Wormtail at Spinner's End (WAS Re: New(?) questions about the Unbreakable Vow)

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 141926

Nathaniel:

> However, your post seems to indicate that you believe that Voldemort 
> placed Peter there so as to keep an eye on Snape.

houyhnhnm:

I do.  And the possibility has been mentioned before, though I was not
the first to bring it up, and it has not been thoroughly analyzed. 
The problem is that there is so little definite information to work
with. All we have are Snape's statements in "Spinner's End".  Whether
or not we believe him depends on assumptions already made about his
character.

I'm just going on *interpretation* ;-) Voldemort really has no reason
to distrust PP--despise, yes--but not distrust.  He's the perfect
cringing, sychophantic minion. On the other hand, he has plenty of
reason to distrust Snape.  Even if Snape is a loyal DE, it seems to me
that Voldemort would likely distrust him, as tyrants do distrust those
who rival (or even surpass) their own abilities.  It just seems
logical to me that LV would set a spy on Snape regardless of whether
Snape is actually ESE, OFH, or DDM.

The point I was trying to make upthread, however, is that it might
*look* suspicious to the two sisters, both of whom Snape wants to
impress with his position as the Dark Lord's favorite.  It is a piece
of discrepant information, at odds with his role as the DL's most
trusted advisor, to have Wormtail listening in on his conversations.
So he makes a point of emphasizing PP's servile status, whether or not
it truthfully reflects the nature of their relationship.  Not too hard
to do for Snape, who has a talent for dominating people, with
Pettigrew, who is a born punk.