Happy Yule! Have a chapter! ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Ed felt as though he had barely slept when he was being shaken awake by Al.

“Wake up brother, its time to go.” he whispered, moving away to wake Winry. Ed looked out to see that it was still dark outside. He didn’t know how Al could wake up so early. If anything, Al should sleep more than him because of his time at the Gate.

He dressed fast in silence and got out of the room to stand in the hall with Al so that Winry could change privately. He could hear yawning and muttering from downstairs, signs that the house was coming alive.

The three of them walked downstairs to hear the group discussing about Apparating?

“Percy only passed two weeks ago,” he heard one of the twins say. “He’s been Apparating downstairs every morning since, just to prove he can.”

‘Percy’s that stuck-up red head, right? What the hell is Apparating though?’

“Hey Al. You read anything about Apparating?” Judging by the grimace that Al gave, Ed could guess that it was not something he will like.

“It’s better that I tell you after the tournament. Preferably when you won’t be able to go on a rampage.”

They went down to see everyone already eating porridge. Mr. Weasley was wearing what appeared to be a sweater and an old pair of jeans, slightly too big for him and held up with a thick leather belt.

“Hello boys. And girl,” he added when he saw Winry narrowing her eyes. “Dumbledore sent your tickets last night so you don’t have to worry about it.”

‘Wasn’t going to, anyway.’ Ed thought as he took the bowl Mrs. Weasley offered.

There were footsteps down the passageway and Hermione and Ginny came into the kitchen, both looking pale and drowsy. “Why do we have to be up so early?” Ginny said, rubbing her eyes and sitting down at the table.

“We’ve got a bit of a walk,” said Mr. Weasley.

♡´･ᴗ･'♡

After a pretty tense farewell between the Weasleys, with the twins and Mrs. Weasley being equally hostile towards each other, Ed watched as the twins totally ignored their mother and felt a pang in his heart. But he can’t judge them. He knew that if his mother was still alive, he would be the same way towards her. ‘You only know what you have when you lose it.’

They trudged toward the village, Ed yawning from time to time. Besides, Winry was rubbing her eyes to see clearer and Al was almost sleep walking. Ed would have given him a piggyback ride if he wasn’t so stubborn about walking by himself. He apparently liked the feel of his muscles moving every time he did an activity, and Ed couldn’t fault him for it.

He heard Harry ask Mr. Weasley about how everyone was going to reach the tournament without being seen. Personally, Ed felt the level of secrecy was ridiculous. He has read about the Salem witch hunt already, but it wasn’t like it will happen again. People are more open now than in old times. At least Amestrians are.

Then again, there were still some who are wary of alchemy, even when it can be explained much easier than magic. Maybe having a rational mind wouldn’t be enough to accept all this hocus-pocus.

Ed grimaced when he heard that they will use a portkey to reach this tournament. He was definitely not looking forward to this trip. ‘If I had known, I would not have bothered to eat.’

They finally reached a hill and slowly started climbing up, Ed and Winry stopping from time to time so that Al and the others could catch up. Ed couldn’t help but wonder if the wizards had done any kind of exercise in their lives. Al has muscle atrophy. What were these wizards' excuses?

“Whew,” panted Mr. Weasley after they reached the top, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his sweater. “Well, we’ve made good time - we’ve got ten minutes... Now we just need the Portkey,” he replaced his glasses and squinted around at the ground. “It won’t be big... Come on...”

They spread out, searching, Ed only doing it because of Al and Winry. They had only been at it for a couple of minutes, however, when a shout broke the silence. “Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we’ve got it!” Two tall figures were silhouetted against the starry sky on the other side of the hilltop.

“Amos!” said Mr. Weasley, smiling as he strode over to the man who had shouted with the rest of them following. Mr. Weasley was shaking hands with a brown-bearded wizard, who was holding a moldy-looking old boot in his other hand.

“This is Amos Diggory, everyone,” said Mr. Weasley. “He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?”

‘No.’ Ed thought but didn’t bother voice it out. He figured it wasn't important, judging by how Al and Winry didn’t bother to ask.

“Hi,” said Cedric, looking around at them all. Everybody said hi back except Fred, George and Ed, who merely nodded. They had never quite forgiven Cedric for beating their team, Gryffindor, in the first Quidditch match of the previous year, and Ed just didn’t feel like opening his mouth.

“Long walk, Arthur?” Cedric’s father asked.

“Not too bad,” said Mr. Weasley. “We live just on the other side of the village there. You?”

Ed zoned out as the two chatted, not bothering to listen. If there was something he missed, then Al will fill him up on it.

“You beat Harry Potter!” the ruddy-faced guy exclaimed, snapping Ed out of his daze. He looked around to see everyone silent-faced except for Fred and George, who were both scowling again. Cedric looked slightly embarrassed.

“Harry fell off his broom, Dad,” he muttered. “I told you... it was an accident...”

“Yes, but you didn’t fall off, did you?” roared Amos genially, slapping his son on his back. “Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman... but the best man won, I’m sure Harry’d say the same, wouldn’t you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don’t need to be a genius to tell which one’s the better flier!”

‘Is this guy for real? Is he seriously trying to make a big deal out of a match?’

“And who are these three new faces?” Cedric asked so they could change the topic.

“Oh yes, these are Edward, Alphonse and Winry. They’ll be starting at Hogwarts this year. Now, must be nearly time,” said Mr. Weasley quickly, pulling out his watch again, not bothering to explain why they were only starting now when they were clearly not first years. Ed also didn’t bother to clarify, since Mr. Weasley seemed to suddenly be very frantic about the time. “Do you know whether we’re waiting for any more, Amos?”

“No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn’t get tickets,” said Mr. Diggory. “There aren’t any more of us in this area, are there?”

“Not that I know of,” said Mr. Weasley. “Yes, it’s a minute off... We’d better get ready...”

He looked around at Harry, Hermione and the Amestrian trio. “You just need to touch the Portkey, that’s all, a finger will do-” With difficulty, owing to their bulky backpacks, the twelve of them crowded around the old boot held out by Amos Diggory.

They all stood there, in a tight circle, as a chill breeze swept over the hilltop. Nobody spoke. Ed yawned as they waited, feeling a little crowded by all these people.

“Three...” muttered Mr. Weasley, one eye still on his watch, “two... one...”
It happened immediately. For one second his feet left the ground, the next his feet slammed into the ground. Al staggered into him and he fell over, throwing up his food again.

‘Still not used to it’ Ed thought as he tried to keep his food in.

He looked up to see Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric were still standing, though looking very windswept while everybody else was on the ground.

“Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill,” said a voice. Ed stood up and saw two exhausted wizards (because no way would normal people dress like that!). As Mr. Weasley talked to them, Ed looked around to see they were in some misty moor. Getting their spot from the tired wizards, they walked through the mist till they saw shadows of tents. After saying goodbye to the Diggorys they walked towards a small stone cottage.

A man was standing in the doorway, looking out at the tents. Ed knew he was a normal person just by his clothes. When he heard their footsteps, he turned his head to look at them.

“Morning!” said Mr. Weasley brightly.

“Morning,” said the man.

“Would you be Mr. Roberts?”

“Aye, I would,” said Mr. Roberts. Ed looked around at all the tents. He could only see ghostly shapes of many tents because of the mist, but there was something about the shapes and sizes that made him question if they really cared about secrecy.

‘Is this guy in on all this magic stuff?’

“Never been this crowded,” Mr. Roberts suddenly said, bring Ed’s attention back to him. “Hundreds of pre-bookings. People usually just turn up....”

“Is that right?” said Mr. Weasley, his hand held out for his change, but Mr. Roberts didn’t give it to him.

“Aye,” he said thoughtfully. “People from all over. Loads of foreigners. And not just foreigners. Weirdos, you know? There’s a bloke walking ’round in a kilt and a poncho.”

“Shouldn’t he?” said Mr. Weasley anxiously.

‘So he realizes that something’s wrong. But why is he not questioning anyone?’

“It’s like some sort of... I dunno... like some sort of rally,” said Mr. Roberts. “They all seem to know each other. Like a big party.”

At that moment, a wizard suddenly appeared out of thin air next to Mr. Roberts’s front door.

“Obliviate!” he said sharply, pointing his wand at Mr. Roberts.

“What the fuck!” Ed yelled as Mr. Roberts’s eyes slid out of focus, his brows unknitted, and a look of dreamy unconcern fell over his face.

“A map of the campsite for you,” Mr. Roberts said placidly to Mr. Weasley. “And your change.”

“Thanks very much,” said Mr. Weasley. The wizard moved them away from Mr. Roberts, and Ed couldn’t do anything but follow. He looked around to see no one seem even a little disturbed at that except for his brother and Winry.

Once out of earshot of Mr. Roberts, he muttered to Mr. Weasley, “Been having a lot of trouble with him. Needs a Memory Charm ten times a day to keep him happy. And Ludo Bagman’s not helping. Trotting around talking about Bludgers and Quaffles at the top of his voice, not a worry about anti-Muggle security. Blimey, I’ll be glad when this is over. See you later, Arthur.” He Disapparated.

“What the hell was that?!” Ed demanded as soon as the guy disappeared.

"That was a memory charm, Edward," Mr. Weasley told him, looking a little confused at his reaction. "The ministry sends some wizards down here every so often to give the poor muggles a memory charm. They sometimes get overly curious and wizards get careless, you see, and the ministry just makes sure that magic is kept secret."

"Memory charm? So that guy knows nothing about what going on here just because his memory was erased repeatedly?" Winry asked, a bit scared. Mr. Weasley glumly nodded his head.

"Unfortunately, yes. I don't like it, but it is what the ministry does.”

"That shouldn’t even be allowed! Erasing people's memories, damn it! That isn’t right!" he started cursing, and it said a lot that Winry and Al didn’t even bother to stop him. They must be just as horrified as him.

"Edward, like I said, I don't like it either, but it needs to be done sometimes. If muggles found out about magic, people could think they’re crazy or they would start riots!" Mr. Weasley replied rather nervously.

"It's still breaking and entering the mind, Mr. Weasley. Our minds are our most secure place and the fact that someone can very easily alter things up there is very disturbing.” Al said in a stern voice, the soft-spoken boy’s disapproval even more potent than his older brother’s anger.

"It is something necessary, Alphonse. Think of what would happen to Mr. Roberts if he knew magic existed. He could get locked up for believing in magic. And that’s the best-case scenario. It is better that he forgets.”

Ed could still feel the rage at the complete disregard for a person’s privacy. But there wasn’t anything he could do. This wasn’t Amestris and even if it was he could not change the ways of a group of people just by being a state alchemist. Here, his status wouldn’t even work even if he were to try.

They walked up to the campsite in silence, the Amestrian trio not bothering to say another single word.

Since the story has finally reached canon, the chapters might start being longer. But no guarantee though (^_-)