[FMA/HP] "Endless Moment" 03/??
Title: Endless Moment (03/??)
Rating: PG13
Archived @ Master List
Summary: [Sequel to 'Mr. Elric'] It's obvious now that the community of Hogwarts wants a piece of Mr Elric, be it knowledge or attention. Ed's privacy is further invaded when forces beyond his control insist on contact with The Boy Who Lived.
Chapter 03: Suspicion and Speculation
The day Hermione came back from Christmas vacation was the day the Hogwarts Rumor Mill caught on fire.
They were on the Hogwarts Express when the 'news' reached them. She was, both unluckily and foolishly, sitting in the compartment consisting mostly of M.E.S.S. members when Pavarti caught sight of the owl outside the window, desperate to keep up with the train's speed. Shortly after reading the contents of the letter it was bearing along with a few other girls, they let out a shrill scream and fainted. Or pretend fainted, rather, seeing how they revived and got back up seconds later.
"Mr. Elric's in the hospital!" Pavarti shrieked to the rest of the girls, who did their own versions of 'The Faint' and 'The Scream', each more dramatic than the last.
Disgusted, Hermione left. Even sitting with Luna Lovegood, who was going through the phase of wearing Venus flytraps as hats, sounded like heaven compared to this. The lamenting continued all the rest of the way, and even the usual airy and surreal Luna was showing signs of annoyance.
Ironically, the moment they reached Hogwarts, the wailing ceased. 'I knew it was all for show.' Hermione thought as she and Luna exchanged a dark look, temporarily forging a connection between heaven and earth. She had no problem with Mr. Elric being at Hogwarts- she was actually quite fond of him, but the fact that every single action of his prompted squeals of starry-eyed happiness made her wish he'd never come here at all. She could still remember the day Lavender found out his first name and began trilling it in every single language, accent, and melody imaginable.
Harry and Ron were waiting in the common room, set to pounce.
"I know." Hermione said crossly as she entered, halting the two boys. "I know. The M.E.S.S. people made a big deal on the way here and I'm really quite tired so if-" She caught sight of their faces. "What is it?"
"There was a man who came here on the night of the 'accident'." Ron said slowly. "He looked like... like..." He gulped and threw a look at Harry.
"He looked like.. no, he was that man in the book you found on Nicholas Flamel."
"That's impossible," she replied immediately. "That photograph was taken in 1922. There's no way- you must've seen wrong."
"We got a clear view of his face when he came out of the hospital wing," Harry said seriously. "There's no doubt at all." Hermione looked carefully from Ron's face to Harry's. It wasn't possible, but for some reason, she believed them.
"What do we do now?" Ron finally asked.
"...I still trust in Professor Dumbledore." Hermione said firmly. "If he allows Mr. Elric to stay here, then he must be on our side- what was that, Ron?" And Ron, who coughed out a word sounding suspiciously like 'Quirrell' (or was it 'Lockhart'?) then denied making any noise at all.
---
For the next few days, rumors flew rampant around the school. Surprisingly, one of the most popular ones (no doubt spread by the Slytherins) was that Mr. Elric was, in fact, a squib who attempted to obtain magic through more unorthodox means only to have it go horribly wrong. Another was that he was doing an extremely complicated and powerful spell for some or another reason that was yet to come to light and it, too, went horribly wrong. As a matter of fact, the only thing any of them had in common was that 'it went horribly wrong and landed him in the hospital'.
After a week's time, after Madame Pince's return, imagine the Gryffindor sixth year class's surprise when they walked in to Transfigurations to see a familiar sight in the corner.
"Mr. Elric!" The M.E.S.S. girls squealed immediately only to be silenced by the full force of the Holy Golden Eyes and McGonagall's patronizing gaze.
"Take your seats, Patil, Brown." McGonagall said sharply before addressing the rest of the class. "Explain the 'fair use' of dragon scales."
As a matter of fact, all through class, Mr. Elric's presence was more or less ignored except by the ones who kept shifting uncomfortably in their seats and throwing occasional glances at the back table. The only time McGonagall acknowledged his existence was at the end of the lesson, after the bell had rung. She approached him and they vaguely heard her ask him "did you understand the lesson?" before they were whisked away by the incoming traffic.
---
That, if possible, spread even faster than the news that he was in the hospital. "Mr. Elric's the new Transfigurations teacher!" and "DAMN! I don't have him until-" were heard regularly around Hogwarts that day.
"He isn't exactly a professor." Hermione said crossly as giggling continued to erupt from all sides of the hallway. "He isn't teaching anything. Honestly, can't they leave the poor man alone?"
"I remember a certain someone being in love with a professor four years ago." teased Harry. "What's the difference now?"
"The difference is," Hermione replied, rather red in the face, "that Professor Lockhart reveled in the attention. Mr. Elric does not- you really must see Madame Pomfrey about that cough of yours, Ron." They pushed open the doors of the Great Hall and found a surprise waiting for them.
Mr. Elric was seated comfortably with the professors at the front table- quite strange seeing how he's never eaten dinner with the rest of the school before. Once again, Dumbledore made no special announcement about Mr. Elric and dinner commenced as usual. All in all, it was a very ordinary day. If you asked any of the teachers, they would say that all the drama occurring were only in the students' heads. There was nothing going on, nothing at all.
T . B . C
Rating: PG13
Archived @ Master List
Summary: [Sequel to 'Mr. Elric'] It's obvious now that the community of Hogwarts wants a piece of Mr Elric, be it knowledge or attention. Ed's privacy is further invaded when forces beyond his control insist on contact with The Boy Who Lived.
Chapter 03: Suspicion and Speculation
The day Hermione came back from Christmas vacation was the day the Hogwarts Rumor Mill caught on fire.
They were on the Hogwarts Express when the 'news' reached them. She was, both unluckily and foolishly, sitting in the compartment consisting mostly of M.E.S.S. members when Pavarti caught sight of the owl outside the window, desperate to keep up with the train's speed. Shortly after reading the contents of the letter it was bearing along with a few other girls, they let out a shrill scream and fainted. Or pretend fainted, rather, seeing how they revived and got back up seconds later.
"Mr. Elric's in the hospital!" Pavarti shrieked to the rest of the girls, who did their own versions of 'The Faint' and 'The Scream', each more dramatic than the last.
Disgusted, Hermione left. Even sitting with Luna Lovegood, who was going through the phase of wearing Venus flytraps as hats, sounded like heaven compared to this. The lamenting continued all the rest of the way, and even the usual airy and surreal Luna was showing signs of annoyance.
Ironically, the moment they reached Hogwarts, the wailing ceased. 'I knew it was all for show.' Hermione thought as she and Luna exchanged a dark look, temporarily forging a connection between heaven and earth. She had no problem with Mr. Elric being at Hogwarts- she was actually quite fond of him, but the fact that every single action of his prompted squeals of starry-eyed happiness made her wish he'd never come here at all. She could still remember the day Lavender found out his first name and began trilling it in every single language, accent, and melody imaginable.
Harry and Ron were waiting in the common room, set to pounce.
"I know." Hermione said crossly as she entered, halting the two boys. "I know. The M.E.S.S. people made a big deal on the way here and I'm really quite tired so if-" She caught sight of their faces. "What is it?"
"There was a man who came here on the night of the 'accident'." Ron said slowly. "He looked like... like..." He gulped and threw a look at Harry.
"He looked like.. no, he was that man in the book you found on Nicholas Flamel."
"That's impossible," she replied immediately. "That photograph was taken in 1922. There's no way- you must've seen wrong."
"We got a clear view of his face when he came out of the hospital wing," Harry said seriously. "There's no doubt at all." Hermione looked carefully from Ron's face to Harry's. It wasn't possible, but for some reason, she believed them.
"What do we do now?" Ron finally asked.
"...I still trust in Professor Dumbledore." Hermione said firmly. "If he allows Mr. Elric to stay here, then he must be on our side- what was that, Ron?" And Ron, who coughed out a word sounding suspiciously like 'Quirrell' (or was it 'Lockhart'?) then denied making any noise at all.
---
For the next few days, rumors flew rampant around the school. Surprisingly, one of the most popular ones (no doubt spread by the Slytherins) was that Mr. Elric was, in fact, a squib who attempted to obtain magic through more unorthodox means only to have it go horribly wrong. Another was that he was doing an extremely complicated and powerful spell for some or another reason that was yet to come to light and it, too, went horribly wrong. As a matter of fact, the only thing any of them had in common was that 'it went horribly wrong and landed him in the hospital'.
After a week's time, after Madame Pince's return, imagine the Gryffindor sixth year class's surprise when they walked in to Transfigurations to see a familiar sight in the corner.
"Mr. Elric!" The M.E.S.S. girls squealed immediately only to be silenced by the full force of the Holy Golden Eyes and McGonagall's patronizing gaze.
"Take your seats, Patil, Brown." McGonagall said sharply before addressing the rest of the class. "Explain the 'fair use' of dragon scales."
As a matter of fact, all through class, Mr. Elric's presence was more or less ignored except by the ones who kept shifting uncomfortably in their seats and throwing occasional glances at the back table. The only time McGonagall acknowledged his existence was at the end of the lesson, after the bell had rung. She approached him and they vaguely heard her ask him "did you understand the lesson?" before they were whisked away by the incoming traffic.
---
That, if possible, spread even faster than the news that he was in the hospital. "Mr. Elric's the new Transfigurations teacher!" and "DAMN! I don't have him until-" were heard regularly around Hogwarts that day.
"He isn't exactly a professor." Hermione said crossly as giggling continued to erupt from all sides of the hallway. "He isn't teaching anything. Honestly, can't they leave the poor man alone?"
"I remember a certain someone being in love with a professor four years ago." teased Harry. "What's the difference now?"
"The difference is," Hermione replied, rather red in the face, "that Professor Lockhart reveled in the attention. Mr. Elric does not- you really must see Madame Pomfrey about that cough of yours, Ron." They pushed open the doors of the Great Hall and found a surprise waiting for them.
Mr. Elric was seated comfortably with the professors at the front table- quite strange seeing how he's never eaten dinner with the rest of the school before. Once again, Dumbledore made no special announcement about Mr. Elric and dinner commenced as usual. All in all, it was a very ordinary day. If you asked any of the teachers, they would say that all the drama occurring were only in the students' heads. There was nothing going on, nothing at all.
T . B . C