Rise Of House Cason

Dumbledore frowned at Artland's actions. "Artland, the use of Veritaserum is forbidden."

Artland ignored him and went straight to the point. "We you the one who sold out the Potters to Voldemort?"

Peter seemed to try and fight against the Veritaserum but finally said, "Yes."

"Did Sirius kill those muggles?"

"No."

"Did you?"

"Yes."

Art turned to Dumbledore and Lupin. "You should notify the Minister of Magic as well as Aunt Amelia. I'm sure they will want to take Peter in for questioning and clear the name of an innocent man."

Sirius looked stunned as he looked at Art, his eyes were a little wet. Art went over to him and helped him up.

"You are a good man Sirius and I can't imagine what the last 13 years have been like for you but you need to be a better man now and take care of Harry. His life is hard enough as is and I think a father figure like you is what he needs. Let Peter rot in Azkaban, we both know he won't last long." Art said seriously, looking straight into Sirius' eyes.

Lupin seemed to have teared up and embraced Sirius in a large hug. Sirius hugged him back as tears rolled down his face. Art smiled and headed back towards the castle, he paused when passing Dumbledore, "You owe him an apology. He worked with you against Voldemort and you let him go to Azkaban without finding out the truth."

Dumbledore seemed to age slightly as he nodded. He took out something from his pocket and said, "The Ministry has been notified, they should be here soon. I am asking you to stay until they get here. Will that be alright?"

"Yes but you should really tell Harry. He needs to know that his godfather didn't betray his parents."

Dumbledore nodded before letting out a sigh, "It seems that the next generation will surpass the old. Thank you for solving this and for freeing an innocent man. I will tell Hagrid to fetch Harry."

Dumbledore moved everyone to his office and waited for the Ministry to show up. Soon Fudge and Amelia showed up with two Aurors and two dementors.

The Dementors immediately pounced towards Sirius who was defenceless but Art quickly repelled them.

"Tell your dogs to scram Minister or I destroy them." Art growled, hating the feeling of despair they gave off.

"Art! They are doing their jobs and be more respectful to the Minister Fudge." Amelia quickly scolded.

Art didn't retort her but still glared at the Dementors, protecting Sirius.

"Things aren't as they seem Cornelius." Dumbledore slowly said.

"What do you mean Albus? Sirius Black has been captured!" Fudge said, turning red. "What am I missing here!?"

Dumbledore waved his wand and Peter appeared from somewhere, magically bound and gagged.

"Do you recognize this person?" Dumbledore asked.

Fudge looked at the man closely, his brow furrowing. Suddenly Amelia gasped, "Peter Pettigrew!?"

"Impossible! Black killed him!" Fudge spat, some terror on his face.

"Madam Bones is correct. This is Peter Pettigrew, the man that Sirius was accused of murdering." Dumbledore released the gag on Peter.

"Minister! T-they are trying to frame me! I-I'm innocent!" Peter cried, tears running down his face.

Dumbledore quickly stopped Peter from talking anymore and turned towards Fudge, "Sirius Black is innocent. He was framed by Peter Pettigrew for the murders. He was also the Potter's Secret Keeper that sold them out to Voldemort."

"Are you saying that Sirius wasn't the Potter's Secret Keeper?" Amelia asked, stunned.

"It was a double bluff." Sirius rough voice rang out, making everyone turn to him. "Voldemort would come after me as I was James and Lily's obvious choice. I convinced them to choose Peter instead… I killed them."

Lupin grabbed Sirius' shoulder tightenly. "I wasn't your fault, no one could have guessed that Peter was a Death Eater."

"This is preposterous! We have witnesses that said Sirius Black killed those people!" Fudge yelled, looking around at everyone like they were crazy.

Art scoffed, thinking that Fudge was a narrow minded fool.

He gave Art a glare and motioned towards the Aurors, "Arrest Sirius Black."

Art took out his wand and stood in front of Sirius, Remus did the same and stood beside him.

"You two are interfering with Ministry business. Back off or I will be forced to arrest you." Fudge said coldly.

Artland let out a chuckle but his eyes gleamed with battle intent. "I always wanted to test myself against a trained Auror, let's see if they are as good as I was told."

Art raised his wand, ready for battle. Lupin didn't say anything but raised his wand as well.

"Enough!" Dumbledore said loudly, his voice filled with strength.

"Cornelius you are ignoring the evidence right in front of you. Peter Pettigrew is alive and is all the evidence you need. Take him back to the Ministry and question him. Sirius and I will accompany you back to the Ministry for the trial and hearing." Dumbledore said, not leaving any room for debate.

Fudge puffed out his c.h.e.s.t ready to argue but Amelia spoke first. "We will do as you say Dumbledore." she gave a glance at Art before telling the Aurors to take Peter into custody.

Art lowered his wand and smiled arrogantly, "Next time then."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Harry walked in.

"You sent for me, professor?"

Fudge and Amelia turned towards Dumbledore.

"We will follow you shortly Minister." Dumbledore said.

They nodded and left the office, leaving Lupin, Dumbledore, Sirius and Art in the office.

"You look so much like James… except for your eyes… you have Lily's eyes." Sirius croaked, his eyes turned wet as he saw Harry.

"He has the best qualities of each as well. They would be proud." Lupin said with a large smile.

"You're… you're Sirius Black!" Harry's eyes went wide.

"Harry we need to talk to you about Sirius." Dumbledore said.

Dumbledore told him the sequence of events that happened and how Peter was the one that betrayed his parents.

"It was still my fault that James and Lily died…"

"Enough Sirius. You did what you did to protect them, even putting you life at risk." Lupin said, stopping Sirius.

Harry seemed shocked at the revelation and stared at Sirius.

Sirius' looked nervous and scared as he tried to read Harry's face for a hint of what he was thinking.

"Not that it matters much… but I am your godfather Harry. Cason helped me see that revenge was stupid and I should have been there for you instead of in Azkaban sulking over my past decisions."

Harry looked at Artland, "You caught him?"

"Yes, I, like many others, have a vendetta with Death Eaters. I wanted to catch him and… well no need to explain. But I listened to his story and believed him." Art said, crossing his arms. "Though I don't agree on how he handled it, he still is a loyal friend."

Sirius gave Artland a thankful look and took a nervous step towards Harry. Artland smiled and clapped his hands loudly, "Well I'm going to let these two talk while I get something to eat, big day and all."