Who was with Voldemort at GH? Pettigrew

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 145927

Lia wrote:
<snip>
>  The question of who accompanied LV is one that's pestered me for
some time.  For some reason, I had always assumed (dangerous to do)
that Voldemort was alone.  LV often acts alone, and is depicted in
many ways throughout the canon as solitary, even when surrounded by
others. <snip>
 Still, others have raised the issue of accompaniment, and it would
seem that someone else might have been there.  My guess here would be
either Snape or Bellatrix--because it would explain the actions and
behavior of either in later events. <snip>

Carol responds:
Almost certainly the person (rat) who accompanied LV was Wormtail, who
returned LV's wand (and robes) to him in GoF. We know that Voldemort's
wand was used to kill Cedric and to fight Harry (the brother wand
effect, Priori Incantatem, etc.) Voldemort could not have had his own
wand unless Wormtail returned it to him. An admittedly unconfirmed
excerpt from a young fan's report supports this interpretation:

"I also asked when Harries [sic] parents were killed by Voldermort,
Wormtail turned into a rat and pretended to be dead. How then did he
give Voldermort [sic] his wand and robe back once he found him and
helped give him back his body?, she told me (after tapping her nose!)
'he hid them'."

Setting aside the kid's spelling, this tidbit has the ring of
authenticity, especially the nose-tapping gesture.

Wormtail probably showed Voldemort which house was the Potters, then
hid and watched the proceedings in rat form, which would explain why
neither James nor Lily in Harry's admittedly fragmentary memories
seemed to know he was present.

Afterwards, Wormtail could have hidden the wand and robes and then
reported the crime to the Aurors, who would not have suspected him of
complicity in the murders, pretending that he had arrived on the scene
just as the house exploded and ran (Apparated) immediately for help.
He could also have told them that Sirius was the Secret Keeper and
must have informed Voldemort of their identity. He could even have
gone to Dumbledore, weeping copious crocodile tears, but I don't think
he would have done so because he would have had to explain why he had
left Harry alive in the ruins.

Anyway, Wormtail was almost certainly present and could well have been
the person who reported the murder to the Aurors and the papers as a
first step in his plot to frame Sirius Black.

I've already stated that Snape could not have been present, since he
was already teaching at Hogwarts (and had been spying for DD for some
time bdfore that), and it's most unlikely that Bellatrix would have
informed the Aurors or the Daily Prophet, yet the Potters' deaths, the
disappearance of Voldemort, and Harry's miraculous survival were
common knowledge in the WW by the next morning. Unless Dumbledore
Apparated to Godric's Hollow with Hagrid and then left him in charge
while he (DD) reported the events to the Aurors and the Daily Prophet,
which seems OOC, Wormtail, the "innocent" friend of the Potters looks
like the best candidate for a witness to the events. And just possibly
Harry, to whom he owes a life debt, can get the truth out of him.

It's possible that Bellatrix was also there, which would explain why
she considered Wormtail to be a traitor, but I think the Potters would
have noticed her ("Lily, I'll fight Voldemort. You hold off
Bellatrix!") and it would have been much harder for Peter to retrieve
the wand and robes is Bella was also present. She would have wanted to
return them to her master herself when he returned. So I think the
only witness to Godric's Hollow is the Potter's betrayer, Pettigrew.

Carol, dreading the absence of birthday wishes to SS on JKR's site
January 9