...the reason Peter Pettigrew betrayed Lily and James Potter as there secret keeper on that Halloween night is because he was under the imperious curse? What if the curse didn't break the night Voldemort was temporarily destroyed, so he continued his orders and framed Sirius for his death in order to keep serving his "master"? What if, on the night he revived Voldemort, when the flesh of the servant was "willingly given", he was screaming in his head that it wasn't willingly, and had to the endure the pain of losing yet another part of himself to the bastard who ruined his life? What if he spent all those years trapped inside his own head, mourning the loss of his friends and the guilt of what he had done, only to be reminded every time someone used his childhood nickname as an insult to him? What if he only gained control again when in the basement of Malfoy Manor, pushing his will against the curse, after years of trying and failing? What if he was so determined to finally right his wrongs and repay Harry, he used the opportunity to strangle himself so that Harry had a chance to escape? What if, after Ron and Harry had to leave him dying on the floor, the spirits of James, Lily, and even Sirius came to him, whispering words of comfort? What if they told him he was beyond brave, that they were proud of him, because they now understood what he had suffered? What if he smiled in those final moments, a single tear controlled by his own will slid down his face as he went into his friends arms? What if?
