100 days to go.

[zaph]

dorrie6 wrote an excellent drabble about Peter Pettigrew and it got me thinking about something that has to be answered in the final book.

Comments

[dorrie6]

I want to talk about this, but my brain seems to be stuck on "pause" this evening.

One thing I was thinking about in the car on the way home, though, was that in some ways the murder I find most horrible of those Peter Pettigrew has committed is Cedric Diggory. The totally unnecessary murder of an innocent student--and Peter didn't hesitate for a second when Voldemort told him to do it. Chills me to the bone.

I have a lot more I want to talk about that is more directly related to the things you've said here. I will come back at some point.

[ellipticcurve]

I disagree--I think Peter IS evil, precisely BECAUSE of his selfishness and fear. The books have been pretty consistent that 1) there are fates worse than death and causes important enough to sacrifice oneself for; and 2) the good guys agree with (1) while the bad guys disagree. When it came right down to it, Peter felt that there was nothing worse than death. That puts him squarely opposite Dumbledore (and, not incidentally, Harry, who chose sacrifice and altruism as early as book 1) and squarely alongside Voldemort

Here from Dorrie6's link

[sistermagpie]

I feel like he's been set up to be pretty irredeemable. Not because I really dislike him as a character or anything-I actually like him. He's the most successful DE ever! But I feel like he's been set up so that he's defined by his survival instinct. He didn't want James or Lily to die, or do it for revenge. He just always chooses anything for his own safety--he'll even hurt himself and do dangerous things to put off greater danger

Re: Here from Dorrie6's link

[dorrie6]

Does the Life Debt mean he actually has to save Harry's life? I was thinking it probably did.

He's the most successful DE ever!

Heh. Totally. And yet Voldemort treats him like crap. Which is exactly the kind of thing that makes me want to scream at all of them, "YOU ARE IDIOTS!" I just can't imagine how any of them are under the delusion that life would be better for them under Voldemort's rule. That aspect of the story is really frustrating to me.

Re: Here from Dorrie6's link

[sistermagpie]

Does the Life Debt mean he actually has to save Harry's life? I was thinking it probably did.

Good question. If Snape had one to James, he was unable to save his life and nothing happened to Sanpe (except he got even more irritated). And Peter was helping to get Harry killed in GoF.

So it may not be a compulsion thing like the UV, but just that at some point Peter is going to want to take an action that will save Harry or something like that.

Re: Here from Dorrie6's link

[dorrie6]

Of course there are years in between Hogwarts and James' death that we don't know much about (yet). It's possible Snape *did* save his life at some point, and we just don't know about it.

Peter did try to save Harry at the beginning of GoF, though he backed down quickly in the face of his master. I always thought it was interesting that he didn't even hesitate at any point in the graveyard, though. Hm.

Here from Hogwarts Today

[contrail]

I actually don't see Peter as being particularly motivated by jealousy. By fear of his own death, certainly, and I think hopelessness, that at some point during the first war he became convinced that Voldemort and the Death Eaters simply couldn't be beaten.

To me, for Peter to come to understand that, as ellipticcurve said above, 'there are fates worse than death and causes important enough to sacrifice oneself for' would be enough to redeem him, because it would show that he had learned and overcome his fatal flaw, his fear of dying. And the only way for him to show that would be to take an action that he knew would result in his death but will accomplish some greater good. Which is what I'm hoping the payoff for the lifedebt he owes Harry will end up being.

As far as regret goes, I think he does feel regret about the things he's done, it just hasn't (yet) kept him from continuing to do bad things to stay alive.

- Contrail

[accioslash]

Remember that interview where JKR said someone else besides James was in love with Lily? Many people have speculated that person was Snape. I disagree. I think that person was Peter. He was in love with Lily and it's the real reason he sold out James and Harry to Voldemort. He gave away their location in exchange for Lily's safety. It's the only reason why Voldemort was willing to spare her life. Voldemort claims he rewards his loyal followers (GoF) and he was willing to stick to his agreement and let Lily live until she refused to cooperate.

Will Peter be redeemed? Well, no one is beyond hope, but I can think of many characters who appear to me to be better candidates. *shrugs*

[dorrie6]

I think that person was Peter. He was in love with Lily and it's the real reason he sold out James and Harry to Voldemort. He gave away their location in exchange for Lily's safety.

Oooooooo, I like that.

[zaph]

Oooh, I really like that idea. And Rowling has long said that Lily did not have to die (though for some still unknown reason, James did). I also think it's really the only plausible reason Voldemort would have spared her - I mean, he was kind of into the whole killing thing and she was certainly one he would have wanted to kill, being Muggle born, so really only some deal like that would have caused him to be willing to spare her at all.

But yes, there are definitely better candidates for redemption than Peter. Snape comes to mind.

[ellipticcurve]

My guess: Voldy is very very interested in lines of ancestry. James had to die in order to exterminate the Potter line; Lily, being a mere Mudblood, didn't matter.