the Graveyard, life-debt unpaid (moved from OT)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 142189

Carol earlier (on OTChatter):
> What about true silver? Wormtail's silver hand appears to be
permanent (and very strong, given the twig that he crushes to powder
when he first receives it). And yet it seems to be conjured out
of thin air. And if it's true silver, might it be lethal to a
> werewolf? (I'm thinking of Fenrir Greyback, if he's at large or
> escapes from Azkaban, not Remus Lupin.)

Kemper responded:
> > Carol, are you suggesting Wormtail's (I hesitate to use the word)
redemption is saving Harry from Greyback? Or that Greyback attacks
Wormtail in some full-moon lunacy, and Wormtail, frightened and
wandless, flails his fists about accidentally maiming/killing Greyback
even though Greyback does land a killing claw on Wormtail's
treacherous jugular? Because if you're suggesting this last one, I
like it a lot.

Carol again:
Not redemption. He's just too unrepentant and too self-preserving to
deserve redemption, not to mention the staggering number of deaths and
other crimes that can be directly attributed to him (in contrast to
Snape). But the life debt will be important and the silver hand is
emphasized in the (extremely unflattering) description of him in
"Spinner's End." He literally "gave his right hand" for the Dark Lord
(a cruel play on words that Voldemort actually makes before PP can
possibly understand it) and he seems to treasure it (rather like
Gollum's "Precious"). He has also sworn eternal gratitude and loyalty
in return for it (graveyard scene, GoF), which clashes rather
dramatically with that life debt. Since the hand is silver and silver
is supposed to be lethal to werewolves in "full-moon lunacy" mode (as
opposed to werewolves in human form drinking from silver goblets at 12
GP), I think the silver hand and life debt subplots will come together
in some way. We know from a JKR interview that Wormtail won't kill
Lupin, but I think he'll repay the life debt, willingly or not, by
saving Harry from Greyback (who seems to be most inconveniently in
Azkaban at the moment, but I expect a prison break in Book 7). So why
not a fight to the death between the human rat and the werewolf, each
with a deadly hand on the other's throat? (If Snape is a good guy, he
might even carry Rat!Wormtail around in his pocket with this scenario
in mind. Okay. Sorry. I'm getting a bit fanciful now.)

Kemper wrote:
> And has Wormtail's Silver hand locked him to his human form? Or can
he make the change to rat? If rat, then does the silver hand change to
paw or silver paw? Or is he some freak rat with a silver, human-esque
hand?

SSSusan added:
Haha! Great questions. I somehow envision Scabbers with a silver
paw... as if the silver hand is somehow also capable of the same type
of magic its owner can accomplish, in this case transfiguration. But
I've got NO canon to support that, of course. <snip>

Carol responds:

I don't think that Wormtail is locked into human form. After all, both
McGonagall and Rita Skeeter's Animagus forms have markings to indicate
their glasses, which have transformed with them. If glasses can
transform, surely a silver hand actually attached to Wormtail's body
can. Besides, we don't know if the hand is really silver. It was
conjured out of thin air, as I mentioned in my original post. It
should have melted away like Leprechaun gold by now. But since it
isn't real (LV could hardly have manufactured it before his body was
restored and summoned it to the graveyard), I can easily see it
magically transfiguring into a silver paw when PP transforms. (Wonder
what the sewer rats would make of it if he rejoined them?)

Kemper (to SSS):
> I think you bring up a point that I haven't seen flushed out before.
<snip> Wormtail at the Graveyard. He had most opportunity for
redemption here, yet he faltered. He didn't even attempt to save
Harry's life when LV was going to AK him. And it's not like LV cast it
surprisingly. <snip>
>  Where is Wormtail?! Did he not hear any of this silly villian talk?
I think he did hear it. <snip>  Knowing the AK would be cast, Wormtail
did nothing but watch. 

Carol responds:
I think that Wormtail, who has just suffered an excruciating injury
and is now dissolved in tears of joy and gratitude, is not paying much
attention to Voldie's theatrics. And possibly the consequences for not
fulfilling the life debt don't kick in because Harry doesn't actually
die. I think, though, that his gratitude to LV is beginning to fade
(he seems to have suffered from physical abuse at Voldie's hands and
is willing to tolerate Snape's sneers rather than return to LV). Maybe
Snape will remind PP of the life debt (assuming that he knows about
it--he was unconscious at the time) or maybe PP will remember it
himself. He and the silver hand have to be in the story for a reason,
over and above the restoration of LV to his body, which is a done deal.

Carol, combining two related posts to make the List Elves happy