Part 1

Chapter 1

I never could perform alchemy, but I could step in and try to pull Brother out of a rebounding human transmutation circle. I shied away from the little black hands that grabbed Brother's leg as though they were trying to tear him away from me, but the little black hands still grabbed me as I rescued Brother.

I didn't know how any of it happened at the time, but I woke up with a hysterical, bleeding brother trying to drag me out the door. I carried Brother over to the Rockbells' myself, but I shrank away from the frightened look that was directed at me when Brother finally opened his eyes.

"Al," he whispered, "I thought I bonded your soul to a suit of armor to save your life. I don't understand why you're still you."

I looked at my fleshy hands. "I don't either, but then I don't understand a lot of things that happen to me. I wish I knew what happened. I'm scared, and I can't feel my body anymore."

Back then, I really didn't understand why strange and unusual things happened around me. I couldn't even begin to guess until over a year later, when a strange woman showed up in Colonel Mustang's office.

I was following my grumpy brother into Colonel Mustang's office one day when Colonel Mustang greeted us both. "Fullmetal, Alphonse, this is Professor Minerva McGonagall. She says she needs to speak with your family."

Professor McGonagall scowled as Brother said, "I don't see what some weird old lady could need to talk to us about."

"I teach at a school in Scotland," Professor McGonagall said. "I help young people like Alphonse learn to control their special abilities there. I would like to speak to your legal guardian about enrolling Alphonse." Professor McGonagall's eyes landed on me and Brother as she spoke.

"Me?" I asked. "I think Brother's the one with special abilities."

Brother stepped in front of me. "Sorry to break it to you, but we don't have any parents. And we want to know what you really want with Al."

We stood close together and kept our eyes on Professor McGonagall. She pressed her lips more tightly together. "I thought there was indeed an adult in your household: one Major Edward Elric."

She was answered by a snort coming from Colonel Mustang. He casually waved toward Brother. "That is Major Edward Elric, our smallest officer."

Brother responded with his usual type of rant. "Who's so small that your paperwork could be used to build him an entire house?"

Brother earned a snicker from Colonel Mustang, but he caused me to squirm. I looked away, apologizing to Professor McGonagall for Brother's behavior.

Professor McGonagall looked at Brother instead of at me. "Major Elric," she said, "I may not have any authority over you, but I strongly suggest that you keep calm when insulted. It will help you greatly in your career."

She turned on a laughing Colonel Mustang a moment later. "As for you, I thank you for telling me where to find these two, but I must still advise against provoking others."

Professor McGonagall turned back toward me and Brother a moment later, causing Brother to quickly stop laughing at the startled look on Colonel Mustang's face. "Now," she said, "are you two telling me that you have no legal guardian?"

The two of us exchanged looks, Brother's jaw tightening. Brother turned back toward Professor McGonagall. "I'm the older brother. I'm responsible for Al, but I think you should talk to the both of us together."

She frowned. "I find it hard to believe that there is really no adult responsible for you." She glanced over at Colonel Mustang, but he shook his head.

"I claim no responsibility for Alphonse," he said. "He's a civilian." He looked at me over folded hands.

"Well, I guess there's Granny Pinako." I looked between Brother and Professor McGonagall.

Brother crossed his arms, but he said nothing to Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall visibly relaxed. "Very well. I would like to talk to the two of you and this Granny Pinako."

Brother nodded. "Granny Pinako lives out in a village called Risembool. It may take us a while to get there."

So Brother, Professor McGonagall and I went to Risembool, and Professor McGonagall explained that she taught at a magic school that she wanted me to attend.

When we arrived at Risembool, we went to the Rockbells', and Brother and I sat on the living room couch with Granny Pinako as Professor McGonagall gave us a demonstration. She turned herself into a cat, but that didn't really impress Brother.

Brother crossed his arms as he spoke to Professor McGonagall. "So you've been turned into a chimera. That's unfortunate, but it's just alchemy."

Professor McGonagall changed herself back. "I don't understand what you're talking about, Major Elric, but I can assure you that I have not been turned into a chimera. I think perhaps additional demonstrations could clear things up for you."

Brother snorted at her. "Like you could show me and Al some actual magic, you second-rate scam."

I started to protest, but I trailed off as Professor McGonagall flicked her wand at the coffee table and turned it into a pig. "Whoa." I reached my hand out toward the animal, my numb hand brushing against its side.

I heard a sound of irritation beside me and turned my head. I saw Brother's eyes narrowed at me, so I pulled my hand back from the pig and frowned at the ground instead.

I was starting to twiddle my fingers when Brother asked, "Al, how do you think she did that?"

I glanced up at Professor McGonagall. "Well, I guess she could be hiding a Philosopher's Stone somewhere." I glanced back over to Brother.

Brother smirked, holding a hand out toward Professor McGonagall. "Hand it over, you scam!"

"It's a wand," she said. "It won't do you any good. You might see something happen if your brother used it, but even he should really get his own wand for the best results."

I gazed at Brother, who looked as though he were trying to find where Professor McGonagall was hiding a philosopher's stone. "Brother, what if she is using that stick thing as some sort of amplifier?"

Brother flicked his eyes toward Professor McGonagall's wand. "That thing's too narrow to have a stone in it, but I guess we can find out if it itself is an amplifer." He held his hand out toward Professor McGonagall.

She pursed her lips. "I still don't understand what you mean, but I suppose if handling my wand will convince you, then you could each give it a quick wave."

Brother and I both got up and went over to to Professor McGonagall without so much as a signal. She held her wand out to us. "One wave each."

I looked up as Brother was taking the wand. He waved it, resulting only in a swishing sound. "I still say you've got a stone on you," he said to Professor McGonagall as he handed her wand over to me.

"Brother," I whispered as I took it. "I felt something."

Brother responded after a pause. "What did you say?"

"When I took this wand, I felt something." I looked directly at Brother.

His jaw went slack. He looked between Professor McGonagall's wand and my face.

Professor McGonagall interrupted us. "Well, aren't you going to give it a wave?"

"Yeah." I gave the wand a quick wave, changing Brother's clothes, coat, and gloves a soft green.

"Al?" Brother looked wide-eyed at his clothes, his face distinctly pale.

I handed the wand back to Professor McGonagall and met Brother's eyes. "Are you alright?"

Brother just looked away from me. I ran my eyes over his tense body language.

With a sigh, I looked toward the coffee table that had become a coffee table once again.

"Al?"

I glanced over at Brother just long enough to see him looking back up at me. I shook my head. "It's nothing."

"Al, do you …?"

When I tore my gaze away from the coffee table, I caught sight of Brother forming two trembling fists. I patted his left shoulder. "Um, I was reminded of alchemy when she did that, only, I could do something too. I thought I could become like you for a moment."

I looked away when Brother crossed his arms. "Um, Professor McGonagall?" I asked.

"Yes?"

I looked down at the floor, shuffling my feet until I fell silent a moment later. "Thanks for those demonstrations. I found them very interesting, but..."

I was spared from saying more by Granny Pinako. "What Al's trying to tell you," she said, "is that these boys need time to think things over. Come back tomorrow."

"Very well." Professor McGonagall left the house, footsteps fading away until they disappeared entirely through the door, where they left us with a large cracking sound. Brother and I ran to check it out and found that Professor McGonagall had vanished.

"Wow!" I turned toward Brother with a grin on my face, but then the grin dropped. "Wow," I said, more softly this time, "just wow. Quite an impression, huh?"

I caught a glimpse of bared teeth the moment Brother spun around and ran up the stairs. I heard him slam a door or something moments later.

That night, I stretched out across the Rockbells' couch. I lay there with an alchemic theory book in my arms, reviewing why alchemists think that most humans can perform alchemy. Maybe I could get some insight into why I can perform the magic that Professor McGonagall spoke of. Maybe I could find out why Brother can't. Maybe I could even get an idea of why I can't do alchemy, knowing now that I can do magic.

I turned a page, revealing a diagram that illustrated the theoretical link between the Gate and alchemic ability. I studied the diagram, my eyes widening the slightest bit. I marked my page and got up off the couch, carrying my book with me.

I went upstairs and treaded over to the Rockbell's guest bedroom door. I raised my fist to knock, but then I paused, staying quiet enough to hear the voices coming from the room: Brother's and Granny Pinako's.

Granny Pinako was saying something. "You're a scientist. Shouldn't you be trying to understand a new phenomenon instead of dismissing it? You're hurting your brother with your attitude, you know."

I bit my lip and lowered my fist.

I turned, facing the stairs, but I stayed right at the doorway as Brother gave his reply: "I'm trying to protect him from people like that woman. She told us that she was doing magic, but I know what she's doing has an explanation. I think it's a bad sign that she wouldn't give the explanation to us, so I don't want Al to go anywhere near her. She might rub off on him."

I clasped my hands together and looked at the floor, smiling only slightly when Granny Pinako praised me to Brother. "I know you're worried about Al, but he's put a good head on his shoulders. He's already gotten a lot of experience thinking critically as an alchemical theorist. He can decide for himself how to think."

I shuddered at a thump that came from the wall closest to me, a thump that sounded as though Brother had thrown something. I winced as Granny Pinako started shouting something about giving me a chance to learn something I can actually apply, the word small popping into her shouts too, and then I turned back toward the bedroom door, scowling.

I didn't bother to knock this time as I let myself into the room where Brother and Granny Pinako were fighting.

Brother looked my way as I entered the room. He instantly stopped yelling at Granny Pinako over calling him out on his size. His eyes widened. "Al," he said softly.

He sat in silence as Granny Pinako turned to face me too. "Al," she said, "why don't you tell your brother how you really feel about magic?"

But I didn't. I set my gaze on the floorboards and said steadily, "I'll stay here if Brother doesn't want me to go." I clutched my book to my chest. "I just came to get Brother's opinion on something, but I can see that you two are in the middle of something. Would you two please just stop arguing about me? I've already made up my mind about Professor McGonagall's offer."

I turned around and left the room. I ignored my brother as he called my name softly as I was leaving, letting Granny Pinako scold him for offending me instead. I just went back to the couch and opened my book again.

But I spotted the diagram right away. I sighed, closed the book again, and set it aside. I propped my head up in both hands as I slumped forward, elbows digging into my knees.

I sat there all night. When I got up for the day, I headed into the kitchen and got out the milk. Then I started making some particularly milky pancakes and poured three large glasses of milk.

I was just setting the table when Brother came into the kitchen, carrying the book I'd been reading the night before. He made a little gagging sound as he looked at the breakfast table.

"You know," I said, "you really should drink your milk once in a while."

He said nothing, so I kept lecturing him on proper nutrition. He remained silent as he pulled out a seat from the table and plopped down, setting my book down with a thud.

I stopped talking, but I did send a glare his way.

"Alphonse," he said.

"What?"

He paused, taking an audible breath before speaking to me. "Al, you said you wanted my opinion on something last night, so I went ahead and opened to the page you had bookmarked this morning."

I nodded, although Brother was busy looking at breakfast instead of at me. "Even if I'm staying away from that school," I said slowly, "I know now that I have some sort of ability, thanks to Professor McGonagall letting us try out her wand. I just thought my ability might have be related to the Gate and why I can't do alchemy. Like you can, big brother."

Brother gave a slight nod. He glared at the glass of milk. Then he chugged it down for once.

Brother made several gagging sounds as he put the empty glass down on the table. "Yuck!"

"Brother, you drank your milk!"

He chuckled dully. "I understand why you'd care so much about the whole magic thing, Al, and I figured I deserve your anger."

I took the seat next to him. "So I was thinking about the thing that Professor McGonagall calls magic last night. Then I wondered if I can use her magic but not alchemy because I get a different power source than most people through my Gate? Like maybe my Gate's just aligned with a different power source than most other people's Gates. So I reviewed that book last night, and I think that could be the case, Brother, but what do you think?"

Brother smiled. "I think it doesn't explain everything that the chimera-woman showed us yesterday, but it's possible, Al. How are we going to test it?"

"Well, we'd need to find more people who can't use alchemy than just me. I think that other witches and wizards shouldn't be able to use alchemy either if Professor McGonagall's magic really does come from our Gates being aligned with a different source." I glanced over at Brother's empty glass of milk. "I only know to look for other witches and wizards at that school Professor McGonagall mentioned yesterday, but I think we could find witches and wizards somewhere else if we looked hard enough." I looked at Brother, raising an eyebrow.

Brother swallowed a rather large, syrupy bite of pancake. "I'll have to talk to the chimera-woman when she comes back today. I remember her saying that her school is in another country." Brother grinned, but he shut his eyes too tightly for a happy face. "I'll just have to ask her about the best way for me and you to keep in touch over the long distance."

I blinked. "I thought you wanted me away from that school."

Brother quickly gave his hands some small frantic waves in front of him. "No, no! I want you to go, Al. How else are we going to test that hypothesis of yours? Besides, I promised Granny that I would let you have a chance to learn something you can actually do." Brother slowed his rate of speech down to normal. "I just want you to promise me that you'll do your own thinking about what they teach? You're way too good at alchemical theory to let your mind be corrupted like that."

I nodded. "I think I'll go try it out for a year. I'll miss you too, Brother."

Brother and I looked at each other, giving each other smiles that did not reach our eyes.