Happy Birthday, William Elric
Happy Birthday, William Elric
December 3rd, 1915
Mustang-Rockbelle-Elric Residence
10:00am
William's Birthday Party
This would be their last celebration in this house, next week Ed and Roy transferred out East. After that, apparently they were moving to a mansion which made none of them happy. They decided not to dwell on the matter, however, and focus on William.
Like his brother before him, everyone Ed knew showed up to celebrate the child's birthday. Izumi and Sig arrived once the house was already full. Ed glared daggers at his brother, who must have invited them, but otherwise ignored them. It was his son's birthday and he wasn't letting anything ruin it.
Ed greeted the room at large, with Will in his arms, and Winry by his side holding Yuery as well. Al carried out the birthday cake, as they all sang, and Yuery helped Will blow out the candle. They then proceeded to allow the boys to eat enough sugar that their parents would regret it later.
After cake and presents, Ed went around the room allowing everyone to speak to his younger son, but in light of the party crashers at his father's inauguration he wasn't allowing anyone to hold either boy, Roy clearly felt the same way since he kept a hold of Yuery the entire time, Ed also noticed that Roy was wearing his gloves now. He had been whenever they had the boys in public since the wizards approached them that afternoon.
Winry helped clean up as the mess occurred, and Mei and Al walked the edges of the party, officially to pick up messes but in actuality they were watching the Qi. All of them were on edge, and luckily no one really noticed, aside from those who knew them best. Gracia asked what was wrong, when she brought Elicia and Ana over to see William. Izumi approached as well, to see if they needed any help.
Ed refused to speak to Izumi leaving her to his brother as he walked away himself after briefly allowing the boys to wave at her. He would not hurt his sons, but he did intend to separate from her so that the boys never really remembered her. It hurt him to do it, but he couldn't trust her anymore. If he couldn't trust her then it wasn't safe to have her near his children.
Al had tried to talk to him about it. Dad had tried as well. So had Ji Mu. None of them understood, because they hadn't been there. They hadn't heard how that woman had spoken of his mother. Izumi had leaked information to that woman, who knew how much of a risk Dante was to his children but he couldn't let down his guard, until Madame got back to him on the matter. It had been weeks and she was still digging.
Deciding not to think about it anymore, Ed met back up with his Dad and Yuery, and the four of them sat again at the table that had been holding presents, so that Roy could ask if everything was alright. Ed nodded, but then shook his head. He wasn't alright, but he would be. Instead Ed turned his attention to the boys, who were babbling happily to each other. Clearly Yuery had told some sort of joke judging by the way Will squealed laughter and slapped the table while Yu chuckled and looked to the two adults, waiting for them to laugh as well.
"Sorry Yu. I don't speak babble, try again." Ed said. He had been attempting to get Yuery to speak more to William in adult languages. So far he hadn't had much luck, but he wasn't giving up that easily. Yuery then asked to get down and frowned when Roy held him tighter. "Too many grown ups around Buddy. Don't want you squashed."
"Down, Yeye. Daddy. Wan' down." Yuery insisted as he tried to pull Roy's hands apart so he could slip from Roy's lap.
"No, Yuery. Stay put." Roy said in response. William began squirming as well.
"They clearly had too much cake." Ed grumbled. "and candy before that."
"Well, they'll be falling asleep soon then." Roy reasoned.
"Yeah, and then they'll be up half the night." Ed frowned.
"So, they can stay over with Yeye and Nainai." Roy offered with a smile.
"Shouldn't you ask Ji Mu before you suggest that Dad?" Ed asked.
"Ji Mu loves the boys and we both know it." Roy said dismissively.
"You just want to steal cuddle time." Ed said.
"I won't deny it." Roy replied. "Early morning cuddles are the best."
"Sleeping in because your Dad is a masochist who willing steals away your toddlers every morning is the best." Ed replied with a laugh.
"I have to be up anyway, might as well have a pleasant reason."
"Dirty Diapers are pleasant now?" Ed asked with wide-eyed 'innocence'.
"Okay boys, let set a good example for the children." Riza said as she swooped over to the table.
"Ji Mu, Dad says you are taking the boys for the night." Ed said, smiling brightly.
"I don't see why not." Riza replied as she took William from Ed's lap. "Now, the partygoers wish to see the birthday boy, come William, let's make a round for your guests."
"Me too!" Yuery said, reaching for Riza. She smiled at him before gently taking his hand and leading both children away.
"So much for keeping them out of the crowd." Ed muttered.
"I didn't hear you telling her no." Roy replied.
"Do I look stupid?" Ed groaned. "She may be my Ji Mu but she's still Hawkeye."
"Ah, she would never hurt you."
"I didn't see you telling her no either." Ed said with a pout.
"Yes. However, I sleep next to her." Roy cleared his throat, and intentionally spoke quietly, fearful the conversation would somehow get back to his Fiancée.
"Not if you piss her off you don't." Ed snorted, but also lowered his tone, not wanting to argue with anyone, just enjoying the distraction of banter.
"Exactly." Roy said as he stood, he had just noticed Izumi approach Riza and the boys and wanted to handle it before Ed noticed. Ed had noticed, but he trusted Riza and Roy to keep his boys safe. Which was, for him, a huge revelation. He still didn't like relying on anyone else for help with his boys, but he was slowly growing more comfortable with allowing his family to help him.
Roy slid up next to Izumi and quietly spoke so only she could hear him. With a frown she nodded and followed him out of the room after he asked if he could have a private word with her. He led her to his study, and shut the door, before inviting her to have a seat. Once they were both settled around the fireplace he began. "Ed's going to need time Mrs. Curtis. He loves you, and this separation is hurting him too. However, he is feeling deeply hurt and betrayed by this situation. You understand, at least to some extent, that his relationship with his birth father was lacking. I do not know if he ever revealed to you how lacking it actually was… but to learn that your teacher was married to his birth father, and that you had been giving her information about him, betrayed his trust in you. I believe you, when you said you didn't know because Al and Mei both say you are telling the truth and they would know. It doesn't change the end result."
"I never betrayed those boys. I even let them stay and continued to help them after learning what they did. I have never done anything to betray their trust. She has always been Dante Flamel to me, how was I supposed to know that she had any connection to the boys' father?" Izumi replied, clearly feeling just as hurt as Ed for different reasons. Roy was not uncaring to her plight, he knew that she loved his sons and thought of them as her own children, that she had no children of her own, and that she had laid 'claim' to them long before he had ever met them.
His first priority was to his sons, not this woman's feelings, but perhaps he could help both if he handled this correctly. "Do you know why Edward hated his father so deeply?" Roy asked as he stared into the empty fireplace, absently wishing there was a fire.
"Of course, because he abandoned the family just months before their mother died leaving the boys alone. He deeply resented the man, but I always thought some part of him wanted his father to return and offer his approval. Though from what I've heard of their few conversations since Ed was grown it seems he left it to long before approaching." Izumi said, deep sadness for the boys tinged her tone.
"That's part of the story at least. Maybe even most of it. There is one missing piece of the puzzle however, which is the reason he is so angry with you right now." Roy said with a sigh. "Edward…was not an accident. His father had been planning to have Ed for years. He wanted to sire a child that he could turn into a human weapon against his enemies, and he left that information in a letter that Ed found and read when he was five years old. For Ed the worst part wasn't that his father planned to use him as a weapon, it was that his father considered Al not an accident but a terrible mistake that could ruin all of his plans. Again stated in the letter read by a five year old. He may have loved their mother, I wouldn't know, I never met the man. He may have even cared about them after a fashion, but the fact that he not only felt this way but committed it to print and left it to be given to his eldest son when 'the time was right' left a stain on Ed. By telling Dante anything about the boys at all feels like a repeat of their father's behavior to Ed. He needs time to see that it wasn't your intent."
"I had no…He lived in my home for a year and never said…It's a good thing that man is dead or I…" Izumi said, before frowning. "Dante set me up when she revealed this to Edward. She insisted she wanted to finally meet my star pupil who saved the whole damn country, and I fell for it. She wanted to hurt him, and me. I have not spoken to her since that day, but I think I need to go confront her to find out what was going through her head that she would say those things to a child." Izumi said angrily.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Roy had no idea what else to say at this point. Finally, Izumi asked. "You will be in Ishval at least a year, correct?"
"Possibly two." Roy confirmed, as she nodded and they both stood.
"I will stay away until you return to Central, unless he comes to me before that. Thank you…for taking care of those boys. I love them as if they were mine, and I know you do too."
Izumi swooped out of the room and collected her husband before leaving the house, pausing only to hug Al and kiss both babies on the forehead. She looked in Ed's direction, but he looked away with pain filled eyes. Roy came up to him as she left to give him a hug and assure him it was going to be okay. Neither of them believed that, but it was comforting to hear anyway/
London England
Ministry of Magic
Minister Fudge's Office
2:00 pm
Kingsley Shacklebolt had made this appointment under Dumbledore's orders although he had been left waiting longer he would have liked, it had been two weeks before Fudge had been willing to see him. Now that it was actually time to talk to the Minister, he was a bit nervous.
It had been decided that since he was the one who had learned of the child to begin with, and the one who learned of Takeshi Zhao's arrival, it should be him who updated the Minister instead of Dumbledore. Fudge relied heavily on Dumbledore's advice and it would be…unfortunate… if he was given any reason to believe Dumbledore had been keeping secrets.
Kingsley walked into the office, and was invited to sit, after pleasantries were exchanged Kingley took a deep breath before starting. "It had come to the attention of the Department of Mysteries a few weeks ago that the Potter Child was alive. They chose at that time to remain silent on the matter, as he is in a secure location that would be nearly impossible to attain. They then desired to keep this knowledge from any remaining Death Eaters who may seek revenge for the loss of their Master. Two weeks ago it came to their attention that the Death Eaters are aware the child lives and then sought to inform the Auror Department of the situation. It is the belief of our departments that direct contact at this time would be unwelcome, however, it would greatly boost morale to inform the Wizarding Community the child is still alive."
Fudge was silent as he thought about the situation. This could really work in his favor if he made it sound as though they knew all along and hid the child to ensure his safety during the trials. Fudge had won the election because of the disaster of an investigation, he wasn't going to lose his post over this. He was already half forming his press release, when he aske where the child was. Kingsley said the child was being cared for by a high ranking official on the hidden continent. This worked well, they could spin this perfectly, and make the child a folk hero, he could see it now "The Truth Revealed: The Boy Who Lived." Perfect.
Fudge excused Shaklebolt and got to work on his speech, morale was sure to increase with this information coming to light, and secure his place as Minister for a long time. He should write Dumbledore and get his opinion on the matter, after all Dumbledore had been a great help to him so far. This was just the turn around he had needed.
Hogwarts
Headmaster's Office
Early Evening
McGonagall and Snape had gathered for this meeting, both relieved to see whatever had been dragging Dumbledore so close to the edge of collapse seemed to have been pushed aside. Snape knew more than McGonagall about the matter, but he didn't know all the details either, just that an old lover or friend (he assumed loved by the reaction) had died and the Headmaster had taken the news terribly, but he was on the mend now.
The news Harry Potter, now dubbed The Boy Who Lived, reached the evening papers, and there had even been a special reprint thanks to how quickly the papers sold. Snape had brought in a copy of the Daily Prophet. "What a load of rubbish. We knew he'd go for it, but was it truly necessary for him to preen and crow quite that much?" McGonagall said in disgust.
"He wouldn't be Fudge otherwise." Snape said with a sniff. "Either way, it's done now. The Death Eaters will have to move far more carefully now, when they choose to move against the child. Provided they are able to actually find him which is unlikely."
"When the time comes, and we collect the boy, will I have your support." Dumbledore asked the others. "We will need to ensure this castle remains a safe haven for all of our students."
"What will you do should the boy's father decide to not send him to Hogwarts?" Phineas Black asked from his portrait. "By not making a move now, you are allowing them to build leverage against you."
"The people of the hidden continent do not require leverage. It was already a lost battle the moment the boy crossed the border. Should you want to be involved, try making overtures now." Suggested one of the old Headmaster's Marius Dilnn.
"Marius had personal history with those people. Albus understands, he could claim the same." Edna Woodworm proclaimed loudly.
"Enough of this pointless chatter." Dumbledore said quietly. The portraits fell silent. Dumbledore smiled again as he excused the teachers. He really wanted a drink. Which is why he had sent them all away, had ordered the house elves to refuse to bring him alcohol if he called for it. He would make it through this, he had no choice.
No one else knew the entire prophesy, he was the only one who could ensure it was fulfilled. He still remembered the horrible sinking feeling in his stomach when he realized the price of winning would be the loss of this child. He was relieved when the child was gone that night, assumed dead. He was a coward now as he had been young, and was grateful that the choice had been taken out of his hands.
Then it was shoved right back onto him, and right on it's heels he learned of Nick's death, and Albus hadn't known what to do. He has now steeled his resolve. The plan had to continue. No matter the personal price, he had to do what was best for the world. It was his responsibility.
He once again stared at the envelope delivered by Fawkes earlier this month. He had yet to open it, not certain he wanted to know what Nicolas' final thoughts to him involved. He knew sooner or later he would need to open it, but not today, he decided, and swept it back into his drawer. He already knew, had spoken at great length, what he was to do in this situation. He was to carry on as if Nick was still around for as long as possible.
Mustang-Rockbelle-Elric Residence
Late Evening
As Ed had predicted, the boys had stayed up late after being overexcited by the party and overstimulated by the levels of sugar. Roy tried to keep them relatively quiet as he chased them around the living room as the 'tickle monster'. They squealed enough despite his effort to keep it down, that he knew Ed had heard them at least a few times. He also knew that Ed hearing them laugh and yell would help him relax enough to sleep himself instead of coming back down to check on them repeatedly.
He managed to catch Yuery at the same time as William, when Yuery attempted to run past just as Roy grabbed William. Yuery was very protective of his little brother, so he had frozen to yell at Yeye to let Will go, instead getting swept up himself. All of them fell to the floor laughing, Roy being sure to cushion the fall, Riza shaking her head at his antics, before jumping in herself to tickle all three of them once they were down.
The boys laughed themselves into hiccups, as Ed and Winry came in one last time to kiss them goodnight, and remind Roy to brush their teeth before too much longer. Roy waived them off, and returned to chasing the boys, as Ed laughed at them. He briefly considered joining the game, but then he didn't want to interrupt the fun. Plus getting a night off was not common, so they slipped away.
As Roy had promised, he and Riza had stayed up with the boys until they had finally fallen asleep a few minutes ago. The kids (as Roy thought of them) had gone up to bed awhile ago. So long ago in fact that Roy knew they had not actually gone to bed. They had run away and allowed Roy to deal with the sugar fallout.
He didn't mind, he had expected it, and had even asked Riza if she was certain she was alright with it. Had she been overwhelmed, he had fully intended to take the boys to the guest room for the night, because he was going to make this a tradition.
He thought about it over the last week, and realized he had offered to take Yuery for the night for both his first and second birthdays, and intended to take them both when he helped plan the party. Then Roy decided that it would be a good tradition to have, especially in the future when they didn't all live together anymore. Roy wanted it to just be a given that the kids stayed with him after the birthday party.
Now though, he tucked them in gently after laying them down in the crib, and breathed a sigh of relief as he laid down himself next to Riza. She was already almost asleep, so he didn't bother trying to talk to her, instead hugging her close for a few minutes until they both drifted off to sleep.
Al and Mei were leaving in the morning. They were heading to Xing, to finalize the plans on restoring Xerxes and would be updating Ling on all the things that had happened, that could not be said in a letter. Such as the situation with Zhao, who should have been executed months ago, yet somehow was wandering loose, which meant that someone either made a mistake or was a traitor.
Al was still not happy at his brother's complete refusal to read the journals, but he understood. He had learned a lot of unpleasant things about their father this way, but he also learned a lot about the history of their family, and alchemy. Magic as well. Al tried to tell Ed this, and Ed had promptly refused to speak on the subject.
The only concession Ed had given was his agreement to keep the journals while Al was abroad and keep them safe and not damage them himself. Al hoped that eventually, Ed would read them if for no other reason than Ed seemed incapable of having a book in his possession and NOT read it. Until it happened though, Al was pointedly not talking about the man, thinking that it may help his brother begin to let it all go.
The letters Edward burned
Dearest Edward,
There is much I must tell you, and
It is with a heavy heart that I say
I do love you. All three of you, but
That is not part of the plan, and can't
Be allowed to affect the plan.
I intentionally sought out a woman
Who would produce the strongest
Heir possible, because I need a weapon
A plan B in the event my other plan
Fails. It is nearly time now, and I'm afraid
I may have left it too late before allowing
Trisha to conceive. I was uncomfortable
Making her a mother younger, hopefully
That will not ruin the plan. It was not my
Intention to create a second child
When the time comes, I will come
To collect you. Do not worry, Trisha
And Alphonse will be fine. Trisha would
Do anything to protect her children
It is one of the reasons why I selected
Her and sought her out.
I have left this letter with your mother
So that you would have time to prepare
Yourself before I come to collect you.
I know it seems terribly unfair Edward.
The fate of the world rests on you son.
Your Father,
Van Hohenheim
Dearest Alphonse,
I love you dearly. This is one of my
Greatest mistakes. I knew when
Your mother told me you were
Coming this could ruin everything.
We only get one chance to stop this
And you must be far far away when we
Try. Take your mother, go as far from here
As you can. I will find you later.
Van Hohenheim.
My Darling Trisha,
I love you most, more than any of the others
Before you. I cannot bring myself to make you
My new Perenelle therefore I must find a
Different plan to stop this.
Wait for me Trisha, and keep
Our Edward safe. I will return
When I have found a better way.
With all my love,
Van