Sirius spent his last few days of the break almost exclusively with Heather. In fact, on most days he was already down eating breakfast with her by the time Peter clambered out of bed. So, Peter was left entirely to his own devices; an experience which was entirely new to him.

At the beginning, he spent his time attempting to study by reading over his class notes and school books… but he soon gave that up as a waste of time. See, he could never manage to understand any of it without one of his brilliant three best friends lending a hand, and he was too scared to ask Sirius for help again. Sure, his friend had cooled off since Peter's first day back, but Peter knew that he wouldn't be happy about spending any more of his time with his chubby buddy instead of his gorgeous girlfriend, and he didn't want to annoy him.

For this reason, Peter took to wandering the Hogwarts halls. After a while, he started transforming into a rat, so that he could explore and sneak into the kitchens completely unnoticed. Then, it occurred to him to follow Sirius and see who his new girlfriend was: he couldn't for the life of him recall what the quiet Slytherin girl named Heather looked like.

That morning, he woke early but stayed in bed, pretending to be asleep. He remained motionless, listening for the telltale creaking sound that Sirius's bed made when he got up, and didn't get out of his own bed until Sirius had closed the door and begun his descent of the Gryffindor Tower. Then, he quietly crept out of bed, transformed into his trademark rodent and hurried to catch up to his friend.

Once Peter had Sirius in his line of sight, it was only too easy to remain hidden in the early morning shadows behind him. His paws made the faintest scuttling noises as he trailed his target, but Sirius was too preoccupied to hear.

Peter followed his friend all the way down to the Herbology Gardens, where Heather was waiting; and then he was completely blown away. She was breathtakingly beautiful; fair and slim, and she had a wonderful air of innocence in her face like a child. And her arresting, wide brown eyes lit up like stars when she saw Sirius coming. How had no one ever noticed her before?

Feeling relatively certain that he was in the presence of the most beautiful person who'd ever graced the planet, Peter realized that he didn't blame Sirius in the least for abandoning him. But it still hurt. Because when Peter saw the perfect couple before him, his own feeble relationships stood out in stark contrast. Did he really love anyone as they loved each other? Was there anyone in the world who really loved him?

And just like that, Peter realized that he couldn't stay there watching anymore; he couldn't take it. So, he left the room, transformed back into a boy in a nearby broom cupboard (he thought that he'd heard Mrs. Norris earlier, and didn't want to take any chances…), and began trudging back towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

It was then that he was spotted by one of the only other students who was still staying at the castle: Severus Snape.

*""*

Snape had been looking for the plump boy for a long time now, but somehow he'd never been able to locate him. But that didn't matter, now was his chance.

Stealthily creeping up behind Peter, he spoke, "Thereyou are, Pettigrew. I've been looking all over for you."

Peter let out a yelp and jumped almost a foot in the air from fright. Then, he turned around and pointed his wand at Snape; what do you want?"

Does he honestly think that pulling his wand out will make any difference against me? He's pathetic.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Snape plastered a grimace-like smile to his face, "Relax, Pettigrew. I was just wondering how you were."

If anything, this made Peter feel even more wary; nobodyever cared about how he was doing. No one at all. "D - don't lie to me, Snape. What do you want?"

Hmmm, so he's not quite as stupid as I'd first suspected… no matter, I'll soon win him over.

Snape's smile became real as he realized that Peter may have more merit than he was aware of, "Peter, all I want is to talk to you. You see, over the last few months I couldn't help but notice that you don't truly… belong with the Gryffindor's you used to spend your time with."

"Don't you think I know that?" Peter snapped, feeling rather hurt. He didn't need anyone else reminding him that he wasn't nearly as popular or talented as his friends. "And what do you mean used to spend my time with?"

Attempting to look sympathetic, Snape backtracked, "I simply meant that your so called friends haven't exactly been flocking to you with the enthusiasm they ought to. After all, you're so much cleverer than they are."

Peter scoffed, "Now I know you're lying."

"Not at all," Snape extoled, " They may have book smarts, but they aren't nearly as quick thinking as you are. Besides, they're always wasting their time with childish pranks and girls, whey they could be achieving such more; especially if they took the time to consult you."

Here Peter couldn't help smiling despite his inner doubts. It was seldom that anyone saw anything in him that was praiseworthy. "You know, maybe you're right…"

With a grin, Snape replied, "Of course I am. And to prove it, I'd like to invite you to a little get together that me and some friends are having when they get back. We could use a guy like you, Peter."

"It's a young death eater meeting, isn't it." Peter stated dubiously. The Marauder in him was telling him that he shouldn't trust a word the slick Slytherin said, but it's voice was being drowned out by Peter's desire to be accepted.

Snape laughed, "Who did you here that from; your friends? They like to make us sound far more evil than we are to make themselves look more heroic; remember that."

Turning this new thought over in his mind, Peter realized that it made sense; James and Sirius did have large egos. What if they'd been lying to him about their accomplishments all these years just to make themselves look more impressive than him?

"Alright, Snape. When is this meeting?"

*""*

"Oh, won't you please come with me? Please?"

"No, Sirius, I'm busy arranging posies."

Plopping himself down on his usual stump by the greenhouse entrance, Sirius rolled his eyes at his girlfriend, "And what, pray tell, is a posy?"

Heather smiled at him gaily, "A posy is a bouquet of small flowers, and I happen to be an expert at putting them together."

Sirius huffed, "Alright, I'm going to ask you just one moretime nicely and then I'll have to resort to drastic measures. Will you or will you not come with me to Hogsmeade to see our friends arrive in the Hogwarts Express."

Heather let out one of her tinkly laughs, "Hmmm… well, I've told you no about ten times already, so saying yes now would just make me look weak willed."

"That's perfectly fine with me!" Sirius exclaimed irritably, "Now please come already. We're going to be late, and I don't want to have to take you by force."

"You wouldn't." Heather said softly, not even turning around from her pots of flowers.

"Would too." Sirius teased, getting off of his stump to sneak up behind her and whisper in her ear.

But Heather only laughed again. Turning to face him, she smiled her dazzling smile, "No, you wouldn't. You're too much of a gentleman." And she leaned in to kiss him softly on the cheek. "Now, take this," she whispered, holding out a lovely bunch of flowers to him.

Sirius eyed the little bouquet of tiny red and gold blooms with an eyebrow raised, "As the man in this relationship," he started, "shouldn't I be bringing you flowers?"

"Oh, just take them." Heather giggled, gently placing her small gift into the pocket of Sirius' robes, "Now go to Hogsmeade already, or you'll be too late to see the train arrive."

Sirius sighed, "Fine, I'll go alone. But I'm not happy. And if there's one thing you never ever want to do love, it's make a Black angry."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm quivering in my robes," Heather laughed. Then, she gave Sirius one last peck on the lips before turning back to her flowers.

Sirius, for his part, was preparing to make a truly heartfelt apology to James. He'd finally forgiven his friend and had truly started to miss him. So, with a light heart, he started off for Hogsmeade Station.