[HPforGrownups] DD and the rat (was:Re: Minerva McGonagall/Dumbledore)

[Magda Grantwich]

No: HPFGUIDX 115788

First off - Kneasy, I completely agree with your assessment of
Sirius' character (as I usually agree with most of your assessments
of characters).  Rock on Kneasy!!!!

*Ahem* back to the point...

--- hogsheadbarmaid <aletamay01 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I do not see a conflict between Peter as a rather weak and less 
> talented wizard and Peter as an effective spy.  Peter is someone
> who is completely externally referenced.  His self image is all 
> tied up in who he is hanging out with, what those people think of 
> him and what others think of him because of his associations.  
> Peter is very determined to be accepted by and useful to those more

> talented and powerful than he himself is and thus to be able to 
> share in the glow of that power.  As someone less talented he has 
> figured out that this is his path to some pale sort of greatness.  
>
>Barmaid


We do Peter a disservice if we see him as weak-willed or in some way
not a resolute character.  He doesn't have the same priorities as
Sirius and James but he was able to convince them that he had and for
seven years they lived in the same dorm and chummed around together
without twigging to Peter's real character.  Rodent that he is, that
implies that Peter does have something on the ball.

My assumptions about Peter are:

- he's able to project back at you whatever image of himself is
necessary for you to drop your guard and let him get close to you;

- he's lazy and more than pleased to let you do all the scut work
that's necessary to change into animagi or finish a Charms essay or
whatever, and he's willing to abase himself to get you to do it ("Oh
I'll NEVER get this essay finished!  I haven't got your brains,
James!");

- he doesn't lose his head in a crisis - all that whining and
pleading in the Shrieking Shack was an attempt to buy time, until he
could figure out what to do to get away.  Once an opening presented
itself he was all over it and out the door like a streak of
lightning.  Also his presence of mind when confronted by Sirius after
the Potters' deaths and his ability to turn the tables on Sirius was
nothing short of inspired;

- he gets his jollies from manipulating people so that they don't
know they're being manipulated.  It's a dangerous sport, sort of like
riding a tiger but the exhileration must be intense and the "rush"
quite addictive.  I'm sure he did it to James, Sirius and Remus, so
well that they didn't realize he was doing it.  He's probably - very
carefully - doing it to Voldemort too (the ultimate high!).  Why else
is he there?  I don't think for a minute that Peter is a pureblood
supremicist or is anti-muggleborn on principle.  He's in it for the
power.

We got most of our info in POA about Peter from Sirius which probably
means we should take it with a grain of salt - Sirius never
understood Peter and wouldn't share his warped values system.  I
don't think we've really seen Peter because when he's on the page,
he's usually performing for an audience that he's trying to
manipulate.

Magda





		
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