The Rat's Gift |Peter Pettigrew| (Completed) #harrypotterawards2019

4

Peter flinched as he remembered his bitterness. He remembered how from that point, even though the three of them behaved like they always did, he Peter, was always slightly detached from them. There were moments when they would do amazing things for him but however much he enjoyed it, his mind always went back to the day when James had pointed his wand at him first.

"James, remember the day when Sirius and I had a row? We were pointing our wands at each other's face?" asked Peter.

"Uhuh," replied James.

"When you pulled your wand at us, you pointed at me first. Not Sirius," stated Peter.

James contemplated this for a moment and gave a heavy sigh. "Is that why you felt that you couldn't share your problems with us?"

When Peter didn't reply and continued to stare at him, James took a deep breath.

"Fine. Why do you think Sirius and I were such close friends?" asked James.

The question threw Peter off guard. He stared at James with raised eyebrows but couldn't think of an answer.

"Like Remus, I was an only child to my parents. However, unlike Remus, I was raised with overflowing love and utmost pampering. I had almost everything in the world except one and like everyone else it is the things which we don't have that we crave the most."

"You-You sound like Dumbledore," said Peter.

James laughed heartily. "I guess death gives one a whole another perspective. Anyways, the reason I bonded with Sirius the most was because I craved a brother. I wanted someone with whom I could share my world, my adventures, my-my everything and when I saw Sirius, I dunno, it just kind of clicked."

"Sirius of course, was not short of being taken care of before he joined Hogwarts, however, being the eldest son of the Black family, he was burdened with a lot of responsibilities and we both know Sirius Black isn't that kind of a person. He was a rebel, has always been one, and when we met, I dunno what he saw in me but I guess he found what he wanted."

Peter looked at him still silent. He could understand what James was talking about in fact he believed every one of them Marauders could understand what James was talking about. It was true that at that point in their lives, Remus was probably the most mature of them all however, in one way or the other they had always looked up to James. James Potter was a perfect being, he was good academically, he was good at sports, and he would even buy Remus a lot of stuff like new jumpers, robes and lots of chocolate and make an elaborate plan to give it to him so that Remus never knew it was from him.

"When he was with us, it was the first time in his life Sirius was able to be himself. Do you remember the times when he would devise utterly crazy pranks and make us go through with them? The times when he used to act so happy as well as mad, drinking a lot of Firewhiskey and throwing parties that lasted all night in the common room?" asked James.

Peter nodded.

"During those times, he was actually, extremely depressed. He would have terrible nightmares and I was the only one he opened up to. I guess he didn't even talk to Rene about them. That was probably why they broke up," said James sadly.

Peter didn't know what to say. He seemed lost for words. He knew about the nightmares and when Sirius broke up with Rene Moreau towards the end of their final year he thought it was just another typical Sirius move but he never thought that Sirius was someone who suffered from depression. Not extravagant, dramatic and outrageously funny Sirius Black.

"I grew to a point where I was extremely protective of him, of course I was protective of you and Remus as well, but everyone has their favourite and mine was always Sirius. Even Lily used to get jealous," said James with a smile.

Peter gave a smile too. As he smiled, he remembered the final day of school.

The usually busy station which normally would be bustling with students running here and there was strangely silent. Students were lined up on one side as a small group of seventh years made their way to the Hogwarts Express. The four of them led by a boy with overflowing ,long black hair walked slowly, savouring every moment, as they would never be returning to this place as a student again. Peter Pettigrew was hauling a huge trunk behind him as trying to levitate it had hugely backfired. It had fallen on top of him and as his mates had already left, there wasn't anyone to help him out. With great difficulty, he succeeded in moving the trunk aside and rushed towards the Hogwarts Express where his friends were waiting. However, as he reached there, he felt a twinge of bitterness and disappointment.

"Hail the Marauders!"

"We will miss you, you lot!"

"I love you Sirius Black!"

The students of Hogwarts were shouting at the four people standing near the train almost ready to board. No one seemed to notice that he, Peter was standing on the same platform. They hardly even glanced at him. Sirius was bowing and raising his hands in gratitude like a magician thanking his audience after a show. Remus was standing behind him, wearing an amused smile and he was waving at a bunch of the junior students who had come to regard him as some kind of a mentor. James had Lily in his arms and he was laughing along with her, while watching Sirius' antics. Peter made his way slowly towards them and as he neared them, it was James who saw him first.

"Hey, Pete! What took you so long?"

The others turned to him upon hearing this and Sirius grabbed him by his hand causing him to drop his trunk.

"Come on Wormtail, dance with me!" he said as he pulled Peter towards him and broke in to his version of a ridiculous Irish tap dance. James joined them and eventually the entire platform started dancing like they were at some sort of disco. It was one of the most memorable moments of everyone present there that day. Soon it was time to board, and amidst a lot of waving and cheers, the five of them finally boarded the train and settled down in to their usual compartment.

"So, when will I be seeing you again, Mr. Potter?" asked Lily.

James glanced at Sirius and blinked. "I dunno, Padfoot, when do you reckon you'll go to London? "he asked, feigning confusion.

"Why?" asked Sirius.

"Well obviously we'll be hanging out at my house and if you are there, how will I meet Lily?"

"Oh, now you need his permission to meet me?" asked Lily in mock horror. "You know, I don't want to be the jealous one in our relationship."

Sirius laughed. "Well my darling Evans, you will always be the jealous girlfriend. But do not worry, Prongs my deer, you have my permission to meet with your girlfriend any time you like!"

James laughed as did everyone else except Peter who limited himself to a small smile. As the train started to move, Peter felt he was leaving some part of him behind and it definitely wasn't Hogwarts.