[HPforGrownups] Re: Peter Pettigrew - Questions and Commentary

[Barbara D. Poland-Waters]

No: HPFGUIDX 101185

>>>From: sbursztynski [mailto:greatraven at hotmail.com]

Um ... is this likely? He was living as a child's pet! How much information
would he expect to hear from Percy's pocket? And then at Hogwarts? Even if
he did think so, he wouldn't have taken long to discover his mistake and go
somewhere else.<<<

Very likely, and directly from canon:

"Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out
for news, weren't you Peter? Just in case your old protector regained
strength, and it was safe to rejoin him. . ."

PoA, Page 370

Also, we don't know that Percy kept him in a pocket or even took him to
Hogwarts. We know that "Scabbers" has been in the Weasley family for years.
Even if Percy did keep him in his pocket, like Ron did, he would still have
been around to hear anything that might have been mentioned at the Weasley
home during the holidays. Remember, animagi keep their minds when they
transform, so he would understand whatever he heard. And hey, if he felt he
had to live as a rat to hide from whoever (DEs, Sirius or VM), the Weasleys
certainly gave him a good life, fed him well (remember how fat Scabbers was
in the first book/movie?), etc., so why NOT stay there while you're waiting
for some indication that things have changed?

BTW, what mistake are you referring to?

Barbara
aka bd-bear