Disclaimer: I've never read Utopia (:

Chapter 49

A noise at the end of the corridor startled Peter where he sat. He jumped and let out a squeak as he lost his balance and went tumbling off his perch, high up on the windowsill. His fall was suddenly slowed as he was a meter off the ground and before he knew it, he was seated on the floor, dazed.

He looked up.

Regulus Black stared down at him with wide eyes which he quickly hid behind a scornful scowl. He hastily stashed his wand back inside his robes. "Better watch yourself, Pettigrew," he muttered, before striding away.

Peter watched him go, still processing his almost disaster. He only remembering he was sitting in the middle of the corridor when his bag clattered to the floor behind him.

He scrambled to his feet and looked up at the window. There were perks to being an illegal rat animagus, and one of those was getting into places which teenage boys shouldn't technically be able to.

Pointing his wand at his bag and squinting in concentration, Peter swished-and-flicked – twice – and watched it levitate wobblily back up to the sill. With a silent woosh, he shrunk and scampered back up to his hidden spot. James and Sirius may be the face of the Marauders to the rest of the school, but that didn't mean 'shy little Pettigrew' didn't have secrets of his own up his sleeves.

With a smile, Peter relaxed back into the wall and reopened his book, turning to his last page.

It was nice to be underestimated.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The next time he resurfaced was when he reached the back cover of the paperback. By this time, the sun was beginning to set and was bathing him in orange light. Peter closed the book and took a moment to watch the colours dance in the sky.

His mind wandered and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the book in his hands; Utopia. After he had taken the book from James, he had tried to find Hermione to give it back to her, but had been unable to spot her anywhere even with the aid of the map. Having been unsuccessful, Peter had become curious about the book, and decided to vanish to his hiding spot to give it a once-over. He had not meant to read any of it, and had definitely not meant to become enraptured by it.

The thing was, Peter Pettigrew had never read a muggle book.

Now, he was halfway to obsessed.

He had even gone to the library to see if he could find any, but had been spooked by the gang of Ravenclaw's skulking around the pyrotechnic section (why Hogwarts Library had a pyrotechnics section, Peter couldn't tell you, but he could say that whenever the Ravenclaw's hung around it…well, even the Marauders steered clear). That small setback hadn't discouraged him, however, and now he was on a mission to find someone who might be able to point him in the right direction.

Lily Evans had been the first to come to mind, but she terrified Peter (an incident involving blackcurrants and a polka dot umbrella that Peter still shuddered to think about), so there was no way he was going to approach her about this.

His next thought had been Iestyn Welch – the muggleborn boy in Hufflepuff – but then Peter had remembered the time Iestyn had strung up a bunch of Ravenclaws on the Quidditch pitch after he caught them trying to sneak into the girls changing rooms, and changed his mind.

Peter was beginning to lose hope of ever finding more books.

Voices from beneath him brought Peter out of his thoughts. Careful to stay hidden – though he had discovered that not many people thought to look up anyway – he peered over the edge. Two people Peter had never seen before rounded the corner. They didn't look school age, and Peter was sure they weren't staff – the tallest was entrenched in a black cloak, swirling around her ankles with hints of orange as she strode confidently, while the shorter walked with a more anxious energy, dressed in a soft linen top with a flowy skirt.

(So sue him, Peter appreciated a bit of couture now and again, what about it?)

"-n't worry, Mai. He'll wake up," the taller was saying. "You know he's been through worse and survived – there's nothing to say this time is any different."

They passed into the light of the first window and Peter got a glimpse of their faces – he suddenly recognised the tallest from weeks ago when she had come into the Great Hall to see Hermione. The other he had a vague impression of, but as if from a dream…

"You don't know that, Dì," she hissed back. "Even if he wakes, you don't know that he'll be the same. Remember in–?"

The other cut her off firmly. "Yes, I do. But this time is different to Tigris and you know it." They were directly under Peter now, and he craned his head to follow their movements. "Tell me you know it, Mai."

Mai sighed, admitting softly, "Yes, I know." The last thing Peter heard before they turned the corner was, "Time is stronger now. Hermione is stronger…"

Peter mulled over the odd conversation for a couple of minutes in the silence that remained. And then, the answer popped into his head.

Hermione.

Hermione would know where he could get more books.

A/N: so, i swear i didn't disappear, and i didn't forget, everything was just...ugh. okay i'm here. Also, yay! We're getting somewhere!

song rec - Click Bang by Tuka (trust me on this - stick with it, its a good song i promise. good to listen to unthinkingly)