Chapter Twenty-Six: Lumpy Scarves and Secret Passageways

Peter was very glad that he could honestly tell his mother his grades which were all respectable. She had heard he had gotten detention for looking off James' homework and had been ever so disappointed in him since. It was hard for Peter, it had always been hard for him to do magic considering he had grown up with the possibility that he might be a squib since his mother was one.

But not only had he proven the worries wrong, but he was amongst some of the top students in his grade, thanks a great to deal to Remus' patience in tutoring him. His friend Remus was the first person, besides his family, to ever tell Peter he was smart.

"Course I'm not Remus. I'm rubbish at all of this." He had responded figuring Remus hadn't realized this as in the beginning, after the train, he seemed to want nothing to do with them.

"Yes, you are Peter you just learn a bit differently than others that's all. Once you hear it you're awfully good at the spells it's just you read a bit slower than others that's all." Remus had responded in his quiet yet encouraging manner of his.

Peter was fond of all his friends, though Sirius scared him from time to time. So as soon as he hopped off the train and waved goodbye to Sirius who had grown quite moody on the train and James who was cheerful as always, he had set out to find his family a little torn at leaving his friends.

While Sirius and James didn't seem to care to hear much about his family, Remus always listened to him even if he knew Peter's story would be boring. Sometimes he looked awfully sad when Peter was telling him about his family and all the fun his younger brother, he and his mum got into. Remus was polite enough never to ask about his dad so Peter was polite enough never to ask why he looked so sad.

Of course, he knew now, and he didn't brush off his mother's suffocating hug like he normally would, realizing how lucky he was she was healthy and happy. Neither Sirius' nor Remus' family seemed very nice and after months Peter had found he rather missed his.

"Oh, Petey darling how I've missed you!" His mother cooed smoothing his hair and clasping her hands around his cheeks so she could kiss his forehead. It would have been embarrassing but Peter realized most first years were being greeted in the same manner. From the corner of his eye he could see James' older parents sandwiching him between them in a fashion that made him miss his dad terribly.

"Yeah, Petey we missed you thiiiiis much!" Pipped up his little brother hopping around Peter's feet with enthusiasm.

"I've missed you all too." He responded affectionately. Then they headed out where his grandparents were waiting, away from the crowds. They hugged and kissed him in a similar fashion to his mother, and the five of them went home. It felt good to be home and Peter showed off his magical skills to his five-year old brother until he was caught and scolded by his mother.

His grandparents were a little more understanding and he spent the first evening back curled up on the couch with his brother and mother listening to his grandparents recount their illegal magic use upon returning home for the holidays.

"It's expected really." His grandfather chuckled.

All in all, Peter's holidays flew by much to fast for his liking. He spent several large family dinners with his many aunts and uncles and was delighted to find out one of his aunts was pregnant. His mother was the oldest by almost 15 years in her family and as such most of Peter's aunts and uncles were in their early 20s and two had just graduated from Hogwarts last year.

There had been eight siblings after his mother and they had always been a tight-knit family. No one talked about Peter's father which is how it had been for almost five years now. Peter knew his little brother didn't even remember him but his mother allowed Peter to hang onto a single picture of him and write him from time to time.

However, with as large of a family as Peter had, all living fairly nearby, he never had much time to miss his father. After their large Christmas party which lasted two days and nearly resulted in an arrest after his youngest uncle set a bale of hay on fire, things around the large Pettigrew farm calmed down some. Back home Peter got used to waking up and the crack of dawn and looked forward to when he'd be able to sleep in again.

He was sure to write all his friends and his mom gave him some money so he could buy them presents. He was particularly proud of his choices and delighted he now had friends to shop for. New Years brought another roaring family party in which one of his uncles did get arrested for riding a horse into town nude. Peter's mother was mortified by her siblings like she always was when they all got together, but he found them all a wonderful lively bunch. He was sure Sirius and James would agree though his mother had told him that his energetic friends would be watched carefully if they ever came to visit.

"The last thing I need is for my brother Silvester to slip them some alcohol and then their parents would never let them visit again!" She fretted and Peter didn't have the heart to tell her he wasn't sure if his friends would want to come to visit over the summer. I mean his family was wealthy and had lots of property but both James and Sirius lived in what were practically castles. He couldn't imagine them wanting to come here when they could be at their own homes. He just hoped they'd invite him if they were going to get together.

All too soon he was being coddled and smothered by his mother back on the train station. He promised her he'd write every week.

"Yes for real this time. I promise mom!" He held up the small elf owl his grandma got him for Christmas, which could fit in his hand. He had no excuse not to write now and while he thought that might be a bit annoying, not many first years but James wrote their parents every week, it was worth it to have an owl. Even Sirius and James didn't have one!

"Don't leave Petey don't leave!" His brother was wailing and Peter wished his mother had left him home, he was crying so loudly!

"Don't cry Cooper I'll be home before you know it." He hugged his brother then the train whistle was signaling they'd be leaving soon and after putting up with several more hugs he rushed off clutching the small owl cage tightly.

If possible James seemed to have better Christmas Break than he had. They were all gathered in their compartment and the whole ride back James recounted his many presents, the feasts, his knew filly pegasus, and above all getting to meet one of his favorite quidditch teams in person.

"You really got to meet the Holyhead Harpies! Blimey, mate that's fantastic!" Sirius exclaimed having been unusually pale and quiet most of the ride back. Closer they got to the castle the more he seemed to come to life and soon James and he were arguing over which Quidditch team was the best and Peter could hardly get two words in.

"Oh well." He thought, turning back to stare out the window. He was sure Remus would like to hear about his Christmas at least.

Soon they were back at the castle, this time taking a carriage pulled by nothing to reach it. Peter wished they would take the boats back but apparently, that was only for the first time you arrive at Hogwarts and the last day you left. During the invisibly pulled carriage ride back James and Sirius calmed down enough he could at least begin to recount his holidays.

"Blimey, your family sounds like a real hoot. I reckon your Uncle Howard could teach us a thing or two."

"I've told them all about you they'd all love to meet you…" He trailed off and went red realizing what he had just suggested. But James and Sirius didn't seem to find it weird at all. Counter to Peter's fears they actually seemed thrilled to come visit him over the summer. Then they were all arguing about whose place they'd visit first and what they'd do. It was great fun and by the time they entered the Great Hall for a late dinner, they were all grinning broadly.

Sirius rushed ahead of them and leaped in the spot next to Remus flinging his arm around his shoulder. Peter couldn't hear what they were saying but he supposed it was good as Remus didn't try to get out of Sirius' grip like he usually did. Peter was about to ask James if he thought they would be able to go to Remus' place, for he was quite curious when Patricia walked up with a lazy grin.

Her effect on James was immediate and the boy who had been casually walking with his puffed-up swagger Peter wished he could imitate, stopped dead and gaped at her.

"Wotcher Potter. Enjoy your Christmas?"

"Huh?...uh….yeah…." James mumbled finally finding his voice at last. Peter sidestepped slightly so he was partially behind James. Patricia shot him a bored glance then ignored him, Peter didn't like her much and he certainly didn't like how obsessed James was with her.

"Hope you're ready to get back to training soon." She teased.

"Absolutely can't wait!" James replied, his voice slightly higher than usual. She rolled her eyes at him, looked like she was going to say something else, but then thought better of it walking away from James' puppy dog eyes.

"She's gone now, James. Come on we're going to be the last ones to sit down." He urged giving him a slight push from behind, which Peter and Remus soon realized was the only way to get Sirius and James to function after Patricia interacted with them, especially James.

Peter was surprised to find both Sirius and Remus had turned in their seats watching them. Sirius was envious and Peter was horrified he had lost Remus to whatever spell Patricia had cast on his friends, but realized he didn't look jealous. He had a strange expression on his face Peter couldn't explain and his eyes seemed to get distant as they often did.

But then he was smiling and waving to them so Peter forgot all about it. Instead, he sat across from Sirius and Remus with James and focused on the retelling of his and James' breaks.

….

Remus was glad his roommates were back. He would be lying if he said his break had been completely miserable because in fact, it had gone better than he could have hoped. After being carried to Madam Pomfrey's by Dumbledore he was pretty out of it until after the full moon, which once again was a violent transformation. He had woken to the matron crying though he wasn't sure why. She was talking to Professor McGonagall who seemed to be comforting her not yelling at her, but he couldn't make out enough of their conversation to figure out what had happened.

With no classes to attend the matron had kept him prisoner for six whole days! He nearly missed the New Year's feast and Dumbledore had to come and convince her to let him go. She had been very upset with Remus who thought it was because he had ruined her holiday. It wasn't until she was lecturing him on the importance of coming to the hospital ward before he collapsed that he realized she was so cross with him because she was worried.

He had nearly started crying at that but didn't want a repeat of when he had opened the presents he got. Of all people Professor McGonagall had brought them to him, he had always thought she didn't like him much. Luckily she hadn't stayed much longer than to give them to him, make sure he was alright, and wish him Merry Christmas. Had she stayed she would have witnessed Remus breaking down into sobs when it sunk in he had gotten a small pile of presents.

Not only had all three of his roommates given him something, but Lily and Dorcas, Patricia, and best of all he received a long letter from his father with a nice tea set. Madam Pomfrey had walked into the room to find him crying and had spent the next half hour calming him down before sending him into tears again when she too gave him a present, a wonderful and no doubt expensive wizarding chess set. He couldn't believe she had remembered his offhand comment about not having one and to be surrounded by such love was nice and terrifying all at once.

He had wanted to avoid the matron after that but she wouldn't let him leave adamant that he would spend the "appropriate" amount of time recovering since he didn't need to worry about going to class. But it turned out alright because he wasn't all alone and he was able to find out all about Madam Pomfrey's family and even a few stories about her time at Hogwarts. But he still felt sick and sluggish most of the time.

To make matters worse Patricia who had found him in such a state visited him, clearly worried. It took a lot of pleading to convince her not to tell his roommates what had happened but her visits too turned out to be quite pleasant. It turned out Remus and Patricia were both quite fascinated by magical creatures, not monsters for him but the more innocent creatures. She told him all about her expeditions into the forests and her hopes and dreams about working closely with all magical creatures one day.

Apparently she had told Hagrid what had happened for the next day he visited him with her bringing a present for Remus and they spent several hours talking about dragons of all things. Remus kept the present of a tin of rock hard scones tucked under his bed thanking the groundskeeper sincerely, it was the thought that counted after all.

When Hagrid finally left Patricia bounced the scones off the wall and the two of them had ended up trying to guess where the scones would ricochet too. They quickly stopped the game after one scone knocked over a tray with a loud crash. Patricia had summoned the scone back into her hand before the Matron came running and they both feigned innocence while trying not to burst into laughter.

When he finally recovered enough to leave the hospital wing he sat with Patricia during meals and got to know a few fifth years who said they found him "charming" and even let him join in on their study sessions. Most things went over his head but he was able to find out about a secret passage through multiple versions of rumors so he found it was rather a success.

The last few days he had to dodge Patricia who was trying to get him to go into the forbidden forest with her and Hagrid, and he shamelessly used the matron being to dramatic as to why he couldn't join them. He had managed to convince Patricia, who didn't know how sick he often got, that it was his first time getting the flu probably because he had spent too much time outside in the cold.

She bought the lie and had dropped the matter spending hours playing exploding snap, gobstones, and chess with him, courtesy of Peter, James, and the matron's gifts. Sirius had by far spent the most on him and he would give it back if he thought there was any hope the stubborn boy would allow him to. For when he had finally opened his presents he found that Sirius had sent him a large collection of very fancy books, both muggle and wizarding about all sorts of topics, fiction and nonfiction alike.

Remus now had a little library stored under his bed and a stash kept hidden at the hospital wing for the many hours he'd spend there. It was only Sirius insistence most were handy downs in the accompanying card, that kept Remus from sending them back immediately.

Even if that were true one book alone, with a sleek leather cover, must have cost a whole five galleons! Remus felt terrible that he had neither gotten his roommates anything for Christmas not even having a sickle to spare nor had he even sent them letters, like they had sent him full of Christmas wishes and good cheer.

So for the last two days, he had locked himself in their dorm and worked endlessly on knitting them scarves. They were scarlet and gold and lumpy and, he was convinced, stupid looking. But Patricia, who had no qualms barging into his room it semed, convinced him to give them to Lily, James, Peter, and Sirius. When he had assured her he would make her one too she laughed and ruffled his hair, which she had done a lot over the break, saying she'd hold him to it.

But it was a lot easier to say he'd gift the scarves then do so. Because James, Sirius, and Peter had all walked in with nice new robes and shoes and he was sure they had all gotten much better things for Christmas. His guilt at not even writing them a letter soon disappeared when he saw Sirius alive and happy.

He was so relieved he forgot to mind the arm around his shoulders. No one seemed to care he hadn't sent them anything as they all excitedly recounted their Christmas', though he noticed Sirius didn't say as much as he normally would. After a large late dinner, they retreated to their dorm room when finally they turned their attention to him.

"You haven't said one word about your Christmas break. How was it?"

"Good." He responded noncommittally hoping they'd let it go. This seemed to be good enough for James and Peter, but once again Sirius had to keep pushing.

"Oh come on Remus! What did you do? Who'd you talk to? Did you find a secret passage to show us?" This last question surprised him, he looked up eyes filled with guilt but Sirius was smirking.

"Please, I knew you were lying before. But did you find one? James bet you didn't but I bet you would."

"Hey, I didn't hear about a bet. I thought Remus was telling the truth" Peter pouted looking from James to Remus with hurt in his eyes.

"I was telling the truth Peter don't let these doubters fool you. Since they didn't, believe me, I'll only show you!" That got them! James and Sirius shot each other a panicked glance then proceed to dramatically beg him for forgiveness. He only hesitated for a second before putting them out of their misery. At least they had forgotten to dig into what his break was like.

He thought about spinning a tale about a great epic trip to the forbidden forest but knew his lie would be discovered as soon as they saw Hagrid again, and that would just bring attention back to him. Instead, he contented himself to listen to James and Sirius fantasize about what would lie at the end of the tunnel once they realized Remus had waited to explore it further.

After much begging and arguing he relented and agreed to take them to the new secret passage the same night they returned. After sneaking out outside of hours over a dozen times Remus had gotten quite bold and no longer jumped at every sound or possibility of detection. In fact, all four of them were really quite good at it, in his humble opinion. There had been several close calls, especially with Filch, but not one of them had gotten caught and in a typical boyish fashion they were beginning to believe they never would, including Remus.

Which meant the only thing he had to fear to cause detention was the stupid large prank he had gotten himself into. He had no hope of getting out of it, as Sirius had pointed out to him several times. So in a few days times he'd have to risk gaining his first detention unless he wanted to let down his roommates and assuredly get them caught, which he did not want to do. He tried not to think about that though, especially because his father had written him a nice letter and would no doubt be furious when he learned of Remus' troublemaking.

But that was in a few days and by comparison slipping out once it was lights out was much less dangerous and frightening. Which is how he found himself leading the other three to the one-eyed witch statue by the stairs leading to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. They much have passed it a hundred times heading to class and had never thought twice about the humpbacked witch and her one eye which always seemed to follow them.

"Dissendium." He whispered confidently having tested the passage out several days prior. Sure enough the hump on the statue, in response to his command, opened just wide enough for a small child to slide down to the hidden passageway below. All four of them fit with ease and soon they were standing underneath the statue and Remus' heart was hammering loudly.

He fumbled with his wand the passage currently pitch black, then hoping this wouldn't turn out to be a stupid idea held his wand out, three carefully wrapped packages a few feet ahead of them.

"Lumos." He whispered bringing the small corridor into view and with it the three packages.

"Oh ho ho ho what's this?" Sirius asked pouncing on one of the packages excitedly.

"Here I thought you forgot all about us Lupin old pal!" James responded happily following suit. Peter seemed stunned and delighted and grinned at him broadly before rescuing his own package form the flying shards of paper as the other two tore quickly apart their own.

Remus turned around unable to face them, he felt his shoulders tense and squeezed his fists tightly together sure they'd hate it. His fears seemed to be confirmed by the silence that followed and he swallowed down his sadness throat tight.

"Well?"

"How do we look?" He turned around surprised to find the three of them ridiculously posed, their scarves wrapped around their necks each one grinning at him sincerely.

"Don't tear up you big pansy." Sirius laughed affectionately going over to Remus and patting his back. Peter and James laughed and quickly joined him, all of them huddled closely together. Remus rubbed his eyes furiously.

"I didn't have any money. I know they aren't nearly as great as the other presents you got. But I couldn't think of anything else so….." He trailed off lamely blinking back fresh tears as they all group hugged.

"Well, my mom taught me that a handmade present is worth several gifted presents. Thanks, mate now we can support out Quidditch team in style!"

"Here here!" Cheered Sirius then added slyly.

"If a handmade present is better Potter I guess you better give me back the whole prankster kit I bought. Yeah?"

"Absolutely not! It's priceless and vital for our operation Monday!"

"Here here!" Peter said loudly attempting to hide his nerves with the sheer volume of his cheer. But Remus knew he was just as worried about getting detention on Monday as he was, and just as resigned to his fate as well.

"Well, men we could continue to dilly dawdle or explore this passage."

"Here here," Remus responded and they all laughed and headed out.

Writers Note: How did everyone like the different Christmas perspectives? I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far.