"Welcome to the other side, Mr. Mustang," said the goblin.

A quick blood test proved Mustang to be of Potter blood, as they had already known.

What Harry hadn't told Mustang was that he had downplayed how much was in his vault. He had just told the man 10,000 as a rough even number to start with.

There was actually 500,000 which was made off of several investments his great uncle had made years ago when he vanished. Mustang learned that the man had died pursuing an alchemy text, only to be killed by a nundu shortly after acquiring it.

That book was still in the vault.

Nicholas observed Roy in his first foray into the magical world. To be honest, he liked Mustang. He was like a mixture of Harry and Sirius.

And unlike the boys, he knew better than to attempt human transmutation.

Which was why Nick offered to teach Mustang a bit of shape alchemy, in exchange for seeing their libraries.

He was tired of being the only true alchemist in a world of magic.

Mustang didn't know what to think of this...Quidditch. Sirius had gotten the best tickets in the house, right next to the Weasley clan. Beside him was Riza Hawkeye, there to supervise his...vacation...as he had put it.

Harry mock-whispered to Ed that the only reason that she had come was that she was in denial about liking Mustang.

The lump she left on their heads for the comment hurt like hell.

Actually, Riza did like Mustang, but it was against the rules to date a superior officer. Plus there was the fact that any problems they might have as a couple would translate very quickly to their work.

To the amusement of Nick, only three of the five he took with him were unaffected by the Veela.

Ed, Harry and surprisingly enough Mustang. Though that could have been because of the gun Riza secretly had pressed to his thigh...

Roy was reading a book he had found in a second hand shop about fire elemental magic. As a pyro, he was naturally interested in the other half of his heritage. Hell, if things didn't work out with the Military, he planned to move here and take the name Roy Mustang-Potter, since Harry had no problem readmitting him to the family.

Riza was sleeping with her new dog next to her, Black Hayate. That puppy had was potty trained mere hours after Riza got it. Mostly because it didn't want to get shot.

To the surprise of the group, Riza had magic as well. Her's wasn't as strong as Roy or the boys though.

He was about to switch books when he heard a racket outside. One look told him everything he needed to know.

Roy kicked the sleeping Ed with his boot.

"Wake up chibi. Someone's attacking the fairgrounds," said Roy.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT YOU CAN'T SEE WITHOUT A MICROSCOPE?!" roared Ed.

"Shut up Ed. What's going on Mustang?" asked Harry yawning.

"Lieutenant Colonel!" said Riza. She had been bunking with the girls over with the Weasly group. They had the room and despite how blasé she was about it, Nick didn't want anyone asking why a female was staying in their tent. Perenell would skin him alive.

"Someone is attacking the tents. Probably some drunken idiots. Here," said Roy, tossing her a briefcase.

"Aim only to wound, right sir?" said Riza, cocking the guns. Inside the case was a ton of pistols and ammunition, better than the kind she was used to. The goblins helped her to get them, even though they were illegal in Britain.

Harry later learned from one of the younger goblins that they had a supplier in America who sold illegal arms on the black market.

Nick came into the tent and saw Roy and Riza armed and ready to fight back.

"I won't tell you not to fight. To be honest, I doubt I could stop you. But I will ask that you at least keep the damage to a minimal and don't kill anyone with your alchemy or gun. By the way Roy, this is for you. I assume you've been studying those books I lent you earlier?"

"They were very informative," said Roy. He accepted the hand crafted wand that Nick had given him.

It had the core of a dragon fang and the heart of a salamander. It was a duel wood type, an unusual mixture of Apple and Ebony wood and stylized with flames around the handle.

It had taken several days to make it and cost Harry 20 galleons to have it made personally for Roy in Knockturn.

Roy had appreciated the gift, since it was Harry's way of saying welcome back to the family.

"You did study the wand movements and the pronunciation, right?" said Harry.

"Thanks to you three, I think I can manage. Perhaps you can show me once you get back from that school," said Roy.

"Tell you what Roy, I'll set up a portal near your apartment that only you and Ms. Hawkeye can use so I can teach you. At least I know I can trust you two to keep an eye on these troublemakers when they search for that monster the inadvertently set loose," said Nick.

"I'll take you up on that old man."

"And as for you three, I get the feeling telling you not to stick your nose into this is a pointless effort, so I have another order for you. Get up into the trees and watch Roy and Riza deal with these idiots. I want a full report on what they did and any errors they made that could be corrected. Do it correctly and I may leave an alchemy or spell book in your trunks this year."

Ed, Al, and Harry all agreed rather quickly to that order. Ever since Nick had refused to teach them either of the arts they had been feeling depressed. Any books he left them were guaranteed to be useful. They quickly grabbed their brooms and took to the treetops.

Fortunately Harry had found a pensieve in one of the vaults, so they could review and correct any mistakes later.

Roy was...dare he say it...having fun. He had always gotten a thrill from using his flame alchemy. But this, this was like a high he couldn't explain. It was like every part of his being was singing in harmony.

The wand felt like his gloves did, a part of him.

He had always felt like there was something missing. Alchemy had almost bridged the gap he felt, but it wasn't enough. Now, now he had found what was missing.

His magic. He was a natural fire elemental mage, and it showed. It was why he was so good at flame alchemy. He couldn't wait to learn more. More about this...magic, and more about himself.

Riza saw that her superior officer was thoroughly enjoying himself, and to be honest she was as well. These guns were far beyond what they had in Central. The recoil was almost non-existent.

Her aim was perfect and she only hit these...Death Eaters in the arm or leg.

Nick watched the two fight like a well oiled unit. In the trees above, the boys were watching with rapt attention.

Mustang seemed to be having fun using magic instead of alchemy. And while his wandwork was shoddy his power was good. Though there was the slight issue of his pronunciation.

Seeing the boys taking notes at a furious pace, he smiled. It was good to see them acting like the children they were rather than the mini-adults that Ed had the bad habit of doing.

While he had told them he wouldn't teach them magic or alchemy until they corrected their mistake, but he had said nothing about leaving them books to figure it out themselves.

"Did you get the spell Roy used on that pale blond idiot that looked like Malfoy?" asked Ed.

"Unfortunately no. what about you Al?"

"I got it, right here," said Alphonse.

They were comparing notes on the battle, which Roy and Riza naturally came on top.

Military trumps terrorist most of the time, especially when said military was actually competent and not half drunk.

Nicholas read their reports, and smiled. As promised, he left one alchemy and one magic book in their trunks for them to read. They had to master at least two of the items inside both books and write numerous essays about it to Nicholas over the year.

As they boarded the train, all three were distinctly bored out of their minds. They couldn't take out their new books until they were in the Room of Requirement, which they found last year by accident.

They were either yawning, reading a different book, or doodling nonsense on a scrap piece of paper. (Ed, Al and Harry respectively.)

Hermione came in looking rather peeved at all of them.

"Where, exactly, were you three when the Death Eaters attacked?" she demanded.

"In the trees," started Harry.

"Writing a report," continued Alphonse.

"On the effectiveness of proper military training and fire arms against hostile forces," finished Ed.

"You three are getting to be far too much like the twins, you know that?" said Hermione pinching her nose.

"Yeah, well it was worth it. We got some rare books to read over the year, but we have to give them back when we go home next year," said Ed. He yawned again.

"Ed, you should just brew the potion and be done with it," said Al, not looking up from his book.

"What potion?"

"Animagus potion," answered Harry.

"Ed has been meditating for weeks now trying to find what animal he'll be," said Alphonse.

"We're still trying to get the ingredients for the potion," said Harry.

"...Can I try it too?" asked Hermione timidly.

"Sure! The more the merrier! After all, we're making two cauldrons of it to use the best one and sell the rest!" said Harry mischievously.

"Let me guess, to the students?" said Hermione.

"Better believe it! The twins offered us two galleons for two vials!" said Harry.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

The second Harry heard about the tournament, he swore. So did Ed, though he did it in several languages with a slight accent. Flitwick was amused to hear Goblin among those used.

(Nick had been helping him with his pronunciation since he could read languages but he had trouble speaking them out loud.)

They knew without a doubt that one of their number would be dragged into this mess. Most likely Harry or Ed.

And so, in preparation for either eventuality, the two tore into the law books concerning the tournament like mad men. Finally Harry found the best law they had to stay OUT of the tournament.

"If a minor is entered against their will, their legal magical guardian or nearest magical kin can argue against participation and allow the goblet to judge whether the contestant shall participate or not. If the goblet judges no, then the one who sought to harm the child shall have their magic stripped and be judged by courts most high," read Ed.

"Thank god. If we're unlucky and one of us is chosen, we can call Nick in."

"Or Mustang. He is your nearest magical kin, even if he doesn't live here."

"Get them on standby the day they chose the champions?"

"You bet your ass!" said Harry.

Ed and Harry were critiquing the entrance of the other schools.

"Impressive, but it could have been better," said Ed. They weren't that big a fan of horses. Even winged ones.

They were impressed with the Durmstrang ship, though not by Krum. He was nothing compared to Major Armstrong, who was far more impressive in muscle size...though the guy was a big puppy when it came to others. His over the top manner kept people from being truly afraid of him, even children. Harry suspected that was a deliberate thing.

Both boys groaned (as did Al), when they found out Dumbledore's idea of impressing the other schools was to have them sing the school anthem. They quickly cast a modified bubblehead charm that kept out sound.

Once everyone was fed, they all left for their beds.

Ed sent off a letter asking for Mustang and Nicholas two days before the champion selection was to took some doing, but they were both in Hogsmeade the day before, mostly thanks to international portkeys.

As they feared, one of them was picked as champion.

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore called out.

"Absolutely not! I am not participating in a tournament with a high death rate!" protested Harry.

"You don't have a choice. Go to the hall with the other champions," said Dumbledore annoyed.

"Ed, get Mustang now!" hissed Harry as Dumbledore had him forcibly dragged into the hall by Snape. Ed was gone before the barmy old coot realized he had left.

A single white owl flew to the Three Broomsticks, and the two men departed. It was ridiculously easy to get into the school, due to the fact all the teachers were in the school including Filch.

Mustang burst into the room where they were trying to trick Harry that he had to compete, despite never having entered his name in.

"What in blazes are you trying to do to my cousin?" demanded Roy.

"And who are you good sir?" asked Dumbledore.

"Roy Mustang-Potter, Harry's second cousin," said Roy flatly.

"Harry has no Potter cousins," said Snape.

"That's because I wasn't aware of my Potter heritage until very recently. Now why are you trying to force my cousin to compete in a tournament that only adults are allowed to enter?" demanded Roy. His voice had a no nonsense tone, and his body language said he was used to people following his orders.

"There is nothing you can do to prevent this. Rules state that anyone picked by the goblet must compete," said Crouch.

"Not rule 105 dash three, paragraph fifteen. It states that a minor who was entered against their will with a magical guardian or older family member of close blood relation can contest the entry. Mustang is my third cousin from an uncle who had only three kids and is the only other living Potter around," Harry spoke up. He made sure they all heard him clearly.

"What in blazes are you talking about?" demanded Crouch.

"Every year I've been here, Ed and I have been put into dangerous situations that could get us killed. The second we heard about the tournament, we knew chances were one of us would be entered so we looked for loopholes. Rule 105-3 states that I can contest my status as champion if a close blood relation or magical guardian claims that I was entered against my will."

Crouch dug out his rule book and immediately looked for it. Harry even supplied the page in question.

"He's right. There is a clause for minors entered illegally," said Crouch looking surprised.

"And why was Mr. Mustang here?" asked Moody.

"I called him and my magical guardian in two days ago just in case this particular event happened. No way am I going to compete just to increase Dumbledore's ego," said Harry flatly. Mustang clapped him on the shoulder looking proud. Standing together, you could see the close family resemblance, although Mustang's hair was straighter than Harry's was.

"We shall have the goblet decide. According to the rules, the goblet will either force Mr. Potter to compete, or reclaim the magic of the one who forced him into the competition," said Crouch.

Dumbledore looked decidedly sour about the whole thing, though no one could have guessed why. He should have been defending Harry from being a champion in the first place because of his age.

And with that, Harry left the room for bed. Mustang would have to stay until the first task to see whether or not the goblet would let his cousin leave this competition legally or force him to compete.

If he was let go, Mustang would head home. If not, well he would come back for each task to support his cousin. He did have a number of vacation days saved up for events like these.