Life in Resembool
Life in Resembool
Spring
Resembool
It had been nearly ten weeks since the explosion, and six since work had resumed in Kappa. Seven men, including Isiah, had been arrested and sent to Central. The Elders had made a point of inviting Mustang and his team back into Kappa. It was decided that all the alchemists would take a step back limiting their aide to avoid further agitation of the Ishbalans, but otherwise things would resume. During that time, no one had suggested that Ed return to Central after the first few conversations between Ed and Roy. Ed seemed to have decided that he wanted to stick around the area as long as possible, though he was currently officially on leave.
Thanks to the way it had been billed over the years, Ed had never actually used any of his leave time for a personal leave before and therefore had accumulated nearly a year's worth. He decided to cash it in rather than return to the city alone without his adoptive father and stepmother or team. As it stood, his team was under the direction of Riza Hawkeye until he returned.
It was during this time that Ed and Winry had decided to go ahead with their wedding so that it wouldn't end up being a major event. Ed had contacted his brother,who had in turn snuck back into the country along with his girlfriend, Mei, and her sister and student, Chen. The girls were to stay at the Rockbelle to stop Ed and Chen from fighting as they often did. Al however was divided on whether if he should stay at the Mustang-Elric house or the Rockbelle house considering the girls were his guests. It was solved by Mei shoving him down the path and reminding him that it would be awhile before he saw his brother again.
Plans for the wedding were full swing, it would take place in the field between their houses, tents would be erected both for the ceremony and the reception afterward because the weather was unpredictable this time of year.
When not working on their wedding plans or caring for their children, Ed was busy reading magic texts and Winry helping with Granny's shop. At the moment, Ed was trying to read through as much as he could before the boys got up from their naps,his was doing his best to set aside is distrust of magic, for Yuery's sake if nothing else he wasn't making as much progress as he would like in learning more however.
He sighed as he set down the book and glanced at the clock, he had about three hours before his parents returned and an hour before anyone from the other house arrived. The boys were sleeping, and it was very tempting to join them in their nap. He didn't need sleep as much as he had when he and Al were tied together, but he did still nap occasionally.
The house looked nothing like the one he had grown up in, it was larger than the old house, and in a different style. It was not as big as their house in Central, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. It featured a large living and dining room, a nice sized kitchen and a playroom on the ground floor, and the basement was a library and study combined. It was comfortable for all of them, the boys room was next to Ed and Winry's with Roy and Riza's on the other side of it and Al's next to Ed and Winry's all in a row with a hallway running the length. So far the boys were technically still sleeping in Ed and Winry's room but they did occasionally play in their bedroom, or nap in there like they were today. He had spotted them cuddled together earlier in a pile of toys and had set them in bed. He would check on them, then go lay in his room with the door open so he could hear them if they woke.
Kappa
The progress was a lot slower without alchemists, but they were still well underway in the reconstruction effort. Thanks to relocating the operation to Resembool, Grumman had decided it would be best to send more soldiers to aide the reconstruction effort. At this point, there were roughly a hundred men living in the barracks constructed by Edward a few weeks ago. All of them had been volunteers, and none of them were from the East or had fought in the war.
Roy had agreed to the change, but had added the condition that after the history of the region it would be best not to allow weapons. Therefore, though the Kappa base, which now rebuilt acted as the onsite office, had an armory, none of the troops carried weapons while working. So far there hadn't been any problems.
Verdure had been reluctantly allowed to aide with the planting season, though most of his brother's aide had gone toward Resembool to help grow enough crops to feed the new population without putting a strain on the local supplies. Everything was going well overall, which made Roy and Riza nervous.
Roy was currently walking through the construction sites with the Elders and General Miles, Sham and Riza were discussing what would need to be done next back at the office. Everyone had been saddened by the bombing, and the Elders had been fearful for a while that there would be further retaliation when they learned one of the men had died.
The Elders had publicly addressed the behavior of the men responsible, before a tribunal vote had sent them to Central to face trial there. Sham had reminded everyone in her speech that the war had begun over the death of a child, and then reminded them that not one but two children had been injured by the men's behavior. By this behavior they had lost the aide of the Child of the Sun who was the father of the children, and that they should all be thankful that none of the Amestrians involved wished to punish the Ishbalans in general for what had happened. She gave this speech to shame any people who may want to protest the idea of sending them to face punishment in Central.
The matter now seemed settled, as no one had been willing to attack verbally or physically the soldiers now working along them to rebuild their homeland. With the combined efforts, it appeared they would be done by Autumn, at least far ahead enough that it was likely that the military would be able to withdraw and Roy's group could return to Central. Roy would be sure to tell Edward when they returned home, he knew that his son would be happy to hear it.
Mustang-Elric Residence
That Evening
Al and the princesses would be joining them for dinner, before he returned to the Rockbelles for the evening as they were in the middle of a lesson. Edward had not joined them because he and Winry were going to be busy with the final details of the wedding. Roy and Riza had returned home just in time for dinner, and had invited Breda and the Tringhams to join them.
Breda had returned to duty last week, however he worked out of the Resembool base at this time, Denny Broch as well. Maria Ross was still in rehabilitation recovering from the surgery to place the housing for her automail. Ed had sat with her through the surgeries, and had assured her that was the worst part. She had refused to allow Denny with her, anticipating that the pain would be terrible.
Breda had become a frequent guest at dinner for the Mustang-Elrics, Havoc sometimes joining them as well. Everyone was both impressed and concerned with how well Breda was doing after his loss. He was sad, of course, but overall seemed to be recovering, which worried them all in that they felt he may simply be pushing away his feelings, only for them to explode on him later but there was nothing they could do about it aside from staying nearby to comfort him if necessary,
He seemed to find comfort in the presence of the young family, so Ed made sure to invite him to visit often, and the boys loved to have him around. They liked all of the team of course, but Havoc and Breda in particular seemed to have bonded with the boys. Ed was still annoyed that Havoc was so popular. Even after all this time, he still would not allow Havoc to babysit for him again, though he would occasionally allow Havoc to entertain the boys with in hearing so that Ed could get something finished.
They were using the dining table instead of the kitchen table, thanks to all of the extra guests. Ed had made stew, which everyone enjoyed, and Winry had gotten home in time to make an apple pie. Roy sat at the head of the table, with Edward to his right and Riza to his left. Al, then Mei, then Chen sat next to Riza. Yuery, then William, then Winry sat next to Ed. Breda sat on the other end with Russel on the left and Fletcher on the right.
Yuery and William were happily talking loudly about the kittens they had seen on their afternoon walk, Yuery with far more language than his brother though William's vocabulary was impressive for his age as well. Al listening intently with an expression that concerned Ed. Ed felt the need to remind Al that they already owned a cat. Al frowned before turning to Mei to ask how Xing felt about cats.
Meanwhile Roy and Riza were discussing the weddings, both Ed's and their own. They had decided that they would be having their own wedding in Central, and allow her grandfather to make the production out of it that he wanted, to soften the blow of Ed's small private wedding. This also meant that aside from picking their wedding party, and Riza's dress, they had allowed Grumman to take over their wedding planning. This left them free to handle helping Ed with his wedding as well as their work in Kappa.
Fletcher and Russell were arguing over a new array that would speed up the growing cycle of wheat, which would in turn help to feed the people in both Resembool and Kappa because, if their theory was sound, they would be able to replant and harvest the fields before the end of the season, allowing for twice the production. Fletcher's concern was overtaxing the land, while Russell assured him that he had taken that into account. Breda would occasionally ask a question, but overall seemed lost in the conversation though did not seem to mind.
Winry was busy trying to get William to actually eat instead of smearing his food, but occasionally added a response to the conversations around her, as she listened to them all with a smile. The noise level was further raised by the addition of the dogs when both suddenly began barking. Instantly they adults fell silent, and the Qi readers of the group concentrated as tried to locate the source of the dogs distress.
Together, Roy and Ed rose from the table, and headed toward the front door. Riza signaled for the rest of the table to return to their conversations, which while slightly strained, continued at their previous levels. Roy and Ed left the house slowly, uncertain who it was that had been lurking outside, but they knew it was only one person. Al and the princesses remaining on alert to the movements outside.
They were on edge after all if the visit was innocent then they would expect the person would have knocked. Neither of them needed to draw an array to use their alchemy, though Roy had managed to keep his own ability secret, aside from a handful of people. It still became useful in this situation. Without a word, Roy went left and Ed went right to circle the house. The person, whoever they were, had moved to the back of the house.
They met in the back, whoever it was already disappearing through the trees. Tense, they noticed a crate left on the back porch. Ed signaled that he was going to approach the porch and Roy frowned but nodded. He would have preferred to go himself, but Ed was already on the move. Ed walked up to the crate and looked inside, before releasing his breath. "I know who it was. Andrew Parks." He said as he reached inside the crate to lift out a black and white puppy about six or seven weeks old. "I saw him last week down in the market. He was going on and on about how the boys needed a pup. I told him we had a dog, but he insisted that both boys needed one, and so we needed a second and that his dog Daisy had just had a litter. I told him we didn't, that two dogs were more than enough for us, so he just decided to porch dump. Only Parks would do something this dumb. Plus it looks just like Daisy."
"I assume you know this Andrew Parks well then?" Roy asked as he climbed the stairs to pet the puppy. Ed glared pointedly, but resigned to the fact that he wouldn't be taking the puppy back over to the Parks farm after all.
"Went to school with him, yeah. He was friends with Winry." Ed said with a shrug. "Idiot should know better than to lurk around people's houses like that, but he never was very smart."
"So he wasn't your friend then?" Roy asked as the walked back around to the front of the house. The back door was locked, and neither of them had grabbed the keys.
"No. He was annoying. Every time we played he would point out how tall he was, plus he said alchemy was stupid, just a bunch of drawing." Ed said with a frown.
"How old were you then?"
"I don't know, last time I talked to him was before we went to train so I was what, like maybe eight or nine I think?"
"I hate to tell you this Edward, but I believe Andrew may consider you a friend." Roy said with amusement.
"Why? He never liked me when we were kids, and now I'm just some soldier with a couple of kids."
Roy chuckled and shook his head. Ed never seemed to realize when people liked him. They were going to have to work on that. "You are hardly just a soldier. I don't believe he cares about that anyway considering your conversation from what I understand of it, revolved around him attempting to give you a dog. For your children."
"Yeah, Andrew always was weird. I'll take her back to their place after I let the others know everything's okay."
" It would be rude to send her back! She seems like such a sweet animal, and Franklin could use a companion." Roy said.
"Hayate isn't a companion? Or Cobalt?" Ed said tiredly. He had lost the argument before it began and he knew it. "If we keep her, it will only encourage him you know."
"Encourage what exactly?"
"I don't know!" Ed said waving an arm around. They had gotten back inside now, and the kids had spotted the puppy. Winry frowned, as did Riza, in confusion and Al was clearly pouting. Breda excused himself to go ahead back to the dog-free dorms. Russel and Fletcher gathered around as well, Fletcher clearly enamored especially. "We don't need another pet. Here, Fletcher, how would you like a puppy?"
"Hey, don't just offer my brother a pet without asking me!" Russell said with a frown.
"Well I didn't ask for it either and Fletcher clearly likes it." Ed said with a frown.
"If they gave it to you, why don't you keep it, or give it back?" Russell demanded, before Ed shoved the puppy in his arms. Between the puppy and Fletcher Russell was already losing. His final argument about not knowing if dogs were allowed in the dorms was lost when Ed pointed out that Roy could give him permission.
The evening ended with Russell and Fletcher adopting a new dog, and Ed planning a carefully worded conversation with Andrew about lurking around houses to drop off unwanted pets. Winry had joined Roy and Riza in giving Ed pointed looks, as Al and the princess wished them good night. Al would be staying over at the Rockbelles tonight so that they could continue the research they had been close to cracking before dinner.
Rather than continue to argue with his dad over if his old classmates were friends, Ed took the boys upstairs to give them a bath and get them ready for bed, much to the amusement of the others. Things been rather peaceful lately, Ed was grateful for the change, though at the same time it concerned him because things in his life were never calm. He felt like he was simply waiting for the other show to fall.
He bathed the boys, luckily Yuery had finally decided that water was not an enemy, though William wasn't really thrilled with baths, and got them ready for bed. Eventually he had them asleep and was headed off to bed himself, now joined by Winry. Roy and Riza poked their heads in long enough to say good night, before everyone went to sleep for the night.
They were laying there, Ed reading an alchemy book rather than a magic text which Winry had banned from their room to spare him the stress, and Winry reading a novel to give her own mind a break. "Maria will be getting her first automail arm tomorrow." Winry said after they had been quiet for a while. "I think she might like it if you came. For morale support."
" I can do that." Ed said as he turned the page. "Al and Mei could watch the boys for me while I help Maria."
"Hmm, yes. The boys have been missing their uncle lately. It would be great if he could spend some more time with them. Chen seems to be doing well in her studies from what I understand." Winry said with a smile.
"Chen is a sneaky and dangerous girl. I hope Al is keeping an eye on her." Ed said.
"Perhaps." Winry said with a smile. "She seems nice though Ed. I know you had problems with her when you were younger, but she apologized, and you have to remember that she was younger then too. Besides you never want to consider anyone a friend. Look at Ling."
"Ling isn't my friend. He is my pain in the ass." Ed said with a frown. "You don't spend months on end locked in a cabin together in the dead of winter to consider someone a friend. He's more like another brother now…don't you dare tell him I said that. Ever."
"I won't. But I am telling AL." Winry said with a small laugh at Ed's dismayed expression. "Ed, I need to tell you something, and I need you to not freak out."
"Okay, but telling me not to freak out is a great way to make me worry you know." Ed said as he set aside his book and frowned in concern.
"I know, but it's been a really rough year for you, and I know you're still having issues with blaming yourself for what happened with Rose and Hughes and well… I don't want you to start worrying again. I debated even talking to you about this yet, but I don't want to keep anything from you."
"Okay. Now I'm worried, what is it Win? You can tell me anything." Ed said as he hugged her. She had told him not to freak out but she seemed to be the one starting to panic.
"I'm pregnant Ed. We're having another baby." Winry said.
"Really?" Ed said. Relieved it wasn't something terrible, before what she said fully sank in. "Wait, what? Really? You're serious?"
"Yeah I am. Are you okay?" Winry asked. She couldn't tell if he was excited, shocked, or starting to panic.
"I'm more than okay, that's wonderful Winry! I mean I know we said we wanted another one and that we should try after Yu's birthday, but this is great!" Ed said as it sank in, and he smiled. Then he frowned. "Let's not tell anyone else yet. With moving up the wedding like we did, and rushing everything…I don't want anyone thinking we did that because of the baby."
"Okay. I was going to suggest the same thing. I thought about not telling you either until the honeymoon, but I couldn't wait."
"How far on are you?" Ed asked.
"Just barely. I took the test this morning when I realized I was late. We have awhile to go yet." Winry said. "I haven't had any symptoms yet either, I just took it to rule it out."
"Dad's going to go nuts. In a good way." Ed said with a laugh. Maybe for once things were going right for them. "Do you think the baby will wait until Al moves back? Hey in there, stay in there until your uncle is back."
I don't think it works that way Edward."
Hogwarts Library
Midnight
Research was hard to come by for information on the prophecy or prophecies in general. They were kept in the Department of Mysteries. It would be easier to get in to see Black than breech DoM. Snape's only options were, it seemed, to talk to either Trelawny or Lupin. Neither option made him happy, however, talking to Lupin would again prove to be easier.
Snape had tried to speak to Sybil a few times, but she was completely in her own world. Whatever she had locked in her head had to be important because she was simply not a competent teacher. She was, in fact, a bit of a joke among the students. Snape decided that during the summer break, instead of staying at the school he would take a trip out to … wherever Lupin managed to dig in this month.
Until then, he would make do trying to get whatever he could off of Dumbledore when the man was drinking. Unfortunately, Dumbledore was back 'on the wagon' for the moment so it would have to wait a few weeks. Snape was patient though, he could wait, as long as he could get to the truth.
He hated the idea of it, that Dumbledore intended to kill Harry, that he still might intend to kill him. It made everything else fall into place with that bit of information though. Once Snape found the proof, if it was true, he would take it to Elric so the boy would have leverage and then he would remove himself from this situation. He wanted no part in the murder of children. Its why he wanted out of the Death Eaters, the Order was supposed to be better, be different.
Journal Ten
1835-1840
14/04/37
Albus is a brilliant student, he has picked
Up the concepts far quicker than I assumed one
Disciplined in magic was capable. He is far more
Than I expected. More intelligent. Kinder. Beautiful.
Wonderful. Damaged.
I listened as he poured out what occurred. As I long
Feared, it was preventable. Those poor children locked
Away alone, mother dead, father gone, it was bound to
Happen that he made bad choices. I cannot imagine.
I want to help him however I can, for him, I considered
Sharing the true secret. I cannot however. He has already
Given into temptation once. I cannot be the one who
Ruins him a second time. I have no reason to leave
That damage upon the world.
_T.B.V.N.F.H
17/05/37
He asked after my wife tonight.
On reflex, I lied. Said she was
Busy in our home working on
Her own project. He seemed
Dejected tonight, unusually so.
Shortly after I was set to retire for
The evening, he knocked upon my door
And asked if he could visit with me
For awhile. I of course granted him
Entry, and asked after him. He insisted he
Was alright, and though he was clearly
Lying I let it go. Instead I asked if he
Had finished his lessons.
He has been considering returning to
Hogwarts as a teacher after he finishes his
Training. I feel this is a wonderful idea and have
Said as much. We talked for some time of his
Plans. He asked again about Perenelle. I do
Not wish to think of my failures tonight.
I informed him we live mostly separate lives.
At this time I was made aware of his mindset
When he inquired if that included lovers.
It was a pleasant evening overall. It wasn't
Until long after he had fallen asleep that
It occurred to me that it is the anniversary
Of his sister's death. The poor man.
Tomorrow we will have to find entertainment
Outside of academics.
_T.B.V.N.F.H
12/13/38
Albus had taken the post of Transfiguration.
To make it easier on him, I retook the potions
Post, but only for this year as I explained
To both him and the Headmaster. I have vowed
This time to remain distant from the headmaster.
It would not do to have the kinds of issues I
Have encountered in the past with the office.
Too much is happening to fast to worry about
Such things. I have a great deal to do now
That Albus has found his place in the world.
I always knew I would not stay. He did too,
I think. However, I find that I loathe to cut all ties.
Once again as happens occasionally over the long
Years I find myself reminded sharply of Hiro.
_T.B.V.N.F.H