The Marauders: Year Three | #Wattys2016

Animangusified

Animangusified

Next day, they still hadn't found Peter. The most maddening part was that his dot was now showing up, but it looked as though he was still in the common room somewhere - except he wasn't there - anywhere. Sirius had checked profusely and even gone so far as to ask one of the first year girls if they'd seen Peter up in the girls' dorms. "He's got to be somewhere," Remus insisted as they made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. "He's probably just playing a trick of some sort."

"I'm telling you, Veigler's stolen him. He's holding him hostage," Sirius persisted. "Veigler came out of those woods with Hagrid last night looking so bloody shady -- you wouldn't doubt it if you'd seen it!" He hadn't stopped saying this, each time as though it were a new point to be made. "He's keeping Peter for ransom!"

"Well he's doing a shoddy job of it," Remus said, "You have to tell someone you've got the thing they want in order for ransom to be collected. Everybody knows that."

Sirius scowled, "I don't trust him."

"We've been over this. About a hundred times. It's not helping find Peter," Remus said.

James pushed Remus's chair into the Great Hall. "Well the Map says he's in the common room."

"But he's not there," Sirius said, exasperated. "We looked everywhere. I even looked under the bloody furniture, as though Peter's fat arse could squeeze under the dresser!"

James was quiet, a concerned look on his face as he pushed Remus up to the chair and came around the table to sit himself down next to Sirius. "Not to - to be the one who goes - you know - to dark places, but... Do ghosts show up on the map? Anyone noticed yet?"

"I saw Peeves on it," Sirius said quickly before realizing what James was inferring. He looked at James with a disturbed look on his face, "You don't think --"

"I hope not, but --" James looked sick.

Remus sighed, "Peter's not --" he paused, then stared over again, "If Veigler took Peter out of the dorm, we would've heard him."

"I heard something," Sirius insisted, "Something that woke me up."

"The spilled books," Remus said.

"Maybe - or maybe Veigler knocked the books over in getting Pete out of the room!" Sirius said.

"I still think he's playing a trick of some sort," Remus insisted. "You you sure he couldn't have got the invisibility cloak and --"

"We had the invisibility cloak, first off," said Sirius.

James spoke up, "And second, if Peter was playing a trick, he'd have come down to breakfast. He can't ever resist food. Even for a good prank."

Sirius lifted his fork to spear a couple pancakes from across the table, "And - besides all that --"

"Excuse me." Frank leaned in between James and Sirius, "Have either of you heard of anyone missing their rat?"

"Their rat?" Sirius made a face. "No, why."

Frank sighed and put down a plastic box on the table. Inside was a fat grey rat, asleep in a balled up pair of dirty socks with an empty Honeydukes wrapper clutched in his tiny paws. "Andy found this last night in the dormitory. He's far too fat to be a wild rat. Don't you think?"

"Looks like he's made his home in the kitchens," Sirius said, "Blimey, never saw a rat so fat!"

Frank nodded, "He is very large. Like he had an engorgio placed on him. Dunno. Anyway, if you hear 'bout anyone who's missing one -- let me know." He ducked away, taking the rat with him.