Lightning flashed through the sky.
Thunder rumbled.

Rain slapped hard against the cold stone walls of Azkaban prison, where Peter Pettigrew was sitting in the corner, cowering and murmuring nonsense to himself.

How had he gotten caught? He remembered that fateful day nearly two years ago, when he was taken by Albus Dumbledore and forced back into human form. He forced himself again, to relive that painful memory, as it was the only thing binding him to sanity.

"Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore beamed at young Ron, "may I see your rat for a moment?"

"Why, sure, Professor," the freckled boy stammered nervously. He went to grab Pettigrew.
Oh no! He remembered thinking. I'm doomed, they're sure to catch me! He tried making a run for it, and managed to get out of the Great Hall before he was cornered. Once he was stupified, and carried back to Dumbledore's office, he was transformed.

Once they- Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape- interrogated him, discovered his plan, how he had somehow escaped and frame Sirius Black, they immediately summoned the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. After the bowler hat-twirling politician arrived, they gave him Veritaserum, (which Snape had administered with a look of deepest disgust at Pettigrew), and he confirmed everything to the Minister he said previously. Fudge was shocked.

"But-how…." he stammered. "Merlin's beard...this is simply incredible..However did you discover it, Dumbledore?"

The headmaster beamed with a twinkle in his eyes. "I have my ways…."

Another lightning bolt flashed through the sky and Pettigrew sat up. It had been six hundred and seventy two days since he arrived here. The dementors were close to making him lose it altogether.

But through the lightning, another shape emerged- an owl. Pettigrew thought it odd that an owl could make it all the way out here.

He squinted through the bars in his window, rain pattering on his nose, when the owl squeezed through and dropped a letter in Peter's cell.

Bewildered, he picked it up, as the owl managed to get back through the bars and fly off into the night. He squinted at the handwriting, it was difficult to read because it was soaked in water.

Dear Mr. Pettigrew.

The Dark Lord lives. You can find him currently in the forests of Albania.

Escape, find him, and you shall be honored among Death Eaters.

You were discovered by 8 individuals with a unique gift, their ringleader Edward Pattinson. You can find him at Hogwarts.

Transform into a rat, and you will be able to escape that way.

Signed,

The name was smudged out because the water had almost ripped the bottom half of the letter apart. Nevertheless, Pettigrew had his motivation back. He was going to escape. He was going to kill this Eddie Pattinson. This letter had inspired him to do so. With that, he slipped back into his rat disguise, through the bars, into the rough waters below, and began the long, treacherous journey back to the mainland.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was a hot July day.

Eddie had his hands on his knees, sweating, crouched behind a tree in a rather intense game of hide and seek. With Hannah, Justin, Ernie, and Susan invited over, there was only two people left to be found- him and Sean.

Then a noise in the distance. It sounded like the snapping of a twig or crunching of a leaf. It didn't matter what it was. Eddie wasn't taking chances. He dashed out from behind his spot and sprinted in the opposite direction. He turned his head to look and- flop. He had tripped on something rather bumpy and fell to the ground.

He looked at the object of his self-embarrassment, when he realized that it was a chest.

A wooden and gold chest like you'd see in Minecraft or Fortnite, no less. Eddie smiled reminiscently at the games of his past life.

He almost called the others over, but decided to wait until Sean was found. Victory and treasure was a solid two-for-one deal. A few minutes later, triumphant shrieks rose up from a clearing not too far away. The game was over. He had won.

"Eddie!" Nathan called. "The game's over!"

"I know!" he shouted back. "Y'all come here, I found something!"

Eventually, the eleven of them made their way to Eddie.
"Look at that!" Eddie pointed at the chest.
"What is it?" Susan asked.
"It's a treasure chest!" Ernie said, eyes wide.

"Well don't just stand around!" Sean said. "Let's open it!" And so they did. It was hard work trying to dig the chest out, but they managed it.

No less than ten thousand galleons spilled out of it. Their eyes gleamed. This was incredible. The Bringer of Balance hadn't told them about this!

They figured it was only fair to split their findings, so they each took nine hundred galleons, leaving the other hundred to Eddie, as he had found it.

But that wasn't all. At the bottom of the chest lay eight signed Hogsmeade permission notes, with the names of their real-life parents on them. Confused, Eddie picked them up and handed them to the rest of the Fateful Eight.

"Guess we get to go to Hogsmeade now," he told them.