Fullmetal Wizard | Chapter 17

Title: A taste of Fullmetal

He was really too tired, he knew, to do anything really fancy. He lifted up the quilted monstrosity on top, and snorted.

"Magic." He said in a derisive tone, this time, in English. And wrinkled up his nose in disgust at the word's taste on his tongue. He flipped up the quilt and spread it out on a clear spot on the floor. Array and equation pictured in his mind, glowing in brilliance. Then he firmly slapped his hands together. The sharp distinctive sound echoing against the tiles and ringing in his ears.

The single candle that lit the bathroom went out...plunging him into sudden darkness.

He heard soft pattering...like...Bare skin slapping against tile. Something. Definitely bigger than a rat. He turned his head and caught glimpse. A swiftly moving shadow amongst shadows, low to the ground. He wasn't alone. He shook out his hands, quickly dispersing the energy from the previous, unactivated array. Gold eyes darting about..searching the shadows.

Nothing. He heard a low, bullfrog-like voice. Muttering softly. Venom in its..his?..tone...

He slowly stood up from his crouch, turned and snatched his long pants from the pile by feel. The idea of a fight while naked wasn't very appealing to him in the first place, and the idea of a fight with his head pounding from a concussion, while naked, absolutely put him in a seriously foul mood. It took all of two seconds for him to literally jump into his slacks. The entire time his did this, his eyes never stopped scanning the shadows around him.

'Bathroom's not that big. How'd something get...?'

Ed saw a pair of red eyes shine in the shadows.

"Filthy muggle! OUT! OUT! OUT!!! Out of the mistress's...!"

Ed easily dodged the shadowy thing's charge by instinct, but slipped on the pile of clothes and blankets. He landed hard on the ground but recovered with a roll. He heard the thing itself crash with very loud BANG! against the door, just on the other side of the blanket he had just spread out. Ed stood back up, and banged his head on the lip of the sink above him. He hissed in annoyance at the blunder. He could hear whatever it was...fumbling to regain its own footing.

'The blanket must be giving it some trouble...'

Ed smiled evilly to himself.

Using his mental map of the room, he grabbed another blanket from the heap. Feeling it's along it length in the dark, testing it's strength with a sharp tug at the edges. Carefully, he approached whatever it was before him, intending to use the blanket as a net. He flung it out quickly and dove at the same time, wrapping his arms blindly. Ed found he grappled the thing, and blinked in surprise.

'It...worked? How stupid...!' He thought.

He felt two arms and two legs struggling beneath him. Whatever it was..it was strong. Something struck Ed hard enough on his nose to make him see stars. Ed growled, and firmed up his grip with his right metal arm on what he thought was an arm below the blanket. He squeezed hard, knowing well he could easily break bones this way, and something gave...

The thing actually yelped, then screamed loudly with a voice full of pain.

POP!

The blanket turned net was suddenly empty. He patted it down experimentally with his left hand.

Not sure what to make of it, he reached up on the door with his left hand, feeling for the door handle. Dim light from the hallway spilled in, showing him that he was indeed alone in the bath. He stood, eased into his fighting stance, then creeped out backwards into the hall. He heard the pounding of several footsteps approaching him...

...and adjusted his fight stance accordingly.

Harry heard the pain filled scream and startled. He saw the adults down below all stiffen and look up.

"The bath..!" Hermione breathed.

Harry turned and ran.

He was the first to see the blond emerge smoothly, creeping backwards from the bath. Ed's long blond hair was slicked back, obviously wet and dripping, nearly reaching the middle of his back. A white bandage clung to the front of his neck. He was decent, only half dressed, wearing the pair of dark slacks he was in earlier.

Harry heard Hermione gasp in surprise, and he couldn't blame her.

"Blimey.." Ron muttered.

Ed turned to face them all with a glare that made his golden eyes seem to burn.

Harry stopped short, and held his arms out to catch both his friends, trying to keep them back at what he hope was a safe distance. The thing that caught his eye the most was Ed's right arm and shoulder. Shining with a metallic gleam in the dim light of the hall. And the smooth, expert-like way Ed moved it, and the rest of him, into what he supposed was a martial arts stance...much like he had seen in the movies on the television when he was staying with the Dursleys. Harry could also see Ed's feet. One foot, his left, was also made of metal.

Harry noticed a trickle of blood drip down from Ed's nose, but Ed gave no indication it bothered him. At all.

"Harry." Ed stated, and lowered his arms a fraction.

Ed golden eyes then flicked to those just arriving behind. He watched Ed frown slightly and deepen his stance.

Pop!

Ed was in motion before Harry even registered the arrival of Fred and George. He saw him dive the ground and quickly spin his legs, sweeping Fred or George off his feet in such a way that he crashed into his twin. Both twins crashed together in a twisted heap of tangled limbs first against the wall with a loud bang!, then to the floor. Fred or George's wand dropped out of his hand, but it was only one. Not that it mattered.

:::

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