He looked about him with great interest as they approached the structure they called the Quidditch green. Sloping green lawns were all about, and the 'Forbidden Forest' was just to the side. Then, they entered the green itself. Ed could see it was something like a stadium, meant to seat thousands upon thousands of people. They were in the center of a great, wide, rectanglar-shaped, and carefully trimmed lawn. There were three hoops high overhead at either end, and Ed narrowed his eyes, trying to picture what possible use those hoops could be put to.
He glanced to Harry and Ron as they parted for him. Both had wide grins on their faces as they too, looked up.
"Great isn't it?" Ron said.
"Dhis..quiddy dhing.." Ed said. "Is game..a..sport? Vright?"
"Yes." Hermione said."Different houses each have teams and it.."
Ed nodded as she explained fully, but didn't really pay that much attention. When she took a breath...
"You can put dhose brooms down." Ed said, and snorted. "..you vill not be needing dhem for vhat I have to show you. Yet."
"Yet?" Harry said, and he lowered his broom to the ground with great reluctance.
"Dhere is vay to use dhem, but ve vill cover only few beginning katas today. Vhen I judge you are ready, I vill show you more. Now. Follow vhat I do, and hold it vhen I tell you. Dhis, First position." Ed held the pose and watched them carefully, "Ok, hold."
He then corrected each. Moving a hand, up or down. Kicking the legs a little wider with a gentle nudge at the instep. And when he was satisfied, went on to the next. And the next. Until he had shown a total of six.
Ed turned to face them and nodded.
"Alvright. Together. Vone, dwo, dhree, four, five, and six. Aaaand back to vone." He said loud and slow, making sure to clap a solid clap at each pose. He saw immediately that Harry and Ron were appalling at them, and Hermione wasn't much better. Ed frowned. "Again."
"I..what's this for? Dancing?" Ron said.
"Ha. Dancing. Goot." Ed said with a smirk. "Dhat..is vone view of it. Here, let me show you, exactly, vhat it is for."
Ed stood directly in front Ron. Though Ron towered over him by several feet, Ron nervously bit his bottom lip and would have cringed had Ed not glared at him.
"If you do as I tell you to, you vill not get hit." Ed said in an even tone. "Now. Vone!"
Ed threw an exaggerated punch with his left, aiming for Ron's midsection, and Ron barely got the pose done in time to push it harmlessly aside. "Dwo! Dhree!" Ron barely blocked those as well. "Four Five Six!" These, were punches with Ed's right, and Ron had considerably more difficulty blocking that arm, even though Ed made sure to pull his punch.
"Hermione, is your turn." Ed looked over his shoulder.
"What? but..?"
"Is best to experience dhis for yourself." Ed said and turned to face her. He cracked his neck with but a tilt of his head when he was but a few feet away. "Now. Vone!"
Hermione let out a little noise, much like an "Eeep!" at each punch he threw, but she, too, just managed to block each just in time. Ed nodded a small nod when he was done, then looked to Harry. He watched as Harry swallowed his bile and frowned.
"Why are we..Well I know we agreed, but I mean, we're wizards..We won't need.." Harry said as Ed positioned himself right in front of him.
"Vone!" Harry did the pose half-heartedly; Ed's left fist made contact with his midsection. Before Ed's eyes, Harry seemed to deflate, and fell backwards to his backside onto the grass. Ed rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest.
"Pleease, I barely touch you! Vhat happens vhen you have no vand, Harry?" Ed said. "Are you vizards dhen?"
"Well, yes actually. Wizards are born with.." Hermione said, and Ed raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Well, bits of uncontrolled magic tend to happen around young wizards and witches...surely you've..?"
Ed shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking he felt a headache coming on.
"You..have vreations without meaning dhem to happen?"
"Reactions?" Ron said.
"I think he means spells." Harry gasped.
Ed wrinkled his nose.
"The vands do feel like arrays to me, so maybe, MAYBE, iz just another vay of.. Ed grumbled. "but to call dhem SPELLS!?"
"Um..Well I used to have things happen around me." Hermione said."Doesn't happen anymore."
"Me too.." Ron added.
Ed looked up over his hand a moment and frowned.
"Still. Vithout your wands, you can not a do single vreation, vright?" Ed said, and looked to Harry.
"Hold on." Harry gasped, with his hand held up. "Talk to us for once. Don't just...What's more..Let me catch my breath first. "
"Dhat is someting that I have noticed." Ed said with a tilt to his head. "Dhis place. Soft living like dhis..It makes vone.. flabby."
"Flabby?!" Hermione said, tone insulted. "I'm certainly not..!"
"You are. You all are." Ed said. "I don't know how you can be so. Vreations are very hard on the body..I mean..It is not good to so out of..."
"We're WIZARDS, Ed...You can't.." Hermione said in exasperation.
"I. Can. You know I am Alchemist." Ed said. "I say all you are flabby."
"...Alchemist!? As in searching for the philosopher's stone to turn lead into gold and.." Ron said with a laugh.
Ed glared at Ron, and Ron noticed nearly right away. The laughing quickly sputtered to a stop, and Ron was left examining his shoe with great interest. Ed then looked to the side and chewed his bottom lip for several moments, searching for the right words to say.
"Ed..? " Harry said. "You're really... an alchemist?"
Ed sighed then glanced back to Harry. Then to Ron. And Hermione.
"uh...Yeah. Vas it really dhat hard to figure out?"
"You can't blame us, Ed. We've..never really met an alchemist. Only heard of Nicholas Flamel." Hermione said. "Dumbledore was his partner when he made the philosopher's stone...but that happened before we even started school here."
"Hey! Why DO you want the stone? HUH?!?" Ron said. "Could you tell us THAT? The lead to gold thing? And the elixir of life?"
"Vhat? Who said I..?"
"You WANTED the philosopher's stone. We know it." Harry said. "This summer..when you said.."
"Vhen I said 'It can be veapon.'" Ed nodded, and frowned. "Harry, Ron. Dhe stone. Dhat is definitely something I do NOT vant. I vould like to dink dat dis Dumbledore vould never be involved in de making of vone, but..Now...It just makes zenze to me."
"What does..?" Harry said.
Harry gulped as Ed's looked once more at him, and set up an exaggerated left punch.
"Vone."
Ed leaned his back to the wall at the main entrance of the castle, having just made it up the steps. Slowly unwrapping his awareness with each passing breath, he was able to again feel the sweat falling off his forehead when he realised he was being watched by a peculiar cat with rectangular markings about its eyes.
"Ed..You going to be alright?" Hermione said as she looked about nervously. "You still look awful."
"I'll be fine." Ed said as he glanced back at her. "Just need food."
He pushed off the wall and walked with Hermione, glancing back briefly to where that odd cat was. Between one blink and the next, the cat became none other than the stern faced woman called Professor McGonagall. She did not look in any way pleased. In fact, her brows were lowered nearly to the point of touching at the top of her nose.
"Elric, a word?" Professor McGonagall said crisply when she met his golden eyes with her gray. Ed nodded a glance at Hermione, silently letting her go on ahead to lunch, and stood with his arms folded across his chest.
"I understand you were to report to the hospital wing this previous evening after being dismissed by Professor Umbridge. May I ask why it occurred that you did not show up there?"
"I am legal adult, Professor. I am more dhan capable to seeing to my own needs. I chose to make better use my time in dhe library, instead."
"I see. And the issue that occurred to cause the dismissal?"
"Dhat...has to do vith my medical condition, and is a very personal matter. I vas not about to stay in dhe same vroom vith dhat.." Ed wrinkled his nose in disgust. "...woman ...any longer dhan I had to. Vhen she told me I vas dismissed, I took the chance for vhat it vas. Is dhere a problem?"
"Yes..there is to be a hearing held tonight on whether or not you should be expelled from Hogwarts."
Ed's face scrunched in confusion.
"Vas? ..Your rules here sound.. odd for a school. Am I to be expelled because I chose NOT to go to dhis hospital wing?"
"Not quite. It is because Professor Umbridge was apparently assaulted. Then unlawfully detained, an event I believe happened soon after you left her office for the night."
Ed raised his eyebrows.
"Vreally?"
"Yes. She demanded a hearing soon after I managed to transfigure her desk back into its proper shape."
"I vill be permitted to speak for myself at dhis..hearing?"
"I believe your attendance at the hearing will indeed be necessary...The fact that you are a legal adult may be quite beneficial."
"Vhere and vhen is dhis to be held?"
"Midnight. Dumbledore's office."
Ed nodded his head and turned about.
"And, Elric? Be sure to dress appropriately for the occasion."
:::
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