Harry Potter and The Fullmetal Alchemist [VERY Slow Updates]

Chapter 11

Ed sat up quickly from his light sleep and he could already tell something was wrong. The noises in the campsite had changed. The singing had stopped. He could hear screams, and the sound of people running. He changed his clothes quickly as Mr. Weasley woke everyone up in the tent and told them to get out quick.

Outside, by the light of the few fires that were still burning, he could see people running away into the woods, fleeing something that was moving across the field toward them, something that was emitting odd flashes of light and noises like gunfire. Loud jeering, roars of laughter, and drunken yells were drifting toward them; then came a burst of strong green light, which illuminated the scene.

A crowd of wizards, tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upward, was marching slowly across the field. Their heads were hooded and their faces masked. High above them, floating along in midair, four struggling figures were being contorted into grotesque shapes. It was as though the masked wizards on the ground were puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes operated by invisible strings that rose from the wands into the air. Two of the figures were very small.

Ed felt sick at the sight and he could feel Al tense besides him. He really hoped whatever was happening was not part of the celebrations.

More wizards were joining the marching group, laughing and pointing up at the floating bodies. Tents crumpled and fell as the marching crowd swelled, setting fire to the tents and shooting spells randomly.

The floating people were suddenly illuminated as they passed over a burning tent and Ed recognized one of them. It was Mr. Roberts, the campsite manager. The other three looked as though they might be his wife and children. One of the marchers below flipped Mrs. Roberts upside down with his wand; her nightdress fell down to reveal voluminous drawers and she struggled to cover herself up as the crowd below her screeched and hooted with glee.

“That’s sick,” Ron muttered, watching the smallest muggle child, who had begun to spin like a top, sixty feet above the ground, his head flopping limply from side to side. “That is really sick…”

Just as Ed was going to teach these fuckers a lesson Winry and the girls came running from their tent with Mr. Weasley followed by Bill, Charlie and Percy.

“We’re going to help the Ministry!” Mr. Weasley shouted over all the noise, rolling up his own sleeves. “You lot - get into the woods, and stick together. I’ll come and fetch you when we’ve sorted this out!”

Bill, Charlie, and Percy were already sprinting away toward the oncoming marchers, Mr. Weasley close after them. Ministry wizards were dashing from every direction toward the source of the trouble. The crowd beneath the Roberts family was coming ever closer.

“Well, what are you all waiting for!” Ed yelled as the group ran toward the wood. Fred was in the lead, his usual mischievous nature all but gone. They all looked back as they reached the trees. The crowd beneath the Roberts family was larger than ever; they could see the Ministry wizards trying to get through it to the hooded wizards in the center, but they were having great difficulty. It looked as though they were scared to perform any spell that might make the Roberts family fall.

The colored lanterns that had lit the path to the stadium had been extinguished. Dark figures were blundering through the trees; children were crying; anxious shouts and panicked voices were reverberating around them in the cold night air. In all the hurry no one noticed the sudden disappearance of the golden trio.

Finally, they got deep into the forest, enough to not even hear the hostile crowd. Only then did Ginny ask in a small voice.

“Where’s Harry, Ron and Hermione?”

Ed cursed as he looked around. They haven’t even got to the school and he was already doing a lousy job. “Al, stay with them. I’ll go back to look for them.”

Al looked like he wanted to protest but he still nodded. Someone needed to be here to keep these kids safe. But Al wasn’t the one he should have been worried about.