When it was nearly time for lights out, Ed grabbed a great stack of his papers and a bunch of the notebooks, and piled them both together.
"I vill be vorking on dhese in de drawing vroom..."
"Ed..you don't.." Harry said.
Ed held up his metal hand.
"I have to keep vorking." Ed said softly.
With that, he shifted the now huge stack of papers and notebooks so that they balanced on his arm and were held in place under his chin. Then walked out the bedroom door. Mrs. Weasley arrived soon enough, and Harry and Ron had to explain where Ed went. She nodded, and frowned, then urged them both to remain in bed as she shut the door.
Harry smiled as he settled himself into his bed...nearly single week remained until he could return to Hogwarts. The mystery that was Ed paled in comparison to that happy occasion in his mind.
Ed sat on the floor in the bright moonlight, his notebooks and papers spead all about him. He half wondered why he bothered with the task at all. He knew what most of the notebooks contained: dead ends.
The theory side was sound; the notebooks' various equations that proved that. It was just far from being practical. Now he had his use of Alchemy back, this work, which represented 6 long months of solid calculations, a long shot to begin with at best at the time he started, seemed just so..pointless. He picked his way through them anyway, determined to finish what he started on the off chance the work would prove useful. Somehow.
He had his hand on the last of them, when the door opened behind him. He looked over his shoulder.
"Wocher, Ed." Tonks said, holding the door open with one leg. He saw she had someone's arm over her shoulder, and she was struggling with the weight. Ed blinked, and stood, intending to lend her a hand.
"Look..um..You need to be clearing out here..." Tonks began.
"No..it's alright..I think he knows about it already." Remus voice sounding very rough and low.
"You sure?"
Ed saw some head movement, and went to grab Remus's other arm.
"vhat's vrong..you look..awful."
"It's that..ah..something, you said I was mixed--ow!! ahh!!" Remus, nearly folding himself in half as they moved him into the room. Remus pushed Ed to the side and went to lean heavily against the wall. Ed looked back and saw Sirius closing the door silently behind him. Ed saw his eyes looked worried as he looked to Remus, then to himself. Ed blinked, and looked back to Remus as he slid to the floor, eased there by Tonks. Ed could clearly see him in the moonlight. And that he was changing, obviously painfully, to something else. Remus did not call out; he clenched his teeth instead.
"Chimera." Ed whispered in Amestrian.
"It's alright. He's on wolfsbane potion..so he should keep his mind." Sirius said from behind him. Ed tilted his head. "He just couldn't make it to his usual safehouse tonight."
"vWolfzbane potion? Safehouse..? " Ed looked over to Sirius.
"The potion he takes helps a great deal." Tonks said softly, reaching out to Remus' now fur covered arm.
"Vas?" Ed watched as Remus's form shifted. In moments, where Remus had previously been, was now a rather large wolf, laying spralled on the ground panting. Yellow eyes. Round snout. And a tufted tail.
Ed squatted down where he was, and looked the creature over carefully like he would an array. "Amazing. Dhere vas onzy vone..um, i do not have vord ..dhat I know of dhat could do a complete animal reversion...de form vas not as lovely as dis. "
"'Lovely'? That's the first positive description I've heard for a werewolf." Sirius chuckled.
"Verevolf." Ed snorted. "Vright. Next you'll tell me vampires and geists are vreal, too. Remus, you alvright?"
Tonks squatted down beside the wolf and stroked it's furry back. The wolf struggled then stood, and shook itself all over as only a canine could. The yellow eyes met Ed's..and he saw that they looked incredibly human. The tail even wagged a bit.
"He's fine." Tonks said.
"Dhat looked painful. Can he change back?" Ed said.
"No. Not until morning. Or moonset." Sirius said. " Whichever comes first."
"So dhis vhasn't..he did not vant to change?" Ed said.
"Werewolves usually don't." Sirius said.
"Dhat..makes no sense to me." Ed said.
"It's just how werewolves are. They change at the full moon whether they like it or not." Sirius said.
"How can..vait..did de vone vho did dhis to him do somting to his head or someting? I researched someting on de making of dhese..TSHH." Ed punched the floor with his fist.".. hate English vords!!..."
"Remus became a werewolf when he was a child the usual way. He got bit by one." Tonks said.
"Bit. You BECOME dhis..vith a bite." Ed deadpanned. "Dhat. Iz such. Bullshit."
"YOU. Have a lot to learn." Sirius said. "And yes. Vampires and ghosts are real too. There's a ghost that teaches history at Hogwarts, in fact."
Ed sat back, and blinked. He tilted his head and looked the wolf over again.
"Maybe dhey made virus or bacteria..? But dhat vould be take so much energie to do...have to be so precise..and vouldn't eben hold dhat long..Messy too..kill too many to make stable if it ever vas..." Ed said, and shook his head and closed his eyes. "I..do not vant to tink aboutz it. Makes me sick to dhink somevone vould do dhis to odher people."
"No one's asking you to." Sirius said, and patted his shoulder. "Don't even..."
"You vant him cured, yes?" Ed looked to Sirius, then to Tonks. "De dhing done to him reversed?"
"Of course I do..!! He's a dear friend." Sirius said. "Just...People have been searching for a cure for werewolves for centuries. One more searching will be welcome, but.."
Ed nodded.
"I make no promises. I DO have much I need to learn. And much I need to be doing."
Ed held out his left hand to Remus the wolf. Remus sniffed it, and gave the palm a small lick.
"I grew up avround many fox. I..Dhat means..um..friend?"
The tail wagged a little more.
"Goot.." Ed snorted. "VEREVOLF or vhatever. Teeth hurt."
Ed then bent back to his task of sorting, unconcerned with those in the room. Wolf laying nearby. Tonks and Sirius keeping him company, but neither were much help. This was one thing he had to do on his own..most of the writing was in Amestrian, and he really doubted anyone in the house could read it. Once he was finished, he gathered the papers together once more. He turned, meaning to speak to Sirius, only to find a large black dog where the man had been, curled up and sleeping next to the wolf. Ed blinked, then looked to the remaining person in the room.
Tonks looked over at him from where she sat. Hair now bright pink in color.
"Is dhere some vay for me to get into contact vith dis..Dumbledore? I need to..make use..of dis 'magic' school of his..." Saying the word 'magic' still made his nose wrinkle in disgust.
:::
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