Remus couldn't believe what he was seeing. Peter was dead. There was no way his name could possibly be appearing on the Marauder's Map.
But the Marauder's Map never lied. And Peter's name was clearly there.
Remus looked at the map again. Peter was not alone. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were with him as well.
As was Sirius.
Remus felt something drop in his stomach. Since James's, Lily's, and Peter's deaths, Remus had tried to pretend as if Sirius had never existed. Sirius, after all, had been responsible for all their deaths.
Or so Remus had thought.
But now Remus was starting to think differently, now that he knew that Peter was not really dead.
Could Remus have possibly been wrong about Sirius this whole time? Was it possible that Sirius had been innocent this whole time?
Up until this point, Remus had thought that Sirius had been a traitor.
But it was now looking as if Remus was the real traitor. He had truly believed that Sirius had committed the crimes that he had been convicted of. He had truly believed that Sirius had turned his back on his friends.
"I'm so sorry, Sirius," Remus breathed. "I'm so sorry for not being the friend that I should have been. I should have questioned your imprisonment. I should have supported you, despite what the evidence said. I should have been there for you."
But all of it was still confusing. Peter was still alive?
Was it possible that Peter had been the real traitor this whole time?
But Sirius had been James's and Lily's Secret Keeper, not Peter.
Unless Sirius had switched with Peter, switched without telling Remus.
If that was the case, it should have been the perfect plan. It was no secret that James and Sirius had been like brothers. Peter, on the other hand, had often been viewed as nothing more than just some glorified sidekick.
No one would have ever suspected that James would use Peter as his Secret Keeper.
It should have been the perfect plan.
But James and Lily were dead, while Peter was still alive.
And this whole, Remus had blamed Sirius for everything. Including Peter's "death."
Remus, however, couldn't bring himself to be angry at Peter. He was too angry at himself to be angry at Peter.
Remus had tossed aside all his years of friendship with Sirius. Remus had allowed himself to believe so easily that Sirius had betrayed his friends, that Sirius had been responsible for the deaths of his friends.
As great as Peter's betrayal had been, Remus's had been ever greater.
"Please forgive me, Sirius," Remus breathed, "even though I know I don't deserve your forgiveness."