Pettigrew is in!

Fri Oct 26 02:27:11 UTC 2001

Penny would 
> still love to hear how everyone is coming with their FAQs 

and is feeling or 
> a bit lonely & forlorn & rejected ...)

There, there. Sounds like you need a new Pettigrew FAQ to cheer you up! It's still a very rough draft, so I'm going to post the FAQ here for anyone to comment on or correct.

Baaaaaa!

Aberforth's Goat (a.k.a. Mike Gray)
_______________________

"Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been
bravery...."

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Peter Pettigrew FAQ

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." (Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 6)

Was the spell a dud? Did Ron mispronounce "daisies? Does that particular spell work only on non-animagical rats? Only Pettigrew's creator knows for certain, but one thing is obvious: Peter, owner of the most abysmal charm quotient in Potterdom, could have used the help. Grown women swoon over Sirius, notwithstanding a certain canine pungency. Draco has inspired his fanfictional admirers to mordant wit and leather trousers. Readers claim kinship with Percy, rationalize Ron and have strange fantasies about Snape. Even Voldemort earns a bit a respect for surviving four sizeable books without ever having bothered to learn from the errors of other Evil Overlords (http://minievil.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html). But Pettigrew doesn't cut muster. No one respects him, no one admires him, no one fears him-and if anyone has ever lusted after him, they've kept very quiet about it.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A RAT

Who is Peter?

Pettigrew, or rather Scabbers, shows up with Ron in chapter six of PS. Except for biting Goyle's finger in the same chapter, he spends most of the following two books sleeping, chewing on sheets and being pushed off chairs on which more significant characters want to sit. In PoA he gains a higher profile. Suffering from the ravages of age and the molestations of Hermione's cat Crookshanks, Scabbers disappears-apparently into Crookshank's jaws-only reappear in the form of Peter Pettigrew: erstwhile marauder, unregistered animagus, dead hero, live rat. At the climax of PoA, Harry convinces Sirius and Remus to spare Pettigrew's life. Shortly afterward, Pettigrew escapes. In GoF he  resurfaces in the company of his master Voldemort. He kills Cedric at Voldemort's command, contributes his own right hand to Voldemort's rebirth and receives shiny, bionic replacement.

As to his appearance, the least said the better. As a human (whether adult or juvenile), Peter is described as pudgy and weak. As a rat, he is fat, lethargic and *gray*. (As a pointed out in a short and rather amusing club discussion http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/9180, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/9189, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/10200.) As a young wizard, he was a hanger-on, outclassed by his friends James, Sirius and Remus; however, he is not entirely inept, since he did succeed in becoming an animagus and showed considerable skill in his showdown with Sirius (10617).

List members have pointed out that Peter is not merely sympathetic to Voldemort but a confirmed Death Eater, bearing the dark mark (3310, 15935). Peg Kerr also chose him as an example of a person unable to understand true charity (4371).

To which house did he belong?

This leads to a further question: which house was Peter in? There are strong reasons for us to assume that he was a Gryffindor. 

Jo has given us no conclusive proof - either in canon or in interviews - that *any* of the marauders belonged to Gryffindor. [In fact, she doesn't even call them "Marauders"; but since everyone else does, I will too.] However, granted the close parallels between Harry and James (in particular their enmity with Snape and Draco), it is very difficult to imagine James (at least) in any other house.

Also, Jo has said in on-line chats that Lilly and Hagrid were "naturally" from Gryffindor (see http://www.hpgalleries.com/c103.htm, http://www.hpgalleries.com/c102.htm). It's hard to imagine how this "naturally" could apply to Lilly and Hagrid but not to James - nor for that matter to Remus and Sirius too. 

Further, although fans have often speculated that the four friends came from different houses, we have yet to see a close, non-romantic friendship between members of differing houses - particularly if one of the houses is Slytherin. [Hormonally enhanced friendships between houses seem common; however, until now the gates of Slytherin appear to have held steady even against the feral scent of love.] Thus, if at least one of the marauders was in Gryffindor, chances are, they all were.

However, if we assume that Pettigrew was a Gryffindor, what are we to make of his betrayal? According to a group member named Rowena Grunnion-Fitch, someone of Pettigrew's propensities 

"*can't* be a Gryffindor since their chief characteristic is courage and he has none at all. He does however have cunning, he could be a Slytherin."

True: he could be a Slytherin. However, I think it is more likely that Pettigrew is a Gryffindor, albeit a lapsed one - and that his current excursion from the path of virtue doesn't count against him. For one thing, many members would actually be reassured to know that the Potterverse isn't governed by a sort of inexorable moral apartheid in which eleven year olds sent to a certain school class will spend the rest of their lives behaving according to the virtues of that particular class. Somehow, we have a hard time believing that a person like Jo Rowling could create a world like that.

In any case, it is seems likely that Pettigrew will eventually repent of his follies. One shouldn't forget the passage in PoA where Harry regrets his decision to save Pettigrew's life. Dumbledore disagrees:

"Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt.... When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them... and I'm much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter."

"I don't want a connection with Pettigrew!" said Harry. "He betrayed my parents!"

"This is magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable, Harry. But trust me... the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life."

This leaves a strong impression that Pettigrew will not spend the rest of his life with a black hat on his head. Caius Marcius (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/5123) has gone so far as to predict that Pettigrew will give his life to save Harry. True Pettigrew fans have conclusively disproved this theory - but since they don't exist, Caius Marcius could well be right. [However, anyone who objects to such bloodthirsty scenarios may prefer my own more peaceable version: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/5405.]

Why did he bite Goyle?

During Harry and Ron's inaugural fight with Draco, Pettigrew bites Goyle's finger. Why? Was Scabbers settling an old score or just working off steam? Or is this a foreshadowing of some harrowing struggle? No one knows. But that hasn't stopped HPfGU members from floating a theory or two.

Hella suggests a progression of bites: Pettigrew sees Harry for the first time. Conscience bit, he decides to bite Goyle to make up for his lack of resistance so many years back. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/24324) 

Rrishi - who apparently knows things about rats that I don't - thinks Scabbers may have just been acting like a rat, defending his territory against intruders. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/24351). 

Monika, apparently used to a rather different sort of rat, suggests that Scabbers - who had just been given to Ron by Percy - wanted to encourage his new owner to take good care of him. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/8513) 

However, Saitaina's (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/24280)  theory takes at least as much cake as anyone else's: 

Now here's my question...why did Peter as Scabbers, bite Goyle? He didn't have to.  It's not like he ever really did anything as Scabbers beyond sleeping and shaking in a terrified manner.  So why bite him at all? Was Goyle about to steal the Cauldron Cake he had been munching on in his sleep?

How did he survive his explosion?

Carole Estes, co-author of A Sirius Affair http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ParadigmOfUncertainty/files/A%20Sirius%20Affair/, once expressed a certain surprise that Pettigrew survived the explosion with which he killed 12 muggles and fooled all of wizardom. The simple answer is that Pettigrew wasn't an idiot. For a more complicated answer (including a rather fetching diagram) see Milz's answer (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/10663).

PETTIGREW AND THE MYSTERIES OF MAGIC

Why doesn't he show up on the map?

One of the favorite pursuits of the true HP fan is Flint hunting - or ferreting out those devilish details where Jo's vision seems a tad fuzzy. The Marauder's Map is an old favorite among Flint hunters and has consumed enough bandwidth to obliterate whatever earnings Yahoo might otherwise have had this year. 

The question is rather simple: quite a few people used the Marauder's Map without ever noticing that Scabbers had the wrong name hovering over his dot. Why?

Fortunately, Penny has attacked this question in his mystery FAQ http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/faq/mysteries.html; if the gentle reader isn't satisfied with Neil's theories, she'll have to make up her own. 

What happens to Pettigrew's clothes when he transforms?

No idea. Presumably, whatever happens all his other animagus friends' clothes. See Penny's FAQ (http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/faq/mysteries.html).

PETTIGREW AND HIS ADMIRERS

Is there anything else I should know about Pettigrew?

Probably not - but if you're really excited about Pettigrew, you'll be even more excited when you find out that HPfGU members have spent a fair amount of time discussing Pettigrew's parallels both within the canon and in general literature.

Within the canon, Peter finds two points of comparison: Neville and Ron. The first comparison is covered in the Neville FAQ. http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/faq/neville.html#character 

The second is a bit more tricky - and, to judge from the occasional "shipping wars" on the list, an effective, if somewhat dangerous, conversation piece. Fortunately, Neil has covered the question in his Ron FAQ. http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/faq/ron.html#BETRAYAL (In case you want to get the low down from people who really like Ron, have a look at Sugar Quill http://www.sugarquill.com/ - but don't pull any comparison stuff unless you really, really like Pettigrew.)

All in all, comparisons outside the canon are a lot safer. Peter obviously makes for a grand Judas figure (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/7838 ). More intriguing are the parallels between Jo's Wormtail and Tolkien's Wormtongue. Amy (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/11783) and Marvin (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/11785) offered several interesting thoughts on this relationship. Since Jo read the Lord of the Rings when she was about twenty (http://www.comicrelief.com/harrysbooks/pages/transcript.shtml), it is entirely possible that Pettigrew had an ancestor (or is it descendant?) in Middle Earth.

Where can I find out more about Pettigrew?

Well, to be honest, there isn't much more out there. Pettigrew fans (assuming there are any) certainly won't find much material on the web. Nasubionna's site offers the most comprehensive overview http://envy.nu/nasubionna/peter.html. Steve Vander Ark has a few bits of information http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/pettigrew.html, but the pickings are generally lean. 

However, Pettigrew has featured prominently in the world of filkdom, raking in such hits as Pettigrew, The Way We Gnaw and You're Bad for Me (all by Caius Marcius) and My Master You Know Who (by Pipin).

http://home.att.net/~coriolan/azkaban.htm#Pettigrew

http://home.att.net/~coriolan/voldemort.htm#My%20Master,%20You%20Know%20Who

http://home.att.net/~coriolan/voldemort.htm#The%20Way%20We%20Gnaw

http://home.att.net/~coriolan/voldemort.htm#You're%20Bad%20for%20Me

Finally, Dr. Elizabeth Schafer, author of the Beacham's Sourcebooks For Teaching Young Adult Fiction: Exploring Harry Potter, has subjected Pettigrew to a bit of literary psychoanalysis with the claim that his missing finger symbolizes his trouble making a point. [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/2458] (For an extended review of this curious tome, please see http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/book_beacham.html.) Which is as good a place as any to end this FAQ.

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