The Price of Magic

Summary: Sequel to "Who are you calling". Edward starts to understand magic. Oneshot.

Six months passed. Edward tried to blend in with his classmates. The soul bound hat had placed Edward in Ravenclaw which was a blessing. Edward was trying to get home to his brother. He knew the key to going home lay in understanding this 'magic' as these wizards called their alchemy. He was able to deduce that the wands and wand movement combined with trigger words or "incantations" were this world's way of making arrays. However he still hadn't been able to figure out the equivalence of this world.

McGonagall was no help. All she could do is teach the methods taught to her. She didn't have an understanding of the magic and how to break it down in components. The Charms and Defense against the Dark Arts teachers were equally useless. Potions professor didn't work with wands so there was no point in trying to get on his bad side by asking questions.

Despite trying to blend in to the background, his fellow first years were trying to fill him in with all the gossip they could possibly compile from the last 3 years of the famous Harry Potter's presence in Hogwarts.

At the first mention of the philosopher's stone, Ed was hooked. He had to know everything. Had Harry Potter's parents had a philosopher's stone? Is that how he managed to survive a direct hit from the killing curse? Had Voldemort died from an alchemic rebound?

More he looked the more questions he had. The stories continued to pile on, from Dumbledore's stupidity in hiding a much sought after stone in a school filled with children, to the basilisk in school, where children had been petrified but the school had not been evacuated. Dementors which suck souls out of poor unsuspecting people were stationed by the Ministry of Magic within the borders of said school of children.

And finally this year's debacle of the tri-wizard's tournament, deadly as the tournament was, Potter had been forced to compete. Being a minor and a student at the school gave him no protection. Potter's protests of innocence were ignored, even though 2 drops of a potion called 'veritaserum' could have easily solved the issue. On top of it all, every single person in the school believed him to have somehow broken through powerful protections that they themselves had believed to be unbreakable.

As he looked at his fellow schoolmates, at the teachers who disbelieved Potter's claims, at the other schools who were participating calling him a cheater and liar and at the newspaper calling Potter "an attention seeking brat" Edward finally had his epiphany. That said he went to Headmaster Dumbledore and asked to withdraw from the school.

As Edward packed his bags to leave, he started to try think of other options to try to get to the gate. He couldn't afford to do anymore magic.

You see, Edward's epiphany was that the Law of Equivalence did apply. The price for the use of 'magic' was loss of common sense.