[HPforGrownups] Re: What possessed Peter to restore Voldemort? (Was: Trusting Snape)

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 149420

Carol:
Why Peter actually went through with the assignment--kidnapping and
injuring Harry, murdering Cedric (not part of the original deal, but
promptly performed), violating a grave, and above all mutilating
himself, all to restore Voldemort and make him stronger, is unclear to
me. Did he really think he had no alternative and that he'd be better
off with a stronger Voldemort? Couldn't he have left him stewing in
the cauldron without adding the ingredients (bone, blood, and his own
flesh) and at the same time released Harry, fulfilling his life debt?
Did he think that the revaporized Voldemort would haunt him and kill
him if he disobeyed the order? Or did he hope to be "honored above all
others" despite Voldemort's known indifference to his followers'
happiness and well-being?


Alla:
I suppose I am with SSSusan. I don't GET Peter either. One moment I
am thinking of him that he was broken by Voldemort's torture and
that is why he betrayed his friends and maybe just maybe some kind
of redemption is possible for him, but then I don't understand at
all him actively seeking to restore Voldemort, since that is
suggests to me that Peter is not just broken, but deeply evil person.

Debbie:
Well, yes.  Peter is deeply evil, IMO, because he has no goals in life
except his own self-preservation.  He's a lot like Voldemort in this
respect, no?  Like Voldy, he has no loyalty to anyone, but unlike Voldy he
is weak and needs protectors.   Voldy knows this and exploits it masterfully
in his handling of Peter, constantly reminding Peter even in Ugly!Baby form
that Peter has no better place to turn, now that his rat cover has been
blown (Voldemort to Wormtail, GoF ch. 1:  "Your devotion is nothing more
than cowardice.  You would not be here if you had anywhere else to go.").

Do you think he was tortured by Voldemort?  I think he went over quite
willingly.  ("He -- he was taking over everywhere!  Wh -- what was there to
be gained by refusing him?" PoA ch. 19.)  I think the slightest hint of
killing was enough.

So why doesn't he cut and run?  Pettigrew can't possibly hope for glory from
Voldemort, who has made clear that he's not worthy of any such thing (E.g.,
"Wormtail, I need somebody with brains, somebody whose loyalty has never
wavered, and you, unfortunately, fulfill neither requirement.").
I think Peter carried out Voldemort's resurrection because he has made an
(unspoken) deal with Voldemort:  If Peter takes care of Voldemort, and helps
him carry out his resurrection plan, he will be protected.  And, as Sirius
pointed out in PoA, Peter is weak (though not nearly as dim as Sirius seems
to think) and craves protection above all else.

>From GoF ch. 1:  "I do not deny that [Bertha Jorkins'] information was
invaluable.  Without it, I could never have formed our plan, and for that,
you will have your reward, Wormtail.  I will allow you to perform an
essential task for me . . . I promise you, you will have the honor of being
just as useful as Bertha Jorkins."
"You . . . are going . . . to kill me too?"
"Wormtail, Wormtail, why would I kill you?"

If Pettigrew walks out on Voldemort, he doesn't just lose his protection; he
will forfeit his life.  Even if Voldemort drowns in the
cauldron, Voldemort's "faithful servant" (Moody/Crouch) knows the plan, and
he will know Wormtail failed to carry it out, in which case Peter will be
Dead!Dead!Dead!  And if Fetus!Voldy doesn't drown in the cauldron in the
meantime, Crouch Jr. would be glad to give his right arm to resurrect him,
without any of Peter's sniveling.

This is really a pretty good deal for Peter.  Yeah, he's a little put out
that he doesn't get more respect, but his conversation with Snape at
Spinner's End makes clear that he's not willing to give up his comfortable
life with Snape to improve his standing.  It's all about that protection
from the most powerful.

It's gotta be better than living as a rat, anyway.

Debbie


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