Who recruited Peter Pettigrew for the Dark Lord?

[Hagrid]

No: HPFGUIDX 154801

> "mgrantwich" Magna wrote:
> I have been giving some thought to this issue (when I should have 
> been working but never mind that...)
> 
> I don't think that Pettigrew approached the DE's on his own 
> initiative. By nature he's a reactor to things and forces; he 
doesn't 
> make the first move but rather sits back and observes, watching to 
> see what response would be best for him to make to maximize the 
> benefits to himself. <SNIP> I'm sure he was 
> aware that some viewed him the same way McGonagall did: as a tag-
> along. <SNIP> being able to hang with the Marauders, the coolest 
> guys in school.
> 
> The same sort of personal calculations applied to his initial 
> involvement with Voldemort. <SNIP> I don't think that anyone 
threatened 
> Pettigrew: he would have responded to that by saying whatever he 
> needed to say to get out of the immediate situation and then have 
> gone into hiding <SNIP> . No, I think someone approached Peter and 
> let him know the benefits of switching gangs. 
> 
> Who did this or how they did it <SNIP>  We can speculate: 
> 
> 1. It would have had to be someone that Peter already knew or was 
> familiar with <SNIP> 
> 
> 2. It would have had to be someone that Peter envied <SNIP> 
> 
> 3. It would have had to be someone who represented a completely 
new 
> stage in life; <SNIP> Peter would have looked for someplace where 
> he could have found the maximum benefits for the minimum exertion.
> 
> My personal choice for the guy who approached Peter the first 
time: 
> Ludo Bagman. International Quidditch star, all-around jock and 
grown-
> up cool dude who knew people in the MoM and could get Peter a job 
> with no duties. <SNIP>  Bagman wasn't interested in high school 
> gossip, he wanted the real deal, the solid info about the Order. 
> And Peter got in deeper and deeper until it really was a matter of 
> facing Voldemort and giving up the info the Dark Lord wanted about 
> the Potters.<SNIP>  By the end of POA, Peter is <SNIP> 
> already turning into a serious criminal.
> 
> People will ask how he could have betrayed James when he idolized 
> him. Answer: he didn't idolize James, he worshipped James' image, 
> his hipness, his coolness, his persona. He didn't give a toss for 
> James the person, like Lupin and Sirius did. So it wasn't a huge 
> deal for him to betray James and Lily. <SNIP> 
> > >
> > >
> akh replies:
>
> <SNIP> there is another very basic interest: survival. In OOTP, 
> Moody talks about what appeared to be a systematic plan of
> killing off the Order members. <SNIP>  he's getting closer in line 
> for extermination. He can wait to have his courage challenged (not 
> a good idea), or he can seek out ways to save his skin.
>
> He's become convinced that LV and the DE's are the winning side 
> (read: cool and hip), and he's now in a position to be valuable, a 
> sensation he hasn't felt with his old crowd. <SNIP> 

aussie now:
This old post came out before the release of HBP. I think it is 
clearer now that it was Snape that recruited Peter Pettigrew. The 
fact that Pettigrew was entrusted to Snape in Spinner's End 
reinforces that. (If that is true, would that change anyone's 
opinion on Snape?)

During the overheard conversation in the 3 Broomsticks (POA Chap 
10), McGonagall said "(DD) was sure that somebody close to the 
Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements"

So, Peter joined before the prophesy had been told and had been 
informing for some time.

My opinion of why:
Snape's motive: revenge against the Maunderers by turning one of 
their own.
Pettigrew's motive: apart from those spoken about above, Snape may 
have known Peter was an Animagi Rat and if cornered, Snape could 
have offered 3 choices - a) AK Peter straight away as a OOTP member; 
b) if Peter escaped, expose himas an illegal animagi hunted by MOM; 
c) join DE and be on the strongest team.

Snape kept quiet about Peter Pettigrew being a DE to DD. Otherwise, 
Black would have never gone to Azkaban. He may have even recognised 
him when he was Scabbers, Ron's pet, and still not spoken out about 
the DE sleeping in Harry Potter's dormitory.

Book 7 may get clearer information from Peter Pettigrew himself 
about (when / who recruited / why) Wormtail joined the DE.