Pettigrew in Slytherin?

[cassandraclaire73 at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 1939


> There is good evidence, IMO, to put all of the Marauders as well as 
> Lily in Gryffindor. Pettigrew might be considered evil and seem a 
> likely candidate for Slytherin, but think about the reasons he 
turned  evil.  The defining characteristic of Slytherins is strong 
ambition, which can often lead to evil.  But Wormtail turned evil out 
of fear,  not out of ambition.  But while his cowardice might seem to 
rule him out of Gryffindor as well, he does show some occasional 
sparks of bravery.  When I mentioned my opinions on this subject 
before, someone mentioned that it would have taken physical courage 
for Pettigrew to cut off his hand for Voldermort.  There his also his 
 attacking Draco on the train in PS when he was bothering Harry.  
This scene, when considered in light of Scabbers being revealed as 
> Pettigrew, raises all sorts of interesting questions on Pettigrew's 
> motivation for doing that: was it out of some grudge against 
Draco's father from when they were Death Eaters, or a manifestation 
of a last shred of loyalty to James?

It's Goyle he attacks, not Draco, isn't it? Not that that affects the 
argument much either way. I'd be surprised if it turned out that all 
the Marauders, including Pettigrew, weren't in Gryffindor. I can't 
take Hagrid's assertion that there was never a wizard that went bad 
that wasn't in Slytherin at face value, any more than I can take the 
assertion that Snape wants the Defense Against the Dark Arts position 
as gospel. (JKR has often said she's a fan of Jane Austen, and in 
Austen's books it's never safe to take hearsay at face value.)
Pettigrew seems neither ambitious nor clever enough to be in 
Slytherin -- he's neither a manipulator nor a careerist, really, just 
out to save his own skin.