RemusPOV

There was to be a traitor in the Order of the Phoenix. I was notified of this. And after months of infuriating and time-consuming checking, I finally got the results. I ordered Arthur, who was in charge of the tracking to send it to me immediately. I wanted no one to see the results before me. And somehow I think it was because I already knew who the person I was. The answer in the envelope was confirmed five times, it was time to act.

We set traps, testing each member. That was one of the reasons why it took months. After Dumbledore died, I was made temporary leader. And I needed to be responsible. Someone was reporting our actions to Voldemort, and now I held the answer in my hand to whom that was.

I sent a message to the people who were holding the Death Eater that we caught. He was to be sent to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade.

"Remus, you called for me?" came the deranged sound of one of my best friends, Peter Pettigrew.

His eyes darted back and forth; he could never look at a person straight in the eye. His hair was thin and almost bald. He was hunched forward like a rat.

I nodded. "Peter, meet me at the Shrieking Shack two hours later, we have some secret plans for the Order to discuss," Pettigrew's eyes bulged out at the phrase 'secret plans'. I turned away, disgusted. How could I have been so blind before? I needed to make a trip to Hogsmeade now.

I had to apparate on the front porch of the Shack. It has been a long time since I saw the Shack. And as far as I knew, Voldemort had out a tracking charm to whoever who apparated in or out of the Shack.

The door creaked as I opened it. We almost never used the door; we had a tunnel down the Weeping Willow to get up here. But the familiar creak and scent opened the floodgates of my long-lost memories.

I remembered how hard my friends trained to become Animagi to join me once a month; they described it as my furry little problem. I remembered the laughs the petty little squabbles when we were young. But times change, and people change.

We were the Marauders, but one was dead and the three left's fate was left unknown. I remembered Sirius or should I say Padfoot. He was an extremely loyal person who will risk anything for your friends. He was a rebel, and doesn't place much importance in family. But his friends meant the world to him.

James, Prongs he was the leader of the group and together with Sirius they were wholly unstoppable. He disregarded the rules and had a gigantic ego, but he was always hilarious and cool.

I didn't remember much of Peter. He was always behind out shadows, trailing after us. And after the feeling I had, I didn't want to remember.

I could see a dark shadowy figure in the corner. I recognized him, despite his long hair that grew to his shoulders. The gray eyes that glittered in the dark and the handsome prominent features were the same. Except it didn't hold as much arrogance as it once had. But even when he knelt, his hands bound back, he still held himself with dignity. His head tilted up, looking at me straight in the face.

"Remus," he said hoarsely and somewhat forlornly, but with a little dark humor.

I still couldn't believe that the figure kneeling down before me was the traitor of James and Lily. I found that hard to believe.

I frowned, frustrated. But I finally knelt down to untie the ropes binding his hands.

"You do not know that I am not the traitor yet, why are you untying me?" he asked, looking pointedly and the unopened envelope, I placed on the dusty wooden floor. He seemed to be getting observant in his time at Azkaban.

"Because you're my friend, and I believe that you didn't do it," I replied. The ropes dropped to the ground and Sirius rubbed his wrists.

"So when is Wormtail coming?" he asked casually.

"Soon," I replied grimly.

Time Lapse…

"Remus," said Wormtail, buzzing with excitement. I couldn't believe that I never noticed this. I waited till he walked a few paces into the house before I used my wand to lock the door and it shut with a creak and a click. Wormtail's eyes went wide. I had just cut off his escape route if anything went wrong.

"R…R…Remus what are you doing?" he said in a deformed sort of sneer. It was disgusting.

Sirius emerged form the darkness startling him. He jumped back and fell to the ground. His eyes darted back and forth from me to Sirius. His eyes widened further when he saw that the figure was his long-lost cohort.

"Good day, Wormtail. It has been a long time," Sirius said as he stared down at the fallen figure, his expression was a sneer worthy of the almighty Black family. Wormtail looked to me for help. I stared back expressionless. It was time to clear things out and finally end this matter.

"How could you betray James and Lily?" I asked softly. Wormtail, on realizing that he had been found out screamed.

"I had no choice, Re… Re… Remus. The Dark Lord was gaining and sooner or later we will all be dead unless we were in his ar… army," he shouted.

I couldn't believe he still believed what he did was right and even invented reasons on why it was right.

"Then you should have died for your friends like what we would have done for you!" Sirius spat in rage.

"Don't kill me!" pleaded Wormtail.

I pivoted to him, "We won't kill you, Peter. The Dark Lord will. When he finds out that it was you who failed him," I whispered, knowing that the Order would surely squeeze information out of his mole before we let him go. Fortunately for him, I was not in the mood.

"He wouldn't!" His face wide with fear. "He won't find me!"

"The Dark Lord always finds traitors, remember what happened to Karkaroff?" Sirius asked.

We let him go. He scrambled out of the hut and apparated to who-knows-where.

"It's good to have you back, old buddy," I said sadly.

"It's good to be back, Remus,"

A Few Years Later…

The order was all poised for action, getting ready to blast anything that charged into the doors or walls. We were in Hogwarts where the Marauders lived their glory days. Voldemort was attacking Hogwarts and here we stand. Defending our loved ones from danger, defending what we loved, defending just because it was the right thing to do. And Sirius was by my side, grinning sadly.

I could not help but recall the image of a man surround by blood. He was smeared at the side of the road, his tongue was cut and his eyes dug out by brutal force and it seemed he was burned before they finally decided to finished him off. How could things have turned out like this?

"The battle starts," Sirius whispered.

I nodded and whispered back, "And soon, the battle will end…"