Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be
discussing the marauders, the death eaters and Peter Pettigrew AKA Wormtail.
Now, we know Peter Pettigrew AKA wormtail as the defector of the marauders - a quartet
of boys which consisted of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter. All 4 boys began
attending Hogwarts in the year 1971, and each of them were sorted in to Gryffindor. This
was the initial basis of their friendship. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and James Potter
all seem to have figured things out while they were in school, at least to some degree,
but I’m not sure that I can say the same for Pettigrew. He was an insecure, snivelling
excuse for a man. And though he was close friends with the other Marauders- I don’t
think that they ever truly considered him to be their equal. They were popular and magically
talented, and Pettigrew was..well, Pettigrew- a young and impressionable wizard that lacked
confidence and magical mastery.
The Marauders were hellbent on breaking the rules at the school, and were notorious for
their rule-breaking and mischief making. The group existed for 7 years, from 1971-1978,
and all members were active participants in the first wizarding war. All 4 boys would
also go on to join the order of the phoenix, which was a secret society founded by Dumbledore
that opposed Lord Voldemort. Peter was an ally to the Order of the phoenix for some
time, along with the other marauders, that is, until he was made ‘secret keeper’
for the Potter family.
A secret keeper is a witch or wizard designated to hide a secret, the secret is secured by
the fidelius charm, which conceals the secret inside of the secret keepers soul. Sirius
Black was the initial choice for secret keeper, but Sirius, thinking that Voldemort might
target him, suggested that they choose Pettigrew instead. The following excerpt from Sirius
addresses this:
"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it... I thought it was
the perfect plan... Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd
use a weak, talentless thing like you... It must have been the finest moment of your miserable
life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."
After being made secret keeper, Peter Pettigrew revealed his true colours, and in one infamous
act of cowardice and disloyalty, revealed the location of the Potter cottage to Voldemort.
He had been in correspondence with the dark lord already, and this was his chance to strike
- to show Voldemort that he was worthy. It was at this moment that this snivelling, disloyal
man had secured his placement as a death eater - a servant of the dark lord. But for what?
Why would Pettigrew leave the order, and his former schoolmates, to go and serve a darker
purpose? Wasn’t he a Gryffindor?
The truth is that even though Pettigrew was a ‘member’ of the order of the phoenix,
and a ‘member’ of the marauders- he was never truly accepted by either of these groups.
He was always Pettigrew to them, and was frequently looked down upon. Pettigrew was quite weak
and mentally impressionable, and Sirius, Remus and James were all strong characters.
I think that it’s entirely reasonable for me to say that Pettigrew’s ‘friends’
never truly respected him, and viewed him as a little bit beneath them, despite being
the ‘good’ guys. After years and years of being dismissed and not taken seriously,
Pettigrew simply hit a breaking point, a point at which he sought power independent from
those that he knew. When he turned to Voldemort, Pettigrew saw an opportunity to become his
own man. Voldemort probably saw that he was decent at magic, but also mentally weak, and
he took advantage of that. James, Sirius and Lupin were ultimately "good" people but they
were also arrogant jerks in their youth, and Pettigrew who was perpetually looked down
upon by them eventually made a choice, as awful as it was, to betray the people that
he previously surrounded himself with. Peter wanted power, and his own identity. In some
ways, Peter’s tale could easily be an allegory for bullying and the bullied kid going down
the wrong path.
Though Peter was in the order, and ‘one of the good guys’ , he was never really
appreciated by them, and he picked up on it. When he saw Voldemort, he saw an opportunity
to reinvent himself and surround himself with a new group of people, the death eaters. Becoming
a death eater was totally foreign to him, but he knew that he didn’t like his present
circumstances- and the prospect of joining a new group of very different, but powerful
people, was inviting to Pettigrew, who liked to surround himself with people in these positions
of power.
This is reflected in the following quote from the Prisoner of Azkaban:
When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But
you, Peter – I’ll never understand why I didn’t see you were the spy from the start.
You always liked big friends who’d look after you, didn’t you? It used to be us
… me and Remus … and James …”
And it just so happens that when Pettigrew defected, Voldemort was the man- he was powerful,
and his victory seemed imminent. Pettigrew, who was insecure and vulnerable, saw that
he could be a part of something powerful and impressive, and made his choice.
And that’s it for this video! What do you think? Why did Pettigrew defect and join the
death eaters? Would he have been any help to the order if he had stuck around? Let us
know down in the comment section below
Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY