Disclaimer: As much as I would love to own Harry Potter . . . or a certain George Weasley . . . I do not and will never own a thing.

Oh The Things We'll See

It was just supposed to be a trip to the library, but ended up to be so much more. The four Marauders take a ride through the future, each to discover that life after Hogwarts isn't how they imagined it to be, and sometimes, the things that you want and think that you need, really come from the struggles that we survive.

"Well," Remus said, sticking his hands in his pockets as he got to his feet, his friends standing behind him. "This is quite an interesting place."

There was something about the room that made the boys shudder. Flower print wallpaper peeled from the walls, and thick layers of dust and dirt coated the floors. Many large stacks of newspapers were piled against the walls, making it almost impossible to find your way through the room. At the corner of the room, towering high above the stacks and stacks of papers was a large, Victorian looking bird cage, complete with three chirping parakeets inside of it. What frightened the boys was what the tags said underneath the large cage.

"Sirius, James, and Remus," Sirius said in a whisper, horrified at what he saw.

James and Remus moved forward, poking their heads past the newspapers in front of them. In the far side of the room, a torn light pink quilt spread across the dirty floor, and on top of it was a scruffy looking man; his untidy brunette hair sticking in all directions, and an aged brown suit stretched across his plump body.

"Not what I imagined him to be," James commented as he watched the older Peter shoving a piece of cheese into his mouth, and then picking up a tiny piece for the bird sitting next to him. "You really let yourself go."

Peter moved closer to James, his eyes growing wide at what he saw before him. "But-" he said softly, "This isn't how I pictured my life to be. Never."

For some strange reason, Sirius, James, and Remus actually felt sorry for their friend. Of all of the bad things that they had witnessed that day, none of them could compare to this that what they were witnessing now. Peter was alone. He was poor. The only company he had were the three birds, which strangely, were named after his three best friends. He had no wife. He had no family. He had nothing but the mere memory of his friends, and the large photo album that they put together in their 7th year for his birthday.

Pulling the large album from a table in the corner, Peter sat it in front of him, flipping open the book and turning to the first page which was covered in pictures from the Marauders first year at Hogwarts. Occasionally, he would giggle to himself as he looked through the pictures, and then stare endlessly at the people that he had once called his friends.

Remus sighed heavily, watching from behind the rest of the group. "I'm terribly sorry Wormatil,"

"What for?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders. "For ever letting you get this way."

Peter smiled weakly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "You're a good friend, Moony."

"Sirius!" The older Peter yelped as the birds in the cage began to violently pick at each other, their food and water flying from the cage. "Be nice to James!"

James and Sirius chuckled at this as they watched Peter pull himself off the floor and attempt to separate the birds.

"Stop fighting! Stop it! Remus," Peter looked down at the bird, who was pecking away at the photo album. "Stop doing that! You're wrecking daddy's pictures."

"Well," Remus said, taking one giant step away from Peter. "now if that wasn't creepy-"

Peter lowered his head, his eyes shut tight and his bottom lip quivering. "I'm always the unlucky one." he said softly, almost in a whisper. The older version of Peter was now on the floor hugging his knees to his chest, softly humming some sort of lullaby as he rocked himself, back and forth.

Remus shook his head. "That's not true, Wormtail."

"Yes it is, Remus." Peter said, looking over at the man that was sitting on the floor. "I have nothing. No wife. No children to carry on my name. I don't have what the rest of you had. I don't once get to feel what love feels like. I'm just going to die alone, with nothing but those bloody birds that I replaced my friends with."

The three boys looked over at the rocking man, and then back at Peter. It was true. Even though they might not have had the happiest life's, at one point in time they did indeed feel something close to love. That wasn't true for Peter.

Just then, the large man sitting on the floor let out a loud wail, causing the boys to jump in fright. "Oh, my f-friends, why'd you h-have to leave m-me? W-Where did I g-go wrong?"

It was then that the Marauders noticed the piece of paper that stuck out from the photo album, the name 'Wormtail' in the left hand corner. Sirius moved closer to the book, squinting down at the letter on the floor in front of him.

Wormtail,

Hello there, old friend. How is life treating you? I hope that everything is going well. Remus and James wish the same. Can you believe that our boys have finally found women who can actually put up with them? I can't believe it, either.

Truth be told, I'm actually feeling a little jealous of them. Ah, but I shouldn't. I, too, have found the most outstanding woman. Her name is Annabella Paterson, soon to be Mrs. Annabella Black. Yes, I have finally decided that I want to take the next step in our relationship and finally ask for her hand in marriage.

Ah, but enough of my rambling, have you been as lucky as the three of us? I can only hope that you have. How are things with that woman that you met at the pub? Her name was Victoria, wasn't it? She was quite the keeper. A bit of a drunk, but quite a unique woman.

You know, Wormtail, we're practically like brothers, and being your brother, I want the very best for you. But I don't want you to feel as though you're alone. You always have us. Always. Ah, here I am, going all sappy and such. I just want you to know that even though we may not be there with you, you'll always be the one person that made us, the Marauders, complete.

The best of wishes in everything that you do,

Sirius Black

Sirius moved back to his friends, a small frown on his face. "Poor bloke," he said softly, shoving his hands in his pockets, "we were off getting married and falling in love, and he was sitting here, mourning over the friends that he lost."

Remus and James lowered their heads, the sounds of weeping echoing through out the room.

"I think we've seen just about enough." James said, reaching into his pocket and removing the book from his pocket. In one swift movement, Peter took the book from James' hand, pressing it against his chest.

"Wait a second," he said softly, "I need you to promise me something before we go back to Hogwarts."

James sighed. "What do you want us to promise you?"

Peter looked at the man weeping on the floor, and then at his surroundings. "Please, I need you to promise me that you'll never let me get this way. Promise me that I'll never end up like this. Ever."

Remus, Sirius, and James nodded.

Sliding the book back into James' hand, Peter moved closer to his friends, looking back one last time at the future that he had hoped that would never happen. James, Remus, and Sirius did the same, each hoping that now, after seeing what truly happened in the future, that they could prevent something that would ruin their lives later down the road.

"On the count of three," James said, taking a deep breath. "One . . . two . . . three!"

At once, the four Marauders yelled, "Take us home!"

Author's Note: Hey there! I can't believe it, but the next chapter will unfortunately be the last. I really really enjoyed writing this story, and I also enjoyed all of the reviews I got. A big thanks to everyone that has reviewed thus far, or is planning on reviewing this chapter!

Jess

JohnMayer1207- lol aw, I'm sorry that I let you down. But hey, you did say that you wanted Peter's life to suck . . . and it did! lol that made me laugh. Thanks for reviewing!

CapnSilver- You know that I had to add you in Remus' future. I mean, you two so belong together. lol. Aw, you're a fantastic author, too. Thanks a bunch for reviewing! Can't wait to read more of your story!

spygirl4747- I actually thought about making Peter a death eater when they visited his future, but then I got this idea. Peter was alone, with no family or wife, and being without his friends for so long had made him go a little insane. That's where the death eater future fits in, but much later. Thanks for reviewing! I really appreciate it!

PrincessAngelFace09- Aw, thanks a lot! That was really sweet. I'm glad that you like it :D.