I was missing writing fanfiction so I wanted to write this. I always wondered what Remus felt like when he saw Peter's name on the map.
I apologize for any errors, grammatical or canonical.
I would love it if you would review :]
*DISCLAIMER* I do not own Harry Potter. The credit belongs to Mrs. J.K. Rowling.
The Map Is Never Wrong
The lock to Professor Lupin's office door clicked at the order of his wand. He walked over to his desk opening the drawer and pulling out the warn piece of parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he whispered as quietly as possible. Although the office was locked Professor Lupin firmly believed in the saying, "the walls have ears." Within a second the network of ink lines began spreading across the page
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
Are proud to present
The Marauder's Map
Professor Lupin subconsciously smiled as he read the introduction. He remembered the day he, James, Sirius, and Peter created it. Of course, Sirius was dictating what to do, with seldom ideas from Peter, while James and he handled the harder work, the intellectual work—actually creating it.
"Now, it should show everyone," Sirius smirked. "Every bloody single one."
"Yeah, what they're doing all the time," Peter chimed in.
"Will hold on for a minute Padfoot! I'm trying my best," James ordered studying the parchment tracing his wand along the edges.
"It says here to start from the center," Remus pointed to a page in Merope Madlock's Magical Map-Making. Sirius paced impatiently. Suddenly he stopped, clearly struck by an idea.
"Prongs don't worry about that right now, it's just hit me, we need an introduction."
"An introduction?" James looked up at him confused, his glasses falling to the bridge of his nose. Sirius grabbed the parchment from James's hands and folded it, handing it back. He cleared his throat. "He-hem. Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs."
"Purveyors of aids to magical mischief," Lupin added receiving questionable looks from James, Sirius, and Peter for the use of vocabulary."
"Are proud to present," Peter added quite proudly himself.
"The Marauder's Map," James smiled finishing the letters on the parchment.
Names and images began appearing on the map moving quickly about in front of Professor Lupin's eyes—a sight he hadn't seen in a long time. Filch haunting the corridors, Peeves wreaking some sort of havoc on the third floor, Dumbledore pacing in his study, two young Ravenclaws close in the seventh floor corridor, and…there they were, the three ink dots he had been looking for—Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger inside Hagrid's hut. Professor Lupin tapped his fingers on his desk furiously contemplating what to do. He understood their wanting to be with Hagrid, but he specifically told Harry not to wander, although he didn't expect Harry to listen. He watched them carefully for around twenty minutes until they hurried out the back door of the hut. He decided meeting them at the Entrance Hall and unveiling the cloak would be the best punishment. He glanced up at the clock to check the time. He looked back to check on Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Their ink dots indicated they were walking towards the castle. Suddenly, Remus noticed another dot next to theirs. Did they take another student with them? He read the name. Shocked he rubbed his eyes believing his lack of sleep in the past few days had caused him to start seeing things. He checked the name again…and again. He was now convinced of the name he was reading—Peter Pettigrew.
A sudden rush of unexplainable feelings overcame him. Immobilized he felt glued to the chair. He remembered everything: the night he was told the news of James's and Lily's death, he had just moved in to a new flat that took great convincing to the landlord concerning his condition, when Sirius's patronus came through the door. "They're gone. He's gotten them, but not Harry," Sirius voice spoke in, from what Professor Lupin could tell, broken sobs much to Professor Lupin's confusion and then devastation. Then no more than a day or two later he read the headline of the Daily Prophet "Sirius Black Arrested for Murder of Three." Not only had Sirius sold Lily and James to Voldemort, their only protection as a secret keeper, he also killed James, Remus' and his best friend Peter Pettigrew who apparently confronted Sirius. He remembered his anger. Sirius—his best friend, always ranting about his hatred of dark magic, inseparable from James, godfather to James and Lily's son—how could he?
Professor Lupin's hand shook as he followed Peter's ink dot along the map. The map was never wrong—they made it that way. How could he be? Unless…but then, was Sirius…could they have switched? Twelve years before in the course of two days, Professor Lupin lost everything he knew and loved—his three best friends. Now he didn't know what to believe.
Another ink dot rapidly approached Harry's, Ron's, Hermione's and Peter's—Sirius Black's. Sirius's dot, as well as Ron's and Peter's headed for the Whomping Willow—the place the Marauders spent a great deal of their time, their biggest secret. He was taking Peter back to where it all started.
Professor Lupin grabbed his wand, screaming, "mischief managed," at the parchment before racing out the door. He had to know the truth.