Marauders oneshots

Peter defends his friends

All characters belong to J.k Rowling, also I absolutely despise Peter but he was a maurader and a lot of people discredit the fact that at one point he had been their friend.
Takes place 6th year
Lily was complaining about the mauraders and their insufferable pranks again, Marlene McKinnon could only nod along because when lily gets going nothing could stop her, except maybe Peter pettigrew was turning around the corner and after the particular nasty moon, and Sirius having another nightmare about being forced to join Voldemort, and James once again asking if something was wrong with him because lily evans couldn't even try to see the good in him, Peter in a rare moment of courage stepped out and said something.
"Their all insufferable, they act like they own the place, like their gods gift to the world" lily was ranting.
Peter stepped around the corridor and in a barely controlled rage said in between gritted teeth"don't talk about my friends that way"
lily turned and looked at him "why shouldn't I, it's not my fault they act like their so great and everyone should worship the ground they walk on"
And this was when Peter lost it " YOU DONT EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, YOU DONT KNOW SIRIUS WAS FORCED OUT OF HIS HOME BY THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SUPPOSED TO LOVE HIM NO MATTER WHAT, HE HAD TO SHOW UP ON THE POTTERS DOORSTEP DRENCHED AND FREEZING, HAVE YOU NEVER WONDERED WHY HE FLINCHES AWAY FROM PEOPLE, HE HAS NIGHTMARES ABOUT BEING FORCED TO JOIN YOU-KNOW-WHO ALMOST EVERY NIGHT" lily stood wide eyed a bit shocked that Peter of all people was lecturing her, and of corse feeling slightly guilty that she had never realized just how bad life had been for Sirius black.

Peter stopped to take a breath before continuing with even more rage than before "AND REMUS YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT HES BEEN THROUGH, WHAT HES BEEN FORCED TO ENDURE YOU KNOW HE USED TO THINK HE DIDN'T EVEN DESERVE TO BE OUR FRIEND, HE THOUGHT HE WASN'T EVEN WORTHY TO COME TO HOGWARTS DESPITE BEING THE SMARTEST PERSON I KNOW" lily flinched at this she knew he had scars but she never thought they had this big of an impact on what he thought of himself, she was angry that she had never tried to help.

Peter was breathing hard from his rant but there was still more he needed to say, so in a slightly calmer manner he continued "and James if you had ever given him and his too big ego a second look you would have realized it was all fake because James Potter is the most insecure person I know, you have no idea the pressure he puts on himself to help everyone, to make his parents proud, and despite being one of the most selfless and brave people I know, I can't even count all the times he's asked if he's good enough for something he's clearly worked hard to earn, all he wants is to protect his friends and make people laugh yet you call him a bully" Peter shakes his head before going slightly red and turning on his heel to find Remus who was studying in the library while James and Sirius were in detention, lily and Marlene stared after him, both were speechless, which was a very rare thing indeed.
It was in the following weeks that lily began paying much closer attention to the mauraders, she began noticing how at meals Sirius would occasionally stare at the slytherin table, and make eye contact with a boy who looked like a slightly younger version of himself, she noticed how the boy would scowl at him before turning away, how Siriuss face would fall and James would pay him on the back and say something to him that would make him laugh and they would then go I. To see who could come up with the most puns, she also noticed how the slytherin boys face would fall after turning away from his brother she presumed like he hadn't wanted to act like he hated him but had no choice but to play along with some game.
She noticed how Remus would often appear to be in pain, how all the mauraders would gather around him and try to drag him into their stupid jokes trying to get him to laugh and how he always seemed so grateful they were there despite having been their friend for years.
And James she suddenly noticed how nervous he got before doing practically anything that didn't involve jokes or flying, and suddenly she stayed around long enough to notice how he would always congratulate the mauraders prank victims for being the person to get the school to laugh.
So after all these years lily evans finally saw the real mauraders she saw how people didn't retaliate against them not because they were afraid but because the mauraders somehow managed to make everyone feel like they had time to still be kids, how their biggest pranks always seemed to happen after some sort of disaster struck leavening everyone feeling hopeless, lily finally realized that maybe the mauraders weren't bullies but kids who just figured humor was a good way I hide the pain they felt inside.