The Missing Marauder: A Harry Potter FanFiction

Chapter 1

Five years later...

Peter Pettigrew had barely grown since, not even a head taller, though he was definitely much stouter. Holding all of his books under one arm, he raced from his final class of the day-Potions-to try and meet Rowan as she left her final class-Ancient Runes.

Peter couldn't stress enough how much he'd been desperately trying to find the right time to express his feelings for Rowan, but he figured she wouldn't even look at him that way, let alone think of him. He was short and overweight and he had long hair, compared to Sirius with his devastating good looks and James with his brains and persistence. Even Remus could beat him out on the subject of girls!

She was the most exquisite creature he'd ever set eyes on, with long, reddish-brown hair and murky green eyes and an hourglass figure. She was smart and funny and brave and would make the most loyal of companions.

He knew he had absolutely no chance of ever going out with her. She was almost a foot taller than him...

But he had to try, otherwise he would never know if they could've been the couple everybody wished they could be like.

He caught Rowan leaving the Ancient Runes classroom, halfway down the long hallway. Racing as fast as his little legs could go, he was gaining on her, when suddenly she stopped and he slammed right into her.

At the speed he was going, anyone his height would've fallen over with him, but instead he bounced right off of her, landing on the floor. She dropped all of her books and lunged forward a bit, but was otherwise unharmed.

"What the-?" she exclaimed, turning around angrily. She saw the small boy sprawled across the floor and lightened up a bit. "Oh, Peter, please don't do that ever again," she sympathized, bending over to pick up her books, only to find that they were already picked up. She gazed around when suddenly there was a tap at her shoulder, and she turned to find Severus Snape holding her books out for her.

"I believe you dropped these," he hissed, "Either that or you threw them at me." He didn't look at her, only held the books out for her, hiding behind his mass of greasy, black hair. She snatched the books out of his hands and said, "Thank you, Severus."

He nodded and walked on. Rowan never really took a liking to how her friends treated Severus, but she wasn't going to do anything to stop them. Gryffindors and Slytherins were practically sworn enemies.

Finally, she turned back to Peter, who was still collecting his books without the help of anybody passing by in the hallway. Rowan offered her hand to him and he took it, only to be all but lifted off his feet.

"Thanks," he muttered, "Sorry about that. What did Snivellus want, anyway?"

"Only to give me the books that I kindly threw at the back of his head," Rowan explained, "That's something I never would've expected him to do. Now I've seen everything."

"Right," Peter agreed. She turned away from him to go and he had to speed up to match her pace.

"So, um, I was, um, wondering, um..." he stuttered incoherently, "If you, um, would, I don't know, like to get some books, um, with me?"

She stopped suddenly yet again, and turned to face him. "What?"

"I was just wondering-"

"If I'd get some books with you?" she asked, "Like, down at Hogsmeade?"

Peter's heart began to race. Was...was she saying yes to him? "Yes, down at Hogsmeade, we could buy a few books, get a butterbeer..."

"That's fantastic!" Rowan suddenly exclaimed, "We could bring the rest of the gang! We'd have a blast! Great idea, Peter!"