Official Philip Nel Discussion Question #2 - Pettigrew!

[Aberforth's Goat]

No: HPFGUIDX 37865

First, sorry for posting this a day late!

This week we're on the sixth of Philip Nell discussion questions.
As usual, if you'd like a look at the whole list click on
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Discussion%20Su
mmaries/DISCUSSION%20QUESTIONS%20FROM%20PHILIP%20NEL.htm. If
you'd like a look at the book itself - and have ten dollars to
spare - just saunter on over to Continuum books at
http://www.continuumbooks.com/prev.cgi?bk_id=2431.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION

Peter Pettigrew

Consider the character of Wormtail (aka Peter Pettigrew).  What
motivates him?  When Harry is upset that he saved Pettigrew's
life, Dumbledore says, '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.' When Harry says he doesn't want a bond
with Pettigrew, Dumbledore replies, 'The time may come when you
will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life.' (POA, pg 311).
Does Pettigrew telling Voldemort that his return to power could
be accomplished without Harry Potter (GoF, pgs 13-14) seem
motivated by a desire to help Harry or by Pettigrew's cowardice?
What will his role be in the remaining novels?  Will Pettigrew
remain Voldemort's faithful servant?  Will he help Harry?  Are
these questions complicated further by Sirius Black's suggestion
in Chapter 19 of POA that other Death Eaters might turn against
Pettigrew?

COMMENTS

Just for the record, here's the Reader's Digest version of the
questions:

- Why doesn't Pettigrew want to kill Harry at the beginning of
GoF?
- What's in Pettigrew's future? Will he ...
        Stick to Voldie?
        Help Harry?
        Get picked on by the real bad boys?

Instead of commenting further on these questions - or on
Pettigrew generally - I'd recommend that the gentle reader take a
quick peek at the Pettigrew FAQ I wrote a while back. I've
uploaded it to our files section for this week. At some point in
the future, it should turn up on the HPfGU FAQ site.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Discussion%20Su
mmaries/Pettigrew.htm.

My own feelings about the first question: it could well be a bit
of both. Or it might just be that Pettigrew is starting to get a
little uneasy about a planned kidnapping that involves keeping
Barty JR high on polyjuice for an entire school year and rigging
an international tournament, just to get Harry to touch a portkey
...

As for Pettigrew's future: Caius Marcus once predicted that
Pettigrew will end up redeeming himself by saving Harry's life -
and dying in the process. I don't think he's actually written a
filk to prove it, but all thing being equal (and when it comes to
bad things happening to Pettigrew, they are) it seems like a good
prediction.

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...."