Title: Why Not?

Characters: Peter Pettigrew, Rabastan Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy and mention of Regulus Black.

Pairing: Mention/ Hints of Peter x Regulus.

Word Count: 2, 412

Prompts: Care of Magical Creatures: Task #1. Write about a strong sense of loyalty. [Title] Why Not? [Plot Point]: Protecting Someone.

Warning: AU!

AN: Written for Assignment #4; The Insane House Challenge and the 365 Prompts Challenge at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments). This is me redeeming Peter Pettigrew and Regulus Black. Again. This takes place October 30th 1981.

The flat was dark and the door was closed. It didn't look particularly homey even with the lights on so sitting in darkness or in light didn't make much difference. Even if he had lived there for two years, the flat didn't feel like home. Not that he had much time to think about that now. Not that it mattered either, not in the grand scheme of things. Peter could practically feel his heartbeat increase in speed and power as he waited for the inevitable. He knew, when he agreed to being James and Lily's secret keeper, that death eaters would at some point find him and force him to tell them where they were. Peter thought that they would find him much quicker than they had. He didn't think that nearly two years would go by without the death eaters making any sort of attempt to torture him for the information and most likely killing him in the process. But when he noticed that he was being followed, Peter wasn't surprised.

They had been clever. He would give them that. Peter had almost missed the fact that he was being followed due to the amount of people whom were all going the same direction as him. He would have missed them if it wasn't for the fact that both Rabastan and Lucius so apparently didn't fit in with the rest of the crowd. Even when they were wearing muggles clothes, which he assumed they hated, they stood out like Christmas lights in the middle of summer. Peter, at the age of twenty-one, was average height with mousy brown hair which he kept just long enough for him to be able to put it behind his ears. There were dark rings underneath his light blue eyes and every now and again he would yawn and reveal the reason why they were there. With a smile on his face, Peter had pulled the hood of his jacket up to hide his hair and then he randomly turned to the side and vanished down an empty alley where he, wordlessly, turned into his animagus and hid behind a garbage can. Not many seconds later he heard steps and the familiar accompanying voices which still gave him goose bumps. Feeling confident that neither of them would spot him, Peter watched as the two men looked around them with bewildered expression on their faces. Lucius and Rabastan were both older than he was but they had still managed to go to the same school for a few years. Peter did not remember them fondly and he didn't particularly like them now either. Lucius long blond hair was partially put up into a loose pony tail which gave the impression that his hair naturally stayed like that. He clenched his jaws as he searched for Peter without any luck. Rabastan had ashen brown hair which suited his pale face. He looked like he had wandered out from a magazine with his long grey coat and his messy hair gracefully just fell perfectly naturally. He looked constantly sleepy with dark rings underneath his hazel brown eyes which would have reminded Peter of James had it not been for the scorn which could not be missed.

"Where did the bloody thing go?"

Lucius Malfoy shrugged and mumbled something under his breath which sounded more like gibberish than anything else. Somehow, Rabastan Lestrange seemed to have understood what he said because seconds later he shoved Lucius into the wall where the blond man stayed under the intense glare of his unlikely partner.

"Obviously, he escaped but where to? This is an alley with a dead end in case it escaped your attention. There is nowhere to run."

When Lucius didn't answer, Rabastan sighed. He looked like he wanted to punch his partner again but chose not to. Instead he put his hands down his pockets and walked out of the alley the same way they came from. Lucius didn't bother looking back but followed Rabastan out like a lost puppy. Peter stayed for a few minutes, pondering if he should change back or not but, in the end, decided to find his way back home in his animagus shape. It was during those times that Peter saw the usefulness of being a rat. He could easily hide and get away from anyone in any situation because rats existed everywhere, it would have been harder to explain a deer running through a city. Even a dog would have been strange. Peter wished that he would have come up with that answer when his friends teased him about being a rat. It would have been a much better answer than why not.

Peter took a deep breath when he heard the sound of steps from outside his flat. He took a harder grip around his wand but remained so calmly leaned back into his armchair that he was practically laying down. Obviously, he was anything but calm but if he was going to be found and possibly killed then he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of seeing him afraid. A part of him wished that they were back at Hogwarts. Back then it had been easy, getting a hold of people but in this time that was becoming increasingly hard. He knew where James and Lily were and he knew that James would come running if Peter asked him to; which is why he didn't say that he was in trouble. Remus was off somewhere recruiting werewolves and Peter assumed that he had no chance of getting back in time. That left Sirius, but Peter had no idea where he was or if he could get there before Rabastan and Lucius did. There was a chance, or a risk depending on how you saw it, that Peter would have to deal with two death eaters by himself. Peter didn't consider himself a very optimistic person, nor a pessimistic person; he was probably more of a realist than either of those two and the situation did not look good. He couldn't help but wonder if Regulus had felt the same way two years earlier. The young man could feel his heart clench at the thought of his best friend's little brother. Peter laughed. Regulus had been so much more than that even if no one else knew. He had become the person whom Peter had come to trust and rely on. There was something about his voice which had made it impossible not to answer his questions. So, without thinking or putting up a fight Peter had told him everything he wanted to know.

Regulus, much like Sirius, had dark brown hair and grey eyes. But the fact that they shared the same colours didn't mean that they looked, or acted, anything like each other. Regulus had short hair, curly hair which he was always in control of. His eyes appeared to big for his face and his cheekbones were protruded in a way which made his face look almost square. As a teenager he had been muscular due to the hours he spent playing quidditch and although he hadn't played in a while those muscles were still there. No one could see him enter Peter's flat. Being unseen was not a problem for Regulus but his ability to sneak often meant that Peter got himself a heart attack every time he came to visit. Which he did that day too.

"One of these days you're going to have to announce yourself somehow." Peter commented from where he stood in front of the bathroom basin where the water was still running. His hands were wet, as were his shoulders, neck and face, from washing away the sweat.

Regulus had his arms crossed over his chest where he stood in the door opening watching the too skinny young man with his eyebrows directed downwards and one corner of his mouth upwards. "You keep telling me."

"Well, you never listen." Peter replied with a wink.

Regulus laughed and although Peter could hear that the joy wasn't true and although he could see that the happiness didn't reach his eyes, he chose to say nothing. It was an unspoken deal they had. They knew that they were both stuck in situations that neither liked and that it was affecting them. Regulus knew about the nightmares which forced Peter to wash away the sweat from his body decreasing body mass. Regulus knew that he couldn't eat and that was the reason behind his unnecessary weight loss. But rather than asking him or talking to him about it, Regulus chose to be there in any way that he could. Peter knew that Regulus couldn't sleep, hence the dark rings underneath his eyes, and he knew that the young man hated doing what he did. But he couldn't do anything to help him so he did what he could; he offered any support that Regulus would let him.

"I've been thinking about death." Regulus said. He looked at the reflection of Peter when he said it and kept looking into his eyes when the young man turned around.

A shiver travelled down Peter's spine. He thought about death too, a lot, but never voluntarily. He did it because those thoughts invaded his brain like parasites but if he could stop himself from thinking about his worst fear then he would without a moment of hesitation. Peter hated the thought of death. He hated the thought that he would at some point die but not as much as he hated the thought of Regulus dying. "Why?"

"It could happen. If I can die then why not think about it." Regulus shrugged.

That answer had made it feel as if someone had taken a knife and plunged it through his heart. That night Peter had held Regulus closer than ever before and he hoped for everything that he was worth that he had managed to convey the emotions which they had promised would not be spoken out loud until the risk of either of them dying was gone. That risk was still there when the rumours that Regulus was gone reached Peter.

Peter could still remember the feeling of emptiness which turned into a deep sorrow when the truth came out a year later. Regulus Black was dead but no one knew how he had died or how the truth had come out. Peter didn't need to know how they knew or what had happened; his pain wouldn't decrease or change because some questions were answered. Regulus wouldn't come back from the dead because the world knew what had happened to him. So, Peter kept on living life has he always had, with the goal of staying alive in spite of the pain. He couldn't help but think about Regulus words about death when he heard the sound of the door to his flat being opened. He had known in the back of his mind since becoming the secret keeper that he could die too. But unlike Regulus, he hadn't accepted the idea. He was still fighting it with everything that he had even in that moment when the risk became more real than it ever had been before.

"Hello Peter," Rabastan Lestrange tilted his head to the side and watched the young man with an amused expression on his face. "Sorry to keep you waiting. We didn't expect you to be here. We would have come a lot sooner if we knew that you would be here to welcome us."

"I doubt that Rabastan," Peter commented as he sat up straight in his armchair with his legs still leaned on top of the short stool in front of him. "We may not have gone to the same classes but from what I remembered you were quite terrible at getting somewhere on time."

"Touché," Rabastan glanced at Lucius whom had been quiet the entire time. Peter knew that Rabastan had his wand hidden in a strap around his thigh while Lucius had his hidden in his sleeve. "But I've been working on that. Tell me, have you been working on your impulsiveness or do you still jump into situations and hope for the best?"

"It's all relative," Peter responded with a shrug. "But I'd say that I've gotten better. I've got at least two plans for how to get out of his situation without killing myself in the process or revealing where James and Lily are hiding."

Rabastan and Lucius shared a look. The blond young man looked almost scared, although Peter couldn't understand why. Rabastan on the other hand looked like he was enjoying it. He reminded Peter of his brother, Rodolphus, in that moment whom also enjoyed tormenting and taunting people more than what could be considered normal.

"The things you four do to protect each other; its admirable. I'm also impressed by your planning," Peter did a mocking bow as if thanking Rabastan for his compliment. A movement which did not go unnoticed by the eldest Lestrange brother whom let out a choked laughter. "But in case you do die, in spite of your careful planning, is there anything you would like to say? Any last words perhaps?"

Peter shrugged. He could act as if he wasn't afraid but that didn't mean that he wasn't. In that moment, every cell in his being was screaming for Sirius to appear in the doorway. There wasn't a part of him which didn't want something to happen which would mean that he survived and there was nothing he wouldn't do in order to make sure that he survived. He would do anything to protect his friends but if there was a way that he could protect James, Lily and Harry without dying then he would do it without any hesitation. That was the reason why he sat in front of a big window in spite of the fact that he hated the busy sound which defined London and that was the reason why he had a knife hidden from the two death eaters. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of seeing him scared but he wasn't going to roll over and let them win either. No, Peter was going to fight for his life and he was going to fight for his friends.

"Everyone is going to die at some point, right?" Peter asked as he mentally prepared to put his plan into action. "Why not now?"

The end