Peter Pettigrew

[Sly Severus]

Peter's a tricky little rat, isn't he? I don't like the guy, but I'll do my best to answer your questions.

How do you think he feels about his betrayal? He is obviously still faithful to Voldemort, so he can't be too remorseful, but do you think he feels badly at all?

I don't think he does.

If there was a time to feel bad, it would be when he joined the DEs, when James and Lily died because of him, when Sirius was sent to Azkaban. If those things didn't cause him to turn away from the Dark Lord then I can't imagine him feeling any kind of remorse.

We need to remember that unlike most people, he didn't have to return to the Dark Lord when he did. Peter sought him out. He helped bring him back to life. Peter made a conscious choice to bring back the evil. Voldemort was weak, he couldn't have hurt Peter. Peter could have left him that way, but he helped.

Before giving the information to Voldemort, do you think he went through any internal struggle with himself or didn't even care?

I would assume he struggled with the idea at first. But he made his choice and don't think he's given it much thought since.

When he's waiting on Severus Snape, stuck in his home getting wine like a servant, do you think he ever wishes he didn't do what he did and chose a different path?

This has always bothered me. Why was Peter turned into Snape's slave? Peter helped to bring the Dark Lord back. He must have been held in good favor for it. I always had the feeling that sometime during book five Peter did something to upset the Dark Lord.

Anyway, that's not what you asked. During this time I think Peter was bitter. I don't think he regretted anything he did. I think he regretted that nothing he did put him in high standing with the Dark Lord. He's upset because he has been turned into a slave. He is not upset because of the horrible things he did.

He likes to be on the winning side, with powerful people to protect him, but do you think he has any morals of his own?

I think he probably did once. Something must have caused him to turn to the Dark side. Whatever that was, also caused him to lose the person he used to be.

He obviously doesn't have the same sense of friendship, loyalty and bravery that James, Sirius and Remus all had, but do you think he did care about the other Marauders, appreciate their friendship and love them like brothers at one point?

Same as the last question. I believe he once thought of the Marauders as his brothers, but the feeling was lost. I don't believe he just woke up a different person one day. There must be a major piece of information about Peter that we're missing. But I do believe there was a time that he loved his friends greatly.

I hope my rambling was helpful. Peter really is hard to figure out. His motivations just don't make sense.

[Euphrates]

Hello, everyone! I've just been wondering lately. Basically, what was your first impression of Peter Pettigrew? Did it change over time? How do you think of him, i.e. characteristics-wise?

Any help would be appreciated, and sorry this is so vague. I may (hopefully) have more pointed questions later.

~Kate

[moonymaniac]

Well, since the first mention we really had of him was the discussion in the Three Broomsticks, I thought of him as sort of a tragic, almost hero. He tried to stop Sirius Black and died in the effort. I thought of him as similar to Neville, the insecure, less confident/capable Gryffindor (but a great guy). But I really didn't give him too much thought as he was just mentioned in the course of their conversation about the much more interesting Sirius Black.

Then, when we actually meet him for the first time, he is exposed as the traitorous rat in the Shrieking Shack. He was suddenly much more interesting, but of course, I despised him immediately. He was weak and snivelling and pathetic. However, I fell in love with the story of the Marauders that Remus told, and started really thinking (way too much!) about how poignant their story really was. I realized that there had to have been something more to him for things to have happened as they did. I have already posted many of my thoughts on his personality and abilities earlier in this thread, so I won't recount them. If you are interested, they are here:

My thoughts on Peter as a Marauder.

As far as my thoughts and feelings on him having changed over time go, I'm honestly not sure how I feel about him now. I still despise him for what he did, but I think I despise him even more after what has happened over the course of the books since PoA.

He was young when he betrayed his friends. Not so young that he didn't know better, but I can almost understand someone young and insecure letting his fear guide him and getting too far into things with Voldemort. As Sirius said, he should have died before betraying his friends, but fear is powerful.

Where I lose all sympathy for him is in GoF when Peter is no longer a young man and Voldemort is a weak shell of his former self. Voldemort would have been so easy to defeat, yet rather than take the opportunity to turn him over to the Ministry or Dumbledore, which would have gone quite a way to make ammends, (of course, nothing would make up for his betrayal and bring James and Lily back, but still.) Peter actually helped him (Voldemort) to return to his former strength, knowing that he would use Harry to do it. Peter did this even after Harry had spared his life in the Shrieking Shack. Because of this, I'm not so sure he betrayed his friends simply out of fear. I think he might have also done it ouf of jealousy and resentment. I think he might like the idea of being one of the Dark Lords most useful supporters. The way he reacts to Snape's taunts at Spinners End shows his pride and resentment.

He had to settle for basking in the shadow that James and Sirius cast as the coolest, brightest kids at Hogwarts. I honestly think he was alright with it while they were there, as it was better than being just a 'lump of a boy' without cool friends. But if Voldemort offered him a chance to be bigger, maybe that was a motivating factor aside from the fear. He is a pathetic excuse for a human being. I really have to work hard to write him as a likeable Marauder. LOL

[padfootsgirl1981]

Hi! I'm currently writing a Marauder fic and I'm finding Peter the hardest character to write and relate to. I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on how Peter first became friends with the other three Marauders, especially James and Sirius. And also how did he become accepted into their confidence as one of the Marauders? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Gmariam]

Hi!
Since one of the recent One-Shot Challenges focused on Peter Pettigrew, not to mention a big ol' discussion in Ravenclaw, I've had a lot of thoughts on Peter. I'm sure you'll find some good ones scrolling through this thread, or by reading some of the challenge entries (check the Great Hall for a list.) But I don't want to get into all that, since so much of the discussion on Peter I've participated in centers on why he was Sorted into Gryffindor, or why he betrayed his best friends.

You asked how Peter became friends with the others. Many stories have them meeting on the train to Hogwarts, or in the dorm. I think it might be fun and original (and really underscore his betrayal) if Peter became friends with them when they - say, James and Sirius - saved him from being teased by a group of Hogwarts bullies. Sirius did make a comment in one of the novels about Peter hanging around with people stronger than him, who protected him(I'm at work, so I have no reference.) So I just think that would be kind of neat to see, plus it would give you a great opportunity to really develop Peter's character from a shy, picked on first year to more of an equal with the Maruaders.

That was just my first, most immediate idea, because I've never read anything like that. There are probably many other ways to get Peter into the group, so I hope you find one that works for your story! Good luck!
~Gina

[Vorona]

You could conceivably take Gina's idea and combine it with why they hate Snape -- have him be the one going after Peter (or seem to.. with Peter, you never know)... But although I don't read Marauder Era stuff much, it wouldn't surprise me if that idea hasn't already become a cliche.

[Amber0_o]

Hi! I'm currently writing a Marauder fic and I'm finding Peter the hardest character to write and relate to. I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on how Peter first became friends with the other three Marauders, especially James and Sirius. And also how did he become accepted into their confidence as one of the Marauders? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I am actually suprised by the number of people who find it odd that Peter became friends with the other Marauders. The fact is that as teenagers the Marauders were bullies and showboaters. Thinking back to SWM we can see that Peter fawned over the Marauders, he was like a constant cheerleader, which is something that James enjoyed. He was the yes-man. But he was also sadistic enough to enjoy the Marauders torturing Severus. That wasn't something that came up when he was older, that was there even when he was with the Marauders, and they accepted it and even encouraged it.

[bertiebott12]

I need major help on Peter Pettigrew in my new fic Betrayal. The first chapter is already out, and I got a very helpful review by a great mod concerning his characterization. So, now for my questions.

How do you think he would act in front of Voldemort?
What are some reasons that you think he would betray Lily and James?
How do you think he would act after he's betrayed them?

By the way, if you're a Claw, and want to help as part of our project, that would be gratly appriciated!!!

*Claire*

[Amber0_o]

How do you think he would act in front of Voldemort?

We've seen a lot of this during GoF, he doesn't seem to really like Voldemort. I think he preferred James and Sirius because although they were jerks to him at times, they never threatened to kill him.

What are some reasons that you think he would betray Lily and James?

Well, many people speculate that Peter sought out Voldemort after he was made Secret Keeper. Others think he was working for him long before that. And still others think that Voldemort sought him out. It really depends on how you want your story to go, but in all those situations Peter still most likely did it for his own saftey.

How do you think he would act after he's betrayed them?


Do you mean how he would react around the Potters or if he would be remourseful? I don't think he saw the Potters after he betrayed them, but I'm sure he would act suspicious. He doesn't strike me as a particularly good liar.

I think he might be remourseful that he had to betray them, but I think that is an important point. He would feel that he *had* to betray them, because his own life was in danger. I don't think he would feel that his actions were wrong in his specific situation, because it is purely survival instinct.

He may also be remoursful because he now has to be protected by Voldemort, where it is almost as dangerous to be in his group as it is out of it.

[Vorona]

Peter is one of my favorite characters to explore and think about, so hopefully, I will have something of use to say:

First, I think Peter is incredibly smart and while his talent may not be at the same level as James', Sirius', and Remus', it may be. I think Peter is very good at getting people to underestimate him. So, he may have been a lot more talented than he let on. Or he may just be clever without as much talent - it's hard to say.

How do you think he would act in front of Voldemort?
I think he'd present himself to Voldemort as harmless and NOT a threat. Survival is very important to Peter. I think there's more to him than that, though. Anyway, so I think he'd act pretty subservient and submissive to Voldemort and act as though he didn't know anything. I am personally of the opinion that it was Voldemort who sought him out, not the other way. I do think he is a rather weak character, and I think he's more of a weak Gryffindor than a Slytherin. In other words, he still cares a lot about bravery and courage, but isn't good at actually *doing* them. I think he was caught and then squealed.

What are some reasons that you think he would betray Lily and James?
See above -- I really think that he didn't intend to get mixed up with Death Eaters or the war at all. And then they made him their Secret Keeper, which he was probably really proud of. Being a Gryffindor (and thus, having at least a little desire for attention), he may have let it slip that he had an important secret. I don't think there are a lot of times in his life when he's felt important, and Gryffindors do like fame (at least canon/book Gryffindors do, even if it's not in the song). So, he may have gotten a bit of a big head about it. Granted, he has tried to stay in the background, so this was, in part, his own doing.

Knowing what happened with Draco, I suspect that the Dark Lord did not just threaten Peter, though, I suspect he threatened his friends and family as well, just as he did with Draco's family. It's not like Remus or Sirius (or Harry, for that matter) gave him much time to explain all his reasoning. So, yeah, I think he was threatened into it.

How do you think he would act after he's betrayed them?

Well, once he made the decision, it's clear he stayed to it. Because right after their betrayal, he turned around and betrayed Sirius. They were the only two who knew about the switch, and he got rid of the evidence. I think he'd be conflicted, though. But I think he'd want to make the best of it, try to get in further with the Death Eaters, since he had screwed up his situation with the Marauders.

I do think there would be guilt, but he probably tried to forget about it, thinking it was the only choice he had (even though it wasn't), and in other ways, trying to justify it to himself. I think part of his framing of Sirius was anger that Sirius had decided on the switch, *knowing* that Peter was weaker in character and that if the switch hadn't happened, Peter wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place and the Potters wouldn't have been betrayed. I can see him being very angry at Sirius for that. You know "You're stronger! You shouldn't have put that burden on me!" sort of thing.

So, yes, I can see regret, anger at Sirius, and a general feeling that he had no choice and still has no choice but to stay with the Death Eaters and prove his worth... without ever becoming a threat.