What You Never Knew

Peter Pettigrew: A True Gryffindor

1. Peter Pettigrew strove to be different.

Neither of his parents was in Gryffindor; his father was a Muggle, and his mother was a Hufflepuff. Whenever any of Peter's relatives saw him, they'd say, "He's certainly your son, Robert- look at the boy!" or "He's a shy one, he is- I remember you at his age, Maggie, you were the same way!" He loved his parents more than anything in the world, but he hated being compared to them; he wanted to make a name for himself.

2. The Sorting Hat wanted to put him in Ravenclaw.

When Peter sat down on that stool and had that infamous hat plopped rather unceremoniously onto his head, the first thing it said was, "Well, we have a smart one here! Ravenclaw would be good for you!" It had good reason to say this; for while Peter certainly did not excel in his schoolwork, he was always the mastermind behind the elaborate pranks he and his fellow Marauders pulled. In the end, the Sorting Hat agreed that Peter would do well in Gryffindor, stating, "Well, you've certainly got daring and bravery- even if people don't see it. I just hope you'll put your bravery to good use."

3. He never liked Sirius that much.

Sirius always took credit for the pranks; sure, he and James carried them out, but he always bragged about creating the pranks. This irked Peter to no end- for once in his life, he was better at something than everyone else, only to end up unrecognized for it. But what annoyed him more was that James and Remus always knew what Sirius did- and even though they didn't join in, they never did anything to stop it.

4. He fell in love in Fifth Year.

Her name was Alyssa Smithson, and in his opinion, no name was sweeter. She was even shorter than him- a rare feat to accomplish, even for a girl- with shiny blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, and a smile that lit up the room. But she never noticed him- she was too busy pining after Remus. Peter couldn't help resenting his friend for this, even though Remus never returned her affections.

5. Lily Evans was his true best friend.

Nobody could see why the two got along exactly, but they did. Peter was always Lily's favorite of the Marauders, and they could often be seen chatting in the common room, completely at ease. It was during these chats that he convinced Lily that James was a wonderful bloke who truly loved her more than life itself. So, Lily and James get together. And what did Peter get in thanks? He never talked alone with Lily for the rest of the year, because she was always too busy with James. Some may have said that Peter had a crush on Lily, but that was entirely untrue; he just missed his best friend. He always blamed James for that.

6. The first Slytherins he ever met were Severus Snape and Regulus Black.

He accidentally bumped into the two of them in the hallways in Sixth Year on his way to lunch, and, being the unlucky klutz he was, dropped all of his books. To his surprise, Regulus knelt down and picked them up for him. "Thanks," Peter had told him, grabbing the books hastily.

"You're welcome," Regulus had said, his face expressionless.

Just then, Lily had passed by, and had smiled at Peter, and scowled at Severus and Regulus- Severus especially. Peter noticed that Severus gazed after the redhead longingly as she walked away, his face etched with pain.

That was when he had decided that maybe not all Slytherins were that bad after all.

7. He only joined Voldemort at first to protect his father.

Peter knew that Voldemort was going around killing Muggles, and he was very aware that, because of this, his father was in grave danger. So he became a Death Eater, sure that Voldemort wouldn't attack the family of one of his own henchmen- Peter knew that was what he was. He was alright with that, as long as his father survived the upcoming war. Family was everything to Peter.

8. Even though he was a Death Eater, he didn't mean to tell Voldemort where the Potters hid.

The truth was, Voldemort had given him a goblet of wine at a Death Eater meeting, and Peter, never having been especially gifted at Potions, drank it, unable to tell there was Veritaserum mixed in. So, later that evening when Voldemort asked him where the Potters were, Peter had truthfully told him. Deep down, Peter wanted to tell his friends this- but he knew they would never believe him. His Animagus was a rat, after all.

9. The only time he was truly scared was when Sirius confronted him after the Potters died.

It wasn't that Sirius was a significantly better dueler than him; it wasn't that Peter was an awful liar, and knew it, too; it was that true madness shone in Sirius' eyes. Peter had never seen that in his eyes before, and it scared him more than anything else ever could. He knew that crazy people did things that they would never do otherwise; and so, Peter had transformed into a rat. He didn't mean to kill so many people, though- his fear made his wand act on its own accord. He never wanted Sirius to go to Azkaban.

10. He never regretted his death.

Peter regretted many things in life. Dying to save Harry Potter's life was not one of them. Plain and simple as that.

Peter Pettigrew was like Lord Voldemort in that he made all the wrong choices- even if he made them for what he thought were the right reasons. He was, indeed, a true Gryffindor; he was both brave and loyal. He had always been loyal to whoever's side he was on, and no matter what anybody said about him, he was exceedingly brave; for just as it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your friends, it takes even more to betray them.

Please review! Suggestions for which characters you want to have a chapter are welcome!

-Joelle8