-Cautiously pokes head out from behind curtain- Ah! Gomen nasai, Honorable Readers! I meant to get this up sooner, but this is the first bit of peace I've had since the start of April. However, as a reward for being so patient, it is an extra-long chapter -- 8 pages on Word and over 3,000 words long! I hope it makes up for this humble writer's absence. Also, to anyone out there who is also reading "Utopian Requiem", I've got the third chapter almost done and it should be out within a week or two.
ALSO! VERY IMPORTANT! I've made a few changes to the second chapter that end up being pretty crucial to the plot. One of the big ones is Kyra's wand. (You'll find out all about that towards the end of the chapter).
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.
Now, on with the fic!
"Oh, come on Ed! It wasn't that bad!" Kyra said with a laugh.
"You slipped me that damn potion! Not only that, but you called me short!"
"Look on the bright side, Ed: we no longer have a problem with the language barrier and we're going to go see your brother." Kyra chirped as she looked at the map.
She had personally never been to St. Mungo's, since she had never actually had to visit a sick witch or wizard. Her mother had been treated in a variety of Muggle hospitals, despite being a Muggleborn witch. There were no wizarding hospitals in America; the American wizarding community was far too spread out for it.
"You smashed a flower pot into my skull," Edward pointed out, glaring at the blonde girl's back. She reminded him so much of Winry it wasn't even funny.
"I needed some way to distract you. Ah, here we are!"
The building before them seemed pretty normal: white washed walls and flower gardens attempting to pretty up the basic message of "Abandon all hope". Edward hated hospitals, which was pretty ironic considering he ended up in them almost every month. Still, Al was in there. Ed had to know, he had to know if he had actually succeeded in getting Al's body back.
"Have you ever been here before?" Ed asked as the trio entered the building.
"Honestly? No. My mom was the only witch I knew until Ambassador Hawthorne died."
"Ambassador Hawthorne?"
"The Wizarding ambassador for the United States until 1987."
"How'd he die?"
"He was killed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial when I was seven. I've been the American wizarding ambassador even since."
"Since you were seven?" Even Ed was a bit skeptical; sure, he may have joined the military when he was twelve after a failed attempt at human transmutation a year earlier, but he hadn't entered the complex world of politics until hardly a year ago. When he thought about it, he still wasn't in to the twisted complexities as deep as Mustang was, but he had learned pretty quick that the military wasn't the most trustworthy thing in existence.
"It's an old system. We're here to see that boy Professor Dumbledore sent over from Hogwarts?" Kyra asked, momentarily detaching herself from the current discussion to get directions to Al's room.
"Are you a relative?"
"Ed here is," Kyra grabbed Ed's jacket sleeve and yanked him to her. "I'm the US Ambassador, Kyra Larkston."
"Second floor, room 238."
"Thank you ma'am," Kyra said as she ushered the boys away from the desk. "Anyway, I said it's an old system. Ambassadors have a special ring that designates them as the ambassador for their particular country. You're an ambassador for life, so there's no hope for a career change. There are no elections to designate ambassadors—after all, the wizarding community is one of the world's greatest secrets. If one ambassador is about to die, he or she passes the ring on to the nearest witch or wizard. Usually children end up receiving the rings, simply because we are universally trustworthy. Once the witch or wizard has received the ring, they're basically kidnapped and taken to a training facility where they learn exactly what their sudden career path entails."
"So, if you're unlucky enough to end up with the ring, you're basically screwed?" Ed asked, summing up Kyra's little speech. By now they had gotten on the elevator, which shocked Ed to no end that a wizard hospital even had them.
"That pretty much sums it up. By the way, the wizarding community makes very good use of elevators in hospitals: it eliminates the threat of a spell backfiring and hurting the patients. The Ministry of Magic uses them too. I don't know why exactly, but they do. Here's our stop."
Edward immediately started looking for room 238, the fear-tainted curiosity—the gut-clenching need to know—pushing him onward. Finally, they found the room. Ed practically ran in, and stopped short as he saw his little brother on the bed, stick thin and weak as hell, but flesh and bone!
"Al?"
"Brother?" Al looked at Ed, almost a little shocked to see him. "Brother! I'm so glad to see you! Who are they? Do you know where we are? How do they—"
"Slow down, slugger," Kyra said, stepping in and digging through her purse to find the second potion vial. "He can't understand you right now. The translation potion screws up your ability to speak your native language for a few days. However, if you down this, we should have no problems."
Kyra paused for a moment after she managed to fish out the potion. "Do you know where a nurse might be?"
"Why do you need a nurse?" Al asked, blinking curiously.
"I have to find out what exactly they've got you on and if taking this would mess with anything." Kyra poked her head out of the room and scanned the hallway. She turned her head and smiled at the guys. "I'm going to go find a nurse. Sorry you can't understand your brother right now, Ed, but if you'll just be patient a little longer, that'll be fixed in no time!" And with that, Kyra left the room.
Edward let out a frustrated sigh and collapsed onto a chair. Figures, he manages to get his brother's body back, but loses the ability to speak to him. He just couldn't win for losing.
Silence descended on the room, growing more and more awkward by the moment. The language barrier had never seemed more tangible, and Kyra wasn't sitting on it to translate this time. Draco was really wishing his girlfriend would hurry up, as his people skills were still recovering from his past attitude. That, and he was pretty sure that Ed didn't like him—as if the wary looks cast his way weren't enough of a hint. Did his appearance scream "Do Not Trust!" or something?
"I'm back!" Kyra chirped as she practically skipped into the room. Honestly, Ed had no idea what drugs the girl was on, but there was no way an attitude that high could be natural. "Apparently everything checks out, so I can now give this to you without worrying. Would you like it mixed in some tea or do you just want to down it as is?"
"How is it as is?"
"At first, it's not all that terrible. Sure, you'll probably find tastier things in a dumpster, but it's the aftertaste that really sucks. Mixing it in something helps."
"Do you have any tea?"
"Yep!" Kyra grabbed a glass and muttered a quick "aguamenti" and then added in an iced tea packet she had in her bag. "It may taste a bit sweeter than you're used to, but you'll be grateful when the sugar snuffs out most of the nastiness." Kyra mixed in the potion and handed it to Alphonse. The expression on Al's face was akin to what one might look like upon smelling rotten eggs.
"How is it?' Kyra switched into English, making sure it had worked.
"You said the sugar hides most of it? How bad is all of it?"
Kyra felt ready to vomit just thinking about her first (and rather disastrous) encounter with the potion. "I haven't taken the potion straight since I was seven, but as I recall it was bad enough to have me throwing up for the next week."
"So, you can understand me now, Al?" Ed asked.
Al blinked, suddenly realizing he could. "Yeah. So any idea where we are? And why do you have cat ears?"
"Gee, I wonder Al. There weren't any cat hairs on your armor when we activated the circle, were there?"
"If there were, I would probably be the one with the cat ears and tail." Al blinked, suddenly realizing something. "Brother, you did hold that cat before we sealed up the building, you know, because you were throwing the poor thing out."
"You're in England, 1995, at St. Mungo's—a hospital for ailments and maladies of the magical variety." Draco cut in, making sure to include the year and the word 'magic'. Kyra had mentioned that Edward was rather wary to trust the concept of magic, and she doubted this boy would accept it any easier.
Al removed his attention from his brother, who was now mentally running through what happened before the transmutation. "Magic? But, magic doesn't exist."
Kyra pulled out her wand and levitated her handbag. This was the first time Draco had ever seen a witch actively try to convince a Muggle that magic existed, and found Al's stunned expression to be a bit humorous. The somber look hidden in his girlfriend's movements kept him from chuckling at the strange boy.
"If it makes you feel any better, most witches and wizards are complete idiots when it comes to things like science," Kyra said as she returned the bag to its original position.
Silence engulfed the room once again. It was odd to see Kyra being so quite; usually she was bouncing off the walls and was always either laughing or talking or smiling. Suddenly, something seemed to click in the American witch's mind and she jumped up.
"Sorry to run out on you like this, Al, but we have to get to Diagon Alley before the shops close."
"Diagon Alley?"
"It's a major shopping hub for the Wizarding community. Draco and I need get some stuff for the upcoming school year."
"Draco?"
"Oh, that's right! We never introduced ourselves. I'm Kyra Larkston, and this is my boyfriend, Draco Malfoy. We're fifth years at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. As for why we need to go to Diagon Alley, we need school supplies. Dumbledore—the headmaster—decided to enroll your brother as a student. You can join him when you feel up to it, if you'd like."
"Kyra, we should probably get going if we have any hopes of getting everything today."
Kyra sighed and gave Alphonse a cheery smile. "I'll bring Ed back often to visit you until you're released. The doctors said you should be out by the end of August or the middle of September, maybe sooner if things go well."
"See you soon, Al. Get better quick, you hear?"
Al smiled, "I will, Brother. See you soon."
Was this always how they acted towards each other? Kyra lightly bit her lip; she hadn't seen her great-grandfather or his brother interact like this. In fact, she doubted she could remember a time when she had seen them together. Her great-grandmother had said that they were inseparable all throughout their rough childhood and even rougher teen years. Kyra swallowed a sigh; there was so much she didn't know.
The trio exited the room and made their way out towards the Floo stations. Kyra explained how it worked as they walked, and when they arrived told Draco to go first.
"Be sure to state your destination very clearly. Harry—you'll meet him when school starts—wasn't clear his first time and ended up in Knockturn Alley, which is a point-blank crappy place to end up no matter what. Really, it isn't that hard. See you in Diagon Alley, Draco."
Draco scattered the powder and stepped into the flames. He vanished as soon as he said the destination. Kyra handed Ed and small handful of Floo powder. "You'll go next, and I'll follow you. Do exactly what Draco did."
These people are nuts! Ed thought as he threw the powder into the flames and stepped inside. "Diagon Alley." Suddenly he felt like he was being squeezed through a narrow pipe. Coughing, he tumbled out of whatever the hell had spit him out.
"Are you okay, Ed?"Draco asked as he moved to help the blonde alchemist up.
"You people…are…insane!" Edward muttered as he got up. Draco, with good sense, decided to ignore Ed's comment and pulled the smaller boy out the way just in time for Kyra to exit.
"Okay, first things first: we need money. Off to Gringotts!"
After a near-catastrophe at the "bank"—Ed had been absolutely horrified at seeing the goblins, constantly going off about "chimeras"—the trio was off to hopefully less traumatizing places.
"Okay, what should we take care of first? Should we take care of the robes first, or should we get Ollivander's out of the way?" Kyra mulled it over for a moment and then looked at Ed. "Well, since you're the one who needs 'em, what do you want to get out of the way first?"
"Where else do we need to go?"
"Well, Flourish and Blotts to get the textbooks, but I thought we'd do that last since they're open until the most ungodly hours. Not to mention the miniscule things like parchment and caldrons and potion ingredients. Then there's the subject of a familiar. Most kids go with owls because of how the mail works, but some people take an owl and something else. As far as time goes, robes and wands take longer to get than books and pets."
"The robes first then."
Draco wondered if he should ask Madam Malkin to avoid anything pertaining to the word "short". He suppressed a shiver at the memory of Ed's last rant about his height. A glance at his girlfriend told him she was wondering the same thing.
"Ah, Miss Larkston! Mr. Malfoy! How wonderful to see you again. And who is your friend?"
"This is Edward Elric. He's a transfer student, so he needs his robes for Hogwarts."
"Of course. Mr. Elric, would you stand on the stool please?"
"Do you think we should try to get everything today, or come back again tomorrow?" Kyra asked in a low voice as she watched Madam Malkin measure Ed.
"It's already getting late, and I say we get his wand out of the way today," Draco replied. "Ollivander gives me the creeps."
"Agreed. Ed will probably want to stop by Flourish and Blotts today as well. The miniscule things and the pets we can deal with tomorrow, might as well get the big stuff out of the way first."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE CAN RIDE A FLEA?"
Both Hogwarts students sighed as Ed burst out into another short rant. Apparently Madam Malkin had said something about needing robes a tad smaller than what she had in stock. Kyra stepped up to do damage control.
"She didn't say that, Ed. Now calm down before you get us thrown out. I'm so sorry about this, Madam Malkin—Ed has height issues."
"HEIGHT ISSUES? YOU WANT HEIGHT ISSUES, I'LL GIVE YOU HEI—"
Whatever else Ed was going to scream was muffled by Draco's hand.
"Draco or I will drop by tomorrow for the robes, Madam Malkin. Once again I am so sorry about this," Kyra apologized as they dragged Ed from the shop.
Without even pausing to give Ed an explanation as to where they were going next, the Hogwarts students proceeded in dragging the seething alchemist towards Ollivander's. Outside the store, the two finally loosened their grip on Ed.
"Okay Ed, after this we'll go to the bookstore—if you behave. Now, Ollivander is about as creepy as a person can get, but he's the best wand maker in the British Isles, perhaps even in Europe."
Draco grinned, "What about America?"
"Ms. Hathaway is the best in the Americas. I wouldn't buy from anyone else."
"Then way are you bringing me here?"
"Because Ed, I can't Apparate and Ms. Hathaway is currently on her honeymoon in Japan. Her husband works there as an English teacher. Mr. Ollivander!"
An elderly man with wispy white hair and wide, pale eyes appeared from the shelves. "Mr. Malfoy, Miss Larkston. What a pleasant surprise."
"Our friend here needs a wand," Kyra said, pushing Ed forward a tad.
"Ah. What is your name?"
"Edward Elric."
"Give me your wand arm, please."
Ed blinked.
"He means your dominant hand," Kyra half hissed.
Now, this posed a bit of a problem. Ed was ambidextrous. While he was originally right handed, getting the auto mail meant having to learn to write with the left hand as well. Not wanting Ollivander to find out about his right arm, Ed handed him the left one.
"Draco and I are going to the Apothecary to get supplies for Potions. We'll be back as soon as we can," Kyra said as the couple exited the shop.
Great, they leave me alone with this lunatic.
Ollivander handed him a wand (twelve inches, holly, unicorn hair).
Why do I get the feeling this is going to end badly?
Almost as soon as the thought formed, the wand let out a small explosion and caused the store to be filled with smoke. Ed dropped the wand like a hot potato and coughed.
"Definitely not that one. Perhaps this one: ten and a half inches, chestnut, dragon heartstring."
Another failure—this time, several boxes flung themselves off of shelves.
"Very curious. I wonder if…" Ollivander disappeared into the back of the shops, and reappeared after a few moments with three boxes.
"A former apprentice of mine developed a theory early in her apprenticeship. She began to make wands attuned to other flows of energy. One of those designs was made specifically for alchemy. Let's try this one: ten inches, rosewood, heartstring of a chimera."
When Ed picked it up, nothing happened.
"Hmm…I wonder…" Ollivander opened the last of the three boxes he had lined up. Without a word, he snatched the rosewood wand away and replaced it with the new wand.
Almost at once, Ed felt a tingling sensation travel up his arm, his mind barely registering that Ollivander had put the wand in his right hand.
"How fascinating," Ollivander muttered. "That wand is eleven inches, made of alder wood with a raven's feather core. Miss Larkston's wand is ten inches, made of birch wood with a swan feather core. The woman who made those wands based them off of Celtic symbolism and carved transmutation circles into the wood in order to help better direct the flow of the alchemist's energy. However, the only place these wands are common is America. Even the purebloods over there are more alchemist than wizard."
"We're back!" Kyra chirped as she stepped through the doorway. "Did your wand find you yet, Ed?"
"Ah, Miss Larkston. Can you show Mr. Elric your wand, please?"
Kyra blinked, and then pulled off a wooden ring that had been resting innocently on her left middle finger. She held it in her palm and placed her right hand over it. A shining blue light Ed knew so very well poured out from the cracks where her hands didn't quite meet. Kyra then revealed to the world a pure white wand with strips of dark brown running through it.
"Why did you want to see it?" Kyra then noticed the wand in Ed's hand. "One of Miss Hathaway's early pieces? I didn't know you still had these, Mr. Ollivander."
Kyra paid for the wand, and then dragged Ed out of the shop. He couldn't help but notice how eager the young witch was to get out of that shop, and something told him that it wasn't simply because the wand maker creeped her out.
"What's your wand made of, Ed?" Kyra asked as the trio headed to the bookstore.
When he told her, she froze. Draco asked her what was wrong and Kyra waved it off as nothing, dragging the boys into the bookshop, purposely evading the subject. Ed, however, became firmly convinced that there was something the blonde was hiding.
He just didn't know what.
There! The third chapter is done! The whole thing with the wands is the result of a rather interesting chat with one of my friends who, like me, is really into FMA and Harry Potter. Sorry that most of this was set up, but the set up is what allows the performance to be stunning. (I hope!) The explanations for the wands are as follows:
Kyra's wand is made of birch wood, which corresponds to the first month of the Celtic calender. Birch wood represents renewal, rebirth, cleanliness, purity, and is seen as the seed potential of all growth. The swan feather is also a Celtic symbol of rebirth and life.
Ed's wand is made of alder wood, which corresponds to the eighth month of the Celtic calender. Alder wood represents death and resurrection. The raven feather is also a Celtic symbol of death and were viewed as being extremely close to the gods and goddesses.
Also, a small poll of sorts: Which House do you think Ed should end up in? Also, what type of pet do you think Ed should get?