The laughter filled the room, candles and floating confetti brightening the otherwise damp surroundings of Number 12 Grimmauld's Place. The war raged on outside the walls but for just this time, they could all pretend that they were twenty-something year olds drinking and laughing, celebrating the small wins of their lives, with nothing more to worry about than living life to the fullest.
Remus lounged beside Lily, the both of them watching James and Sirius drunkenly sing together. He looked at the man - at Sirius Black - and he felt like a lovesick puppy unable to keep the affectionate smile off of his face.
“I swear they love each other more than us,” she joked, nudging him playfully.
He chuckled “What can you do? They’re soulmates.”
Remus Lupin couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t loved Sirius Black.
Terrifying concept.
He groaned as he got to his feet, moving towards Sirius.
“Come to join the festivities, Moony, or are you gonna keep drooling over there?” The raven haired man teased, hands draping around his neck to kiss him sloppily.
He hummed, arms around his waist, kissing him with quiet intensity.
They fell into their own world, only dragged back out by James’ ringing voice.
“Where’s Pete?! He’s missing all the fun!”
Remus chuckled, pressing his forehead against Sirius’ before pulling away. “I’ll go find him, meant to step out for a smoke break anyways.”
Sirius nodded, kissing him chastely once more.
He stepped away from the group, pulling open one of the large oak doors and heading through the hallway. He heard James whine to Lily once more before the doors fell shut.
“Lilyyy, how come you don’t like my serenadeee?!”
He laughed quietly to himself, hands in his pockets as he strolled down the corridor.
Eyeing one of the balconies and fingers now itching for that cigarette he’d promised himself, he pushed the door open quietly and stepped outside. He pulled a cigarette from his pack, using his wand to light the end and even took a drag before he noticed the figure leaned over the side of the balcony railing.
Peter Pettigrew - the fourth Marauder.
He smiled lazily, walking up behind him and clapping a hand on his back.”Wormtail! I was lookin’ for you! Why are you out here all alone?”
Silence.
Sure, Pete had always been the quietest of the group but this felt more ominous.
“Pete? You good?”
He leaned against the railing, trying to look at him properly.
“What happened?”
“This war” the other shook his head. “I…I didn’t expect things to go this way.”
“It’s okay, Pete” he bumps their shoulders together gently, “As long as the four of us stick together, we’ll be okay.”
He laughed bitterly “The four of us?” He scoffed, “Don’t kid yourself, Remus.”
Remus looked to his friend, confusion marring his features as he took in this new stoic Peter - so different from the jovial man they were all accustomed to. “I don’t understand, Pete.”
He sighed, ruffling his blond hair, looking at him with an almost pitying expression on his face. “It’s the James and Sirius show, they don’t care about anyone but themselves.”
“Pete, that isn’t true. We all love each other. You have to know that.”
“No, you have to stop acting fucking blind. I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands, you should do the same.”
The silence stretched on for a few moments. Remus watched the man and finally everything seemed to make sense. The sulking, the secrecy. Especially when they were celebrating a mission gone well. Then, the spark of guilt in his eyes whenever the group was recuperating after a mission gone poorly.
He’d assumed - stupidly now - that Peter simply had never been made for war and each life they took and each mission they encroached upon - no matter how right it was, was still taking a toll on him.
None of them had been made for war though. They were children forced to grow up too fast, all now fighting to make it to their next birthday.
And what did they have in this fight?
Nothing but each other.
“No…”
Peter watched him with an unfriendly smile “Go on, Mister Brightest Wizard of our generation ” he sneered “Tell me what you’ve concluded.”
“You’ve joined him. Voldemort .”
He nodded sagely “I’ve joined You-Know-Who” he corrected.
Remus snorted “Joined a man you can’t even address properly. This is ridiculous, Peter.”
His cigarette burned down to his fingertips, the pain reminding him of what they had to lose. Of what Peter had given up.
He knew the truth now though.
Their fourth Marauder was a rotten traitor .
His hand inched back to his wand as he put a step in between them.
“Wait! Before you go - hear me out at least! Remus, please.”
Remus knew it wasn’t right but this had been his best friend for almost ten years. Maybe they could fix this. He hoped they could fix this.
“He’s promised me great things, Remus, things you couldn’t even imagine. I mean, look at the Wizarding World. It’s chaos. He wants to return it to its true social order” he emphasized.
Remus shook his head, looking to him with surprise “He’s committing a fucking genocide, Peter, have you gone bloody insane?”
“Listen, Pete, we love you. Don’t do this. We protect each other. We don’t do this. if you’re being threatened…” he trailed off, prompting him.
“I’m not being threatened. I walked into this willingly, and Remus, I think you should join me. You’d be useful as a werewolf, you’d be respected.”
Where had the fourth Marauder gone? This certainly couldn’t be their Peter Pettigrew.
He shook his head “If you think even for a second I would join the Dark Side maybe we actually never truly knew one another. You would know I don’t want to be anything like Fenrir Greyback.”
Remus pulled his wand out, brandishing it at him as he put more distance in between them. He didn’t even recognize Peter anymore. “Do you hear yourself?” He hissed “Imagine how heartbroken James would be, Sirius, too. You’ve fucking betrayed us for a tyrant!”
The blond man scoffed “Stop it with this eat, pray, love bullshit. All James and Sirius care about is themselves. You think they care about you? I can assure you they will never care about you like you want them to. You will be forgotten” he sneered “and they will go ahead in their lives without a second glance to you.”
Remus pitied him. Is this how Peter saw their friendship? Had he been so deeply indoctrinated, he’d forgotten what they were fighting for?
Or maybe he'd always been this angry? Maybe they just had never noticed.
His resolve strengthened and this time when he looked at Peter, he felt nothing but disgust . “You’re on the wrong side of history, Peter.”
“And you’re being used. James and Sirius are using you! They don’t care about you! You’re their token troubled friend who they want to fix , nothing more, nothing less.”
Remus laughed, the sound flowing through the quiet night, grating against his nerves. “Did you learn that the hard way, Pete?” He asked quietly.
They were at a standstill now.
Peter looked at him in shock, gaze then averting to look beyond the balcony. “You give me no choice then, Remus.”
Remus raised his wand ‘ Stupefy! ’ on the tip of his tongue before Peter turned on him and cast the fastest ‘ Obliviate ’ Remus had ever seen.
Faintly, Remus wondered what the Death Eaters had been teaching Peter. What morals had he given up to do such spells without guilt?
“You’ll regret this” Peter told him, walking towards him with a sneer, “You should have joined me when you had a chance.”
Remus felt like he was underwater, his memories becoming muddled and the conversation they’d just had slowly fading away.
When he looked into Peter’s eyes, he smiled and with his last bit of resolve - before everything went black - he said, “Whether dead or alive, Peter, I'll have my morals and you'll still be a rotten fucking rat.”
The smug smile dropped from the blond’s face and instead, he glared at him before walking back inside. Presumably, to rejoin the party.
~~~~~
“Moony! Where did you go! It’s been like half an hour?” Sirius beckoned the taller one towards him, cheeks flushed.
Remus smiled softly, sitting down and pulling the raven haired man into his lap to kiss him. “I’m not sure” he admitted, “Must have spaced out, sorry, Love.”
He scanned the room briefly and noticed Peter had joined them. “There you are, Wormtail, I was looking for you.”
The blond chuckled “My bad, mate, I think I got lost. This place is like a maze.”
James laughed, one arm slung around Peter and the other around Lily. He turned his head, laying a sweet kiss on Lily’s cheek. “I get it, Wormy, Padfoot’s mum really had an eye for interior decorating.”
Sirius laughed “That, and torture. Truly a woman of many talents.”
Remus smiled, nuzzling his face into the crook of Sirius’ neck. “I think her only good deed was making you.”
“Awww, Moony and Pads sitting in a tree K I S S I N G ” James sang drunkenly, glasses sitting askew on his face.
Sirius laughed, rolling his eyes “Shut it, Prongs! We can all see you slobbering over Lily!”
Lily rolled her eyes “Like a dog.”
She smiled at him affectionately when he pouted “Or, a cute deer.”
Peter mockingly gagged “Gross, get off me, Prongs, go hug your wife like a koala, instead.”
“That’s right” he smiled dreamily as he cuddled Lily “She’s my wife!”
The group laughed and at that moment, there was no war going on. It was simply the five of them, inseparable, and soulmates in one way or another.
~~~~~
It would still be a whole year before Peter’s deception was revealed. Revealed all too late. It seemed almost unfair that all they had was two headstones to commemorate Lily Evans Potter and James Potter - two of the most brilliant people to have ever graced the Wizarding World.
They mourned who their friend had been that day. Peter Pettigrew’s betrayal broke many things. He’d given up their friendship for a man even a toddler and a mother's love could destroy. Their merry group of five was now reduced to two plus a wailing baby with a lightning scar.
Remus and Sirius would not let anything happen to the baby. Their best friends’ baby - the Bambi of the group.
Harry Potter had the protection of a mother, father, and two godparents’ love. They would make sure it’s enough. They would not allow for another betrayal like the one of a pathetic Peter Pettigrew.
He would get what was coming to him. And when it happened, they would fucking dance on his grave.