Chapter – 13: Suspicious activity (and the lack of it)
Peter P.O.V
Peter scurried down the corridor, sticking to the shadows. Even as a rat, the ingrained instincts to hide and watch his back were always on the forefront of his mind. After all, Slytherins were prone to attack him as soon as they caught sight of him alone. They feared Sirius and James and for good reason, sometimes Peter did too.
The reason for his current foray into the dungeons all came down to one person, Snape.
Peter didn't trust him. Sure, Snape 'made peace' with the marauders and Lily had to often act as mediator, but Peter had seen Snape when Lily wasn't around, and someone like Snape wasn't likely to change so fast. He wouldn't become a good guy suddenly if he had been like Snape.
There was a reason Snape was sorted into Slytherin, everyone knew that, and it certainly wasn't his ambition. For Merlin's sake, it was common sense that presentation was the most important thing to achieve anything in life. That, a good first impression and a semi-nice personality. Of which Snape possessed none.
It was obvious that Peter had a lot of problems with Snape, but so did the other marauders – Sirius and James at the least. Since James was going along with Lily's 'make nice with the enemy' gesture, Sirius was busy sniffing around his family and other purebloods, Remus could care less about Snape and his involvement, it fell to Peter to carry out this task.
This task, being finding some incriminating evidence about Snape. As most of his friends had lucked out in the eavesdropping department, Peter figured he'd give it a go. His rat form was useful for a disguise, and no one would suspect a rat of all things.
The biggest challenge in his plan was getting into the Slytherin common room.
Peter followed Avery into the room, but from there it had been a complete failure. Neither had he found any incriminating evidence, nor was there any interesting conversations going on.
Disheartened, and completely bored, Peter scurried out of the common room and tried his hand at leaving the dungeons. When he stopped to think about the direction back, however, he was lost. He had been intent on following Avery and now, he was lost.
Upset, yet unwilling to change back into a human, (he did not want to be tortured by any Slytherins, thank you very much) Peter picked a direction and started walking. He knew there was a secret passage from the fifth floor somewhere down here. All he had to do was find the talking portrait of a squirrel, or something of the sort.
It wasn't until he was much deeper into the dungeons that he crashed into Lucius Malfoy. At least, he would've crashed if he was a human. As a rat, he simply walked through Malfoy's legs.
And then stopped.
What was Malfoy doing here? Malfoy had graduated years ago, two years to be precise. So, why was he here?
Rejuvenated by his luck, Peter stood in the shadows and waited.
A couple of minutes later, and there were footsteps headed their way. Narcissa Black appeared and smiled in Malfoy's direction. If he had been human, Peter would've gagged at seeing the two Slytherins kiss. As it was, he barely controlled himself as a rat.
"Ready to go?" Malfoy asked, leaving his arm around Black.
She smiled. "Of course."
They walked further into the dungeons, and Peter followed them. It didn't take him long to figure out that the two didn't have permission to do whatever it was they were doing. Certainly not the headmaster's at the very least.
"Would you prefer Borgin and Burkes?" Black asked, laughingly and Peter stilled.
They were leaving Hogwarts to go to Knockturn Alley? This was bound to be informative at the very least. Determined, Peter continued following them, straining to hear their conversation.
"Slughorn won't check?" Malfoy was clarifying.
"When was the last time he did?"
Peter was surprised by that. Slughorn didn't check on the Slytherins? Even McGonagall with all her numerous duties did!
"Very well. I suppose your cousin will cover for us?"
Black laughed, loud and clear. "Nobody will ask. Reggie knows how to keep everyone in control."
There was a huff of laughter from Malfoy, then the two turned to the lone portrait on the wall, a dark wizard by the looks of the plaque.
"Let us out, would you?" Malfoy asked, or perhaps he ordered.
The portrait inclined his head, taking them both in, but it opened. They stepped through and Peter hurried after them. He wouldn't miss this opportunity!
In his hurry, he didn't notice where they were and what room he had just entered. When he looked, he saw a huge study. A desk on one side and bookshelves lining the opposite wall. There were a few extra chairs, but none looked recently used. The reason the two stepped in was immediately clear – there was a fireplace, with a blazing fire.
They were going to Floo to Knockturn Alley. Peter's heart stopped. How would he follow them?
Black waved at Malfoy, picked up some Floo powder and threw it into the fire. In a second, the fire flared green and she was gone. Then, Malfoy was stepping forward, and Peter grabbed onto the hem of his robes as he stepped into the green fire.
It was disorienting to Floo travel as a rat. That was the first thing that registered in his brain, along with the urge to retch. He wasn't hanging onto Malfoy's robes any longer, nor was he a rat.
He had reached Knockturn Alley though, which was a relief. He would rather not be stuck in some random place, with no way to get back to Hogwarts.
"You, what do you want?" A hag pointed at him, snarling and he scowled. What was it with people and pointing at him rudely?
Ignoring her, he removed his wand and flicked it a few times, changing his hair to a darker brown, his eyes to a pale grey and made his face sharper, less chubby. He may not be the genius his friends were, but he did know basic common sense and magic.
He walked through the Alley, towards Borgin and Burkes and found Malfoy and Black talking to someone with bright red hair. The person had their back turned to him, yet she seemed entirely too familiar.
He approached and his heart lurched. Malfoy and Black glanced at him and his interest in the girl, then smiled politely and left. Peter was hoping he was wrong in his assumption, but with so much of the evidence pointing at it, how could he be?
The girl turned at their abrupt departure and Peter grimaced. The girl, vampire now, winced. Peter steeled his nerve and met her eyes.
He hissed at her, "What are you doing here, Evans?"
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