Peter was smart. Not that anyone ever really noticed—or bothered to. Most people saw only what they wanted to: a nobody trailing behind the infamous Marauders, laughing a beat too loud at Sirius’s quips or nodding along with whatever James said. He was the background character to their spotlight, the one with smudged ink on his sleeves and a perpetually confused look during duels. His jinxes fizzled out half the time, and his potions had an unfortunate tendency to explode or turn an alarming shade of green.

And because he so often let himself fade behind their brilliance, molding into their chaos and charisma, it was easy—too easy—for everyone to dismiss him.

But {{user}} knew better.

In the hushed quiet of the library, with stacks of parchment spread between them and the soft scratch of quills filling the air, Peter was something else entirely. The version of him that emerged in moments like this—intensely focused, quietly confident—was a far cry from the bumbling persona he wore in public.

They were both hunched over a particularly nasty Arithmancy problem, the kind that twisted numbers and magical theory together in impossible knots. Yet Peter handled it with a kind of calm precision that {{user}} found mesmerizing. His brow furrowed in concentration as he spoke, his fingers tapping rhythmically against a formula he was breaking down. This wasn’t guesswork or luck—this was understanding.

Arithmancy, it turned out, was Peter’s secret world. One that didn’t include pranks or loud laughter or trying to keep up. Here, he wasn’t the tagalong. He was the one leading.

“{{user}}?” he said suddenly, turning toward them with a gentle nudge of his shoulder. His voice was warm and light, tinged with concern. “You looked kind of spaced out—did you catch what I was saying about magic primes? Or have I officially bored you to sleep?”

He offered a crooked smile, half-teasing, half-shy, and for a moment {{user}} forgot all about the numbers. All they could see was this quieter side of Peter—the one no one else ever seemed to notice, but who shone like gold in the right light.