Ed had thought up a false story just in case they wanted to know the details. There was no way he was going to tell Harry, Hermione and Ron the real reason why he lost his right arm and left leg. “I lost my right arm in an …accident. So in its place, I underwent surgery to receive my automail one.” Seeing three blank faces in front of him, Ed explained. “Automail is a type of metal used to create artificial limbs. If you notice, I can use my right arm as if it wasn’t metal. That’s because the science from where I come from is so far advanced that they can use the automail to replace limbs and have the automail limbs move and act as if they were flesh and blood.”

Harry, Ron and Hermione, nodded to show they understood. “So how did you turn your arm into a blade?” asked Ron excitedly. He remembered that incident from Halloween and spent many days after wondering about it.

Ed let out a soft sigh of relief. Even though the wizarding world didn’t know much about it, Ed felt more comfortable talking about alchemy than his automail limbs. (Can’t really blame him either) “That was through Alchemy,” said Ed.

“You mean the mixing of magical spells/potions to create an object like the Philosopher’s Stone? The book I read said something along the lines of being able to turn metal into gold and give the person immortality.” asked Ron. After Hermione told him and Harry about the stone, Ron had (surprisingly) looked up what alchemy was. The description was vague and Ron had interpreted it as mixing spells or potions together to create something.

Ed winced at the definition. That was the wrong way to describe alchemy. No wonder the wizarding world didn’t know much about alchemy. The way Ron described it was a very harsh description. “Actually that’s wrong, well part of it. Alchemy (it’s a science) is the skill in which alchemists, like myself, can create something with the same properties. To someone, from where I come from, alchemy is a handy skill in which you can make anything, but there’s a rule to this. There’s a law of conservation of mass and the law of providence. Among alchemist, there are people who use the four elements and the three principles, but…” Ed was interrupt by Hermione, who suddenly leaped up with a light of understanding in her eyes.

“Of course! I’ve heard of this type of alchemy before!” she said excitedly. “It’s like taking an object with one element and changing it into an object containing the same element. An object with the properties of water can only be transmutated into an object with watery attributes.”

Ron and Harry just stared at her, not understanding a single thing she had said. Seeing their confused faces, Ed offered the same simple explanation he had given Rose, “In short, the basis to alchemy is ‘Exact Trade’. If you want to make something using alchemy, you need something of an equivalent value.” Harry and Ron’s mouths formed an ‘o’ shape.

“So because your arm is metal, you can create a sword from it,” said Harry, putting together the pieces of the puzzle.

“Yeah, something like that,” said Ed. “That’s the general gist of it.”

Then something else clicked together in Harry’s mind, Mr. Mustang. “Wait! Is Mr. Mustang also an alchemist?”

Ed paused for a moment. Technically, that was Roy’s decision to tell them. Ed shrugged. “Ask him yourself. We better get to bed. We have finals tomorrow.” Then Ed headed off to bed before they could stop him. (Although Ed did make a good point. How were they supposed to pass their first year at Hogwarts if they fell asleep during their exams?)

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

Their last exam was History of Magic. Ed and Hermione were very calm with the exam whereas Harry and Ron were slightly worried. Of course after a long hour of what seemed to be endless questions, everyone couldn’t help but cheer that they were finally done with their exams.

“That was far easier than I thought it would be,” said Hermione as the four of them walked out of the classroom. “I needn’t have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager.”

Ed rolled his eyes and let out an exasperating sigh, but didn’t admit that he had studied that part too. “Well, I’ve got to go,” said Ed as he heard the hallway clock chime. “Mr. Mustang wanted to talk to me about something.”

He ran off after saying goodbye. Just as Ed disappeared around the corner, something dawned on Harry. Harry started towards the direction of Hagrid’s house. “Don’t you think it’s a bit odd,” said Harry, scrambling up the glassy slop, “that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it’s against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don’t you think? Why didn’t I see it before?”

“What are you talking about?” asked Ron.

“I’ll explain when we get there!” shouted Harry from the distance. He was already halfway towards Hagrid’s house when Ron and Hermione decided to run and catch up with him.

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

Meanwhile, in the library, Roy was giving Ed some information he found out about the traps that were guarding the Philosopher’s Stone.

“We’re looking at some really tough spells. Sprout has probably added some kind of plant, (“Wonderful. Another plant to try and eat me.”- Ed) Flitwick, McGonagall, Quirrell’s (“That guy is an idiot. There’s no way his spell can actually do harm.” –Ed) and Snape’s, (“I don’t want to know.”-Ed)” said Roy. “Other than that I have no idea what else is under that trapdoor. Oh and of course, whatever finishing touches Dumbledore made.”

“Plus there’s the three-headed dog to take care of too,” said Ed. He leaned back in his chair, rocking on the back two legs.

“Yes… Fluffy,” mumbled Roy.

Ed looked at Roy with a strange look. “Wha-? Fluffy?”

“Hagrid’s pet.”

“Why Fluffy?” Who in their right mind names a three-headed dog Fluffy? Then again, from what Ed understood, Hagrid loved strange animals. Went so far as to get a dragon, from what Harry told Ed.

“No idea,” said Roy. “On the other hand, do you mind removing Shinka from my coat?” He held up his black coat to reveal that Shinka was still hanging onto him.

Ed smirked. “I think she likes it up there, so I’m not going to remove her from your coat. She’ll leave when she’s ready.” Shinka let out a meow that sounded like ‘yeah that’s right!’

Roy looked back and forth from Ed and Shinka before letting out a sigh. What did he do to deserve this?

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

Something was bothering Ed later that night. A gut feeling, instinct, whatever you call it, it was bothering him. Ed stumbled out of bed, almost tripping over his bed sheets. Shinka shifted in her sleep before slowly waking up. (Shinka came back with Ed when he left the library earlier in the evening.)

Ed looked around, two empty beds. That was not a good sign. Both Ron and Harry were missing. ‘Don’t tell me they went wandering around the school at night again,’ he thought. Kami-sama, did those two WANT to get expelled? He tossed on his red coat, grabbed a new pair of white gloves and headed towards the stairwell.

Ed walked down to the common room with Shinka following behind her master. Maybe Harry and Ron were the common room, talking or something, then there wouldn’t be any reason to worry.

Of course, Ed didn’t find Harry or Ron. Instead he found Neville with his arms to his side, his legs together and his whole body rigid, on the floor. “Longbottom?” asked Ed. “What on earth are you doing on the floor?” Neville didn’t answer him. He couldn’t answer him.

Ed took out his wand and mumbled, “Finite Incantetum.” Neville’s body returned to normal.

“Harry! Ron! Hermione!” stammered Neville, sitting up. “T-they went out again!!”

Ed groaned. “Great, wonderful,” he muttered. He headed towards the door. Looks like he would have to go after them. The things he did for his friends…

“Hey, where are you going?” asked Neville, getting up from the floor. Ed wasn’t going out too right? That was going to get Gryffindor in even more troubles.

“To go get them,” said Ed as if it was the most simplest thing to say in the world. He pushed the open the portrait. In the front of the portrait, the Fat Lady wondered why on earth there were so many people leaving tonight.

“You can’t do that! You’re going to get in trouble,” said Neville. What was wrong with everyone tonight? Did they all want to get expelled?

Ed rolled his eyes. He was not in the mood for this. Not now. “Sorry Neville. Petrificus Totalus!” Neville’s body sprang back together, locked by the full-body bind. He fell to the floor with a ‘thud’. “Sorry Neville, but I need to go after them.” Ed left the common room. Before he went tracking Harry and the others down, he might as well wake Roy up. If his hunch was right, he was going to need the Flame Alchemist’s help because Harry, Ron and Hermione were going after the Philosopher’s Stone. Ed, for once, was not looking forward to tackling all those spells by himself.

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

“Goddamn it!!! Open the door!!!” Ed pounded on the door to Roy’s room. Since there was a current shortage of teachers’ room (they were either occupied, being fixed, or didn’t have anything) Roy was stuck with a regular, unused classroom located near the library.

Outside, Ed heard several noises. Many of which sounded like stumbling and the stubbing of toes. Moments later, Roy opened his door, looking extremely sleepy. Roy rubbed his eyes, trying to focus on whoever was knocking on his door this late at night. His clothes were a crinkled mess. “What’s going on Fullmetal?” he asked tiredly.

“Harry, Ron, and Hermione went after Snape who is after the Philosopher’s Stone!”

Roy snapped awake as he heard that. “What?!”

Ed repeated himself. “They went after the Philosopher’s Stone!”

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

Minutes later, both Roy and Ed were standing outside the forbidden corridor. Roy was muttering along the lines of seeing those kids expelled if they made it out of this alive. Ed was thinking similar thoughts. He was going to strangle Harry and Ron and hit Hermione after he found them. Of course, both should've been worrying about their lives and not what they were going to do to the three children when they were found. It was like a parent walking into death’s arms, thinking of how they were going to punish their child all the while.

Expecting the three-headed dog they had heard about, Ed and Roy slowly opened the door. The low, expected growl, greeted them…

Standing before them was Fluffy, the three-headed dog. The dog let out another low growl. More strangers… Drool dripped down from its mouth. Behind the large animal was the trapdoor.

Roy just barely dodged one of Fluffy’s paws that came at him. “How the hell do we get pass this thing!” shouted Ed. He leaped away from one of the three heads.

“Well they say music soothes the savage beast. Start singing Fullmetal,” replied Roy. He sent a flame towards Fluffy, but the three-headed dog just brushed it off.

“That was a joke right?” asked Ed. Roy did not just tell him to sing. There was no way Ed was going to start singing. It would be a very cold day in hell before he started singing.

Roy let out a grunt as one of Fluffy’s paws just sent him flying into the wall. “Yeah, well, someone once told me that if I try hard enough I could crack glass with my horrible voice,” he said.

---------------Halfway across the world-------------

“ACHOO!”

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

“And I’m supposed to believe that?!” shouted Ed.

“We can discuss whether I can sing or not later, Fullmetal,” said Roy, “but I’m not going to take that chance, so SING!”

“Would you believe me if I told you I can't sing either?” asked Ed.

“That’s an ORDER!!!”

Ed cursed under his breath. That was SO not fair. If they got out of this alive, Roy was sure to tease him about this. “Fine,” Ed cursed under his breath. “Now to choose a song…”

Roy apparently heard him. “I don’t care what song you sing, Ed, just SING IT!” Fluffy suddenly let out a loud growl.

Ed pinched himself, hoping that this was a dream. It wasn’t. Ed let out a sigh. Kami-sama, this was going to be embarrassing. Choosing the first song that came to his mind, he began to sing. “Rocka-by-baby on the tree top. When the wind blows the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. And down will come baby, cradle and all.”

‘Not a bad voice,’ Roy mused to himself. Apparently Fluffy agreed, as the three-headed dog’s movements began to slow down. As Ed continued to repeat the verse of the nursery rhyme, Fluffy’s eyelids began to droop. Roy quickly headed towards the trapdoor.

“Hurry up, Fullmetal,” he whispered. Ed made his way towards the trapdoor. Unfortunately, he forgot to keep singing. Within seconds after Ed stopped singing, Fluffy woke up.

Ed’s eyes widened. “Yikes!” Fluffy let out a loud growl and leapt towards Ed. Ed tried to dodge the dog’s sharp teeth only to have the end of his red coat caught by said teeth.

“Damnit,” Roy cursed quickly. “We don’t have time to play games,” he told Ed in a louder voice.

“Does it look like I’m playing games?!” Ed waved his hands furiously as he dangled by the ends of his coat. Roy seriously wanted to his head against the wall. Taking careful aim, Roy shot his fire towards Fluffy again.

Fluffy let out a howl of pain as the flame hit him right in the eye. The dog swung his head back and forth, trying to put the fire out. In the process, it let go of Ed, who went flying into the wall. “Ow… geeze,” muttered Ed.

Ed didn’t have much time to nurse his ‘wounds’ as Roy grabbed him and threw him down the trapdoor. Then Roy jumped down after him. They had succeeded in getting past the first trap. Now they had to face whatever lied under the trapdoor…

Lita, always remember… Before you conquer your enemy, you must conquer your worst enemy… Your own fears!

(Haruka to Lita Sailor Moon Supers Book 2)

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Seito: Everyone enjoy? We’re coming to a close here and this story is almost done. Thank you for waiting for this update. Now you can all do me a favor and make me really happy by…

REVIEWING PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-

Yoake Mae

-

Chapter X


What Destiny Has Stored, Beneath the Trapdoor

-

Shinjikaneru, utaretsuyosa yo

Konya mo, soutou nemurenai

The toughness gained from my damage is unbelievable.

I won't be able to sleep at all tonight either.

-

Ed wasn’t completely sure how he was still alive after falling down, but something soft definitely broke his fall. As he was shaking the stars out of his head, he became aware of Roy calling to him. “Fullmetal, will you wake up! We have a problem!”

That was when Ed noticed that something was wrapping around him. Jerking awake, he started to struggle to get free only to have the tentacles continue to wrap themselves around him. “What the hell?” he asked. Ed looked to the side to see Roy struggling to do the same.

Ed paused for a moment as he recognized what was attacking him. “This is the Devil’s Snare!”

“Figured that part out already, Fullmetal. You’re the one learning about it, how on earth do we kill it!” yelled Roy. By now, the Devil’s Snare had wrapped itself around Roy’s hand, making it very hard for the Flame Alchemist to fight back.

Ed racked his brain for the answer. It was in there somewhere. “Devil’s Snare, Devil’s Snare… stupid plant, umm.. it likes the dark and the damp…”

Roy, who was beginning to look like a mummy, ordered, “Then light a fire. My hands are tied up, I can’t make a spark!”

Beginning to panic, Ed answered, “There’s no wood!”

If his hands were free, Roy would have whacked his head at that answer. Edward did not just say that. “ARE YOU A WIZARD OR NOT!” he yelled at the younger boy. This was a life or death situation and Ed just forgot that he was a wizard.

“Oh right,” mumbled Ed. He wrestled his hand free and grabbed his wand out of his coat. “Incendio!” From his wand, a blue flame shot out. As the flames began to spread, the vines of the Devil’s Snare started to wither and shrink. It loosened its grip on Ed and Roy as the plant fled from the warmth and heat.

‘Finally, I can breath again…’ thought Roy. He pulled himself free from the loose vines. Ed was doing the same. Once they were free, Roy sent a mini-glare towards the younger boy. “Honestly, Fullmetal, ‘there’s no wood’,” said Roy. His voice had plenty of sarcasm in it.

Ed did nothing but send the glare back as the two continued their way through a long stone hallway. At the end of hallway, a dim light shone. As they got closer to the light, a soft rustling and clinking was heard.

“What’s that sound?” asked Ed.

Roy frowned. “It sounds like… wings.”

They came to the end of the passageway. It revealed a brightly lit stone room. Its ceiling arched up high. Near the top, jewel-like birds flew together in a swarm. They fluttered and clicked as they flew in the air. Across the room, there was a big, heavy wooden door.

Ed blinked, once, twice, three times as he recognized the objects flying in the air. “They’re keys!” he exclaimed.

“Probably for that door,” pointed out Roy. They stepped into the room. “We probably have to catch the right key to open that door.”

Ed frowned. “We don’t have time for that!”

A smirk graced Roy’s face. “Precisely, Fullmetal, which is why,” he took aim at the wooden door, “we won’t bother trying to catch them.” Roy snapped his fingers and the door went flying. It had completely burned into ashes before the door even landed.

“That’s one way, I suppose,” said Ed, a bit impressed.

The dying embers gave a glimpse into the next room before light came flooding in, illuminating the room. Both Ed and Roy blinked in shock. They were now standing on the edge of a giant chessboard. Broken pieces of former chessmen littered the floor around the board. Faceless white pieces stared at the two of them.

Ed looked across the room. He could see another door. Then, Ed noticed something else. “There’s Ron!” he said. Roy looked in the same direction.

Near a pile of shattered segments of black chessmen, laid Ron Weasley unconscious. “Looks like we’ll have to play our way across" said Roy as he continued to analyze the situation.

Ed smirked. “What do you know? Finally something to put your chess skill to the challenge.”

Roy gave an undignified snort. “You wouldn’t be able to play your way out of a paper bag, Fullmetal. You would lose this game within minutes. Be grateful that I’m here with you.”

Ed rolled his eyes. Before he could come up with a sarcastic reply, Roy continued. “Take the place of the queen, Edward and I’ll take the knight.”

“Why do I have to be the Queen!” complained Ed. He got the feeling that this was Roy’s way of punishing him.

Roy just merely smiled. “Now, now. Don’t complain, Fullmetal. Just take your place on the board.” Much like Halloween, Roy was subconsciously creating a classical scenario. Only thing different this time was that Ed wasn’t playing the princess but rather the queen. Ed could only glare at him.

Nevertheless, Ed took his position in the spot of the queen. Right before Roy took his place, he changed his mind. Roy stood next to Ed as the Black King. Before Ed could even ask, Roy gave him the answer. “Why settle for a lowly knight when I can be the most important piece in chess? Besides, the King doesn’t move much so I can see what move is best to make.” Roy patted Ed’s shoulder. “So be a good queen and go and protect me.”

Ed looked at him with half-moon eyes and disbelief. Roy did not just say that. He did not just say that. Making a noise that sounded familiar to a bark, Ed continued to sulk on his square.

Roy merely hid his smile and stated, “White has first move.” With that, the game commenced.

-

Ed never really liked wizard chess. The chessmen were usually brutal to the opposing color. Plus the chessmen didn’t seem to like him whenever he played. Ed flinched as a white knight took out another black pawn. The idea of being crushed into tiny pieces was not a pleasant thought. All there was left to do was to hope, possibly pray, and have a bit of faith in Roy’s skills, or a lot of faith. Who was he kidding? Of course he had faith in Roy skills. He was practically in love with him— Ed paused and started to hit himself on the head. He. Did. Not. Just. Think. That.

As Ed continued to hit himself, Roy could only stare and send a strange look towards the younger alchemist. Knowing he couldn’t dwell on thoughts of the golden-eyed boy, Roy forced himself to focus on the game. McGonagall must have designed this game. Shame though, she wasn’t a very good chess player. Roy had seen this play many times and already knew how to counter it. So unless the white chessmen did something out of the ordinary, he would win the game in a matter of a few rounds.

-

“Checkmate,” announced Roy.

The white king took off his crown and threw at Roy’s feet. The white pieces parted and bowed, letting Ed and Roy pass. Ed went quickly to check up on Ron. Poking at the redhead’s face, Ed announced, “He’s out cold.”

“Might as well leave him here. We can’t go dragging his body around,” said Roy. He carefully walked towards the wooden door.

“You said that Sprout, Flitwick, McGonagall, Quirrell, Snape, Dumbledore all put spells to protect the stone,” counted Ed. “We faced Sprout’s Devil Snare. Professor Flitwick was probably in charge of those flying keys. McGonagall transfigured the chessmen so that leaves Quirrell, Snape, and of course Dumbledore’s spell.”

“Dumbledore’s spell will be the last line of defense,” said Roy. “So we just have to worry about Quirrell and Snape’s.”

“Joy,” muttered Ed. A potions master whom he hated and a coward teacher’s spells were the only that stand in his way and that wasn’t including the craftiest of wizards, Dumbledore.

“Might as well get this over with,” Ed continued to mumble.

Roy pushed open the door. Immediately a repulsive smell invaded their noses, causing them to cover their noses. “What is that smell,” asked Ed. He stepped into the room to see a troll (which was twice the size of the one he took on during Halloween) out cold.

“Glad we don’t have to deal with that troll,” said Roy. His eyes were beginning to water. Just as he said that, the troll began to stir.

“You just had to say that,” cursed Ed.

Swiftly the two of them jumped away. Ed clapped his hands and touched the ground. From it, came a familiar spear. Before the troll even had a chance to stand up, Roy had already fired. As the smell of burning flesh filled the room, Ed attacked with his spear, drawing blood.

Sensing attackers, the troll picked up a piece of broken rock and threw it blindly. Roy barely got out of the way of the wayward rock. Ed drew the troll’s attention away from the Flame Alchemist by attacking the troll’s hand.

The troll let out an enraged howl of pain as the blade of the spear cut further and further into his skin. Swinging his other hand, the troll successfully threw Ed into the wall. “Damnit,” cursed Ed.

-Snap-

Another flame flew towards the troll, burning it. The assault didn’t stop there. –Snap-Snap-Snap- Each flame was stronger then the last one. However, before Roy could deliver the final blow, the troll swung his hand one more time. He struck Roy dead on. Roy went flying. He hit the wall with a sickening ‘crunch’ before dropping to the floor. He grinded his teeth as pain raced though his body like a fire spreading through a forest.

There was a flash of blue light as Ed transformed his arm into a blade. With the troll’s attention focus on Roy, Ed took this opportunity to attack. As his temporary sword cut through the thick skin, blood began to splatter from the troll, drenching Ed. The troll let out another howl before falling to the ground with a ‘thud’.

While Ed was finishing off the troll, Roy was wavering back and forth between consciousness. ‘Damn,’ Roy cursed to himself as he fought to stay conscious. How could he let his guard down like that? Pain raced from his right arm, and left leg. They were probably broken. He briefly noticed another flash of blue light. ‘Ed must be returning his arm back to normal.’ His eyes closed for a moment as he felt himself being lifted.

“Roy?”

Roy momentarily thought his hearing was going or that the troll had hit him harder then he thought. Edward didn’t just call him by his first name, right? He couldn’t remember if Ed had ever called him by his first name –no wait Halloween was the last time… Anytime before that, Roy wasn’t sure.

Roy forced himself to open his eyes. He was greeted by the worried face of a golden angel who… was covered in blood. ‘Kami-sama, please don’t tell me that’s his blood that covers him,’ Roy half mumured to himself. Slowly, he raised his left hand to cup Ed’s face, feeling the warm blood seep through his spark glove.

Ed sensed what Roy was asking and said, “It isn’t my blood.” Roy let out a sigh of relief and his hand drop down. From there, Roy saw nothing but darkness…

“Roy?” Ed asked. Panic began to fill him until he noticed that Roy’s breathing was still consistent. He was alive, just unconscious. The troll must have hit him harder than Ed thought. Ed shed his red coat. Even though it was soaked with blood and torn, it would be a good enough pillow for the moment. Ed rested Roy’s head upon his coat before he got up to look around. Now that he thought about, it might not be best to leave Roy in this room. Ed considered putting Roy back in the other room, next to Ron.

However, before Ed could do anything, Hermione came running into the room. Ed raised his eyebrow, presenting a questioning look, but Hermione ignored it, glomping Ed in one swift movement. She didn’t even notice the blood that was covering him. Instead she started babbling like crazy. “Harry and Snape. He went after the stone. By himself. Voldemort. Need to get help,” Hermione said quickly.

As Ed sorted through the fragment-ish sentences, he grabbed Hermione by her shoulders and shook her to snap her out of her shock. “Hermione! Calm down!”

Hermione tried to calm down. She really did, but it was clear that she was in a panic and in a hurry. It took her a few minutes before she settled down. Then she noticed that Ed was covered in blood. Remembering now that she just hugged him, it meant that she was also covered in blood. Hermione let out a scream.

‘Where’s a paper fan or mallet when you need one?’ asked Ed to himself. Not that he really wanted to hit Hermione, but she was acting like an idiot. All he needed to do was to ask her to take of Roy. He wasn’t going anywhere until he knew that Roy would be okay. The Flame Alchemist needed to see a doctor.

Finally Hermione stopped screaming, long enough for Ed to get some words in. “Hermione! Harry told you to get help right?” he asked. Hermione could only nod. “Okay. Roy needs to see a doctor immediately. He’s got a broken arm and leg and possibly a few broken ribs as well. Try and wake up Ron and two of you take Roy back and get help,” said Ed.

Hermione nodded once more and rushed into the next room to try and wake Ron. As soon as she was gone, Ed turned back to Roy. “Baka taisa,” he mumbled. He bent down and kissed Roy on the cheek. Hearing Hermione’s footsteps return, Ed headed towards the door. He trusted Hermione enough to get Roy to safety. Now he had to return the favor and help Harry out.

Hermione and Ron (who was still unbalanced on his feet) walked into the room to see Ed walk out. “Ed!” called out Hermione. Ed stopped and looked back. “Be careful okay?” He nodded. When was he not?

-

Ed walked into the next room. There was a table of six different shape bottles near the center. Just as he reached the center, two unnatural fires sprang forth. The fire behind him was a dark purple color as blame flames danced in front of him. On the floor was a piece of parchment. Ed picked it up. It read:

Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,

Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,

One among us seven will let you move ahead,

Another will transport the drinker back instead,

Two among our number hold only nettle wine,

Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.

Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,

To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:

First, however slyly the poison tries to hide

You will always find some on nettle win’s left side;

Second, different are those who stand at either end,

But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;

Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,

Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;

Fourth, the second left and the second on the right

Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

A smirk appeared on Ed’s face as he glanced up from the paper to the six bottles. Ed tossed the paper aside. “It’s easy. This is logic,” he stated to himself. “Snape did a brilliant job putting this trap together.” After he said that, he noticed that there were only six bottles on the table. Ed then spied a little black bottle on the floor, the missing bottle. Instantly his smirk turned to a frown.

“Look likes this little tiny bottle would have taken me across,” said Ed.

He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his bangs as he thought of a way out of this. Then his eyes opened again, lit with the fires of determination. The familiar smirked returned as well.

“Hope this works,” he mumbled. He clapped his hands together and touched the ground as blue lightning began to dance around him. The ground began to shift and move. Slowly the black flames disappeared as the ground closed on top of it. Finally the flames vanish and nothing but smooth floor stood in its place. Ed’s smirk grew wider as he strolled over to the door.

Ed opened the door, prepared for anything. What he wasn’t prepared for, was to see Harry tied up and Quirrell standing in front of the Mirror of Erised…

-

Tardiness Clause

Any person found to be acting as the organizer at activities with an expressed or implied goal of promoting for the purpose of reforming the City’s Schedule, taking part in discussions concerning such practices to the end of meeting these or similar goals, or other wise perceived as an instigator of such actions as would pertain to such goals, will be sentenced to death, and summarily executed.

(Adonis Time Law, Chapter 1 Article 2— King of Bandits book 2)

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Seito: We liked this chapter the best. –Grin- We hoped everyone enjoyed it. Don’t forget to take some candy!

Next Time: Ed is venturing into the heart of danger by himself. We all know what lies behind that door, the question is how will he deal with it? We’re down to the second to last chapter of this saga and climax has just began.

So do this authoress and give her a nice big Valentine by

REVIEWING PLEASE!

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

Yoake Mae

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

300th special

Chapter XI

Locking Fate and Destiny Part 1; Nasty Surprises

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Nando nankai, kurikaeshitemo

Modottekichau, ai dakara

However many times it's repeated,

It revives again and again-because it's love.

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

Last Time-

Ed opened the door, prepared for anything. What he wasn’t prepared for, was to see Harry tied up and Quirrell standing in front of the Mirror of Erised…

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

Quirrell must have sensed Ed as he entered the room for he snapped his fingers and instantly ropes appeared out of nowhere. They began to attack Ed, trying to wrap themselves around him. Ed dodged the ropes and just as he was about to clap his hands together to form a blade, so he could shred the ropes into pieces, the ropes came again. This time, they managed to get a grip around him.

Ed struggled to get free. The ropes held him tight, almost restricting his breath. “What the hell is going on!” he shouted.

“Silence!” commanded Quirrell. “You nuisance of a boy! You should have never come here.”

Ed’s eyebrows rose as he noticed that Quirrell wasn’t stuttering like he normally did. In fact, Quirrell was starting to sound like one of those crazy I’m-evil villains in those comics Al always enjoyed reading. Apparently, bad guys needed a new catch line/phrase/personality, or at least something original. Ed wondered how long it would take him to get rich if he got paid every single time someone said something out of a comic book.

Knowing he wasn’t going to get any answers from Mr. Crazy, Ed turned towards Harry (who was almost tied up) in hopes that Harry knew what was going on. But first, “Harry! What on earth were you thinking, coming down here! You could have gotten yourself killed! I should kill you for doing something so stupid!”

Harry would have fallen over if he could. He was expecting more along the lines of ‘Harry, are you alright?’ or ‘Harry, what’s going on?’ but never that. Quirrell apparently wasn’t expecting that either as he stared at Ed for some time with a strange look on his face. Probably thinking along the lines of, 'What a strange boy' or something like that, not that he wasn’t strange to begin with.

“Nice to see you too, Ed,” said Harry with a hint of sarcasm.

“You should be,” said Ed. “Roy and I risked our butts to get here, only to have Roy hurt badly in the last room.”

“Umm… thanks?”

Ed looked at Harry with half moon eyes. “Okay then, what’s going?” Ed asked. It was nice to have gotten that off his chest. Now he could focus on other things, like what was going on and how to get out of here. Harry would have sweat dropped if it weren’t for the seriousness of the situation. Now Ed asks that? After yelling at him?

“Ah well… Quirrell is the one after the stone and not Snape. Snape wasn’t trying to kill me, Quirrell was. Quirrell was the one who let the trolls in during Hallowe-“ Harry was cut off right there as Ed started yelling. This time, his words were directed at the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher.

“YOU WERE THE ONE WHO LET THOSE TROLLS IN! YOU BUMBLING IDIOT. WERE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!”

Harry did sweat drop that time. Quirrell glared at Ed. “Yes, well, I have a gift with trolls and it’s not my fault you got in their way. Now be quiet while I examine this mirror. It holds the key to getting the stone, but trust Dumbledore to do something like this to stop me.”

“YOU EXPECT ME TO WAIT QUIETLY WHILE YOU TRY TO GET THE STONE!”

Quirrell sent another glare toward Ed. His glares were nothing compared to the hard stares that Riza gave, even Roy and Hughes did better than that. (Perhaps Quirrell should also invest into glaring class and as well as a how to be evil class)

While Ed and Quirrell were arguing, Harry inched closer and closer to the mirror. He had to stop Quirrell from getting the stone. All he wanted to do was to protect the stone so that Quirrell didn’t get it. If the mirror really showed his heart’s desire, he should be able to see where the stone is hidden and prevent Quirrell from using it. Harry froze when Quirrell turned back around. Ed, however, had caught onto Harry’s plan. “Roy heard you and Snape arguing after one of the Quidditch match!” shouted Ed.

Almost subconsciously, Quirrell answered. “Yes. Snape was on to me by that time. He suspected me all along. He tried to frighten me… but I had Lord Voldemort on my side…”

That was something new to Ed. Harry had mentioned that Snape was after the stone, but never that the Dark Lord was also involved. He could add that to his list of things to ask Harry when this was over… provided they walked out of this alive.

“You’re telling me that so-called dark lord is your master!”

Quirrell’s anger flared. “Do not speak so lowly of my master in my presence!”

Ed almost wanted to smirk. He was beginning to see why Roy loved teasing him so much. Getting people angry like that was actually kind of fun. And thanks to all the insults Roy normally threw at him, Ed had arsenal of taunts and names to call Lord What’s-his-name. Let the name-calling begin…

“So your idiot master relies on YOU to get the stone. Gee, he must really be desperate for help if you’re one of his servants. That or the only people he can recruit are fools and cowards,” taunted Ed. Quirrell began to grow even angrier.

“You insolent whelp!” yelled Quirrell.

“Is that the best you can come up with? I’ve been called worse!” teased Ed. Maybe Harry could make a break for it and find the stone before Quirrell did.

“Silence, you pipsqueak!”