While Sirius was locked up in a cell, blamed for crimes he couldn't even think of committing, Peter Pettigrew was escaping through the sewers disguised as a rat. He struck more than just lucky when Charlie Weasley found him in his hunt for animal fossils. Red hair, freckles, Peter knew his rescuer was a Weasley.

Living with a Wizard family had it's perks for Peter though. He was well informed on what was happening in the wizarding world, he could easily sneak out to the woods when the need rose for him to shift back in his human form for a while, the great number of people in the family made it easier for him to stay hidden for years.

And then there was Ron Weasley. The boy in whom he found his likeness every so often. The youngest of many siblings, bound to live with a lot of expectations, sometimes neglected, Peter often compared his own life to Ron's.

And when for the first time he laid eyes on Ron's best friend, he was speechless. Such an exact replica of James with the same sparkling green eyes which he had known so well. Harry James Potter. His friends Lily and James's son. The friends whom he had betrayed. He was the reason for Harry being an orphan, deprived of his parent's love, unaware of what a family truly meant. And all for the pathetic excuse that Peter valued his cowardice more than his friendship merely for a safety net bestowed by Voldemort that was not even remotely safe.

When in Ron and Harry's second year, Scabbers had bit Goyle, it was because just before that Malfoy and his cronies Crabbe and Goyle were insulting Harry's parents. They were insulting James and Lily when Goyle got severely bit. And that moment had me thinking for a while that even if Peter had betrayed his friends and caused havoc in all their lives, there was still a tiny part in his soul that was the Marauder Wormtail. Even though he had buried those memories deep inside, there was still a tiny piece of him that screamed at all the injustice, blamed him for his betrayal, wrecked his soul and questioned his conscience day and night. And that little part of him cared. Peter was not born an evil person, he was just a terrified boy who made all the wrong choices to ensure his own safety. And he repented for his deeds later on. His friends could not be brought back, true, but in the end he died because he hesitated to kill the Prongslet. Died by his own enchanted silver hand. The hand which Voldemort had given him to repay his service.