Peter Pettigrew

Peter Pettigrew is a supporting character in the Harry Potter novels who forms one of the main antagonists. He is also known as Wormtail, his nickname among the Marauders that he also used in the service of Lord Voldemort, as well as Scabbers, the name of his animagus form.
==Canon==
One of the Marauders at Hogwarts, as an adult Peter joined the Order of Phoenix. At some point, for unknown reasons, he changed his allegiance to serve Voldemort, betrayed his friends, caused the deaths of Lily & James Potter, Harry's parents, framed Sirius Black for the crime, and faked his own death. He spent 12 years in hiding as Percy & Ron Weasley's pet rat Scabbers, his animagus form, while lauded as a hero. When unmasked, he became one of Voldemort's most faithful servants, giving his right hand to fuel his re-embodiment, only to be murdered by his own prosthesis after showing a moment of mercy.
He is played by Timothy Spall in the films.
==Fannish Opinion==
===Peter Fans (& the Peter Neutral)===
===Peter Detractors===
==Fandom==
Many HP fans consider Peter one of the series' least attractive characters, worse even than Voldemort himself. Despite his unprepossessing appearanceFrom Prisoner of Azkaban: "He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione. His thin, colourless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes." and sorry history as a coward, betrayer & murderer, Peter has a small but loyal following among fans who don't deny his crimes but feel he's more complex & interesting than canon presents, or simply feel sympathy for him. His fans often describe him as human, rather than heroic; some draw the parallel between Peter & Gollum in The Lord of the Rings.Post dated 29 November 2002 by Ashfae at FictionAlley Park: P.O.K.E. - Peter Ought to be Kicked for Ever (accessed 11 September 2014) Peter's fans assert that canon gives us little of Peter's point of view; most of the information about him derives from Sirius, not the most reliable of narrators.For example, "A Weake Talentless Thing Like You" by Ani Bester (accessed 11 September 2014) Some of his fans consider Peter's appearance is a major factor in his lack of popularity; Narcissa Malfoy, for example, states If he was handsome, and suave, and taunted Harry for betraying his parents, I'm sure there'd be a huge Peter following. As it is, they hate him because he's in a bad shape, somewhat remorseful and very miserable.Let's All Remember the W: Narcissa Malfoy Speaks (accessed 11 September 2014)
Fans of Peter first appear to have poked their heads above the parapet in during the three-year summer after Goblet of Fire. Mike Gray posted an essay on Peter to the closed Harry Potter for Grownups YahooGroup in November 2001,Harry Potter for Grownups: Peter Pettigrew (accessed 11 September 2014) and Elkins posted nuanced Peter meta to the group from January 2002.See , A Peter-friendly thread started by Cedar in October 2002 at the high-traffic FictionAlley forums evolved into the Peter is Sympathetic Association (PISA), now hosted at Ani's fan site.Let's All Remember the W: P.I.S.A: Peter is Sympathetic Association (accessed 11 September 2014)
==Fanworks==
Fanworks featuring Peter are most often set in the Marauders era, when the four were friends at Hogwarts. However, because of his subsequent history, he's bashed or completely ignored in many Marauder fics."Many fanfics turn Peter into a stupid, mean, or clumsy boy who is barely friends with the other three. Some ignore him all together." from Peter Pettigrew. by Greenie (accessed 11 September 2014) There are also many stories set during the first war, when Peter was a double agent. He doesn't tend to get much attention in his later career as a Death Eater, after Voldemort's re-embodiment. Sympathetic portrayals often assume he's a lot cleverer & more competent than he appears, covering up his talents to avoid being noticed. He's not depicted as being sexually active – at least not non-solo – in fanworks as often as most HP characters. One trope is to portray him as impotent. He's also often written masturbating, fantasising or pining, usually for James or Sirius.ratswhiskers: Untitled post by ani_bester (accessed 10 September 2014)
Nevertheless, a variety of pairings have been written, mainly slash, usually with one of the other Marauders. Remus Lupin is perhaps the most common partner; Pauraque writes to slash them is appealing on an interesting level, since Remus is narratively-metaphorically queer and Peter is just plain gay [albeit not for Remus specifically].pauraque-bk: Ship meme. Part one. (accessed 10 September 2014) A common trope for this pairing is that both are pining for Sirius; given the overwhelming popularity of the Remus/Sirius pairing this only rarely ends well for Peter. Peter/Sirius is also common, building on Sirius's Little Black (Leather) Dress qualities. Peter's canonical hero worship of James underpins this pairing, perhaps the least common of the three. Marauder threesomes & foursomes also exist, as do fivesomes with Lily Evans. Other male partners include Ron and other Weasleys, usually while he's in his rat phase, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Regulus Black, various other followers of Voldemort and even occasionally the Dark Lord himself, plus assorted hangers on. Het pairings are only rarely written, with Lily perhaps being his most frequent female partner from canon; again this rarely ends happily for Peter. He's sometimes given an original female character as a partner. He's an occasional character at the HP Beholder's fest for rare pairs featuring characters that aren't conventionally attractive.
Gen fanfiction for the character is relatively common. Given the plethora of Marauder fics, there are plenty of wacky adventures where Peter plays some form of role. Much gen takes the form of character studies, exploring the contradictions in his character, his feelings about betraying James & Lily, and whether he might be redeemable; the angst factor is often set to max. These questions are also explored in meta about the character. Another meta topic is parallels with other characters/figures, including Snape, Ron, Neville Longbottom, Gollum, Grima Wormtongue and Judas. Before canon closed, fans speculated on Peter's role in the endgame; sacrificing himself to save HarryCaius Marcius, referenced in Mike Gray's essay & killing Remus with his silver hand were among the possibilities mooted.
Filking was an early occupation for Peter fans.
Ani Bester recalls At the time I got into the fandom, no one was really drawing Peter.Let's All Remember the W: Marauders (accessed 10 September 2014) As of 2014, there's a moderate amount of fan art, including portraits during the Marauders era and as an adult in Voldemort's service, illustrations of scenes from the novels, portrayals of him in rat form or as a human–rat fusion. Fan art only rarely idealises his appearance as an adult, although cute chibi-style depictions of him as a student abound; most artwork is not based on Spall's appearance in the film. Group portraits of the Marauders sometimes include Peter, but he's often erased or replaced with Lily. Very little art ships Peter with other characters.
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanfiction===
* Small Things by Nope. Gen futurefic, written before JKR's version (2003)
* The First Piece of Silver & Before The Cock Crow by Isis. Peter/Evan Rosier, Regulus. Sympathetic take on Peter's first steps with the Death Eaters (2003)
* Pro Bono Publico by Gehayi. Gen character study, mainly set in the Marauders era, exploring Peter's attitude to his friends' treatment of him (2004)
* Once Upon a Time by Lazy Neutrino. Unusual gen futurefic (2004)
* After the earth by Torch. Widely recommended gen vignette focusing on the fallout from the events of Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
* The Only One He Ever Feared by jjtaylor. Dark AU or mindfuck in which Peter starts to write to Harry; written for the HP AU Ficathon (2005)
* No Replies by noticeably. Darkfic written for the first Peter Pettigrew Ficathon (2005)
* The Years of the Rat by kaydee falls. Relatively sympathetic Marauders-era gen (2006)
* Bargains by Gehayi. Peter & Severus gen. A rare piece set after Voldemort's re-embodiment (2007)
* slaughter-dew by Andromeda311. Darkfic with the unusual premise that Peter's autistic (2007)
* Lost and Held by gatewaygirl. Marauders-era Peter/Sirius, lighter & more sympathetic to Peter than many despite the castration topic (2009)
* Falling Stars by bluemermaid. Angsty Peter/Regulus vignette (2010)
* The Magpie and the Rat by wwmrsweasleydo. Peter/Mundungus Fletcher, written for Beholders (2012)
* Bravery and Ambition by alwaysasnapefan. Peter/Amycus Carrow, written for Beholders (2012)
* we lay together on a cold hard floor by tarteaucitron. Marauders-era Peter/Severus, written for Beholders (2014)
===Fan art===
* Please, Remus by Ani Bester. Pen & ink illustration of Sirius & Remus confronting Peter in the Shrieking Shack. Ani claims to be one of the earliest artists to portray Peter (2002)
* Peter Pettigrew by tina-lynn. Chibi-style student Peter, typical of a lot of later art. Ink with digital colouring (2002)
* Lonely Christmas by Ani Bester. Peter with the silver prosthetic hand. Acrylic & coloured pencil (2003)
* Wormtail's Butterbeer Hiccups by ladraco. Scabbers. Pencil sketch with digital colouring (2003)
* Peter Pettigrew by Madcarrot. Adult Peter showing the silver prosthetic hand (2004)
* Before he was Wormtail by Linnpuzzle. Idealised young Peter (2004)
* Lovers by Ani Bester. A rare example of Peter/Remus artwork, set during Marauders era (2004 or earlier)
* Peter Pettigrew by Julia H Iscariot. Adult Peter (2004 or earlier)
* Cut off hand by Alicey. Illustration of the scene where Peter cuts his hand off to re-embody Voldemort (2004 or earlier)
* Untitled by Aurea Tarbula Chicory. Scabbers & Sirius (2004 or earlier)
* If You Give a Rat a Cookie by Keppokeppo. Chibi-style young Peter (2004 or earlier)
* Wormtail by RohanElf. Film-influenced young Peter. Pencil drawing (2005)
* Peter Pettigrew by WhiteElzora. Digital scene with rats (2007)
===Meta===
* Peter Pettigrew by Mike Gray, analysis of HPfGU posts (2001)
* Peter Pettigrew Is Ever So Brave (Peter's Gryffindor qualities) & Pettigrew: Snape Through the Looking Glass by Elkins (2002)
* Peter Pettigrew in Four Parts by Pauraque (pre-2004)
* Broken Down by Ani Bester. Peter may not have willingly betrayed the Potters. Here I discuss torture and the effect it may have had on Peter. (2004 or earlier)
* Peter Pettigrew. by Greenie (bentley) at Idol Reflections (2004)
* In Defense of Peter Pettigrew, Part One:Why he’s actually a magical savant, managed to do some truly inCREDible things in a stupidly short timeline, and the passage that BLEW ME OUT OF THE WATER. by theprogressofspring (2016)
==Fansites & Communities==
===Fansites===
* Faded Sunshine—possibly the earliest fansite, previously known as "Wormtail's Mini-Shrine" at a different address; by Keppokeppo
* Let's All Remember the W—big fansite by Anakin Bester, including archive, art gallery, and the PISA headquarters
* Society for the Ethical Treatment of Peter Pettigrew—small fansite
===Livejournals===
* peterficathon—community for the Peter Pettigrew Ficathon; ran twice in 2005 & 2006
* ppettigrew -- LiveJournal community; One Stop Shot for All Your Wormy Needs
* ratswhiskers—earliest LJ community; Peter Pettigrew Anonymous
* wormtales—role-playing/fiction LJ by fluffyllama
===YahooGroups===
* Ethical Treatment of Peter Pettigrew—YahooGroup for the fansite
* Moony and Wormtail—YahooGroup for slash & gen fanfiction, fanart & discussion about Peter & Remus
==Archives, Recs & Masterlists==
===Peter-specific Archives===
* The Rat's Tale—slash fanfiction archive
* Switching Sides—Peter/Severus archive (now offline)
* wormtailclub -- DeviantArt club
===Other Archives===
* Peter Pettigrew tag at AO3
* Works tagged Peter Pettigrew at FanFiction.Net
* Works tagged Peter Pettigrew at FictionAlley
===Recs & Masterlists===
* MWPP Gen Recs: Peter Pettigrew by Jetamors
* Peter Pettigrew recs at Coffee and Chocolate
* Petercentric recs at Know it Alls
* Peter/Weasley fic list. Masterlist by Pauraque (2004)
== Canon Resources ==
* Peter Pettigrew at HP Lexicon
* Peter Pettigrew at Harry Potter Wiki
* Peter Pettigrew at Wikipedia
==References==
Category:Harry Potter CharactersCategory:Marauders Characters