Meeting Sirius Black

The next few weeks went by slowly for Art as he felt like an animal in the zoo. Whispers and stares followed him everywhere he went, frustrating him to no end.

"You'd think they would have something better to talk about by now." Art said angrily, slamming his books down.

"They might now." Fred handed him the Daily Prophet.

Looking down at the paper he saw that there was a sighting of Sirius Black in Hogsmeade.

"Why is he heading towards Hogwarts? Any muggle village would be a better place to hide then Hogsmeade." Art was confused by the man's choices.

"But why would he come here?" Cedric asked, reading the paper.

"No idea. Either he has an agenda or he is an idiot." Art said, opening his book and started reading.

As expected, the rumors about Sirius Black filled the school and everyone was on edge. Cedric gave them some good news though, he made the Hufflepuff team and was their starting seeker. This made Fred and George grumble and said they would still knock his ass off his broom.

Art laughed at them and told them that he would kick all their asses if Quidditch caused rifts between them. With the twins and Cedric busy with Quidditch, Artland found himself training by himself and with his teachers. Flitwick and him dueled more often now and Flitwick had to try very hard to finally defeat Art.

Wards with Dumbledore was difficult as he moved on to advanced wards. Dumbledore also took the time to teach him spells and charms that were above Art's peers.

Art also found the time to visit the merpeople under the lake. His mermish was still rough but he was now able to carry on conversations.

Heading back to the Common Room, he saw a large amount of people in from of the portrait of the fat lady.

"What happened?" Art asked a second year.

"The Fat Lady is missing, her picture was cut but what looks like a knife." she said.

Soon Dumbledore showed up. "We need to find her." he said, his eyes scanning the paintings nearby.

"You'll be lucky!" a cackling voice sounded out.

"What do you mean Peeves?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

Peeves didn't dare mock Dumbledore and said, "Ashamed, your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful."

"Did she said who did it?" said Dumbledore quietly.

"Oh yes, professorhead. He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." he paused and did a flip in the air before continuing. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black.

Dumbledore immediately sent the Gryffindors back to the Great Hall where the other houses joined them. Dumbledore said they needed to do a sweep of the castle.

Art tried to sneak off and look for Sirius Black himself but was cut off by Dumbledore.

"Go back to the Great Hall Artland." Dumbledore said sternly, not leaving any room for discussion.

Art stared at him for a second before he nodded and headed back.

The next few days the castle was filled with talk about Sirius Black and theories on how he got into the castle. Art dismissed majority of what they said as foolishness.

"You can't fly or apparate into Hogwarts." Art said for what felt like the tenth time.

"I know, I know. So how did he get into Hogwarts? Every entrance is guarded by Dementors and Dumbledore also couldn't find him." George asked, trying to figure it out.

"Many possibilities. Dementors can't see and can only feel emotions so he might have been able to sneak by them and Dumbledore isn't omnipotent." Art said, taking out his quill and started writing his homework in potions.

Art had been searching the castle secretly for Sirius Black himself but had been unable to find anything. He had asked Fred and George for the Marauder's Map but they told him that Harry had it.

Between classes Art approached the trio and asked to speak to Harry alone. Walking a little distance from the two, Art was about to speak when Harry interrupted him.

"I know he is after me."

Art was a little stunned, "What?"

"Sirius Black. I know he is after me." Harry repeated, looking at Art strangely.

"I was just going to ask you for the Marauder's Map." Art said slowly. He thought back and heard that Sirius had betrayed the Potters but would he risk it all just to finish the job and kill Harry?

"Oh the map?" Harry said, looking in his bag before handing him some old parchment. "Here."

"Thanks."

Art quickly left and opened the map. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Ink spread out through the pages and names started to appear. Art searched the grounds and the castle but couldn't find Sirius Black's name.

"Dammit!" he cursed, putting the map away.

For the next couple days Art checked the map constantly, looking for Sirius Black. The twins and Cedric didn't know what he was up to thanks to their busy schedule with Quidditch. There was a game today of Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff so the twins and Cedric were both down at the game.

Art checked the map one more time and his eyes almost fell out of their sockets.

SIRIUS BLACK

The name was clear as day on the map. He was near the Quidditch pitch and seemed to be watching the game.

Art sprinted out of the castle to the Quidditch pitch and searched the stands. He quickly checked the map and realized that Sirius Black was near the forest watching. Art searched and saw a large black dog staring at the game.

'He is an animagus! Of course!'

Realizing this, he shifted into a Wampus and sprinted towards the black dog. Sirius Black soon saw him sprinting towards him and dashed into the forest quickly. Artland was quicker than him and easily caught up.

Art slammed into him, sending both of them rolling through the forest. Art quickly shifted and pulled out his wand but Sirius Black bit his wand arm, preventing him from casting his spell.

Grunting in pain, Art punched the dog in the head and threw him off of him. Art waved his wand and the tree roots sprang out of the ground and wrapped around the dog tightly.

Taking some deep breaths, Art looked at his bloody arm and ripped off the shredded sleeve. Sirius Black had shifted back and stared at Art with madness in his eyes.

Art sat down on the ground and looked at Sirius Black carefully. The man's face was gaunt and pale with madness flickering in his eyes.

"What! You going to hand me over to the dementors now?" he spat viciously.

"After you answer some of my questions first." Art said calmly.

Sirius Black didn't say anything and just stared at him.

"Are you a Death Eater?" Art asked a simple question.

"No." he said, his eyes never left Art's face. "Are you a Cason?"

Art's eyes narrowed and didn't answer.

"You are, aren't you? Your eyes give it away plus you look like your father." he said, hanging his head in defeat. "You parents… your uncle… they were good people."

Art tightened the vines around Sirius causing him to grunt in pain. He took out a tiny bottle out of his pocket and showed it to Sirius.

"Do you know what this is?"

Sirius' eyes narrowed at the bottle. "Veritaserum."

"Yes, tricky potion to make. Took me a couple attempts to get it right but I succeeded. It takes a full lunar cycle to make." Art said walking towards Sirius. He forced the man's mouth open and poured a few drops into his mouth.

"Let's try that again. Are you a Death Eater?"

"No."

Art was surprised at this. He frowned and wondered if his potion was a defect. "Why are you at Hogwarts?"

"To kill Peter Pettigrew." he said viciously.

"He is alive, I thought you killed him."

Sirius let out a maniacal laugh and hung his head, his greasy long hair covering his face. "Tell me what happened that night."