A/N: This story is set at the end of 1983. Harry is about 3 1/2, so is Ron and that makes Bill Weasley 12 (2nd year of Hogwarts), Charlie 10, Percy 8, the twins 6 (oy, what a thought, those boys at age 6) and Ginny 2 1/2 approximately. No, the Weasleys won't feature in any major way but I needed to explain this for this chapter to make something else in the plot work out. Enjoy! :)
When the boy woke up, he was sure he was still dreaming. What else would explain the presence of a small mousy-looking man in his bedroom, holding an apple and munching on it looking much like a squirrel with a nut? He closed his eyes once more and returned to the land of dreams while the very real small man quickly transformed back into the rat he had been for more than the last two years...
In the morning, Percy sat in the kitchen, rubbing his eyes as his mother set his breakfast on the table. Fastidiously, he started eating, napkin on his lap, cutlery arranged just so. Molly watched him from the corner of her eye (she was much too busy running herd on those twins of hers, not to mention making sure Ron and Ginny didn't throw their oatmeal at each other in an unguarded moment), wondering how she had managed to have this OCD child dropped into her lap. He'd never completely fit into the family for some unfathomable reason. She knew he would carefully put away his dishes when he was finished, and sure as clockwork he would go and study in his room after feeding Scabbers, the rat. Since he had been old enough to understand the rules, she had never seen him break a single one. She'd also seen him raise his eyebrow in silent reproach when his siblings broke them with abandon.
As Scabbers munched on the bowl of leftovers that Molly had given Percy to feed his pet with, Percy diligently took out Bill's old books from his first year at Hogwarts and opened them to the last page to review and see if he'd retained all the information he'd studied the previous week. He intended to know enough by the time it was his turn to be sorted to be unable to fall behind in his first year and preferrably all the years to follow. Not to mention his ambitions to surpass his father's current position in the Ministry of Magic. He thought highly of him on one hand, after all he was managing to juggle a job with great responsibility AND be a loving father who never sent his children away because he was too busy or tired, but he did wonder why he hadn't got promoted in the time since he was capable of understanding such things. He shook his head again as he noticed his thoughts drifting and focussed on the page he drove himself to study.
Two days later, it was a Friday, when Molly stormed into the boys' room and started yelling at Charlie for his slovenly ways, not cleaning his side of the room - Percy's of course was immaculate, not that a speck of dust would DARE settle there - and not taking down even his last shirt and pants to be washed by her. As if she had the time to be tracking him down, like she had nothing better to do, after all she was only raising his five siblings while Bill was at school and he should know better as he was going there next year as well! When she was catching her breath, Charlie promised to take the laundry down right away and Molly only shook her finger at him once more before she left the room and returned to her duties downstairs. Percy could not suppress a smirk. Charlie had had this dressing down coming for weeks now and he felt satisfied that he had been put in his place. Until his brother started pelting him with the things stuck in between clothes - one of them being a slightly mouldy apple core. "No wonder your side is always so clean, you throw your trash into MY half! You can bloody throw it away yourself, you little neat-freak!" Charlie yelled at his younger brother before leaving a slightly stunned Percy holding an apple core with teeth marks spaced quite unlike his or his brother's teeth.
That evening, after the supper dishes were cleared away and his mother was busy getting his smaller siblings ready for bed, Percy went to the livingroom where his father was reading the "Daily Prophet". "Dad.. I was.. er.. wondering if I could ask you something," he hesitantly began. Arthur Weasly carefully folded the paper and put it down as he turned to his son. He knew that Percy would only approach him like this if the subject was sensitive and prepared for whatever it was that was bothering his offspring. "Dad, the other night I dreamed something and it was strange.. it felt as if it was really happening, but I figured it was part of the dream and didn't pay more attention. But today, I've had proof that it might have really happened and I need to know if you can tell if I'm going mad or something. I don't want to go to St. Mungo's.." At this point, Percy was on the verge of tears and Arthur made some calming noises, patting him gently on the head as he considered the problem. "Not St. Mungo's, son, definitely not. I think I may have a solution for this and after the next few nights, we should know if I'm right or not. Do you mind getting Charlie and Scabbers and waiting outside until I'm finished? The room needs to be empty for a few minutes and then everything will be in place. Don't mention this to your siblings or they may try to mess with it, will you?" Percy nodded, looking much calmer and wandered off to find his brother and his pet.
When the door to the Burrow had closed, Arthur went upstairs and told Molly to make sure the younger children stayed out of the immediate area of the boys' room and began a series of complicated wand movements that turned the doorframe, window and floor into a glowing red for a moment, until he had finished casting the spell. "Cognoscere infamiliaris!" he carefully enunciated and with a quiet "pop" the lit areas returned to normal.
It took three nights and much of Percy's nerves as he waited for whatever it was his father had put into place. It was nearly dawn, that dark time of the night when you can't see your own hand in front of your face, when the whole room was suddenly illuminated in red and a high screechy voice screamed plea after plea, begging to be freed, begging to be forgiven and a small mousy-looking man was thrashing on the floor, wrapped in red bindings the same color as the light in the room. Both Percy and Charlie stared wide-eyed at him until Arthur and Molly came rushing in, both with their wands out, aiming straight at the intruder. "Peter?" Molly incredulously said as she looked at Arthur. "I'll floo the Ministry immediately," he said, returning her surprised look.
A few minutes later, the house was brimming with Aurors and Ministry Officials and Peter Pettigrew was shackled and taken to the Ministry where the temporary charm binding his animagus powers would be turned into a permanent one. Subsequently he would stand trial for the betrayal of the Potter family and would spend the remainder of his natural life in Azkaban. Alastor Moody was already on the way there, with temporary release papers for one Sirius Black whose innocence required only one piece of further proof. During Pettigrew's trial, he was going to be given Veritaserum to confirm the facts as now presumed. Upon said confirmation, he would be released, his name would be cleared and he would be reimbursed for the years he had spent unfairly imprisoned.
Once the house was quiet again and only inhabited by the Weasly family, Molly and Arthur put the children back to bed.