Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail; Scabbers)

Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail; Scabbers)

Meaning: Peter means rock; reliable. As the traitor of his close friends, Peter Pettigrew has not exactly lived up to his name but the story's not done yet. The word petty in his surname echoes his insignificance and, of course, his ability to transform into a pet.

Age: Approximately 38.

House: Gryffindor.

Distinguishing Characteristics: An unregistered Animagus who can turn into a rat, Peter Pettigrew is ratlike even as a human with a squeaky voice, small eyes and a sharp nose. He is short, balding, and in more comfortable times, fat. Peter sacrificed his right hand to renew Voldemort's body, and bears a silver hand in replacement from his Master.

Heritage: At least half-blood, as he was accepted as a Death Eater.

Family: His mother is implied to be part of the wizarding world, receiving the Order of Merlin on Peter's behalf along with the finger he cut off to fake his death.

First Mention: Pettigrew appears as Scabbers from chapter six of Philosopher's Stone. We first hear of him by name in the tenth chapter of Prisoner of Azkaban (and we hear of his alter ego Wormtail in the same chapter, as co-author of the Marauder's Map).

General: As a student at Hogwarts, Peter's ability was inferior to his friends James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. Slow to learn but quick to follow, he often incurred the wrath of Professor McGonagall and, from what Harry sees in Snape's memory, even annoyed his friends. Still, they enjoyed his company (or at least his adoration) enough to help him become an Animagus during their 5th year at school, a project inspired by James' and Sirius' desire to accompany Remus during his werewolf transformations. Peter accompanied them on their monthly adventures, helped make the Marauder's Map (although there must be grave doubts about whether he contributed a great deal to this), and got extra thrills watching them bully Snape.

After graduating, Pettigrew and the other Marauders joined the Order of the Phoenix to fight against Voldemort, with Peter again presumably being led by his more talented friends. This led to a harsh lesson in the realities of life at war, however. The numbers of the Order were continually diminished by frequent brutal skirmishes with Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and life for its members was far from safe. This didn't at all suit Peter's preference for a cosy existence and so, when some three years later he started to come under pressure from the Dark Lord to turn coat, Pettigrew secretly defected. Although afraid of Voldemort, and afraid for his own life, Peter clearly also anticipated great gains through his connection with the Dark Lord. Within a year his reputation as a lesser-skilled wizard paid off when the Potters, at Sirius' behest, made him the Secret-Keeper for the Fidelius Charm that was designed to guard them as they went into hiding. The logic, to those who still believed Peter to be loyal, was simple: surely Voldemort would never think Peter Pettigrew would be of any use, and surely he was the very last person anyone would select as a Secret Keeper. As such, he seemed to be the perfect choice.

Peter was then the only one who could and would reveal the Potters' location, and sure enough he betrayed them to his new master. Though this was the first time in his life he stood out, he still owed his powerful knowledge to James and Sirius. His chance to give Voldemort what he wanted was pure luck, but when the attack on Harry backfired, Peter's escape was ingenious. He made sure witnesses were present when he was confronted by Sirius and accused him of betraying Lily and James; then he secretly sliced off his finger, used a concealed wand to blow a crater in the street that killed twelve Muggles, changed into his animagus form, and ran as a rat into the sewers. Thus the finger of suspicion pointed straight at Sirius instead, and Peter was hailed for his heroism by the Ministry of Magic, with the only one who could destroy his image imprisoned in his place.

He was now seen as a hero, albeit a dead one, and his mother was even awarded a posthumous Order of Merlin on his behalf. His new position was not without problems, however. The vast majority of the wizarding world believed him to be dead, and his cover story relied on them continuing to think so. Voldemort's supporters may have suspected he was still alive, but those that did were after his blood, as they saw the fall of their leader as a set-up orchestrated by Pettigrew. From being their own double-agent he had become, in their eyes, a traitorous triple-agent, who was still really working for the Order. Not much time passed between the fall of Voldemort and Peter's own staged death, but even so Peter no doubt learned quickly that he was no longer welcome as a Death Eater. There was no refuge for Peter with either set of people, and his only choice was to go into hiding as a rat, where he stayed for the next decade and more.

One way or another, perhaps choosing his location with care, Peter ended up as the pet rat of the Weasley family, and ended up with the name Scabbers. It was a disguise he kept up for the best part of 15 years, not only to protect his reputation, but also to protect his life. His position also kept him well informed, however: the Weasleys had strong connections to Hogwarts and to the Ministry of Magic, and it may well be that this is why Peter chose to stay with them for so long. Whether he harboured any feelings of affection for them is another matter, of course, although he did once famously spring to Ron's defence on the Hogwarts Express by biting Gregory Goyle's finger. It may be, however, that this was motivated not by a protective instinct towards Ron, but by vengeance against the son of a Death Eater who had rejected him.

When Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban after twelve years, Peter's comfortable existence disintegrated. Playing dead again by staining Ron's sheets with blood and running away didn't work; Peter was found later by his "old friends" Sirius and Remus Lupin. They cornered him in the Shrieking Shack and forced him to abandon his animiagus appearance. He was finally revealed in his true form to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and left no choice but to confess his treachery and face revenge. Indeed, Sirius and Remus were about to kill him for his crimes, but Harry intervened to save Peter's life, encouraging them not to take justice into their own hands. Harry's thoughts were not with Peter, of course, but he did not want his father's two best friends to become murderers for the sake of someone as pathetic as Pettigrew. Harry asked instead for him to be handed over to the Ministry, to which Sirius and Remus agreed. Peter, however, managed to show how slippery he can be yet again: he escaped the Ministry Dementors thanks to a well-placed full moon, and disappeared into the night. His reputation, however, was shattered - at least to Dumbledore. He had nowhere to go but back to Voldemort.

Still in rat form, Peter pattered across Europe, following tips from other rats that eventually led him to an Albanian forest. Not wanting to return to his master empty-handed, Peter tricked his old classmate Bertha Jorkins, whom he chanced to meet in a pub (and whom also happened to work for the Ministry of Magic), into coming with him. He turned her over to be tortured for information and ultimately killed. With one of his servants finally back with him, the Dark Lord had a route back towards power.

Peter served Voldemort further by feeding him milk from Nagini, an enormous snake, to strengthen his feeble body; helping him free Bartemius Crouch Jr., and capture Mad-Eye Moody; and controlling Bartemius Crouch Sr. under the Imperius Curse (and, in typical Wormtail fashion, letting him escape). He also murdered Cedric Diggory at the command of his master, and performed the magic, devised by the Dark Lord himself, that brought his body back in the graveyard at Little Hangleton. This, at the very least, required some degree of bravery, as the spell required Peter to cut off his own hand and add it to the regenerative potion. Whilst understandably spending the next several minutes whimpering in pain, he was rewarded for his actions with a new, incredibly strong, silver hand from Voldemort.

Aside from this one gift, however, Peter gets little appreciation from his Master. Voldemort scorns him and calls him Wormtail, probably to remind Peter of his treachery and the loss of his real friends. And of course, to remind him he makes a better rodent than a person.

After that fateful evening in the graveyard, Peter disappeared from view for quite some time. Whilst he was clearly still a Death Eater, he took no part in the battle at the Department of Mysteries, and may well have simply been keeping out of Voldemort's way as best he could. He finally turned up at Spinner's End, placed there by his master to act as a servant to Severus Snape, who himself remained high in the Dark Lord's affections.

What will happen to Peter from here on in is the subject of much speculation. Some believe he'll use his silver hand to kill Remus Lupin, since silver is deadly to werewolves, although JK has distanced herself from this suggestion. Alternatively, Peter could play a pivotal role against Voldemort. After all, he owes his life to Harry Potter, and that life debt has yet to be repaid. When he bound Harry to the gravestone in Little Hangleton, he couldn't look at him and was unnecessarily rough, as if he were trying to distance himself from the present. The "avid anticipation" Wormtail felt watching Snape being tormented at school is now long gone now as he witnesses Voldemort's crimes. Peter would probably even return to the other side if anyone was foolish enough to trust him (and guarantee his safety of course) - but why would anyone in the Order of the Phoenix have any use for weak little Peter Pettigrew?