Always the traitor

The train was packed, and one had to really squeeze through to get to their seats. Luckily, James found a compartment, and Peter followed him inside, sitting next to him. There was already a boy sitting inside. He had brown eyes, light brown hair, and a small scar on his face, which Peter found very interesting.

This boy had a chocolate bar in his hand, which immediately made Peter hungry. Not the regular hunger, as he had just eaten, but this urge to eat something was there. He stared at the chocolate bar, not even noticing James talking to the boy. Peter was completely fixated.

"And this is Peter - Heyy Pete, stop staring, that's rude."
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry..."
"So, again... I'm James, this is Peter. What's your name?"
"Remus."

Peter wasn't particularly interested in the conversation; he nodded occasionally but nothing more. It didn't take long before the door swung open.

Peter got a shock when he saw the person. Black hair, pale skin, and bright blue-gray eyes. The pureblood he had seen in Diagon Alley. Peter shrunk into his seat, pressing himself against the wall next to the door, hoping not to be noticed.

"Any room left?" the boy asked, but without waiting for an answer, he sat down across from Peter. The boy had that arrogant pureblood expression, the kind of expression that made you want to jump down the stairs headfirst when you saw it.

James also seemed less thrilled with the new boy, but he remained polite as always. Peter stayed against the wall, not moving. No one said anything; it was dead silent, except for Remus chewing on his chocolate bar. This sound seemed to loosen a screw in James's brain, and he started laughing like an idiot. Peter wasn't sure what was happening, so he watched the situation. The pureblood boy somehow started laughing too, and the mood lightened a bit. Then Remus started laughing too, but quieter than the others. Peter just wondered where he had ended up again and shook his head a bit, but then he couldn't help but laugh a little too.

Once they calmed down, the pureblood boy's face returned to its normal, arrogant, and stubborn expression. Peter nervously pressed himself against the wall again. "So... What are your names?" the boy asked in a calm voice with an arrogant undertone.
"James Potter."
"Remus Lupin."
"-"
"This is Peter Pettigrew."

It was a bit embarrassing that James had to answer for him, but he was grateful because he didn't know how to talk to a boy like this. "I'm Sirius Black," the boy said in a very formal tone.

Just like his name, he looked. Sirius just fit perfectly, why did everyone here have such cool names? Sirius, Remus, James,... Peter...

He mostly stayed quiet during the conversations. Or rather, James and Sirius did most of the talking. Remus was busy eating anyway, so Peter could sleep in peace. He closed his eyes, leaned against the wall, and fell asleep. He always slept on trips; otherwise, he would get sick, and he wanted to prevent that.

He dreamt about the little cat he had met a few days ago. It would be a bit much to say that he missed her, but he regretted not being in her company. He just hoped she was doing okay.

He woke up a little later. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked around, trying to figure out where he was. Still on the train. He saw James talking to Sirius and Remus. They looked very happy together, almost like friends. Ha, friends! As if James would hang out with such people for more than five minutes...

James had Peter; why would he want to find new friends? He observed the three boys a bit. From the conversation, he heard a few things. Remus is a half-blood; his father was a wizard, he lives with his mother. Sirius comes from an old pureblood family, and he has a younger brother, the one who knocked Peter over... To Peter's regret, he's also supposed to come to Hogwarts next year. Hopefully, he's not as arrogant, although it would be a miracle if he wasn't. Regulus Black was just as arrogant a jerk as Sirius. Peter could tell, even though he hadn't said anything.

Apparently, there weren't many Muggle-borns or Halfbloods in their year. Only about three to four, maybe five people. Peter didn't mind, but he had a panic fear that someone would beat him up or worse.

Peter was surprised at how long the three boys got along with each other; he thought it wouldn't last that long. Sirius seemed to like James somehow... Whatever! If Sirius is so pure in his blood, then he'll end up in Slytherin anyway, and James would never go to Slytherin.

He was getting bored slowly; should he talk to the others? No, he couldn't do it. Besides, he wouldn't know what to talk about; his life was even more tiring than that of a rat.

Eventually, the train stopped. Peter squeezed past Sirius, who was trying to run out of the door behind James. Suddenly, they were on this huge platform. There were so many students there; it was absolutely frightening. The loud noises made him dizzy; he almost bumped into James because of all the loud noises. Then they were led away by a professor. Only the first years went with them; the older students went to Hogwarts differently.

After what felt like an eternity of walking, they reached a lake. They all had to get into boats. Peter could already feel nausea rising in him. He sat down somewhere on the edge where he could hold on. Sirius seized the chance and sat next to James, and Remus sat next to Peter.

The ride started out okay, but the boats rocked incredibly, and the water was so dark, so deep. Peter kept his eyes closed most of the time so he wouldn't see anything if something happened. Occasionally, he observed James and Sirius, how they talked. Sirius was playing around somehow, and Peter was starting to dislike that 'Sirius grin'.

Sirius was somehow climbing around the edge, and Peter saw the wand of their boatman, grabbed it, and aimed it at Sirius. It was relatively inconspicuous, so no one saw it. Or at least, he thought no one saw it; he wasn't sure. Peter had no idea what he was doing; it happened very quickly. He hadn't even learned many spells; it just came out of the wand.

"OUCH!"
"Sirius, are you okay? I told you to be careful."
"Stop the boat! Boy overboard."
"Oh shut up, Lupin, I can swim, other than halfbloods like you!"

Peter's eyes widened; he quickly put the wand away. Sirius had fallen into the water. He held back his laughter; he hadn't expected that. People from other boats watched eagerly; it was quite an exciting show. Sirius flailed in the dark water to stay above the surface. He was quickly rescued and sat back in the boat next to James. Remus just shook his head, how careless some people could be.

If it were up to Peter, he would have let Sirius float in the water until he sank on his own. But he couldn't say that...

The rest of the ride went relatively normal. Remus threw up from stress into the water, and Peter almost did the same. He kept his eyes closed until they arrived.

Finally, the terrible ride was over. Peter got out of the boat, and his legs were very shaky. He clung nervously to James to keep from falling. "You okay, Pete?" James murmured calmly, stroking his hair to calm him down. James had always been like an older brother to him, so he trusted him more than anyone else.

The first years were all guided around until they reached a huge staircase. It was very exhausting to go up there. Especially if you stumbled and rolled backward down the stairs...

"Ouch, Pettigrew, watch it!"
"I am sorry-, Sirius..."
"My goodness, Mr. Black, Mr. Pettigrew, are you both alright?"

Sirius was a little annoyed; after all, his perfectly styled black hair had been messed up. Peter apologized every few seconds to Sirius, as he felt very sorry and maybe a little scared of him. "You don't have to apologize constantly," Sirius said eventually, annoyed, and Peter immediately shut up.

Professor McGonagall explained a few things about Hogwarts after helping the two boys to their feet. Peter listened more or less, but felt someone watching him. He turned his head slightly to the left and saw a boy who seemed to be mocking him. Peter immediately lowered his gaze to the floor and played with his cloak a bit.

He couldn't stand being stared at. It made him nervous; he couldn't know what people were talking about. Generally, he was rather restless when being observed; he always tried to avoid being the center of attention.

After a while, the woman finally finished speaking, and it was time for them to be sorted into their respective houses. Peter stood nervously next to James, although nervous was an understatement; he was terrified. James had to whisper to him the whole time that everything would be okay, that it didn't matter which house he ended up in.

Sirius Black was first. He strode very confidently forward when his name was called. Peter observed him as he put on the Sorting Hat. To Sirius's full dismay, he didn't end up in Slytherin but in Gryffindor. The pureblood boy sat down at his table grumpily, without even looking at the other people in his new house. It was very obvious that he was anything but happy.

The next person was a girl, blonde hair and brown eyes; Peter quite liked her haircut, her hair was cut in layers. The girl, her name was Marlene, ended up in Gryffindor too. To be honest, Peter was mostly interested in the Gryffindors and Slytherins, so he waited to see who else would end up in which house.

He saw another girl, brown curly hair, she looked just as confident as Sirius, but not as arrogant, rather nice. Then came a redhead girl, both ended up in Gryffindor.

In between, a few first years were sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. The Hufflepuffs looked too friendly, and the Ravenclaws too smart. Peter wouldn't fit in there; although more in Hufflepuff than in Ravenclaw, everyone there was too nice, so they would talk to him way too much.

"Severus Snape!" Professor McGonagall called out, after a boy was pushed forward by his friend. The boy had his eyes on a girl at the Gryffindor table, but he went to the hat like everyone else. As expected, he ended up in Slytherin, just like his annoying friend Mulciber or whatever his name is. Peter didn't like them both; they were the ones who had talked about him earlier.

Now it was James's turn; he, of course, ended up in Gryffindor, according to Peter, he fit in perfectly there. When his best friend sat down at his table, Peter got nervous again; he stood there alone with a few first years! What should he do now? He took a deep breath. The boy with the scar on his face, Remus Lupin, was also sorted into Gryffindor. Peter was one of the last ones who hadn't been sorted into any house yet. He nervously scanned the large hall. It was so full; there were so many people; he felt dizzy from his thoughts. If his name wasn't called soon, he would collapse from fear.

"Peter Pettigrew," finally or maybe not finally, his name was called. He tried not to look nervous, but it didn't work. The professor looked at him somewhat pityingly but put the hat on him, covering his eyes a bit. It reassured him a bit that he couldn't see the many students like that. The Sorting Hat rambled on about which house he would come to, and after a few seconds, it called out, "Gryffindor!"

Peter was absolutely relieved; he was in the same house as James. He hurried to the Gryffindor table and sat down at a spot next to James; of course, James had saved him a seat. Peter's hands trembled a bit from excitement, but he calmed down a bit as he watched Sirius, who was annoyed and rubbed his eyes while talking to James.

"No, you don't understand, Potter, I can't be in Gryffindor; my parents will kill me."
The boy whined, James soothingly stroked his back, hoping to calm him down a bit. Peter watched the interaction between the two; he didn't like how close James was to Sirius.

After all the students were finally in their houses, dinner could begin. The table was suddenly full of all kinds of food. Peter was very hungry, as he had eaten very irregularly or hardly at all in the past few days. This reminded him of the cat he had to leave behind. He tried not to think about it and started eating instead.

It was very loud in the Great Hall. Everyone was laughing or talking; it was almost too loud for Peter. He tried to block out the noises as best he could, only occasionally looking up to see what James, Sirius, or Remus were doing. Remus seemed to hold back in the conversation and focus more on eating, just like Peter. Maybe he could befriend Remus?

When they finished eating, they were led away by a prefect. Frank Longbottom was relatively well-built and didn't look too strict. It was different with the Slytherin prefect, Lucius Malfoy. Blonde hair and a look that made every first year feel like they were about to be brutally murdered. Peter was glad not to be in Slytherin, just because of Lucius; he was scared even if someone just mentioned his name; it had something deeply terrifying about it.

Frank certainly safely brought them to the Gryffindor common room. They were told to split into their rooms themselves. It was said that if there were any problems, they could always come to him. It was immediately clear to Peter and James that they wanted to share a room, but a room consisted of four beds, and there were only two of them. However, James had the perfect idea, which tempted Peter to erase James's thoughts forever if he had the necessary magical knowledge, that they could share the room with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Peter had no time to agree or disagree; James had already asked Sirius and Remus, and well... Both had agreed, although it was more of an emergency for Remus, as he was afraid of not making any friends, and Sirius was just Sirius, whatever that might mean.

Their suitcases were already there, no idea how, but it didn't bother anyone; everyone was too lazy to drag their heavy suitcases to their room anyway. Sirius ran past Peter into the room and threw himself on the first bed he saw. Peter took one near James, and Remus settled for the last one. It seemed the boy didn't have high demands when it came to his sleeping place. Although that was the most important thing, as Sirius reassured him.

Peter started unpacking his suitcase, just like Remus and James. Sirius lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He muttered some nonsense to himself, maybe a song or something. Nobody really cared about what the other was doing; they were all a bit tired.

When Peter was finished unpacking his suitcase, he lay in his bed on his side and looked around the room. It looked a bit better than before; now there were things on the shelves. Sirius now also started unpacking his suitcase; he had a green suitcase with a Slytherin symbol on it. Remus saw the suitcase too and couldn't resist making a comment.
"Now you'll need a new suitcase, huh?"
"Shut up, Lupin."

Remus annoyed Sirius a bit, it was easy to get on his nerves right now. James blocked out all noises while he sorted his clothes into a drawer and put his suitcase under his bed. Then he jumped onto the bed next to Peter and watched as Sirius gave annoyed answers to Remus's comments. This went on for an hour. After that, it was quiet; everyone was tired, and everyone lay in their own bed. Peter ate a few cookies he had received from James's mother. He had considered writing a letter to his parents, but that would surely be unnecessary...

After he had eaten a quarter of the box of cookies, he put it away and turned onto his back. It was already after curfew, so they weren't allowed out of the room anymore. Peter stared at the ceiling above him and waited until he fell asleep. He was already half asleep when there was a loud bang. His heart almost stopped as he sat up in one second to see what it was. "Sorry," came from Sirius; it was too dark to see, so Peter was satisfied and lay back down.