Author's foreword: I'M BACK. Please don't kill me for the three month-ish unannounced break. Most of it I'll explain by saying life threw a few wrenches (read: the entire toolbox) my way. Next, I've enlisted (also read: conscripted) into the army, so I'll only have the weekends free to write now. But hopefully this would mean I won't burn out easily, with the weekdays occupied with training A.K.A no more 3 month long hiatus. :D

With all that said, please enjoy the hell out of this chapter!

Edward exhaled audibly, the sound muffled slightly by the ringing that filled the room. "I'd better see some improvement next time," he announced, once the bell stopped tolling. Only a few students murmured a response; the others shuffled quickly out of the class, rubbing remnants of chalk dust off their faces and their heads. Ed grumbled, cursing their stupidity and their attitude, but said and did nothing else.

Since the last alchemy lesson, his students have actually gotten worse at alchemy, with poorly drawn circles and terrible usage of symbols and runes. He'd wager that most of their circles, if activated, would have blown up their desks in a spectacular demonstration of destruction, at the very least. He was especially disappointed with Hermione and Luna, who he thought were among the shining gems in the class. They made as much progress as the rest of the class.

"They've got other lessons too, Brother," came a voice from the back of the room. "Maybe they've been having trouble with those, too."

Ed strode over to the classroom doors, preparing a transmutation. "That isn't an excuse for them to slack off in another class." He slapped his hands against the door, sealing them shut with a flash of light. Finally, he turned to face his brother. His relished the sight of the 7-foot armored giant, after spending a month or so apart.

The past few days came and went in the blink of an eye. With the rushed meals, the recollection of stories to the other, and the late night tours of Hogwarts, hours felt like minutes to Edward as he and Alphonse caught up. Ed felt simultaneously happy and yet dejected when Al told him about Mustang's frantic, non-stop search for Edward.

Al took the whole magic thing a lot better than Ed expected. The younger Elric absorbed all the information about this new form of energy manipulation like a dry sponge in water, only pausing Ed's explanation to acquire new information, never showing disbelief. If anything, Al was filled with wonder.

That mood ended when Ed brought up the Philosopher's Stone, and the actions Dumbledore took with it. That, after a heated conference that went ultimately nowhere, led to an exchange of information the brothers had about Voldemort, which was not much. That in turn led to Al revealing his encounter with the robed man and the mansion in the forest.

If only Ed had taken that news as well as Al took magic. It took major coaxing over an hour for Al to calm Ed out of his panicked, speculative stupor. Because that was all it was. Speculation.

And now Ed was speculating again. On the reason for even his 'star students' to be suddenly among the common rocks on the ground.

It didn't take long for the reason to reveal itself. During dinner, the Weasley twins approached his section of the High Table, each mirroring the other's actions. A symmetrical force of red-headed annoyance.

"So, Professor," George started, in a sing-song voice.

"Looking forward to Hogsmeade?" Fred finished.

"Nope," Ed just replied in the split second where his mouth was absent of food, not even bothering to find out what this hog-thingy was. "Why?" he asked in the next food-absent moment.

"Well, we noticed you've been anti-social lately-"

"More than usual, of course-"

"And we'd thought that a social gathering would be healthy for a growing boy such as yourself-"

"Now we know it may interfere with your teacherly duties and lessons-"

"But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, won't we?" George finished, and the both of them grinned.

Ed glanced between them, confused, some chicken meat left hanging off his fork. "What the hell are you talking about? And what's Hogsmeade?"

"A wonderful town filled with excitement and adventure," Fred offered, after a sharing a look with his twin. "Just follow the trail of students on Saturday, you can't miss it."

"Now, we shall take our leave," George mock bowed, and Fred followed, before Ed could ask anything more, "before everything…" he hesitated, brows slightly furrowed.

"Comes to a head!" Fred hastily answered, snapping his fingers in enlightenment.

"Right!" George grinned. "Cheerio!" the twins offered, before heading back to the Gryffindor table. Edward watched them with narrowed eyes as they rejoined Harry and the gang, hunched over in whispered conversations.

Ed considered their words, and their actions afterwards, carefully as he jogged back to his quarters.

It did not take Al long to notice that something happened. "Are you okay, Brother?" Ed quickly recounted the short exchange between him and the twins, and their 'scheming' discussion afterwards. "I think they're just looking out for you," Al offered his explanation. "You have been spending a lot of time with me, after all."

Ed absent-mindedly nodded. In their agreement to keep Al out of Umbridge's sight, he understood that he appeared distant and cold. But that can't just be it. "Maybe. But I think there's something else going on, Al. And if I'm the butt of that joke…" he threateningly cracked his knuckles, imagining the painful things he'd put them through.

"Brother…" Al said, feeling a sinister aura emanating from Ed.

"So, ready to take a little vacation, Al?"

The plan was relatively simple. Wait until most of the students had already left for Hogsmeade before heading down there themselves. And that is what they did.

"This is a bad idea…" Al murmured, shifting in the large brown cloak Ed had fashioned for him.

Ed peeked around the corner, ensuring there were no prying eyes in sight, before motioning for Al to follow. "You can't tell me that you want to be cooped up in a small room all day, do you?"

"No… But if I'm spotted, you'd be in a lot of trouble too, Brother!"

"Please. We've been through a lot worse than some angry stick waving wizards," Ed waved. "Besides, I'm not letting you out of my sight again." He peeked out the massive double doors, taking note of the trail of footsteps left on the snow covered ground leading down into town, and the tiny figures roaming around in the distance. "Seems clear. Let's go."

"Brother…" Al mumbled. Edward never failed to amaze Al at the risks the older Elric would take for him. Not wanting to squander his brother's kindness, Al tried to look as small as possible for someone his size, pulled the cloak further down his helmet and followed Edward into Hogsmeade.

The town was lively, with students running in and out of shops, grasping bags filled with goodies close to their chests, delicious candies filling their mouths, and boisterous laughter permeating the streets. In their rush to enjoy their time out of Hogwarts, the students barely gave Ed and his large compatriot any notice.

"They seem to be having fun," Al noted, a jealous tone in his voice.

"Ignorance is bliss," Ed muttered bitterly. A small part of him resented these people and their lack of problems. "Don't worry, Al. I'll get everything back to normal."

"Mmm." Al's hooded head shifted in a nod. He gave the students one last glance before returning to Ed's side. "Where are we going, Brother?"

"Dunno. I don't have a map."

Some time later, the duo found themselves outside a bar, off the main street of Hogsmeade, a sketch of a boar's head hanging just outside the door.

"This is probably it," Ed muttered, brushing snow off his cloak.

"Are you sure?" Al asked.

"Nope." Ed threw open the door to the pub, sending a waft of snow drifting in the door. The occupants, seated almost like they were attending a sermon, all turned to look at the newcomer, alarmed. They were all students from Hogwarts, from all the different houses, with the exception of Slytherin, an old barman behind the counter, and a few nondescript patrons. Harry, Ron and Hermione stood at the front, leading whatever discussion they were having before Ed interrupted. "'Sup."

"What's a teacher doing here?" one student hissed, still on high alert.

"Relax. We invited him," Ron said, trying to calm the mood of the room.

"You're late," Harry quipped.

"Yeah, well, we had some things to take care of," Ed said. He looked towards the door, then jerked his head in the opposite direction, motioning for Al to enter.

There was a collective gasp from the students as a massive, cloaked figure crouched to fit in the doorway, the sound of metal clanging with every step it took.

"What the hell is that?!" another cried out, chair scraping as he stood up. The collective looked to the trio for an explanation.

"Uh… Edward?" Hermione asked, her voice higher pitched than normal. "Y-You didn't tell us you were bringing a… friend..." The heads whirled back to Ed.

"Thought I'd keep it a surprise," he shrugged.

"How do we know you're not a spy for her?" a third one asked.

"He hates Umbridge as much as we do," Ron said matter-of-factly.

"I can do my own talking," Ed blurted. Ron shrugged. All eyes were on the professor once again. "What he said."

"What about him?" a girl pointed to the cloaked figure, stood in silence all this while.

"You think I'd bring someone I don't trust fully here?" Ed crossed his arms. Silence met his question. "Fine. People, this is Al. Al, this is people."

Another chorus of gasps echoed as Al pulled off the cloak that hid his armored body. "Hi," he waved.

"Wicked," the Weasley twins grinned, and a few other nodded in agreement.

Immediately, Ed and Al were assaulted with questions left and right, each voice trying to shout over the others. Ed groaned, rubbing his temples. "Shut up!" he yelled, and the students did so, staring wide eyed. "Isn't there something else more important to discuss?"

There was a silence, before Hermione responded. "O-Oh, right! Where were we… ah, right, about Harry giving us lessons on Defense Against the Dark arts, are we all agreed?"

Ed surveyed each student as a murmur of general agreements washed over them. Some looked displeased at the notion. "So you're unhappy with Umbridge's classes?" he asked abruptly.

"Duh!" a voice called. "There's nothing practical about her lessons; all we're doing is sitting around reading books!"

"It's not just about classes," Hermione piped up, "it's about defending ourselves from V-Voldemort's Death Eaters-"

"More important than even our O.W.L.s, I'd say!" a student interjected. When no one retorted, he continued. "Even if the Ministry are in denial about the return of You-Know-Who, to give us a teacher that is actively preventing us from using defensive spells is ridiculous! Especially with the attack on the Ministry itself!"

"Attack on the Ministry?" Harry said, shocked. He was not alone, as heated discussions started in small groups among the crowd. "What are you talking about?"

"The Ministry was attacked recently, and they still haven't caught the Death Eater that did it," Luna explained calmly in spite of the revelation. "Or so they say."

"The Death Eater-"

"You mean it was just one-"

"Is anyone that insane-"

"-taking on the entire Ministry-"

Ed and Al shared a look. Word had spread fast about Al's surprise visit to their headquarters, even though the truth hadn't been revealed. The government must be trying the best to keep this on the down-low. They obviously were not doing so well. "If it's self-defense you want to learn," Ed spoke, clearing his throat, "we'd be able to help."

"What can you do?" a boy asked skeptically. Ed noted that this one had been sitting there, unhappy, disapproving the entire conversation. He resisted the urge to leave a red mark on the boy's face.

"Al, whaddya say we give them a show?" Ed whispered to the armored figure, his back turned.

"Sure!" Al nodded enthusiastically.

Ed grinned. "Got a backyard, old man?" Ed asked the bartender. The latter squinted at him, brows wrinkled, before grunting, pointing to a door in the back. "Thanks." He and Al led the small group outside, and even the bartender stood in the doorway, cleaning a mug with a dirty old rag. They took their spots across each other, feet sinking into the inches of snow that had built up.

"We haven't done this in a while," Al remarked.

"Heh. Still not going to hold back," Ed smirked.

The onlookers watched with bated breath as the two alchemists stared each other down, waiting for the other to make a move.

Ed, as always, broke first. He clapped his hands together and planted them into the snow. The white sheet dissolved, icicles forming in front of the golden-haired alchemist and shot themselves at Al.

Al easily blocked the shards, shattering them against his forearm. "Hey, no fair!"

Ed used that moment of surprise to his advantage. He slipped to Al's side, swiping at Al's side with a wicked, curved dagger of solid ice. It left a shallow slice in the metal plate.

A quick twist from Al sent Ed sprawling away from his brother. The damage would have been worse had Ed not blocked with his automail arm, though the blow sent his dagger somewhere unknown. Hearing the telltale signs of transmutation, he rolled to his feet, palm on the snowy ground for balance.

He glanced up, then rolled once more. A massive hammer shaped from ice smashed into the ground where Ed was. The snow exploded around the impact point, forming a large cloud and obscuring his vision. He heard gasps, slightly muffled by the snow cloud. On instinct, Ed leaped up, tucking his legs close to his chest. The ice hammer swiped by below his legs, catching nothing but snow in its path.

Clapping his hands, Ed dashed out of the snow cloud. He leaped over the back-swing of Al's hammer, gripping the shaft as it passed. The ice split perfectly halfway down the makeshift weapon. Ed used the momentum of the hammer and, still gripping tightly, swung it against his brother.

Al shattered the hammer with a swift strike from his iron fist, and ducked a leaping kick from Edward. The latter went for a sweeping kick next, which the former easily dodged. Ed pivoted on his right leg, and swung out with his left. Al caught it, and slammed his opponent into the ground.

Ed turned onto his back and flipped to a standing position. He barely had time to dodge a straight. The attack quickly turned into a right hook, and easily clocked Ed across the face. He spiraled into the ground. "Shit…" he softly cursed. It had been too long since Ed engaged in some real combat. He was losing to Al worse then ever before, though he would never admit that to anyone.

Two large, cushioned hands gripped Ed's arms and slowly hoisted him up. Ed planted both boots into the snow, righting himself with the assistance of Al. "Thanks, Al," Ed said, tapping Al's armor.

"Are you alright, Brother?" Al asked, keeping his voice soft.

"Yeah." Ed spit snow from his mouth. "Just my pride," he said under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing." Ed brushed snow off his clothes. "Any questions?" he asked his private audience.

Even though their supposed professor lost, all of them held their tongue. After she was sure no one else was going to speak, Hermione became the voice for the group. "S-So we're agreed that Professor Edward would teach us self-defense too?" Everyone remained quiet, though whether they were amazed or otherwise Ed didn't care enough to guess.

"If there's nothing left out here, then let's get back inside. I hate the cold," Ed announced, moving towards the bar. He rubbed the flesh of his shoulder where the automail connected, trying to ease the dull pain now that the adrenaline was wearing off. The students all gave him a short look before following him and Al inside, though the Golden Trio's gaze lasted slightly longer, understanding in their eyes.

Ed and Al took a seat away from the student group, once they heard things about timing, Quidditch and other matters of the like. Ed hated administrative stuff. He went through the spar in his mind, berating himself for the simple mistakes that he made.

"What's on your mind, Brother?" Al asked in their native language.

"Hmm?" Ed was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not realize he was ignoring Al. Another thing he cursed himself for. "Just thinking about our fight."

"Yeah, I noticed it too…" Al said.

"Huh?" Ed's head snapped up. "W-What are you talking about?"

"I've been noticing it for a while," Al mused. "Don't you feel it, Brother? Like our alchemy is more powerful than usual?"

"Oh…" Ed breathed, relieved. He let a sound of contemplation loose. Now that he thought about it, his transmutations had been slightly more powerful than he had intended, though he mostly only attempted minor transmutations. During the fight, however, he noticed that the dagger he had forged did not shatter upon contact with Al, like he expected, and the ice shaft had not shattered when he separated it. "Yeah, you're right, Al…"

"Why do you think that is?" Al straightened in his seat. "Maybe it's the magic? Like its lingering effects are strengthening our alchemy?" The excitement was clear in his voice.

"Please, Al," Ed said dismissively. "Even if their magic, or whatever it is, lingered, our alchemy uses the energy from tectonic plates, remember?"

Al kept his excited energy. "Then maybe its this world! The plates may be generating more energy than ours," he offered.

Now Ed sat up. "It could be. It could be a million other factors too. We're in a completely different world, after all. Or-"

"-it could be our world," Al completed his thought.

Ed nodded, his previous frustrations all forgotten. Finally, the brothers together, excited at new knowledge once again. They started listing out the similarities and differences they knew about this world and theirs, trying to look for a connection that could explain this new revelation.

However, it wasn't long before they had to stop. Hermione had called his name twice before, and it was only on the third that Ed jerked his head up with an annoyed look.

"What?" he snapped.

Hermione flinched, but regained as much of her nervous composure as she could. "Um, professor? W-Would you mind signing this list? Just an agreement that we wont tell anyone." At his continued stare, she continued. "We've all already signed it…"

Ed glanced back at Al. A small nod came from the armor. The alchemist brothers stood up simultaneously, approaching the list on the table. Names were scrawled on it in different styles of handwriting, some stylized, others not. Ed picked up the quill, considered a moment, then scribbled: 'Fullmetal'.

Alphonse gingerly picked up the writing instrument, adjusting his grip more than once. He quickly settled on one, the knowledge that all eyes were on him, and peered at the parchment. He unsteadily wrote, just below where his brother did, the moniker his brother usually addressed him by: 'Al'.

"Took me a while, too," Ed grinned, whispering to Al as the armored being walked by.

"Think about those poor animals," Al said, shuddering.

And with that, people started filing out of the bar in small groups, until all that remained from the meeting were the alchemists, Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

Ed and Al started to move out once he determined that the three weren't moving off just yet, but was stopped by Hermione.

"Professor? Could we talk to you for a second? The both of you?" she added, glancing Al's way. She sounded better, more relaxed, more confident now that she was not talking to a large group.

Ed would usually sigh or give some other sign of displeasure at this moment. Instead, with one thoughtful look towards Al, he nodded. This would be Al's first time interacting with people around his age in this world. "Sure."

They occupied a table at a small corner of the establishment. The three wizards got another round of something called 'butterbeer'. It did not sound very appetizing to Ed, for multiple reasons, so he declined their offer to get him one. Al was, well, Al, so he declined too.

"So what did you wanna talk about?" Ed asked, slinging an arm behind his chair.

They took a swig of their freshly arrived beverages. "Well, it's about…" Ron started, glancing at Al. "Him."

Hermione gave Ron a sharp nudge just as Ed was about to open his mouth. "Ron!" she chided, "he's got a name, you know."

"It's about Al," Harry quickly cut in before Ron could retort. "Is he," the boy paused, looked around, then leaned in, "your brother?"

Al gasped softly. "You told them?" he asked in Amestrian, his voice a mixture of shock and panic.

"Before you got here, yeah. They're good, Al," Ed reassured, "Also, us speaking Amestrian is giving it away."

"Oh." The two of them returned their gazes to the trio, who were giving them, and each other, grins that held different meanings.

"I knew it!" Ron congratulated himself.

"It wasn't that hard, Ron. An 'old friend' of Edward's who uses alchemy and has a name that could be a shortened version of 'Alphonse'?" Hermione explained.

"Oh," Al murmured once again.

"Are you actually fourteen?" Ron asked.

"Mmhmm."

"With the way you grow, you could be part Weasley," Harry joked. This earned him a sharp look from Ron, but he said nothing otherwise. "You sure you're his brother, Ed? Maybe you need to drink some milk."

"WHO'S SO TINY HE COULD WALK WITH THEIR HEAD UP HIGH AND PASS THROUGH THE UNDERSIDE OF A DOOR THAT THEY HAVE TO DRINK MILK TO GET TALLER?!"

Al had gotten out of his seat, pinning both of Ed's arms to the chair's backrest, leaving the alchemist kicking wildly in his chair. "Brother," Al warned, glancing around at the staring eyes in the room, "people are watching."

Once Ed had settled down, Al loosened his grip. Ed snatched his arms away, straightening his coat. "He started it," the elder brother grumbled, to the stifled laughter of the three students.

"There's the old Ed," Ron commented, still chuckling, taking another swig of drink.

"'Old Ed?'" Al wondered aloud.

"Ed's been in kind of a slump," Hermione commented. "I think this is the only time I- we've seen him actually happy."

"Really?" Al looked at his brother.

Maybe a beer wouldn't be so bad… "Whatever," he said. Ed slumped in his chair, scowling. That earned a round of chuckles from the wizards and witch, and a pat on the head from Al. Ed turned his glare, previously directed at the table, to Al.

"Sorry, Brother. Couldn't resist."

"So, Al, you got here same way as Edward did?" Hermione asked.

"Strange. Mom never mentioned anything about someone else making a mess at Headquarters," Ron whispered the last part.

Ed and Al shared a long look.

As if reading actions and expressions, Hermione spoke. "Don't worry, the parchment we signed has a jinx on it that will go off if anyone who signed their name tells anyone else about this."

"Jinx?" Ron asked, both surprised and alarmed. "What'll happen?"

"Well, let's just say it'll make Eloise Midgen's acne look like a couple of cute freckles," Hermione explained. The two boys frown at their private mental image, one that Ed and Al did not share.

"Well," Ed continued, after a small break, "Al did drop in at Headquarters, just not the one you're thinking of." They all gave him a confused look. "Tell them, Al."

"Huh?" Al looked between his brother and the waiting audience, unprepared for the sudden thrust into the storyteller position. "But you're much better at it…" Al protested weakly.

"It's your story," Ed leaned back, grinning at how uncomfortable this was making Al. "Payback."

Al gave as nasty of a look as he could with his unmoving, steely face, before turning back to the group. "Well, I arrived at the Ministry of Magic-"

"The Ministry?!" Harry, Ron and Hermione all gasped, much too loud given the sensitive context of their conversation. They immediately glanced around, giving various apologies to the startled onlookers of the bar, before quickly turning back to their armored storyteller.

"You mean you're the Death Eater the Ministry's looking for?" Harry asked, disbelief still on his face. The other two had their mouths agape, viewing Al in a new light.

"No!" Al denied. "Well, not really. I'm not a Death Eater. I think."

"But you did attack the Ministry?" Ron asked.

"No," Al denied again, though weakly this time. "I mean, they attacked me first. I was just trying to look for a way out."

"But you escaped after causing that much mayhem?" Hermione asked this time.

"Yeah," Al confirmed. "With a little help from Miss Tonks and Mister Moody," he added.

"I could do all that and more," Ed bragged, and was promptly ignored.

"So what actually happened?" Harry asked, frustrated with all the non-answers and half-truths. "All we know is from the Ministry's perspective, and we know how trustworthy that is." His voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Well, it all happened when Ed went missing from our world…" Al started, thinking it would be best for them to know his story from the start.

Even though Al had told this story to him before, Ed enjoyed Al's tale as much this time as he did the first, if not even more. Al left out some details, mostly about the alchemy behind his escape attempt, but Ed was quick to remedy that, throwing in the minute details, if only to watch Al squirm in the way a large suit of armor can.

Harry, Ron and Hermione listened with every ounce of attention they never paid in class, their gazes affixed on whoever was talking at the time. Amazement graced their faces when Ed told them the feats Al performed to escape the clutches of the Ministry.

He and Al left out the details the trio absolutely did not need to know, like their past, and the truth behind Al in the armor. When Al's tale finished, the trio were left in shock and awe.

"No way…" Harry breathed.

"Alchemy is…" Hermione continued.

"Bloody awesome!" Ron finished.

"Are you going to be teaching us as well?" Hermione asked.

"Oh! I never thought of that," Al exclaimed. "Could I, brother?" he asked, looking excitedly at Edward.

"I dunno…" Ed muttered. "It's going to be trouble when a new teacher shows up unannounced. Plus Umbridge's gonna know what's up right away."

"Aww…" Al said, downcast. The rest had a similar expression.

"But," Ed added, "maybe we can work something out…"

"Really?" Al perked up.

"But it won't be for a while. Not at your slow pace of learning."

"Right!" Hermione nodded, her face full of determination. No doubt she'll try three times as hard now, at least.

Harry looked out the window. "Well then," he said, finishing his drink, "it's probably time to get going."

"Right," Ron said, following suit with his drink, "see you around, Ed, Al."

"Yup! See you in class!" Hermione waved. Ed and Al returned all their goodbyes. The three of them exited the Hog's Head.

"They seem like nice people," Al said.

"Yeah. Thought that myself," Ed admitted. "But not everyone's like that."

"I saw that," Al said, remembering the few unhappy faces among the crowd of students.

"It's okay, you won't be coming in contact with those kinds of people anyway. Not much, at least," Ed reassured. He stood, making for the door. "Come on, we'd better get back too."

"Right."

"Better put this back on," Ed told Al, throwing him the large brown cloak. "Wouldn't want the toad to see you."

"Toad? They have a magic toad keeping watch?" Al asked.

Ed laughed. "If only. Tell you on the way."

Afterword: See you next time!