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Can't you imagine for a minute what it was really like for me during the first war? Can't you see my logic? I admit, I'm not good about speaking under pressure. My first explanation I could tell of my crimes was not very good. I was trying to prevent my grief-laden friends from killing me on sight. What was honestly the best way to answer them? A long, drawn out story of my mistakes? Or quick passing of the blame onto someone else's shoulders? I'm so much better at doing the second option, anyway. But allow me to stretch your imagination. I'll try to explain, if you can take my point of view in this mess for a few minutes.

What makes someone a Gryffindor? Were you offended when you found out I was one? You've been listening too much to Harry's idealistic view of Gryffindors and Slytherins, I see. Well, that's more or less to be expected from Harry considering Sirius, Lily, and James's idealistic views as well. But surely if you just give me the chance, I can redeem myself in your eyes by just explaining what I was going through and the reasons I made the decisions that ultimately led to my betrayal of my best friends.

I was always a Gryffindor. Even at my Sorting, there was absolutely no other house that I would have fit into. Beyond anything else, I admired those that had bravery, and I wanted to find a way to make myself brave. Yes, I was a wimp, a coward at times. James and Sirius used to tease me about it, and I took it in stride as I worked to make myself more brave. Being a Marauder helped me so much. How could a Marauder not have nerve? We got in trouble for our daring and our nerve nearly as much as we got in trouble for our little pranks. And of course, we all were a bit rash. I mean, running around with a werewolf every full moon, with just James and Sirius in their Animagus forms to keep Moony in check, was foolishness when you looked at it with a clear head. And yet, we did it anyway.

There are those that point to my rat Animagus form as a sign that I was planning to eventually "rat out" my friends. And those that think that are completely mistaken. It never once seriously entered my head to betray the boys that I had befriended. Rats aren't evil creatures. In fact, as a child, my only friends were the rats in the attic I slept in. They are small, simple creatures, not given to much thought, and at once perfect for me and perfect for the job the Marauders needed me to perform. It was a test of bravery each time, hitting the knot on the tree, trusting my small body to avoid the swinging branches of the Whomping Willow.

And so, as you can see, bravery, daring, and nerve were all traits I wanted and developed inside myself, and thus was always a Gryffindor. I didn't think far enough ahead to develop Slytherin cunning, and I never was ambitious, either. In fact, I was extremely lazy, which led to some witches and wizards underestimating me. My laziness overrode any sensibilities that might have landed me in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. So by dually eliminating the other houses from the running, and by wanting and developing the Gryffindor traits, there was absolutely no other house that I fit into. And honestly, do you think that James or Sirius or Remus would befriend someone in a different house, and share Remus's secret, and help become an Animagus also? Loyalty to someone is something I greatly admire, as much as you might disbelieve me, and I honestly thought I was still being loyal to my friends. See, as best as I can describe it, this is actually what happened.