Seventh Year Peter:
Peter had friends. Peter had always had friends. He had Sirius and James and Remus, his fellow Marauders. There were all brilliant, and they pulled pranks and caused mischief and were bloody awesome together.
They were a group. They had always been a group, even though they weren’t very much alike, really.
Remus was the natural prefect. He always knew all the answers in class, which Peter couldn’t understand. How could he fit that much junk in his head? Remus was all about not getting anyone killed and keeping out of trouble, which was ironic, since he was the one with the greatest potential to get someone killed or get into trouble, being a werewolf and all. Peter wondered if that was why he had such a stick up his arse sometimes. He wasn’t always like that, though. Sometimes he got the Marauders out of trouble by lying to professors.
Sirius was the reckless one. He was proud and moody and Peter was admittedly sometimes slightly frightened when he had that wicked gleam in his eye. He was very glad that Sirius was his friend and not his enemy. Sirius was usually the mastermind behind their more elaborate schemes; Peter suspected he was smarter than he let on (though most people seemed smart to Peter). He never studied, but always got off with marks almost as good as Remus’.
James was the headstrong one. If he decided he wanted something, he wouldn’t give up on it. Usually, the things he wanted most (like Lily Evans) were the things he was least likely to get, but he always managed to turn the odds in his favor. James was an odd blend of Remus and Sirius, but managed to be somehow distinct. He started out more like Sirius, immature and changeable, thinking only of pranks and avoiding real work. Over time, though, he had grown, becoming head boy and learning to balance responsibility and practical jokes. Peter idolized James Potter, and he suspected that, of all of them, James would have the brightest future.
As for him… well, Peter wasn’t sure anymore. Back in fifth year, he would have said that he was one of the Marauders, and would have proudly announced that he was the funny one. Sirius and James were always laughing at the things he said. Things had been shifting lately, and Peter didn’t like it. The others were planning ahead. Remus wanted to do research and teach, Sirius wanted to be a curse breaker, and James wanted to work for the Ministry. The end of seventh year was approaching, and Peter still did not have any definite plans.
Peter felt himself slowly being left behind. Sirius and Remus were constantly spending time alone together, and they never opened the door when he knocked to be let in. James was always spending time with Lily. This left Peter alone, which never happened before. Remus and Sirius used to be close, but never like this, and James and Sirius used to be like brothers. Now, Lily always came first. Peter could always count on James to include him in things, but that had changed, too. Peter didn’t fit like he used to. Peter was alone.
In a few months, their time at Hogwarts would be over. They would all move to the real world, and that scared Peter. He could handle pranks and secret passageways and causing problems for professors. He could probably handle jobs and money and real world issues if his Marauders were around to help him through it. However, he was losing his best friends to the real world already, and he had not even left the halls of the school.
Peter Pettigrew had come to the bitter realization that everyone had something to contribute to the group but him, and he was finally being left behind.
His Marauders were moving on without him.
He would face the working world completely alone.
