Soul Alchemy

By: Misuto

Crossovers: Harry Potter, AU FMA (first series)

Disclaimers: Based on the works by Arakawa and J.

Length: Oneshot

A/N: This is just an idea I had rattling around in my brain and I just had to write it out. It's not a full story since it doesn't really have a beginning but hat part's boring anyway.

Hermione flung her arm out protectively over Luna as the two girls crouched, wandless and completely open, in front of their attacker.

"Please snap out of it Ed-"

The blond laughed at her. It was not his laugh, though. The blank look in his eyes was a sure sign that the Imperius curse was still at work, though she thought she'd try anyway, as there was nothing left to do. "Come on, you know you wouldn't do this."

But Ed was not in control. He raised the wand in his left hand and pointed it blankly at Hermione's face. She squeezed her eyes shut.

At the very same moment, Alphonse and Harry rounded the top of the hill, breathless. Well, Harry was breathless, which only served testimony to how much the younger Elric was in shape despite his illness. Harry slapped himself for not being able to keep up with a sick teenager that was younger than him.

Alphonse stopped in his tracks, confused by the scene he saw in front of him. "Ed?" he said, more to himself than anyone. Harry saw those blank eyes and recognized the curse at once. "That's not him, he's been Imperiused," he wheezed out. But they were still too far away to do anything about it.

A frown darkened Al's face as his green eyes focused on Ed. "Over my dead body," he ground out venomously. Without any warning, the young alchemist slapped his hands with a resounding clap and took a stance forward, with his hands outstretched in front of him. Harry braced himself for the attack, after the frightening display Edward put on earlier. Seconds passed. Nothing happened. Harry frowned at the blond boy who stood motionless in that strange stance.

Yells were heard further down the valley and Harry's attention diverted to the fight that was ongoing. Death Eaters clashed against members of the resistance. He hoped that one of the fallen black cloaked figures had been the one controlling that curse.

Harry was wrong, of course. It wasn't just any controlling the prodigy. Oh no, many had tried, but to control a mind with the Imperius curse, one's will had to be stronger than that of the one being controlled. After no less than eight failed attempts by the death eaters, it was Voldermort himself who had won the battle of wills over Edward Elric. The truth was that although Edward was smart, he tended to lose control easily, giving in to anger. The angrier he got, the more sloppy he got. Once the Dark Lord found which buttons to push, Edward let himself slip just enough to be cursed.

And so it was from the safety of the forest that Lord Voldermort controlled the powerful alchemist. This had been a great turning point in the battle but Voldermort soon discovered that there was more to alchemy than just controlling the alchemist's body. And though he had lost command of his body, Edward's mind continued to harass the intruder.

-You call that alchemy? It's pathetic! Give it up already, you piece of shit-

-Shut up boy, you're in no position to argue-

And so failing to use alchemy the way he had wanted to, the dark lord had resorted to using magic. Edward was still, after all, a powerful wizard and already on the other side of enemy lines. He was about the finish off the mudblood girl. He raised the left arm, the only one left. But that's as far as he got. The body simply wouldn't respond. He growled in frustration. The boy was regaining control. He dug deeper into the alchemist's mind.

-If you interfere again -

He reeled at what he found. Not one mind defying him, but two. He lashed out at the new intrusion, but the defense was unpredictably strong. He stumbled back as his blow was blocked.

Up on the hill, Alphonse gave an evil smirk. "You fucking bastard," he almost purred. Harry stared at him. He could not believe those words came out the younger Elric's mouth. Harry had no idea what was going on. He did notice that Edward's wand had frozen in place at the beginning of a downward arc that would have no doubt sent a fatal curse towards his friends.

The hand did not move. And Alphonse continued to stand in that stance though his eyes had zeroed in on the back Edward's head with such focused ferocity that Harry wondered if Alphonse was trying to use telekinesis.

"Al -"

-who the hell are you- snarled Voldermort as he blocked another savage blow to his mind. He would not back down. -How did you get in?-

-What?- replied the taunting voice. It did not belong to the owner of the body. -You didn't think someone would have a key to the back door now did you?- Another fierce strike. -You picked the wrong pair to mess with- growled the voice. Another blow and another.

The Dark wizard was blocking the attacks but with every one, he was pushed further and further out of the controlled mind.

-LET MY BROTHER GO- and with one final and vicious lash he was flung away from the controlled mind. The invisible line which connected the curse wielder to the Imperiused snapped violently and Voldermort was jolted physically by the rebound. Several of the Death Eaters stared.

"Let my brother go!" spat Alphonse making Harry take a few steps back. It was a good thing too, because without warning, the alchmist's hands came together again. The sound echoed through the valley. Al's arms whipped out and down so that they pointed to the ground. Above his head a circle of intricate lines and designs appeared and glowed with a deep crimson. Red lightning crackled down from the array and danced around the boy's body but he showed no signs of noticing. His gaze was entirely fixed on the other alchemist and Harry was convinced that those eyes were seeing something he could not. It was the eyes that freaked him out the most.

Instead of their usual green, they had turned crimson to match the array above their heads. He could have sworn they glowed from an internal source.

Down the slope, Hermione and Luna had a similar fright. She held her eyes shut waiting for the blow but it never came. Ed just stood there. As blank as ever with his wand raised, ready to strike. And he just stood there.

It almost looked as if he was fighting with himself. -he's fighting back- she thought desperately. She was suddenly filled with hope. This was not completely accurate, but it would work out in their favor all the same. And just as suddenly, red lightning crackled over his body. The glazed whiteness his eyes had gained under the Imperius curse disappeared and was replaced with an even more frightening crimson. And just like the circle that had appeared at the top of the hill, a similar circle spread over the ground under Edward's feet.

They weren't exactly the same, if one took the time to look properly, but this circle was just as intricate as the other one. And instead of crimson, it pulsed with a light of pure electric blue.

The girls screamed and scudded backwards over the rough earth.

Somewhere down the valley, coming from the forest, a furious yell broke through the shouts and bangs of the battle. The Death Eaters cringed. Their master was very, very angry.

-Al?-

-I'm disappointed in you, Brother. How could you let him take you over like that?-

Inside the landscape of Edward's mind, the two brothers faced each other. Edward smirked –Bastard. Lucky for me you had the spare key-

-Lucky for you I can split my soul- snapped the exasperated younger Elric. And yet, Alphonse's smirk matched Edward's –Bet he didn't see THAT one coming-

"What the hell are you doing?" shouted Harry as he blocked another curse sent his way. Or rather, sent Alphonse's way. Harry was pretty sure the Death Eaters had no idea he was up here too. They were completely focused on the young Alchemist, who, by the way, was doing nothing to defend himself. The wizard briefly wondered if the alchemic circle, no, transmutation circle, he corrected himself, would protect the boy from magic. He was not exactly willing to find out, he decided as he threw up a protective barrier against what he suspected would have been a nasty curse. "Oh, no, don't worry about it or anything, I'll cover you," he mumbled as he blew a Death Eater off her feet.

Alphonse was unresponsive. He just stood there, the crimson circle like an evil halo above his head.

"Hermione!"

Red hair and lots of freckles. Hermione was lifted to her feet and given a quick hug before being shoved behind the broad shoulders of Ron Weasley. The wizard had his wand raised against the glowing Alchemist. More red hair as Ginny, Charlie and George shielded the two defenseless girls like their own personal Weasley barrier.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" shouted Ginny. She had to shout. The rush of wind generated by the transmutation circle and the crackle of the blue lightening around Edward was almost deafening this close to it.

"I think he fought off Vol-, the Dark Lord," answered Hermione through a mouthful of windblown bushy hair. "Something must be wrong. Maybe he's lost it!"

"Their souls are connecting."

Ron and Hermione stared at Luna. It was a common reaction. But the blonde simply shrugged and pointed. "Can't you see it?" Her blue eyes stared at the alchemist and she traced a line only she seemed to be able to see to the top of the hill behind them where a second circle, a deep red one, hovered seven feet off the ground. And below that circle stood the second Alchemist.

-Use my body- said Al with calm conviction. There was an overwhelming sense of comfort in his voice, his eyes and his very soul. A quality that made everything seem like it's going to be okay. A quality, Edward was jealous to note, that Alphonse had inherited from their mother.

-I can't do that, you're still sick! This could kill—

-We don't have time to argue Brother! I may be weaker but at least I'm still whole. How do you expect to do alchemy with only one arm?-

This was true. But they'd never tried this before. Alphonse had mastered the control on objects and animals. Control over people had proven to be riskier and his last attempt had been disastrous. But Edward was different. Their minds and their souls were already connected, which made merging them easier and, hopefully, reversible.

-Brother, if we don't do this, all these people are going to die-

And Edward was not about to let that happen.

-Let's do this-

The matching grin they wore was an Elric trademark. Those who knew the brothers knew they were about to do something both amazing and very very stupid.

Something was happening. Ginny felt it before she saw anything change. The air charged like an electric storm. The wind and lightning halted suddenly into a deathly silence as everything seemed suspended in time. Then with a deafening snap, blue lightening arced from the bottom of the hill to the top, from the blue array to the red one. The circle under Edward's feet vanished and Charlie rushed forward as the young man collapsed into an unmoving heap. "He's still breathing," he said into the sudden silence.

At the top of the hill, Harry was thrown off his feet by a sudden surge in the electric storm that was Alphonse Elric. While Harry was down, several curses flew over his head making contact with the circle and disintegrating into colourful sparks that were immediately absorbed into the current. Guess I was right about it defending the alchemist he thought. It was then that noticed the other array. The blue circle that had appeared at the bottom of the hill around Edward was now at the top of the hill, directly beneath the red one. They were spinning, aligning and then without warning, they slammed together in a blinding, deafening surge of alchemical energy.

Harry dug his fingers into the grass and held on against the wind generated by the reaction.

"AL!" he shouted. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

There was a new circle where the blue and red had met. It was larger and infinitely more complex. It glowed with a malevolent purple hue, like a nasty bruise. The lightening that arced from its center was black. Harry did not know much about alchemy but he remembered what the rebound had looked like, that night by the lake. This was not good.

-Focus Brother. Focus on the sound of my voice.-

Edward was screaming. It felt like he was being ripped apart. He knew he had to be somewhere, but he was quickly forgetting so much. The battle. The wizards. Where he was- who he was. His name. It felt like every thought that came to his mind was ripped away as he thought it.

But there was a voice. It sounded so familiar. And so close, if only he could reach out and catch a hold of it. But it hurt so much, it would be easier to let himself be swept away in the current.

-You can do this Brother. Don't give up!-

No! He won't give up. With a tremendous effort, he pulled himself against the current. He didn't know who that voice belonged to but he would find it. It radiated an overwhelming sense of comfort. A quality that made everything seem like it's going to be okay.

A quality he got from Mom the thought came unbidden to his mind as he started to remember. A boy came into sight, his hand outstretched, reaching for him. Another memory came with it. The same thing but their positions reversed. He was reaching out to the other boy, their hands missing each other within inches. A moment that changed their lives. He won't miss this time.

Through pure power of will, Edward lunged the final few inches and took a firm hold of his brother`s hand. The connection was made and finalized and everything came into sharp focus. A sharper focus even, than was normal for him, and that was saying something.

Alphonse`s world slammed back into a working order. He knew that his brother was incredibly smart. A genius, they called him. And though he could keep up with his brother, he always knew that he could never really compete with Ed.

To know this was one thing. But to have that same incredible mind blended with his own was eye opening. Alphonse could never have really known the level at which his brother's mind worked. It was very odd, to have someone else's mind blended with his but the added focus he got from his brother allowed him to work through it. Despite all this, he felt incredibly vulnerable. This incredible power he now wielded, that was his and Edward's alchemy combined, was both amazing and frightening. He felt like he held onto it by a very thin thread.

-But I won`t let go, I promise-

Harry watched helpless as the purple circle grew darker with streaks of crimson. This was not good. The lines of the array blurred and moved in a disjointed manner. But there, he swore he saw a flash of gold. More and more of the lines were lighting up, becoming stronger, more solid as they turned from sickly purple to a pure gold until the entire circle stabilized.

With a final whoosh of alchemical energy, the circle exploded outwards, passing through the boy who lived as it dissipated and filling him with warmth he could not describe. His eyes still adjusting to the darkness after that display of blinding light, Harry looked at his companion. He was staring at his opened palms like he`d never seen such a sight before. When the boy caught movement, he looked straight at Harry and they stared at one another. Alphonse`s eyes were gold.

Charlie knew that alchemy was powerful but as he stood at the top of the hill watching the flashes of light down on the battlefield, he felt the very air hum with electric currents and saw for the first time just how powerful it could be in the hands of someone who knew how to wield it. He was very glad that Alphonse Elric was on their side.

"It's not him," Harry had told them when they reached him. The other teen had already gone, leaving a path of destruction in his wake. "His eyes are different. Something's happened-"

"They've connected," agreed Luna. "I don't know how, but it seems as if...-" she looked down at the unconscious form of Edward Elric, "-they've merged somehow."

"Blimey! This is some serious magic!"

"Can they un-merge?" asked Hermione, alarmed.

Luna just shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know any more about it than you do," she stated.

The group of wizards felt as if they could do nothing but stand at the crest of the hill and watch the destruction from afar. They watched as the teen alchemist unleashed one attack after another, hitting enemies and allies alike until the allies backed off. The battle was over within minutes of him joining the fray. Death Eaters were either dead, unconscious or disaperating in retreat. Lord Voldermort was long gone.

Years later, the history books would call this clash a major turning point in the war, though the truth behind the success would never really be understood. Only a few of the people who were there that day knew who had won them that battle.

The Elric brothers, despite successfully separated, would spend months at St-Mungo's. Alphonse needed the time to mend his body, Edward; his mind. They were not there at the last battle, the Battle of Hogwarts. But Harry knew they would have been, if they could.

The wizarding world praised Harry for winning the war. A praise he did not feel as if he deserved. After all, he certainly hadn't done it alone.

A/N: A lot of people have asked me to continue this or make it into a full story. Unfortunately, I have no intentions to do so. I have neither the time nor the creativity to write a good story out of this.

However, if anyone reading this is inspired to build a Harry Potter/FMA fic around this scenario, I'd be very happy indeed!

Consider this idea up for adoption! But message me if you do want to use it. :)