Peter Pettigrew

**Peter Pettigrew**, (c. 1959/1960–March, 1998), usually referred to as **Wormtail** or **Scabbers** was a wizard and the son of Mr and Mrs Pettigrew. He began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1971 and was sorted into Gryffindor House after the Sorting Hat pondered over which house he belonged in for over five minutes, a true Hatstall. During his years at Hogwarts, he became one of the Marauders; he was best friends with Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin, and together they created the Marauder's Map.

During the First Wizarding War, Peter was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but became a spy when he was coerced into joining Lord Voldemort.

Peter spent twelve years living in his Animagus form as the Weasley family's pet rat, Scabbers. However, his identity was exposed by Sirius and Remus in 1994, and Pettigrew, with nowhere else to go, sought protection in returning to the service of Lord Voldemort, whom he found in the forests of Albania.

Pettigrew played a key role in Voldemort's rebirth and continued to serve him during the Second Wizarding War. In the spring of 1998, during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor, in a moment of rare mercy, he hesitated to strangle Harry. The silver hand Lord Voldemort had given Pettigrew interpreted his hesitation as weakness and/or disloyalty, and strangled him to death, saving Harry and finally finding redemption for his treason, despite his reputation remained tarnished as many remained dubious of the evidence of his innate bravery.

### Early life (1960–1971)

Peter Pettigrew was born around 1960. His mother was a witch.

### Hogwarts years (1971–1978)

**Peter Pettigrew**: "*I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes, and the tufted tail, but I couldn’t think what else —*"
**James Potter**: "*How thick are you, Wormtail? You run round with a werewolf once a month —*"
— Peter's lack of intelligence compared to his friends
Pettigrew began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1971. During his Sorting ceremony, the Sorting Hat wavered between placing him in Slytherin or Gryffindor. After a deliberation of more than five minutes (making Pettigrew a Hatstall), the Hat decided to sort him into Gryffindor.

He soon became friends with Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin, fellow Gryffindors he idolised for their popularity and talent. Pettigrew took part in James and Sirius' bullying of Severus Snape, a Slytherin boy in the same year as the Marauders, though it is unlikely he would have dared to bully Snape without his friends protecting him.

He, James, and Sirius soon discovered Remus Lupin to be a werewolf, but they did not abandon him as many other wizards would have. Instead, they spent years learning how to become Animagi so that they could accompany Remus during his transformations. Pettigrew's Animagus form was a rat, from which his nickname "Wormtail" was derived.

The four friends called themselves the Marauders and designed a map to navigate Hogwarts. Pettigrew's rat form helped him slip through the Whomping Willow's branches and immobilise the tree in order to let himself and the Marauders enter the Shrieking Shack. Professor Minerva McGonagall described Pettigrew as a "stupid and foolish boy" who hero-worshipped Sirius and James. She also stated that Pettigrew was a less than average student and was not capable of fighting with Sirius. She was somewhat harsh with him during their years of student-teacher relationship.