100 days to go.
dorrie6 wrote an excellent drabble about Peter Pettigrew and it got me thinking about something that has to be answered in the final book.
Can Peter be redeemed? Or perhaps more importantly, should Peter be redeemed? Does he even care about redemption at this point?
I don't think Peter is evil. He was motivated by jealousy and fear, unlike say, Lucius Malfoy, who probably needed little convincing to become a Death Eater, as he felt the same bigotry and hatred that Voldemort did. He spent his entire time at Hogwarts surrounded by people more attractive, more popular, and more talented than himself, and when Voldemort came along, he latched onto the power because it was the only way he could feel important.
I also don't believe Peter really wanted James and Lily dead. This is where the fear really enters into it. Like Voldemort, Peter fears death. He knew that if he didn't hand over the information, Voldemort would have tortured and killed him. He also knew that revealing their location would gain him immeasurable favour with Voldemort - or he believed it, anyway. So he did what he 'had to do' for Voldemort, and ended up stabbing his friends - possibly his only friends - in the back.
But does that make his actions more or less redeemable? I think less, because wanting someone dead can be dismissed as simply evil, but not caring whether they live or die is more disgusting and cruel. At that very point of betrayal, James and Lily ceased being James and Lily, Peter's friends, and were simply two people who didn't agree with Voldemort and needed to be dealt with - he surely didn't know about the prophecy. His betrayal of Sirius was simply selfish - at that point he was trying to avoid going to Azkaban (though I have to believe that as a rat, he'd have been able to escape even more easily than Sirius did) and it was likely that even Dumbledore would have testified that Sirius was the Potters' Secret-Keeper anyway, but the fact that Peter forced the issue, rather than allowing events to unfold without his presence, is still unpleasant to think about, at best.
So I think it's clear that he's going to die in Deathly Hallows. A big deal has been made in the books about his magical debt to Harry for saving his life. A big deal has also been made of the fact that Peter was so afraid of dying that he sold out his own friends. So I consider it pretty clear that both of these points will come into play and he will sacrifice himself to save Harry.
But can he do that if he never really regrets having utterly destroyed three lives and caused pain and suffering for countless others?
So the question is, is he likely to feel that regret?
Can Peter be redeemed? Or perhaps more importantly, should Peter be redeemed? Does he even care about redemption at this point?
I don't think Peter is evil. He was motivated by jealousy and fear, unlike say, Lucius Malfoy, who probably needed little convincing to become a Death Eater, as he felt the same bigotry and hatred that Voldemort did. He spent his entire time at Hogwarts surrounded by people more attractive, more popular, and more talented than himself, and when Voldemort came along, he latched onto the power because it was the only way he could feel important.
I also don't believe Peter really wanted James and Lily dead. This is where the fear really enters into it. Like Voldemort, Peter fears death. He knew that if he didn't hand over the information, Voldemort would have tortured and killed him. He also knew that revealing their location would gain him immeasurable favour with Voldemort - or he believed it, anyway. So he did what he 'had to do' for Voldemort, and ended up stabbing his friends - possibly his only friends - in the back.
But does that make his actions more or less redeemable? I think less, because wanting someone dead can be dismissed as simply evil, but not caring whether they live or die is more disgusting and cruel. At that very point of betrayal, James and Lily ceased being James and Lily, Peter's friends, and were simply two people who didn't agree with Voldemort and needed to be dealt with - he surely didn't know about the prophecy. His betrayal of Sirius was simply selfish - at that point he was trying to avoid going to Azkaban (though I have to believe that as a rat, he'd have been able to escape even more easily than Sirius did) and it was likely that even Dumbledore would have testified that Sirius was the Potters' Secret-Keeper anyway, but the fact that Peter forced the issue, rather than allowing events to unfold without his presence, is still unpleasant to think about, at best.
So I think it's clear that he's going to die in Deathly Hallows. A big deal has been made in the books about his magical debt to Harry for saving his life. A big deal has also been made of the fact that Peter was so afraid of dying that he sold out his own friends. So I consider it pretty clear that both of these points will come into play and he will sacrifice himself to save Harry.
But can he do that if he never really regrets having utterly destroyed three lives and caused pain and suffering for countless others?
So the question is, is he likely to feel that regret?