Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe and characters all belong to JK Rowling. I own nothing but the plot.

Till Death Does Us Part

by VictoryNike

"Hey Padfoot, how do you want to die?" Moony had asked him casually.

Sirius waved a hand dismissively. "I'd really rather not die at all. Unless you're planning to murder me, Moony! Do you want me dead?" He asked dramatically, his hands over his heart.

"If you don't tell me where you hid my broomstick, dimwit, you will be," called Prongs, his voice muffled since he was currently searching under Wormtail's bed.

Sirius laughed. "Well, okay then. I think I'd like to die laughing. Not a bad way to go, if you ask me."

Moony snorted.

If only they could have seen him now. Sirius laughed as he died, laughed as the curse that took his life hit him squarely in the chest. The life left his body with the ghost of his last grin still on his face.

"Fine then Moony, how do you want to die then?" Padfoot challenged.

"I dunno." Remus said, furrowing his brow. "I guess I'd want to die next to the one I love."

"The one you love." Padfoot echoed teasingly. "You sound like Prongs."

"Hey!" Prongs yelled, hitting his head on the bottom of Wormtail's bed. "OW!"

"Got anyone in mind, Moony?" Sirius teased.

"You know I can't afford to take that kind of a chance, Padfoot." Remus said softly, realizing his status as a werewolf made it extremely risky for him to fall for someone.

The room fell silent, the happy atmosphere gone as the Marauders contemplated that truth.

"I don't know about that actually, Moony." Prongs said in an attempt to break the tension. "That niece of Sirius's,- Nymphadora, wasn't it?- seems pretty attached to you."

"What? Andy's kid? She's like, four!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Remember she wanted Moony to play with her?" Wormtail sniggered, remembering the time Andromeda Tonks had brought her daughter to the Potter's for Christmas to see Sirius.

Remus blushed.

His friends, seeing this, roared with laughter.

Remus knew if James and Sirius could have been at his wedding, they would have teased him relentlessly about marrying the very girl they had speculated about. But Love didn't distinguish by age or wealth. He loved Nymphadora with all of his heart.

Now, fighting by her side, he remembered the conversation he had with his best friends so many years ago. He smiled wryly at the irony. A green flash of light issued from the wand of the Death Eater he was dueling. For one horrible moment, it lit up Nymphadora's beautiful eyes, filled with panic and loss. Her pained cry is the last thing that he hears before he departs the Earth forever. Moments later, she too fell, and their lifeless bodies lay together on the cold grass of the Hogwarts grounds.

"Shut up, you lot." Moony said, still red.

"Well we all know how Prongs is going die," Padfoot said suddenly.

"Oh yeah?" James said, rolling his eyes. "How?"

"At the hands of Evans! Because she's never going to go out with him!" Padfoot shrieked gleefully. "And he's too thick to stop asking!"

"He'd probably wouldn't even feel it because he would have passed out when she even looked at him!" Moony added.

Wormtail started to laugh, but was silenced with a look from James.

James drew himself up importantly. "No. I want to die for somebody. I want to die fighting for a cause I believe in. To save somebody."

"Bet that person's Lily." Padfoot sniggered.

The idiot. He was right. James sprinted desperately towards Voldemort, trying to buy his wife and son time to escape. For a split second as the jet of green light made its way toward his body, he remembered that conversation with the Marauders so many years before. He was dead before he could laugh at the utter irony.

"How do you want to die, Wormtail?" Prongs asked, hastily changing the topic from Lily Evans.

"How do I want to die?" Peter echoed. "Um...I'm not too sure."

"C'mon Wormtail. The rest of us told." Padfoot coaxed.

"It's okay, we'll try not to laugh if you want to die snogging your Teddy." James coughed, barely smothering his laughter.

"That was years ago!" Peter cried indignantly. He'd never tell them he still slept with his teddy bear, just with a disillusionment charm cast over it so his friends didn't tease him about it.

"Sure, sure." Moony said smiling knowingly. Peter hated when he did that.

Peter considered the question. He wasn't brave like James, carefree like Sirius, or noble like Remus. The truth was, he'd really rather not die at all, but as far as he knew that wasn't possible. Besides, he couldn't tell his friends that.

"I want to die doing something great. Something that people will remember forever." As the words left his mouth, it shocked Peter to realize just how much those words were true. He had lived most of the last five years under the long, long, shadows of James, Sirius, and Remus. More than anything, he wanted to be remembered, not as the scrawny Marauder tag-along, but as his own person, unique and special. He craved power and authority, but most of all he craved recognition.

It was that craving that killed them all.

First James, whom Peter had betrayed as Secret Keeper in order to stay in Voldemort's good books. Then Sirius and Remus, both who had been killed by Peter's fellow Death-Eaters that were united under the Dark Lord whom Peter had helped raise once more.

Finally, it was Peter's turn. He would never get his wish to die doing something great. His shimmering silver hand closed around Harry's neck. He could feel the pulse beating in Harry's neck, slowly he would crush the life out of it.

The green eyes- Lily's eyes- stared at him accusingly. Peter's own eyes widened as he remembered that day, when Harry had stopped Sirius and Remus from killing him, saying James would have never allowed it. James's son. He was strangling James's son. Who had saved his life.

A small stab of regret and mercy somehow wormed its way into Peter's stone cold heart. He felt his own hand betray his reasoning, loosen its grip from Harry's neck.

The strong fingers turned on him, squeezing the air from his windpipe. He struggled desperately, but he was never meant to die a hero like his friends. He died as he had lived, a rat to the very end.

"Doesn't matter how we die, though, does it? We'll be brothers forever." Prongs voiced suddenly.

"Till death does us part."

Author's Note: This is something I've been working on for a while now. It was lying around unfinished so I thought: Why not? This is a tribute to the brotherhood between the Marauders (well, all but one) and the fact that they gave their lives for a cause. It's really inspiring.

Sorry for the ridiculous amounts of horizontal lines in this story. It bothers me too, but I don't like to divide my segments in any other way.

If you want to know about the incident involving Peter snogging his teddy bear, check out my other story, Mischief Managed.

Let me know what you think. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW please! :)

VictoryNike

7/10/12