For the Quidditch League (Seeker, Write about the family role of a pet). AU set during the end of PoA. First couple of lines come directly from the book. Also for the Represent that Character Challenge.
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Pettigrew was cowering at the feet of those around him in the Shrieking Shack. He never, not in his wildest dreams, thought he'd be back here again. Especially not after what happened all those years ago. But being back with his old friends, who were now pointing wands at him with intentions to kill, was certainly not a situation he would've imagined himself in. He turned imploringly to Ron, begging him for safety.
"Ron…haven't I been a good friend…a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you…you're on my side, aren't you?"
"I let you sleep in my bed!" Ron practically spat, looking at Peter with revulsion.
"Kind boy…kind master… You won't let them do it…I was your rat…I was a good pet…"
Ron snorted, his voice becoming colder. "'Good pet?' You never did a thing, you could've been dead the entire time I had you for all you did. Now it seems like you should've been, doesn't it?" He paused, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "I don't know if I can say I want you dead or not. I mean, you were a rat! Just a rat, not a person, not a murderer, not someone who'd betray his friends. Or maybe I just didn't know you. Not that I ever thought I'd be having this sort of heart-to-heart with my pet rat," he added under his breath.
Peter moved closer to him, and Ron backed away disgustedly. "I didn't do anything to hurt you, I did you more good than bad over the years. Does that all count for nothing? Even your brother, I never hurt him. I was a good rat—"
"But if what they're saying is true, you're the one who turned in Harry's parents. He's my friend, you don't think that matters? Maybe you didn't do much harm as a rat, but you seem to have been a bad excuse for a human at times."
"Ron," Lupin interrupted softly, and Ron turned to look up at him. "We needed to get our point across, to let the three of you," he indicated Ron, Harry, and Hermione. "Know what he did. Mind you, we all were very close friends, years ago, but all the same… Things have changed, with all of us." Remus glanced at Sirius out of the corner of his eye before continuing. "We'll let you all have a say, of course, but it's getting late."
Ron nodded, returning his gaze to his former pet. "I can't see why you'd prefer being a rat for all these years."
Silence, then: "They're gonna kill you. Can't say I really think they're wrong, given all you've done." Ron swallowed – it was strange to say the least, for him to talk of murder in this way, but didn't Pettigrew deserve it? It was his fault Harry had no parents, and even though he'd been Ron's rat, that didn't excuse his actions. Just because they'd gotten close – in the weird and twisted way in which it happened, Ron thought to himself – didn't mean Lupin and Black were wrong.
And to think they'd all been friends at Hogwarts and afterwards, very close, Remus had said. Ron vaguely wondered whether they ever considered their friendship coming to a point like this, with one of the four friends long dead and another soon to follow by their own hands.
"What'd'you think, Harry?" Ron asked.
"I—"
"Harry, you know what he's done." Sirius looked over at him, power flashing briefly in his eyes.
"I don't know. I mean, I know what he's done," Harry replied, glaring at the writing mess of Pettigrew. "But the two of you shouldn't be held responsible for killing him."
"Ron, what do you say? You spent more time with him recently than anyone else."
"I didn't spend time with him, I spent time with a rat. I think I liked him better that way, he was different, you know? Didn't do anything, but didn't kill anyone like that either. But he slept in my bed," Ron repeated in disbelief.
Peter hurried to try and better his position by adding "And you were always so good to me, so caring. Keeping me fed, you were such a wonderful—"
Ron silenced him with a look, not wanting to hear any more of Pettigrew's guilt-tripping.
He looked over to his best friend. "What d'you say, Harry? It's your call."
"He was your pet…"
"No, Scabbers was my pet. I refuse to believe that they are the same person. It's up to you, but I'd decide quickly if I were you. I dunno about you but I'm getting tired and my leg's killing me." Sirius looked over apologetically, and Ron shrugged in his direction to show that he wasn't blaming Black for the pain in his leg.
"We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors…He can go to Azkaban…but don't kill him." Harry avoided Peter's thanks bitterly, and Lupin and Black worked to get Peter and the rest of them out of the Shack and back to the grounds.
"Don't think I disagree with Harry's decision, Peter," Ron muttered spitefully in his ear as they made their way through the passage below the old house. "You deserve Azkaban more than anyone. Don't humour yourself by thinking I'll be sad to see you go."
Peter made no response, eyeing Ron uneasily as he fell into step alongside Remus and Ron as the three travelled, chained side by side through the small tunnel.
"You're sure, are you?" Remus asked a final time as they reached Hogwarts' grounds. Harry nodded, seeming confident in his decision, and Ron copied the action.
Harry stood by Sirius, casting his stag Patronus to prevent any Dementors from getting out of hand and performing the Kiss on him (and, catching sight of the shape of the Patronus, Sirius beamed at Harry, reminded fiercely of James) as Remus called the Dementors for Peter.
Watching the Dementors carry Pettigrew off, Ron muttered "Good riddance" softly under his breath, wondering briefly how differently his life would have played out if he hadn't befriended Harry Potter (though he couldn't honestly say he ever regretted his decision from a couple years previous. Sure, his life would be quieter, but he wouldn't change it for the world.)