Wormtail's fault - Life-debt - Muggle house - Christ figures

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 37049

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Amy Z" <aiz24 at h...> wrote:
> Grey Wolf wrote:
> 
> >V only needed the help of _ANY_ DE to return. Wormtail was 
available, but 
> >in less than three months, so would have been Crouch Jr. So, 
in fact, 
> >Wormtail only made the return of V a little faster, and in reality 
not even 
> >that, since they had to wait until after the quidditch cup, and by 
then V 
> >had already contacted Crouch Jr.
> 
> Crouch Jr. couldn't have been freed from his father's Imperius 
Curse if  Voldemort hadn't returned to England, and he could 
only return to England  thanks to Wormtail.

I don't think JKR subscribes to the "one man" theory of history. 
Look what she has Harry say when Hagrid blames himself for 
giving away Fluffy's secret: 

"Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort we're 
talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him."
There's also Dumbledore's words to Harry when he blames 
himself for letting Pettigrew get away.

"The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, 
so diverse, that predicting the future is a difficult business 
indeed..."

The implication is that eventually, with or without Wormtail, Voldie 
would have found some way to come back. The damage 
Voldemort causes by being resurrected also  has to be weighed 
against the fact that Wormtail, by returning him to a mortal form, 
has made it possible for Voldemort to die. 

> >I must say that I really, *really* cannot see
> >how JKR is going to make Harry grateful that he saved 
Wormtail's
> >life. Say even if W rescues Harry, or Ron, or someone else 
from
> >V -- But V would never have come back and put whoever in the 
position
> >of needing to be saved in the first place if it hadn't been for W.
> >So I really can't see Harry feeling grateful for it under any
> >circumstances. Can any of you think of any?
> 
Well, Dumbledore doesn't say Harry will feel grateful. He says 
Harry will be glad. I think ultimately Harry will be in a position 
where he must sacrifice his life to save the world from 
Voldemort, and that Wormtail will intervene at this point to save 
Harry, destroy Voldemort and fulfill his debt. Since Harry 
believes, as Hagrid does, that Voldemort's return was inevitable, 
he is not likely to think, well, if Pettigrew hadn't brought him back 
none of this would have happened. Instead he'll think, well, I and 
my friends are alive because I did what my father would have 
done.

Pippin