A/N: This is one of those stories that I have to come back to and tweak every once in a while (this is probably version 4.0). I've also realized that the story is set more in the movieverse. So you've been warned.
I think everyone knows I don't own Harry Potter. I did think him up, but I sold the idea to JKR for $20 and a meatball sandwich.
Remus Lupin sat at his desk. It was past midnight, and the room was nearly pitch black. His mind was racing from the conversation he had just had with one of his students. "I don't know if the map really works," Harry Potter had said. "I saw someone on there who I know to be dead."
"Who?" Lupin had asked.
"Peter Pettigrew."
Now Lupin closed his eyes. How could this be possible? The map never lied. But there was no way that Peter—
Lupin lit the lamp on his desk and took out the map. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said, and tapped the parchment with his wand. Running his hands over the cover, he couldn't help but smile. Words slowly began to appear on the paper. "Mssrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs proudly present, The Marauders Map" it said. They had thought themselves so clever. It had been James' idea, of course. Sirius had been complaining that they needed a new way to sneak around Hogwarts. It was their fourth year there together, and the four of them were now too big to all fit under James' invisibility cloak. Plus, they wanted to record all of the secrets they had discovered inside and outside of Hogwarts. After James had come up with the idea of the map, they had all spent weeks in the library, researching spells that could be used. It was probably the longest time they had ever spent in the library up until that point.
When had they lost it? Lupin tried to remember. They had been trying to escape Filch, that was certain. Was there ever a time at school when the four of them weren't trying to outrun Filch? He chuckled to himself. Of course, towards the end of sixth year, James had decided to shape up so he could get Lily to go out with him. So there were much fewer adventures after that. He was always secretly relieved. Breaking the rules was always fun, but when he was made prefect, Lupin started to feel guilty about it. Especially when Lily would find out. Lily always had a smile and a kind word for him. When they became prefects, they started a real friendship. And as friends, Lily never thought twice of telling him exactly what she thought of their antics.
How had Harry, of all people, come in possession of this map? It was truly uncanny how history seemed to repeat itself. Harry was so much like James. Every time he thought about it, a bittersweet pain seemed to pierce his chest. James, Sirius, Lily, and Peter, his best friends. His real family. But that had been over a long time ago.
Lupin opened the paper. A map of Hogwarts sprang up on the page. Most of the names hovered inside the students' dormitories. Snape, whom he had left in the hallway, was still walking around towards the faculty wing. Dumbledore was in his office, still working this late. He saw two students who were sneaking around near the Hufflepuff rooms. He kept looking, hoping to see one of two names: Peter Pettigrew, or Sirius Black.
It would be impossible, he knew. Peter was dead. Sirius had killed him, the same way he had killed Lily and James. Lupin could feel himself getting angry. After all this time, he was still haunted by the memory of what had happened to his surrogate family. He had once gone to Azkaban, a year after the Potters had been killed. Voldemort was presumed dead, and Sirius, along with several other Death Eaters, had been put in the wizard prison for life. He wanted answers. He wanted Sirius to tell him why he had betrayed them. Why had he given away their location? Why had Sirius joined the other side? It had never made sense to him. Many of Sirius' relatives, including his brother, had allied themselves with the Dark Lord. The Black family was proud of its pure blood and its heritage, and had agreed wholeheartedly with the plans to eradicate the "mudbloods" and thought nothing of harming Muggles. But Sirius had stood up to his family, even being disowned and thrown out of the house by his mother. Lily, after all, was from a Muggle family. Lupin himself was also half Muggle. They had all joined the Order of the Phoenix together. Sirius had worked alongside all of them for years to bring down Voldemort and his army.
Dumbledore had warned them that there was a member who was feeding information to the other side. Lupin was fully aware that many of the Order had suspected him. After all, people were naturally suspicious of him. His four friends were the only people, it seemed, who never once thought that being a werewolf made him evil. Besides Dumbledore, of course. Dumbledore had let him attend Hogwarts, even though he knew he must have received a lot of opposition for it. Dumbledore had also invited him to join the Order. Even now, Dumbledore was giving him a chance, allowing him to come on as a teacher. They had had several conversations about Sirius and his escape, but neither could offer the other any answers. Lupin suspected that Dumbledore wanted to keep him close by because of Harry, as well. Everyone knew that Sirius was after him. He probably wanted to kill him. As the only person in the world who knew Sirius well, Lupin was the only person who could legitimately guess as to what his next moves were.
Of course, Lupin thought, he didn't know Sirius at all. Everything that he had believed ended the day that Lily and James were murdered. Lupin had heard the news while on duty at the Order's headquarters. It just didn't seem possible. He wanted to go to the house, to see for himself, but everyone was already out and he had to stay where he was. For the remainder of his shift, he went over and over it in his mind. James and Lily were dead. Harry had been taken away by Dumbledore. Voldemort had somehow been defeated. But Lupin knew what only a handful of others did; Sirius had been their secret keeper. He had to have told Voldemort where to find them.
Lupin was at first convinced that Sirius had to have been forced to give up the information. Or maybe the spell had not worked. All night, he tried to track Sirius down. People were constantly checking in at headquarters. But no one had seen or heard from Sirius. When Lupin's shift was over, he immediately went out to find his friend. He first went to Godric's Hollow. Officers from the Ministry were still there, cleaning up the damage. It looked as if Voldemort had blown apart several of the rooms inside the house. It was a morbid scene, and yet, everywhere people were outside, cheering and shouting and hugging each other. Voldemort was gone. Lupin felt like everything was surreal. As the night went by without a word from Sirius, or Peter, Lupin became more and more uneasy.
Finally, Lupin had headed to the Leaky Cauldron. It seemed as if every wizard in London was there: drinking, talking, sharing rumors, and toasting to the memory of Lily and James Potter, toasting to the end of Voldemort, and toasting to the miracle that was the little boy who lived. Lupin found a quiet corner in the back and silently toasted his own glass to the memory of his friends. Several wizards came over to offer condolences, knowing that Lupin had been a close friend of the Potters. Lupin continued drinking through the remainder of the night. After a few hours, Hagrid entered the room. He had spotted Lupin sitting in the back and made his way over. Lupin looked up as Hagrid sat down. "How are you, mate?" he said, patting Lupin on the back.
Lupin just shook his head. "How is Harry?" he asked.
"I delivered him to his auntie's house. He's gone to live with those Muggles!" With that Hagrid began to cry. Lupin tried to console him, but he was feeling a bit numb. "So sorry, so sorry," Hagrid sniffed, wiping his eyes. "It just tears my heart out, that little boy without his mum and dad, and now living with those Muggles. And Muggles of the worst sort, by the looks of them." Lupin nodded. He figured that Harry must have been sent to Lily's sister. He had only met her and her husband once, at James and Lily's wedding. They were awful.
Hagrid blew his nose. "What a terrible, terrible thing that's happened. We should be celebrating, with You-Know-Who gone, but poor Lily and James. You never met nicer folks. But I've come to ask you, Remus, do you know where Mr. Sirius Black is?"
Lupin shook his head. "I've been trying to contact him, but no luck. Have you seen him? Have you spoken to him at all?"
Hagrid nodded. "He got to the house soon after I did. Dumbledore had sent me straight away to collect little Harry. But Black was having none of it. Insisted that I give the boy to him, saying that he had every right, being his godfather and all. But I told him Dumbledore said to take him to the Muggles, and that's where I was going. I told him he'd have to take it up with Dumbledore. But he gave me his flying motorcycle to use. Said he wouldn't be needing it anymore. I brought it here, hoping to return it to him."
"He gave you his motorcycle? That's odd."
Hagrid shrugged. "I'll leave it here, then. When you see him, tell him that I left it right outside. I'll be needing to get back to Hogwarts right away. I suppose I'll see you at the services." Lupin and Hagrid had shaken hands, and Hagrid had left.
Lupin remembered how he had sat in the Leaky Cauldron all night, and most of the next day. Hearing that Sirius had gone for Harry had made him uneasy. It wasn't like Sirius not to trust Dumbledore's judgment. And how had Sirius known where to look? If Voldemort had found them without Sirius' help, then how did he know what was going to happen? Where was he now?
He had his answers later that day. Sirius had been caught by the Ministry after murdering their friend Peter and several Muggles. Not only had Sirius murdered Peter, he had blown him apart. The cover of the Daily Prophet had a picture of Peter's mother, being presented with her son's finger, the only piece of him they could find.
Lupin had been filled with grief. His three best friends were gone, all because of Sirius. Lupin stayed at the headquarters, alone, unwilling to go out, even to the services for his friends. He might not have ever left, in fact, if Dumbledore had not come to see him. They stayed up through the night, talking. "How did we not know?" Lupin had asked him over and over. "How could he have done this to us?" For the first time, Dumbledore offered no answers. For the next thirteen years, Lupin would continue to ask himself those questions. He thought it was strange how, even after all of these years, it still hurt to think about James and Lily and Peter. The more Lupin looked at the map, the more memories came back to him of when they had used it during their time at Hogwarts. It had been a long time since he had even thought about their map. Even though it hurt, it still felt good to think about those easier times and laugh at the silly jokes that they had shared.
He didn't see Sirius Black's name anywhere on the map. Good, he thought. Lupin dreaded the day he would come face to face with Sirius. He was scared of what he might he might find out. Lupin had gone the first day of Sirius' trial. He needed answers so badly. He needed to know why. But Sirius said nothing in his defense. The Ministry thought he had gone insane. Lupin didn't go back after that first day. A year later, he had tried to visit him in Azkaban. Lupin had spent that first year without his friends being completely miserable. It was almost unbearable when the full moon approached. Finally, he had had enough. He needed to talk to Sirius, to ask him how, and why, and when. But as he waited in the receiving room for his turn to be called, he abruptly decided to leave. It didn't really matter after all, did it? He and Sirius had called each other brothers. Sirius had lied to him, to all of them. He no longer cared why he did it. It would never change what had happened.
After the fall of Voldemort, the Order had been disbanded. Lupin traveled most of the time, trying to find work here and there. However, having to disappear for a few days a month made things difficult for him. Eventually people worked out the truth, and werewolves were never welcome. Lupin never allowed himself to dwell upon the death and betrayal that had happened in his life. It never got any easier to think about. In fact, until he came to Hogwarts and met Harry again, he hadn't talked about his past in years.
Lupin traced his finger along the hallways. Finally, he saw what he was looking for. Peter Pettigrew was, according to the map, walking down the first floor staircase. He stared in disbelief. His stomach suddenly felt very heavy. Lupin stood and walked to his door, taking the map with him. He walked slowly down to the first floor corridor. According to the map, Peter should be straight ahead. But there was no one in the hallway. Lupin tried to follow Peter's name throughout the castle, but he couldn't keep up. It was almost as if Peter could slip through the doors. He moved incredibly quickly, as well.
After an hour of trying to find who or what Peter Pettigrew was on the map, Lupin returned to his office. It was now the darkest part of the night. Lupin sat at his desk, watching the map, trying to understand. He knew the map was telling the truth. Peter was, somehow, at Hogwarts. He was alive. Lupin shook his head. He couldn't be alive. There were witnesses that saw what had happened. Sirius Black had blown him to pieces. If Peter had somehow survived, why was he appearing here, now? And why was he hiding?
Lupin looked out the window. Somewhere out there, he knew that Sirius was waiting to make his move. But now that he was almost sure that Peter was alive, he was confused about what that move would be. Everyone, including himself, had assumed that Sirius wanted Harry dead. He was a Death Eater, and desperate for the return of his master. Even if Sirius could offer some kind of explanation for Lily and James' deaths, it did not matter. He had still killed Peter, in broad daylight.
Except that the map showed otherwise. Peter hadn't been killed. What had really happened that day? Is it possible that everyone was wrong? Was Sirius really innocent? Dumbledore had said there was a traitor among the Order all those years ago. Maybe the traitor wasn't Sirius after all. Hope leapt inside of Lupin. He knew that whatever the truth was, he may finally be able to put those awful events that happened years ago behind him. Either Peter, one of his best friends, was alive. Or Sirius, to whom he had been closer than a brother, was innocent. Lupin continued to watch the map, beginning to work out the truth in his mind.