading again.

Then rain came.

Harry was beyond the point of misery. Not only did he have endless piles of homework and worrying about Flamel, but he had to endure the endless hours of Quidditch practice under the never-ending rain. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, it did.
"HE'S WHAT?!?!?!"

Ed quickly stood up, nearly knocking over the game of wizard chess that he and Ron were just playing. Ron made a dive to save his already broken chess pieces. Harry repeated himself. "Snape is refereeing for the upcoming Quidditch match."

Ron and Hermione stared in shock. The Potion's Master was refereeing?! Refereeing as in being involved with Quidditch... what was this world coming to?! Ed, on the other hand, was steaming. He knew Snape was going to be unfair.

"Don't play," said Hermione.

"Say you're ill," offered Ron.

"Or just break your leg," mumbled Ed. He still couldn't believe Snape was refereeing the next match. 'Snape better not do anything to Harry,' thought Ed. The other Quidditch match that Snape interfered with played clearly in Ed's mind. Looks like he would attend this match.

&---------&

Roy flipped through another book. There was nothing else he could do. He could do his paperwork that Hawkeye left with him, but he didn't feel like it. He let out a soft sigh and snapped the book shut. Lately a blond, golden eyed alchemist was on his mind. The young Elric had been haunting in his dream... actually nearly everywhere he looked. It was safe to say it was driving him crazy.

What to do?

What to say?

What was going on?!!!!

Why was he feeling this way? Roy wasn't entirely sure. His eyes drifted to the window. It just so happened that Ed was walking right by. Wondering if he was dreaming or not, Roy turned back to his book. There had to be a way to distract himself from those bright golden eyes...

&--------&

The morning of the Quidditch match soon came and Harry was as nervous as hell. With a bit of reassurance from his friends he shakily made his way to the field. Meanwhile Ed, Ron and Hermione were heading up to the stands. Not too far away in the teacher's box, Roy was watching Ed closely. He had only shown up because Ed asked him (just in case Snape did something) and as Roy was beginning to discover, he was having a hard time saying 'no' to the young alchemist. So there he was in the teachers' box watching a wizard game that he never fully understood.

"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."

Ed practically snarled at the sound of the voice. That ungrateful, half-wit, dimwit, nitwit, blockhead, jerk, baka (Seito: It's amazing what you can find in a thesaurus for the word 'idiot') was here. Ed was more than ready to strangle the younger wizard. Plus, he was picking on poor Neville for no reason. (Not that he needed a reason).

There was Malfoy, tormenting Neville who seemed to be scared out of his wits. "MALFOY," Ed practically roared. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!!" Neville looked very grateful. Malfoy turned up and looked.

"Well, if it isn't the shrimp," he said smugly. He was only able to say this because he was just a bit taller than Ed himself. Ed steamed and at the moment strongly resembled a tomato. What would it take to shut him up?!?!?! No longer really caring, Ed practically leapt at Malfoy. Ron joined him as Crabbe and Goyle jumped into the fray. Hermione paid no attention to it as she watched Harry zoom around looking for the Snitch.

Hermione didn't even notice the scuffle and the yelps coming from the whirl of fists that came from the fight behind her. The game ended when Harry caught the Snitch and Ed gave Malfoy a black eye. Still not paying attention to the game, Ed then turned his wrath to Neville. He gave the timid boy a light whack on his head. "You! Stand up for yourself! Don't let Malfoy push you around!"

Neville, who was on the verge of tears, nodded in understanding.

&------------&

Roy left the Quidditch grounds. The sun had already set and the moon was out. Everything at Hogwarts was completely quiet and peaceful. 'That was a complete waste of my time,' he thought. Just then he saw someone wearing a hooded cape leave the castle. 'Hmm? What do we have here?' Roy decided to follow.

The hooded figure quickly made its way towards a deserted part of the castle. The person was too tall to be a student, unless it was one of the older students. There was also the matter of it being one of the teachers.

Snape's voice suddenly rang throughout empty courtyard. "Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?" Roy frowned. What beast and who was Snape talking to? The second part of his question was soon answered.

"B-b-but Severus, I –"

Quirrell. He was the only professor at Hogwarts that stuttered like that. Roy sneaked closer, making sure not to be seen. "You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape. Roy heard footsteps as Snape walked closer to Quirrell.

"I-I don't know what you—"

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

"B-but I d-d-don't –"

"Very well," Snape cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decide where your loyalties lie." Roy's frown deepened ever more. What did Snape mean by that? Hearing Snape's footsteps come closer to him, Roy quickly left.

&-------------&

Harry opened a chocolate frog. Most of the partying had died down already and many kids were sleeping already. As he munched on the frog, Harry read the back of the Wizard Card again. It was a Dumbledore card. Harry had gotten one on the train, but was just reading it again.

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

Harry dropped his chocolate frog. "Ron, Hermione! I found him! I found Flamel!" The two of them, rushed towards him. Suddenly Hermione's eyes lit up and she darted back up to her room. On her way up, she practically ran into Ed.

"What's wrong with her," asked Ed. He walked over to where Harry and Ron were. He received no answer. It didn't matter because a few seconds after he asked that, Hermione came back down. She was carrying a big, thick book.

"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. She didn't even notice Ed was standing there. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

"Light?" said Ron. Ed's eyebrow rose as Hermione told Ron to be quiet. She then returned searching through her book, mumbling to herself. At last she found what she was looking for.

"I knew it! I knew it!"

"Are we allowed to speak yet?" said Ron grumpily. Hermione ignored him as she pushed Ed out the way.

Ed scowled. "Will someone tell me what's going on?" he asked angrily. His question was ignored as Hermione interrupted him.

"Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically, "is the only maker of the Philosopher's Stone!"

Ed snapped to attention. "What?!" Harry and Ron just stared at her completely confused. Ed grabbed it and began to read as Harry and Ron skimmed over his shoulder.

The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.

There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoyed a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight.)

"See?" said Hermione. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's Philosopher's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"

"A stone that makes gold and stops you from dying!" said Harry. "No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it."

Before anything else could be said, Ed interrupted them. "What the hell is going on?! And why are you after the Philosopher's Stone?!"

Ron, Hermione, and Harry turned around. It seemed they completely forgot Ed was listening to their conversation. Sheepish expressions appeared on their faces. "Well, I'm waiting," said Ed. He tapped his foot impatiently. There were plenty questions afoot and he wanted answers.

&----------------------------------------------------&

Welcome to Morte Calon

O God, why did you give to man

The crushing burden of Desire?

The answer's clear- to give life breath.

Without, man would not eat nor sleep

Nor realize his hopes and schemes

Worse than in shame

He would die without dreams

Tonight, I beg Desire be loosed

From judgments made in years gone past

Tonight, in this casino's dark

Be merry, light, and free to bask

In luscious, quiv'ring opulence

And let Want offer no defense

For surely God, who made Desire,

Will share a smile with Destiny

And as for you, my dear, you'll taste

A bliss no less than ecstasy.

(Grappa's Invitation—Morte Calon Entrance— King of Bandits Book 1)

&---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------&

--------------------------------------

Yoake Mae

---------------------------------------

Chapter VIII

Pieces of a Shattered Destiny; So Close, Yet So Far

----------------------------------------

Shinu made ni tsukaikiru, un no kazu
Semete, jibun de dashiire wo sasete

I want to control all my luck

That may be used up before my life is ended.

Wakacchainai, kimi nara dou ni demo, rikutsu wo kaete ii noni

You don't know--you can change logic at your will.

-----------------------------------------

“Something seems to be bothering you.”

Roy looked up from his paper work. Ed had been sitting down, looking out the window with a scowl on his face. “Oh no, not really,” Ed said sarcastically. His thoughts drifted back to the night after the Quidditch match.

-Flashback-

“There’s this thing called the Philosopher’s Stone. It apparently can turn metal into gold and produces the Elixir of Life which can make someone immortal as I just said,” explained Hermione.

“Yeah and the stone is hidden somewhere inside the school. That’s what’s on the three floor,” stated Ron.

“Not only that, Snape is after the stone too. He tried to get pass Hagrid’s three-headed dog on Halloween but got hurt,” continued Harry. “All we knew was someone named Nicolas Flamel was involved. That’s pretty much it.”

“You’re joking,” said Ed with a twitch. Ron, Harry, and Hermione shook their heads. Ed could only twitch in response. He had a good reason to do so. First off, he just found out that he, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all practically looking for the same thing for different reasons under different resources. Secondly, he found out that Snape was also after the stone. Thirdly, he found out that there was a giant three-headed dog guarding the door that led down to the stone. Ed, as you can guess, was not happy.

“We’re pretty sure Snape is going to go after the stone before the school year is over,” explained Hermione. Ed twitched again. That didn’t give him much time. That was what, a little more than two months to find out how to get past a three-headed dog and whatever else was under that trapdoor. That was assuming that the stone was even there in the first place. Plus he had exams coming up and the teachers were starting practice testing.

‘Someone up there really hates me,’ Ed thought bitterly. So close yet so far.

-End of Flashback-

“Fullmetal!”

Ed blinked twice before his brain was able to register the fact that Roy was calling him. “Huh?” Ed asked. Roy sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

“You haven’t hear a single word I’ve said, have you?” accused Roy. Ed grinned sheepishly. Roy proceeded to give the younger alchemist a whack on the head.

“What did you do that for!” demanded Ed.

“Pay attention, will you?” Ray half teased him.

“You didn’t have to hit!”

“Then pay attention will you?!”

“Why should I?” By now they had attracted everyone’s attention in the library. Several students leaned back in their chairs trying to see what was going on and who was causing all that noise.

“Because then you would've heard me ask you what you were thinking about.”

“I was thinking about what Harry, Ron and Hermione said.”

“What you mean?”

“What is going on here?!”

Both Ed and Roy froze at the sound of Madam Pince’s voice. Both slowly turned around. Madam Pince was not happy. “Explain what is going on here, Roy?” she demanded. Roy began to grow extremely nervous.

“Would you look at the time? I have a class to get to. Bye, Madam Pince,” said Ed; then he darted out of the library before Madam Pince could stop him. Determined to get answers, she turned back to Roy, only to find out her assistant had disappeared as well. Apparently, the said assistant used Ed’s escape to make an escape of his own. “Young people these days,” Madam Pince mumbled under her breath. Then she disappeared into the library again.

-------------

“That was close,” said Ed minutes later.

They were now sitting up at the Astronomy Tower. A cool spring breeze blew and the bright sun was hidden by the white clouds. There was a small blue bird that flew away followed by a brown owl that someone had just sent with some mail. Inside the castle, many students were nearing the end of their classes and preparing to head towards the Great Hall for lunch.

“So what did you mean you were thinking about what Harry and his friends said?” asked Roy. The wind lightly tossed his hair around as he spoke.

Not making eye contact, Ed explained what Harry, Ron, and Hermione had told him. Roy listened patiently and waited for him to finish. When he was done, Roy frowned. “Speaking of Snape, I overheard an interesting conversation between him and Quirrell that night after the Quidditch game.”

Roy went into his own little story about what he heard. “So the stone is here and Snape is after it,” Ed mumbled darkly. There was no such thing as an easy prize. Now he had to find out what was under that trap door. Probably a bunch of magic spells and such. Someone REALLY hated him up there.

--------------------

Dinnertime came sooner than Ed realized. So he hurried down to the Great Hall; having skipped lunch and only had a fruit for breakfast. Just as he passed the hourglasses that kept record of how many points each house had, Ed paused and backed up. That was not right. How the heck did the Gryffindor House lose a hundred fifty points? There was no way that was possible.

Suddenly, a third year Ravenclaw student happened to walk by. Ed quickly stopped her. “Hey, do you know why Gryffindor House is short a hundred fifty?” Ed asked. The girl frowned.

“You didn’t hear?” she asked, “Harry Potter and some other lousy first years lost all those points because they were out wandering in the night. Too bad, I was looking forward to see if they would win House Cup.” The girl then walked away. Ed just stood there in shock. Someone tell him his ears just deceived him. Harry?! Ed stormed off to find his friend. He was determined to know how this happened.

----------------------------

After doing a bit of yelling (and congratulating on getting Malfoy into trouble as well), Ed sulked in the chair in the Common Room. Harry was reading, trying to ignore the stares he was getting. Hermione couldn’t take much of it and retreated to her room. Neville did so as well. Whispers were heard among the stares and Harry seemed to sink further into his chair.

It wasn’t long after that Harry went to bed as well. Ed watched him climb the stairs to the boy’s dormitory. Kami-sama, these last few hours have been too stressful for Ed to handle. He should probably head to bed soon too.

------------------------

Meanwhile...

Roy was out wandering the hallways again. Being a librarian wasn’t very hard and certainly didn’t take up much of his time. Even though there was a little voice whispering in his head to do paper work, Roy was still out strolling around the hallways.

All the corridors were empty except for the occasional ghost and talking pictures. All the students were supposed to be in their respected common rooms, heading for bed soon. The teachers that were still awake were most likely grading papers and preparing for the upcoming exams, which were just a few weeks away. Roy was glad he didn’t have to go through all that preparing.

Then he heard someone’s voice echo slightly through the empty hall. “No—No—not again, please—“ Roy moved closer. It was Quirrell. “All right—all right—“ he heard Quirrell sob. Then the Defense against Dark Arts professor came stumbling out of a nearby classroom, looking extremely pale. Roy’s eyebrow rose in a questioning manner. That was a very interesting conversation. Based on what Ed had told him, Roy believed that Quirrell just finally broke and told Snape how to get pass whatever was under the trapdoor.

Roy decided to head back to his room then. There was much to tell Fullmetal tomorrow… (not to mention numerous ways to torment the short alchemist too)

----------------------

The next day passed by like a snap. Harry, Hermione, Neville and Malfoy received their notices of their detentions and Ed found out about Quirrell from Roy. (That was after Roy went and spent most of lunch teasing him. Then Shinka showed up. Ed was treated to a rare show as Shinka decided to hang on Roy’s cloak. Despite the Flame Alchemist’s attempts to get the kitten off, Shinka held on tight. Last Ed saw, his kitten was still clinging on to his superior’s cloak. Roy was walking around with a kitten hanging from his cloak.)

Nightfall came soon enough. Since spring was nearly gone and summer was approaching, the nights were becoming warmer. Still, that didn’t stop the cool spring breeze from blowing. The moon shined brightly in the sky as dark clouds rolled by, blocking the moonlight for several minutes before rolling away. Magical fires lit the dark hallways as Ed quickly and quietly headed back to the Gryffindor’s common room. He had lost track of time at the library and before he knew it, it was past curfew time. Next to him, Shinka strolled by and Roy was walking next to him.

Before any of you go questioning why Roy is with our favorite short alchemist, (unless you want to want to believe the fact that Roy is simply being a gentlemen and escorting Ed back to his room) let me explain, it’s very simple. Ed plus late at night plus not in bed equals a very bad thing. So to make sure that Ed didn’t get in trouble and that Gryffindor doesn’t lose any more points, Roy was accompanying Ed back to the Gryffindor house. Their story? “Sorry Professor, I was in the library talking to Mr. Mustang here and I lost track of time.” “It’s true Professor. I was escorting Mr. Elric here back to his room.” Will it work? Not a clue.

Deciding that she was tired of walking, Shinka decided to hang onto Roy’s cloak again. “Get off,” mumbled Roy. He reached back to try and pry Shinka off him. “Ow!” Shinka decided to use her claws to hold on. Giving up, as he had been trying all day, Roy glared at the brownish-reddish kitten. Ed smirked. He really needed a camera. Shinka just meowed in happiness.

Suddenly red sparks were seen in the air. “What was that?” asked Ed.

Roy frowned. “That came from the Forbidden Forest.”

A connection connected in Ed’s head. “The Forbidden Forest? That’s where Harry and Hermione are!”

Roy stared at him. “What?! Why are they in there?!”

Ed started to run. “They’re serving detention in there!”

Roy took after him. “What kind of teacher gives them detention in one of the few places that Dumbledore said not to go in?!”

“Dunno, ask Professor McGonagall!” Ed called back as he took off.

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In the middle of the forest, a unicorn laid dead. Its long, slender legs were stuck out in odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves. Harry stood there, transfixed, before he heard a slithering sound that sent shivers down his spine. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered… then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. It reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal’s side, and began to drink its blood.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Malfoy, who was with Harry (who couldn’t be any more happier for some reason), screamed and ran. Fang, Hagrid’s dog, left as well. The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry – unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly towards Harry –he couldn’t move for fear.

Then a pain pierced through Harry’s head. Half blinded, Harry staggered backwards. He then heard a screech of pain and scent of smoke filled Harry’s nose. When Harry could see again, he saw the two people he least expected to see: Ed and Roy.

The moonlight revealed that Ed’s right hand was shaped like a sword again. From Roy’s hand, a spark of fire lit the area, driving the creature off and burning a few trees to cinders as well.

“Ed…?” Harry asked weakly, not believing his eyes. Harry heard a clap and saw a sparkle of blue light before Ed turned around.

“You alright Harry?” Ed asked. He held out his automail hand to help Harry up. Whether it was merely out of habit or Ed had merely forgotten, it didn’t seem to dawn on Ed that he was holding out his right hand to help Harry up, the same hand was no longer flesh and blood. The cold metal jolted Harry out of his daze. Harry saw Roy slipped a white glove into his pocket.

“How…” started Harry, “how did you do that?”

Ed didn’t answer him. He didn’t have to. The rustling of the leaves were heard. Someone was coming and with a teacher or not, Ed knew he was going to get in trouble if someone found him. Roy had the same idea.

“Someone’s coming. We better get out of here,” said Roy.

“Yeah,” agreed Ed. He didn’t make eye contact with Harry; Ed wasn’t sure he wanted to see what kind of expression was on Harry’s face. Instead, he and Roy disappeared into the Forbidden Forest before Harry could stop them. Then… a centaur appeared.

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Ed managed to avoid Harry, Ron and Hermione for the next few days. Harry, of course, told Ron and Hermione what he saw, arousing the half buried Halloween memories. For days the three of them had been trying to corner Ed to get answers. (“Where on earth could he be?” –Hermione. “He’s not in the library anymore.”-Ron. “Come to think of it, I haven’t really seen Mr. Mustang around.” –Harry. “Hey, you think we can sneak into the restricted section now?” –Ron. “Ron!” –Hermione. “What?” -Ron)

“How much longer are you going to try and avoid them?” asked Roy.

Roy and Ed were sitting in an unused classroom; Roy in a dusty red armchair that was left in the classroom. At his feet Shinka was latched onto his black cloak. Sitting on a dusty windowsill, with one leg dangling out the window, the other bent as he rested his arm on it, Ed was looking outside.

“Hmm… Weren’t you the one who said not to tell them? School is almost over, I can avoid them for next month or so.”

“You might as well tell them,” said Roy. He attempted to pull Shinka off of his coat again. “They’ve already seen you perform alchemy. Potter has seen it twice. Not to also mention your automail limbs.”

Ed opened and closed his right hand. “I can easily explain what automail limbs are, but I’m not going to explain why I have them. And you said not to explain alchemy.”

Roy let out a sigh. “Yes, but you’ve already shown it.”

“… I wish you would make up your mind.”

Roy smirked. At the same time a beam of sunlight passed through the blanket of clouds that had hidden the sun all day. It fell right on Ed. Roy’s smirk dropped and he could only stare. A sunlit angel… Lucky Ed didn’t notice the stares. Roy settled back into the chair. A small smile graced his face. ‘My angel…’ he mused.

-----------------------

Two days later, the exams started. Harry, Ron and Hermione were so busy it didn’t really matter whether they talked to Ed at the moment. However, the night before the last couple of exams Harry, Ron and Hermione, finally managed to corner Ed.

“Alright Edward Elric,” Hermione said in her most adult voice. (‘Che! Like she can boss me around.’ –Ed) “We want to know what’s going on!”

“Ed,” said Harry in a softer tone, “We want to know how you were able to make your right arm into a blade, why your right arm is metal to begin with and how you know about the philosopher's stone.”

“What are you talking about,” Ed protested. He wasn’t about to spill his secrets that easily. “Ed,” said Ron, “C’mon you can tell us. We’re your friends.”

Ed took one look at their pleading faces and gave in. Somehow, he had a feeling he would greatly regret this. Oh well, no turning back now, life was full of peril.

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Truth?! You can’t handle the Truth!

(-Azulongmon Digimon Season 2 Kyoto Dragon)

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Yoake Mae
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200th special!

Chapter IX

That’s Fate; Behind the Lies of Deceit

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Nando kimi ni, ketsu mazuitemo

Modottekichau, aijou ni

I hurt myself because of you, over and over;

But my love didn't go away--it kept coming back.

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Ed knew he was cornered. He tried to weasel his way out, but Harry, Hermione and Ron had blocked all exits. By now, everyone else had gone to sleep, wanting a good rest for tomorrow’s exams. “Shouldn't you guys be getting to bed so that you’ll be well rested tomorrow morning for the exams?” questioned Ed.

The looks on his friends’ faces told him that they weren’t going to let him go until he told them. Ed let out a sigh. Why him? Why did this always happen to him? Why not someone else? Why him?!

Finally giving up, knowing that there was nothing he could do to get out of this (and that he would have to tell them sooner or later), Ed said, “Fine. Sit down, this is going to take a while.” He practically winced at the happy looks on his friends' face. They were going to be in for a real surprise.

“So, why is your right arm metal?” asked Hermione. She figured that was the easiest question to answer. It wasn’t.