Ed sat cross-legged on the uneven hardwood floor, the urn containing floo powder resting beside him as he waited for Malfoy to stop fidgeting and answer his questions.

Draco Malfoy sat gingerly on the small sofa placed near the fireplace. His blind eyes darted around as he ran a nervous hand through his disheveled hair.

Draco could hear as Ed's fingers drummed rhythmically on the hardwood floor. Four fingers hit the ground in rapid succession (pinky-ring-middle-index), followed by a pause, then four fingers again. He sat up straighter on the edge of his seat and opened his mouth to speak, closing it when no words came out. He sighed into his hands, cringing when he touched his swollen jaw.

"Okay, time's up. First question, where is Amestris?" Ed's languid voice boomed through the overt silence, causing Draco to wince.

"I – I don't, I really don't know. I told you, He brought you to this world through some sort of spell. I don't know the specifics, but I know who does know." His voice adopted a slower and softer cadence in response to his sudden awareness of the splintering pain in his jaw. Ed rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, his head tilting back slightly in the process.

"The countries Drachma, Creta, Aerugo, Xing; where are they?" his voice was bland, and his eyes dull.

"Uh, I don't… think… Uh – "

"What do you know about alchemy?" Ed interjected after sighing deeply. Draco was surprised but pleased at the sudden turn of subject.

"Alchemy? It's the transmutation of substances, turning lead into gold and the sort." He felt relieved at being asked something he could answer. Ed's posture straightened as he gave the other boy a hard look.

"So there are alchemists here…" Ed murmured to himself.

"Of course, but it's a fairly archaic practice now. There's always someone trying to become the second Nicolas Flamel and create another philosopher's stone, but most people have put that pipe dream behind them and now its use is mainly in accordance with potions and transfiguration." Draco continued, thinking Ed was speaking to him. Ed almost interrupted Malfoy at the mention of alchemy being archaic, but was startled out of response when the philosopher's stone was brought up. He shook his head and decided now was not the time for dealing with philosopher's stones.

Confused by the silence, Draco continued.

"There's an alchemy class at school, but there's usually not enough people that sign up for it to actually put a class together. I signed up for it, but I don't think – "

"Look, I'm not asking for your friggen' autobiography here! I don't care about you or your school; I want to go home. Tell me if there is anything you know that might help me achieve that." Ed interrupted again, still charged from the unexpected shock of hearing about the philosopher's stone.

Draco scoffed and sunk back into the sofa. Why didn't he just ask that in the first place?

"…Snape," he began. "Severus Snape. He's the one that knows all about how you got here. He found the spell that brought you here and he set everything up too. All that I know is what I saw and heard that day. That big black thing and those hands…." Ed remembered too. The gate, that laugh. There had been several transmutation circles (some familiar, most not) scrawled all over the dark room, but getting a good look at them hadn't been forefront in his mind at the time. It was difficult to comprehend it had already been several days since then. It was even more unbelievable he'd managed to resist escaping for so long.

"Where can I find him?" Ed asked. Draco smirked haughtily directly at Ed, surprising him into momentarily thinking the other had only been acting blind the entire time. That brief thought was scrapped when Draco's grey eyes failed to focus, leaving him with a glazed stare.

Draco leaned back and tilted his head slightly. "You could find him by coming back with me and giving yourself up to the Dark Lord," he casually suggested. Ed growled.

"I don't think you realize the position you're in right now, Malfoy. If you don't help me, I'm going to leave you blind in the middle of this forest without your damned stick." Ed hissed. The smirk was still plastered on Draco's warped face.

"Relax, it was a joke. Mostly." he started, his expression slowly becoming solemn. He closed his eyes and released his posture entirely as he slumped back into the sofa. "Being stranded blind and defenseless in the middle of a forest might not be so bad in comparison to what I'll have to face when I return." He smiled grimly. "When the Dark Lord discovers you escaped while under my guard, even if I did somehow manage to turn things around now and toss your sorry arse back into a cell – I've already screwed up," he covered one of his closed eyes with a hand, his speech becoming increasingly frantic. "This might be it for me. He has no reason to keep me alive other than to keep my parents in line and have me as a pawn. This might be –" Ed hurled the urn containing floo powder at Draco's head. The lid fell off midflight and spewed silver powder throughout the room.

A vein bulged in Ed's temple as he jumped up from the floor.

"Oh, boo hoo! Some mean snake-faced freak is going to kill me because I'm an incompetent dumbass who can't follow orders!" Ed mocked. "Tough shit! Maybe you should try growing a pair and make your own decisions. You don't have to go crawling back to anyone, let alone some mutant you're pretty sure is going to kill you."

"What could you possibly understand about any of this?" Draco ground out, his face burning red. "What could you possibly understand about any of this at all? If I go back, I might be killed. If I don't go back, I'll be hunted down and killed no questions asked!" His hands moved out in exaggerated gestures.

"If you're so abject to Snake-face as to let him kill you, maybe I should just do it for him. You're pathetic." Ed sneered and narrowed his eyes.

"Stop calling him that! The Dark Lord is going to create a better world! Serving him it-it's a privilege. As long as his orders are followed…" Draco trailed off and stood, pulling at his hair.

"Ooh, so now this isn't about how he's going to kill you, but how he's going to create a better world?" Ed barked out a laugh. "Don't try to feed me that bullshit. You care more about yourself than the world. Trust me, I know a selfish person when I meet them; I'm one myself. Stop trying to vindicate yourself."

"Well, since you seem to know everything, what would you do? Kill him?" Draco's voice and expression were incredulous.

"Since you so conveniently brought it up; yes. Yes I would." Ed answered bluntly while crossing his arms.

"You-" Malfoy chortled hysterically for a short moment. "You really – I can't kill –"

"You're right, you can't kill. You don't have the spine."

"I can! I can kill – I have to kill Dumbledore –"

"Can you?" Ed egged.

"I –"

" – Can't." Ed finished. Draco swore frantically under his breath while vigorously rubbing his eyes. After pacing a few times, he managed to somewhat compose himself.

"It has nothing to do with you." Draco stated resolutely. "I've answered you questions. Give me back my wand and let me go." His blind stare was hard and aimed at nothing in particular. His composed demeanor and haggard state might have worked well together in a farce of intimidation… if Ed were one to be intimidated.

Ed pulled out the wand he nicked not too long ago and ran a hand down the polished surface.

"You never answered my last question properly. How can I find Severus Snape?" he twirled the misappropriated piece of wood between his fingers, wondering not for the first time how it worked.

Malfoy's jaw clenched painfully in aggravation as he resigned himself to answering.

"Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, begins in a week on September 1st. Professor Snape lives and teaches there. That is likely your only viable option for finding him outside of Death Eater meetings." Ed snorted. They would call themselves Death Eaters. Draco held out his hand. Ed smirked and waved the wand in front of the other boy's face.

"Not so fast. Where is this school and how do I get to it?"

"Do I look like a bloody travel station to you? The school is somewhere in Scotland, the students get there by train the morning of September 1st. The train station is in London's King's Cross Station, Platform 9 ¾." Ed reached for his notebook and pen to write the information down, only to find them missing. He searched the rest of his coat to find only the papers he nicked earlier. He didn't remember being stripped of his items, nor did he understand why he was only just now noticing now that many of his possessions were missing.

Something wasn't right. These were details he would usually never miss. Had they been taken during his escape? Before that? How could he have not noticed sooner? Perplexed, he ceased his search and bitterly committed the information to memory instead.

"Don't expect much help from Snape even if you do manage to find him." Malfoy sneered. Ed sighed.

"Getting information through unconventional means happens to be one of my finest skills." he mused. "As for the validity of the information… Why should I believe anything you're saying?"

"Why should I lie? If I know your intentions and location I'll be able to inform the Dark Lord. Besides, the information you're asking of me is common knowledge among the wizarding world. If you need validation, ask anyone." His tone was indignant.

"Right, of course. I'll just walk up to the first horribly dressed person I find, and they'll probably be magical and tell me everything I need to know. Wow, magic people sure are nice!" The level of sarcasm was almost lethal. Draco flared up angrily.

"We're done here." he forced out." I've helped you, now you help me. That was the deal, in case you've forgotten."

"Well, you've given me plenty of reason not to help you. If I don't help you, no one will know my intentions." Ed scooped up a handful of the spilled silver powder and watched as it sieved through his fingers. Draco made a frustrated noise.

"We made a deal! I'm endangering myself just by telling you anything, and you're not even going to honor your side of the bargain?" Draco's anxiousness became visible on his face.

"Honor is something I gave up years ago in order to reach my goal." Ed nonchalantly informed. "Give me one good reason why I should help you." The blind boy seemed to shrink into himself and Ed knew it wasn't often the other showed vulnerability to others. He didn't answer for several long moments.

"My family." His voice was quiet, but Ed's glare softened when the words registered. He remembered the crestfallen yet concerned face of the boy's mother, and the protectiveness of his father.

Ed thought of Al.

"Good answer," Ed replied after a grim silence. "You should remember that for the future." Malfoy crossed his arms and shuffled awkwardly.

Ed went to the fireplace and transmuted a few pieces of wood from the flooring. He paused before starting a fire as a thought of Mustang came to mind. He pulled out the stick again (wand, his subconscious mocked) and twirled it experimentally. "How do… spells work? Can they make fire?"

"…Of course they ca – No, don't even think about trying it." Malfoy warned. "Even if you can use magic, I don't even want to think about the consequences if you screw up a fire spell. You'd either barely manage a spark or fail magnificently and set the place ablaze. If you want to practice magic, do it away from me and try something that might not backfire terribly. And give me my wand!" His previous somber mood was quickly replaced by arrogance.

Ed, of course, was a logical person. So he heeded the advice given to him and – promptly began poking the transmuted wood with the wand, muttering 'burnnnn'. Draco sputtered and stumbled forward in attempt to find Ed and take his wand back. Ed ignored the blind fumbling behind him and continued poking at the wood.

"You know, in the deal we never said I would give you your stick back. You sort of brought it up after the fact. I'm actually really interested in keeping and examining it." Draco began to argue when suddenly the fireplace abruptly roared to life, the gust knocking Ed down from his bent position over the fireplace.

Ed stared at the merry fire. Then he looked at the stick. Malfoy's and Ed's face reflected each other's in disbelief.

"Wow," Ed said. "That's a bit unstable."

"Great. You can use magic, that's terrific. Now don't ever do it again until I am far, far away! And no, you are not keeping my wand. Steal someone else's!"

"Nope. It's time for you to go back to wherever. Feel free to tell everyone my plans!" Ed swept up a handful of the spilt floo powder from the ground and threw it in the fireplace. The red fire morphed into an eerie green. He manhandled a struggling Draco Malfoy into the harmless flames. "Good luck catching me, and I hope to never see your pointy face again! You're free." He laughed as he turned away and sauntered towards front door of the small cabin, stolen wand in hand.

"You can't just – I need my wand! What are you even going to do out there, you idiot? You're lost in a completely different world!" Draco stepped out of the fire and shouted to the retreating figure. When he couldn't hear the other's footsteps anymore he muttered, "I'm a dead man." His useless eyes cast down and he clenched empty hands together. "Shit." He stepped back into the warm flames of the fire and began to name his destination.

He never got the chance to say it.

Severus Snape watched as a long metallic blade protruded from the long red sleeves of the coat the short blonde boy wore.

He paused.

Then he watched it happen again.

He walked up to the stilled figure with a blade to another blonde boy's neck; Draco Malfoy's neck.

Draco's eyes were wide and focused on his father standing across the room. Worry and panic were glaringly obvious in the boy's young face.

But that was irrelevant.

Snape watched again as a blade protruded from the sleeves of a long red coat.

Snape's eyes narrowed. They used a search charm on the boy for items before jailing him – which detected and pulled off all of his loose possessions; there were no weapons on him, only miscellaneous items and personal effects such as an embellished silver pocket watch.

So where did this blade come from? Was it summoned? Conjured? Neither?

It made very little sense. There were no incantations, no specific movements that may indicate a spell – wait.

Snape watched as a long metallic blade protruded from the long red sleeves of Edward Elric's coat. After he touched his arm.

Did that mean something? Was the boy able to do something with touch?

Even so, where did the metal come from? In examination of the dungeon he escaped from, the evidence suggests that Edward Elric might have some control over the properties of substances. The ability to transfigure basic elements was Snape's first tentative hypothesis of what the boy employed in order to make his escape. Even with the ability of basic transfiguration, where did the metal come from?

Perhaps Snape was underestimating the boy's ability. Maybe the escapee's cell only suggests basic transfiguration because only basic transfiguration was necessary for the escape. If the boy had an advanced ability of wandless, wordless transfiguration – such a thing would be beyond Snape's comprehension. Transfiguration was a powerful magic. Even the masters of the subject rarely forgo the use of incantations with even the most basic of transfiguration spells. The risk of making a mistake is often far too great to take chances. And transfiguration without a wand? Such a thing just wasn't done. The only exceptions regarding incantations were self-transfigurations, such as animagi and metamorphagi, in which the magic is both from the self and regarding the self.

Is it possible the boy could transfigure parts of himself into non-organic material? Or is it possible he had something metal on him, despite the charms cast to remove any such item? It seemed unlikely. Snape had faith in his casting abilities.

Snape recalled the stunning spell the boy ricocheted off of his right arm after he was summoned.

A prosthetic arm?

The stunning spell is absorbed by all organic material, as well as many inorganic elements. However, there are several compounds of metal the spell has a possibility of rebounding off of.

The way the boy moved, however, would be contrary to the idea of prosthetics. Both arms, legs, and hands were used to fight against the Death Eaters, and mechanics in the muggle world had not yet evolved so greatly as to allow such fluid movement in prosthetics. The idea seemed ridiculous.

But the boy isn't from this world; the Dark Lord mentioned that science was sovereign in the boy's world – perhaps advanced prosthetics were not out of the question. It would raise the question of why a young boy would have such a disfigurement, but regarding the way the boy fought (as if it were familiar, expected) it may be assumed that battle and warfare were not uncommon in the other world.

But perhaps it was conjuration? Snape nearly dismissed this as there was little evidence to point to the boy having such an ability, as well as the boy's disbelieving disposition towards magic. Conjuration – creating something out of nothing – went against all scientific principles.

Snape was unsure what to conclude – if he could conclude anything. The boy may be able to transfigure parts of himself into inorganic materials (which is beyond dangerous in the wizarding world), he may have had some metal on his person (despite Snape's confiscation spells), or he may have a metal arm (a foreign world has foreign means). It could also be that none of Snapes theories were correct.

There was too little to go on to make a proper deduction.

Snape watched as a metallic blade protruded from the sleeves of the long red coat. A long red coat with an insignia on the back.

A familiar insignia on the back.

How could he have not recognized it earlier? Granted, it wasn't a common or well-known symbol, but having once been a student (albeit only for a very brief period of time) of the subject it represented, Snape should have recognized it immediately.

Flamel's insignia.

The boy was an alchemist.

This new revelation raised more questions than it answered.

Snape's face contorted into a glower, and after taking one more look at Draco Malfoy's terrified face, he left Lucius Malfoy's pensieve.