Kame: You guys are awesomeness! I apologize for taking so long with the revisions and whatever, but a big thank you goes out to all the folks who patiently waited for this, reviewed and/or added this story to their alerts/favorites.

Edit: I'm really sorry that I only had one chapter ready for you guys, but I've been...going through some stuff, for lack of a better word, and I was kinda tired of hanging onto this. Also, I'm curious as to what kind of reaction this chapter would garner so...

Btw does anyone know if the Hogwarts students wear their black cloaks during the weekend?

Chapter 11: Shadows of Doubt

Harry was in a good mood: the horrible week was finally over, he sent a letter to Sirius, and had a successful conversation with Cho Chang. True, the incident with the flying horse-thingy shook him up for a bit, but what's a flying horse compared to Cho Chang saying you're brave?

When he sat down to breakfast with Ron and Hermione, however, his morning was ruined by two pieces of news.

'"The Ministry of Magic has received a tip-off from a reliable source that Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer… blah blah blah… is currently hiding in London!"' Hermione read from her half in an anguished whisper.

"Lucius Malfoy I'll bet anything," said Harry in a low, furious voice. "He did recognize Sirius on the platform…"

"What?" said Ron, looking alarmed, "You didn't say –"

"Shh!" said the other two.

"'…Ministry warns wizarding community that Black is very dangerous… killed thirteen people… broke out of Azkaban …'the usual rubbish," Hermione concluded, laying down her half of the paper and looking fearfully at Harry and Ron. "Well, he just won't be able to leave the house again, that's all," she whispered. "Dumbledore did warn him not to."

Harry looked down glumly at the bit of the Prophet he had torn off. Most of the page was devoted to an advertisement for Madam Malkins Robes for All Occasions, which was apparently having a sale.

"Hey!" he said, flattening it down so Hermione and Ron could see it. "Look at this!"

"I've got all the robes I want," said Ron.

"No," said Harry. "Look… this little piece here…"

Ron and Hermione bent closer to read it; the item was barely an inch long and placed right at the bottom of a column. It was headlined:

TRESPASS AT MINISTRY

Sturgis Podmore, 38, of number two, Laburnum Gardens, Clapham, has appeared in front of the Wizengamot charged with trespass and attempted robbery at the Ministry of Magic on 31st August. Podmore was arrested by Ministry of Magic watchwizard Eric Munch, who found him attempting to force his way through a top-security door at one o'clock in the morning. Podmore, who refused to speak in his own defense, was convicted on both charges and sentenced to six months in Azkaban.

"Sturgis Podmore?" said Ron slowly. "He's that bloke who looks like his head's been thatched, isn't he? He's one of the Ord—"

"Ron, shh!" said Hermione, casting a terrified look around them.

"Six months in Azkaban!" whispered Harry, shocked. "Just for trying to get through a door!"

"Don't be silly, it wasn't just for trying to get through a door. What on earth was he doing at the Ministry of Magic at one o'clock in the morning?" breathed Hermione.

"D'you reckon he was doing something for the Order?" Ron muttered.

"Wait a moment…" said Harry slowly. "Sturgis was supposed to come and see us off, remember?"

The other two looked at him. Before he could explain anything else, however, Ed appeared, still rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"Morning," he yawned, before grabbing a plate of sausages.

"Morning," Hermione replied stiffly. Ron grunted while Harry only nodded.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked. He then spotted the newspaper. "Can I see that?"

Hermione and Harry looked at the pieces of newspaper they had in their hands. Harry pulled out his wand, repaired the ripped paper, and handed it to Ed.

"We better go Ron," Harry said.

"Doing homework?" Hermione asked with a tinge of excitement.

Harry and Ron both looked uneasy.

"Well…it's a nice day out…" Harry started. Hermione's face fell.

"Oh, come on Hermione, the poor bloke hasn't been out all week!" Ron said.

Hermione pursed her lips and folded her arms. "Fine," she said, "but don't come to me Sunday night thinking I'm going to let you all copy off my notes. If you carry on like this you're going to fail your OWLS!"

"Oh, come off it Hermione," Ron said, "It's not like the library's open this early anyway!"

Ed's eyes shot up from the article.

"The library's still closed? When does it open?"

"About two," Hermione said.

"What time is it now?"

"I think it's about nine," Harry said. "Ron, we need to go now if you want to get some flying in before practice."

Harry and Ron made their way to the Quidditch pitch with their brooms slung over their shoulders.

"Don't let what Hermione said get to you mate," Ron said, "I'm sure she was just bluffing…"

Harry didn't respond.

"Are you still worried about Sirius?"

"Yeah, but…"

"He'll be fine as long as he stays inside. He won't disobey Dumbledore again."

"I know, but there's something else," Harry said.

"Well? What is it?" Ron asked.

"It's Ed," Harry said. "He gives off a weird…feeling or something…there's something about him I don't trust..."

"Yeah," Ron said as they reached the Quidditch pitch, "he's crazy. Who else has the guts to call Snape out in front of his class?"

"Yeah, maybe it's that," Harry said doubtfully.

The Ministry of Magic has received a tip-off from a reliable source that Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer…is currently hiding in London…Ministry warns wizarding community that Black is very dangerous… killed thirteen people… broke out of Azkaban …

"Hey Hermione," Ed asked, "What's up with this Black guy?"

Hermione gave Ed a wary glance before responding.

"He's a wizard rumored to be on You-Know-Who's side. He was the first person ever to break out of Azkaban."

"Did he break out on his own?"

"I think so."

Ed continued to scan the paper for more articles. He spotted a small article below an ad about a man being arrested for trespassing at the ministry.

Man, do they have a lot of breaches in security here…what is the government doing?

Ed rolled the newspaper up and tucked it under his arm.

"Are you heading back to the common room?" Hermione asked.

"May as well, since the library's closed," Ed muttered, stashing a few pieces of bread in his pocket.

"Are you about to do some homework? If you don't mind, maybe we could study together?" she asked in a timid voice.

"Sorry, I work alone," Ed said, turning away from the girl.

Ed entered Gryffindor Tower and headed to the dormitory. When he went through his trunk, he came across his letter to Al. Ed pulled out fresh parchment and rewrote it. When he finished, he read it over:

Hey Al,

Sorry it took me so long to write back to you little brother. How are you? Are you OK? Is Mustang being a bastard to you? Remember, you have my permission to kick his ass if he does anything you don't like. Or better yet, just take a picture of him turning his paperwork into little origami animals, show it to Hawkeye and let her handle it.

Anyway, during the summer the Ministry set me up with a false school record and even made me take a test to make sure I knew some of this "magic." The whole time I was staying at this place called the Leaky Caldron and brought my "school supplies" (which include a whole range of books on weird "spells", crazy animal and plant parts I never heard of, and just plain stupid stuff like a cauldron, "wand" and robes) at some place called Diagon Alley. Not only does this place sell all the crap I mentioned above, they sell everything you would associate with witches and magic, like broomsticks (apparently they ride them…) and even owls (for delivering mail…) and cats. (No, you can't have a cat while I'm gone Al. I know you have one in the dorm. Put it out now)

I came to the school with Umbitch, some toady looking woman with a huge head. The school's a castle! The headmaster is some giant kook who looks like the wizards in the stories Mom used to tell us. There's something weird about the man. Actually, there's something fishy about this entire country; the government seems totally incompetent to the point where I'm surprised everything hasn't gone to hell yet. The strangest thing is I can't figure out how this alchemy works. It does things I've never seen or even thought alchemy could do, like make pictures move and transport people hundreds of miles through space in a short frame of time. I probably have had a constant migraine since I arrived trying to guess what kind of equations they came up with. I just hope I don't end up losing my mind and actually thinking that magic is real.

I haven't found anything that could help us yet Al. I know as soon as I can figure out the details of the alchemy here, I can find a way to fix our mistakes.

Tell everyone except Colonel Bastard I said Hi. Keep safe.

Your big brother,

Ed

Ed folded the letter over and alchemically sealed it. As he made his way through the portrait hole, he passed Neville sitting in the common room playing wizarding chess with Dean.

"Hey Neville, where can I get an owl to send this off?"

"The Owlery; it's a tower on the other side of the school. Um, you need to go down the hall…make a left and go through that door on the side…then there should be a hallway I think…"

Ed listened as Neville grew more and more doubtful about his own directions until Dean intervened.

"Neville, you're gonna have him lost for weeks! All you have to do mate is go down this hallway, make a right at the third bookcase you see. The hallway will split in two, but take the right side and take that path straight through."

"Thanks," Ed muttered on his way out.

OK, first, this Black guy broke out of prison, then the incident with Harry at the tournament, he and Dumbledore being discredited, and now this Ministry break-in. Could Black be behind most of what's going on?

Ed came to the divide Dean mentioned and continued. Three steps later the hairs on the back of his neck were on end and he paused.

Is another one of those freaky pearly spirit transmutations around?

CRASH!

One step ahead of him was the remains of a bust scattered on the floor.

"Aw, me missed," a voice cackled, "but me can't be blamed cause the speck moved."

WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT HE CAN FLY ON A DUST SPECK!

Peeves zoomed out the passage, his laughter echoing in the hall.

"Annoying little bastard," Ed muttered under his breath. A grey skeletal cat appeared around his ankles, looked at the mess and gave him a loud meow.

"I'm not cleaning this up," Ed said bluntly. The cat turned around and trotted away, her tail high in the air. Ed shrugged his shoulders and continued. When he reached the Owlery, he looked up in amazement at the rafters, where owls of every color, shape and size imaginable were perched, hooting softly and grooming their feathers.

"OK, I need the smartest owl here to come down so it can deliver my letter," Ed shouted. Most of the owls ruffled their feathers at the loud intruder while others simply glanced at Ed and clicked their beaks in a disapproving way. A Tawny owl glared at him and hooted angrily.

"You," Ed said, pointing at the glaring owl, "come here so I can tie this to you."

The owl fluffed its feathers and gave Ed a defiant glare.

"Get down here!"

The owl turned tail and flew higher up in the rafters.

"Oh well," Ed sighed, reaching into his pocket, "I guess since there's no owl to deliver my letter, this bread crust in my pocket will have to go to waste."

The owl turned its head slightly and watched Ed pull the bread out his pocket.

"Too bad," Ed said, and then he shrugged his shoulders and took a bite. "Such good bread too. I guess I can appreciate a good free meal…"

The owl flew down to him and stuck out its leg reluctantly.

"Oh, so you changed your mind?" He tied the letters too tight around the owl's leg the first time, resulting in an angry hoot.

"Be still stupid owl!" Ed snapped. He re-tied the letter a second time and carried the owl to the nearest window. Ed watched the owl as it glanced at him impatiently.

"I want you to take this letter to my brother Al," Ed whispered. "He should be in Central City, Amerstris, if you know where that is. He should be in the military dorms or maybe hanging around Colonel Bastard's office."

The owl cocked its head to the side.

"If you can't find the place, fine but bring the letter back. Now hurry up and go," Ed said. The owl remained motionless.

"Oh yeah, forgot about the bread."

Ed handed the bread to the owl, which snapped it out of his hand and bit his human finger in the process.

"Hey you little-"

The owl soared out the window before Ed could get another word out. Ed sighed and watched the owl soar out of sight. A few darting figures from the Quidditch field caught his attention.

"This whole country is some sort of sick joke to make me go crazy," he muttered as he left the Owlery. "I hate the weird alchemy, the flying broomsticks, the stupid moving tapestry of trolls in tutus beating some idiot…"

Ed turned around and recognized a door on the wall.

"I don't…how did I end up here?"

Ed felt inexplicably drawn to the door. He put his hand on the doorknob.

Don't know why I'm wasting my time…it's not like I'm going to find an alchemy lab in here…

As much as Harry wanted to sleep in Sunday, he knew he had to get up and get started on the pile of homework threatening to overwhelm him. He groggily trudged down to breakfast accompanied by a yawning Ron and a well-awake Hermione.

"Nothing like waking up early to do essays," Ron grumbled as he poured some coffee.

"Well, if you can get more work done today, you'll be able to go to sleep tonight," Hermione said.

"Easy for you to say," Harry muttered, also handling a mug of coffee.

A moment later Ed trudged in and flopped down next to Ron.

"Pass that coffee over, will ya," Ed said while reaching for some bacon.

"Ed, are you…OK?" Hermione asked cautiously. Harry could see why she asked; Ed's bangs were disheveled and his face sagged with exhaustion. His golden eyes, however, were as sharp as ever. Ed chugged his coffee.

"I've felt better."

The blond alchemist smashed several pieces of bacon between two slices of toast and wrapped it in a napkin.

"See you."

The trio watched Ed leave.

"He looked a mess," Ron said.

"He didn't go to bed when we did," Harry said slowly, "and his bed was empty when we woke up. In fact, we didn't see him at all last night in the common room."

"He brought books down from the dorm; maybe he fell asleep while studying somewhere?" Hermione said.

"Hermione," Ron said after swallowing a mouthful of eggs, "I know Hogwarts is humongous and all, but how many places can you honestly go to and study all night with Filch on the loose?"

Harry groaned and rubbed his eyes. He didn't enjoy spending large tracts of time doing gigantic piles of homework, and tonight was no exception. Professor McGonagall's Inanimatus Conjurus Spell essay was making his head throb and he vaguely wondered if he would have enough brain to even finish the essay. Before he could make another brave attempt on the assignment, there was a soft tap on the window.

Harry looked up to see an owl perched on the ledge, waiting for someone to let it in. When no one made a move, he volunteered, happy to have an excuse to put his quill down and move away from his homework. The owl swooped in and landed on the chair, hooting loudly and sticking his leg out. Noticing no one made a move to retrieve the letter, Harry took it and was surprised to see Ed's name on front.

"Is Ed here? He has a letter."

"How should I know?" Ron grumbled, "I've been doing this-" Ron made a wild gesture towards his essay, "-all day."

"Hermione, have you seen Ed around?"

"Not since breakfast," Hermione responded from her chair by the fireplace.

Harry shrugged, shoving the letter inside a pocket and turning grudgingly back to the table.

"Nearly done?" Hermione asked many hours later.

"No," said Ron shortly.

"Jupiter's biggest moon is Ganymede, not Callisto," she said, pointing over Ron's shoulder at a line in his Astronomy essay, "and it's lo that's got the volcanoes."

"Thanks," snarled Ron, scratching out the offending sentences.

"Sorry, I only-"

"You guys are still doing homework?" Ed asked as he entered the common room. "What the hell were you doing this week, sleeping?"

"Why don't you mind your own business, you cheese colored midget?" Ron snapped. In the next moment, Ron was sputtering for air as Ed dragged him out of his chair by the scruff of his robes.

WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO TINY HE CAN GET LOST INSIDE A SLICE OF SWISS CHEESE YOU POLKA DOTTED FREAK OF NATURE?

"Let him go!" Harry shouted as he struggled to pull Ed off. He grabbed his right fist to prevent him from punching Ron. When Harry felt the arm he gasped and to his surprise Ed released Ron. He gave Harry a hard look before heading to the dormitory.

"Damn nutter," Ron grumbled as he picked himself off the floor and scowled at Ed's retreating back.

Another tap on the window revealed a handsome screech owl. The trio stared at it for a moment.

"Wait…isn't that Hermes?" said Hermione.

"Blimey, it is!" said Ron quietly, throwing down his quill and getting to his feet. "What's Percy writing to me for?"

However, as the owl landed on their homework it reminded Harry of another. He ran to catch Ed at the top of the stairs.

"Hey Ed."

"What?" the blond answered warily.

"Here. It arrived a while ago."

Ed snatched the letter from Harry's hand and ripped it open. After reading, he rolled his eyes and started off down the stairs. Harry followed, finding Ron with a disgusted look on his face shoving his letter towards him and Hermione. After Harry read the letter he stared into the fire as the realness of his situation struck. Then one of the subjects of his thoughts flashed in the fire for the briefest of seconds.

"Harry?" said Ron uncertainly. "Why are you down there?"

"Because I've just seen Sirius's head in the fire," said Harry.

"Sirius's head?" Hermione repeated. "You mean like when he wanted to talk to you during the Triwizard Tournament? But he wouldn't do that now, it would be too - Sirius!"

There in the middle of the dancing flames sat Sirius's head, long dark hair falling around his grinning face.

Mr. Elric,

Come down to my office as soon as you receive this notice. If anyone tries to stop you, tell them you have a detention with me.

Professor Dolores Umbridge,

Senior Undersecretary to the Minister

What could she want so late at night?

Ed walked into Umbridge's office and sat on top of a desk.

"Good evening Mr. Elric," Umbridge said with her horrible smile. "I was under the impression I told you to come as soon as you received my message, not when you felt like it."

"Well, I wasn't around when the message was delivered. What do you want?" Eyeing the happy look on her face, he then said, "I hope this isn't an effort to seduce me; I'm only interested in women, not mutated humans."

"Now why would I seduce someone half my age and size?" she said with a girlish laugh.

WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE CAN USE THE DIVISION SIGN AS A SEESAW!

"Mr. Elric that temper of yours will get you into serious trouble one day," Umbridge said, "especially with the power the minister recently granted me."

"What?"

"There were some parents who felt I wasn't getting the support I needed," Umbridge said, "so Fudge passed legislation that creates the post of Hogwarts High Inquisitor. This position allows me to inspect my fellow teachers and judge if they are really worthy of their positions."

"Or it allows you to target teachers you feel are too close to Dumbledore and legally get rid of them," Ed said. Umbridge's smirk stretched even more.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Umbridge replied lightly.

"Whatever. I assume you want me to investigate the teachers you find suspicious."

"Yes. Your intelligence certainly saves me time."

She can't even give a decent compliment...

Umbridge leaned forward. "Have you seen or heard anything suspicious from Mr. Potter?"

"The only thing I suspect of Harry is that he hates you…but then again, that's probably half the school."

"And I suspect you of only being four feet tall."

"I. am. not. SHORT!"

"Keep an eye on Potter, even if his lying problem is handled," Umbridge said with mirth. Ed frowned.

"What did you do to Harry?"

"I taught him a little lesson about being untruthful. You're dismissed."

Ed didn't budge.

"Did you hear me? I said you're dis-"

"I heard what you said you old hag," Ed said as he made his way to the door.

Harry didn't act like there was something wrong…and as horrible as she is, not even Umbitch would risk losing her job just to punish Harry for something as stupid as an outburst…or would she?

Ed gave the Fat Lady the password. He crawled in through the doorway.

What if…she's really the one behind all that's happening? She isn't smart enough to do it all by herself, though, so maybe…

Ed heard Harry's voice, followed by an unfamiliar, deep male voice.

Who is Harry talking to?

Ed edged against the wall and crept closer.

"Oh, that," the male voice said, "they're always guessing where I am, they haven't really got a clue-"

"Yeah, but we think this time they have," said Harry. "Something Malfoy said on the train made us think he knew it was you, and his father was on the platform, Sirius - you know, Lucius Malfoy - so don't come up here, whatever you do. If Malfoy recognizes you again-"

Sirius…heard that name somewhere…

"All right, all right, I've got the point," said Sirius. "Just an idea, thought you might like to get together."

"I would, I just don't want you chucked back in Azkaban!" said Harry.

Azkaban? Wait, Harry's talking to Sirius? Sirius Black? The crazy murderer who escaped prison? Why would Harry talk to, let alone meet, with a murderer? Or is the Sirius guy really a killer? Could he be tied to Dumbledore in some way?

What the hell is going on here?

Kame: I really feel like I'm finally getting the hang of integrating the actual HP storyline with my story. I'll go back and touch up a few spots here and there, but the story will march on.