For the Triwizard Competition (pairing: Peter/Lily; Quote: "The love that lasts the longest is the love that is never returned." –W. Somerset Maugham; Word: Hope; Emotion: Desperation); the Pairing Diversity Bootcamp (19. bribe); the If You Dare Challenge (68. Cross-bred) and the 10 Times 10 Challenge (spell: Morsmodre)

She was laughing.

It was something Peter had never thought he would have the opportunity to hear. Almost all the time he spent in her presence consisted of James asking her out, and her yelling at James. And now – now he finally had the opportunity to hear her laugh.

That fact should have made him happy, not heartbroken.

But the truth was, as long as Lily Evans was looking at James disdainfully, there was also no chance that she was going to give James' attempts to date her the time of day. It meant that, however stupid, Peter could have some hope that she would one day notice him, the sidekick.

Of course, now that he was listening to her laugh at James' joke, it meant that all of those hopes were dashed to pieces.

Peter Pettigrew had nothing to offer her that James could not. James was the handsome, talented, clever and rich pureblood boy. He had everything in the world to give to Lily, and all Peter had was his love.

And, truth be told, even that could not defeat the love and devotion that James offered Lily.

It had been nearly two years since James had started dating Lily, and time had not dulled Peter's feelings for the red-heads even the slightest.

"Pete, you still haven't told me what you think!" James exclaimed, drawing Peter from his thoughts. It was sort of ironic, he thought, that was standing and thinking about how much he loved Lily while his best friend was searching for the perfect engagement ring for the same girl.

Two years ago, he had known that he could never have her. But even though he knew that, watching James pick out a ring for the girl he was in love with still sent a stab of agony through his heart.

But Peter was a good friend, not the type of person who would destroy his friend's happiness by letting him know how he felt. So he smiled, pointed at the most exquisite ring he could see, a gorgeous diamond set in dainty gold filigree. "That one," he murmured. "That one will be perfect for her."

None of the other three boys noticed the slightly desolate tone in Peter's voice, instead choosing to gape over the perfection of the ring he had pointed out.

"Thanks, Pete!" James said happily, calling the jeweller over to pack the ring in question.

That was the day that the first seed of hatred was planted in Peter's heart. It was one thing that James had stolen the girl of his dreams – Peter could forgive it, considering the fact that James had no idea that Peter felt that way about Lily. But that day showed him very obviously that none of the three boys who were supposed to be his best friends noticed his moods, thinking only of themselves and each other.

Peter was supposed to be their best friend, but that day made him think that he was nothing more than a disposable follower.

The wand pointed at his heart made Peter stop breathing for a moment.

He closed his eyes, preparing himself for the end. There was no way that a Death Eater would spare the life of an Order member.

And then…

"Well, well, well," the voice behind the white mask murmured in surprise, "If it isn't Peter Pettigrew. Tell me Peter, did you ever grow tired of being nothing more than a senseless follower for those fools you call your friends?"

"W-What?" Peter blubbered in shock. "How do you know me?"

"Now, now, I'm hurt," the voice replied. Peter could almost hear the smirk in his tone. "We were at Hogwarts together, after all."

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice slightly stronger. It didn't seem like the Death Eater was going to kill him any time soon, and it gave him some confidence.

"That's not important, Pettigrew," the voice said dismissively. "You have potential. If you ever realise what a fool your precious Order is playing you for, well…" The man pulled out a little scrap of parchment from his robes, holding it out towards Peter. "If you ever see the light, all you need to do is say the words 'I pledge my allegiance to the Dark Lord.' You'll be transported to someone who will sort out all the other details."

Peter took the parchment, hand shaking in fear and desperation. Refusing it would undoubtedly result in his death, and that wasn't something he would choose if was given the chance.

"Oh and, Pettigrew?" the man called as he walked away, getting ready to disapparate. "Don't try to use that a way to bring the Order to us. It won't work unless you mean it, and we'll know if you try to use it to help Dumbledore's little band of morons. And trust me, you won't like the consequences."

Before Peter could find a way to reply, the man was gone.

Peter played with the scrap of parchment he had been given by the unknown Death Eater. The last month had been rough of the Order of the Phoenix and the people on the side of the Light in general.

They had lost Benjy Fenwick and Dorcas Meadows, and if Moody and his Auror trainees had not gotten there in time, they would have lost Fabian Prewett and Marlene MacKinnon too.

The only shard of hope in the dark times had been James and Lily's engagement. At least, it had been for everyone else. For Peter, it had only been another reason to sink into depression and hopelessness.

There was no reason for him to stay with the Order. There was nothing unique for him to contribute, and if the events of the past month were any indication, there was no hope of them winning the war.

Lily…he pictured the beautiful red-head in his mind. If she knew what he was about to do, there was no doubt that she would despise every fibre of his being with a passion. Severus Snape was greatest proof he needed of that.

Had she loved him back, maybe he would have stayed despite every indication that it was a bad choice. But even though he loved her with all he had, she would never return his feelings.

He wasn't needed by the Light.

And if there was one thing that he knew, it was that there was a high chance that she would die during the war. Not even James, with all his talents and riches, would be able to protect her from the Dark Lord – she a Muggleborn, and that was enough to sign her death sentence.

Maybe – maybe if he was able to rise high enough within the Death Eater ranks, he would be able to convince the Dark Lord to let her live. It was the one chance that Peter had to do something for Lily that James was incapable of, likely the only such chance he would get.

(And he couldn't deny that a part of him hoped that James would die at the hands of the Death Eaters. If she saw what he had willingly done for her after such an event, maybe, just maybe…)

Peter would always love Lily, whether that love was returned or not. And the scrap of parchment he held in his hands was not only the best chance he had of saving her life, but also of making sure that he survived the war.

"I pledge my allegiance to the Dark Lord."

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