okay! here we are, as promised! And this was intense to write. I was looking up scenes in the manga, as well as watching both sub and dub to get them right. I proofread it so many times after that and I am pretty certain I cried about four times when I was working on it. I think it was also because I was listening to depressing music when working on it...

So with that, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

"This is it, Al."

Water- thirty-five liters,

"Mm."

Carbon- twenty kilograms,

"Ed, something doesn't feel right..."

Ammonia- four liters,

"Al!"

Lime- one point five kilograms,

"It can't be... a rebound?"

Phosphorus- eight hundred grams,

"Brother! Ed! Help, ED!"

Salt- two hundred and fifty grams,

"AAAAAAAAAL!"

Salt Peter- one hundred grams,

I am the world

sulfur- eighty grams,

I am the universe

Flourine- seven point five grams,

I am God

Iron- five grams,

I am Truth

Silicon- three grams,

I am All

With trace amounts of fifteen other elements.

I am One

We thought that we could do it.

I am YOU!

We thought we had everything correct.

I've shown you all I can for your payment.

But in the end,

"Payment?"

we were only a couple of fools.

Yes, equivalent exchange, right ALCHEMIST?"

We were Greedy.

"...!"

We were selfish.

"This... no...this wasn't supposed to happen, it's not what we wanted!"

And now everything is gone...

"What have I done?! AAAAl! MOOOOM!

because we thought that we could play God.

This is all my fault...Alphonse!

and that was a huge mistake,

PLEASE! Give him back, he's my little brother!

Because humankind cannot gain anything

You can take anything, I DON"T CARE!

without first giving something in return.

Just... Just give him back...HE"S ALL I HAVE LEFT!"

...Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange...

"Edward, Edward! Come back to me!"

Ed slowly opened his eyes to find Lupin in front of him, rocking him back and forth. He tried to talk, but his vocal chords would not respond, but didn't really want them to anyways. He felt like every ounce of happiness that he had was ripped from his body, leaving him cold and empty.

"Edward.."

He watched Lupin as he talked, but he didn't listen. Why was there any reason to? He had lost everything, so why did he even bother living for this long? He felt like he could go into a deep sleep, and he didn't ever want to wake up. It was too painful. He had hurt so many people, made so many people cry... He had ruined everything.

He watched Lupin frown and pick something up, but he didn't know what- but he didn't really care. He just wanted to be alone. He wanted to be away from everybody so he wouldn't be able to hurt them. He didn't want anybody else to cry or have their lives ruined because of him- he had already done enough of that. He had taken everything away from Alphonse. He was supposed to be his older brother and take good care of him, but instead he ruined everything and he hated himself so much for that. Al probably hated him too. And if Al hated him, then he had no reason to live, so maybe he could just... Die? would that help? It was most definitely a possibility... Maybe he could just stay here, be alone, and die painfully and slowly- It was all he deserved.

"Edward, Listen to me, you have to eat this, it'll help."

Help? What could possibly help him? nothing, there was nothing. nothing.

Lupin stared at the blonde. He looked pitiful and very broken. It didn't suit him. Before, he had been very lively- maybe too much. So what happened? Even Harry didn't have a reaction as severe as that. Edward had screamed his head off when the Dementor had come into the compartment, and had continued to shake and cry afterwards. Now, He was just sitting there, his once-fiery eyes dull and empty. He was pale and unresponsive to anything lupin did.

Eventually, It had gone on long enough. Edward was obviously not going to respond on his own anytime soon; So with a deep breath Lupin jammed the chocolate into the boy's mouth. Almost instantly, color sprang throughout Ed's body, and his eyes became less dull.

"wha?" He said through a mouthful of chocolate.

"Edward." Lupin said sternly.

The two pairs of golden eyes fixed into each other as Ed slowly began to chew the brown mass in his mouth.

Lupin sighed, happy that the younger professor was finally responding. He pulled out some more chocolate and offered it to Ed, but he didn't accept it. instead, he actually began to cough and spit out the chocolate he had in his mouth.

"What the hell, are you trying to poison me?!" Ed Spat, glaring at the surprised and very confused Professor Lupin.

"Pardon me?"

Ed pointed angrily at the bar of chocolate in his hands.

"It says very clearly on the wrapper Milk Chocolate. MILK CHOCOLATE! MIILLK!" Edward screeched, making Lupin go pale.

"Is there something wrong with milk?" He asked slowly, not wanting to upset the rampaging boy.

"EVERYTHING IS WRONG WITH MILK, IT'S MILK!" Ed yelled, but in a way that made it seem like it was obvious how milk was somehow this bad.

"..."

"Milk is a disgraceful thing and is a poison to the body! It is atrocious! It's an opaque white liquid excreted from a cow!"[1]

"Lovely."

Edward finished spitting the chocolate out of his mouth and looked around the compartment, still scowling at almost consuming something with milk in the name. He noticed that the students were no longer there, leaving only him and Lupin. There were no longer any vibrations either, which meant that either they were still stopped or he had been out of it for quite a bit and they had already arrived at their destination. Behind him, Lupin took a seat on the bench and cleared his throat to get Ed's attention back to him.

"Edward, I would like to ask you something and it may be a bit personal." Lupin said.

Personal? he couldn't have figured it out...could he?

"What is it?"

Edclenched his teeth, hoping that Lupin was talking about something else.

"Your eyes..."

That caught him off guard- it wasn't what he was expecting at all.

"What about my eyes?"

Lupin paused a moment and looked down at his shoes before looking back at Edward.

"Are you a-"

"..."

Remus could not speak. after all this time he now could barely say the word. He had hidden himself from it for so long.

"Are you a werewolf?"

"..."

Edward began laughing-slowly at first but soon speeding up.

"A werewolf? Why would I be that? They don't even exist!"

Lupin was speechless. A professor of Hogwarts just blew off the existence of a magical creature?

Edward noticed that his elder was serious and his laughter cut off before he grinned.

"Oh! well, maybe they are..." He said a bit unsurely. "But I'm not really from around here." He said, flailing his hands about.

"What do you mean not from around here? And Even if you are not, you still act like a magical creature is something new and impossible to you."

Ed's grin grew.

"I'm not one of you magical folk, I haven't the slightest bit of magical ability in me!"

Lupin bent down and his right eye twitched slightly.

"You're a muggle?" He asked. When he received a confused stare, he sighed. yup-definitely a muggle. But he said he was a professor...and he got onto the train...so that meant it was most likely Dumbledore's idea-but why?

"A muggle is what we wizards call non-magical humans like yourself." He explained, getting a nod from Ed. "So if you are not a wizard, why are you here?"

"As I said I'm a professor this year- in Alchemy."

"If your aren't a wizard, how do you know alchemy?"

An irritated frown spread across Ed's face, replacing the huge grin.

Stiffly he said,"Alchemy is is a science, not magic." His voice began to crescendo and take on a more sforzando[2] style. "And You cannot make something out of nothing, and you use the elements of the Periodic Table of the Elements and you have to be able to do complex equations in your head on the spot and understand the chemical makeup of things..."

Ed's voice faded, slurred, from Lupin as he tried to comprehend all of what he was being told. It was almost impossible...

Ed's voice cut off for real though when the compartment door slid open to reveal Harry, followed by Hermione and Ron. The trio shuffled in, their new clothes-robes and such- flowing behind them.

"Professor, are you okay?" Hermione asked.

he waved her off.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Nothing wrong, see?"

He ran his hands up and down in front of his chest to show that he was-physically at least- fine. The train began to slow down, catching the group off guard.

"We actually there this time?" Ed asked tentatively.

Lupin nodded and grabbed his beaten up bag.

when the train had fully pulled into the station everybody began to scramble out onto the platform and find where they needed to be. Ed stuck with Lupin while the students went their own way. The pair got into an empty stagecoach and-to Edward's dismay- it began moving along on its own. They were polled up to two large gates, but Edward did not pay attention to them because his eyes were fixed fearfully on the two Dementors guarding it. When they reached the school up close, Edward stared out the window in awe while Lupin rested his eyes.

Finally, the carriage stopped and the two got out- and got very soaked-, but only to find the trio being confronted by who was now Ed's least favorite person he had met here- not that he had really met very many people...but he had a feeling that the boy would be at the top of the final list for sure.

Lupin nonchalantly stopped the argument that Edward didn't care to listen to and proceeded to follow the former into the large oak front doors along with every other person.

When Ed was about to enter a large room where everybody seemed to be going, somebody gripped his arm tightly and yanked him back.

"Gyah!?" He yelped. He bit his tongue so he would not curse at whoever had pulled him.

He was turned around sharply to come face to face with an older woman with hair pulled into a tight bun and very sharp eyes-framed with square glasses.

"Who are-"

"I am Professor McGonagall, Head of the Gryffindor House- though you don't know what that is, you will soon enough- and Transfiguration teacher. I would like to have a word with you, if I may."

Harry and Hermione popped out from behind her. Ed Then figured since they were there that it probably had something to do with the incident on the train, then probably to give him more information on what would be going on for him as a teacher. The three followed her up staircases and down a corridor then finally arrived at the small office. Hermione was asked to wait outside, but Harry and Ed went in and took their seats.

McGonagall settled herself behind her desk and said abruptly, "Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you two fell ill on the train."

Before anybody could say anything else, there was a knock on the door and another woman rushed in. Ed saw Harry go red and begin to say that he was fine, but the woman ignored his words and began inspecting. Mcgonagall informed the woman, whom he'd now learned was named Poppy, that it was dementors that affected them. Poppy seemed a bit uneasy at this revelation but shook it off with experience. She then quickly began feeling both boys' heads and spewing out different treatment options and symptoms like a machine.

"Think that bed rest and plenty of-"

"I'm fine!" Harry and Ed said in unison.

They glanced at each other due to the perfect reaction times, then looked back at the women.

"Honestly, " Ed began. "we are fine, and Professor Lupin already did something, to me at least, that helped out."

Harry Nodded his head.

"Ya, he gave me some chocolate and that helped."

Mrs. Pomfrey brightened up. It was about time that a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher knew their remedies! She looked at the two boys in front of her. If they were sure they were all right then she could probably let them go. But there was one thing that she didn't quite understand or like. The blonde, Edward, was apparently their new Alchemy professor, but he didn't even look much older than Harry! One thing for sure, he was not old enough for a professor. So who was this man, no boy?

"If you are absolutely sure that you are okay..."

Both boys nodded furiously, and McGonagall let them go.

Outside the office, Harry and Edward waited in silence for Hermione to get out before heading down to the feast. When they entered the Great Hall, Edward's mind went crazy. He would be freaking out vocally, but an old dude was giving a speech in the front of the giant hall. Trying his best to ignore the floating candles above the tables, Ed began walking around the side of the room and heading to the front. He noticed a few students look over at him curiously, but most of the attention was on the old man.

"It is not the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors." The silver- haired man said. He looked seriously around the hall and finally seemed to notice Edward- who had stopped walking. He stared for a moment before smiling at the crowd.

"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome three new teachers to our staff this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There were a few unenthusiastic clapping sounds here and there, but the only ones who really clapped were the ones who had been on the train with him- though Edward remained silent.

"As to our second appointment, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettlburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher,"

'Sounds like a lovely class...' Ed thought.

" retired at the end of last year to spend time with his remaining limbs."

Ed Scowled. He was fourteen years and no matter how much he wanted to he didn't just ditch everything and go home because he was missing two limbs.

"However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

A thunder of clapter erupted from the table Harry and Hermione had gone too, but the other three tables were less excited. Ed chuckled a bit when he saw the recognized professor wiping his teary eyes on the tablecloth.

'He kinda reminds me of the Major.' Ed thought. His smiled dulled after a few seconds. Another reminder was Sig Curtis- minus the crying.

As the clapping died down, The bespectacled man returned his twinkling eyes to Ed.

"Our last addition is quite a special one. From a far away country we have a bit of a younger professor who came to teach a new class."

Edward began walking up the front once more as more students took notice of him. He heard a few students whispering about his age, looks, and worst of all- his height. If it were at any other time he would have gladly ripped those kids' throats out. well... maybe not that extreme, but still. By the time he had reached the front all eyes were on him. He turned and faced the crowd.

"I ask that you please give a warm welcome to Alchemy professor Edward Elric."

Nothing. not a single clap- not even from the trio who had been so concerned about him earlier. Ed didn't really mind though and just flashed a warm smile.

After that just about every girl was clapping wildly. Ed heard the man shout something along the lines of begin the feast before every platter and goblet were filled with vast amounts of food and drink. Startled, Ed backed up and stared at the man, who chuckled and extended his wrinkled hand.

"Welcome dear Edward to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

"Yay..." Ed said with false enthusiasm, accepting the hand.

"I am Professor Albus Percival Wulfric BrianDumbledoor, Headmaster."

After the -absolutely amazing- feast Edward was shown to his classroom and then his personal room from there. After he had changed and brushed his teeth he crawled into his bed, ready for sleep. unfortunately, that sleep did not come as easily as he hoped.

Brother!

"Al..."

Ed could not stop hearing his little brother's plea ringing throughout his head. He had been hearing different cries from his loved ones ever since the train incident earlier, but he did not want to show it. He knew that everything was his fault but that dream had shown him a whole new level of the pain. For one of the first times in his life he had actually wanted to die. With every fiber in his being he had just wanted to let go. but that was not an option and he knew it. He ruined things, so he had to fix them. He had to fix things for his brother and this school was the best lead he had received in a long time, so he just had to push through no matter what happens.

With that thought in mind, Ed finally began to drift off into deep slumber.

[1] The end of that sentence- about it being opaque and such- is from the English translated version of the manga, I forget which chapter though...and I'm too lazy to look it up, I just had it memorized because I loved it so much, especially since I despise milk as well (I'm Vegan xD)

[2] Crescendo: gradually get louder. Sforzando: forced and accented; sharp, short, etc. These both are music terms, but I use music terms a lot in my speech...so this probably won't be the only time you hear them xD