Disclaimer: Last I checked, I still didn't own Harry Potter. The woman who's taking her bloody time does. You know who I'm talking about…J.K. Rowling…Yeah, her. All I own is the plot and some characters you don't recognize…There's not a lot. Just bit players where I made up names.
AN: Thanks to Darth Flirt for being the first and only reviewer so far! I didn't think anybody would review! It made me feel good. ^_^ OK, on to the story…The chapter might be shorter…I don't know how it's going to turn out. Oh! And that essay test I thought I bombed? I got a B! A B! Can you believe it? I guess unorganized me is good work. Sorry, I'll shut up now.
Chapter Two
The Beginning of the End.
Peter dressed quickly and ran down to the common room. The familiar halls seemed foreign. It had been so long, unless you count the time he had spent as a rat with the Weasly's. It was just as he remembered it when he was a Marauder. But, how? How was he here? Why? If this was a dream, he didn't want it to end. It probably was another torture from his master.
"James," he whispered. James Potter woke him up. "But he's dead."
A creak in the floorboards snapped him out of his daydream. "Talking to yourself, again, Peter?" a laughing, musical voice said. Peter whirled around facing whoever taunted him.
Lily. Beautiful Lily Evans. She stood there in all her glory, smiling down at him, since Peter had always been short, or she tall. Her auburn hair gleamed in the sunlight, accenting her green eyes.
"Lily," he squeaked. "Lily, you're-you're-"
"I'm what, Peter?" she asked with a perplexed expression on her face.
"You're dead…" he trailed off.
Lily frowned. What was wrong with him? "Did you have another nightmare, love?"
He shook his head. It would be wrong to ruin this perfect dream. So wrong. "No, but Lily, do me a favor, will you?"
She smiled again. "Of course, Peter. What is it?"
"Don't ever call me love again. I don't deserve it. I'll never deserve it." He left a perplexed Lily on the steps and went on down to the common room to meet up with James and grab some food with the guys.
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Peter was extremely nervous about seeing Remus and Sirius again. The last time he saw them was in the Shrieking Shack, and then they tried to kill him. Not a pleasant reunion. He wrung his hands, a habit he had picked up as a rat. He nodded absently to James' talk of Quidditch, Lily, and sneaking out to be with Remus the next full moon night.
Listen, he told himself severely. You betrayed this man, your best friend, and you can't even focus on his words.
"Peter, are you okay?" James asked with concern. Inward, Peter winced. James cared about him. Him. Peter. Wormtail. But, it didn't matter. After all, it was just a dream.
"I'm okay, James. I'm just-just tired is all."
"Ok, Um… Sirius said something about nicknames this morning, so, be prepared," he chuckled.
Peter nodded and stopped cold. "James, what year are we in?"
"Duh, dumbass, we're in seventh year. Tomorrow's out last day. Can you believe it? All that we've been through."
Peter swallowed hard. Yeah, he could believe it. He wrung his hands harder. Why was he worrying so much? Pretty soon, he'd wake up in his cold, dark room, having to face his master. Having to face his dark reality.
James swung the door to the Great Hall open and walked in with confidence oozing out of him. All the girls turned their heads and giggled. James took no notice, seeing as to how his heart was already taken. Remus jumped up at the end of the Gryffindor table and stood on his seat.
"Oy! You there! Mr. James Potter and Mr. Peter Pettigrew. We fine gentlemen, Mr. Sirius Black and I, Mr. Remus Lupin, request your attendance at this end of the table."
The girls giggled even harder as Remus toppled off of his seat and into the Shepard's pie. James smile grew even brighter as he saw Sirius put his wand discreetly away. He led Peter to their 'reserved' seats and sat down.
"Very funny, Padfoot," Remus said, quietly, laughing at the mess he made.
James had a very puzzled look on his face. He looked at Peter, who looked quite sick, to see if he knew about these pet names.
"Yeah, I forgot to tell you," Sirius began. "We thought that we needed names. Us being Marauders and all. I'm Padfoot, Remus is Moony for obvious reasons, and you guys are-"
Peter interrupted him. "Let me guess, he's Prongs and I get to be Wormtail because my tail looks like a worm."
Remus and Sirius stared at him with open mouths. "How'd you know?" Sirius said.
"I'm getting good grades in Divinations. What can I say?"
"You? Getting good grades? I'm shocked," Sirius pretended to faint. Peter smiled bright. This was Sirius. Not the Sirius he saw at the Shrieking Shack. And, that was Remus, his other best friend. An energetic, young man, not a tired, old werewolf. And, there, sitting beside him, was James Potter. Before that fateful Halloween night. Before I betrayed him, Peter thought bitterly. These are my best friends. They would die for me. Just as I would do for them.
They walked out to their next class and pushed each other as young men do, joking around.
"Guys, you want to skip? I mean, we've already passed the tests. It's just a 'study hall'. We could go to the lake and just talk," Remus said.
It was decided that they would all go sit at the lake with a packed lunch and talk about the future. Apparently, everybody else thought that was a good idea, also. The lake was full of seventh years conjugating in groups. They found a spot near the shade of an old oak and sat down.
"What do you want to be, Prongs?" Moony asked.
"My dad was an Auror. My mum was an Auror. What else can I be? I have it in my blood. Can't get it out. It's not like it's pushed on me. I want to be one with all my heart. I want to stop You-Know-Who."
You're going to be a great Auror, Wormtail thought. You're going to be so great, that he'll fear you. And, you're son will bring him down. Thanks to Lily's charm.
"What about you, Moony?" Padfoot asked.
"Well, you know because of my condition, I can't get a good job. But, Dumbledore approached me yesterday with a job offer. He told me it would help in the war effort. I want to do it. I think I will."
"What is it?" Wormtail asked curiously.
Moony smiled. "It's a secret organization. It's like the Aurors, only with more confusing secrets and really cool passwords."
Wormtail shook his head. Oh, Remus, the pain and loneliness you'll know. I'm sorry.
"Huh…" Padfoot began. "I'm going to be an Auror with James. We'll be partners. You, too, Wormtail, if you want. We'll be the best in the history of magic. Won't we guys?"
"Of course. How can a guy go wrong with friends like you?" Prongs said.
Wormtail winced. I can tell you James. I know how wrong you can get.
"I don't know about you guys," Wormtail said. "But, I'm going to be the one getting the chicks."
Peter, now called Wormtail in good humor, watched his friends laugh and joke. He had long ago decided that this wasn't a dream. He could smell the food, taste it. He felt it when Sirius punched him playfully on the shoulder. He could feel the texture of the pumpkin juice as Remus 'accidentally' dumped it on his head. He knew what fate had given him a chance for. Was he going to take it? Yes. Yes, he was. He would change the past. He would change the future. He now saw how much his friends loved him. And, he loved them, too.
He would not pay the price for glory. It was too much, and it could never replace what he now had.
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AN: So, tell me what you guys think! REVIEW! Again, thanks to Darth Flirt for reviewing!