~Epilogue: Last-Minute Points~

A/N: ^yeah, I know, a very literal title in more ways than one; this is just a small wrap-up insert, about the same length as the Prologue was. A 'happilly ever after' quip, if you will.

But on a completely unrelated note…I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS STORY ALMOST HAS 200 REVIEWS, OMG! How did that happen? This started out as a mildly imaginative joke over the summer! XD and now it's a fanfiction, now complete with illustrations and tons of loving readers. :D I love you people sooooo much; you're the reason I wrote this, and you're also the reason I will continue on with a sequel. ^_^ I'm gonna take a leetle hiatus from all things "Entwined Sorcery" for the month of April and most of May so I can, y'know, graduate high school now *sweatdrop!*, and then I'll post the first chapter of "Entwined Sorcery: YEAR TWO" at the end of May for y'all. As a beginning of summer break present... :))

Buuuuut, for the small handful of you following "Capere Noctis," fear not, that one ain't going on hiatus anytime soon. XD don't you worry! And if you're not currently following that story, and you have the ability to stomach a bit of horror, you might try it out. I'd love to hear more people's opinions on that one in particular 'cause it's such a 'far out there' idea, if ya know what I mean. :)~ Also, it'll give ya something to munch on whilst waiting for "E.S.: YEAR TWO," won't it?

Once more, thank you so much again for sticking with Edward and Harry to the end of their first (and last, question mark?) year, and see ya back in Resembool in May! &hearts3 ^.^

all things Harry Potter (c) J.K. Rowling

all things Fullmetal Alchemist (c) Hiromu Arakawa

Harry, Al and Ed made their way down to the end of the year feast only after being held up by Madam Pomfrey's fussing about, insisting on giving them a last-minute check-up. The Great Hall was full and decked-out in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate their winning of the House Cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table. Ed's ears were burning with people's whispering about his automail hand—now ungloved, for what was the point in hiding it anymore?—and about his alchemy. He could tell by the looks on their faces that they were conflicted with wanting to ask him no doubt countless questions about both points; even Malfoy looked more curious than sniveling when the petite blonde passed him up on the way to his spot at the Gryffindor table. Even after he, Harry and Alphonse (with a little bit of difficulty considering his bulky body) slipped into seats by Ron and Hermione, people at other tables were standing up to look over at him.

"Hey Ed!" the Weasley twins greeted him cheerfully as he sat.

"Feeling better?" George inquired. Ed nodded:

"Tons better, thanks."

"That's great! I was wondering, though, I mean…Ron's told us all about your, er, secret—"

"Say no more," Ed said, laughing at the ginger twins' eager faces as he pulled up the sleeve of his robe, exposing the length of his steel prosthetic. Not just the Weasley twins looked awed at the sight, but also several other Gryffindors who were equally curious about the false limb. Ed smiled at their praise and adoration.

Dumbledore arrived mere moments before the students began asking about how Ed got his automail; the excited babble died away as the owl on the headmaster's podium opened up its shining brass wings.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast."

Al turned to his brother.

"Wheezing waffle?" he whispered confusedly. Ed shrugged.

"He's weird."

"What a year it has been!" the old wizard continued. "Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were…you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts…"

"Now, as I understand it, the house cup needs awarding, and the points are thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Harry and Ed could see Draco Malfoy hanging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Slytherin's smiles faded a little.

"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes…"

"First—to Mr. Ronald Weasley…for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house forty points."

Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"

Harry and Ed looked at each other eagerly; if all four of them received enough points put together, their house could pull it off after all. At last there was silence again.

"Second—to Miss Hermione Granger…for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house forty points."

Hermione buried her face in her arms; Ed strongly suspected she had burst into tears and patted her on the back. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves—they were eighty points up and rising.

"Third—to Mr. Harry Potter…" said Dumbledore, and all sound in the room lowered fifty decibels. "…for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house forty points."

And with that even more cheers soared up into the air; forty more points and Gryffindor would be tied with Gryffindor. Ed high-fived Harry, who has smiling brightly at him and all of the rest of Gryffindor house. Beating Voldemort for a second time really did have some perks.

"Just a moment, all, I'm not done just yet," Dumbledore said over the noise, his eyes also sparkling:

"Fourth—to Mr. Edward Elric…"

The room went deadly silent. Just what the headmaster would say about the mysterious alchemist, they all wondered.

"…for sheer drive and fearlessness in fulfilling your obligation not only to your friends, but your family, I award Gryffindor house forty points."

The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had Four hundred and seventy-two points—exactly the same as Slytherin. They had tied up for the house cup—if only Dumbledore had given them one more point."

Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.

"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. Harry, Ron, Ed and Hermione stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. He had never won as much as a point for Gryffindor before. Ed, still cheering, nudged Ron in the ribs and pointed at Malfoy, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if he'd just had the Body-Bind Curse put upon him.

"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place. Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand, with a horrible, forced smile. Ed grinned at this; despite what he had learned about the greasy, black-haired Potions master in the dungeons, he still did not like him one bit. In fact, he may actually despise him even more than before, if possible. Not that it really mattered, for he wasn't going to have to deal with his tyranny anymore, for he was not to return to Hogwarts next year…

His smile faded, realization that he still had not told his friends about that yet hitting him square in the chest.

~~*e.s.*~~

Just as suddenly as they were packed the group's wardrobes were empty, their trunks re-packed and Neville's toad found and caged. Notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays ("I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Fred Weasley sadly); Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; then they were boarding the Hogwarts Express. Alphonse was given a free ticket to ride back to London with Ed, where Granny and Winry, who had traveled back to Resembool right after fixing up Ed's automail rather than staying the night as Al did, would meet them and take them back home for the summer. As they sped past Muggle towns and ate Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Ed sighed.

"What's the matter? You've been awful quiet," Hermione inquired of the alchemist. Ed raised an eyebrow at her.

"We've only been on the road for half an hour."

"Half an hour of you not talking seems like a lot longer, mate," Ron said, right before spatting out a bean. "Anchovies; gross!"

"Yeah," Harry said. "You've got something on your mind."

Alphonse did not pipe up, knowing that his brother was going to have to talk to them on his own about leaving the school. Ed looked up at Harry and them.

"Ok…I'm not going back to Hogwarts next year."

"WHAT?" the three of them screeched in unison, another bean tumbling out of Ron's gaping mouth. Ed swallowed in order to keep from laughing at his red-headed friend.

"…I've decided to take a different path to find a way to get Al's body back; joining the Amestrian military."

"Joining the military?" Harry said.

"But you're so young for that!" Hermione spoke in shock. Ed shrugged:

"They'll take me; they have a really big need for State-certified alchemists, and I'm pretty certain that I'll be able to pass their alchemy exam in order to get that certification. If I get it…I'll have access to everything I'll need to find a way to help you, Al."

"I know, brother," Al said, turning to also look at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "The State Alchemists have access to a huge amount of research and records, and not to mention other alchemists. Brother thinks that between all of that somewhere there is a sure-fire way to restore our bodies."

"One that I couldn't find at Hogwarts," Ed agreed. Harry shook his head:

"But you did find one at Hogwarts: the Sorcerer's Stone."

"But I didn't get to use it, did I?"

Harry did not know how to respond to that.

"Exactly," Ed said, sighing heavily. "I was kept from it. I can't let that happen again; it's not fair to Alphonse. The sooner he gets his body back, the better."

"You too, brother," Al pointed out, "'cause that automail is really hard on your body, too, y'know."

"Heh," Ed said, rolling his eyes. "Trust me, I know!"

"We'll miss you," Ron said sadly. "I mean, come on; who else is going to beat up Malfoy?"

"I pass that job off to you," Ed said mischievously, earning himself an exclamation of disapproval from Hermione and Al. Harry smiled at his blonde friend:

"And maybe if you find out how to fix your bodies within the first year you can come back to Hogwarts?"

"I don't know," Ed said, "that depends on how flexible the military is. That would be cool if I could do that, though, I'll look into it."

"Well," Hermione said, pursing her lips, "just make sure you keep in touch, alright?"

"You must come and stay this summer," piped up Ron, "all of you—I'll send you an owl."

"Thanks," said Harry gratefully. "I'll need something to look forward to."

"Yes," Hermione agreed, "and let me know when you all go to get your school supplies; we could all go to Diagon Alley together."

"Oh yeah," Harry said, grinning at Al. "You'll be getting you wand this summer, won't you?"

"Sure will," Al said cheerfully. "I can't wait; we'll both keep in touch with Nova, I promise."

"You got it," Ed said in agreement, yanking the box of Every Flavor Beans from Ron and tossing a white bean into his mouth. He sat still and chewed on it for a moment, trying to place the flavor. The others watched curiously as he made a scene of doing so, his nose twitching every so often as his taste buds inquired further and further. Suddenly, he spat the bean out a leapt on top of his chair, pointing a quaking automail hand at the rejected bean.

"MILK! BLEAGH!"

Needless to say most of the remainder of the train ride home was spent ridiculing Ed on how his hate for milk is probably why his stature is so small.

~~*.Entwined Sorcery.*~~