Two days after the boys finished their final year at Hogwarts they were back in Dumbledore's office, preparing to join The Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore had called them to the school while James and Sirius were preparing to apply for auror training. Peter had just applied for an apprenticeship at St. Mungos with Lily, and Remus had been wondering what a werewolf could do in the wizarding world. It was like so many times before, sitting in front of Dumbledore's desk waiting for him to speak, almost as if they were waiting for detention.

Dumbledore looked at them and said, "Each of you would have your roles, which I will explain to you privately. I need all of you to understand that certain information will remain between us and some will be shared with the entire Order. All of you will serve important roles in this war."

The Marauders had already accepted that being an active part of the war might drive them apart. They just knew they needed to help, the boys couldn't allow Voldemort to continue without at least trying to fight. The boys knew any reservations they had against this were superficial, except Peter. Peter was certain he had a reason not to join this war. He thought that he would be doing Dumbledore a favor if he didn't fight, but he had to save his friends from Voldemort.

Peter couldn't stop thinking about when Voldemort had come into the dorm and threatened him and the other Marauders. It was like his safe place had been defiled and he couldn't talk to anyone about it leaving him to try and figure out the situation alone. Eventually, Dumbledore ushered everyone out of his office and told them to enjoy themselves while they could.

"C'mon let's go to Hogsmeade," James announced cheerfully, obviously compartmentalizing the heavier topic for a later date.

Sirius took his cues from James and grabbed Remus' hand saying, "Yeah I bet Rosmerta is desperately missing us. Plus, she never could get enough of my ravishing good looks."

Remus just rolled his eyes and slapped the back of his boyfriend's head affectionately. Peter laughed along with the rest of his friends, his mind still in the dorm with Voldemort.

They got to Three Broomsticks and sat down, while James ordered drinks. The pub was quiet when the Hogwarts students weren't there, and the boys had settled into silence. Soon, James returned with his high energy, three fire whiskeys, and a butterbeer.

Sirius broke the silence with, "Are we actually still allowing Moons to go with just butterbeer? Dammit, James! We are trying to teach him how to live here! You are not helping!"

"Your right I should go back to the counter, tell Rosmerta she made a mistake," James responded with a smirk.

Remus just shook his head and grumbled, "Shut up, you gits."

Spirits lifted for a while, and they all forgot about the horrors happening in the outside world. Until they saw the newspaper, The Daily Prophet, which detailed all of the atrocities that were committed in the real world. That put a damper on the rest of the evening. James tried to lift their spirits and get them to think about something happier for an hour, sadly it was a lost cause. Soon the boys went home to their shared flat and went off to bed with minimal conversation.

The next morning, Remus left for what he referred to as important Order business and told them he would be gone for a while. Sirius and he must have spoken about it the night before because Sirius just grabbed the smaller man and kissed him before Remus walked out the door. James hugged Remus and told him to be careful. Peter hugged him but had no words to say, he just hoped that Voldemort would follow their deal.

Of all of them, Sirius was having the hardest time with Remus' absence and after four days he looked ready to explode with worry. He was fighting with James constantly, claiming that he couldn't understand because Lily hadn't been sent off anywhere. Both Peter and Lily tried to stay out of his way, but James was determined to help his friend, even if it only caused more tension.

It was the sixth day when Dumbledore called Peter to his office. Peter apparated into Hogsmeade and tried to convince himself that there was no way Dumbledore knew about Voldemort. If he had, all of the Marauders would have been taken or dead by now. So he walked into Hogwarts full of apprehension and stress. He followed the familiar path to Dumbledore's office and found the man pacing in front of the gargoyle, waiting.

"Hello Peter," The silver-haired man said, "Come in."

Peter sat down before saying politely, "Good morning professor, was there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes Peter, I had a job for you," Peter was shocked by this announcement, as he was certain he would be the least useful Marauder, "I know that you have been accepted into the St. Mungos apprentice program and I hoped you would be able to visit a certain patient by the name of Antonin Dolohov. You see this man happens to have some information that would be pertinent for The Order to know. Maybe bring him some flowers, and have him drink this potion it will certainly loosen his tongue."

Peter nodded, Dumbledore winked; both men stood and shook hands. Dumbledore then led Peter to the heavy wooden door and Peter left. When he got to Hogsmeade instead of apparating back home, Peter went to Diagon Alley. He walked into The Leaky Cauldron, ordered a drink, and took out the parchment Voldemort had given him. He wasn't sure how long he sat there staring at the heavy paper, but after what felt like hours but could have only been minutes the parchment darkened. It looked as if someone had spilled ink on it, yet Peter knew this was something much more sinister as he watched the black smudges form into a skull and a snake. Not only that but it also began to heat until it could no longer be ignored.

Peter stood and left the pub, walking into the street he saw a man. The man was wearing all black, and Peter knew this person was sent for him. He hesitated when the man saw him, not knowing quite what to do. The man gestured for Peter to follow before walking away, so fast that Peter was running behind him. They soon came to Knockturn Alley, a place most wizards, including Peter, avoided at all costs. He crossed the threshold of the area and was led to an inn.

The man turned and gruffly said, "Go. Up. He's waiting for you."

Peter nodded and started the climb up the stairs. When he reached the top stair he looked back and briefly entertained the idea of leaving, but he knew he had to keep his friends safe. He knew he had to face who was sitting behind the dark wood door. So Peter reached out and grasped the silver doorknob, only giving himself a moment to think about how much Remus would hate this place, and pushed the door open.

"Hello Peter," A voice whispered.

Peter turned to find its source but could see one. He appeared to be alone in an empty room.

Then a pale man materialized in front of him and spoke, "You know, it's impolite to ignore your host when they greet you, don't worry I will teach you manners in time. Starting with when you report to a superior. I need to know when that old bat, Dumbledore, sends you on missions it would be easier for both of us if you just told me."

With that, Peter heard a muttered spell, and he was thrown across the room.

He sat on the floor as Voldemort approached him and growled, "You will stand when I am in the room until I tell you otherwise. For now, I will not punish you, if you tell me what Dumbledore wants."

Peter dragged himself off the floor before stuttering out, "Y-yes sir. Dumbledore j-j-just w-wanted me to f-find D-d-d-dolohov in St. M-m-mungos and find out w-w-what he knows."

"Very good, Peter, go ask Dolohov what he knows and tell Dumbledore what you find, it wouldn't do for your first mission to fail, now would it?" Voldemort asked.

"Y-yes, sir."

Peter ran out of the inn, as fast as possible and apparated into his room at the flat, pacing for a while before lying down, wide awake. He couldn't sleep, thinking about what he would have to do the next day, so he lay there all night staring at the ceiling.