Hello everyone, long time no see! So, after having an amazing weekend at Katsucon, I became inspired after meeting so many wonderful authors/people there, that I decided Professor Shorty was long overdue for an update. Without further ado, here is chapter 15!

Dear Colonel Mustang,

Things have taken a turn for the worse. A crazy bunch of wizards came to arrest Professor Dumbledore and now he's on the run. The new teacher that he was worried about is now the headmistress and she's running this place like a dictatorship. She knows that something is up, and I'm afraid she's going to figure out my secret. More importantly, if she figures out that I'm just a muggle who Dumbledore hired to teach here, I don't know what's going to happen to me. Keep an eye on Alphonse for me and don't tell him any of this.

Edward Elric

Ed set his quill down and rolled up his letter, stamping it with the wax seal of the State Alchemists. He hid in his jacket and swiftly made his way to the Owlery. He kept his head low and had traded his bright red cloak for a black one with the hood pulled up. Class had just let out so the hall was flooded with students and, for once, Ed was grateful for his small (not small at all) stature as it allowed him to blend in with the crowd. He traversed the halls smoothly and just as he was about to begin his ascent up the tower, he heard voices coming from the Owlery. He pressed his back against the wall and slowly craned his head around to see Umbridge talking with Argus Filch.

"You are not to allow any students to send any owls, do you understand?" Filch nodded his head rapidly. "And if a staff member attempts to, then you are to bring their letter straight to me, yes?" Filch nodded once more. Umbridge smiled.

"Good. Thank you, Argus." She gingerly patted him on the shoulder, and Ed saw that as soon as she was out of sight she wiped her hand on her fluffy pink jacket. Ed looked down and made sure his hood was covering his face, so as to not draw her attention. Thankfully, she spotted a young couple kissing on a bench and while she went over to separate them Ed rounded the corner and began climbing the stairs up to the Owlery. Slightly out of breath, once he was at the top he was greeted by Mr. Filch.

"Who are you?" He sneered and Ed pulled down his hood. "Ah, Professor Elric, is it? Just gimme your letter an' I'll be sure it gets sent on its way." Filch grinned to reveal his foul yellow teeth.

"That's quite alright, but I am capable of doing it myself," Ed moved to get around him, but Mrs. Norris hissed at Ed and he jumped back.

"Give it 'ere, Professor Elric," Filch spat.

"Now, now, Argus. I don't think you want me to do that. You wouldn't want me to tell everyone your secret, now would you?" Filch eyes widened in fury.

"My secret? How do you know about that?!" Ed held up his letter.

"If you don't let me in then the whole school will know," Filch glared at him, but stepped aside. Ed ran in and hastily fastened the letter to the owl's leg and dropped a whole galleon in the pouch.

"Colonel Roy Mustang. Amestris. Please hurry," The bird hopped over to the window and flew away. Ed watched it until it was out of sight before leaving.

"You didn't see me," Ed muttered to Filch as he passed. Once Ed was back in the safety of the halls, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad that whatever secret Filch has was important enough to keep him quiet, and he was even more glad that Filch hadn't caught his bluff.

The next day Ed was leading the class in a demonstration. Since Dumbledore's Army meetings had been cancelled, most of the students in the class were bored of doing basic transmutations. But with members of Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad sitting in his classroom, he had to be careful.

"Now, please study chapters 13-14 on your own for the remainder of class," The class groaned collectively and soon most of them had fallen asleep. Umbridge had ordered a whole new set of alchemy textbooks that were even worse than the ones before. Ed was just about to doze off himself when the doors opened to reveal Mr. Filch. He hobbled down the aisle and slammed a piece of parchment on Ed's table with a grunt. Then, without a word, he turned and stumbled out of the room. The commotion had woken up the students who were sleeping and they now looked around the room in a daze. Ed's heart lurched when he recognized the seal. He peeled it off and unrolled the letter.

To Edward Elric:

Thank you for the update, Fullmetal. It sounds like things are far worse than Dumbledore feared. Since these events were not predicted, and seeing how your employer is currently a criminal, I am giving you the choice of whether or not you want to see this mission through. I trust you will do what is right. Let me know your decision ASAP.

Colonel Roy Mustang

"Choose?" Ed whispered aloud. Some students glanced up. He's letting me choose? He's giving me the choice to leave this crazy prison? Ed looked up and glanced around at the students. More than half of them were asleep, and the ones that weren't were nodding off. But if I leave, these kids are screwed. But why should I care what happens to this bunch of brats? I'm no teacher, what the hell am I even doing here, anyway?! Ed groaned and leaned back in his chair, his thoughts swirling. If only Alphonse were here… With a grunt, Ed pulled out a new piece of parchment and scrawled a response to Roy. The bell rang and Ed waited a few minutes for his classroom to empty before he made the now-familiar trip to the Owlery.

Ed climbed the stairs leading to the Owlery in record time, and he burst through the archway and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Umbridge scolding Filch while Malfoy stood smugly in the corner with his arms crossed. Umbridge whirled around and smiled when she saw Ed, whose eyes were as wide a deer in headlights.

"Ah, Professor Elric, perfect timing. Come to send another letter to your friend Albus, eh?"

"What are you talking about?" Ed tried to play it cool, but his voice shook ever so slightly.

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You're planning on assisting Dumbledore on reclaiming Hogwarts!" Ed relaxed and tried not to laugh at how ridiculous her accusation was.

"Oh come on, Umbridge. How the hell did you come up with such a crazy story?" This time, he did laugh.

"Don't try to deny it, Professor. I know that Dumbledore hired you because he didn't trust me. It's clear that you are conspiring with him against the Ministry!" Her voice grew shrill and her eyes turned wild.

"What proof do you have?" Ed scoffed. Umbridge smiled wickedly and gestured to Malfoy, who sauntered forward.

"I saw your Pensieve, Professor. I saw Dumbledore hiring you. I saw you forming Dumbledore's Army," His eyes grew dark. "I saw everything," Ed's heart dropped into his stomach and his voice caught in his throat.

"Why don't you take off your gloves, Professor? Are you hiding something?" Umbridge taunted. Ed didn't move. She walked up to him and grabbed the crumpled letter that Ed held in his right hand and handed it to Malfoy.

"Malfoy told me everything. You see, at least I know that he is loyal to the me. Go on, Draco. Read the letter," Umbridge smiled proudly and Malfoy cleared his throat.

"Dear…" Malfoy's voice faltered and his face turned pale.

"Well go on, we haven't got all day," She snapped.

"B-but, Professor, I-" He glanced nervously at her.

"I told you to read the letter, boy! Now do as you're told." Draco swallowed and continued.

"Dear….. Flame-ass. W-what the hell do you think you're doing, giving me a choice like that? You've never done that before, so why the h-hell are you s-starting now? Have you grown s-soft on me? Better get Riza to whip you back into shape before I return. Which won't be for a while. You see, I've got some business to attend to here at Hogwarts, most of which is focused on beating the shit out of this…" Draco paused and looked over at Umbridge, who was shaking with fury. Her face had turned bright crimson in anger, and she was shooting daggers at Ed, who still hadn't moved. Draco continued.

"F-focused on beating the s-shit out of this… fat, pink toad who thinks she owns the place. I'll be back once I've completed my job. Love, The Fullmetal Alchemist," Draco hesitantly folded up the letter and took several steps back, away from the pink bomb that was getting closer and closer to exploding each second.

"..." She murmured something. Ed, who now sported a large grin, leaned forward and cupped his ear.

"Come again?"

"OUT!" She screamed and Ed winced.

"Sure thing, give me just one moment," He walked over to Malfoy who stood, stunned, and snatched the letter out of his hands and sent it on its way, attached to an owl's leg. Ed strode out of the Owlery, pausing briefly to salute goodbye, and made his way back to his room. He fell asleep just as his cheek hit his pillow, a large grin still on his face.

Ta-da! I hope you enjoyed it. I've been having a lot of trouble with the document manager lately. Last time I commented on how the horizontal line break button was gone and I had some people tell me that I was just being oblivious, but now I am certain that it's gone. So now I'm having to go into the source code to put them in -.-

Also, for some reason when I backspace in order to bring a paragraph up the page, it turns the font really teeny tiny. When I undo it goes back, but it won't let me bring it up. I really hope I don't have to copy and paste it to bring it up the stupid page. Ok, please forgive my technologically-inept self. I'm done rambling for now, see you next time!

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