I am so sorry! I don't know what the heck to say, other than sorry!

I DO NOT OWN FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST,FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST BROTHERHOOD, OR ANY PART OF THE HARRY POTTER SERIES!

Chapter 15- An Old Friend

They sky was clear, and cloudless. There was a light breeze, and the sun had only risen recently. The light hit Ed's face, and reflected off of his metal arm, which was slightly exposed. He breathed in the fresh air, staring at the horizon, deep in thought. I never really thought about it, Al. You're so far away, and something happened, I wouldn't know until I was told.

He was worried sick. Ever since he found out that his younger brother had captured and homunculi, while using himself as bait, he had been worried. He didn't like the fact that Dumbledore had been told of this, and not Ed, his older brother.

All is one, One is all. If one dies, all will continue on, as if nothing happened. One becomes part of all, and goes through the cycle again. The moment when he had realized this simple reality, while on the verge of death, and filled with hopelessness, it seemed so majestically fitting for the whole world. It became the rule he abided by for the rest of his life, everything was to be put in perfect balance. Then he was sent here, to this place that went against all laws of nature, logic, and of course, equivalence. Every time he tried to understand it, or try to apply equivalence, it just tossed him backward, and he once again was back at square one. It was the awful feeling of going around in pointless circles.

The water was eerily still, to a point it seemed almost unreal. Even the ripples from awakening creatures were no longer seen, or was that just him?

If only that stillness could be found at home.

No, there was no stillness at home. There was war, corruption, and death. There was sadness, hardship, and hate. But there was also happiness, and hope. It was hard to find, but it was there. People smiled, had fun, and lived their normal lives to their best ability, it was a wonderful, if not dim, light to the slowly closing darkness and foreboding sure to come.

The high pitched giggles could be heard from nearby, and on instinct, Ed covered his prosthetic arm. He stood up, and stretched, before making the short trip back to the monstrous castle. Laughs and muttered conversation became more apparent, as the morning wore on and people began to groggily trickle out of their dorms. Ed decided to simply head for the Great Hall, as there was no point in going back to the common rooms.

When he dropped into his normally taken seat, he was surprised to see that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were soon to follow. Usually they weren't this early. In fact, they were more commonly part of the swarm of students who could just barely wake up in time to have a decent breakfast, before they began to worry about classes. Ed groaned in annoyance at the thought that a week had already gone by, and he had a detention to go to after classes. He had hoped to simply skip it for the library, but he knew that Professor McGonagle ("grubby old cat lady…") would have his head. He gave a loud sigh, as the trio approached him, talking in hushed voices.

"No! You ask him!" Hermione said.

"Why me?" Ron asked, voice cracking. Ed vaguely wondered what on earth they were talking about, when Harry pushed Ron foreword towards Ed.

"Oh, 'ello Ed" Ron said, voice weak and unsure. He looked to be practically cowering in fear. What the hell happened to him?

Ed raised a golden eyebrow at him, asking cautiously "What's wrong with you?" do I even want to know?

"Well, erm… there's this huge man. He said something about you; we think he wants to see you. He was speaking gibberish, though."

Ed wondered at that. As far as he knew, there wasn't anyone here in England like that, was there? Perhaps he was from Amestris? A military officer? No, colonel bastard would have at least told me if he was sending someone in for backup…

"Y-you should probably head out and see him, classes will be starting soon" Hermione said carefully. Sheesh, their all spooked. If anything, Ed was worried. What is this is one of my enemies? What if it's the person in my head? No, he wouldn't just walk up to me like that would he?

"Ed? Is there something you're not telling us?" Hermione asked nervously. Right on the nose…damn it.

"Nah, just thinking. I'll go see who this guy is then" Ed replied hastily, getting up from his seat, and grabbing the half eaten bread on his plate. Harry looked at him oddly, but strangely enough, said nothing.

As Ed made his way to the entrance hall, he couldn't help himself from wondering about how the three were acting. They all seemed to be scared of him, and anxious. Ed didn't think he did anything wrong, but then again, perhaps that was just them. He mentally shrugged to himself. Not that it particularly matters, but really, did this guy scare them that badly?

When Ed reached the entrance hall, he didn't see anybody significant. He realized that he had never asked where they had found this man. He mentally berated himself harshly, before running through a list of possible locations. He finally decided to check the gates, provided he could even get there without being found by the cat loving man. He had around an hour before classes started, not that he was in danger of getting in trouble from an apparition that gave history lessons. Ed was quite sure the thing didn't even know his name.

He reached the gates, before freezing in absolute horror. It was a person he did not expect to see, neither was it one he was entirely fond of seeing.

Damn you, Mustang.

Armstrong. Alex Louis Armstrong, AKA the "Strong Arm Alchemist." He is a member of the military, and a hulking man, with highly exaggerated muscles and build. Thankfully, not many people came by the gates, but it was a huge problem nonetheless. Ed was tempted to simply turn around and leave before he was notice, but of course he wasn't so fortunate. I can blend in with these black robes!

"Edward Elric!" Came a loud, booming voice from behind him in Amestrian. oh crap… I'm too late.

Ed did the reasonable thing and did not turn around. He did not want to be suffocated, and he didn't want to explain anything.

He ran.

Unfortuantly, he forgot that Armstrong was supposed to be a "perfect specimen" with a "perfect physique", in other words, he could easily catch up to a teenager in a dress like school uniform.

"My, my, Edward Elric, you seem to be out of practice" He said, grabbing Ed by the collar. "It's not my damn fault! It's the stupid uniform" Ed scoffed. "Besides, what the hell are you doing here?"

To this, Armstrong simply put him down, allowing Ed to turn to him.

"I was ordered her by Colonel Roy Mustang" He said, as if Ed was supposed to know this. As a matter of fact, Ed was quite sure that if the Major was here, then he should know about it. But why didn't he? Surely the colonel wasn't one to screw up on the job.

"He didn't tell me anything about it, and how did you know to come here anyway? How did you even get here? What about the wards?" Ed fired his questions one after another, but he was surprised when Armstrong leaned down, to look him in the eye.

"The colonel is a good man. He was worried that you had broken contact with him, and sent me for back-up." Ed was surprised by the solemn tone in which Armstrong said these words. He was far more accustomed to the extravagant, egotistical, and proud man who would be overdramatic, and scared many people. He remembered all the times Armstrong had saved him, no matter how absolutely odd the experiences were, and how he had always cared, in his own ways. Ed shook his head.

"Whatever. Where are you gonna stay anyway?"

"I was given a room in a town close by, called Hogs Meak!" Armstrong said proudly, standing up back at his full height. Ed groaned.

"Hogmead, you mean?"

"Is that what it is called? What an odd name…" Armstrong looked almost disappointed to hear the real name of him new living quarters.

"Not like your name was any better," Ed scoffed. "Look we have a lot to talk about, and I have a lot of questions, but for now I need to go before the cat lovers find me. I'll come by later" He said, before turning and waving a hand behind him.

He reached the great hall, and was immediately greeted by Ron, Hermione, and Harry. "Who was it? What did they want?" Hermione questioned frantically.

"It was nothing!" Ed said, before noticing his use of the wrong language. "I mean, it's nothing important"

"Hey, mate, you can tell us if something's going on, you know…" Ron said uncertainly. Ed shrugged. "Someone from work. That's all. There's nothing wrong"

"Work? You mean a soldier?!" Ron said, resulting in the turning of many heads towards them. Ed glared at them, and Ron covered his mouth quickly. "But, why is someone from your work here?" Hermione asked. Harry remained silent, which began to bother Ed. Usually, he would have said something by now, especially if it was such an odd situation. All of Ed's senses were on alert, when they most likely shouldn't have been.

What is this? Suspecting your friends, are you?

The one voice that never ceased to send chills down Ed's spine, that made every fiber of his being scream in irritation and confusion.

Wha- no! Stop jumping to conclusions, who are you anyway?

What, you didn't figure it out yet? I've said it before, but for a prodigy, you're rather hopeless aren't you?

How the hell am I supposed to know who you are?!

Figure it out. The voice said laughing. "Well screw you too." Ed muttered under his breath. "Er, Ed? Are you alright?" Hermione asked carefully.

"Fine, just a bit tired"

"But, do you know why that man is here? Where is he staying? How did he get here?" Hermione continued to fire questions at him like missiles. "Why didn't you tell us about it? IS he a muggle?"

"Geez, Hermione! I can't even think with all those questions." Ed said, clearly annoyed.

"Colonel? Was it really alright to send Major Armstrong over there? He's not exactly stealthy." Al asked, clearly worried. He was pacing, and Roy knew that if he had a face, he would have an intense frown.

"He'll be fine. Probably" Mustang said, waving off Al's worries with ease.

"But colonel! What if brother only gets more stressed?"

Roy looked up from his paperwork, face unnaturally serious. "This will be good for him. He needs someone like Armstrong to ease his stress, especially right now. Despite his looks, the major is extremely capable."

Al could only stare at The Flame Alchemist, awed by the thought put into the choice of his brother's helper. The usually boisterous, arrogant man, he knew so well, and that his brother often criticized, seemed to be showing another side to him. He was finally showing the side that Al had frantically tried to convince his bother existed, even if he wasn't here to see the proof. He felt reassured, worries fading away, and the shadow of what felt should have been a smile crawl onto his nonexistent face.

Soon I'll be able to smile for real.

Ed groaned in absolute annoyance as he was dragged out of the Gryffindor common room by Hermione. "You can't just skip this! She's with the ministry, and she's a teacher!"

"So what? I have more important things to deal with!"

"You can deal with them later! Now, hurry up and let's go!" and with that, she dragged him away. Harry had already left, though he hadn't said a word. Ed was beginning to seriously worry about him, he hadn't spoken a word to Ed all day. At first he had assumed he was simply shocked, but now the whole day had gone by without a word. What caused this?

When they finally reached Umbridge's office, Hermione glared at him, before leaving. "Just take the punishment, Ed. Better than getting farther on her nerves, especially in your case."

Ed groaned, turning to the door. No choice, huh?

He knocked on the door, and immediately heard a sickly sweet, "Come in" He gulped, before entering the room

He was immediately greeted by perfume, and the color pink. Pictures of cats covered the walls, and the room reeked of strong perfume that wasn't unlike the smell of an artificially scented flower (only about 10 times worse).

"Ah, how nice of you to join us, Mr. Elric" Said the pink toad herself, from her spot in the chair.

He immediately saw Harry, who was holding a quill in one hand, and was clearly very pale. Ed wondered what exactly he was in store for, before he was ushered into a seat facing the opposite direction. "You are going to be writing lines."

When told this, Ed immediately dug for a pen, before he was stopped by a vice-like grip. "No, no. You will use a very special quill I have prepared for you. Understand?" She said, tone separated and slow moving. Ed groaned, as she handed him a quill. He noticed that he hadn't been ink, and that Harry didn't seem to have ink either.

"You will be writing the phrase I must not speak out against authority, Write it as many times as it takes to sink in" She emphasized the last two words, making Ed get a shiver down his spine.

"Don't I need ink?"

"Oh no, that won't be necessary." She replied quickly, smile seeming to widen. The look was one that was able to thoroughly creep him out. Ed shrugged, wanting to finish quickly. He put the odd object to the parchment, and braced himself for what would surely be a few long hours of writing. He began to write, only to hear a high pitched scratching sound, and see shreds of steel on the paper. Ed paled.

Oh no…

"What on earth was that?" Umbridge gave a small shriek, before rushing towards him, and grabbing his hand. Before Ed could protest, she roughly pushed back his sleeve, revealing the metallic arm. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, before asking "Can you write with your other hand?"

"Yes" came Ed's immediate reply.

"Then do so." She demanded sternly, before heading back to her desk. Ed rolled his eyes, before moving the quill to his right arm. Harry was looking at him oddly, and Ed shrugged, before starting to write.

I must not speak out against authority.

How ironic, that was the only thing Ed could think as he slowly formed the words.

That was before the pain came. He couldn't hold back a hiss, as a white hot pain enveloped his hand, spreading throughout his body. He saw the red liquid pouring from the quill; he saw a red stain spread on his white glove. Ed took off the glove hastily, staring at the letters engraved into his own skin, with his own handwriting.

"Is something wrong, Mr Elric?"

Ed shook his head. He refused to give the old hag satisfaction. He continued to write, entertaining his scientific mind with ideas of how the pen worked. It intrigued him, and was a great help in blocking out the severe pain he felt coursing through his veins.

Hours passed by, and it was only after the cuts had become noticeable letters, that the two were set free from their prison. Ed stretched, wobbling on his feet down the hall. His sight was slowly fading, and he could vaguely hear someone's voice.

"Ed?"

He couldn't tell anymore. Was it an enemy of an ally? Was it the boy walking beside him? Was it one of the portraits? Was it perhaps, the voice that had haunted him for so long? Ed had lost track of everything, his vision had grown blurry, and begun to darken.

"Ed!"

There it was again. The indiscernible voice. Though, it began to become clearer this time. Or perhaps, it was merely shaping itself to the voice he wished?

"Ed! Answer me! Please!"

"…Al?"

And all faded to black.

"Oh! Ed, are you alright?"

Someone is speaking again. Who is it? The voice is most certainly feminine, was it Hermione?

As Ed's vision began to clear, he saw a mess of bushy blonde hair. "Ed! You passed out!"

"What?"

He was still groggy. He had no idea what had happened. He only remembered walking out of the classroom, and hearing Al calling him.

"Al?"

He turned, and was faced with a large, pale face, and a pink sparkle, before the grogginess was knocked out of him.

"GAH!" Ed screamed loudly, shooting up from his seat.

I'm sorry, if you can't tell, I strongly support the father/son relationship between Roy and Ed.

Unfortunately, I can no longer promise regular updates, due to personal matters. But as I have stated, this is a story I WILL finish.

Thank you for reading

~SevenBlazingSkies