Disclaimer: See Chapter One
Updated: Wednesday 1st June 2005
Chapter Eighty Two: Birthdays, Bludgers and Blunders
The boys had managed to master the art of the Animagus transformation early in the Fall term after having worked towards achieving their forms for the better part of three years.
"You really ought to learn how to become a animagus." Sirius whispered to her conspiringly as he joined her briefly at the Ravenclaw table, where she sat alone. "How often do you get three fully capable Animagi to learn from?"
"Three illegal and unregistered Animagi you mean." Estella clarified.
"Hey we've been through this. You swore the Oath." Sirius admonished, frowning slightly. By all definition, the Marauders had been wary against telling the new girl of their ability and about Remus' condition; but after a few compromising situations, they had no choice but to trust her with the information. Not only had the strange new Ravenclaw girl stumbled across a few truths on her own, but she was highly cluey and would likely have figured it out for herself before long anyway.
"It's for a good cause." He continued.
"Relax Padfoot. I'm having you on." Estella grinned slightly. Even though the Marauders had only just managed to successfully complete their transformations, they had known what their forms were going to be and given themselves nicknames accordingly back in second year. "I just prefer my sleep over gallivanting around the forest at all hours of the night."
"Do me a favour and meet me on the Quidditch pitch at 3pm tomorrow." Sirius said suddenly, leaping from where he had straddled the bench at the Ravenclaw table.
"Why?" Estella asked, absently thinking that Gryffindor Quidditch practice wasn't on tomorrow.
"Come, and you'll find out." Sirius said grinning like a Seeker who had just caught the snitch at the World Cup. "You'll love it."
Then, with a pat on the top of Estella's head, Sirius was gone.
Curious about what her father had in store for her, Estella complied and waited for her father in the designated spot the following day.
"Ahoy below!" Sirius shouted from above her as he swooped down to land his broom at her side, his freshly windswept hair smelling of adventure. "Ready to give it a go?"
"Give what a go?" Estella asked warily. "What's going on here?"
"Come on, we got your broom from your trunk and everything." James added as he landed on Estella's other side. "Surely you can figure out what we're going to do."
"Trust us, Aries." Remus spoke, appearing alongside them carrying another broomstick besides her own. "We may joke around, but we wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone."
Looking pointedly at Sirius and thinking of the time he'd gone too far – leading her uncle to the shrieking shack – Estella trembled.
"No." She protested, pulling back against the grip Sirius and James had lightly assumed on either arm. "I don't want to do this. I told you."
"Aries." Sirius said exasperatingly. "We're only trying to help. Help you overcome this irrational fear."
"People fly brooms all the time." Peter added. Where had he sprung from? "Statistics show that brooms are safer than Flooing!"
"Not to mention more people get splinched each year trying to apparate than those who die falling off broomsticks!" James threw in, squeezing her arm in encouragement. "Besides, my Dad's always saying in class how important it is to be resourceful. What would happen in a battle situation if your only safe way of retreating was on a broom? You would stay and get captured?"
"But I don't want to do this! Not now, I'm not ready." Estella pleaded weakly. "You can't just spring this on me!"
"It's the best way to do it!" Sirius stressed. "If I had told you why I wanted you to come here, you wouldn't have even come this far!"
"Don't make me hex you, Sirius." Estella growled, reaching for her wand only to find that it wasn't there. "What the hell?"
"Looking for this?" James flashed her wand in front of her eyes, the sneaky teen having secreted it from her person in a sophisticated act of misdirection. Then, to her horror, he mounted his broom and took off. "You want it back, you'll have to catch me first."
"What? No!" Estella froze, increasingly vulnerable in the presence of four physically superior boys now she no longer had the protection of her wand. "Remus, I can't believe you are going along with this!"
"Why, I happen to think Sirius has a point." Said werewolf looked at her empathetically. "Come on, we'll all be with you. There's no way you'll fall. We won't let you."
"Deep down you want to do this." Sirius looked at her appraisingly. "If you didn't, you would have left to get a teacher's attention by now."
"Damn you, Sirius." Estella spat, hating that the cocky Gryffindor was right.
"Some day you'll thank me." He said, ignoring the vehemence of her tone as he held out her broom.
"Fine." Estella grumbled, eager to get her wand back and knowing inwardly that she probably would thank her father one day for this cruel-to-be-kind approach. "Let's get this over and done with."
Estella wasn't sure how, but before she knew it she was airborne. Sure enough, her knuckles were white as she held on for dear life, but the more she just allowed herself to absorb the sensation, the more she came to realise that the broom was imbued with cushioning charms that made it feel like there was more than just a flimsy stick of wood keeping her up. Experimentally, Estella mimicked the actions of her escorts as they flew at three points around her, close enough to swoop in and assist her if she needed help. Gradually, Estella felt comfortable in the air, the fear of falling slowly leaving her. Pretty soon, she was testing the limitations of her protoype model – its vast advances in speed and agility compensating for her lack of experience as she fumbled after James on his slower model.
"Give me back my wand, Potter." She shouted, possessed with a sudden sense of liberation as she flew off towards him, leaving a stunned threesome in her wake.
"You were right, Sirius." Remus said, pulling up to a stop to hover next to his friend. "She was born to fly."
"Of course she was born to fly." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Look who she has for family!"
"Let's join in." Peter suggested, finally getting control of his broom – Wormtail was a extremely poor flier. "I think Prongs could do with the help."
Watching in awe as the determined guise of Aries gained on their seeker friend, the three boys exchanged a glance.
"Pity she's not in Gryffindor, hey Padfoot." Remus gawked. "You and her would make unbeatable Chasers."
"If that's the case, we should see if Ollerton can catch." Sirius smirked, a playful glint in his eyes. "Who's up for a game of keep away?"
At that, the three boys shot off towards James, keen to keep Aries up in the air as long as possible.
Two sets of eyes shared a meaningful look as they watched the first task play out. Harry had just summoned his broom – the Firebolt Sirius had secretly given him for Christmas – and he was now expertly manoeuvring around the converted Quidditch pitch with practiced ease.
In his animagus form, all but one man was blind to the tears trickling from his sad grey eyes, soaking the dark fur on his face. All but one man was oblivious to the memory that caused his bittersweet heart to ache.
Looking down at his fugitive friend knowingly, Remus Lupin sighed. Patting the dog on the head comfortingly, he too, had to fight back the tears that threatened to blur his vision of the boy flying before them.
"She'll be alright." Remus whispered softly so only the dog could hear him above the cheers that erupted through the stand. Harry had just caught the egg. Under his ministrations, he could feel the dog's head nod in agreement. "We'll get her back."
Together, the pair continued to watch in silence as the champions were scored and awarded their points. Memories of that day when Sirius had pranked his daughter into overcoming her fear of vertigo brought with it the painful reminder that their best friend, James, had never been able to see his son on a broom, let alone teach him to fly.
Back in time, Estella was having fun trying to retrieve her wand from the malevolent reflexes of the Marauders. In all the harmless fun, she had all but forgotten she was fifty feet up in the air, and she was thoroughly enjoying the sense of freedom being in control of her own flight path – something riding a animal could not afford. It was indescribably better than flying on the back of a winged beast.
Down below, dark obsidian eyes viewed the scene from a starkly different perspective. Many times, Severus Snape had been subject to taunts and ridicule from the four Gryffindors as they stole something from him like a book or a potions vial and he wasn't fast enough to get it from them as they tossed it around to each other. While seeing another student at the receiving end of their mirth relieved him somewhat, it also made him bubble with fury. Who did they think they were to strut around the school terrorising the students?
Exhibiting a demeanour he would not yet perfect for several years to come, Severus Snape crossed the field towards the Broom shed with long, purposeful strides. Summoning himself a competent looking school broom, Severus kicked off from the ground angrily and stealthily made his way towards the leering Gryffindors.
"Leave her alone." He shouted at them, his wand levelled. Severus could not think of why he was coming to the assistance of the illusive new fifth year, but then again, the girl was a pureblood and quite skilled academically - in Potions at least; and so it would serve him well to direct such a resource away from the corrupting influences of McGonagall's golden protégés. If he had it his way he would just hex them and be done with it, but he knew he held no favour in the school's judicial process and so to act so unprovoked in front of witnesses would only land him in inextricable trouble. Not to mention he was presently out numbered and it would be crazy to throw the first hex.
"Who the hell do you think you are, Snivellus?" James spat back at him. "Mind your own bloody business."
"Yeah, Snape." Remus snapped half heartedly. "Stop interrupting our game."
"I hardly think a game of keep away that is depriving a young girl of her wand is universally enjoyable for all parties." Severus glared.
"Oh but that's where you're wrong, Snivellus." Sirius leered. "Aries here is having a grand old time, aren't you?"
Her eyes locking with the dark pools of her future uncle's fiery stare, Estella could only nod weakly. "It's not what it looks like." She assured him. "We're just having a laugh." At that she caught up to a stilled James and took her wand back from his pliable hand. "See, I could get my wand back at anytime. Thanks for your concern though, I do appreciate it."
"Yeah, thanks for your concern, Snivellus." James and Sirius mocked. "Now sod off."
Blinded by his contempt for the two ring leaders of the marauding Gryffindors, Severus glared at Estella coldly, mistaking her honest gratitude for mockery.
"I don't know why I bother." Severus scowled, along with a few other choice words directed Estella's way before turning his back to them and making to swoop back down to earth; looking for all the world like a flying bat.
"I don't think we should let him get away with that, do you?" James cocked his head to Sirius, the two minds aligned in thought.
"After you, dear Prongs." Sirius grinned wickedly, his wand suddenly in his hand.
Realising what they were about to do – cast Merlin knows what at the retreating back of Severus – Estella sprung into action.
"No!" She yelled, flying into the path of James' body binding spell, the effects of the spell causing Estella to relinquish all control over her broom.
When Estella next awoke, she was in the infirmary.
"What happened?" She asked a much younger version of Madame Pomfrey – the newly appointed medi-witch in this time.
"You fell from your broom." Madame Pomfrey tutted at the child. "When will you children learn that flying and wand play do not mix?"
The memories rushed back to her.
'There's no way you'll fall. We won't let you.' Estella scoffed at Remus' remembered words. So much for that promise.
"You must be feeling awful, spending Halloween in the infirmary!" The nurse continued, all the while fussing over her bedclothes and pillows. "You've been asleep now for three days!"
"What happened?" Estella rubbed her forehead in confusion. She didn't feel injured.
"You appear to have protected yourself from harm using your magic." The nurse explained, furrowing her brow at a chart at the end of Estella's bed. "Accidental magic. Very unusual for a child your age."
"It's that why I feel so whipped?" Estella asked.
"Your magic was severely exhausted." Madame Pomfrey explained. "Oh don't worry child, it's nothing permanent. You just needed to sleep it off. I'm sure you will be able to join your classmates tomorrow."
"You said it was unusual for a child my age to do accidental magic?" Estella questioned, thinking for some reason that there was simply more to her injuries.
"Well if a wizard can't control their magic by the time they reach magical maturity, a unbidden burst of power could have disastrous effects." Madame Pomfrey explained gravely. "The shock could kill a person."
"But I've been using a wand since I was very small, how can I not have control?" Estella frowned.
"I suspect you do have control." Professor Dumbledore said, appearing from behind a curtain to stand at the child's bedside. "Your magic seems to have a very intuitive sense of self-preservation. Tell me child, did you encounter any close encounters with death in your youth?"
"Several." Estella admitted, not willing to give details. The old man had, after all, insisted not to be told about things that happened in the future, though she was triumphant to see the unbidden curiosity in his blue eyes. "But if I still have such outbursts, aren't I a danger to myself?"
"No." Dumbledore assured her. "When I said that I suspected you do have control, I meant it. You may not consciously be aware that you are calling on your magic to protect yourself, child, but your body knows intuitively how much it can withstand. As such I do not feel you are at risk of depleting your life force."
"But Madame Pomfrey said I was asleep for days, isn't that a disadvantage?" Estella was at a loss.
"Ah, but you see, my child; it was much better than the alternative." The headmaster informed her gravely. "Your friends tell me you fell from quite a height."
Estella's eyes widened. "Please, Professor, don't expel them! It was an accident!" She pleaded, terrified that her presence in this time was going to change things for the future in a negative way.
"Don't worry, child." Dumbledore assured her. "Contrary to the express opposition I have from some, I prefer to allow my students to learn from their own mistakes. I did not find it necessary to punish your friends anymore than they are punishing themselves right now."
"Are they alright?" Estella asked.
"Yes, quite." Albus replied, the twinkle in his eye dancing knowingly. "I took the liberty of suggesting to them that you may benefit from a get well gift… so they have been demonstrably preoccupied finding you something suitable."
"You told them that because it's really my birthday, didn't you?" Estella looked at the headmaster knowingly. "Thank you."
"Far be it for a child to be unable to acknowledge her birthday in some way." Albus replied, winking. "Incidentally, I also told them that I will be requiring much of Poppy's time this afternoon. I do not suspect she will be back until some time after curfew."
Estella smiled at the scheming old headmaster knowingly and bid him farewell, deciding to rest some more before her friends snuck in to see her later that evening.
Sure enough, a little after the Halloween Feast had started, the four Marauders had appeared bearing trays of food and gifts.
"Hey Aries," Sirius said casually as she sat down slowly on the edge of her bed. "Um, we're really sorry for what happened."
"Yeah." James added, nudging a tray of food in her direction. "It's really good to see you up."
"You really should eat, build your strength." Remus encouraged her.
"Tell me guys," Estella stared at them all levelly in turn. "Would you be going to all this effort if it had been Severus who fell?"
"Serves him right if he had, he had no business being up there." Sirius scowled under his breath, yelping when James nudged him forcefully. "Honestly, Aries, we didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. Not even Snivellus."
"He has a name." Estella reminded them darkly.
"Sorry, sorry." James said soothingly. "When I threw that hex at Severus I figured he wouldn't be hurt because he was almost on the ground. Just wanted to see him make an arse of himself and fall, that's all I swear!"
"Merlin Aries, you fell so fast and so hard!" Remus' voice was trembling slightly.
"You were just lying there, not moving at all!" Peter squeaked.
"I don't think I'd ever seen Sirius land that quickly." James gushed. "I thought he was going to crash, he was in such a hurry. We all were."
"We were so relieved to see you were still breathing!" Remus confessed. "But when did you didn't wake up for the longest time…"
"I was so scared." Sirius said quietly.
Estella narrowed her eyes. "Were you scared for me, or scared at what the headmaster would do to you for being so stupid?"
"Scared for you, of course." Sirius snapped back defensively. "Merlin knows we deserved to be expelled. I for one wouldn't have complained."
"Nor would I." James affirmed. "I was surprised as anything when Dumbledore let us off."
"Snape wasn't too happy about it!" Peter gloated.
"He was fully expecting us to be expelled." James interjected.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say he has a thing for you." Remus said, his brow in a knot.
"He better not have! You deserve someone better than that." Sirius growled.
Her eyes catching Peter's as Sirius professed his almost protective urges towards her, she could have sworn she saw the rat animagus flinch.
'What's up with that?' she wondered absently as her gaze fell to a stack of presents at the end of her bed.
"Oh yeah, we, er, bought you some things." Sirius said awkwardly. "Get well gifts."
"To show you how sorry we are." James added.
"Where are Lily and Selina?" Estella asked, curious. She hadn't had much chance to get to know her mother, let alone her godmother, but surely they would have asked after her.
"They didn't want to come." Remus shook his head sadly. Estella frowned.
"They seem to think we are only trying to buy your forgiveness." Sirius signed
"Aren't you?" Estella teased, quirking a brow, her initial fear that the girls didn't care to visit her vanishing.
"We thought you could do with cheering up." James said, his eyes downcast. "We didn't want your first experience on a broom to be all a bad memory, you know?"
"Do you think you'll fly again?" Sirius asked hopefully. "You were really rather good once you got going, and it wasn't just because of the broom."
"My broom!" She said suddenly, thinking back to what happened when Harry had fallen off his broom and worried how the Ollerton's may feel about their prototype being destroyed. "Is it alright?"
"It's fine." Sirius assured her. "Prongs here has been obsessive compulsively polishing it every five seconds for you, but other than that it's fine."
Next to him, James blushed. "I, er…" He faltered. "How about we give Aries her presents?"
Habitually, Estella's eyes fell on Remus first. For many years she was so accustomed to only receiving gifts from he and Severus, it seemed natural to look to him first.
"Uh, here." Remus said awkwardly, his hand reaching over to pluck a small brick-like shape from the pile, which he then handed her.
"I hope you like it." He added as she opened the package to reveal a block of Honeyduke's finest chocolate.
'Some things never change.' Estella sighed sadly, but for outward appearances laughing, as she thought back to the older Remus' addiction to the creamy sweet.
'It always pays to carry some on you.' Remus' voice from a early duelling lesson echoed through her head. When she had walked into their makeshift classroom to learn that Chocolate was on the order of the day she had thought the man had been kidding, but he was anything but. 'You never know when you may find yourself without food or water; and chocolate has many practical properties… it is for example, the first line of defence in treating Dementor exposure.'
"Estella? What's wrong?" Remus asked, noting the far away look in her eye. "Don't you like it?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just thinking of a defence lesson I had about chocolate." Estella said absently, her fingers picking at the wrapping of the chocolate in her hands listlessly.
"A lesson all about chocolate? Sirius scoffed. "Who on earth was your teacher? Honeyduke?"
"Close." Estella quirked her lips, her eyes twinkling as she looked her future Godfather in the eye. "Sometimes I swore they were related though."
"Maybe you should suggest that to James' Dad." Remus said, a wistful look in his eyes. "It would be a good idea to cover chocolate in defence."
Estella couldn't help herself, she laughed.
"Here, open mine next!" Sirius leapt forward excitedly, thrusting a heavy book-shaped object into Estella's hands, eager to see the girl's reaction.
Estella tore open the package with abandon to reveal, surprisingly, a book.
"Why thank you, Padfoot." Estella thanked her father awkwardly, a far away look in her eye. "This truly does surprise me." She had, after all been expecting some sort of Quidditch related gift to try and ignite her interest in the sport.
"It's a journal." Sirius explained. "Selina and Lily helped me with the charms…"
"What charms?" Estella asked, curious.
"Privacy charms." Sirius said, tousling his hair nervously. "So no one will be able to see what you write in there unless you let them."
"We thought you could use it kind of like a pensieve." James elaborated. "Girls go for that sort of stuff, right?"
"Look inside, there's an inscription…" Sirius urged, nudging the book closer to her.
"What, no inscription?" Her voice echoed in her head as she recalled a cherished memory from years past.
"It's a first edition! Even in better condition than my own! I trust implicitly that you will treat it accordingly." The almost forgotten voice of her Uncle had replied. Estella looked down at the journal in her hands and let out a shaky sigh. Now she was nothing more than a competent potions partner to her Uncle she truly began to appreciate just how much he did care for her in her time, even if he did things to Sirius that inadvertently hurt her. The Severus Snape she knew from class would not give up a first edition of such a book easily – especially when it was in better condition than his own edition - let alone brew a potion that would help the likes of Remus Lupin. It would have taken a lot of love and consideration for him to have done things like that for her as he so willingly had.
Returning back to the matter at hand, Estella concentrated on the soft leather in her hands. The journal was bound in a very tasteful, very well appointed, soft black leather. If you looked closely you could see the constellation of Aries embossed in silver thread in the lower right corner of the cover. Opening the book revealed pages of thick, creamery parchment of the finest grain. On the first page lay a dedication in deep crimson ink:
Like the stars in the night sky, may this book be a blazing light in dark times, showing you the way.
Her lashes moist with tears, Estella took in the loving words of her father's inscription once again.
'…may this book be a blazing light in dark times…' She choked back on a sob. What blazing light guided her father through all those years he wasted away in Azkaban as a innocent man?
'You did.' A voice, buried deep in her subconscious whispered in her head.
Looking up to meet her father's eyes defiantly, Estella wondered what her father would be doing at that moment, alone in the future without her. It was then that she realised that as much as she wanted to stay in the past and get to know everyone and possibly try and find a way to change things without endangering the Wizarding world, Estella knew that she had to go home.
"Thanks, Sirius." Estella said, looking at him in surprise. "That was really profound."
Sirius muttered something about it being a quote from a book that was there when he bought it, but didn't go into details. The rest of the bedside party passed like a blur. James had given her a gorgeous peacock feather quill and matching inkwell that she could use in her book. From Peter, Estella had rather reluctantly accepted the gift of a set of Chess pieces carved out of blackwood. They came in a deceptively small midnight blue velvet pouch that was specially charmed to cushion the pieces and make for easy, pocket-sized, feather-light storage – the pouch being no larger nor heavier than a pouch you would receive a pair of earrings in.
Looking into the beady eyes of the rat animagus, Estella realised with a sickening start that the illusive fourth Marauder must have felt more than just honourable intentions towards her. Asides from the odd game of chess, the squashy looking boy remained in the shadows, ever observing. How could she have been so blind as to ignore the almost hopeful looks the boy gave whenever she or Remus had refuted all chances of a relationship between each other?
"What do we have here?" Henry 'Harry' Potter's voice boomed with mock anger as his figure came into the light, calling Estella away from her thoughts. "You were all absent from the Halloween Feast, though Dumbledore seemed to think there was nothing to worry about."
The busted students could only look at each other with dumbfounded expressions as the friendly ex-Auror continued.
"I checked the Common Rooms, the Library, Hagrid's Hut… all the usual haunts." Henry listed off his search. "Sir Nick was quite put out when you failed to make an appearance at his Deadthday party. I never thought of looking here. Why on earth are you all hiding yourselves away like this? You're not messing with hallucinogenic potions, are you?"
"Uh no, of course not!" Several voices chorused indignantly.
"Planning the next prank on your Head of House?" Henry smirked at them knowingly. No one had pinpointed them for the incident with the cat nip, but apparently the former Auror had known all along. The boys suppressed their grin sheepishly and lowered their eyes.
"What do you mean, 'next' prank?" Sirius asked, feigning innocence; though Estella did not miss the conspiratory look he gave her.
"We're not doing anything of that sort." Remus answered truthfully.
"Least not out here, in the open." James muttered, looking at his father directly in the eye; all four boys becoming more at ease when the elder Potter's smirk widened and he winked.
"Drinking fire whiskey you smuggled into the school then?" Henry prodded as though the implicatons of their earlier conversation had not occured.If Estella was not mistaken, thechild-hearted patriarch of the Potter line hadan almost hopeful lilt in his voice. Several heads shook violently in denial. Henry sighed, his eyes taking in the unmistakable signs of festivity. "Visiting a friend in the infirmary then, I suppose?" He stated the obvious almost crestfallenly.
The teenagers nodded slowly, not knowing what else to do.
"Very well then." Henry rescinded, smiling. "Just tell someone where you're off to when you decide to disappear for half the night again, alright?"
The collective group of marauding students nodded.
"And do let Aries get some rest. I want her in top form for our next class."
"Yes sir!" The group saluted playfully at Henry's retreating back.
Inwardly, Estella's heart ached…
"…I will never see my parents again! Never see them cry, never smell them or have them look at me!…" The echo of Harry's angered voice rippled through to the forefront of her memory as she looked into James' bespectacled eyes as they watched his father walk away. It wasn't fair that she got to see it and Harry didn't.
Peter Pettigrew was faced with a dilemma. It was widely known from the likes of Severus and Lucius that Estella Black had gone missing. Though the official story that was going around was that Sirius Black had kidnapped his daughter, Peter knew better.
She was in the past.
Now, with his master working towards taking on a corporeal form once again, the traitorous Gryffindor was at a crossroads. He knew that the Dark Lord would dearly love to know the identity of the young girl who had defied him all those years ago… and so he did the next best thing; he told Lucius Malfoy.
Another spasm wracked itself through Wormtail's prone form – a tribute to Lucius Malfoy's hospitality - and it was not just on account of the Cruciatus Curse's after effects. When Sirius' daughter had gone missing he had assumed that she had been kidnapped by the wrongly accused fugitive… but when she did not return to school, the doubts began to fester in his mind. Knowing the Marauders as only he could, Peter knew that Sirius would not have deprived his child an education. Hogwarts was a special place to Sirius and Remus in particular because neither had very enjoyable home lives. Both would want the Black girl to experience Hogwarts as they had; no matter the cost to themselves.
Casting his mind back to his own memories of the child… chance glimpses he had been afforded during his time as a rat, Peter's mind was stirred with the memory of a long forgotten classmate from the past. Though they looked superficially different, Peter could note similarities in the behaviour and mannerisms between Estella Black and Aries Ollerton. That Aries Ollerton invented a 'divining' game that saw her predict nonsensical things such as James' son becoming a Quidditch Seeker in first year, hit the nail on the head for Wormtail. He had, firstly suspected that the mysterious Aries Ollerton was not of his time when he'd seen Harry join the Quidditch team; but it wasn't until Estella Black didn't return to school that he had a fair idea of who the girl from his past actually was.
Before setting off to Albania in search of his humbled master, Peter had confided his theory to Lucius Malfoy; who actually believed him. But then again, if his own aches and pains were anything to go by, Lucius Malfoy did not need much provocation to turn his ire towards someone. So, with Malfoy left to keep an eye out for the deceptive Black child's return, Peter was intent on finding his master and bringing him back to power. He would be a faithful servant and deliver to his master the child who defied him, and in return he would be protected. With Voldemort in power he wouldn't have to run anymore.
End Chapter: Birthdays, Bludgers and Blunders