Chapter 1
Harry could hardly believe he was already back at Hogwarts; only a few weeks ago, he had been locked up in his room. Sure, Hedwig was great company, but he had been rather lonely without Ron and Hermione.
This had to be one of the strangest months in his young life. First, with the appearance of the house elf, Dobby. He was still unsure why the elf was so adamant about him not returning to school this year. That odd, but harmless, encounter was not enough to deter him from going back to the castle he loved.
Right now, though, he was not loving it. Harry was not sure which class he despised more right now; Potions with Snape, which was self explanatory, or Defense against the Dark Arts with Lockhart. They were practically tied for being his most-loathed class. However, Lockhart was a pathetic joke for a teacher, but at least he wasn’t trying to berate Harry at every given chance… like a certain large-nosed professor.
He decided to visit the library before going to detention for crashing into the Womping Willow with Arthur Weasley’s modified flying car. Harry thought mental scarring from nearly being bludgeoned to death by a tree should have been enough punishment, but it apparently was not sever enough. The punishment for driving a magical flying car around was helping Professor Lockhart sign autographs…whoopee.
While slumping from slight exhaustion from a long school day, Harry wandered into the library before it closed for the night. There was a potion he had to perfect in a week, not that Snape would give him a fair grade even if he did study and try his hardest.
But there was no harm in trying, so Harry went into the potions section and pulled out several books at random, hoping one of them would contain the information he desired.
“Alihotsy Draught- Inhaling of the blue fumes causes hysteria. For antidote potion, see page 342-” Harry flipped the page. As much fun as a hysteria inducing potion sounded, it was not the one he was looking for.
Tirelessly turning the pages soon grew old, so Harry stopped at a random page and read about a potion which made a person go into a sudden fit of laughter.
Harry thought it was odd when the lighting seemed to go dim, so he casually glanced at a clock. His eyes widened in panic; he was already a half-hour late to his detention! Abruptly, Harry pushed himself out of the chair and scrambled to collect the books to put them away. Without realizing it, he bumped right into another student, sending both his and the stranger’s books to the ground.
“I’m so sorry! Here, let me help-” Harry stopped mid-sentence when he turned around and saw the person he had bumped into. The student had golden blond hair, he seemed rather short, but most noticeable of all, he was wearing black and green robes; a Slytherin! Appalled, Harry backed away to avoid the inevitable wrath of the individual.
A long, silver object clattered on the floor, like it had been dropped along with the books. Harry recognized the object, but was utterly shocked to discover it would be in a wizarding school. It was a crutch; something only muggles needed, since Madame Pompfry could mend bones in a matter of hours.
The Slytherin pressed his hand to his ribs, looked agitated, in pain, and annoyed, muttering harshly under his breath. Not really caring to see what his rival was going to say, and not wanting to be even more late to his detention, Harry left his fallen books on the ground and he ran.
“Get back here, you little punk!” A distant voice with an unfamiliar accent yelled as Harry rounded a corner and prepared to be reprimanded for running into a damned tree.
“No shouting in my library!” Ed nearly jumped when the scrawny librarian snuck up behind him. “What have you done to my books?! They’re everywhere, my poor babies!” As inconspicuously as he could, Ed scooted himself away from the batty old woman, hoping she wouldn’t notice his feeble escape. “Where do you think you’re going, you sneaky little Slytherin?”
“Little?!” He protested, giving her an incredulous glare.
“Pick up these books and put them back where they belong. Go ahead, we haven’t got all day.” With a grunt, Ed pulled the books into a pile with his left hand and awkwardly placed them onto the table. Using a chair for support, Ed pulled himself up, using his flesh leg as a propeller. The grouchy librarian noticed he was struggling, so she slightly lightened up and helped Ed put the books back on the shelf. He kept one book in his hand and smiled at her, trying to appear friendly, when in fact, he was mightily pissed.
“May I check this book out?”
“Of course.” She grabbed the book while Ed reached for his stupid crutch. With much effort, Ed limped his was over to the librarian’s desk to retrieve his book. Once that was taken care of, Ed hobbled his way through the winding halls back to his designated dorm. Hardly any students were out an about, since the nightly curfew for bedtime was nearing. He was grateful for this, as there was no one around to give him any strange looks for using a muggle’s tool.
The Slytherin dorm was located in the dungeons, and its dim lighting also helped hide his disadvantage. Once he found the hidden entrance to the hall, Ed slipped in cautiously, making sure no one was around. A few first and second years were doing assignments they had been likely working on for hours. One day they would learn the wonderful art of great procrastination. They were studying intently, so Ed doubted they would notice him walking by. He liked avoiding the brats at all costs, since he disliked it when they constantly gaped at him. It wasn’t the most terrible thing in the world, but Ed did not want to gain any unwanted attention in this place.
The younger students did not notice Ed shuffling through the common room. As expected, their eyes remained glued on their various scrolls and books. After a long, jaunting walk, Ed finally arrived at his bedroom.
“Ling?” He called out quietly when he entered his small room, located at the furthest end of the dormitory. “Are you up?” The flickering candle was not doing a good job of lighting the room, and Ed still didn’t understand why they just couldn’t use electric lights.
Receiving no answer, Ed used his crutch to prod the bed, but he was disappointed to discover it was empty. Ling was naturally better at socializing with the others, so he was either talking with friends or gobbling food in the kitchens, where he probably gained scraps by pretending to faint with hunger. With a sigh, Ed plopped down on his green covered bed.
Officially, he wouldn’t start classes until Monday, which was only two days away. It was something he was not looking forward to, but he had little choice in the matter. He highly doubted he would find a way out of this place in only two days, so he would have to try his best to fit in.
Deciding he wouldn’t wait for Ling to return to their room, Ed crawled under the covers and blew the nearest candle out. His automail ports were sore, especially since his metal limbs were nothing more but dead weight here.
His ribs and arm had been healed soon after agreeing to stay at the school, but they still felt rather uncomfortable. It was a miracle he was able to walk using a crutch with his tender arm. Ed situated himself and laid in a position that would cause the least amount of distress.
All he wanted to do now was figure a way out of this odd country, so it was impossible for him to relax and unwind. He shouldn’t be trying to sleep; he should’ve been trying to find a way to get back to Alphonse. Hopefully, staying at the school would help lead him on a path to his way home…which was a whole world away.