Ravens and Asphodels | Harry Potter Marauders Era (Regulus Black x OFC)

Devestation

31 October 1981

Peter wondered what led him here, sat as a rat on top of a gravestone in Godric's Hallow staring at the cottage where James, Lily, and Harry were staying, waiting for the Dark Lord to show up.

He wondered what had pushed him to do it.

Peter remembered first joining the Death Eaters at the end of his sixth year, months after Sirius and Remus had gotten together, and shortly after Lily finally said yes the James.

It wasn't like Peter was ever excluded by James, Sirius, and Remus, even after they started dating, so it wasn't that Peter joined the Death Eaters because he felt like an outsider. He knew he was just as much a Marauder as the other three.

Peter thought back to when he, James, and Remus had comforted Sirius in their first year after Sirius learned that what his mother was doing to him and Regulus wasn't normal. Peter thought about starting animagius training with Sirius and James for Remus in their third year and accomplishing their forms in fifth-year. He remembered seven years' worth of pranks and developing the Marauders Map. He remembered when Diana first came to Hogwarts, and they spent days outside with her playing American football. He remembered the various engagements, marriages, and births that followed their graduation from Hogwarts.

Peter remembered watching Marley bleed out next to Dorcas's corpse. It was hard to forget about how he had used her blood to write a slur next to the photograph taken at Marley's graduation of their entire firmed group. That was tough for Peter, but the Dark Lord had told him to do it, so he followed the orders given to him.

Peter always had his best friends' love and companionship, but that wasn't enough for him.

James, Sirius, and Remus would never understand Peter.

Peter was just as much a Gryffindor as the rest of them, but he also knew how to protect himself, and that was something James, Remus, and Sirius didn't know how to do.

The reason Peter had joined the Death Eaters was the exact reason why he initially became friends with the other Marauders.

Peter had lived his life finding people with more power and prestige than him and attaching himself to them. It was a way to make sure he was always safe and taken care of. So in sixth year, Peter realized James and Sirius wouldn't be able to help him after graduation, they would be going off to live their own lives, and they wouldn't adequately protect Peter anymore. So they graduated, and Peter found a more powerful protector since James and Sirius didn't make the cut.

As Peter watched through his rat forms eyes as the Dark Lord arrived in Godric's Hollow, he felt sorry for James, Lily, and Harry, but in the end, it was their fault for choosing the wrong side.

James should have realized that by marrying Lily and then joining the Order and fighting the Dark Lord, he put Harry at risk. It was James's fault, not Peter's. So Peter turned away as the Dark Lord approached the cottage and scattered away with a clear conscience making plans to make sure no one discovered he was the traitor. He had a great idea.