"James, I beg of you." Sirius looked his friend in the eye. He looked strained. "Don't choose me. I come from a long line of bad blood, I cannot be trusted. Self sacrifice isn't really our thing." A cheeky smile, rare these days, passed momentarily over his lips, but did not meet his eyes.
"Then who?" asked James. "Moony?"
"No!" His answer came quickly, and he surprised himself at how desperate it sounded. "Not Remus. He's vulnerable. Fragile. He hasn't been himself lately, you know that. Choose Pete."
"Pete?" James scoffed.
"You would do well to remember who your friends are, James Potter. It's clear for anyone to see that Peter worships the ground you walk on. Lily too. I was wrong to accuse him of being the leak. It wasn't fair."
"You're right, of course."
"Naturally." He patted his friend on the back. "Send word to Dumbledore, as soon as possible. We need to get this done."
