I usually solve problems by letting them devour me

it didn’t matter how large or small a scale it was. throwing dungbombs in the corridors at first years? he was always seen holding one. putting a lock spell on all the doors before classes? he takes the wrong way out and runs right into filch. the others would always take the piss out of him, and his miraculous ability to end up in detention every time.

but by the time they reached third year, it was getting old, and since everyone knew the marauders were friends, if peter got caught, it was safe to assume james, sirius, and remus were a part of it, too. so james decided to teach him how to evade detection. plant the seeds in advance, get an alibi, and most importantly, walk around like you’ve done nothing wrong.

by the end of the year, peter has the least amount of detentions of all his friends. the teachers think he’s turned over a new leaf, decided to focus on his classes instead of silly pranks, and hopes that he’s able to convince his friends to do the same. but none of them know that he’s learning how to walk in the shadows better than a ghost.

it’s why no one sees his betrayal coming. he seemed so normal, but underneath their noses, he was slowly disappearing more often, he blamed the stress of the war on his increased paranoia, and he got harry a shirt that was too big for him saying “he’ll grow into it,” knowing he never will.