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Searching for Peter Pettigrew


Peter landed with a jolt, on all four feet. He stood there, breathing rather hard, heart racing, nose twitching, quite terrified. He’d been so certain he was plunging to his death or else would have landed with at least one or two broken bones that it took his brain a moment to run inventory over all his body parts to find that he was absolutely fine.

His nose twitched at unfamiliar scents then and he took a couple timid steps toward some moonlight that was coming in through another grate a few feet away. Every step he took he felt the floor profusely with his whiskers and a couple of taps of his foot ahead of himself to make sure that the floor didn’t simply disappear again as it had before. It took him a couple moments this way to reach the grate and he peered out it, his little nose jutting out the holes in the grate and twitching about before he pulled the rest of himself through.

It was another dormitory that he’d come out in, and he looked around. The general layout of the room was similar to the third year dorm, but it had entirely different scents, since it was home of an entirely different set of boys. He looked around in the dark. Rat vision was terrible, he thought, and he breathed deeply. It seemed he could smell and feel things more than he could see them and he moved slowly forward.

Now to find a way to get to the common room from here… perhaps he could squeeze beneath the dormitory door? He’d have to try it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to keep taking his chances with running through the dark, unknowable air vent system, where he could, at any moment, go tumbling multiple floors down as he’d just done. Next time, he might not get so lucky with landing on his feet… and he had to get to James and Sirius in the common room or else back to his own dormitory to wake Remus.

He was under one of the desks, about halfway to the door, when he spotted a bar of chocolate on a nightstand, glowing in the moonlight. Distracted from his mission, Peter hesitated, sitting on his ratty haunches and looking over at the chocolate, tapping his little paw fingers together, contemplating a moment. Then he ran for the night stand, wobbling in his path, weaving along, ducking under one of the beds.

The springs of the mattress squealed as the boy asleep upon it shifted and hummed in his sleep. Peter held still a moment, trembling and looked for a hiding place on instinct. He quickly ducking into an overturned shoe and curled into the toe, trembling for a moment, waiting for something terrible to happen. But nothing did. The boy hadn’t woken up, he’d only moved and continued on with his slumber, and Peter soon ventured back out of the shoe and continued on his way to the nightstand.

He stood before it, like a worshipper before a wooden god in a temple, before scrambling up the curtain of the boy’s four-poster and leaping nimbly onto the little table. He wove between the stuff on the nightstand - a wind up alarm clock, a wand, a broken quill and -- there it was. A half finished bar of Honeydukes caramel fudge delight. He squeaked in excitement and ran forward, plowing his twitchy little nose into the caramel and taking a gigantic bite.

If it was possible - the candy bar tasted even better as a rat. His senses overloaded, he flailed about in absolute euphoria. Ah the splendor! Oh the wonder! This was positively the most delicious thing he had eaten in all of his life!

“BLOODY HELL, A RAT!”

Peter was halfway through the candy when he heard the voice and looked up to see Andy Woodhouse quickly grab the textbook on the nightstand and raise it above his head - and Peter realized he had the intent of smashing him with it and he bolted as quick as he could as the book came down - hard - on the table right behind him, only just missing his tail. Peter took a flying leap from the edge of the nightstand, soaring through the air toward the hardwood floor. Andy grabbed his wand from the nightstand. “Stupefy!” he shouted, aiming for the rat. The sparks flew and Peter dodged them with a squeal - “Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!

“What is going on!?” Frank Longbottom’s voice asked as he sat up and flicked his wand to turn on the lights. “Andy?”

“Oiiii! Some of us are trying to sleep seeing as it’s night time!” came the voice of another of the fourth years, Jackson Maw.

“Yeah turn out the damn lights!” came a fourth, this belonging to Tobias Clement.

“THERE’S A RAT!” Andy answered.

“What? Where?!” Tobias asked.

Andy’s spell nearly hit Peter, who dodged quickly under one of the desks, unsure where to go. The air vent was pretty far but he realized that was the only place he knew he could fit to get away and so he took a couple deep breaths, prepared himself and hurried across the room. “Stupefy!

“That’s not how you catch a rat, you idiot,” said Frank. “Accio, rat!

Peter’s little toes scrambled to hold onto the floor, but he felt himself lifted quite quickly from the floor and he flew through the air, landing in Frank’s palms. He wriggled desperately, trying to get away, but Frank’s hands were quite firm. “He could be somebody’s pet,” he said, “He’s quite fat, so he’s well fed.”

Andy made a face.

Tobias asked, “How did he get in here, though?”

“Dunno,” Frank replied. “Who has a rat, anybody know who has a rat?”

“Doesn’t that one first year boy have one?” asked Jackson, “What’s his name? The little scrawny one.”

“They’re all little scrawny ones,” Andy said.

Frank turned Peter, who was squealing and squeaking and scrabbling his paws like crazy, trying to get away. Frank looked at his little eyes and twitchy nose, holding him up at face level. “Hey little guy, we’re gonna figure out who you belong to. Until then…” Frank looked around the room for something to keep him in and he nodded to a box that held Andy’s broom servicing tools. “Empty that plastic box there, Andy, just for tonight.”

Andy grumbled something about filthy rats, but he went and overturned the box onto his desk chair and shoved it onto Frank’s lap. Frank shoved a couple balled up socks into the bottom, “So you’ve something to nest in, little fella…” and the rest of the candy bar, “...looks like you’ve already started on it, so you might as well finish it off…” and Peter, squealing and trying to escape, and shut the top of the box.

They could hear Peter’s claws scratching at the inside of the box in desperation for a few moments… and then he stopped.

“Sorry, little fella,” said Frank, “But it’s all we’ve got. Just eat your candy bar and get some rest.” He looked at Andy Woodhouse. “Honestly, trying to stun a rat!” He shook his head.

Tobias waved his wand and cut out the lights.

Peter quivered and shook in the box, frantic. He was stuck. There was no escaping, no catching up to James and Sirius. He didn’t know what to do. He was so scared, he felt as though he would pass out with the fear. He trembled.

Well, he thought, I’m stuck here anyways, might as well make the best of it… and with that, he grabbed onto the candy bar and dragged it over to the socks and snuggled up, eating the chocolate has he curled up and fell asleep.




Meanwhile, James and Sirius had used the Marauder’s Map to skillfully avoid Filch and Mrs. Norris, using the Trophy Room Passageway to get down to the third floor, and rushing down the grand staircase and out the Entrance Hall doors to the grounds. They ran along the wall before tearing across the grass as quick as possible, clutching the invisibility cloak ‘round themselves, until they reached the edge of the trees, careful to stay out of sight of Hagrid’s hut. Arriving to their destination, they pulled the cloak off and James tucked it into his pocket as he looked about. “Now what?” he asked Sirius.

Sirius looked around, clutching the map and his wand. “Dunno… I s’pose we look for signs of a struggle and follow them ‘til we find Veigler or Peter?” But when they looked around themselves, there weren’t any signs of anything having passed this way in some time. In fact, the leaves looked quite fermented in their place. They walked for a bit, looking for something and they’d made nearly an entire lap around the castle and were beginning to feel like it was rather hopeless.

“Knowing Peter, he could’ve passed out the moment Veigler came up behind him,” James said, “Or Veigler could’ve stunned him or put the petrificus totalus on him or --”

Sirius frowned, “True… He better not bloody hurt Peter or I’ll --” he whipped his wand at a brush angrily, breaking a couple branches in his violence.

“Yeah, me, too,” James nodded. “Poor Peter. He’s so defenseless.”

“You know, he’s afraid he’s part squib?” Sirius said quietly.

“Why’s he think that?”

Sirius said, “His sister, Maggie. Apparently she’s just turned eleven over the summer - didn’t get her Hogwarts letter. They didn’t know. Peter’s upset about his grades now, thinks he might be part squib.”

“Rubbish!” James said, “Peter’s good… when he tries hard enough… sometimes.” Actually, Peter wasn’t all that grand, but James was feeling sorry for Peter at the moment and worried for him and he didn’t want to admit that Peter’s magical skills were somewhat questionable. “He learned silent spell before I did,” he pointed out.

“Yeah,” Sirius nodded, feeling very nearly the same way.

They came around the last bend ‘round the castle, finding themselves by the front gates and the path that led up to the doors they’d come out of. They’d been all the way around without a single shred of evidence that Peter or Veigler had been this way. “Now what?” James asked, looking to Sirius.

“Now we --” Sirius started, but he was interrupted suddenly by a very big, very furry shape coming up from behind them. They both let out loud shouts -- “YETI!” yelled Sirius, “YETI!!” and he bolted, running pell-mell up the path toward the castle, not giving a damn who saw him.

James bolted after him. “WAIT FOR ME!” he shouted. Sirius paused only long enough for James to pass by him on the path and then he started running again, too, keeping James ahead of him.

“Wait! Yeh ain’t su’posed’ter be out here at this hour!” came a booming voice and James came to a halt. Sirius slammed into James, not prepared to stop. “Don’t yeh be runnin’ away! Blimey! I ain’t made ter be runnin ‘after no children…” Hagrid, wrapped in a big furry coat, his hair and beard particularly wild, came up behind them, galloping up the pathway, panting. “James Potter, Sirius Black… What’re you lot doin’ out on the grounds at this hour?” He demanded, looking them over sternly.

James looked at Sirius and then turned back to Hagrid. “Someone’s taken Peter!” he said.

“What do yeh mean, taken Peter?” Hagrid asked, confused.

“I mean that someone has kidnapped Peter, we think!” James replied.

“Kidnapped Peter? But who --” Hagrid looked stunned.

“Yes!” Sirius said quickly, cutting in, “And it was --”

“Professor Veigler!” said James, but not in an accusatory tone, in a surprised salutation, cutting off Sirius’s words before he could say exactly the same name. Sirius looked the way James was and saw the Professor was coming up out of the woods from the same direction that Hagrid was coming from.

Hagrid turned, “There yeh are, Professor. Sorry, I didn’t mean ter leave yeh behind like that, yeh see I saw these kids an’ I didn’t wan’ter have ‘em go gettin’ in’ter no good.” James noticed now that Hagrid had his crossbow slung over his shoulder on his back and a large boarhound dog followed Professor Veigler up the hill.

“Quite alright, Rubeus,” Professor Veigler answered. He looked around at James and Sirius, “Are you two boys okay?” James had gone quite pale at Veigler’s arrival and Sirius’s face was twisted in an angry expression.

Hagrid said, “Seems their friend’s missin’...”

“Yeah,” Sirius said, “Have you seen him?” His voice was harsh.

Professor Veigler looked surprised. “Me? No, I’m sorry, I haven’t. I’ve been in the Forest with Hagrid here for some time, we had some business to take care of tonight…” He looked them over.

James said, “Well Peter Pettigrew’s missing.”

Professor Veigler looked very nervous. Probably because he’d been the one that kidnapped Peter, thought Sirius. But what could he have done with Peter before seeing Hagrid? What if he’d transfigured Peter into something and sent Hagrid off to kill whatever it was he’d transfigured Peter into? What if Hagrid had already done the deed?! Sirius looked at Hagrid, “What were you doing in the forest?” he demanded.

Hagrid looked affronted by the accusatory tone that Sirius was pitching, “We was settin’ protection ‘round the perimeter the school, not that I need ter be answerin’ ter yeh about it!” he said, eyeing Sirius.

James looked even paler. He turned to Sirius, “C’mon, mate,” he said tensely, looking from Veigler back to Sirius, “I’ll reckon Peter probably just got separated from us and went back to the common room and will meet us there…”

Sirius gave James a funny look, “But he wasn’t --”

“C’mon, Sirius,” James said with a hard tone to his voice.

Sirius stared James in the eye a moment, then relented, “Alright, fine.” He turned to follow James.

Professor Veigler cleared his throat, “You can’t possibly believe you’ve been caught out of bed, out of the school, at this hour, all the way at the edge of the school grounds, without being punished, do you?”

James made a face and turned back ‘round to look at Veigler, “We were just trying to find our friend,” he said, “Can’t you go easy on us… sir?”

Professor Veigler gave them a very stern look.

Hagrid shifted and looked down at his large dust bin lid sized hands to avoid their faces.

Sirius and James both fixed them with a pleading expression.

Veigler said, “Fine. But if Minerva or Argus or anyone else catches you in there, it’s on your head, I’ve ever seen you. Get out of here. I hope you find your friend. Please come to my office if you don’t, I’d like to help you find Mr. Pettigrew.”

“Yes sir,” James and Sirius bolted for the castle doors.

Professor Veigler and Hagrid stood, watching the two of them fade off into the shadows, headed for the school. “That was nice of yeh,” Hagrid mumbled.

“Yes,” Professor Veigler said quietly. He looked back over his shoulder at the forest, “I don’t like how close they got to the forest without being spotted, though. It’s not safe.”

“I know what yer sayin’,” Hagrid nodded, “Ain’t safe in there for nobody at the mo’.”

Veigler shook his head, “Or ever, for that matter. Especially for those two.”

“Especially for --?” Hagrid looked confused.

“Never you mind, Hagrid… never you mind…” Professor Veigler waved toward Hagrid’s hut, “C’mon, let’s go and have a bit of a nightcap before we tuck in.”

Hagrid smiled, “As though yeh read my mind, Professor,” he said, nodding and leading the way, whistling for the boarhound to follow along. Professor Veigler looked up at the castle before following after Hagrid, a concerned look on his face, his eyes traveling up to the tall spire that was Gryffindor tower.