Ed made sure to go to bed long after the others in the dorm went. And he got up long before anyone had awoken. He was in the middle of his isometric routine when Dean rubbed his sleepy eyes. He was one of the one's that had seen his uncovered metal hand up close at the table last night. Ed saw the questioning look in the boy's eyes, but pretended to be far too focused to notice anything. It was close to the truth, anyway;
The turning in the weather was the cause of so many aches in his ports that he had to concentrate more than normal to move properly.
Ed was fully dressed in a black long sleeved turtle-necked sweater, long dress slacks, gloves, and boots. His long golden hair braided back
today; only his unruly bangs remained truly unruly. The one thing he hadn't put on just yet was his pocket watch--it sat on the small side table
beside the bed.
Seamus woke next.
Then Nevelle. That one also had seen his hand. As Ed switched legs on the wall, he saw Nevelle yawn and stretch.
"Morning." The round faced boy said cheerfully.
"Mornink.." Ed replied, and hissed through his teeth. Left port choosing just then to throb. He was finished by the time Ron awoke. That was
when he reached for his watch.
"So.." Neville said softly. "You have a fake hand..?"
Ed froze a moment, but then hooked the watch to the front loop of his pants and slipped it into his pocket. It was on his right side, as usual.
"Yeah." Ed said. "Vhy..?"
"I saw it last night. I..uh..didn't know."
Ed nodded, and looked to the boy.
"Makes us eben, yes? Dhat cactus...? "
Neville grimmaced a little.
"So..um..can we see it? " Dean said.
"Dean..!" Harry said. "That's..!"
"You know he's not..!" Ron said. "I mean..he's been..hidden and all..and..and.."
"No..it's alvright." Ed said. "It..um. You. And Harry. um. You alvready know." Ed sat down on his bed and took a breath. He looked hard at Dean,
Seamus, and Neville. "I dhink..um..is better for dhem to know as vell."
Ed removed the glove, held up the hand, and flexed the fingers. Then, he pushed his sleeve up a little ways, and watched their eyes widen. Ed
rolled his eyes at that point, pushed the sleeve back down and replaced the glove. The questions began almost immediately.
"H-how..?" Seamus said, "I mean..um.."
Ed narrowed his eyes.
"Wow..that HAS to be a Muggle-made arm," Dean said, "..but I've never.."
"Yeah..friend made it for me." Ed said. "Hohem..my father..designed it."
"How's it work?"
"No idea." Ed said. "Someting to do vith dhe nerves. My brain still sends signals, it takes dhem somehow and makes dhe movements I tell it to."
"Does it hurt..?" Neville said.
Ed looked at Neville.
"No. Dhere iz no feeling. I can movez it, but zat iz all."
"Magic can..why.." Seamus said. "I mean, Neville lost his hand 'bout a year back, and he's fine...You really MUST be Muggle born."
'Magic has no equivalent exchange...' Ed thought. 'But..to do THAT!?'
"I find dhat.. veird." Ed said, covering his surprise at the news that Neville lost a hand then got it back, whole and complete. "I mean..
'Muggle'? 'Mudblood'? Tch.. But, yeah. I vould be vhat you know as 'Muggle-born'."
"Then how did you..At the ceremony..and the table..That wandless..if you didn't know magic at all..?" Neville said.
"Dhat..um.." Ed looked a Neville, and took a breath. "Dhat vwasn't magic."
"Huh?" "That sure looked.." "Wha..?"
Ed glanced at Ron, and Harry, then picked up his notebook and went to the Main Hall, pausing in the common room to only long enough to pick his
hated! robe up off the chair. He was one of the first at the long table. He savored the coffee, and enjoyed the feel of the warm mug in his left
hand. It wasn't as if he didn't notice the whispers. Or the giggling of groups of girls as they walked by. He just ignored them all in favor of
working on the equations in his notebook.
Harry, Hermione and Ron joined him at the table soon enough, and he let the music of Alchemy fade back into his mind once more. He closed his
notebook and looked at each of them. Harry looked quite grumpy. Ron, too, though it looked more like he had just woken up by the puffiness in
his face. Hermione was pouring herself a cup of coffee, and she had a pleased look on her face. Ed wasn't sure what to make of it. She glanced
at him, and her lips became a thin line. It made her look like a cat that had managed to swallow a bird whole.
"Goot Morning.." Ed said.
"Morning Edward...!" Hermione said in a musical, breathy voice. An effect that was somewhat ruined by a yawn.
Ed narrowed his eyes. He watched Hermione finish her coffee. At about the same time, Ron and Harry finished their breakfasts. To his surprise,
no questions were directed his way.
'Not yet..anyway' He thought.
Instead, the subject of the meal was a certain missing person called 'Hagrid'.
Then first class for the day was called Charms.
"Ah..a new student. Mr. Elric was it?" The voice squeeked from behind the desk. Ed could barely see the top of the man's head from his chair.
"Yeah. And you..are Professor Flitvwick?" Ed said.
"Indeed I am." Flitwick squeaked, and hopped up on something -- Ed supposed it was a pile of books-- to see over his desk. "And..Dear me, you
appear to be the youngest fifth year I have ever seen..."
Ed's vein at his temple throbbed.
"Are you saying..I'm SMALL..for my age..?" Ed said in a low voice as he glared at the smaller man.
"Actually..I find you...and all my students..quite frankly. Very tall." Flitwick looked around for dramatic effect. "Very tall indeed."
Ed grinned widely, and relaxed back into his seat. He listened intently to the man's lecture. Though it was considered review, he was having
considerable difficulty wrapping his mind around the concept that an object would move just because one told it to. Even still, by the end of
the double period, he decided he liked the little man.
'Maybe we could even trade 'short' insults..' Ed thought as he left.
The next class was Transfiguration, with Professor McGonagall. When he walked into the class room, his eyes instantly were transfixed to the
display on the wall behind Mcgonagal's desk.
'An array..no..not right..not complete..' He thought. 'I've seen this...somewhere..'
"May I help you, Mr. Elric..?"
Ed realised that Professor McGonagall was perched in her chair. Behind her desk. Directly in front of the array. The look on her face serious.
Business-like. Gray eyes cold.
"I..vas vondering vhy you have dis..here. On de vall."
"This is merely a sample of ancient Tranfiguration circles..this one in particular Circe herself was said to have used..." Professor Mcgonagal
said. "..to turn passing sailors into pigs."
"No.." Ed said softly with a small shake of his head. "It is not for dhat. The vrunes are all vrong. Iz for zometing elze...ze equazon
..unbalanced.. Iz... to keep dis vay.." Ed swallowed. "...you are needink to break dat zirkle."
Professor McGonagall raised a single eyebrow.
"Mr. Elric..I assure you that this has been on my wall for many years. It's perfectly safe."
Ed shook his head.
"I ask you. Break dat zirkle. Pleaze." Ed said softly, hoping only she would hear him. He met her gray eyes with his gold. "Iz bazic zafety for
avrrayz. I tell you it not for vat you tink it is. Iz .." Ed shook his head. He grimmaced and fisted his hands in frustration. "Tch..! I am not
havink vright vords in English. It vould just take a touch...and.."
"Mr. Elric." she said softly, with a small smile on her stern face. "Thank you for your concern in this matter, but I assure you I am quite
aware of the risks involved. Please, do have a seat. Class is about to begin."
Ed swallowed and nodded. Then, with a last glance at the wall, he reluctantly turned around. He saw Harry and Ron had saved him a seat by them,
and this time, he went. He walked by Hermione, as she sat right in front, uncomfortably close to that array on the wall.
'..but then, the whole class would be gone if that thing goes off...' Ed thought.
Though unnerved by the array on display, Ed found, maddeningly enough, the task the professor assigned for the class was to make a snail
disappear. When the Professor paused to take questions, Ed immediately raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Elric?"
"Vhere do dhey go?"
"Pardon?"
"Dhe snails. Dhey have to go somevhere. Unless ve are vreally breaking dhem down to their basic parts.."
"No..you are not, I repeat, NOT, to be doing that to them. Just make them disappear."
"Oh! I did it." Hermione said. "Third try!"
"10 points Griffindor." Professor McGonagall said, voice crisp but most definitely pleased.
:::
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