Wasted potential in Pettigrew and my overall disappointment with DH

[Aida Costa]

No: HPFGUIDX 173426

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "guzuguzu" <guzuguzu at ...> wrote:

> Peter Pettigrew: Wasted potential for a character: <snip>

I'm very disappointed with JKR over Pettigrew.  She once said in an
interview (I can't find the original source, I apologize) that the
Sorting Hat is never wrong.  How does she explain Pettigrew, then?  He
never once in the series showed an ounce of courage, the attribute
that Gryffindors are prized for.  I expected he'd show some kind of
emotion other than fear and cowardice in DH.

> He spent time living with (and presumably spying on) Snape in his
> childhood home

After reading DH, I believe he was placed in Snape's home for Snape to
spy on Pettigrew.  Snape proved himself - he killed Dumbledore. 
Voldemort never did trust Pettigrew.  <snip>

> I can explain my overall disappointed reaction to DH like this: I 
> feel like a friend came up to me and said, "Hey, I'm taking you on a
>trip-- while we're on the plane, read these to prepare yourself," and
>then handed me six books on India: all about the history, the
>culture, the people. And I read them all and as I did, I got really
>excited and ready to burst off that plane and experience India, my
>head filled with all the things I expected to see. But when the door
>opened, we weren't in India: we were in France. Now France is
>beautiful, and there is a lot to appreciate there, but I really can't
>appreciate it, because this entire time I'd been reading these books
>thinking we were going to India.  <snip>

You hit the nail on the head regarding how I feel about both HBP and
DH.  All this rich detail for what?  Two final books with mediocre
detail and poorly structured story lines.  I was on a brilliant
roller-coaster ride, right at the top of the crest at the end of OOTP,
and I expected an exhilarating ride to the finish - but then it
abruptly slowed down and wandered off the track.

>But I wondered why I had spent so much time in previous books reading
>about things which were ultimately irrelevant. I thought I would see
>the reason that Snape spent his one and only year as DADA teacher
>making the students proficient in wordless magic. <big snip>

Yes - that detail in HBP seemed incredibly important.  Even as Snape
was fleeing with the DE's at the end of HBP and he was deflecting
Harry's spells he tells him that he'll never learn to defeat him
unless he keeps his mind and mouth shut (I'm paraphrasing of course).
 I also agree with all the other details you mention - they all seemed
incredibly relevant.

And what of Neville in OOTP mistakingly calling the Philosopher's
Stone the Philological Stone?  All of her brilliant word play flew out
the window and became irrelevant in both HBP and DH.  

Aida, who thinks France is delightful, but expected Shangri-la