Two boys lay on their stomachs, leaning over an enchanted Battle Ship game. The rules were basically identical to those of the muggle version, but the pieces themselves were far more entertaining. A chubby boy with watery eyes watched the board as one of his ships became riddled with holes and began to sink, water gushing out its sides as loud bangs accompanied a few miniature explosions.
"Haha! Yes! That's two wins to one, Peter! Now can we go outside? You said best out of three, right?"
With a sigh, Peter bowed his head in defeat. "I suppose so, Bricen." The boats magically rebuilt themselves as Peter shoved the game back into its box. Water sloshed off the edge of the board, vanishing before it could hit the carpet.
The two rose to their feet, Bricen stretching his arms and legs as Peter yawned loudly. Abruptly, Bricen's shoulders stiffened, his head tilted to one side, listening intently. A light pitter patter of rain could be heard splattering the roof, and a glance towards the windows was all it took for Peter to realize that their plans to go trekking through the woods would have to be rescheduled.
Peter pressed his nose against the glass, disappointment written all over his face. Bricen leaned his forehead against the window as well, smiling half-heartedly. "Ah, well. Pity."
Peter and Bricen jumped as an insistent knocking began, hitting their heads against the pane. "Boys? Are you there? Helloo? I locked myself in the basement again!" Smiling as he rubbed his reddened forehead, Peter shuffled into the hallway and opened the door for his father. There was a blatant family resemblance between the two, just as there was between Peter and Bricen. Peter had his father's round face and watery eyes, just as Bricen had his father's turned up nose and wide forehead. All three had mousy brown hair, and both boys had some excess baby fat. The three resembled each other the most, however, when they all smiled as they did now. It was a cheeky smile, one that appeared often and rarely faded. A frown on Bricen or father's face was seldom, it was only Peter who had the occasional pout.
"We were going to go out and look for my lost puffskien, Dad, but…" Peter's lip shook slightly, unable to finish. Mr. Pettigrew reached out and rumpled his hair, an understanding smile upon his lips. "That's ok, buddy. Tell you what, I'll help you look for Hamlin tomorrow, ok? And after we find him, I'll take you to Diagon Alley to buy your supplies." Glancing over at Bricen, he added "Bricen can come too, of course." The two boys grinned.
Tossing Peter a mischievous look, Bricen dashed off towards the stairs. "Last one upstairs is an Aquavirius Maggot!" After a second of puzzlement, Peter scampered after him. "Hey! Not fair! You got a head start!"
Mr. Pettigrew chuckled as he listened to them throttling up the stairwell, Peter tripping occasionally and Bricen skipping along ahead of him, leaping over two stairs at a time. That was one thing that Bricen had inherited that Peter had not: coordination. Nevertheless, Peter had many talents that Bricen did not. He was so proud of his two boys. "They'll love Hogwarts." Mr. Pettigrew thought to himself. "Peter just needs more self-confidence, and Bricen needs more caution. But they're good kids. They'll learn. Eventually…"
For the rest of the day, Peter and Bricen reread Peter's acceptance letter, leafed through the Daily Prophet, and chased eachother around the attic. The rain continued to fall, but the boy's didn't mind. Their imaginations were all that they would ever need.