Author's Note: People often seem to forget that Peter is a person too. He had his doubts and uncertainties; he didn't just decide to be a villainous traitor, most fans hate. Peter was a Marauder, no matter what he did later. He was like their brother and deserves to be remembered in someway. In a lot of Marauder Era stories I've read, Peter mysteriously disappears or is never out of remedial classes. This piece was written for Fire the Canon's 2012 Hogwarts Games: Backstroke 2,000+ words (A story over 2,000 words with no romance) and also because I had some ranting to do.

A light dusting of snow covered the ground. The air held still around the little house in the deathly quiet of night. A slight "pop" filled the air as a young man appeared out of nowhere. He was fairly short and his height was not helped by the fact he was bent over.

There were tears running down his face, hardly traceable in the moonlight. He appeared to glance around before stepping into his house. It was only then that Peter Pettigrew let himself weep.

He flung his cloak away from him as soon as he shut the door. It was another thing that weighed on him. The Order of the Phoenix meeting had not ended well. There was truly no hope left. They were dying by the day, each being killed in far more brutal ways than the last. They hadn't even found half of Gideon Prewett's body. Marlene McKinnon was covered in names. Travers had taken a knife and carved every victim she had known into her flesh. She died with the weight of her loved one's deaths on her shoulders.

Peter shuddered. He didn't even try to repress it anymore. Only a fool would not be scared of this sort of war. It was a losing battle. Who was going to be next? Was it Sirius? Remus? James? Lily? Or innocent little Harry? Or even himself?

Death was coming for all of them. If Peter could stop anything happening to his brothers, he would, but he was even more powerless than they were.

The Dark Lord had made a tempting offer. Information for freedom. No one more would have to die. They were all safe. Just a few words here and there, not even necessarily vital information and everyone he cared about was safe.

But that wasn't true. Tonight, Marlene McKinnon's blood lay on his hands. He hadn't wielded the knife that killed her. No, Peter had betrayed her without even meaning to. While giving the weekly information to the Dark Lord, he'd mentioned a decoy mission Dumbledore had planned. Names were required. "McKinnon's not going. Funeral." Those simple words (and quite possibly a quick glance at his mind) had given away her location.

They all would have been safer without him. Peter was their weak link and he would destroy them all. And yet, no matter how hard he tried to regret meeting his brothers, he couldn't, not even after all the danger he put them in.

"Peter! Hurry up or you're going to miss it," The large women practically shouted as she dragged her only son through the barrier on to Platform 9¾. His mousy brown hair was disheveled, his cloak was sideways and his blue eyes were already filling with tears.

"Mum. I don't think I want to go anymore."

His mother gave an exasperated sigh. "What's the matter now?"

"Everyone's going to hate me"

"No one is going to hate you. I'm certain you'll make a lot of friends." She kissed him on the cheek and gave him a hug. "Now go do something interesting for once and stop moping."

Peter tried to stand straighter as he hesitantly boarded the train. He had heard about Hogwarts his entire life and had always dreamed of it, but now he just wasn't sure. Maybe everyone would hate him. Maybe he'd be the worst in every class. Maybe Peter Pettigrew didn't even belong at Hogwarts.

Peter spent the train ride in a compartment almost completely by himself. A few people stopped in every once in a while, but no one joined the plump first year. Peter tried flipping through his books as if they could make up for his loneliness. (They couldn't but there had been no harm in trying. The charms book had almost put him to sleep though.)

Jostled by the older students, Peter made his way off the train. He was relieved to see a group of children his own age looking just as scared and excited. One with black hair and glasses smiled as he jokingly almost pushed his friend in the lake. Peter couldn't help looking on somewhat longingly. He'd never had a friend before.

All they had to do was try on a hat. How bad could that be? It didn't even hurt or at least Peter didn't think it did. Nevertheless, the knowledge that he might survive his sorting did not stop his knees from knocking together.

"Hmm, where to put you?"

"I do belong somewhere, um, right, Mr. Hat?"

"Someone can go anywhere."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"There is potential, but so much unknown. Ravenclaw is out. Knowledge is important to you but only in a subject you care about."

Peter thought back to the potions book on the train. It had certainly been interesting. He wouldn't mind spending his time doing that. It seemed a little bit like cooking. Mopsy, their house elf, had taught him how to do some of that.

"Slytherin could only lead to disaster. Pureblood, but that was not the only quality Salazar looked for. Ambition was far more important and though you care about being known it is not necessarily for your skills."

"That's because I don't have any," Peter thought savagely.

"I doubt that. You care far more about fitting in. You could flourish in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor."

"Hufflepuff then. I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor."

Peter thought of his fears. The dark scared him, well not really the dark, what could come out of the dark that he never saw coming. Spiders, creepy crawly spiders that could almost make him scream like a girl. He didn't like snakes very much either.

He could almost hear the hat laugh, "Courage can not erase our fears. It only lets us face them."

"I just don't think-"

"You want to be a Hufflepuff?"

"Um…"

"Most students don't see themselves there either. Hmm, Helga would have given you to Godric right away. She had a knack for finding troublemakers."

Peter bit his lip. "But I'm not-"

The hat made a scoffing sound. "Just wait. Better be Gryffindor!"

Peter scowled at the hat before handing it back to Professor McGonagall. He was surprised at the applause he was getting from the table on the far left. Maybe, just maybe Peter thought, I can learn to be brave. He nearly ran to the Gryffindor table. He sat across from a pale smiling boy.

"I'm Remus."

"Peter"

And that had been the beginning.

It had taken a few days to understand anything about Hogwarts. Peter couldn't help getting completely and utterly lost. At least Remus had a good memory, or they might not have gotten anywhere.

Remus always listened to what he had to say, even if it sounded slightly crazy or naive. They would laugh over the little things their professors said and worked together on the homework (and by together, that meant Peter and Remus would sit in companionable silence until Remus was done and could explain the more difficult theories of Transfiguration.) Maybe this was what it was like to have a friend.

Only sometimes, Remus would do strange things like stop talking abruptly or change the subject very quickly. His eyes would dart around nervously as he waited for Peter to say something.

Peter never did.

The other boys in their dorm were interesting and very loud. It was a miracle Peter and Remus got any sleep. Peter definitely thought they were put in Gryffindor because of the troublemaking habits. One boy, Peter thought his name was James, had his section of the room in such a disarray, it was a miracle the floor could be seen at all. The other one, Sirius after all Peter had heard enough puns about it, never stop talking.

The two groups stayed separate as much as possible for four boys sharing a room and all their classes. It was funny to think that without Remus' condition the Marauders might not have been made.

Remus was sick and Madame Pomphrey wouldn't even let Peter into the infirmary.

"Please, I even brought his book and some school work if he feels up to it. I mean just so he had something to do..." as he talked Peter began to find the floor very interesting and finally trailed off.

"Mr. Lupin cannot have any visitors. Why don't you come back in a few days? I'm positive he will feel much better then." Madame Pomphrey glanced at the bed in the corner briefly before closing the door.

Peter trudged back to the Gryffindor common room. He hoped Remus would be okay. Whatever Remus had must be serious if it took a few days to recover and not just a spoonful of Pepper-up potion. Remus had seemed fine today, a little tired but they were a couple weeks into school, it made sense that their new sleeping patterns might catch up to them now.

"Shrivelfig," Peter said quietly before the Fat Lady could ask.

James and Sirius were sitting in a pair of chairs near the portrait hole playing Exploding Snap. Their black hair had become lightly singed and Sirius was definitely missing at least one eyebrow. They began laughing again as the cards began to shake ever so slightly; within a second a large puff of smoke obscured them.

Peter sat down in a seat near them hesitantly. They were really only a few people he knew in the common room. The smart redheaded girl was in the corner but she was reading a book and he'd rather not disturb her (or go closer to her then necessary, she was frightening when she was irritated.) James and Sirius continued playing. When they reached the end of the round, James handed Peter some cards.

Peter blushed. "You don't have to- I mean, I can just watch."

James cut off his stuttering. "We're not going to curse you, you know? It's more fun with three people anyway."

"Let's hope you're better than James. I'm tired of winning due to my natural awesomeness," Sirius joked.

James pretended to be offended. "And yet, I still have both my eyebrows."

Their attitude was infectious. "I'm not sure you might be missing a spot there,"

Peter added, not as loud as he normally would but without a stutter.

James' eyes darted upwards as he tried to see his new bald spot. Sirius snickered. "There's still hope left in the world," Sirius sent Peter an amused look. "James I think there may be someone who would be willing to help us."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see," James laid his card down on top. "And I win!"

Life was never dull. Peter did things he never thought he would before. James and Sirius brought him with them when they decided to go exploring. They had skirted around teachers, prefects and had met Peeves. The poltergeist was definitely surprising. All the prefects had warned them to avoid him at all costs, but he wasn't that bad. Peeves still nearly got them caught but what's life without a little risk?

Remus had joined the adventures as soon as he was out of the infirmary. He was skinnier and had a few odd scars on his arms, but he seemed perfectly normal. That first night they went to visit Hagrid, the caretaker who lived in a wooden hut by the Forbidden Forest. The man was awfully large, four times their height easily, but Peter thought he was interesting too. Jaw, Hagrid's dog, took particular interest in Sirius, actually nearly ran him over and wouldn't get off him despite Hagrid's begging. Peter had laughed so hard he started hiccupping. James took a picture.

Sometime during the night, Sirius was able to die their hair a neon pink. James, of course, retaliated. Sirius was forced to sing everything he wanted to say in his terribly off key voice. This was the beginning of the Marauders' first prank war. By no means would it be the last.

Years past. Their friendship grew into something more. They had become brothers in everything but blood. James, Sirius and Peter had mastered an Animagus transformation. They discovered more secrets in seven years than some people do in a lifetime. They survived James' obsession with Lily, Remus' conditions, Sirius' occasional arrogance and Peter's meekness.

It was only a couple of weeks before graduation. They sat sprawled under the beech tree by the lake. Remus was looking at the Daily Prophet again. James and Sirius argued about something jokingly, most likely who won the bet for most detentions. Peter was just trying to memorize every detail.

"Are you going to join?" The question from Remus was sudden. A few nights ago, Professor Dumbledore had contacted select students about joining an organization to fight Voldemort. The Marauders hadn't discussed their decision.

"Yes," Sirius said without hesitation. "I'm the only chance the world has."

The others groaned. Only Sirius would joke on a subject like this.

"Really Padfoot?" James sent a questioning look. Sirius only shrugged and gave a doglike grin. "I'm joining. So is Lily. We're running out of options. We have to fight. If Voldemort keeps killing people, there isn't even going to be a wizarding world left. If we don't fight how can we expect anyone else to?"

"I thought so. It's not like we really have the option to sit back and just let things happen," Remus sighed, "Did you here about the werewolves?"

"No but I have a wonderful feeling you're going to tell me. Speak o wise Moony!"

Three identical glares made Sirius pantomime the motion of sealing his lips.

"Greyback's joined Voldemort and he's not alone either."

There was a collective wince.

"What about you Wormtail?" James asked, not wanting the current topic to continue much longer. It was obvious Remus would fight. Greyback was going to die an ugly painful death.

"I'm not sure," he paused. Peter had thought through joining the Order constantly since Dumbledore asked. Peter wanted to fight, but really what was he supposed to do. His dueling skills would never match a Deatheaters and Lily could easily brew Polyjuice and the medicinal potions by herself. He could always run. That would be safest, but Peter couldn't bring himself to do it.

James gave him a searching look. "It doesn't matter what you decide, Peter."

Peter heard the use of his given name loud and clear. James hadn't called him that in nearly a year. James was absolutely serious about this.

"I know."

"You'd be a great big git not to join though," added in Sirius.

Peter nodded solemnly. "I think I'm going to."

The four brothers smiled. For now even in their war torn world, they stood together.