In defence of Peter (was: Thoughts on Wormtail's activities in OOTP )

[ghinghapuss]

No: HPFGUIDX 81554

Shirly wrote:
(Snip) In fact, LV seems to have so little regard for him - he 
always calls him Wormtail and never Peter, have you noticed? - that 
I'd think he'd just keep him around as a servant/lackey/scapegoat.

Jen:
(Snip)
We already know he is having second thoughts in GOF, perhaps because 
of the life-debt, when he suggests LV use someone besides Harry in 
the potion.  That always seemed like such an uncharacteristically 
bold move on Peter's part to me. 

Now me:  
I think the biggest mistake anyone can make about Peter 'Wormtail' 
Pettigrew is to underestimate him.  And we're all doing it.  I think 
it's easy for us to pigeon hole him into the role of a weak easily 
influenced follower/coward *BUT* don't forget Peter is an 
accomplished animagi (it doesn't matter how long it took for him to 
achieve it, he did it, and at a very young age). He blew apart a 
whole street killing 12 people and faked his own death. He convinced 
James Potter, Sirius Black, Alibus Dumbledore with the secret-keeper 
switch, while letting them susspect Lupin of being the spy.  Fooled 
the whole WW into believing he was dead for 13 years and had enough 
wits about him to convince Harry not to let be killed seconds before 
Sirius and Lupin are about to blast him to pieces.  This is not the 
actions of a looser.

Peter is not a dummy, an idiot, dimwitted or slow.  He is in fact, I 
believe, a very intelligent wizard, a little sycophantic at times and 
a follower (which is not necessarily a negative trait) who uses his 
ability to take orders and fly under the radar to his advantage.  He 
is the perfect spy as he proved back during the first reign of 
Voldemort.

As to what Peter was doing during the raid on the Ministry in OotP?  
Who knows? But it was something important and we'll find out.  Trust 
me LV doesn't give out *gifts* like a silver hand if he doesn't have 
an important use for it.

Mandy