Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters from that wonderful series. They are the delightful creations of the genius J.K. Rowling, who is giving us book 5 on June 21!

Note: Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed, especially with suggestions for me. I am using * to indicate italics, since they didn't show up in Chapter 1. This chapter is Peter's story. You may wonder why I included Peter in the "Old Crowd." Obviously he isn't still part of this exclusive club, but at the time of Lily and James' deaths I think he may have been considered their ally. At any rate, it is interesting to look at things from his point of view, no matter how deranged that POV may be.

~Peter's Painful Week (Or was it?)~

Peter Pettigrew struggled to hide the feeling of triumph he had been almost overwhelmed with since the day before. He knew he couldn't let this emotion show at all, for Lily and James were clever wizards. At any sign that Peter was untrustworthy could stop the little wretch from performing the Fidelius Charm that would make him the keeper of their most precious secret, the whereabouts of their young son, Harry.

He tried to put on a face that showed his bravery, but he let his hands tremble a bit. He knew it was from anxiety, but Lily and James would merely think him nervous, so he allowed them to shake.

"Are you ready, Peter?" Lily asked gently.

Peter nodded, looking into her sad eyes.

"I can't tell you how grateful James and I are that you would do this for us," she continued, giving Peter a hug. He embraced her back, but he got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. When she pulled back, he avoided her eyes.

James grasped Peter's hand in a firm handshake. "Thank you, for giving up your normal life for us, and for Harry."

Peter nodded again, this time, casting a glance to Harry's sleeping form lying only a few feet away. "You're quite welcome you know," he said briskly. "Anything for the two of you. Shall we get on with it?"

Lily smiled. "Yes, we mustn't waste time." She briefly explained to Peter how the extremely advanced charm worked, but it was too complicated for him to follow. He knew all he needed to know: that once Lily (always excellent at charm work) performed the spell, her secret would be kept within him. The Potters would be impossible to find unless he chose to divulge the information. Then it would be possible for anyone to track them down. He nodded, pretending to understand her technical explanation, and when she finished, she told him to stand perfectly still while she performed the spell.

He closed his eyes tightly and exercised all of his self-control to stay still. While he waited anxiously, James backed away and Lily began muttering and pointed her wand at Peter. A flash of white light shone brightly, even through his firmly closed eyelids. Then he felt something like the weight of a brick settle in his midsection.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. "It worked," Lily said, her emerald eyes flashing with defiance. "We'll be safe now."

James picked up the sleeping Harry, took his wife's hand, and said, "We'll be off now, Wormtail. You had better get to your hideout, too. Stay safe, my friend." With these words, the entire family apparated away. Peter stood laughing madly before he apparated away as well.

The next day, Peter knelt before his master, smiling more broadly than he ever had in his entire, miserable life. His master, cloaked in darkness, did not comment on this phenomenon, but asked, "Any news about the Potters, Wormtail?"

"Yes, master," Peter said, looking up into the red eyes of his lord. "They have had the Fidelius Charm performed."

"Your task then, Wormtail, is still to find their Secret-Keeper and deliver him to me!"

"My lord, the Potters have made me their Secret-Keeper," he blurted out. He looked triumphantly at the Dark Lord, whose evil grin slowly grew so that, grotesquely, it seemed to take over his face.

"Well, well," the evil grin said, rubbing its hands together. "That is an interesting development. I see they are not sure whom to trust anymore. That is excellent." He turned his back on Peter, his cloak trailing behind. Peter scurried after his master, still on his knees.

"I must begin making plans for our attack, Wormtail, now that I know I will have no trouble finding their location. You must return to wherever they are keeping you safe and not arouse any suspicion. I will call you in the usual way when I am ready," the master said, keeping his back to Peter.

Peter unconsciously fingered the mark on his arm, disappointed. He had been so proud to deliver the Potters to his master, but his master had been more interested in the information than that Peter had gotten it for him. He tried, as he apparated back to his safe house, to console himself that with this new information came a lot of plans that had to be made and there wasn't time for praise. By the time he was settling in for bed, he had convinced himself that this was the case and that after baby Harry's demise, Peter Pettigrew would be a name all other Death Eaters feared and admired. Soon, he fell asleep and dreamed of the glory that would be his.

During the next week, Peter was extremely anxious. He didn't know how long he could keep up appearances while he waited for the Dark Lord to hatch a plan and Sirius had indicated that he would be checking in on him about a week after he had been made the Secret-Keeper. His anxiety wasn't helped by the fact that he couldn't go out into the wizarding world. His friends thought he was hiding from Voldemort, but he was really hiding from them. He knew he wouldn't see Lily and James anywhere, (*I may not ever see them again*, he thought with a pang), but if Sirius saw any suspicious behavior, the whole plan could be ruined. So as Peter paced impatiently waiting for action, he hoped the Dark Lord had almost completed the plan.

It was the eighth day after the charm had been performed that Peter felt the Dark Mark on his arm burn. He cursed the timing, because of Sirius' impending visit, but there was nothing to be done but heed the Dark Lord's call and hope that Sirius would be delayed until the deed was done, so Peter apparated out of his house.

"Good to see you, Wormtail," the Dark Lord smirked.

Peter nodded. "Y-you, t-too, Master."

"I am now ready to find the Potters and destroy the little boy they hold so dear. All I need from you is their present location, devoted Secret- Keeper." The robed figure began to laugh in a very high pitched, thin voice. Peter knew he was supposed to share in his master's mirth, so he forced himself to chuckle. He didn't know why all of a sudden he wasn't feeling so great.

The Dark Lord stopped laughing and looked closely at Peter. Feeling very uncomfortable, he managed to say, "They're in Godric's Hollow. Lily, James and baby Harry." He struggled to look straight into his master's fiery red eyes, which glowed with an anticipation Peter had not seen in the year that he had been serving his master.

"Good. I will be off then, Wormtail. I want you to wait here until I return." Without another word, the cloaked figure disappeared and left Peter alone in the near dark. He tried to sleep, but he kept reliving the events leading up to him becoming James and Lily's Secret-Keeper.

*Peter knelt in front of the Dark Lord he served. "The P-Potters have told me they are going into hiding, but they have n-not told me who their Secret- Keeper will be."

"Do you think they suspect you Wormtail?" his master mused.

Shaking his head vigorously, Peter answered, "No, master, I have b-been very careful. A-and I know they just want to keep Harry as safe as p- possible."

A shrill laugh emitted from under the Dark Lord's hood. "Have you been careful, Wormtail? I don't doubt you have done your best, but.I think you are right, that the Potters are just out to protect their son the best they can. Too bad for them it will not be good enough. You will find their Secret-Keeper and bring him to me, Wormtail."

"Yes, master," Peter said, bowing his head to the ground. "I suspect it will be S-Sirius Black, but I will f-find out, my lord."

"I am not interested in suspicions, Wormtail. Go now, and do not return until the Fidelius Charm has been performed."

A few hours later, there was a knock at Peter's door. Rubbing his eyes, he rose to answer it, but before he could get there, Sirius had burst in, his long hair a mess. "What's up, Padfoot?" Peter yawned.

"We need your help," Sirius said, grabbing Peter's shoulder. "Lily, James, Harry and I."

Concerned, Peter nodded. "Sure, anything you guys need. But sit down before you collapse, Padfoot."

Sirius shook his head. "I can't, I have to get back. But I need to ask you a favor." He looked into Peter's watery blue eyes. "Will you be James and Lily's Secret-Keeper?"

For a moment Peter was speechless. This was too good to be true, but he knew he had to play the part of concerned and devoted friend, so quickly he recovered and said, "Of course, Sirius, you know I'd be glad to. F-Forgive my surprise, but I assumed you would be their Secret-Keeper."

"And I was going to be, until I thought about how easy it would be for Voldemort"- Peter shuddered-"to figure it out as well. So I convinced the others that they should use you. You are a friend who is just as devoted and loyal as I, but with a bit less risk," Sirius replied honestly. "So you'll do it?"

Peter smiled at his old friend. "Padfoot, you know I am honored by this request. J-Just tell me when and where to be for the performance of the spell and I'll be there."

Sirius, visibly relieved, answered, "Tomorrow, at this time, you'll receive an owl directing you where to go." He smiled. "Thank you, Wormtail, you are.the best friend a man can have." Giving Peter a quick embrace, he saluted and disappeared.*

From that moment on, Peter had known he held the key to the Potters' downfall and his master's world domination. As he waited sleeplessly for the Dark Lord's return, he tried to speculate the reason that his master desired Harry Potter's death. The boy was, after all, barely a year old, but of course Peter hadn't dared to question the Dark Lord's motive. James and Lily Potter were strong wizards, nobody could deny that, especially Peter, who they had gotten through Hogwarts, but could the good genes Harry had gotten be the sole reason for his upcoming demise? Even Peter doubted that. But what could it be? As the hours went by, he didn't find an answer, but sleep found him.

When Peter opened his eyes, he could sense that it was morning, even though no light penetrated the Dark Lord's hideout. Ashamed to be caught asleep, he sat up quickly, but to his surprise no one else was there. In fact, it looked like his master had not yet returned.

*How could this be?* Peter thought in a panic. *Where is my master? Surely it wouldn't take all night to kill a baby!*

Peter didn't know what to do: whether it would be better to wait, as he had been ordered, or to go and look for his master and perhaps save him from danger. He puzzled about this dilemma for another half an hour when he heard a screech from above him and looked up, only to have a newspaper hit him square in the face. He reached into his pocket for a knut to give the bird, but it was gone. Shrugging at the owl's odd behavior, he opened the paper to see what the day's headline was. Gasping for air, he dropped *The Daily Prophet* as if it were burning his hands. He stood for a long while, staring at the headline that certainly spelled his doom.

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Defeated by Baby Potter: His parents are killed, but the boy lives!"

Within an hour, Peter had read the entire article several times and realized that he was going to be facing the anger of Sirius for betraying Lily and James and the anger of the other death eaters for sending their master into what had turned out to be his downfall. The way he saw it, he had only one option left if he wanted to get out of the situation alive. Without further delay, he had used dark magic to determine Sirius' present position and was on his way there.

Sirius Black was walking down a street in Muggle London. From a bit of a distance, Peter watched him stalk down the road, his unkempt hair flaring behind, tears streaming down his face and a crazy look in his eyes. When Sirius was almost upon him, Peter chose to reveal himself.

"I've been looking for you, Sirius!" he announced loudly.

Sirius' eyes burned with hatred. "You- you-." He was too mad to speak, but not too mad to pull out his wand and point it directly at Peter. "This is for Lily, James and Harry," he said quietly.

But Peter acted quickly, much more so than he ever had before. Pretending to sob, he yelled loudly, "Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?" Then he blew up the entire street with the wand he had concealed behind his back, and in the ensuing confusion he reluctantly cut off his right index finger and turned into a rat. He scuttled out of sight, but before he left he saw a young man from the Ministry of Magic arrive. Sure that Sirius would be caught and charged with Peter's own crimes, he scurried down into the sewers.

Without more of a plan than to lay low for awhile (*Who knows if the Ministry will believe Black's claim that I am an animagus? * Peter thought), he tried to join a group of rats in the dampness, but they sensed something was amiss with him and scattered. Realizing that living with the rats was not going to be an option not only because they didn't like him, but also because he would be utterly unconnected to the wizarding world, Peter decided that once things had blown over a bit, and no one was likely to be looking for a rat, he would find a wizard family to take him in. That way he could keep up on the news while staying undercover. Suddenly, he got very tired and retreated into a crack to get some sleep. He didn't know exactly what his future would bring, but for the moment, he had emerged victorious.