Wormtail's Name In the Confession (WAS: Spying Game...)

[snazzzybird]

No: HPFGUIDX 40390

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "ssk7882" <skelkins at a...> wrote:
> Snazzzybird wrote:
> 
> > In GoF when Barty Crouch Jr. is confessing under Veritaserum, he 
> > says that Voldemort came to his house to free him from his 
father's 
> > Imperius Curse – in the arms of his servant, Wormtail. I may not 
> > have the wording exactly right; don't have the book in front of 
> > me – but Crouch definitely refers to Pettigrew as "Wormtail". 
> 
> Welcome, Snazzzybird! (Is it really spelled with those three z's, 
or 
> am I just faithfully adhering to a typo?)
> 
Thanks for the welcome!  Yes, I have 3 z's, because the system told 
me that the 2-z name was already taken.  I apologize to the 2-z 
snazzy for any confusion that may result from this.  <angelic smile>

> 
> Snazzzybird suggested:
> 
> > I think the reason is exactly as stated by Davewitley. JKR 
doesn't 
> > want Crouch to provide backup for Harry's story that Pettigrew is 
> > alive – therefore Sirius is innocent.
> 
> But JKR herself would already knows that Crouch is never going to 
get 
> that chance, wouldn't she?  
> 
<snip>

> So.  If the reason that nobody refers to Pettigrew by any name 
other 
> than "Wormtail" in the confession scene is really the author's 
desire 
> to keep Sirius' innocence a secret, then what we can deduce from 
that 
> is that JKR is concerned with one (or both) of two characters: 
> McGonagall and Winky.  Those are only two characters in the scene 
> whose ignorance might require special authorial effort to 
maintain.  
> Every other character present for the confessional either already 
> knows that Pettigrew is guilty (Dumbledore, Harry), or will shortly 
> be forced to accept Sirius' freedom, if not necessarily his 
innocence 
> (Snape).  
> 
> -- Elkins

Elkins, you make some excellent points, and you might well be exactly 
right.  I love the elegance of Peter/Wormtail's name as an indicator 
of his humanity or lack of it.

However, this bird has her theory clamped firmly in her beak, and is 
not quite ready to unclamp just yet.  All right, Snape "will shortly 
be forced to accept Sirius' freedom, if not necessarily his 
innocence".  I think something's coming, plotwise, that will *only* 
work if Snape believes -- or can appear to believe -- that Sirius is 
guilty of betraying James and Lily and killing a street full of 
Muggles.  JKR is making Snape's knowledge of Sirius' innocence 
*plausibly deniable*.

I'm an admitted JFK-Conspiracy Nut and a CIA Black-ops Watcher, and I 
also write fiction for fun -- so that's the way my mind works!

          Respectfully submitted,
          snazzzybird  :-)