A snowball was clutched in the metal fingers and carried through Hogwarts' halls. Edward had just come in from his lone training session in the snow. As much as he was at a school filled with students and his unit, he was lonely. He never felt right without his brother at his side. It was as if his goal was slipping from his fingers.

Alone or not, he still was trying to keep his spirits high, and covering Mustang in frozen water sounded like the perfect plan. And it appeared that automail had its benefits. The ability to keep the snow cold and from melting was welcome, though sometimes it froze his shoulder and leg. It was one of the reasons he preferred the desert, there were less complications with his automail. That and at home other's had automail. It wasn't such a big deal. In England he couldn't go a day without someone asking about it or staring.

Opening the door to the Alchemy classroom, he found himself confronted by the thunk of metal hitting the stone floor. Eyes narrowed in confusion, the teen pushed the door open even further. There, standing in front of the Colonel.

The snowball tumbled from his cold metal fingers, smashing on the stone floor and scattering across the floor. Little water drops formed on the ground as the snow started melting. His plan for fun was long forgotten as he stared at the figure in front of him.

Alphonse was pacing back and forth in front of Mustang, clearly nervous for when his brother arrived. As expressionless as a suit of armor was, years had taught Edward how to read his brother. The slow then swift movements of his brother, the invisible aura that radiated around the younger Elric, and the shade of red Alphonse's eyes glowed.

"Big brother," Al started cautiously. He could tell his brother was close to having a not so pleasant reaction to his presence. When the alchemist made no move to speak, Al continued, "The Fuhrer sent me back with the required information, and orders to remain here until you return."

Surprising everyone, Edward silently held his hand out for the requested information. The packet was handed over in stunned silence and Edward quickly scanned it. A small twitch formed on his eyebrow and once again everyone waited for the explosion. Instead the teen handed the information back and turned.

"When you complete the change see me right away, I need to take care of something," the young alchemist called over his shoulder as he moved out of the room. The Gryffindors were at quidditch practice at the moment. It would be easy to find he person he was looking for.

The door closed leaving the foreigners in silence. After a moment Alphonse moved to the table and asked, "What was in the packet?" He could tell his brother had something weighing on his mind. He generally fell silent and held it in acting calm and collected until he couldn't handle it anymore.

As a group everyone moved forward and crowded around the offensive packet. Eyes widened in understanding as they scanned the papers. That explained Edward's strange mood.

Moving back into the snow, the stupid military uniform becoming wet once again, Ed stared up at the sky as he moved. He could see the team swooping through the air with shouts of joy. He scanned the skies for the telltale black hair and blurring broom. Yet, the sky was empty. Confused he raised his arm up and flagged one of the Weasely brother's down.

"Hey mate, what do you need?" Fred asked as his brother swooped from the sky to join them.

Ed waited for a moment before he asked, "Where's Harry?"

The twins' faces clouded over as George answered, anger clear in his voice, "Umbridge forced him to quit the team so we could play."

Golden eyes crinkled together in a scowl. He truly didn't like that woman, and if he had any say she would be getting what she deserved soon. "I'll be leaving for a little while, but after… I could use a little help," the alchemist murmured an evil glint coming into his normally peaceful eyes.

Identical looks of joy spread across the twins' faces at just the thought of torturing Umbridge. Without further words the trio split apart. The bludgers would not wait for the twins to stop daydreaming, while Edward had a teenager to find.

Finding the black-haired boy was not as hard as it may have sounded. Harry had locked himself away in the boy's dormitory. Pouting and angry, the wizard was glaring at the parchment he had spread across his bed. The sound of footsteps in the door, only caused the teen to look up scowling.

Ed held his hands up in a non-threatening matter, before moving to his own bed. He quickly opened the military brand trunk and began to pull out the standard cold weather uniform accessories. He would be gone for several days if his prediction was correct. That meant several days of snow.

Green eyes watched carefully, narrowing dangerously at the obvious signs that the teen had accepted the mission. Harry's hand slipped into his pocket, fiddling with something he had hidden inside. "I won't let you leave here," the cold voice filled the room.

Snapping to attention Edward's eyes glared fiercely at the boy across the room. "You would stop me from tracking down and bringing in Fenrir Greyback?" he asked sharply.

"Fenrir…Grey…back?" came Harry's uncomprehending voice. Gold eyes rolled as the young major moved his winter coat into the small suitcase. "Voldemort's supporter?" the teen questioned uncertainly.

"The higher ranks are requesting that I bring a werewolf in for testing. They seem to think that some type of alchemy is involved," Edward explained quietly. "Now if you don't mind, I need to go see that my brother has settled himself in once again." The teen climbed to his feet and shut his suitcase, leaving it at the end of his bed. He would leave in a few hours. Boots clunked as he moved to the door to the room. Pausing, hand on the handle, he added, "Be sure to find a spell to make Greyback believe he is Lupin before I return."

The black haired boy stared at the door as it closed in stunned silence. Had that really just happened? Was the small alchemist truly going to track down Fenrir Greyback? That would be suicide! And yet, relief flooded the teen's chest. His only father figure was safe for now.

The blonde alchemist met his younger brother in the stairway on his way to the alchemy classroom. The change of armor to body had gone smoothly, but it pained both brothers. They could see the end they wished to achieve, but not find a way to meet that end. Seeing the body only made it more difficult for the pair to cope with their situation.

"We'll get your body back soon-"

"You don't need to take the mission. Nina-"

The brothers had spoken at the same time. Nearly identical blonde heads shook in laughter as the brothers started walking side by side to the classroom. Edward was the first to speak, "I'm still going on this mission."

"But brother, even the Colonel understands if-" Alphonse started.

He was quickly cut off as Edward spoke, "I am going to complete this mission like a dog of the military. I just ask that you do two things for me while I am gone." At his brother's curious glance he explained, "Make sure Harry completes the task I have given him, and," at this point a mischievous glint found it's way into the teen's golden eyes, "find out how Mustang screwed up to the point Hawkeye decided to move into Snape's quarters! Then I'll rub it in the bastards face and he won't be able to do anything! No more short jokes, no more giving me tips on women! His failed!"

Alphonse could only look away as his brother started cackling to himself certain of his victory and one up on the bastard that controlled his life. Honestly, Alphonse liked the Colonel, he had always looked after them…

A/N: I'm alive! So is the story! Feel free to kill me… I took nearly a year to update. And for that this author's note is going to be really short and I'm going to go hide. Please don't kill me. I didn't mean to wait this long. But no, it's not abandoned! And… I'll try to make the next chapter longer, I just needed to get to the point where I could allow Ed to leave and explain a few things.