= Wizards, Witches, Muggles, etc Group Section Folder+ Peter Pettigrew/ Wormtail
Edited by Kip Carter Nov 17, 2005 3:51 am
He wasn't in OoP AT ALL, and I found that very odd and kind of disturbing. Where did he go? What is he up to? He owes Harry a life-debt, and yet I'm not sure he realizes what this means or if he knows that he will have to repay it (whether he wants to or not).
I keep reading that the general idea is that Peter is slow and untalented, but he really isn't, is he? He became an animagus when he was about 16 years old! Even if he didn't have talent on par with James and Sirius, it doesn't mean he's not still a pretty powerful wizard. Crafty, too isn't he? He seems to have quietly woven threads of doubt into the fabric of the Marauders' friendship and subtly turned them against on of their own. He tricked Sirius and landed him in Azakaban, and then had the presence of mind to grab Bertha Jorkins and take her to Voldemort!
And what's the deal with is new hand? Is it the ultimate weapon against Lupin? Will he lose it again?
Thoughts? Theories? Wild Ramblings?
(754 previous messages)
- Dec 23, 2007 12:18 pm (#755 of 770)
When Dumbledore makes the comment that he thinks sometimes they sort too early, I think it fits for both Peter and Severus. Had the Sorting Hat sat on their heads later in life, it would have sorted them into the opposite houses - Peter to Slytherin and Severus to Gryffindor.
"...Wormtail's wand emitted spark; his silver hand closed around Harry's throat.
"What is it Wormtail?" called Lucius Malfoy from above.
"Nothing!" Ron called back, in a passable imatation of Wormtail's wheezy voice. "All fine!"
Harry could barely breathe.
"You're going to kll me?" Harry choked, attempting to prise off the metal fingers. "After I saved your life? You owe me Wormtail!"
The silver fingers slackened. Harry had not expected it: He wrenched himself free, astonished, keeping his hand over Wormtail's mouth. He saw the ratlike man's small watery eyes widen with fear and surprise: He seemed just as shocked as Harry at what his hand had done, at the tiny merciful impulse it had betrayed, and he continued to struggle more powerfully, as to undo the moment of weakness."
Ron and Harry had jumped on Wormtail, Harry reminded Wormtail of that little "life-debt" that Dumbledore told Harry might just come in handy some day. Wormtail, defending himself, confronted with the "life-debt", his hand was stayed as far as killing Harry. But, because he didn't, LV's cursed blessing of the hand, cost Wormtail his life.
wolf~ears - Dec 28, 2007 10:04 pm (#757 of 770)
I remember that, and about the life debt. The thing I don't understand is, it seemed that Wormtail was going to strangle Harry, and that Voldemort (through the hand) punished him for hesitating, and weren't Voldemort's orders that no one else should kill Harry, because Voldemort thought it was essential that Voldemort had to kill Harry himself?
rambkowalczyk
- Dec 29, 2007 7:35 am (#758 of 770)
Perhaps the silver arm was cursed so that whenever Pettigrew showed any inclination of honoring the life debt, Peter would die. The curse was put on the arm at Voldemort's rebirth so Peter wouldn't help Harry when Voldemort planned to kill him at the graveyard. When Harry escaped Voldemort just left the curse there. The arm only killed Peter because he let the life debt stop him from killing Harry. If Peter didn't try to kill Harry to begin with the arm wouldn't have been activated.
wolf~ears - Dec 29, 2007 1:57 pm (#759 of 770)
But wasn't Peter violating Voldemort's orders by trying to kill Harry to begin with?
wynnleaf
- Dec 29, 2007 5:43 pm (#760 of 770)
But wasn't Peter violating Voldemort's orders by trying to kill Harry to begin with? (wolf-ears_
Sounds like the only way to handle this contradiction is to plead "don't confuse us with the facts." 
Or perhaps we could explain it by saying that LV's "curse" on the silver hand only measured general intent, not whether or not Pettigrew was obeying or disobeying specific commands.
- Dec 29, 2007 11:15 pm (#761 of 770)
Um, I never saw it as Peter going against Voldemort and trying to kill Harry. Harry and Ron jumped Pettigrew when he enters the room, so Pettigrew is actually defending himself against Harry.
With no intent on being an apologist for JKR, Harry's "You're going to kill me" is general question Harry asks in an attempt to win his release from Wormtail. If his head were clear and he had time to think, he may not have chosen those words. "You're going to kill me" to me was Harry desperate grasp at words. If Pettigrew didn't release him, Harry would have died if he were discovered by the rest of the folks in the mansion or Voldemorts would have been alerted and resulting in Harry's death.
rambkowalczyk
- Dec 30, 2007 10:08 am (#762 of 770)
But wasn't Peter violating Voldemort's orders by trying to kill Harry to begin with?
He was, although as Mrs. Sirius points out Peter may have just been defending himself. The point is Harry referred to the life debt and Peter responded. It was the response that triggered the silver hand to kill Peter.
PeskyPixie
- Jan 1, 2008 8:59 pm (#763 of 770)
Pettigrew's 'faith' in Big V's side wavers a tiny bit (i.e. he acknowledges that he is indebted to Harry) and he pays the price for this. I don't know how things would turn out if Harry would decide to say something else.
PeskyPixie
- Feb 4, 2008 2:25 pm (#764 of 770)
Orion brought up the following question on the Read Along thread. I think it's quite interesting and look forward to discussing it.
"Pettigrew's behaviour, as described in Lily's letter, is odd. Why exactly does he turn from his friends to Voldemort? He seems "down". If it bothers him that soon he will betray them to their killer, why does he do it? And if he fully intends to betray them to their killer, then he is so mad that he can't feel guilt or sadness. Then he is more likely to chuckle merrily to himself. I simply don't understand his motivation and the way he thinks and feels." Orion
rambkowalczyk
- Feb 4, 2008 7:28 pm (#765 of 770)
I don't think Peter originally wanted to betray his friends, but he knew if he didn't Voldemort would kill him. It was one thing to betray Order members that he might not have known so well but to actually do something that would result in the death of his friends, that can be depressing.
Sort of like Draco and Regulus, not really knowing what he was getting into. He may have joined simply to hedge his bets but then he got in too deep.
PeskyPixie
- Feb 4, 2008 8:35 pm (#766 of 770)
Perhaps little lumpy Peter also feels the desire to be important? He's most definitely the loser of his group. Voldy might attempt to get to him by stressing this point ... but how would he know? Legilimency?
- Feb 5, 2008 11:13 am (#767 of 770)
Perhaps little lumpy Peter also feels the desire to be important? He's most definitely the loser of his group.
This makes sense. Unless Wormtail had been playing a part at school, he seems to have been the least magically gifted of the Marauders. Didn't James and Sirius have to help him learn to transform? Of course, he did learn, so that suggests some ability.
Peter pretty much seals his fate when he returns to Voldemort at the end of PoA. Once he accepts that silver hand, he is in debt to opposing forces. He would have died, I believe, no matter what he did. If he had gone ahead and betrayed Harry, wouldn't he have died anyway for violating that life debt? And then, by not violating the life debt, he automatically violated his bond with Voldemort and the hand exacted vengeance. In the end, like Voldemort, he destroyed himself.
Solitaire
PeskyPixie
- Feb 5, 2008 1:00 pm (#768 of 770)
Does one die if one dishonours a life debt? I had assumed that one can choose to take the noble path and fulfill it, but that it is ultimately up to one's choice.
In addition to being a coward Peter is very selfish. In PoA, he is so wrapped up in his self-afflicted dilemmas that he does not realize how at least four people in the Shrieking Shack have suffered due to his actions.
Still, I feel that he betrays his friends because he secretly desires to shine, to do important things (sort of like Fredo Corleone, though I think our Wormy is worse than Freddy). Perhaps the Dark Lord's empty promises of respect and power trigger in Pettigrew moments of indifference to Sirius and James, who do treat him condescendingly as teens (e.g. "Wormtail might wet himself"). Maybe it is Lily's presence which makes him feel miserable about what he feels he must do?
- Feb 7, 2008 9:05 pm (#769 of 770)
Does one die if one dishonours a life debt?
I'm not sure we really know for certain. The fact that Dumbledore saw this as a detriment in a servant of Voldemort leads me to believe there was some force that compelled one to honor it, in the end. JM2K, though ... I guess we need to ask Jo.
Solitaire
- Feb 11, 2008 9:09 am (#770 of 770)
I agree Soli, but would add that one may not have to die because given another chance one could fix the error and repay the life debt another opportunity. But until such point one could lead a condemned life, like the effect of drinking unicorn blood.
+ Peter Pettigrew/ Wormtail