It was, ironically, Pettigrew that spurred the betrayal of the dark. Granted, he had been picked on mercilessly by both Dark Lord and fellow Death Eater, and as soon as the Mark had been burned onto his skin he knew he had picked the wrong side. And yet…only Pettigrew had managed to convince him to make the long sought after difference.
Not by word, no. Pettigrew was far too cowardly to even show his face to other Death Eaters, let alone give pep talks on making the right choice. Not by word, no. But by deed.
He had caught onto what his so called 'Master' – as if he were a dog – was up to soon after enrolling. He was not part of the 'Slug Club' solely due to his bloodline. This knowledge gave him some sort of leverage – the upper hand. He longed to taunt the Dark Lord with this significant information in a passing comment: to see fear cloud those lizard eyes. But the moment had not presented itself. Not until November the first, that is. And Pettigrew's…persuasion.
Reading the Daily Prophet, he did not believe any of the claptrap carelessly spurted across the front page for a second. His brother – kill James Potter? He thought not. He had heard far too many late night (rather self-righteous) lectures coming into adolescence from his brother to believe that Sirius would change his tune now. No, his brother fought for the light. He was sure of it.
But that begged the question: if not Sirius, then who? Who would betray Dumbledore's precious Order? It had to be one of the 'Marauders' – the rest were mindless idiots, soldiers who followed orders but didn't think. Lupin? It couldn't be. If Sirius fought for the light then Re-Lupin was the light. Lupin was well-liked by all, but wouldn't abide 'bullies' – no matter how big they were. Even Malfoy held reluctant respect for him.
Which left…Pettigrew. A rat among phoenixes. Funny thing was, at the time, he had not even been aware that Pettigrew was one of the dark. Pettigrew who found Herbology difficult; Pettigrew who followed Potter, Sirius and R-Lupin around with a look of utter adoration; Pettigrew.
And that was it: the proverbial 'it'. The turning point. Pettigrew's spineless betrayal led to his own betrayal. Because, through Pettigrew, he realised it only took one decision to become a traitor. And it was never too late to switch teams. The Dark Lord would be back.
And so, he wrote a note.