Pettigrew, Snape, and the Unbreakable Vow

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 135128

Azriona wrote:
><snip> 
> Granted, I'm a big Peter person.  I do believe he's going to be 
> redeemed, and I think this would be an awesome way of doing it.  But 
> I also think that Peter is not aware of the finer points of Snape's 
> connection to Dumbledore, despite their living together (and we
don't know how long that arrangement has been lasting). <snip>
> 
>

Carol responds:
I'm not a Peter person, so forgive me if I have trouble saying
anything good about him. He's clearly (as JKR herself says in an
interview) a more powerful wizard than his friends have given him
credit for (aside from being an animagus, he can cast an effective AK,
and concoct a potion capable of restoring Voldy!Thing to his previous
form, and he's clever, even ingenious in a sneaky sort of way--able to
hide his treachery from his friends, frame Sirius, and persuade
Voldemort to take him in as a kind of servant.

That being said, let's look at what Snape knows about him, as of GoF.
(I'm ignoring Snape's initial intense reluctance to believe Sirius's
story in PoA. By the end of GoF, there was no more room for denial.)

1. He knows that Peter was the Secret Keeper who betrayed the Potters.
2. He knows that Peter faked his own death and blew off his own
finger, killing twelve Muggles and sending Sirius to Azkaban for
twelve years, and hiding for those same twelve years as a rat.
3. He knows that Wormtail found Voldemort and became his servant;
kidnapping Bertha Jorkins; and helping in the plot to Imperio Mr.
Crouch, kidnap Mad-Eye Moody and supplant him with Mr. Crouch's DE
son, Barty Jr. 
4. He knows that Wormtail AK'd Cedric Diggory.
5. He knows that Wormtail kidnapped Harry and took his blood, cut off
his own hand, and desecrated a grave to create the potion that
restored Voldemort to his body (or the semblance of it).
6. He knows that Voldemort rewarded Wormtail with a silver hand.

There are probably other things he knows, but I can't think of any
more clear-cut examples and these surely suffice to show what kind of
man Wormtail is. Possibly he can be credited with a kind of desperate
courage in seeking out a master who was at that time possessing small
animals or in cutting off his hand, but this is not the kind of
courage Snape is likely to admire. He is more cunning than
intelligent, making him seem a prime candidate for Slytherin, yet he
was placed for unknown reasons in Gryffindor. He is lazy unless forced
to work (twelve years  as a rat with nothing to do but eat and sleep),
and he is a traitor to his friends and to the Order. He is capable of
murder without remorse (twelve Muggles and an innocent boy).

Snape treats Wormtail with a kind of nonchalant contempt ("He has
taken to listening at doors. I don't know what he means by it.") He
orders Wormtail to bring drinks for himself and his guests, sends him
to his bedroom like a wayward child, and seals the doorway using what
I take to be a nonverbal Muffliato spell so that he can't eavesdrop on
their conversation.

Based on what we know of Peter, he largely deserves this contempt. He
brought it on himself through his fear of Voldemort and his desire for
 the protection of people more powerful than himself. But what does
this contempt for Wormtail reveal about Snape (who also, as this scene
reveals, dislikes the Crucio-loving Bellatrix)? Can it mean that
despite Snape's virulent hatred of James Potter, he holds the betrayer
of the Potter family in contempt? Despite having been a spy himself
and provided information to Voldemort that led to the events at
Godric's Hollow, can it be that he is now loyal to the Order and
despises Peter for weakly doing Voldemort's will?

And what are the implications of this scene as it relates to Wormtail?
He's supposed to be serving Snape, a seeming reward for Voldemort's
new favorite, but his habit of listening at doorways (clearly Snape
has had other visitors) indicates that he's more of a very inept spy,
either by personal inclination or because Voldemort, despite
appearances, still does not trust Snape.

We know that Peter owes Harry a life debt. We know that Snape is
openly treating Wormtail as an unworthy inferior. The obvious
expectation is that Wormtail will save Harry by AKing Snape. But JKR
keeps pulling the rug out from beneath our expectations. Snape leaves
for Hogwarts a few weeks after this scene, and Wormtail has no place
to go except return to Voldemort, perhaps having a good look through
Snape's books and other property first. I would be very surprised if
he doesn't reveal to Voldemort that Bellatrix and Narcissa came to
visit Snape and that it was certainly in relation to Draco. I doubt
that Snape will lose any credit in Voldemort's eyes--after all, he
vowed to carry out Draco's task if Draco could not--but the
consequences could be severe for Narcissa, who had been ordered to say
nothing of Draco's mission. (The Muffliato spell would have prevented
him from learning any details.)

I wanted to talk about Snape's lies to Bellatrix in this scene, but
that will have to wait for another post.

Meanwhile, I'd like to know what anyone else thinks of this scene,
Peter defenders included. What does it add to the scene to have him
present, and what are the implications of Snape's obvious contempt for
this ruin of a man?

Carol