They finally found a compartment with but one person in it. Harry stopped to talk to a round faced boy who held a struggling fat toad in a one handed grip and a truck handle in another.
"Hi Harry. Can't find a seat...They're all full."
"oh....This one only has Loony Lovegood in it." Ed looked over his shoulder at that voice, surprised that Ginny had followed them down the corridor.
The boy mumbled something, and examined his shoes.
"Don't be silly..she's all right." Ginny said, and shimmied past Ed and Harry to open the compartment door. Ed backed in..being the only way him him to enter while holding Harry's trunk handle, and Harry backed in after him with reluctance painted all over his features. Ed eased his end of the trunk down, slipped his knapsack off to a bench with a satisfying 'thunk!', and then looked to the who Ginny had called 'Looney Lovegood' as he worked blood back into his left arm. He saw the girl with long blond hair sitting by a window..reading a magazine--with moving pictures!--upside down. And she looked so very very familiar. His breath caught in his throat.
'Winry..' He thought.
Before he realised it, his backside was on the carpet.
Harry, the boy, and Ginny piled their trunks in the luggage compartment, not noticing Ed was on the floor at all. The girl, on the other hand, large blue eyes the color of corn-flowers, looked at him over her magazine and stared and stared and stared. Harry sat across from her and she shifted her gaze. Ed swallowed, and began to pick himself up off the floor. He was careful not to look at the Lovegood girl, knowing he couldn't keep a certain expression off his face no matter how hard he schooled himself.
"You're Harry Potter.." Her airy voice said. " And..I don't know who you are."
'-Not Winry. She never..ever..sounds like that..' Ed thought, and faced away, squeezed his eyes shut tight.
"Oh. I'm nobody." The boy said.
"Like hell you're not..Luna, this is Neville Longbottom." Ginny said. "And that..over there..hey..Ed? You ok?"
Ed swallowed and opened his eyes again, then looked back, and gave a slight nod to Ginny. Harry looked at him, green eyes behind round glasses full of concern. Ed knew he had to look at the girl, this LUNA. And make it look like she was the complete stranger she both was, and wasn't.
"Ed?" Harry's voice.
"I'm alvright Harry." Ed met the staring blue eyes of the girl again, but not before he noticed a strange look from Harry first.
"I don't believe I know you." The girl said airly.
"This is Edward Elric. He's new to...Hogwarts this year. Don't know what year he'll end up in, though. He's going to get placed by the professors first, after being sorted." Harry said. "Ed, this is Neville, and Luna."
"That's rather unusual of them to do." Luna said. "You really should sit over here, Edward. That seat seems to be infested with Nargles." Luna then raised her upside down magazine and covered her face. Ed looked over to Harry and mouthed 'Nargles?' with a single raised eyebrow, not recalling reading about anything in that 'Magical beasts' book that sounded like the word. Harry shrugged and jerked his chin for him to join them. With great reluctance, Ed did so. He settled across from Harry, next to the Luna girl, sitting just-so, hoping he wouldn't have to face her all too familiar features without being prepared.
:::
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