"I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED. I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO DISAPPOINTED IN A MEMBER OF MY HOUSE!" The Gryffindor Common Room froze in shock at hearing Minerva McGonagall screaming, presumably at a Gryffindor student, and heading towards the common room. Everyone immediately looks to the Marauders and finds three out of four, but the one missing…well surely it's not him…is it? "DESERVED IT?! YOU HAVE ALREADY LOST YOUR HOUSE A HUNDRED POINTS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD SOME MORE?!" Everyone's eyes widen even further, looking around at each other trying to get a clue as to what is going on, but no one knows, "I'D HAVE EXPECTED THIS FROM POTTER OR BLACK, BUT NOT FROM YOU MR PETTIGREW!" Everyone looks to the Marauders who look the most surprised out of everyone.
"WELL I'D DO IT AGAIN IN A BLOODY HEARTBEAT PROFESSOR, TAKE AWAY EVERY DAMNED POINT WE HAVE, GIVE ME DETENTION FOR THE REST OF MY BLOODY LIFE, BUT I WILL NEVER STAND BY AND HEAR THAT WITHOUT DOING SOMETHING TO STOP IT!" James, Sirius, and Remus exchange looks, so completely lost that they can't even make a guess as to what is happening.
"Well, you can think on that some more in detention, which you will be attending for the next six months. Be grateful you haven't been suspended. Or expelled," McGonagall replies through gritted teeth as she opens the portrait door, every fibre of her being radiating anger, "Be grateful you weren't arrested." Peter merely lifts his chin in defiance at her, "You are not to leave this common room without either a teacher or a prefect escorting you until your detentions are over, am I clear?!" She asks angrily, Peter goes to say something, probably less than nice, when he suddenly stops. His lips quirk ever so slightly before his face takes on a sullen look and he nods.
"Perfectly, Professor."
"Good." With that she storms out. When Peter turns around, he doesn't look angry, or upset, or afraid. He looks smug, James Potter levels of smug.
"Why do you look like that when you basically just got grounded?" Frank Longbottom asks, Peter shrugs.
"Because I am so very proud of my best friend. See, during the summer he got a nice letter. And a badge to go along with it." Peter calmly walks up to the dorm, everyone looking to the remaining three. Sirius and James look to Remus who looks down at the badge pinned on his jumper.
"She just gave him an out," Sirius realises, "Can't go anywhere without a teacher or a prefect."
"But he has you," James continues, "So what could have possibly had her so pissed off yet try and weasel Peter out of it in some small way?"
"Something horrible that she still felt was the right thing to do? Something she was proud of him for doing even as it was so very wrong?" Sirius guesses, James frowns.
"This is Peter we're talking about here." They exchange looks before the three head up the stairs.
A few minutes later Sirius walks back down and over to Lily.
"Miss Evans, I am here to inform you that one James Fleamont Potter says he will leave you entirely alone for the duration of Peter's grounding as a thank you for introducing Pete to the wonders of Muggle Magicians." She seems surprised, "As it turns out, someone did something he did not like and so he decided that pointing his wand at them and saying 'abracadabra' very fast was the best way to deal with it. Knowing, of course, that this would be misheard." Lily's jaw drops, knowing exactly how it would be heard.
"Why on Earth would he do that?" Sirius' amused expression falls entirely.
"He won't say."
It's not until Lily's labour that she finds out. James and Sirius are on their way and no one can get in touch with Remus at the moment, Order business, so Peter is the one having his hand crushed.
"Distract me, please," Lily requests desperately, Peter wracks his brain for something, anything.
"You remember that time in fourth year I lost us a hundred points and McGonagall was the most angry we had ever seen her?"
"Yeah, you never told us what happened."
"I overheard someone mocking Moony's scars and sort of…snapped." Lily looks at him in surprise, he shrugs, "They acted like they made him weak. I've seen what he goes through, the scars don't make him weak, they make him stronger than those gits could ever hope to be. I just wanted to show them what weak looks like, so I scared them shitless." Lily laughs, properly laughs.
The nurses say she's the first patient they've ever had who has laughed her way through labour, even while also screaming.
"You had to know Peter, if he didn't kill you than we would!" Peter has a split second to think here, he doesn't spend it on escape routes. He thinks of all those years ago when he wanted to show someone they were weak by inciting such fear in them. Now he too knows weakness.
'And I deserve every minute of it.'