The Liar, The Witch and The Werewolf

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 169840

> Pippin wrote:
> >
> > I was re-reading the first chapter of GoF yesterday, and I  wondered
> what Peter Pettigrew would have been doing in the wayside inn where he
> supposedly met the Ministry witch Bertha Jorkins. Voldemort says he
> stopped there because he was hungry.
> > 
> > But Peter can steal all the food he needs as a rat! Why risk taking
> human form just for that? It would have been most foolish. Even
> Peter's not that stupid. <snip>
> 
> Carol responds:
> Clever and entertaining as always, Pippin, but I can't argue with a
> hypothethetical explanation based on the assumption that Lupin is ESE.
> I agree that it's odd that Pettigrew would stop at a wayside inn, but
> the inn was in Albania, where Bertha had just visited her great aunt,
> IIRC, and maybe Wormtail assumed that an English wizard who had been
> "murdered" thirteen years before wouldn't be recognized by rural
> Albanians. 
<snip>
 And wizards seem to have a habit of wearing their heads low over their 
faces if they don't want to be  recognized.  

Pippin:
But he thinks his old friends are hunting for him!

At least, that's the reason we're given for his return to Lord V. He may be 
wearing his head down on his chest (I assume you meant hood, but I 
like head better!) but even so, does he speak Albanian? Fluently?  When 
did he learn it? Or does he point to what he wants with his mutilated 
hand? Wanted murderers aren't supposed to make spectacles of 
themselves, and a foreigner in rural Albania could expect
to  stand out, even if it's a wizarding inn (which, BTW, we don't know.)

It's not just Bertha he'd be afraid of running into, but Lupin,
Sirius, and even more dangerous Order members like Mad-eye. After
all, Peter isn't to know that Sirius has fled to the tropics or that
Dumbledore thinks it might be rather helpful if Voldemort had a 
servant who owes Harry Potter a debt.

Carol:
 Anyway,
> Wormtail doesn't deny being the spy who ratted on the whole Order, and
> we know he was the SK who betrayed the Potters, not to mention that he
> has a Dark Mark burned into his arm (and Harry saw him, the short
> hooded man, kill Cedric).

Pippin:
Hey, if you had a wand pointing at me, I'd probably confess to whatever
you wanted, especially if I thought *you* did it, and you had three children
as potential hostages. It wouldn't be the only false confession in 
canon, either.

We don't know how long Peter had a dark mark burned into his arm 
-- but assuming Dumbledore knew to look for it as soon as Snape 
defected, before Voldemort's fall, (as  DDM!Snapers must) how did DD 
miss finding it? Easy, if it wasn't there until Peter the SK was captured 
and forced to give up the secret. 

The weak point of the Secret Keeper spell as Sirius and James used it 
is that the identity of the SK himself is no safer than the minds of 
those protecting it. In fact we actually  *see* Lupin  apparently 
using legilimency to discover the identity of the real Secret Keeper:

"But then...", Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed
he was trying to read his mind,"...why hasn't he shown himself
before now? Unless" -- Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though
he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of the
rest could see,"--unless *he* was the one...unless you switched...
without telling me?"

Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face,
Black nodded.
<end canon excerpt>

So, is there a reason that Lupin couldn't have actually discovered this
some twelve years earlier and used it to bargain for Lily's life?

Next point, Harry did not see anyone kill Cedric. Here's the canon:

>From far away, above his head, he heard a high, cold voice say,
"*Kill the spare.*" 

A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words
to the night: "*Avada Kedavra!*"

A blast of green light blazed through Harry's eyelids, and he heard
something heavy fall to the ground beside him; the pain in
his scar reached such a pitch that he retched, and then it diminished;
terrified of what he was about to see, he opened his stinging eyes.
<end canon excerpt>

 JKR was asked whether Wormtail had killed Cedric with Voldemort's
wand. Her answer was "Correct" --  and of course it will still be 
correct and very clever if it turns out someone besides Peter is 
using the Wormtail name and that person killed Cedric. The identity of 
Wormtail is what Neri likes to call an official mystery,
meaning that it has been questioned in canon, and therefore
it's up for grabs  even if we think  it isn't any more.  

I know it sounds far-fetched, but JKR has taken advantage
of confusion over names before. Judging by the Mark
Evans business and the Ronil Wazlib mixup, both of which
appear after Barty Jr is exposed, she could be plannning
to do it again. 

Carol: 
> At any rate, I can see Wormtail, tired of living as a rat, craving
> "people food" and taking what he saw as the very small risk of being
> recognized in order to have a real meal for a change. 

Pippin:
Um, people food is what rats eat. Though I can see the temptation
of a last civilized meal before rejoining Voldemort, it seems a bit
nervy for our Peter. He has physical courage, but only when he has
protection, and he's supposed to be running for his life. Rats are
never happy out in the open.

Cassy:
Personally, I love ESE!Lupin theory and I like your speculations, 
but what really interested me in this post was how do we know 
it was Lupin hexing Bertha? 

Pippin:
We don't. Canon doesn't specify.  I was speculating. Sorry that wasn't
clear.

Pippin