Of Alchemists and Wizards

by brutal_pipe_murder (mango_flavored_cosmonaut), mango_flavored_cosmonaut

Summary:

Instead of giving up his Alchemy, Edward Elric makes a deal with Truth to protect a boy from another world quite different from his own. One year after the promised day, Ed must travel through the portal of truth to England. Here, he meets the headmaster of Hogwarts and is assigned the role of the school's alchemy professor. Ed must complete this without spilling any of his secrets.

Set during book 5

Notes:

• Inspired by Of Alchemists And Wizards by dark.kai.art

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Chapter by mango_flavored_cosmonaut

Notes:

This work is inspired by a work on Fanfiction.net- so if you like this, then be sure to check it out!

Edward Elric stood in front of his greatest enemy. Truth. He posed himself confidently; his eyes shining with unshed tears. “Well, I suppose you're here to retrieve your brother?” Truth asked, the entirely white being baring its teeth. He smirked, and even though there was nothing else for Edward to help read its features, he knew it thought it had the upper hand. Boy was it wrong. And to believe it called itself Truth. "And how do you plan on paying the toll? You can't really believe I'll just give him back to you, just like that," the all knowing being hissed. "Will you trade yourself for your brother?" the being asked, that ever present smirk on its face. Ed smirked.

"No," he said resolutely. "I have too many people waiting for me back home," the teen explained, crossing my asymmetrical arms over my chest.

"Then what shall be your payment, little alchemist?" Truth asked. Ed resisted the urge to explode at the being, knowing well that could ruin his whole plan. "What are you willing to sacrifice?" it asked, its voice full of contempt and malice. In response, the alchemist jerked his thumb behind him at the huge set of stone doors behind him.

"I think my own portal of Truth should suffice," he said, a smirk on his lips as he stared at the all powerful creature. "It's all mine, so I should decide how it gets used. And I think this is a pretty good way to use it," He said, crossing his arms over his chest once more, a smug smirk on his face. Truth was silent for a moment, letting the boy’s words sink in.

Then, it began laughing. Edward winced at the sound, the sound that had haunted his dreams for years. Ever since that day, that noise had been rattling around in his head, never letting him catch a break. It had kept him living in constant fear, fear that he would never return Al to his body. And here he was, thinking he had everything figured out, and it was laughing at him. His heart clenched at the thought of his plan failing. This was the only option he had left. If this didn't work, Ed didn't know what he was supposed to do.

“Yes, you are correct, Edward,” The Truth finally relented, “But are you sure about this?” It asked, his voice still holding some humor as if it wasn’t done laughing. He gave it a firm nod. "If you give up your portal, you'll never be able to perform alchemy again," It reminded Ed, and he smirked.

"I know," He assured the being. "But alchemy is nothing in comparison to my brother," Edward explained. The pure white being nodded.

"While that is true," the Truth began, and he felt his heart plummet. "I don't want to see you throw your talent away, just like that," it said, the smirk returning to its face as it snapped its fingers in emphasis.

"Well then what the hell am I supposed to do! This is what I want! This is my own damn portal, and I'll decide what I do with it!" The boy raged at the being in front of him. Still, it didn't look bothered. In fact, it raised its hand at him and opened its mouth to continue.

"I don't want to see you throwing away your talent, so I'll let you keep it." Ed’s eyebrows furrowed at the being's words, unable to understand how this was going to work. There was no equivalent exchange. "Instead, I want you to do me a favor; there are other worlds in need of protection, you know," It said. Ed took a step back, not understanding in the slightest. "I want you to go to another world which is in need of help. See this as your payment. You get to keep your alchemy and your brother. Just do me this favor," it said.

"Do you really believe that I'm just going to leave after I finally get my brother back? I can't just leave him alone, and I promised Winry I'd be back as soon as all of this hell was over," He yelled. It held up its hand again for him to be silent.

"Seeing as it is not time yet for you to enter this particular world, I will give you one year. The second the clock strikes 12:00 on August 25th of next year, I will come calling, Edward Elric. Promise me this, and I will return your brother to you, your alchemy still intact.".

 

The short teen thought about the offer for a moment. He wasn't sure what he was getting himself into. It hadn't given him any other information. Ed had no idea where he was going, who he would be dealing with, or what he would be doing. His mind was still reeling in the fact that there were other worlds outside his own, but he never thought there would be an all powerful being known as god, and here it was standing in front of him.

"How long will I be away from my family?" Ed asked.

"It will be a 12 month period of time. There is a young boy who will be in need of protection. This is too important for this other world's timeline and future to let go. And you, Edward Elric, are the perfect man for the job," It explained, crossing its arms over its chest.

"I guess this is all the information I'm getting, huh?" Edward asked. Truth's silence was answer enough. "And there's not a catch to any of this, is there? I'll return after my year?" He asked.

"Well of course, Edward. That is the law of equivalent exchange. If there was a catch or something I wasn't telling you, it wouldn't be equivalent, no would it?" Truth reasoned, and he couldn't exactly argue with that logic. If anyone knew equivalent exchange, it was Truth. He thought about the arrangement for a moment more before extending his newly returned limb to the creature. Truth reached forward with its own, and they shook. "I'll be back for the toll in a year, young alchemist. You best me ready," It said before disappearing.

As it disappeared, Ed’s face broke out into a smile as he saw his little brother, still skin and bones but Al nonetheless sitting in front of his own portal. "You ready to head home, Al?" He asked as he approached the boy who was nothing but skin hanging off protruding bones. Edward extended my hand to the boy, and he accepted.

"Ready as I'll ever be," the boy said. His hair and skin were dull, but his eyes shone bright. Ed could still see the fire that he hadn't seen since that day. The older teen carefully threw his arm around his brother, supporting him at his waist as one of his scrawny arms wrapped around his brother’s shoulders. They both looked up at Alphonse’s portal of truth, smiling as they entered the doorway into the light.

 

“Do you have everything?” Winry asked from the other room. Ed bit back a sigh, and shouted his affirmations back to the mechanic. He stared at his luggage, drifting off into thought. Only a year ago 

he’d helped Al home from the hospital and  just a few weeks ago he'd proposed to Winry. She hadn’t answered, but the smile on her face was answer enough for Ed.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Chapter by brutal_pipe_murder (mango_flavored_cosmonaut)

The moon shone brightly on the night that Edward had to leave. He grasped the lead attached to Den tightly: he didn’t need anyone noticing his anxiety. “Promise me you’ll be okay, brother?”, “I’ll be fine, Al.” Ed tried to reassure his brother, but there was an anxious tone to his voice that wouldn’t go away. Den pressed his nose into Edward’s hand, distracting him from his thoughts; Winry approached the two slowly. “So, I have a gift for each of you two…” She said slowly, pulling out a box and a piece of cloth. Winry handed the box to Ed, and told him to open it. Inside was a ring, in a half-sun shape, encrusted with clear and yellow crystals. Winry held up her hand, “I have the moon. They go together to create a whole; I figured that if I’m not going to see you for a year then I may as well get our engagement rings already.”. Silence filled the room- until Den barked, breaking the tension, “Okay, Den, let’s take a look at your present then.” The mechanic exclaimed, face red, “It’s a dog vest? I don’t get it?” Al and Ed muttered as Winry fitted the vest onto the animal. “It’s a vest that tells people that Den isn’t a pet; and that he’s there to help you! It says on here to ignore him because he’s a working service animal”.

Edward was starting to wonder where Truth was. He’d said his goodbyes to his family almost an hour ago, and was now sat on the porch with Den on his lap. “Hm, maybe it forgot about me.” He kicked a pebble just as he disappeared from the world he lived in. “Oh. Nevermind then,” He muttered, crossing his arms, “What took you so long, Truth.”, “I was picking up a friend of yours. You remember the General?”. Edward felt all the color draining from his face. He turned so that Roy was in his vision, and saluted. “Sir.” He said, lowering his arm once Roy saluted back, “This wasn’t the deal, Truth, why is he here?!”, “Relax, Edward, this is something the General agreed to himself.”. Edward let out a sigh; running his hand through his hair slowly, processing the situation. “Am I interrupting something? Sorry, I’m Albus Dumbledore; I came to pick a ‘Colonel Edward Elric’ up?” The elderly man stated, making the other two men jump. Den jumped up and licked Ed’s face, signaling that he was getting too worked up. Taking a deep breath, Edward faced the man, “That would be me. However, it seems that there may be more than one guest to accommodate, I'm afraid.”, “I see,” Said Dumbledore, “I do not see why that will be much trouble, so there are no worries, Colonel.”. Roy stepped forward, holding out his hand for Dumbledore to shake. As he did so, Roy spoke, “Hello, Mr. Dumbledore, I am General Roy Mustang. I’m Ed’s commanding officer; I’ll be here to supervise him.”.

The journey took them mere seconds, but the area in which they landed confused the two soldiers. Roy shook his head to clear the dizziness away, and took in his charge’s appearance: Edward’s face had paled significantly and Den was trying to push him onto the ground. Roy found himself gripping his charge’s shoulder and staring into his eyes, “If you need a moment, then take one.” Ed nodded, but didn’t make a move to sit down. He took a few deep breaths and shook his head violently, then faced the General with a smile. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”. Roy looked at Den for any signs of discomfort, but the animal seemed satisfied enough to continue. “We will be walking to the school from here, so I suggest that you two let me charm your luggage to float the remainder of the way, as it is a bit of a long journey.” Roy nodded in understanding- he really didn’t want to carry his suitcases the whole of the way there- but, being the stubborn little shit he always was, Ed shook his head. “I’ll carry mine myself, don’t worry about it.”, “Hm, if you say so Colonel Elric. Though if you get tired part of the way there, don’t hesitate to let me know so I can charm your suitcases.” Ed ignored him. It was 3 minutes into the journey that someone spoke, it was Albus. “So, Colonel Elric-”, “Just Ed is fine.”, “- Edward, then. Why do you have a dog with you? The students are allowed cats, toads or owls, but I do not remember being told in advance that you were bringing a pet.” There was a momentary silence, and Edward looked away before answering, “Well, Den isn’t a pet. He’s a trained dog to help with any issues I have associated with anxiety or automail pain. He has a job, but he can’t do it if I’m a world away, can he?” Dumbledore nodded, but didn’t speak again. ‘Automail. That’s a new one…’, he thought, bringing a hand up to stroke his beard.

The train of thought continued for the rest of the journey; Roy occasionally making remarks about the scenery to Ed, who would hum in reply. The castle was massive, and both Roy and Ed’s jaws dropped at the sight of it. As the trio were walking through the grand doors of the castle, they saw a sea of lights coming across the lake next to the castle. “Those are the first year students. They come across the lake, and then the other students all come in carriages after that.”, “Wow, that must be an exciting experience. Hm, Edward, you might want to put Den on a leash or something; there are students around us.”. Edward nodded, setting his suitcases down and digging through one of them. He made a few noises of frustration before finding what he wanted. After a minute or so of fitting a vest onto Den, Ed stood up. “There. We can continue now.” Roy and Albus peeked at the lettering on the vest, before humming in affirmation and continuing the journey. The inside was just as impressive as the outside, but the awe was short-lived, as the students already inside started to crowd around the small group asking the two soldiers questions. Edward was suddenly glad he hadn’t worn his uniform for the journey, because Roy was being poked and prodded at while girls squealed about his obvious military clothing. “Students!” A low, gravely voice came from behind them. There was a man, clearly a teacher, with shoulder-length black hair and billowing black robes. “If you do not want house points deducted, then I suggest that you leave these people alone!” He growled, and the crowd dispersed so quickly Ed was left thinking they’d teleported. “Thank you. I’m General Mustang, and this is my subordinate Colonel Elric. We’re here for the new alchemy teaching position.”, “Severus Snape. Potions teacher.” The man was clearly unimpressed by the use of rank, but Ed didn’t care- as long as nobody talked about his height.

The headmaster charmed their luggage to go to their respective rooms, and they all made their way into the great hall. The teachers were all in conversation- except for a stout woman in a tacky pink cardigan. It seemed as though all the faculty were expressly ignoring her. Ed sat himself next to her, letting Den go underneath the table. The woman, even uglier up close, he thought, raised her eyebrow in disdain. “You got a problem, lady?” He grumbled, resting his face into his flesh hand. “Yes, actually. What is Hogwarts doing employing a child like you out of all options, Mr. Elric. Are they really that desperate?!”. Roy tensed beside him, and the short alchemist cackled, “I’m one of the best in my field, lady.”, “And it’s Colonel Elric.” Roy added, ignoring the frown from Edward and stupefied look from the woman. As the sorting began to take place, Ed glanced at Roy in irritation. “You know I was trying to keep the whole ‘minor-in-the-military’ thing a secret, right?” He mumbled, nearly slamming his face into the table, before the woman beside him cleared her throat vehemently. Dumbledore, who had been mid-speech, stopped suddenly with a momentary look of surprise before sitting with rapt attention. “Thank you, Headmaster,” The woman drawled in her sickly sweet voice, “For those kind words of welcome.”. Ed rolled his eyes when she gave another small cough to clear her throat. Honestly, he might have to give her something for that. “Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!” Ed could clearly tell that none of the students were happy to see this woman. “I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I’m sure we’ll be very good friends!”. Both Roy and Edward felt their patience wearing thin at this woman’s speech, however, they had noticed how Dumbledore had not tried to interrupt her once. This had probably meant that she held some position of power in the magical community. They needed to be careful. Ed began to tune her speech out, feeling his awareness slip away from him as time flowed.

Notes:

I know I haven't posted in FOREVER, but hopefully I'm back and will post as often as I can <3

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Chapter by brutal_pipe_murder (mango_flavored_cosmonaut)

He didn’t know how much time had passed when he suddenly became aware of his surroundings again. He wondered what had brought him back, if anything, and found Den gently gnawing on his flesh leg. There was food surrounding  him on the table, and Roy was giving him a look. “What.” He ground out, shoving a piece of meat into his mouth, “You were zoning out for a while, Fullmetal. Is everything alright?” Ed knew the underlying question. Do you need to leave? Ed rolled his eyes, the action producing an ache that signified he may actually have to leave soon. “I’ll be fine… for now.” He muttered the last part of his sentence quiet enough that he was sure Mustang hadn’t heard- but the rise of an eyebrow proved otherwise. Roy exhaled tiredly, turning back to his own food, and leaving the other in silence. This gave Umbridge a chance to capture Ed’s attention with a, “I didn’t know they let people have dogs in Hogwarts.”, “Den’s a work dog. He has a job.” Umbridge scoffed. “What can a dog do that a human can’t?”, “A lot, actually. Quite a few veterans have service dogs to help them with the trauma from war. Some dogs can help with the mobility issues that some who have lost limbs have.” Ed paused, before continuing, “Den helps with that and other things. Are you done now?”. Umbridge stopped bothering him, but continued to send strange glances towards him.

 

After ensuring that Den was fed, Ed yawned loudly: man, he was tired! Suddenly, the ache from earlier decided to reintroduce itself as a heavy pounding. The lights ground into Edward’s skull, and the noises of children pierced his ears. “Exit.” Ed said to Den, who became alert and focused immediately, “I’m gonna step outside for a bit. Get some fresh air.” He muttered in Roy’s general direction. Finding the exit was fairly easy for Den, after all it was straight ahead. As the two were walking towards the exit, multiple heads from the student tables turned towards him. One loud voice rang out and he heard it more than the others, “‘Mione, is that a dog ?! I thought the students weren’t allowed dogs?” A feminine voice answered him, “Ron. Stop. Do you see the vest the dog is wearing? That means that it’s a service dog. They help people with things. You shouldn’t really be looking at him.”. With a sigh of relief, the young alchemist stepped out of the room and into the hallway. With a shaky breath, he leant against the wall. Den began to lick at his hand, and Ed sat down on the floor, allowing Den to spread himself across his legs. “Really, Den? Couldn’t wait until we got somewhere else? Aghh, fine. But it’s your fault if someone trips over us.”. Just as he finished saying that, a small shriek came from someone as they tripped over Den and fell to the floor with a heavy thud. It was Roy.

 

Roy was concerned, to say the least. The sorting was boring, yes, but Ed never usually zoned out during those types of things. Yet here he was, nudging his subordinate every minute or so to try and get his attention. “Ed.” He whispered, gaining Den’s attention from underneath the table. That was it! Roy thought, petting the dog. Only, he couldn’t remember what the command was to get Den to alert Ed. “Ummm…” Roy scratched his head in thought- the potions teacher from before peered over curiously, “Wake? No, that’s not it. Bite.”. Roy cheered inside his head when Den began to chew gently on Edward’s flesh leg. The other let out a harsh exhale, and looked around for a second before landing his eyes on Den. “You were zoning out for a while, Fullmetal. Is everything alright?” The other soldier stared for a second before replying, “I’ll be fine…” Roy thought he was just tired, but his subordinate mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like ‘for now’. Roy raised an eyebrow, his concern only increasing when Edward got Den’s attention with, “Exit”. A command only to be used when in need of a quick exit.

 

The room Ed was staying in was a long walk away, and he was starting to wish that he’d grabbed Den’s support vest instead- even though that meant stupid Roy would see him like that. In fact, it was bad enough that Roy had been the one to find Ed slumped against the wall whilst his vision wavered with the waves of pain radiating from his head. “Let’s go to your room for now, Edward.” He’d said, lifting the teen so he was leant onto Roy’s side as he stumbled. “I’m fine.” He ground out, attempting to push away from Roy with waning strength. Roy scoffed, obviously not convinced, but otherwise remained silent. At some point, Mustang had let go of Edward, letting him lean heavily whilst remaining close by.

 

It didn’t take as long as Roy had thought it would to get Ed to his room and on his bed. What he hadn’t prepared for, however, was Den to run away from the room with a bark. Ed had fallen asleep almost instantly, seemingly not worried about Den in the slightest. “I’ll go find him then.” Roy muttered, shrugging his overcoat off to reveal his dress shirt. The door creaked as he left, a breeze coming in from an open window. “Den?” He called, almost jogging around the corner when he heard a muffled bark. Den barreled into him as he ran back towards the room. “What the-?” The dog dropped a cane into Roy’s lap, licking his hands happily. “Hey! That’s supposed to be in- was it in my room?”. An affirmative bark told him what he needed.

 

Hours later, in the pitch black of his room, Edward woke to Den leaping onto the bed. “Hey. Go away.” He croaked, smiling as the dog ignored him and snuggled against him, “Okay then.”.

Notes:

Short chapter this time guys, so sorry
I'm currently doing exams and work so I don't have much time
(big chapter next time to make up for it)