Worming a Way Out

Peter paced back and forth in the small room he had rented. He was wringing his hands, jumping at the slightest sound and sweating terribly. He was a nervous wreck. This wasn't his fault. This was all Sirius's fault. If he hadn't suggested Peter being the Secret Keeper, this whole situation would be different. For one thing Peter wouldn't be stuck in this damn room. More importantly he wouldn't be expecting a visitor, a very important visitor.

If only Sirius hadn't suggested him, then it wouldn't matter if he told the Dark Lord or not. The Dark Lord would have no use for him, and he'd leave him alone. Peter's thoughts of regret were interrupted by a loud bang. He was here.

Peter fell to his knees and went to kiss the hem of his master's robes. The hooded figure raised his hand in impatience.

"I have little time Pettigrew. Tell me what I want to know."

"Of course my lord...the Potters are at Godric's Hollow." That was it, the worm had turned. The Fidelius Charm was broken. With those simple words the Potter's fate was sealed. The Dark Lord smiled then disapparated without another word.

Peter collapsed to the ground in a heap, and he wept. He wept for his friends, James who he had idolised for so long and Lily, who had been so kind to him. His grief was short lived. He reminded himself that they were meddlesome fools, they had to die. They refused to accept that there was nothing to gain from opposing the Dark Lord.

A panic struck him. Sirius! Sirius had arranged to check on him. He would be here any minute, and what was Peter supposed to say? A casual 'Oh hello Sirius, yeah I'm fine, and by the way I just betrayed two of my best friends to the Dark Lord. He's probably killed them already'? No, Peter couldn't lie to Sirius, he'd see through it in an instant. Besides, when the Potters were found dead Sirius would know who the traitor was, then he would kill Peter. Not before torturing him with the Cruciatus curse first.

And what about the Dark Lord himself? After this he'd have no further use for poor, pathetic Peter. Would he kill him or just leave him for Sirius to do the job for him? Peter wasn't about to wait around to find out. He would have to leave and quickly. He packed a small suitcase, taking the few clothes and possessions he had brought. The room looked exactly the way it was when he first arrived. One final glance around and he disapparated.

It was no use, Peter hadn't got much sleep that night. Whenever he did nod off he was plagued by nightmares. He saw James fighting the Dark Lord and slumping to the ground, the life drained from him. He saw Lily begging him to spare young Harry, but it was Harry he wanted. Lily was just in the way. He heard her scream as she fell too. He saw his master slowly torturing Harry, the tiny baby screaming. The scream woke Peter. He was too afraid to try and sleep again.

He had rented a room at the Leaky Cauldron. If he was going on the run, he'd need a few things from Diagon Alley first. That morning he went downstairs to the pub for breakfast, trying to appear natural. Now the bombshell hit. Everyone in the pub either had a copy of the Daily Prophet or was crowded around one. Peter picked up a spare copy from the table. He went white as a sheet. James and Lily were dead, but somehow Harry had survived. No one knew what had happened to the Dark Lord, he had completely disappeared. Peter's master had met his downfall in a one year old boy.

Peter collapsed into a nearby chair. He swore under his breath. This changed everything. Not only would Sirius be after him, but every Death Eater in the country would mark him for death. The Dark Lord had gone to Godric's Hollow on his information. They would kill him for the disappearance of their master. Peter had seen them torture and kill people before. He began to imagine Bellatrix and Lucius bearing down on him, both wands performing the same terrible curse.

There was no time to waste; he didn't even bother picking up his suitcase. He just grabbed his wand and ran out of the Leaky Cauldron and into the busy London street. He was constantly looking over his shoulder, being particularly careful of dogs, in case one transformed into Sirius.

BANG!

A car exhaust backfired. Peter almost collapsed in terror, thinking it was someone disapparating. He backed into an alleyway to stop and think. At the moment he had nothing, no idea about what to do or where to go.

BANG!

Peter stumbled to the ground. Sirius Black was behind him, staring with a look that went beyond murderous.

"Sirius! Oh thank goodness you're here!" gasped Peter. "Oh Sirius you have no idea..."

"No I don't, Peter, why don't you fill in some of the details for me?" croaked Black. He was struggling to keep his rage in. Peter was sweating again. "First I went to check on you, but you're not there. I think to myself 'perhaps he's been captured,' but there was no sign of a struggle. Second I go straight to Godric's Hollow, or what's left of it. Just what happened before that first one?" Peter said nothing. Black gritted his teeth. "James and Lily...are dead Peter, they're dead."

A plan suddenly came to Peter. It was brilliant, but it would require split second timing. He slowly stood up, facing Black. Black however, wasn't finished.

"How could you do it, Peter? Lily and James! They were your friends, and you sold them to him, you murdering bastard!" He meant to be shouting, but all it came out as was a hoarse whisper. Peter was prepared. He held his hand behind his back, pointing it towards the street. He was no longer panicking, his face was eerily calm. He took a deep breath.

"HOW COULD YOU DO IT, SIRIUS? LILY AND JAMES! THEY WERE YOUR FRIENDS, AND YOU SOLD THEM TO HIM, YOU MURDERING BASTARD!" Peter yelled Sirius' same speech for everyone nearby to hear. He now took advantage of the one spell the Dark Lord had taught him. A curse that the Ministry had long made illegal, but they hoped to prevent people from hearing about it by not including it in the Unforgivable Curses. Peter muttered something that Sirius didn't hear. It was the Obliteration Hex. The street leading to the alley shook as Peter's hex thundered through the concrete. The hex not only tore apart the road, it tore apart the flesh of those it hit. Many died instantly, the rest were lying on the ground, missing limbs, burning all over. Peter's hex killed twelve people in total.

Before Sirius could react, Peter cut off his own index finger with a severing charm. He grimaced, but now was not the time to give in to the pain. He dropped his wand, gave Sirius one last evil smile and transformed. Sirius dived to stop him, but his hands only grasped air as Peter had already slipped through a drain and out of sight.

Peter had watched the whole thing. He had seen the Ministry officials arrive. He smiled at the looks of pure horror on their faces. They modified the memories the terrified Muggles, told them it was a gas explosion. Peter scoffed. It was typical. The one great thing he had done, and no one but Sirius would know about it. He watched them try to clean up the mess he had made. Then came the greatest relief Peter had had all day. They arrested Sirius. He watched from the grate as they dragged him away. Sirius was laughing like a madman. Probably from the shock of finding that worthless Wormtail actually knew something of the Dark Arts. At one point Sirius spotted the rat peering out from the sewer, his manic laughs became frustrated, futile screams.

Peter may have avoided Sirius' wrath, but he wasn't out of the woods yet. There was no way he could survive as a rat. All it would take was one cat, and he'd have to transform, and someone would see him. Quite a problem, seeing as he was now considered dead by the whole wizarding world. There was only one solution, he would have to find a wizard family to take him in as a pet. No one was going to want a street rat, he would have to be bought. Well, there was only one place for that, the Magical Menagerie.

Getting into the Magical Menagerie after closing time was simple. Sneaking was one of the few things Peter was genuinely good at. Once inside he found a glass tank full of common garden rats. After climbing up to the shelf above the tank Peter simply jumped in. The other rats were terrified of him. They could tell that he wasn't really a rat. It was the first time in his life that someone had been afraid of Peter. He liked it.

It had been at least two months since his encounter with Sirius. Peter had seen children coming and going, all begging their parents for owls, cats and occasionally toads. So far no one had even looked at the rats. For a while Peter was afraid that the shopkeeper would give up on trying to sell the rats and use them to keep the cats alive. If that happened Peter would have no choice but to transform. Then they came in.

Peter recognised the man and woman instantly. They were Arthur and Molly Weasley. Molly was carrying a small baby in her arms, the latest addition to the Weasley herd. Peter had heard about the Weasley's absurd amount of children. The rumours were not exaggerated. There were three older boys, two twins and a young toddler being carried by Arthur. He looked the same age as Harry. Peter shook his head. Thinking of Harry reminded him of Lily and James, and he had been trying his best to force them both from his mind forever.

Arthur set the young toddler down, who began wandering around eyes wide with amazement.

"Charlie, keep an eye on Ron please," said the woman. Charlie began following his youngest brother around the shop. Arthur and Weasley turned to another of their many sons.

"Well Percy, you've still got some of the money from your birthday. Have a look around and see what you like." Peter's hopes weren't high; he'd seen plenty of kids go straight for the owls. On the other hand, the Weasleys were infamously poor, maybe the little wanker would want a rat after all.

The toddler Ron was showing his brother everything he could find.

"Churlie! Bird!" he exclaimed, pointing up at a barn owl.

"Yeah, that's an owl, Ron." Ron wasn't interested in what it actually was, he had already moved on.

"Fwog!" he said, putting his face up against a tank full of toads.

"Those are toads, Ron. Can you say 'toad'?

"Fwog," said Ron as he toddled on. If there was one thing that Peter hated, it was baby talk. In fact he hated babies in general. In the past he couldn't even hold Harry without making him cry. Peter shuddered. He would have to swallow what was left of his pride if he wanted this kid to notice him. Ron soon found his way to the rats.

"Mouse!" he squealed.

"No, rats you grotty little brat!" thought Peter. Forgetting his dignity, he stood up and started sniffing, trying to be as cute as possible. Ron giggled and ran to get his brother. He grabbed Percy by the trouser leg and began pulling him towards the tank.

"Mouse! Perky, mouse!" Peter now had to impress this older boy. As Percy tilted his head to look at him, Peter tilted his head the same way. That sealed it. Percy bought Peter, and his parents bought a cage. Peter had finally wormed his way out of certain death. As they left Ron noticed the rat's missing toe.

"Eeewww!" Molly took a look at it.

"Oooh, that will have to be treated. Looks like a scab's formed."

"Scabbers!" said Ron in a pathetic attempt to mimic his mother and gain praise. Unfortunately for Peter, this name stuck for another twelve years.