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

[scoutmom21113]

No: HPFGUIDX 115801


Barmaid:
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.

Magda:
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.

Bookworm:
For brevity, I snipped the rest of Madga's comments, but she
makes an excellent characterization of Peter.  I agree with both 
Barmaid and Magda, and I've posted before (many thousands ago!)
that Peter is weak *compared to the people he associated with* – 
James and Sirius, and Voldemort.

Madga's comment also make me wonder how astute James and Sirius 
were.  Did Peter really have to hide his cunning, or were they so 
cocky they were oblivious to others?

Ravenclaw Bookworm