FicWad

I don't own anything of Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. I just like playing with them and shoving them into situations we know we'd never see them in -and also I like seeing Ed and Winry play. ... you'll know what I mean later! It's all for fun and kicks so don't sue! I'm not rich! Really!

Ch. 4

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Kola Nuts

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"There you are, good as new! But next time come to me straight away! I can fix broken bones without thinking. I am more than capable of fixing them half asleep. You promise this time?" Madam Pomfrey ordered with a little shove of her finger into his shoulder.

Edward winced then laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head, "Yes ma'am. That'll be the last time. It was hell trying to sleep with a broken arm anyway."

"Language, young man!" the healer warned as she turned, putting her wand into her apron before she waved him out, "All right then, go on." But a little smile crawled up her face. She had gotten used to seeing Ed in the hospital ward. If it wasn't for one injury or another, he sometimes would pass out from exhaustion from studying for days on end without any real sleep or pausing for meals.

Al slid off the chair and hurried to intercept his brother. Ed laughed and hopped to the side, twisted about to walk backwards for a bit before he twisted around again, "Let's go! Breakfast has started and I'm starving! I still have to show you around the school, and we have to go see Dumbledore before lunch so you can talk with him. He wants to know everything. And you have to tell me what's been happening back home."

Alphonse laughed and followed after him. It was like Edward had reverted to a twelve year old kid again. It was so unlike him to be so carefree like this for such a length of time. Even back home he had been as serious as an adult before he had even reached his tenth birthday.

But now wasn't the time to worry about silly ironies. He was with his brother again. He would worry later tonight as to the effects and consequences of this situation.

Edward looked down at Al and smiled then strutted into the room, leading the way with his brother trailing behind.

They took a seat at the Gryffindor table and Ed quickly piled Al's plate high with food. "You will love the food here. But the stew isn't as good as Mom's or even Granny Pinako's; but it's still good." He grinned and pushed the plate towards the young boy.

Al's eyes nearly bugged out of his head at the sight of the food, "Brother, I don't think I can eat this much!"

"Oh come on! You can at least try! And what you don't eat, I will." Ed smirked.

Alphonse sighed in exasperation, but the joy of being with his brother again overrode any annoyances.

"All right." Al agreed and then lifted up his fork and began to dig into the eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, hash browns, and other assorted breakfast foods that Ed insisted he try right now.

"Ed!" Someone shouted -approaching them from the other side of the table.

Looking up with sausage sticking out his mouth, Ed waved his fork of eggs at Harry and the duo.

"Brother, really; Mom did teach you manners." Al scolded. "You should use them."

"Awe, come off it Al." Ed nearly whined with a scowl on his face.

Harry took a seat across from the two with Ron and Hermione joining them.

"So who is this kid?" Ron asked as he began to pile food onto his own gold plate.

"He's my little brother." Ed grinned silly and as big as possible. It felt so good to smile for a good reason again. Though truth be told, he was grinning because his little brother really was little compared to him. No more days of having people run up to Al the suit of armor and say 'Awe, that is why they call you Fullmetal! What? That shrimp over there is the older brother? Huh?' No, now they would look upon him and point saying 'Yes! That is the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, and that is his younger brother, the short guy next to him!"

Edward cackled faintly as he shoved food into his mouth.

Al smiled politely as he set his fork down. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Alphonse Elric." He stood from his seat and reached over the table to shake their hands.

"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you too." Hermione's voice was the first to speak up as she shook his hand.

"Hey," Ron and Harry said practically at the same time, and they shook his hand lightly. For them, it was odd to actually be associating with a child who would be considered a second year.

"So Al, what is going on at home? I've been gone for so long I want to know everything."

Al thought for a moment, and when he finally spoke, his voice was rather low, "Well, we've been looking for you." He looked up at his brother, once again pausing from his meal. "For the last two years I and Sensei have been training while traveling the country with Sig to try and find you. But... we stopped searching a few months ago. Sensei said that if we couldn't find you, either you didn't want to be found or..." He stopped and looked down, not wanting to admit it.

"Or I was dead." Ed finished for him, his face turning grave -though he should have expected as much.

Al nodded sadly.

Ed stared down at his plate and poked at his pancake. A small twinge of depression crawled into his shoulders and weighed them down. Even Al had nearly given up on him. Then he continued scarfing his food down.

"Winry... she kept hoping. She didn't even act like you were missing. She said that you would show up any day now with your arm busted and she'd have to fix you up."

Ed glanced at him with his cheeks bulging with food. "Hmm?"

Al wrinkled his nose at Ed then smiled up at him, "Winry; she didn't believe you were dead. She acted like if she believed hard enough that you were still alive, that you would come home."

A faint blush crawled up his face and he mumbled under his breath as he went back to shoving food into his mouth with his head bowed lower so his hair could hide his face.

Alphonse smiled and shook his head knowingly as he looked back to Harry and Ron who had smug smiles on their faces as they leaned towards Edward. Hermione looked as though she was dreaming as she smiled sweetly.

"Winry? Who is she, Edward?" Hermione asked.

Ron snickered as he ate another chunk of egg, "I bet it's some girl back home he liked."

"I did not! She was my mechanic, that's all!" Ed shouted defensively with anger flaring across him; and he effectively silenced the Great Hall. He turned in his seat and glared at the children, "What are you looking at?" and the kids quickly turned back to their food and acted like they were ignoring him.

Edward grumbled and stabbed at his meats and pancakes and ate them without noticing their taste.

Al smiled slyly at Ed and nudged his ribs playfully, "You know, Brother, you don't have to get so defensive. And she's our friend too after all; not just a mechanic."

He shrugged slightly, ignoring him and not answering him as he continued to eat and glare at his soggy waffles. If he ignored them long enough, they would burst into flames and die. At least he hoped so. He didn't like talking about this subject.

Hermione turned an eye towards the two boys at her side with a little smile. Harry chuckled, rather amused.

Ron grinned, looking curious and he narrowed his eyes slyly before he leaned forward, "Awe, come on mate, tell us more about this girl you know."

"There's nothing to talk about." He growled and finished his first plate and piled on more food and began eating anew.

"We and Winry lived next door to each other back home. We played together all the time! Her mom and dad even let us have sleepovers sometimes. She's an automail mechanic and last year she started to learn how to do the surgeries on her own. She's apprenticing with a man in Central every few months. She's gotten really pretty since we were kids!" Al added with a large smile shot at Ed.

Edward wrinkled his nose in his way of biting his tongue to keep from talking even as a small blush touched his cheeks, "Yeah? Well I knew she'd learn to take over the business from Pinako. She's the best automail mechanic around." Ed mumbled and hid his face in his large glass of pumpkin juice.

There was a silence. Al opened his mouth to tease his brother more when Ed interrupted him with a single, solemn look.

"Hey, Al, I've been wondering. How old are you?"

Al tilted his head slightly, "I... I'm twelve."

Ed frowned, "And how old is Winry?"

A confused look twisted upon his face, "Well, she's seventeen; but you know her birthday is coming up in about six months." Al knitted his brows together as he stared at his brother in confusion then realization dawned upon the child's face, "Brother... why are you so much older than us?"

Harry perked up at this sudden shift of topic and he glanced at Ron and Hermione with a raised brow.

Edward shook his head, "I don't know. You, I can understand because the gate took your body when you were ten, but if Winry is seventeen... it's only been two years back home?" He asked in disbelief, his brow knitting as his mind went immediately into scientist-mode and he began rambling theories off as to this phenomenon.

"The Gate took his body?" Harry asked with a curious and confused look on his face.

Alphonse stiffened, his fork being set down on his plate, "Brother, how long have you been here?" He asked as his voice dropped low and told him bluntly to tell him without stalling.

"...Going into five years at the end of the month."

"Brother, how is that possible? How can the time be so different?"

"I don't know."

"Well there's a theory that dimensional travel in one world is on a different frequency than the other and thusly the time might be faster even if it feels as though it moves at the same pace. Maybe this frequency makes one world slow down in the sense that though time moves at the same pace, the pocket that world exists in is moving slower than the pocket we exist in." Hermione stated, "I'm not certain that is how the book stated it, but it is what I remember from my childhood."

Edward put his hand to his chin as he sat back slightly, "Hmm, sounds reasonable. And it's true; when I first arrived here I thought the days went by more quickly even though an hour still felt like an hour." He frowned and looked at Al. His brother nodded in agreement.

"Though it's still hard to understand."

Ed groaned loudly and suddenly laid his head on the table, "It's too much sometimes." He sat up straight again. "But that might explain why I couldn't get through the gate last night." He mumbled.

Al was silent for a moment.

Ron gnawed on his bacon then handed Hermione the syrup at her asking.

"So, Alphonse," Hermione started, "what is it? You look like you're worried about something."

Ed turned his golden eyes to his brother's face as the wide eyes widened even more. He hadn't noticed that Al was looking uncomfortable. He was so used to Al being a physically emotionless suit of armor, he found himself forgetting to look upon his face for his emotions.

The silence continued till Ed's voice broke their small bubble of quiet within the noisy Great Hall, "Al?"

"I saw something when I was passing through the gate." Al stiffened then looked to Ed, "Brother; did you... learn... from the gate?"

Ed stared at his youngest brother then nodded slowly, "Yeah... when we tried to bring mom back."

"What?" Harry asked abruptly, "You tried to bring your mom back?"

"Where was she?" Ron asked.

"Oh really Ron, don't you remember anything? His mother is dead, remember?"

"Oh, right." He said as he finished his breakfast.

Al looked down then back to Ed, "I think I saw something about this world when I was coming over. It was really dark in some portions, even though there was a lot of light surrounding it. But that darkness was growing. And it seemed like it was getting ready to do something."

Harry frowned and Ed caught his eyes.

"Do you think..?" Ed asked slowly.

Harry nodded and he gripped his glass of pumpkin juice tightly, "Vol... him." He whispered with another nod.

Ron frowned and Hermione shivered.

"Who?" Al asked.

Ed shook his head, "Dumbledore will explain later."

Al sighed loudly in annoyance, but nodded and settled on the bench. The conversation died after that; the five lapsed into quiet.

Well... that is until the owls arrived, dropping packages and papers and letters all around the room.

Al strangled a gasp and he grasped onto his brother's arm.

Ed laughed, "Yeah, it freaked me out too the first few times. But don't worry; the owls are this world's form of sending mail."

"They use birds?" his voice rose in disbelief.

Ed snickered, "Yeah, it's weird, I know."

"It isn't weird! What about how Muggles send mail? It's slow and you're not always guaranteed to get your mail!" Ron defended loudly with a glare.

"Oh, would you two shut up?" Hermione hissed. As she spread her copy of the Daily Prophet out over her food, "Look here, there was a break-in at the Ministry of Magic."

"The what?" Al asked but got nothing but a shake and a 'we'll explain later' look from Ed.

"What happened?" Harry asked, leaning over Ron's plate.

"Well, says here, a young woman was found unconscious in the Ministry of Magic last night. It doesn't say how she got in, but she was quickly apprehended and is being held for questioning." Hermione went silent as she quickly read through the rest of the article, "And it says that officials are beginning to believe it was a simple game her friends put her up too. They don't think it was a malicious attack from... you-know-who... but because of this incident, security is going to be stepped up at the Ministry."

"Who is attacking people?" Al asked and grumbled unhappily as Ed again gave him that look.

"But if Voldie didn't send her, who might have? And who has the strength to get into the Ministry of Magic?"

"Oh, it happens loads of times." Ron told him suddenly. "Dad says that it happens often, but most of the time it's all accidents. Like this one time this witch was cooking up some applesauce and for some reason it transported her to the Ministry in the Herbology department."

"So it's not impossible." Hermione nodded, seeming satisfied with that answer."

Edward frowned though, "But last night?"

Al was the first to catch on, "Do you think by bringing me through we disrupted something and we might have caused some magic to be set loose?"

"Perhaps; it could be something like -like transporting random people to another location. Seeing how the gate transported us to entirely another world, it doesn't sound like it couldn't happen." Ed touched his chin, his finger curled over the top with his thumb rusting on the bottom and he tucked his other hand under his arm. Ed's eyes gazed off into his mind as he twisted the theories about in his mind.

Hermione shifted through the pages, finding the continuation to it, and then frowned, "Says here the reporter even heard a quiet rumor that the girl was a muggle, but that rumor hasn't been proven yet."

"A muggle got into the Ministry?" Harry asked with surprise.

"The reporter says she heard rumors she was unarmed and didn't even possess a wand. The Ministry is holding her for questioning and will release her once they have determined she isn't a threat, but they estimate that might be a week or two." Hermione told them, scanning through the paper.

Al sighed in frustration, so confused and unhappy.

Harry hissed and looked back to the paper with a glare on his face, "Don't look now. It's her, Umbridge."

Ed groaned and slammed his forehead against the table -drawing more attention to them than he had intended.

Al looked at his brother in worry and pushed his plate away as he leaned close to his brother. "Brother? What is it?"

"Nothing. That woman is just a bitch, is all."

With another frown, Al straightened up and turned in his seat, looking for the woman. He didn't have to look far, she moved into his line of vision with a little burping sound in her throat.

Al gave a cry of surprise and tumbled backwards in his seat and landed at her feet.

Ed was on his feet immediately and reached down to help Al up, his eyes staring at Umbridge as though he was uncertain of her.

The woman narrowed her eyes at Ed, "I see you are still here."

He raised a brow as his hands went into his pockets -Al standing close at his side, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I had asked Dumbledore to send you on your way. Seeing how Mr. Filch can handle the students on his own, I simply expressed my opinion that you were not as needed as he had first told me."

Ed shrugged, "Well, Dumbledore didn't tell me anything so I guess I'm staying. You'll get to enjoy my company for a while longer." He smirked, his eyes dangerous even though his face looked pleasant.

The woman sniffed and seemed to puff up in annoyance, and then she lowered her eyes to Al and raised a brow, "I haven't seen you before." Her eyes turned back to Edward and she glared, "I hope you aren't filling this boys head with nonsense. I don't want you corrupting the younger students with your tales of alchemy and dimensions."

"Alchemy isn't nonsense!" Al shouted in surprise, "It's the science of the world; and how can something where you understand a small part of the world be bad?" He asked then nearly squeaked as the woman seemed to tower over him before she turned a glaring eye on him. Al was quick to hide completely behind Ed.

"He's my brother." Ed hissed. "Just leave him alone."

Umbridge glared back at Ed, "Another Elric, how interesting. He is a transfer student I take it? He seems to be old enough to begin classes."

Ed stiffened then a smiled a forced grin, "Yeah, Al here is thinking about transferring in. He's just looking the school over before he makes a decision. We're going to talk with Dumbledore before lunch today, so he'll have his answer ready by then."

He then shot a look to the trio sitting across the table. Hermione quickly managed a small nod, urging him to go with that excuse.

The woman couldn't find a reason to argue that with him. She also knew there was indeed an appointment already made for the two with the Headmaster she was forced to simmer down and she sniffed, "All right then. But listen boy, you don't pay too much mind to your brother. He has nonsense in his head."

"Don't talk about my brother like that! He is the smartest person I've ever known! I bet he knows more than you do!" Al puffed up like a wet kitten, looking ready for a fight.

The woman glared at him. "You would do well to not speak to teachers in that tone of voice, boy. If you do become a student here, you're first detention will be with me. And speaking of detentions, you will be joining me again tonight, correct, Mr. Potter?"

Harry glared at her and shifted, hiding his right hand under his left arm. "Yeah..." He muttered.

The woman shot Edward another glare before she turned and waddled off.

Al moved around his brother and watched her go before he took his seat again, "She's a horrible person."

Edward wasn't so mature; he stuck his tongue out at her back before he flopped back down, one leg on either side of the bench, "A stupid bitch you mean." He grumbled and snatched up an apple and began to gnaw on it.

"Brother," Al scolded with only one word. But he nodded ever so slightly as he took a drink of his pumpkin juice.

Hermione sighed, "She is beginning to become unbearable."

"Just beginning to be?" Ron screeched, "She's an old hag who should crawl under a rock and die!"

"I wish she would just leave. If I never had to see her again I'd be happy." Harry muttered.

"So who is she anyways? She said she was a teacher here? But how could they let such a horrible person be a teacher?" Al asked.

Ed took a large crunch out of his apple, "She just became a teacher here this year. She's a replacement for the teacher we lost last year." He explained around his mouthful.

"Brother, your manners please," Al sighed in exasperation.

Hermione looked up at the clock in the Great Hall, "Well classes are about to start..."

"In ten minutes." Ron interrupted her, "No, I take that back, in fifteen minutes because the bell won't sound for ten minutes."

Hermione puffed up, "Really Ron, you should try a little. If you want to do well on the OWLS then you should try to do what you can this year to pass so you can get into good classes for your future."

Ron rolled his eyes and seemed bored by the idea.

Al smiled, "What are your classes?"

Ron sighed, "Well, for a Monday we have History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts. It's the worst Monday any fifth year has ever had to endure." He sighed and nearly slumped.

With a laugh Edward shrugged, about to open his mouth to say he was glad he didn't have to sit through those classes.

"Can I go? I mean, can I sit by and listen? I'll see more of what happens in this school and maybe learn how it all works. And I like History, and Potions sound interesting."

Ed nearly groaned, "Oh... the first class won't be so bad, I can sleep through that, but later on with Snape?" He sighed.

Al looked at Edward in confusion then looked to the other three. Hermione looked delighted to find someone who she could bring under her wing and teach and show them the delights of learning.

"Oh, Al! I'm sure it will be all right! And if you really are thinking about becoming a student here then it would be perfect!" She nearly giggled in delight.

The three boys groaned and Ed once again placed his head on the table.

Al smiled at Hermione and leaned over the table a bit, "Do you think I should bring a pencil and paper so I can take notes? I mean I don't think I will be a student, but I might learn something that I could use for later. And Edward could always teach me if I need to know something."

"Oh of course! I have an extra quill and some ink in my bag you can use. And I do have all the course books from my previous years in my trunk upstairs if you want to read up on them."

"You still have last years' books?" Ron gaped at her and even Harry looked shocked -sure he still had his school books from his first year, but he had left those back at the Dursleys, gathering dust on the shelf in his closet.

"Of course! I can't very well throw them away just because I've moved on. I might need to go back and re-read something in them for reference." She explained as though it were silly to not keep them.

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" Al nearly squealed in delight.

"Come on you four. Get to class before you get detention with a ghost." Ed sighed as he stood, motioning them all to follow him.

"A ghost?" Al asked.

"Professor Binns, the teacher of History of Magic, he's a ghost. Some say that he died one night and the next day his spirit came to class and he never even realized he had died. The other teachers don't have the heart to tell him so he's been the History Professor for years now." Hermione explained.

Hermione and Al lead the way with the other three following behind. The two chattered wildly about what he might learn and all the books she would loan him if he ever wanted to read up on it further.

The class was just as boring as ever, and Ed was the first to fall asleep at the table. Unfortunately for Hermione's hope, Al was the next to follow and the two brothers set up a steady rhythm with their breathing.

They were awoken as soon as class was dismissed and Al blushed, "Sorry... but he is boring."

Ed yawned and stretched like a lazy cat, "Yeah, told you."

Hermione sighed and puffed up a bit, "Well, there's always next time. Come on, we have to hurry to Potions."

Ron groaned, "I don't want to hurry to Potions. Snape doesn't like us anyway."

"Well I don't want to be late." Hermione snapped. "And besides, if we're late, he'll dock points from Gryffindor."

That got a sigh out of Harry and Ron and they picked up their pace. The five walked down the halls quickly and into the dungeon. The three took their usual seats, but upon Ed's insistence, he and Al sat off to the side in the spare chairs that were set aside there.

Draco Malfoy and his cronies walked in. Draco smirked and nudged Goyle in the gut before he wandered over to stand in front of Ed.

"Why, isn't it the genius. What are you doing in class? Are you babysitting a first year? Oh, how sweet. Well, just so you know, this is a fifth year class, not a first year. You got the wrong class. Why don't you run along now?"

Edward yawned loudly, and sat back in his chair, propping his foot up on the table he sat at with his arms behind his head, "Go away, blondie, I don't have the patients to deal with you today. And just so you know, I know this is a fifth year class. Who said I'm the only genius in my family?" He raised a brow and smirked.

Draco raised his own brow and tried to sort out what he meant by that -then realization dawned on him and he looked down at Al who smiled sheepishly and waved at him.

"So you have a brother. Does your brother still wear diapers? Is that why you have to babysit him in class?"

"If you don't want me to pop you in the lip again like last time, why don't you sit down and shut up?"

"Really, Mr. Elric, must you pick fights with the students?" Snape asked as he swooped into his classroom, the doors slamming shut and causing the last few students out of their seats to scramble for them.

Edward rolled his eyes, "Of course not, Sir." He said with a sarcastic mock to his voice

"Then I suggest you stop picking fights."

"I'm not picking fights, I'm just talking. I save all my best fights for you, Sir." Ed then smiled charmingly though his golden eyes flashed, then darkened dangerously as a frightening grin crawled over his face slyly.

"How very amusing," Snape drawled as he took his place at the head of the classroom and crossed his hands in front of him. "Might I inquire as to why I have you and this child in my classroom?"

"Just visiting, Professor. Al here just wanted to watch you charm your students into learning." Ed raised a brow, silently provoking the man on.

The students had stiffened and looked to each other, murmuring about what was happening. They had never seen someone actually fight back and forth with Snape like this. True it was becoming legendary from the first year Ed had appeared at their school, but to actually see it in action was amazing! Ed was standing up to Snape!

"Quiet." Snape demanded with a small raise of his voice. He turned his eyes back to Ed and then to Al who was sitting calmly next to his brother, not in the least bit scared.

Snape decided it was time to change that. "So this is the infamous Alphonse Elric?"

The entire class went into a hissing and squeaking frenzy as they pointed to the two brothers in a mixture of surprised delight, and annoyance.

"I am, Sir." Al told him with a smile. "Ed has told me you're Professor Snape and you teach the Potions class. I'm really interested to see what you're going to teach today. I've never see potions made before. Do you think I could try making potions too some time?"

Several girls giggled at the innocent way Alphonse had asked that question; they found him perfectly adorable.

Snape raised a brow at the boy slowly, "You do realize you are in a class of fifth year students. There are things you haven't yet learned and in this class, one slip of the hand and you could cause your body to disappear and your spirit to float free."

Ed snorted and Al slowly smiled, "It wouldn't be the first time, Sir." Then Ed burst into laugher.

Ed covered his eyes as he smiled, "Awe, Al." He grinned at his brother with a wink.

Al giggled then straightened up sharply as Snape shoved his face close to his and glared at him.

"This is no game child."

"And neither is alchemy. I know and I understand what could happen if careless actions are taken. I was just curious to see if I could join."

"No." Snape snapped.

"But..." Al slumped in his chair and sighed, "All right."

Snape pulled back, his pride momentarily wounded. The boy didn't seem scared of him, just as his brother wasn't. What had these boys seen to not be frightened of him?

If he had asked them, one word would have explained it all: Izumi.

"All right class; open your books one-hundred and fifty-two. Today we will be making a rejuvenation potion. It is used mostly to help one stay awake longer. The Aurors use this potion often if they are out in the field hunting down less than exemplary members of the wizarding community."

Edward had to raise a brow at the way Snape had said that. But he saw Harry sit up in his chair a bit straighter at the mention of 'the Aurors.'

"The instructions are in the book. However, I want you to use these ingredients instead. They are more common than the ones in the book." He swiped his wand at the board and the words appeared.

There was a groan from the class, a few muttering how annoying it was that he had to make it harder on them by changing the ingredients from the ones in the book.

Al's jaw dropped slightly and he looked at Edward quickly. Ed nodded and smiled a bit, then leaned closer, "That's some of the magic of this world, Al."

"Mr. Elric, do not speak while I'm speaking."

"Shove off it, Snape, I was just answering his question."

The room went deathly silent, "I will not, 'shove off', Mr. Elric. If you think you can answer all his questions, then by all means, come up here and teach my class."

There were several gasps.

Ed shrugged as a wicked grin slithered up his face and his eyes darkened dangerously, "Fine, but don't blame me if your students actually learn anything."

Snape nearly boiled over in anger at that last comment but he continued his cold exterior and he stepped aside and he motioned for him to take his place. He moved to the back of the room and stood still, watching him with a simmering, dark, anger that he gave everyone.

Ed didn't feel special at all.

Edward looked at Al and managed to stop himself from snickering, before he wandered up to the front of the class. He leaned back against the table with his arms folded, looking lazy while his eyes swept around at the surprised faces. Then it hit him: He had to teach these kids!

He smiled nervously and let out a worried laugh before he scratched the back of his head. "Well, the rejuvenation potion is sort of like coffee for muggles, only it works ten times as well. Does anyone know what is in the ingredient kola nuts?"

The room sat still but Al's hand shot up.

Ed waited a moment then finally nodded at his brother, "Al?"

"Kola nuts have caffeine in them. It's what people use in sodas, teas, and coffee."

"Right. So just think about it, even potions use the same qualities that muggle science has discovered, the only difference is that you wizards found it first. Every ingredient up there has to do with manipulating your body to respond to its chemical reaction. But with the infusion of magic into the mixture, it takes it too a whole other level. Okay, so everyone get up and get your ingredients."

Draco snorted and stood, wandering over to the cabinate to get some of the supplies they didn't have in their student kits, "Muggle science, what a joke."

Edward glared, "Hey, Malfoy, if you don't believe me, you should study the basic make up of the ingredients. Muggles figured it out without magic; do you have to skills to do that?"

"I don't need to know the muggle way of doing things."

Ed scowled, "You're just limiting yourself; holding yourself back."

"Brother, don't pick on him." Al sighed loudly.

Ed looked up at the ceiling and waved his hand lazily, "Whatever."

Al looked up at the board and studied the ingredients carefully then shifted, "Brother, do you think I can try? I really want too."

Ed shrugged, "Sure."

Al smiled and jumped to his feet, rushing to the cabinet to stand in line and get the ingredients. He grabbed a spare book and caldron hurried back to the spare table and set up quickly, he read the directions through quickly, pausing as he had to substitute the different ingredients. He laughed suddenly and looked over to Snape, "I can see why you changed some of the ingredients. The ones in the book wouldn't work as long as the ones you have up there."

Snape slowly raised a brow in curiosity.

Alphone began to start his cooking just as the rest of the class did.

Edward began to walk around the room, whispering to a student here or there to help them out without drawing attention to them. His hand shot out suddenly to grab Harry's hand to keep him from adding something and he shook his head, "Check the board again Harry, you missed something."

Harry looked at him funny then checked the board and his heart sank, he had accidentally skipped line four and went straight to five. "Thanks..." mumbled, looking embarrassed.

With a grin, Harry turned back to Neville to explain to him why this herb was used before this one. Understanding suddenly lit upon Neville's face and he nodded quickly, a new vigor and delight showed upon his features and he smiled slowly before he got back to work; his knew knowledge creating an excitement to finish that seemed to only rub off on himself.

The other students seemed less than vigorous to do the very best at their potions -only doing as much work as they had too.

With a large yawn, Edward continued wandering around. He peeked into his brother's caldron and he smirked, "Al, did you add sugar?"

Al smiled, "Yes. While I was adding the ingredients I figured that this thing would taste horrible, but I noticed that if I added the sugar in small doses while I put in the cleansed beetle eyes, it would mix well and give it a better taste."

Edward laughed, "You always did think about that sort of thing, even as kids. You think it'll work?" He asked and picked up Al's book, his hand on his chin as he read through the formula once more replacing the new ingredients with the ones in the book, and he nodded slowly, seeing what Al saw.

"It should. It's not exactly like alchemy, but the basic principle lies within it."

"And alchemy was born in the kitchen... got it." Ed grinned and replaced the book before he turned back to roaming around the class quietly. He peeked into their caldrons and nodded in approval or whispering to a student now and then.

Snape was rather frustrated; Ed had a completely different style of teaching and the children were going to finish their potions without seeing the consequences of not paying attention. They weren't going to learn from experience that if they didn't do it right the first time, it would be useless. By giving them hints, he was forcing them to rely on his judgment.

But upon looking to Neville, who for the first time in all his potions career, wasn't making a mess of his potion and it looked to be near completion with a perfect sample of the rejuvenation potion, he had to wonder if perhaps his method was indeed useful for some students.

Edward groaned, "Malfoy, I told you not to add the dandelion throat too soon after putting in the cactus juice. Even the book says to wait ten minutes."

Draco scowled at him "You did too. You told me to add it right after I put in the cactus juice."

Ed smiled slyly as he looked away, scratching at his cheek with one finger, "Oh, did I really? No, you must have heard me wrong. I would never have told any student that." He grinned to himself, trying so hard not to snicker in delight.

Draco growled and gripped his spoon, looking ready to murder the man. "You made me mess up on purpose!" He accused.

Ed turned back to the fuming young man then he clapped his hands and placed them onto the cauldrons side and tilted his head then nodded, "Congratulations Malfoy, you've made a perfect sample of heartburn medicine."

He stiffened and blinked, "What?" Draco was confused -first from the clap and now the announcement of what his potion was.

"You made heartburn medication. By adding the dandelion throat too soon, you stopped the cactus juice's storage power and it released itself too soon and the C8H10N4O2 chemicals that the kola nuts had been trying to absorb were canceled out; but by doing that you have also made a base compound that will help calm the acid in a human stomach."

Draco's face grew red from anger, "What the hell is C8H10N4O2?"

"It's the chemical elements that make up the basic alkaloid of caffeine in the kola nuts." Al spoke up even as he set his spoon aside and nodded with a smile. "I'm all done brother." He looked to him with a triumphant look on his face.

Snape was the one to move first and he peered into the boy's caldron and studied his potion. A surprised look spread over Snape's face but was quickly replaced by an unpleased one. "Hmm, seems you have a talent for potions. Though you do need work and your method is crass and crude at best."

The class went dead silent, even Hermione's jaw dropped in surprise. Snape had never complimented any of them on their potions.

Al smiled, "Its just simply understanding what you are putting into the mix. It's just like cooking only with magic."

Snape sniffed in annoyance, "Well, bottle up a sample of your potion so I may study it later. The sugar intrigues me as to how it will affect the potion's longevity." He then turned and motioned for Ed to take his seat.

Edward rolled his eyes but did as he was bided -besides, the class was over anyway.

Snape went to each table and peered into their caldrons. He was silent as he passed them. He paused as he looked into Harry's caldron and looked at him, "You should thank Mr. Elric from pausing your hand from ruining your potion. You won't be so lucky next time." And he continued on, not even saying a word to Hermione as her potion was perfect as always.

He paused at Neville's potion and stared at the contents then looked to the boy.

Neville shifted nervously.

"I would like to speak with you after class." Snape drawled out then continued on.

Neville slumped and sighed in defeat.

He stopped at Malfoy's potion and his lips formed a thin line, "Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Elric is right. By ignoring both his and the books instructions you have ruined a perfectly good potion. Next time, do try to listen."

Draco's cheeks went bright red and he glared at Edward, "But he..."

Snape raised a hand, though there was a look in his eyes that told him it would be all right.

Ed once again yawned as he sat back in his chair with his foot on the table with Al talking excitedly next to him.

Snape moved back to the head of the class and waved his hand, "Leave a sample of your potions at your tables and clean up your mess. I'll gather them up once you have all left."

The students were quick to clean up and leave their samples on the edge of the tables as they hurried out. Edward and Al were on their way out when Snape stopped them.

Neville stood off to the side, fidgeting nervously.

Snape looked Edward right in the eyes before he turned and moved over to Neville, standing in front of him. "What did Mr. Elric tell you to do with your potion?"

Licking his lips and staring up at the man who frightened him, Neville stammered. Upon watching Snape's brow rise in irritation, the words flew from him. "He said that potions was like cooking! He said that I couldn't cook the chicken first then add the butter, you had to go in an order. Sometimes you can deviate, but there is a reason things have to be laid out as they are. And he explained that the reason why the black root had to be added first before the essence of jasmine was because the black root had to cook for the skin to soften for the essence to seep into it and bond to the juices within the black root. When the black root exploded then the juices would be well bonded and ready to be combined with the rest. It makes sense because Professor Sprout was talking about black root qualities and explained that with such a tough outer skin that in order to open it, herbologist have to cook it for a small time to soften the skin. It..." He stopped and shifted from one foot to the other, "It just... made sense. I... I guess I understand now why I didn't understand potions till now; I wasn't paying attention to the reasons as to why this was added before this. It's like cooking... you can't bake the cake first then add the eggs. It doesn't work that way."

Snape stood a bit straighter and then nodded, "I don't understand what Mr. Elric was attempting to tell you, but it seems you did." He drawled, seeming less than happy by this. He waved his hand. "You may go now."

Neville nodded and turned, heading for the door.

"And your potion was perfect. I never thought I would live to see such a feat." Snape scowled. "Now that I know it's possible, I'll be grading you tougher.

Neville stopped and turned, staring at Snape with a mixture of horror and awe, the blood completely drained from his face. He shot Ed one last look and a goofy smile spread over his face before he disappeared out the door.

Snape turned and he stared at the Elric brothers. One was looking bored and lazy, the other standing straight and strong, waiting for whatever was to happen.

"Mr. Elric, with the exception of Neville, you ruined the entire point of teaching these children. If you fix their problems for them, they will never learn."

Ed's face screwed up, "Look, Snape, I thought the point of being a teacher was to teach the kids -and fix their mistakes so they would remember later."

"But if you fix their mistakes they will grow to rely on you." Snape shot back. "They need to learn how to handle their mistakes on their own."

"They're kids! They aren't adults and you shouldn't make them grow up any faster than they have too!" Ed shouted. His minds eyes flashed back to his lack of a childhood. "Kids should be allowed to grow up carefree and enjoy themselves while they can. There's a war out there but they should still be allowed leeway to learn and experience. Don't force them to become grownups. It's a harsh punishment."

"Brother..." Al whispered, taking his hand in both of his. Edward pulled his hand away and stormed from the room. Alphonse sighed loudly and shook his head. He turned his eyes to Snape suddenly and smiled softly, "Don't mind him, Professor Snape. Edward had to grow up early. He was nine when our mother died. He's the eldest, so he felt he had to take care of me even though we had agreed to take care of each other. He shouldered the burden of everything. He tried to protect me. I don't remember what happened during the five years I had lost my body, but from the stories I heard, he had been forced to endure things most grownups would have crumpled under."

Alphonse stared up at Snape, who was still staring out the door as though he was ignoring Al. The boy smiled, knowing the man had been clinging to his words. He sighed heavily, "Well I better go after Brother. In this state, he's bound to cause a fight or yell at someone who doesn't deserve it. I should go make sure he stays out of trouble. Thank you for allowing me to join your class today." Al smiled all the more brilliantly before he turned and left the classroom, leaving the man to absorb his words.

With a shake of his head and causing his rather greasy hair to sway about his face, Snape turned to gather up the bottles with his students' names on them. "To think the younger is more mature than the eldest." He grumbled and threw in the less than average potions -except for three this time around.

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I know, this was a long chapter o.0 but I couldn't find any decent place to cut till there.... But oh well. Ya'll deceive it, I made ya'll wait a few days longer than I first intended too. Not that that is a bad thing, simply because I actually figured out a huge plot hole and fixed it so it will now work better and flow nicely -

Bleh, for some reason I didn't like this chapter yet I was so excited to write it. I think it's because Snape is WAY out of character when talking with Neville. I also think it's because I feel like everyone has a nice side -even Snape. I have a bad habit of doing that to people ;.; don't flay me! I wanted to do something nice for Neville! He's always getting picked on or having his potions explode! ... but yeah... that was completely out of character and I hate it, but I didn't have the heart to change it. ;.; I'm sorry!

Though I did like Ed's little bicker with Snape... 'I save all my best fights for you, Sir.' I liked that. And I giggled when I thought of Ed purposely screwing Malfoy over with his potion. Ya'll are lucky! I thought that up just before I posted this sucker so I rewrote that scene to include that!

Again, not a very exciting chapter... I think I'll post the next one early just because this chapter sucked on top of being a guilty-pleasure-joyable. And Ed does find out something that makes him less than logical in the next chappie ;) snickers give ya a hint... Ministry.

(I hope Ed seems less perfect o.0 I'm trying to work on that. I didn't realize that with my thoughts of him being older and a bit more mature, I was cutting out all the lovable quirks Ed has) and thanks to those who pointed that out! (Though I know this chapter doesn't show it much because Ed is a little too giddy at having family with him again and not being completely alone.)

Well, I'll let ya'll go. Again, Reviews are brilliant motivators and questions are always welcome! Till next time