Points to Note: I do not like cursing. Being called names hurts. So, no one in this fic will ever say a really bad word, I'll just say that they cursed, or something. And the colonel will be referred to as Colonel Idiot, not the name Ed dubbed him in the series. Apologies for this.

Disclaimer: Do you think I have a death wish or something? Like I'm ever going to say 'I own FMA'…wait… P.S. the ingenious quote used as a line breaker was first uttered by Phaedrus, not moi.

Not Always What They Seem

ͽ Chapter 1: Memorable Meetings ͼ

When one's life was overflowing with happiness, it was all too easy to forget about the existence of sadness. On the other hand, when confronted solely with sadness continuously for a countless number of years, it was equally easy to forget even the meaning of the word happiness.

Sirius Black counted himself lucky for being exempt from the latter category. Though he had long ago lost count of the number of years he had spent in that damp, dark, dirty prison cell, he did not forget one crucial thing.

He was innocent.

He had committed no crime. He had not provided Voldemort with the information that had led to the murders of his best friend and his wife, and had made their child an orphan. He had not betrayed the people he loved most in the world. He had not.

Unfortunately, no one but him knew that. Truly, no one but him believed that and there were some days when even he began to doubt his innocence. After all, he must have done something in his life to be undergoing such cruel punishment now.

Sirius dully started at the opposite wall, noting with numb surprise that there was a pile of rags there, probably meant to be his bed. How long had that been there?

It's amazing, really, Sirius thought, as he pulled his mind away from the world around him and back into his mental haven. That I've been here for so long, but I still forget the location of my bed.

The tiny spark of amusement that had followed this thought vanished abruptly, as though it had been sucked from his very being. The now familiar lonely despair descended upon him once again.

"So" he whispered dully. "The leeches are back." And they brought a friend.

The oddly loud creak of the door, followed by stiff, almost frightened, footsteps did not motivate Sirius to see who entered. It was only when the new arrival stopped in front of him, did Sirius bother to raise his head and meet the frightened, but determined eyes of the Minister of Magic.

*~~ͽ Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many ͼ~~*

"I don't like the sound of this," the golden-haired Edward Elric, also known as the Fullmetal Alchemist, grumbled as he stomped his way down the street. He was not is a good mood. "I don't like this one bit."

His younger brother, Alphonse Elric sighed as he watched his elder brother continue grumbling. There were times when he felt like the older one. Now was one of those instances. "Nii-san, I don't think the Colonel cares if you like this or not."

"I know that narcissist doesn't care." he snapped in reply, continuing to fume not so silently as they walked to Central Headquarters. He completely ignored the stares his behavior was earning them.

"Do you really think he's a narcissist?" Al asked, caught off guard by this tidbit of information.

Ed snorted."Of course," he said, in an all knowing tone. "Why else would he be stealing everyone else's girlfriends?"

Al blinked."Er, Nii-san, I don't think that's exactly what narricist means." Actually, he was positive that narcissist had a different meaning.

Ed waved his metal hand dismissively as he yanked open the door to the Central Headquarters with the other flesh one. "Al, don't bother me with useless technicalities."

'Useless technicalities' Al thought, a bit bemused and a lot amused by his elder brother's words. "The definition of a word isn't useless, Nii-san."

He politely greeted a couple of senior officers who passed by while Ed barely glanced in their direction, being too focused on getting the meeting with the Colonel over with so that they could get back to looking for the ever elusive Philosopher's Stone.

"Nii-san, you could at least try to be polite." He chided his older brother who had just waved a hand to acknowledge Hawkeye's hello.

"I'm always polite," Edward replied, stopping in front of the Colonel's door. "It's Colonel Idiot who needs lessons in manners."

Al sighed as Ed opened the door and disappeared inside. He leaned against the wall to patiently wait for him. Hawkeye gave him a sympathetic look before sending a threatening one towards the rest of the inhabitants who had begun to bet on just who would leave the meeting triumphant.

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the meeting would not end well. Then again, when had an encounter between those two ever ended without the flaring of tempers, destruction of property, both public and private, and death or marshal threats?

*~~ͽ Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many ͼ~~*

He was alive. The traitor was alive.

That was the sole thought that raced through Sirius's mind ever since he saw the picture in the Daily Prophet. He had barely noticed the Minister's exit. He had barely noticed when his guards had opened the door to leave a tray of gray gruel which was meant to be his dinner. Nor did he notice when they returned an hour later to pick up the untouched tray. His entire attention was focused on what he had learned by simply asking for the paper to complete a crossword puzzle.

Remus had always said the crossword puzzles would pay off one day, though Sirius was willing to bet that he had been thinking of benefits on the intellectual level. But it did not matter. He knew the truth now. The traitor was alive. And he was at Hogwarts with Harry.

Sirius made up his mind, then and there. He would escape this prison and hunt down that rat. He would find it and kill it. For Lily and James, his best friends, for his godson who probably knew nothing of his existence, for the twelve years he had lost rotting in this hellhole. He would kill that rat and avenge them all. For James, Lily, Harry, Remus, and himself, Sirius Black would break out of Azkaban and commit the crime for which he had been imprisoned for.

Sirius Black would become a murderer.

*~~ͽ Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many ͼ~~*

"He can't do this!" Ed shouted, stomping out of Mustang's office.

Immediately, everyone was busied themselves with something or another, all carefully avoiding the enraged alchemist's eyes. Ed was too upset to even notice just how glaringly obvious the fact that they had been eavesdropping was. Though it wasn't exactly easy not to listen in, everyone within a twelve block radius probably had heard them arguing.

"What happened, Nii-san?" Al asked, cautious of his brother's mood. He was angrier than he usually was after meeting with the Colonel.

Ed scowled almost comically. "'You are to remain at Central until further notice.'" Ed replied in a high-pitched voice that was apparently meant to sound like Mustang's. Al could just see the steam coming out of his ears. "He can't make us stay here. We don't have to listen to him!"

Al turned towards Hawkeye, who had been calmly filling some papers, for support.

"He's your superior officer, Edward." She said in a deadpan voice. Only the glint in her eye betrayed her amusement. "Unless you wish to be court-martialed, you must obey to him."

The explosion that followed was just as exaggerated and loud as she expected.

"What!? He can't make us stay! That—!"

His tirade was interrupted before it got any more fiery by the arrival of Roy Mustang himself. Or more accurately, the arrival of his head, which he stuck out of the room, brow wrinkled in annoyance.

"Still here, Fullmetal?" he asked, though he could full well see the boy standing there scowling at him."Did it not go through your thick skull and into your tiny brain that we are short on time?" He smirked as he waited for the response. He was not disappointed.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALLER THAN A GRAIN OF SAND— mmph!!" The rest of his yell was cut off, muffled by the armor-clad hand of his younger brother as it was pressed over his mouth. His failing arms and glare left no doubt that he was calling the Colonel a number of vile names.

"Ah, I think it's time for us to leave." Al said, somehow managing to look apologetic and polite while keeping a hand firmly over his brother's mouth and using his other hand to keep him from jumping forward.

"Come on, Nii-san." Nodding his goodbye to the amused soldiers, Al all but dragged his elder brother out of the room.

"Sir," he heard Hawkeye say as they left. "If you are done goading Edward, get back to your paperwork." There was a familiar click of a loaded gun, followed by an audible gulp.

If Al's metal face could show emotion, it would have broken out into a wide smile. But it couldn't, so he didn't. But it did not stop him from putting on a cheery air that contrasted greatly with his brother's. Poor Mustang, though he probably did deserve it for purposely pushing Ed's buttons.

Despite Ed's continuous struggles to break out of Al's hold, it was only when there was at least a block between them and headquarters did Al release his brother. The first thing Ed did upon his release was glare at his big little brother. Then he straightened his clothes and marched ahead, his nose in the air, pointedly ignoring the fact that he had been kicking and attempting to shout, like a child having a tantrum just minutes before. For once, Al was glad his face did not betray his feelings, he was sure Nii-san would not take too kindly to the fact that he was laughing at him.

"…Stupid Colonel…" he heard Ed mutter as a combat boot clad foot kicked an empty bottle out of the way.

Al wisely let his brother cool off for a few minutes before speaking. He knew Ed was more upset about their situation than at him, but still, better safe than sorry.

"What exactly did the Colonel say, Nii-san?" Al asked, once he was sure that Ed was not going to explode into another rant about the Colonel and his faults.

Though his brother's back was turned towards him, Al could tell he was scowling when he answered. The scowl was practically present in his voice.

"We're not allowed to leave town," Ed replied as he continued to march. "And we are to keep a low profile. That idiot's all but placed us under house arrest."

"Why?" Al asked, curiously. Mustang rarely ordered either of them to do anything. The fact that he was doing so now meant he had a very good reason. A horrible idea appeared in Al's head. "Is it because of Scar?" The killer hadn't returned to finish the job had he?

Twitch. "No."

"…You're a bad liar, Nii-san."

Ed sent him a sheepish grin over his shoulder. "Don't worry. Mustang's not even sure if it was him. Could be just a mistake made by an overexcited civilian."

Al didn't believe him. Mustang wouldn't have bothered if all the proof he had was from a fanatic. But he still replied, "If you say so, Nii-san."

Ed stopped marching ahead and fell into step with his little brother. Crossing his arms behind his head and pasting a huge grin on his face, he said, "Of course I say so! Don't worry. The most we probably have to stay here is a month." He gave his brother a light punch in the arm. "Now come on, let's get back to our room before it gets dark. I'm starving."

A month… Al thought musingly as they headed back in companionable silence. Nii-san's right. Just how much trouble can we get in just a month?

*~~ͽ Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many ͼ~~*

Several thousand miles away, in a dark, forlorn prison built on an island in the middle of nowhere respectable, a convict by the name of Sirius Black was discovered missing.

HP crossovers are so much fun, for me anyway ^^ I got this idea, somehow someday, and I really wanted to read a fic like this but couldn't find one, so I decided to write it instead.

Please review and tell me what you think! If you don't like it, please say so in a polite manner, thanks!