Harry Potter And The Book Of Random Awesomeness (+other stuff)

A Ratty Rant (Part 1)

Yup, this chapter (and the other one) is about nobody's sincerely: Peter Pettigrew. Personally, I'm not too fond of this character. Alright, who am I kidding? I literally hate Pettigrew to such an extent that I wouldn't hesitate to send him a special carton full of Dementor kisses for Christmas. But I don't know why, I decided to get a little realistic today and there you go; a chapter formed right up. In this chapter, I'd be giving a sympathetic overview of Peter's life before he became a traitor, and a not so sympathetic (read brutal) overview of his life after he joined the Death Eaters. So if any of you hate Pettigrew, you're welcome to join me in the comments section. And if not... Well just continue reading the next paragraph.

Peter was the youngest of his siblings, so like Ronald Weasley, he had a lot to look up to. He was expected to do just as well as his older siblings did, he had to look up to a lot of examples and he couldn't help but feel inferior and neglected.

And then at school, things were not so different either. Peter never understood why James, Sirius and Remus had befriended him and let him be a part of the Marauders. And by being a part of the Marauders, definitely he got to have his share in the pranking and the other known stuff they did and were popular for, but Peter always felt out of the group. As if he was not capable enough to be with the most popular guys at Hogwarts.

James with his arrogance and Quidditch god personality, Sirius with his breathtakingly attractive looks and inexplicable charm, Remus with his books, cleverness, logical thinking and wit, and Peter? Peter was always that short plump boy who was with the Marauders. People always talked of the Marauders in general, but in particular it was only Quidditch captain James, Heartbreaker Sirius and bookishly smart Remus. Peter was always overshadowed. Always the one who didn't fit in. The one who felt out of place. The one who was looked down upon.

True enough James, Sirius and Remus never treated him any different. They thought of him as their brother and could trust him with their lives in a heartbeat. Just like James trusted Peter with his own life as well as Harry and Lily's. Just like Sirius trusted him with his best friend's life. And what did he do with that trust? Crunched it up like a paper ball and set it on fire.

Peter wanted to be admired, to shine, to be known and respected. He craved power, attention and praise. That is why he always took up the most insanely ludicrous parts of the Marauding tasks, but in the end it would all still be Remus's idea and James would get all the praise for the final act of the show which he pulled off effortlessly. And what about Peter? Peter was much like a spot boy in a theatre play who works behind drawn curtains, whose presence is necessary yet whose efforts are seldom appreciated by the audience. And what happens when the spot boy decides to turn the spotlight on to himself? The rest of the play plunges into darkness. And that is exactly what happened to the Marauders.

Peter saw how the Order's numbers were decreasing, how Voldemort was gaining power and recruiting members day by day, how Dumbledore was fighting a lost war and how standing up for the right side seemed almost useless. He knew that if he was caught as the Potter's Secret Keeper, he'd die a painful death, so why not shake hands with the enemy while there's still a chance?

Voldemort offered him power, a respectable and feared rank in his Death Eater Army, a trusted position and a remarkable reputation under the Dark Reign. What else could someone so oppressed and overshadowed as Peter have wanted? He craved power like a drug addict craves drugs. And so he didn't care about the lives of his dear friends which he was putting at stake. Like a hopeless addict, he chased his addiction without any other care in the world.

And he got what he wanted. After ratting out James and Lily's hideout to Voldemort, all the blame was put on Sirius. While Peter gained sympathy from the people as the timid boy who stood up to the notorious murderer Sirius Black for betraying the Potters, who sacrificed his life in attempting to do justice to the traitor, who died like a hero with nothing but a tiny finger left, who was awarded the Order of Merlin for his courage and valiant spirit, who was remembered from then on as a war hero.

And yet how wrong it all was...

In his school days, Peter practically worshipped James and Sirius and now he was the sole reason for James's death and Sirius's imprisonment in Azkaban.

(...To be continued...)