Title: What Do You Think?

Hermione screamed.

"I would, too," Lily commented.

Black leapt to his feet.

"I would, too," Sirius said. "Oh wait…"

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing the cloak aside, careful to keep this wand pointing directly Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you…"

"He used the cloak," James cried.

"It seems so," Sirius replied soberly.

"Lying on your desk was a certain map."

"And now he knows about the map," James said, resigned to the fact that his worst enemy was now learning his precious secrets.

BANG!

"What happened?" Lily asked, panicking.

Thin snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move.

James jumped up in frustration about began pacing with worry. "He can't attack Lupin. He wasn't even armed," he yelled.

Sirius didn't even take this perfect opportunity to insult Snape. He was too concerned about Remus.

Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.

"I think I'd be able to tell," Sirius said fiercely.

"The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle" – he jerked his head at Ron – "I'll come quietly…"

"That'd be a first," Lily said.

"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN -"

"Go, Harry," James cheered.

Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out.

"All that from one disarming spell?" James asked.

Both Ron and Hermione had tried to disarm Snape at exactly the same moment.

"Oh, that makes more sense."

"He's got some pretty loyal friends there," Remus commented.

"We attacked a teacher… We attacked a teacher…" Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble -"

"I hardly think that Snape can be considered a teacher. Even if he does stand in front a classroom," James said.

"And it was worth it, anyway," Sirius told the book.

" – there are millions of rats – how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"Ooh, tough one."

It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"Oh, that explains a lot," Sirius said.

Harry's brain seemed to be sagging under the weight of what he was hearing. It was absurd… and yet…

"And yet…" Sirius echoed, a little hope in his voice for the first time in a while.

"All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down – but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father – Sirius tracked Peter down -"

Sirius' hope was growing stronger every time Lupin answered Harry's arguments. And at the same time, he hated his supposed friend, that stupid little rat that depended on him and James for everything, more and more.

"I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me…"

"Why?" James asked.

"I don't know, but I wish I hadn't," Sirius replied.

A moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands.

"Yes," Sirius yelled with relief. He was sure that he would never betray James and Lily like the book had said, but hearing the truth finally come out was very refreshing.

James and Remus did not join in with Sirius' excitement. They were too busy thinking about how Peter could have betrayed them after everything they had done for him. Before he had gotten his friends, he was nothing. Nobody would ever look twice at him, except to bully him around. After James and Sirius befriended him, he quickly became popular. And this is how he repays them? There was no doubt in their minds that he had done it. The story that Lupin had told made complete sense and the proof was overwhelming.

"I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always like big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us… me and Remus…and James…"

"That's true," Remus said slowly, trying to comprehend what was happening.

"You don't believe this… wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Lupin.

"Why would you think I was the spy," Remus asked a little hurt.

"I'm not sure, I don't think that yet," Sirius replied. "But you obviously aren't, so now I know."

"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed…James would have understood, Harry… he would have shown me mercy…"

Clearly hating what he was saying, James said through his teeth, "It's true. I probably would show the traitor mercy. I wouldn't want him killed… although I might not shed any tears if he was."

"NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."

"Why is Harry stopping us?" Sirius asked. "You'd think he would want this as much as anyone else."

"Maybe he has more compassion than you," Lily coolly suggested. She was a little uneasy about the "killing one of your old friends" situation that had developed.

"You – thank you – it's more than I deserve –

"Much more," James said dangerously.

"I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers – just for you."

"I wouldn't, Harry," James agreed. "It's not worth it. Just send him to the dementors."

Lily looked horrified. "How could you wish that on someone?"

"Peter is the reason that you die. Wouldn't you want some justice, too?"

She failed to answer.

Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way out of the room, his bottlebrush tail held jauntily high.

"Well, that's the end of the chapter," Remus announced.

"And what a chapter that was, too," Sirius commented. "Really explained a lot."

"The next one is called 'The Dementor's Kiss'."

"I don't like the sound of that," James said. "Maybe they're giving it to Peter."

"It'd serve him right for betraying his friends," Sirius said.

Lily was now starting to see Sirius in a whole new light. She might not like him in the same way she likes James, but the extent of his loyalty in the last chapter was just astounding. The marauders always portrayed themselves as arrogant and self-centered. That was the way they always acted and after a while, she had gotten used to seeing them like that. She had just naturally thought that was the way they were. Constantly breaking rules and caring for only themselves. The last few chapters, however, had completely broken that image. Now James was a selfless friend that fought to keep together their friendship, Sirius was so loyal he would die for one of his friends, and Remus was the reason (and a very good one at that) that they were breaking rules. Now their trouble-making actually made them look better.

Why hadn't they shown this side of themselves earlier?

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A/N: I am fully aware that it is a pretty short chapter again, but you'll just have to deal with it. I have updated three times in two days during a time I thought I wouldn't update at all. At least this chapter doesn't end on a cliffhanger.

Leave a review… or else.