--
"It takes years to build up trust, and just seconds to destroy it."
He didn't really know how it had all started…
They were his friends, and he wouldn't have traded them for anything. At school, he shared their limelight and for once in his life, he had actually felt liked. He'd make jokes and follow James, Sirius and Remus around – finally belonging. He was a part of the infamous gang; the Marauders of Hogwarts.
But sometimes, he'd found himself wishing, wanting for something bigger and better. Sure, he'd prank and prat around – but he was never the one getting caught. Maybe it was good luck, he'd convince himself, or maybe he was too much of a coward to admit. It was often whispered around the hallways; people doubted that his friendship with the others was genuine. At first, he had blown them off and ignored the rumours – but slowly, year by year, it ate away at him.
Then, school had ended and he was thrown into the deep end of the harsh pool that was real life. It was then, he supposed, that he had fallen in with the darkness and the glamour of it all. Stupid and silly teenage dreams still haunted him, and so he gave into temptation. He followed. After all, it was what he did best.
Of course, nobody suspected him. Not even Dumbledore because after all, who would ever have suspected Peter? The quiet, shy and timid friend of James, Sirius and Remus. The trustworthy one. But trust, as he'd found, can often be misplaced. ..And once it is, it only takes one 'slip' to bring something or someone crashing down.
Maybe that's why it was so easy. They just hadn't seen it coming...
Yet, his betrayal stayed with him. He couldn't shake it. The intense feeling of regret that swallowed him up every night, making him cry bitter and wasted tears of remorse. He let these tears swallow him up because he had to. Because it distracted him from what he was doing and just how far along the path he was to his own destruction.
As that silver claw descended on him, slowly he felt his resistance to the lifeless object slip away. He let it slip away. The only thing that he had ever had control over, he let slip. It was not worth the fight and till the last, choking breath, Peter in his final moments, let go all of his remorse, regret and bitterness for his friends, who had perished by his hand. Consumed by fear, Peter fell, with the silver linings of tears still evident upon his face.