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NOTE: This page is about the book incarnations of Peter Pettigrew. For the movie version, see Peter Pettigrew (Warner Bros.).
| “ | Sirius Black: You sold Lily and James to Voldemort. Do you deny it? Peter Pettigrew: Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord... you have no idea... he has weapons you can't imagine.... I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen.... He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me ― Sirius Black: DON'T LIE! YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY! Peter Pettigrew: He ― he was taking over everywhere! W-what was there to be gained by refusing him? Sirius Black: What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed? Only innocent lives, Peter! Peter Pettigrew: You don't understand! He would have killed me, Sirius! Sirius Black: THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU! |
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| ~ Peter Pettigrew's confession. |
Peter Pettigrew, also known by his nickname Wormtail, is one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Bellatrix Lestrange) of J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter novel series. He initially appeared disguised as Ron Weasley's pet rat Scabbers.
He was originally one of James Potter's friends alongside Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, but later joined the Death Eaters and betrayed James and his wife Lily to Lord Voldemort out of cowardice. He then murdered twelve Muggles before hiding for a little over a decade in his animagus form of a rat, framing Sirius for his crimes.
Personality[]
Peter Pettigrew was truly a coward at heart. Despite being classified as Gryffindor at Hogwarts, he lacked true bravery, perhaps proving that the Sorting Hat saw potential in him rather than any real innate courage, a potential which he never achieved. Because of his cowardice, Peter was also an opportunist, looking always at people stronger and braver than him. Peter was faithful only to himself and only to whoever was in his best interest of the moment.
When he was a comrade of Sirius and James, he idolized them and lived vicariously through their achievements, as well as joining them in bullying other students, such as Severus Snape, who he would not have been likely to bully without James and Sirius to support him. Because of the huge difference in talent, bravery and popularity, Peter was considered more of a retreat than an equal.
However, the three Marauders loved Peter as a friend and a brother, which made his betrayal of James particularly bitter. Pettigrew defected from the Order of the Phoenix and betrayed his closest friends to Lord Voldemort when his life was threatened, showing selfishness and disloyalty at the core of his being. Even Voldemort looked at him with disdain; the only reason why he kept Wormtail alive is that he sometimes proved useful.
However, despite being cowardly, he was not stupid, being cunning enough to escape his former friend Sirius after Voldemort's first defeat, framing him for his crimes and simulate his own death while killing twelve people with a curse, living for years in his Animagus form. He also had manipulative skills, as he manipulated Bertha Jorkins to accompany him, Jorkins being unaware Pettigrew brought her to Voldemort. Peter had a ruthless side to himself, not hesitating to kill Cedric Diggory with the Killing Curse. In moments of desperation, Pettigrew was ready to amputate his own limbs to serve his purposes, such as his finger to simulate his death, and his hand to revive Voldemort, in the promise of a worthy reward.
Despite his treacherous and cowardly nature, Pettigrew was remorseful for betraying his friends, and he hesitated to kill Harry when he was reminded of his life debt in 1998. He also suggested that Voldemort should find another enemy to use for his rebirth, although when Voldemort began to suspect that he valued Harry Potter, Pettigrew quickly declared that Harry meant nothing to him.
This suggested that he may have consciously felt gratitude to Harry for saving his life. Pettigrew also realized and admitted that he was a coward saying that he had never been as brave as Sirius, Remus and James. Although he values his own life more than that of his friends, Pettigrew felt guilty for betraying Lily and James, but did not have the bravery to admit his betrayal until he was forced to do so, or to turn against Voldemort. Sadly, he died being known as a cowardly traitor and never got any chance to make amends for what he did.
Trivia[]
- He is the only Death Eater to be in the house of Gryffindor, while the others were in Slytherin.
- His cowardice would have made him ineligible to be in Gryffindor, but perhaps entered the house anyway because of the Sorting Hat's loophole, i.e. one can actually decide their own house. Thus, an opportunistic coward like Peter realised he'd find protection if he joined a house known for bravery and selflessness. Or it is entirely possible that as a child he had potential that the Sorting Hat saw, and such potential never developed into anything.
