Wormtail's Debt? (was: Re: And then there were none.)

[corinthum]

No: HPFGUIDX 93245

Dave wrote:
 
> > Am I the the only one who is really, REALLY finding it impossible 
> to
> > believe that there's ANYTHING Wormtail could possibly do to make
> > Harry "glad he saved his life", as Dumbledore says? 

And Meri replied:

> I don't know about that. After all, the Sorting Hat ... put 
> Wormtail in Gryffindor for *some* reason. He obviously comes off as 
> more of a weak, sneaky, ratlike coward now, but there must be some 
> tiny, miniscule, insignificant, long dormant spark of Gryffindor 
> bravery in him which allowed him to be put in that house instead of 
> Hufflepuff or Slytherin. 

Yes, but bravery is hardly synonymous with goodness.  Despite his 
whining, Wormtail has shown moments of bravery: spying on the 
original Order, not panicking when he met Bertha Jorkins, cutting off 
his hand, etc.  None of these were admirable actions, and it can be 
argued that most of them are motivated by his fear of Voldemort, but 
nonetheless they did require that "spark if Gryffindor bravery" 
lurking inside Peter.  

- Corinth