Harry Potter Fanfiction

The reason why Peter Pettigrew turned to the Dark Arts

(PETER)

For the last seven years, Peter had believed that James, Sirius and Remus were the coolest people on Earth. But for the past couple of months, James had been an arrogant toe rag and Remus was nothing more than a worthless werewolf. And Sirius. How could he express his anger towards Sirius? “That good-for-nothing sidekick of James, who makes sure nobody pays any attention to me. They don’t care about me. Heck, they barely tolerate me”, thought Peter.

Peter decided to accept the offer. He had been simmering and suffering silently for over a month, now. This was the perfect opportunity. This had to be the path to seek revenge. He replayed the events in his mind, thinking about the day his best friends became his worst enemies.

THREE MONTHS AGO :-

Peter hardly ever talked to anyone else other than the Maurauders. So, it was rather a pleasant surprise when Rose Hamilton, a seventh-year Gryffindor stopped by to talk to him. He didn’t think much about it as she hadn’t spent more than a minute to ask something about the Charms homework. Over the course of the next week, Rose started talking more. She smiled and waved at him whenever they passed each other in the corridor. He returned the wave with a polite smile. This usually resulted in Sirius nudging his ribs, James slapping his back and Remus chuckling at him. Peter simply rolled his eyes at them. But when she started to make it a point to speak to him at least once daily for absolutely no reason at all, he thought something was odd. Nevertheless, he decided to go with the flow. During the next month, Peter felt a bond growing between them. They did their homework together, ate lunch together and spent a lot of time with each other. James and Sirius teased him about the fact that he didn’t have time for them anymore. Sirius, being a drama queen, went one step ahead and told Peter that he had broken his fragile heart by abandoning them. Peter was in stitches by the time Sirius was done with his monologue.

Though he denied that anything was going on between him and Rose, Peter always felt a warm flush whenever he spoke to her. He realised that he had developed a crush on her. It was a wonderful feeling. But he didn’t want to share it with his best friends. It was his secret and he wanted it to remain that way, at least for a while. He suspected that even she she had a crush on him. “Why else would the gorgeous Ms. Hamilton be spending so much time with him?”, he mused.

A couple of days later, Rose asked whether she could speak with him, privately. Peter felt giddy. Could it be? Could it be that the girl he liked was going to ask him out? He felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach as they went out to the grounds and sat on the far end of the lake.

“Umm…. I don’t know how to say this”, stammered Rose.

“Say what, Rose?”. Peter tried to play it cool. He looked across the lake to hide his smile.

“Well, I have this crush on somebody”. Rose was blushing hard and was struggling to get the words out.

He turned to look at her, his expression a little too excited for his own liking. “Wow. That’s amazing. Who is it? Go on. You have to tell me.”

“Umm…. er….”

He took her hands in his and squeezed them lightly. “Go on. Tell me.”, he said softly.

Rose sighed. “Okay. I… I... have a crush on…. Sirius Black.” A stupid grin was plastered on her face.

“Oh. Wait, what?” Peter hoped that his ears were deceiving him. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be!

“I have a huge crush on Sirius Black. I would like to go out with him.” Rose beamed.

His face fell. ‘So, all this time, you…… you… didn’t have a crush… on me?’

“On you? Why would I have a crush on you when there is someone like Sirius Black?”, she said, her voice laced with disdain.

“How long?” Those words fell out of his mouth in a hoarse whisper. He couldn’t bear to look at her.

“For about two months, I guess. Why? Why does it matter?”

“So, you wanted to use me to…. to get…. to get Sirius to go out with you, huh?”, Peter whimpered.

“Yeah, that’s pretty obvious isn’t it? I thought I could handle this on my own, but I really need your help. So, please be a darling and say something to Sirius that will make him come to Hogsmeade with me. Please?” Rose made an effort to sound sincere. But her callous disregard for Peter’s feelings had made him stony.

“You have some gall, asking me to do this.”, Peter chuckled. He turned to look at her. “I’m sorry, Rose, but I won’t do this. I can’t do this. I’m certainly not going to lift a finger to help you.’ Peter stood up and walked away.

He sat fuming in the common room. “How could this have happened? How could I let it happen? Me and my stupid brain and my stupid fantasies! And his stupid friend, Sirius Black. Him and his shiny black hair and idiotic motorbike. What did he even have for all these dumb girls to like him?”

He skipped dinner and went to his dormitory two hours before bedtime and pondered over everything that happened that day. He recounted every moment he had spent with his so-called best friends. James was a Quidditch star. Sirius was extremely popular. Remus was a model student and every teacher’s favourite. Peter just tagged along with them. Nobody noticed him. Nobody cared about him. His fear that he would never amount to anything resurfaced. He forgot every good memory of his friends. He forgot all the pranks and ricks. He forgot their monthly night outs. He forgot how much they had helped him throughout his schooling. His fears and insecurities were clawing at his heart. Self-pity is an awful thing. It doesn’t help anyone. It didn’t help him either.

Peter was not himself for the next two months. Luckily his friends didn’t pay him much attention as Remus had had a rough couple of months. But there were occasional nudges from all three of them and loads of ‘Peter, you okay there, bud?”. He shook his head and gave them a fake smile to assure them that he was completely alright. The Marauders let it slide. “He will come out of his shell soon”, shrugged James. “Are you sure you’re fine, Moony?”

But someone didn’t let it slide. Severus Snape had been prying on the Marauders ever since his incident with the Whomping Willow. He realised that Peter was acting out of character. Snape had forced the truth out of Peter using his Legilimency skills two days back. He had had an offer for him – join the Death Eaters and they would help him to get his revenge against his friends who had never treated him properly. Peter had asked for some time to think about it.

THE DAY AFTER PETER ACCEPTED THE OFFER:-

(ROSE)

Rose had finally worked up enough courage to ask Sirius out herself. She was so nervous that she was feeling quite weak at the knees.

“Sirius, can I talk to you for a moment? Alone?”, Rose managed to get out the words in a barely audible whisper.

“Sure. What’s up?”, Sirius replied with his infamous impish grin.

Rose felt her heart beating hard against her chest. She gulped and tried to calm herself down. “Well, ummm……er……. I have this…… umm… this……”

“This what?”

“This… crush on you. Will you go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?”, she managed to blurt out.

“Oh. I see. Should not be a problem.”, replied Sirius with a smile.

Rose was smiling from ear to ear. ‘Great!! Then this weekend it is. Oh my gosh! I cannot believe this is happening.”

Sirius chuckled. “You have been bestowed with honours to be able to go on a date with the magnificent Sirius Black.” He spread his arms wide and posed dramatically.

Rose laughed and punched him playfully on the shoulders. Sirius gave her look of mock horror before smiling again. Then, a thought struck him. “Hey, didn’t you hang around with Peter a while back? What happened?”

“Oh, that? So, Peter had a crush on me. And he thought that I had a crush on him too.”, she stated matter-of-factly. “Is he mad or something? Which girl will ever have a crush on him?’, she snorted and proceeded to narrate the entire incident to Sirius.

The smile on his face turned into a scowl. A look of pure loathing crept into his eyes. Her lethargic tone infuriated him so much that a growl escaped his throat. “STOP! You try to use my friend, hurt his feelings and now you expect me to go out with you?”, he screamed at her.

“Well he just tags around with you three, right? You boys don’t give him much importance, do you?”, Rose retorted.

“Yes, we do. I don’t think I am going to go out with someone who treats my friends this way .” Sirius walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

(PETER)

No matter how many times Sirius had apologised for being the cause of his misery, the damage had been done. Peter had affirmed his loyalty to the Death Eaters. But he was moved by the apology. “Was I too hasty in jumping to a conclusion? After all, Padfoot had had no idea. It was all Rose’s fault. What in the name of Merlin, have I done?”, Peter fretted. He kept on going over this in head to find a way to get out of the mess he had created. As he replayed the incident, his insecurities crept back into his mind. Sirius had been a good friend, but he had never helped Peter to carve an identity for himself. He wanted recognition. He strongly felt that he wouldn’t be treated as a dunce amongst the Death Eaters. But above all, he was scared about what would happen to him if he resigned. He had heard about the wrath of the Dark Lord and didn’t dare go against him. Peter convinced himself that he would just not bring up the topic of revenge ever again. He gulped audibly and shivered in fright. What had he gotten himself into?

THREE YEARS AFTER GRADUATION:-

Peter was just back after attending a Death Eaters’ meeting. As he was about to grab some food, he heard a knock on the door and two voices whispering, ‘I solemnly swear I’m upto no good’. He opened the door and found James and Sirius, who were both partially under the Invisibility Cloak. They barged inside and made themselves comfortable. He offered them some sandwiches and asked them what the matter was. They explained that they wanted him to be the Secret Keeper for James as they felt that Voldemort (yes, they dared to say his name out aloud) would probably suspect Sirius, Remus or Dumbledore to be the Secret Keeper.

At first, Peter didn’t know how to react. Then he realised that by accepting the post and passing on this information, he could impress the Dark Lord. He could be a part of the innermost circle of Death Eaters. He would get the recognition he deserved. But it also meant that he would have to betray Padfoot and Prongs. However, if the Dark Lord came to know that he had passed up the perfect opportunity, he would kill him. His mind was torn between his loyalty towards his friends and his deathly fear of the Dark Lord. So, Peter squeaked something about how he was incompetent to bear such a huge responsibility. It took James and Sirius about three hours to coax him to agree. Peter gulped and said that he understood the seriousness of the matter and declared that he would even give his life to protect his friends. His friends thanked him and left.

Peter broke down the second the door closed. He was inconsolable. He had promised Prongs that he would give his life to save him, Lily and the baby. How much were they going to hate him once he stabbed them in the back? Was there any way out of this situation? The tears flowed free. He sniffed and sighed. There was nothing he could do. He did not want to sacrifice himself. “Would James do the same for me? Would Sirius? Would Remus?”, he asked himself. He convinced himself that they prioritised each other over him and so he should put himself first. He ignored the voice in his head that screamed that his friends would indeed put their lives on the line for him. At least, the Dark Lord could protect him from future harm. Could the Marauders protect him from the wrath of the Dark Lord?

After the next Death Eaters meeting, Peter shared the location of James’ house in Godric’s Hollow. The Dark Lord was certainly impressed with the turn of events. He decided to kill the Potters on Halloween.

THE DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN:-

(SIRIUS)

Sirius could not bear the loss. More than that, he couldn’t accept the fact that Peter had betrayed Prongs. His rage knew no bounds. Hadn’t James seen past all their differences and made those seven years the best time of their lives? How had Peter been able to betray such a person? He went in search of his ‘once best friend’ with the sole intention of killing him.

Sirius racked his brain trying to think of a reason Wormtail would even consider doing it. Then, it dawned on him. It was because of him – Sirius. He couldn’t believe the fact that he was the root cause of James’ and Lily’s deaths. He had already been blaming himself as it was his idea to make Peter Secret Keeper. All the while, that foul, loathsome, evil, little cockroach had been waiting to stab them in the back. Now, all his anger was channelled towards Peter. “How could he let a stupid grudge kill a person who had made his miserable life worth living at all? He shouldn’t have joined the Death Eaters. We could have protected him!”, Sirius hissed through gritted teeth. All he wanted to do was to find that rat and kill him.

He found him on a street crammed with Muggles. Before he could react, Peter shouted, “Why did you do it, Sirius? Isn’t James worth more than the Dark Lord? Is this how you treat your best friend?”.

Sirius was about to respond with his wand and had barely raised it, when a big hole was blown in the middle of the street. Before he could register what was happening, Wormtail cut his finger, turned into a rat and escaped. Sirius was stunned. He could not move. He realised he had underestimated Peter’s prowess. Everything he thought he knew about a man was false. A sense of helplessness swept over Sirius. He knew how it would be viewed by the Ministry. There were going to suspect that he had killed the Muggles. Sirius smiled. He chuckled. Within a few minutes, he was cackling maniacally. Soon, the Ministry officials came and arrested him.

(PETER)

Peter had hidden himself in a sewer quite close to Ottery St. Catchpole. He was thinking about everything that had taken place in the past few days. He had been responsible for killing his best friend and his wife! How had he been so heartless that he had turned on James? “What in the name of Merlin have I done?”, he sobbed. “But it was James’ fault as well. None of them were there when he needed them the most. Prongs, Padfoot and Moony were so involved in their own woes and worries that they practically ignored me. So why should I feel sorry for what I had done? They never made me feel included in anything they did. Everything was centred around Potter or Black or Lupin. Never Pettigrew. Never me!”, he thought. “I was never respected or recognised, was I? So much so that everyone else thought that I was just tagging along with a bunch of cool kids. Besides, they asked me to sacrifice my life for them! Cowards!”, he spat in disgust. “They couldn’t do it for each other. They would never do it for me. What kind of friends are they?” He really did not feel sorry about the plight his friends were in.

The rat had just revealed his true nature.

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I worked on this fanfic a couple of years ago with my best friend. I really love the Marauders so much and hope I've done justice to these wonderful characters.

Note:- Rose Hamilton is a figment of our imagination and does not feature anywhere in canon.