The Recruitment of Pettigrew

[jklb66]

No: HPFGUIDX 34858

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "brewpub44" <brewpub44 at e...> wrote:
> The motive: This is not canon, but is my view on what happened. We 
> all know James & Sirius are the practical jokers, not just on Snape 
> but in general. Now, if their teens were anything like my teens, 
> everyone is fair game for practical jokes, friend or no friend. 
I've 
> seen many fights and broken friendships because of awry practical 
> jokes. And it is also clear that Sirius can't 
> figure it out: again in my experience the practical joker simply 
> can't understand what the big deal is. "It was only a joke!" is the 
> common refrain, meaning he is basically clueless as to what damage 
> (physical, psychological, whatever). He can't fathom Wormy hates 
him 
> for "that simple little thing" and is blown away when Wormy betrays 
> the Potters.

Sounds very plausible.  In PoA, McGonagall says of James and 
Sirius, "I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers-" 
To which Hagrid replies, "I dunno, Fred and George Weasley could 
give 'em a run for their money." So when we try to imagine the 
teenage James and Sirius, think of Fred and George.  Yes, their 
practical jokes are very funny, if you are WATCHING them, but as we 
have already discussed, a bit bullying if you are on the receiving 
end.  And what if you were on the receiving end quite often?  It 
wouldn't have to have been any one prank (like the source of Snape's 
grudge against Sirius), it could have been a cumulative process that 
convinced Peter that his "friends" aren't really his friends at all.

Add to this Sirius's statements to Peter such as, "Voldemort would be 
sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, 
talentless thing like you..."  and we get a pretty good idea of 
whether or not Peter was ever held in high regard by Sirius.  Even 
Lupin says that Peter was only able to become an animagus because 
James and Sirius assisted him.  So when James, Sirius, and Remus were 
nice to Peter, he may have perceived it as, "We'll let you hang out 
with us because no one else will hang out with you."  

> The recruitment: So along comes Voldy. He knows he has to kill 
> James and the boy. Yet Harry's parents are talented, and have 
> talented and loyal friends and mentors (no one messes with 
Dumbledore 
> lightly). He needs an inside man. So he studies their circle of 
> friends, and because he too was treated badly as a boy, he can spot 
> other troubled youths whereas those with happy childhoods simply 
> don't understand others' childhood miseries. He spots Wormy, a 
lesser 
> member of the Marauders, treated poorly by the others. He sees the 
> tension. And he acts. Then comes the betrayal, the murder, and 
a .little scar on a baby's forehead. 

But NONE of this excuses Peter.  No way, no how.  I have no doubt 
that James, Sirius, and Remus would all have been willing to risk 
their own lives to protect Peter.  "THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" 
roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE 
DONE FOR YOU!"