Fullmetal Wizard | Chapter 84

Title: Enroute

Ed, Hermione, and Ron were still arguing days later.

"He said to come back in a year..." Ed said "Dhat's all I can say about it. I don't know a ting about dhese sticks."

"But..That makes no sense. How're you supposed to do the course work?" Hermione said. "You need a wand to even.."

"I had a broken wand my first year, 'member? Maybe it won't be so bad.." Ron said.

Ed shrugged and adjusted his knapsack on his back. Being a seasoned traveler, he had left the majority of his personal things over at the Black house, including his spares. The bag contained only his clothes, school books, and a few other items he felt he couldn't do without. Once he was past what he could tell were steps of some sort, the blindfold over his eyes was untied, and he glimpsed the balding Mr. Weasley as he clapped a hand on his left shoulder.

His companions, in comparison, had huge trunks, animal cages, and various other pieces of luggage to cart around. There was a considerable struggle in trying to lift one trunk in particular at the moment to scuttle it along. The twins and Ginny were just arriving with a cart that would ease the ungangly thing's passing, a familiar looking 'porter' with mismatched eyes pushed the thing along: Alaster.

Harry was to go ahead of them with Mrs. Weasley and Tonks. Ed had no trouble spotting Tonks in disguise..she just HAD to wear that ridiculous purple hat on her head. She was in the form of an old woman, with tight gray curls and rather plump body. The mannerisms were all Tonks, especially the clumsy gait of her walk. He glimpsed a large, black, and familiar looking dog loping off from behind him, and raised an eyebrow. He saw that Harry nearly immediately went to the beast. Ed glanced behind him, and saw a brick wall; The stairs he knew he had just stepped down from were no longer there.

"It's the same as with the Leaky Cauldron." Hermione said to him, and he glanced over at her.

"You mean I von't be able to see it?" Ed said, disgruntled.

"Something like that." Hermione said.

Ed nodded, and kicked at a rock on the sidewalk.

After a few moments, Mr. Weasley eased up to his side.

"So..uh, Ed. I was wondering if you could answer something for me, being as you're a Muggle and all. Uh.."

Ed narrowed his golden eyes and looked at him suspiciously.

"How DO airplanes stay up?" Mr. Weasley said. "I've always wanted to know."

"I could provide you de basic physical formulas and dheories.."

"Ah. um..physical formulas..?"

"Yes.. it has to do vwith the portions of the vwing length to the body divided by..."

"um..Ed..I think you lost him." Hermione said. "He only knows about 'magic' terms..."

"Vas..?"

"You're speaking another language. Math is not something he understands." Hermione hissed in his ear.

They began their rushing walk to the train station, as they were a bit late. Ed blinked, mind buzzing, trying and coming up blank with an answer for the man that he would understand. He hurried his steps to catch up with the rather glassy eyed Mr. Weasley.

"..Honestly, Mr. Vweasley, I vreally..uh.. don't know..any more than I know how my own ports vwork." Ed chuckled. "You vwould have to ask someone who is a..a pilot, or maybe somevone who makes dhe dhings. Dhey are called 'engineers'. If you find vone, make sure to ask dhem to explain in..um..plain simple English.. or you vwill be ending up hearing vwhat is called 'technobabble'."

"Tech no babble?"

"Like. Uh..Magic vwords for..um.." Ed said, with a grin. "Not all Muggles, just certain kinds."

"REAL-ly!?" Mr. Weasley blinked in surprise, a wry smile on his face.

"Ed! Stop over here.." Hermione said. Ed looked up to see that she had stopped the hurried walk, and was standing before a brick wall, set within an arch, between platforms 9 and 10.

"Clear. ok ..go" Ron said.

Hermione hooked her arm through Ed's right, and before he could react..She stepped THROUGH the wall, taking him with her. He stumbled, recovered his steps and shook his head. Then, he noticed the smell; it was not of musty damp walls of the underground train station but of fresh green grass and smoke, and he lifted his gaze. Before him stood Harry, Mrs. Weasley, the black dog, and a boy with dreadlocks. Behind them was a train. Not one of the sleek ones he had gotten used to seeing since his arrival, but one much more..familiar to him. He breathed in the sooty steam, and grinned somewhere between a smirk and frown in spite of himself.

'It even has a caulk car behind the engine.' Ed thought as he looked at it.

The warning whistle sounded, and Ed glanced to Hermione and Ron on either side of him.

"Quick, quick...be good..take care. Write.." Mrs. Weasley, being the motherly type, hugged each of them as she pushed them off towards the train. Ed stiffened by instinct when her arms wrapped around him, but he managed to return the hug with a light tap of his left hand at her back. He then boarded the train along with Hermione and Ron. The train jerked into motion within moments, and Harry poked his head out the window and waved wildly at the departing figures of Tonks, Remus, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and 'Al'. Ed heard laughing, and he looked about for the source, only to find a number of kids crammed at the windows looking down at something.

Hermione turned and said worriedly, "He shouldn't have come with us."

"Oh..lighten up. He hasn't seen daylight in months." Ron said.

"Well..I suppose we should find a compartment." Harry said with a grin.

Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance.

"Um..well..Ron and I have to go to the Prefect car.." Hermione said, as Ron examined his fingernails.

Harry's grin faded.

"We..um..I don't think we have to stay there the entire journey..I mean.." Hermione stammered.

"Right..um..Well. I'll see you sometime, I suppose." Harry said, and then glanced at Ed as if suddenly remembering he existed.

Ed shifted his knapsack, and pointedly glanced to Harry's trunk and owl cage. Then he looked at Harry, smirked, and grabbed a handle of the trunk with his gloved right. Then with a exaggerated sigh...

"Iz Fate vworse dhan death. I am being no vhere near as fun as dhose two, but you a stuck vwith me now, mine friend. "

Harry looked down and had such a sheepish expression on his face that Ed chuckled. Harry grabbed the handle of the owl's cage and his end of the trunk, and, with a quick glance back to Ed that included a slight grin, picked up his end of the trunk. Ed lifted his end and they shuffled their way down the narrow hall. Ed noticed that they were getting quite a few stares as they passed by the already filled up compartments, and he half wondered if his shirt collar had somehow slipped to show his automail shiny port, or even the noticeably greenish-yellow remains of the ugly burn at his neck.

:::

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