I protest,

Maugre thy strength, youth, place, and eminence,

Despite thy victor sword and fire-new fortune,

Thy valour and thy heart, thou art a traitor,

False to thy gods, thy brother and thy father,

Conspirant ‘gainst this high illustrious prince,

And from the extremist upward of thy head

To the descent and dust below thy foot,

A most toad-spotted traitor.

--William Shakespeare’s King Lear, Act V, Scene III

*

“…you hear about the Potters?�

“You-Know-Who attacked again…�

“…dead…�

“…Yes, betrayed by their Secret Keeper…�

“…how in Merlin’s name did that child survive?�

“…just last night…�

“The Ministry’s charging Sirius Black with murder…�

“…that poor boy. What’s to become of him?�

“That scum. Killed those poor Muggles and his school friend Peter Pettigrew.�

“…only found his finger.�

“…hope they throw that Black to the dementors…�

“The Boy-Who-Lived has saved us all!�

Tidbits of random conversations flooded his tiny ears as he rummaged through a garbage bin near a pub in Diagon Alley. News spread like wild fire and everyone was talking about it. The streets were filled with gossip and cheers that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been defeated, and by an infant at that. Despite the tragedy that ensued at Godric’s Hollow, the general consensus was that all danger was clear and the war was over. Everyone also agreed that Sirius Black deserved his fate in Azkaban after committing such a heinous crime as the multiple murders of innocents.

*

Lord Voldemort struck again, this time killing a young couple from Godric’s Hollow and attempting to kill their only son. But something went wrong. The boy was not killed and succeeded in diminishing the Dark Lord’s powers so greatly that he was reduced to almost nothing.

Peter knew this was his fault. It was his fault the Dark Lord had been ripped from his body and caused to endure such excruciating pain from the rebounded Avada Kedavra curse. After all, it was he who suggested that his master kill the Potters.

James Potter had been Peter’s friend at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry less than a decade previously, and was artfully persuaded to make Peter his Secret Keeper instead of Sirius Black. Unfortunately for Potter, he was not aware of the double-dealings Peter had with Lord Voldemort, and it was his fatal error of trusting Peter which ultimately led to the downfall of his family.

Peter got wind of a rumored prophecy that a child born at the end of July to parents who had defied Voldemort three times would have power and ability comparable to that of his master. For obvious reasons, Peter betrayed his duties as the Potters’ Secret Keeper to protect his master and ensure his status as the Dark Lord’s lackey and confidant. It was then to his dismay that the Potter boy had survived the forces of Lord Voldemort so easily and affectively that his master was ruined seemingly beyond repair.

But it wasn’t supposed to end this way. Peter wasn’t supposed to be a rat, wasn’t supposed to be scampering along with his face inches above the dingy streets of Wizarding London. He was supposed to be the most revered Death Eater in the world for providing information that would have clenched the Dark Lord’s hegemony forever. He wasn’t supposed to be a fugitive among his fellow dark wizards.

He was on the run for is life, for though he had taken care of Sirius Black, the threat of a Death Eater assault loomed constantly overhead. Every Death Eater in the world was now looking for Peter, for they blamed him for the destruction of their master. Without Peter’s information on the birth of the Potter’s son and the location of the family’s whereabouts, Lord Voldemort never would have been able to attack them and thus never would have been demolished.

The irony is that Peter was spared from the vengeful followers of the Dark Lord by the magic he had been taught by his once-friend, James Potter. Peter always knew becoming an Animagus would be helpful to him, but he had no idea just how helpful until now. Back in school, Potter and his friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, had each become Animagi and helped coach Peter to do the same. He thought of their years together and felt a bitter sting in his side.

Potter, Black, and Lupin were the popular kids at Hogwarts, the ones with whom everyone wanted to associate (the exception being a fellow student by the name of Severus Snape). They were cunning, attractive, and charismatic; their personalities demanded attention wherever they went. Peter latched onto Potter and rode his coattails of popularity all through their educational careers. He was, in affect, cool by association and reveled in the spotlight that diffused from his friends.

Though, like every leech, this sycophant eventually sucked his benefactor dry and failed to see what he had once admired in the raven-haired boy. Peter’s jealousy of Potter reached an all-time high in seventh year at the beginning of Potter’s relationship with Lily Evans, and he drifted ever further from a worthy existence. His masked feelings for Evans made Peter spiteful and determined to be everything his alleged friend was not.

Words were cheap and honor trivial. What was the point to a noble cause? The only thing that mattered was personal gain. There was power to be had by joining the forces of one Tom Riddle, the newly self-proclaimed Lord Voldemort. Opportunities arose, and Voldemort’s offers seemed ever more appealing to the misfit boy. He had a chance to be somebody.

Thanks for everything, Potter. You ruined my life, Peter thought sardonically as he munched on a rotten apple core.

Once in Lord Voldemort’s inner circle, Peter couldn’t have escaped if he’d tried. The Dark Lord’s powers were so tremendous, and his dealings so malevolent, that Peter saw no choice but to submit to the influence of terror. The venomous lesions of Voldemort’s ambition proliferated to men and women who sympathized with his cause. This expanding army of miscreants enforced their master’s wishes and maintained that loyalties would never be compromised. The one time Peter had dared an attempt to back out, the other Death Eaters made sure he suffered duly with a prolonged bout of the Cruciatus Curse. After that, Peter would have done anything to avoid the muscle-racking agony of the curse—even sell out the man who had taken him under his wing.

Now Peter had nowhere to turn. While the one who knew the truth was incapacitated, his life was still in peril by his former cronies. Being a rat was his only option, his only chance at life.

*

The voice of a young boy grew louder in his ear, and Peter felt a tug on his tail as he was hoisted out of his small cage. Finally he would be leaving Magical Menagerie. Finally he would be cared for, appreciated, and loved. Finally.