Hello, everyone! Welcome to the first chapter of "In Hindsight"! This is the actual fic that came about roughly the same time as my other crossover, "Of Astronomy Towers and Chimeras". I hope this story is up to par and pleases you. This is fully intended to be a dramedy, (drama + comedy = dramedy) so there will be plenty of humor.

EDIT: I went back and changed 'emancipated' to 'emaciated'. I speed type a lot, and Word only alerts me to misspelled words. Sorry about that! 3/9/10 (I have no idea where my head's been lately. T.T)

Disclaimer: I, SakuraLetters, do not own Harry Potter or Fullmetal Alchemist. They are owned by J.K. Rowling and Hiromu Arakawa, respectively. I do, however, own Kyra Larkston and the plot.

The room was dark; all connections to the outside world were dealt with: the doors were locked and the windows were transmuted into the wall. No one would interrupt them; Edward had made sure of it.

The transmutation circle was drawn on the ground and the brothers went through the final preparations. This was it: Al was going to get his body back even if Ed had to sacrifice himself entirely to the Gate. Of course, Edward didn't tell Al that. Alphonse would never let him go through with it if he knew. "We promised to get our bodies back together," Al would say, "and besides, Winry would be sad if you didn't come back."

"Is everything ready, Brother?"

"Yep. Everything is perfect." Edward was suddenly struck by the oddest sense of déjà-vu. He had said those exact same words five years ago, when they had been foolish enough to try to bring back their mother. He shook it off; there was no turning back. "You ready Al?"

"You know it!"

They got into position and Ed slammed his hands down on the circle. The light from the transmutation was the last thing he remembered.

A cemetery is normally a quiet, solemn place where humans come to mourn their dead. Today, however, another corpse was being laid into the ground. Friends and family dressed in black and caught in the vast realm between denial and full-fledged weeping surround the hole where the casket was to be placed. A young girl with wavy blond hair and sea-green eyes filled with sorrow stood in the crowd, clutching the hand of a boy with white-blond hair.

The pastor finished the service and the casket was lowered and the grave was filled. The boy held the girl close as she trembled against him. Whether it was from the chilly dampness in the air or her body's absolute refusal to cooperate with her want to cry, he didn't know.

"I can't believe Mom's gone," the girl whispered as she looked at the gravestone. In all honesty, the marker was no different from the other markers. A slab of cold polished marble bearing an inscription of the dead's name, birth date, and death date. Carvings of angels and lilies surrounded the words. She knelt in front of the ground, ignoring the dirt staining her dress, and gently placed a hand on the fresh soil. A strand of ivy poked up from the ground on either side of the stone and slowly crept up the rough edges to meet in the center. Tiger lilies rose up and bloomed around the base.

"Mom loved ivy and tiger lilies. I had asked the gravediggers to plant the seeds for me before the funeral. Oh, God, Draco I miss her already!"

"I know, Kyra. I know," Draco Malfoy said as he held his girlfriend of two years.

Kyra had been closest to her mother, and Trisha Larkston's death had really affected the fifteen-year-old. She wasn't exactly close to her father, and from what Draco understood, life in the Larkston household had become increasingly awkward.

"Kyra," Robert Larkston said, a tad hesitant. The couple turned to see Kyra's father, a prominent politician, standing by the small road. "I've got to go back to the office. I'll see you at dinner?"

"Yes, Dad. See you at dinner."

Kyra didn't blame her father for wanting to flee the cemetery—she wanted to herself—and most certainly didn't hate him for it. Her mother's death had forced them to rethink their relationship as father and daughter. Up until now, Robert's career as a politician had been extremely important and often kept him from his family. It wasn't a lack of love; in fact it was quite the opposite. Robert's goal had been to try to initiate social and political reform—to create a better future for his daughter and the other children of America. In exchange, their relationship was rather stunted.

"Draco, can we go home? I really need a security blanket right now."

"A marathon of your Snoopy tapes and hot chocolate?"

Kyra smiled at him. "You know me so well."

At Hogwarts, hidden away deep in the mountains countryside of Scotland, Albus Dumbledore was dealing with a rather unusual situation. On one bed in the infirmary sat Cornelia Haverbrook, the Alchemy teacher, and on another lie a boy with fuzzy cat ears poking out of his head and a cat's tail.

Cornelia had nearly had a heart attack when the boy had unceremoniously—and quite literally—dropped into her classroom from a glowing circle. A second boy had fallen out as well, and had been quickly rushed to St. Mungo's due to an extremely emaciated form.

The boy who was still at Hogwarts was small and had golden blonde hair bound into a braid. What called the most attention, however, were the mechanical limbs attached to his body.

"Minerva, I do believe we need to contact Miss Larkston. We may very well be in need of her help."

The ringing of the telephone fought to be heard over the sounds coming from the TV. Draco and Kyra were on the couch, Kyra cuddled up close to Draco and a blanket draped over them.

"Ugh. I'll get it," Kyra said, not bothering to mention that Draco's skills with Muggle devices still left much to be desired. Rather reluctantly, the blonde emerged from the blanket cocoon the two had created and stumbled over to the phone.

"Hello? Professor? What is it, what's wrong?" Kyra's questions caught Draco's attention. Which professors did they know that could place a Muggle phone and not seem idiotic? Better yet: what Hogwarts professor could place a long-distance overseas call and not seem pathetic? The look on Kyra's face told Draco everything he needed to know. "I see. We'll be ready."

"What's wrong?" Draco asked as Kyra hung up and returned the phone to its cradle.

"That was Professor Burbage."

"The Muggle Studies professor?"

The look on Kyra's face told him he had said it with a twinge of malice. Old habits die hard, particularly bad ones. Still, Kyra decided to leave it at that and continue the original conversation. "Apparently Professor Haverbrook had quite a nasty shock this morning."

"What happened?"

"Two boys fell out of a glowing circle that appeared on the ceiling of the Alchemy classroom. Now get your stuff together, love; we're going to Hogwarts a little early this year."

Yes, yes, I know! CanonOC romance! However, in this story they have been dating for about two years (and yes, Lucius is still clueless that his son is dating a Muggle-born) and Kyra's a driving force against Voldemort and the Death Eaters, same as Dumbledore and Harry. So, she's getting slandered too, although not to the same extent. (When I think of their relationship, the song "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" from Mulan comes to mind.) Draco is one of my favorite characters, and I just think to myself: what if he had clued in here and done this differently. As for where their bf/gf relationship started, I'm thinking after Christmas in third year.

And yes, I've decided to be nice and give Al his body back. As for the cat part of it all...we all know Al. Just be grateful it wasn't a full kitten. (Poor Ed...) I'm still debating whether or not to put Ed in as a student or as an assistant teacher to either Umbridge or Haverbrook.

Remember, reviews make me happy!

-SakuraLetters