Peter Pettigrew

**Peter Pettigrew**, or **Scabbers** and **Wormtail**, is a character in the *Harry Potter book series*.

Peter is a wizard and Death Eater who abandons and betrays the Order of the Phoenix when he is a Secret Keeper for James, Lily and Harry Potter. He betrays their trust to Voldemort. He fakes his death by framing Sirius Black and kills twelve Muggles in the process. He lives in hiding in Animagus form for nearly thirteen years being the pet rat of the Weasley family.

He is briefly caught until he escapes and finds Voldemort, helping him regain his strength in the Second Wizarding War. He has the chance to kill Harry while he is captive in Malfoy Manor but he hesitates, after which he is strangled to death by a silver hand which was gifted to him by Voldemort.

## Biography

### Early life

Peter started Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in September 1971. He was sorted into Gryffindor house. He befriended James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin in his early days at the school, despite being way below their league. Peter looked up James and Sirius for this reason. He was thought to be hopeless at duelling by Professor McGonagall.

In their second-year, they found out Lupin was a werewolf. They wanted to keep Lupin company in the Shrieking Shack whenever he transformed but they knew he would attack them if they were human. They trained for three years to be Animagus before finally succeeding. Peter discovered he could turn into a rat. They started going to the Shrieking Shack every month and their company helped lessen Lupin's pain. Being so tiny, Peter could slip pass the branches of the Whomping Willow to tap the knot that paralysed it in order to open up the passageway to the Shack.

After a while, they started to gain confidence with their level of control over Lupin. They let him out so they could wander around the school grounds and the village of Hogsmeade. Even thought it was incredibly dangerous, they foolishly thought it was funny. They nearly lost Lupin a few times. Peter adopted the nickname Wormtail when they started calling their friendship group the "Marauders". They also spent their time at Hogwarts pranking and bullying people, breaking school rules and finding secret passageways. They invented the Marauder's Map which was confiscated before they graduated by Argus Filch. They were particularly unkind to a fellow student, Severus Snape who endured a lot of their bullying because Sirius did not like him. Peter and Lupin stood by and encouraged Potter and Black whenever they taunted Snape.

### First Wizarding War

When he graduated Hogwarts, Peter joined the Order of the Phoenix like Potter, Black and Lupin. However, Peter had differing opinions and thought that nothing could be gained by opposing Voldemort. He joined the Death Eaters in secret. He was considered a useless coward so he was a very low-ranking Death Eater. However, he could spy on the Order and he started telling the Death Eaters their secrets. Peter's cowardly nature ensured that he was never suspected of being a spy, even when the Order gained awareness that they had one in their ranks. Black suspected Lupin but never Peter.

For at least a year, Peter passed the Order's secrets until a prophecy told that Harry Potter, the son of his friends, James and Lily, could one day defeat Voldemort. Voldemort started to target the Potters and Albus Dumbledore suggested they have a Secret Keeper. They first thought of Black to be their Secret Keeper, but Black thought Peter was the safer choice because less people would suspect it. Peter agreed to be their Secret Keeper but he told Voldemort where they were less than seven days later. James and Lily were killed but Harry survived and Voldemort disappeared.

Sirius knew what Peter had done and wanted to bring him to justice. He tracked Peter down to a street but Peter fought back. He was heard taunting Sirius in front of witnesses and trying to cover-up what he had done, even asking Sirius how "he" could have betrayed James and Lily. Using a single curse, Peter killed twelve Muggles by destroying the street, faking his own murder with it. He chopped off one of his fingers, transformed into a rat and lived into hiding for twelve years. Sirius was arrested while laughing insanely at Peter's blood-stained robes. He was framed for Peter's crimes and "murder" for which he was sentenced to life in Azkaban.

Peter was thought to be a hero who had bravely confronted a deranged and dangerous Dark wizard, so he was posthumously awarded an Order of Merlin, First Class by the Ministry of Magic which was given to his mother. Peter stayed a rat for nearly thirteen years. Not long after the war ended, he found a wizarding family, the Weasleys, to take him in who gave him the name "Scabbers". He had wanted to stay connected to the wizarding world so he could hear any news, afraid to break cover because he knew he was wanted by Death Eaters who thought he had set Voldemort up to fail.

### Philosopher's Stone

Scabbers was cared for by Percy until he found out he was going to be a Prefect. Arthur and Molly Weasley gave him a new pet in reward. They gave Scabbers to Ron Weasley instead who thought he was useless and spent too much time sleeping. By chance, Ron was in the same year with Harry Potter. They immediately made friends on the way to their first year at Hogwarts. Ron introduced Scabbers to Harry while he was sleeping. The rat slept for nearly the whole day. Ron thought Scabbers could be dead and he didn't even know. H tried a dud spell on Scabbers which Fred Weasley had taught him.

When Ron stood up to fight Gregory Goyle, he woke Scabbers up and he bit Goyle who ran out of the compartment. When Ron picked him up, Scabbers already went back to sleep. He was in the Gryffindor common room by Ron's bed when the Start-of-Term Feast was over.

### Chamber of Secrets

In August, Scabbers snoozed on a sunny window-sill at The Burrow. He was in the Ford Anglia when Harry and Ron crashed it into the Whomping Willow. Ron had to pick Scabbers up off the ground.

### Prisoner of Azkaban

In July, Ron took Scabbers on holiday to Egypt when Arthur won the Grand Prize Galleon Draw. They appeared on the front page of the newspaper with Scabbers on Ron's shoulders. Sirius Black received a copy in Azkaban and he saw the rat was missing a toe. He figured out it was Peter and broke out of Azkaban in Animagus form to kill him to protect Harry.

By the end of August, news of Black's escape had reached Peter and he began to worry. Ron thought he looked thinner than usual and thought he had fallen ill during their holiday. He took him to the Magical Menagerie and asked a worker to check Scabbers. She found it strange that the rat had lived for twelve years when the average lifespan is three years. She asked Ron what powers he had but he couldn't think of any. Ron wanted to keep Scabbers instead of getting a new rat so he was given Rat Tonic to feed Peter. A cat in the shop, Crookshanks, then lunged at Scabbers who jumped down and scarpered. He hid until Ron and Harry found him ten minutes later.

In September, Scabbers travelled to Hogwarts in Ron's top pocket. They took a train compartment in which Remus Lupin, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, was sleeping. When Harry started telling Ron and Hermione that Sirius Black supposedly wanted to kill him, his Sneakoscope sprung to life after detecting someone untrustworthy. Peter could have been the cause it. Hermione later let Crookshanks out of his basket and he headed straight for Ron's pocket to get Scabbers. Ron knocked him back and the cat gave up, but he sat in a seat and watched Ron's top pocket.

One evening at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron and Hermione were doing their homework. Ron hid Scabbers in a bag so Crookshanks couldn't hurt him. Crookshanks understood Ron when he told Hermione where Scabbers was and pounced at the bag, clinging onto it with his claws while Ron tried to pull it away. Scabbers flew out of the top of it and began running around while Crookshanks chased until he run under a cabinet. Hermione grabbed Crookshanks and Ron pulled Scabbers out. Ron thought Crookshanks had it in for Scabbers.

One morning, Harry opened the dormitory door to find Crookshanks right outside. He grabbed his tail and pulled it back to stop Crookshanks getting to Scabbers. In December, the school started preparing Christmas dinner causing Scabbers to poke his head out of Ron's pocket to smell the food. On Christmas Day, Hermione took Crookshanks into Ron's dormitory. He pounced and clawed at Ron's top pocket where Scabbers was. Ron kicked Crookshanks and missed, kicking Harry's trunk and unleashing the Sneakoscope which was shrieking. He looked gravely ill, thinner than ever with bald patches of fur.

In February, Ron went to give Scabbers a dose of Rat Tonic only to find he had disappeared. There was blood on the bed near patches of Crookshanks' ginger hair.  Ron was distraught and stopped talking to Hermione for a while. Fred Weasley thought it was good that Scabbers had died quickly and he and George pointed out how boring he was. Ron eventually forgave her, deciding that Scabbers was old and it was his time.

However, in the spring, Harry, Ron and Hermione were in Hagrid's Hut when Scabbers reappeared. Ron was delighted and picked him up but he kept trying to wriggle free. He looked worst than ever with wide patches of fur missing. He kept trying to escape out of Ron's top pocket. When he bit Ron, they noticed Crookshanks walking toward them. Scabbers escaped and run with Ron and Crookshanks in pursuit. Ron eventually caught Scabbers, only for a big, spectral dog to appear. It grabbed Ron by the arm and dragged him with Scabbers into the Whomping Willow.

In the Shrieking Shack, Ron discovered the black dog was actually Sirius Black. When they were reunited with Harry and Hermione, Lupin also arrived and he and Sirius informed everyone that Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew in Animagus form. Sirius wanted to attack Peter immediately but Lupin persuaded him to tell Harry the true story first. Ron kept shouting that the rat wasn't Peter, but eventually let Lupin take Scabbers to prove it. Using a counter-spell to reveal the true form of an Animagus, Peter was forced to transform into a human in front of everyone.

Peter pleaded that he was innocent, begging Lupin to believe that Sirius had tried to kill him. He shouted that Sirius had also killed James and Lily and claimed he lived in Animagus form to stop Sirius finding him. Lupin questioned Peter, asking how he could be in danger if Sirius was in Azkaban. Peter shouted that Sirius had Dark powers taught to him by Voldemort, but Sirius laughed and gave the true reason he stayed in hiding for twelve years. Peter was afraid the other Death Eaters would find and kill him. Peter called Sirius a spy causing his former friend to laugh. Hermione asked if Peter was a Death Eater, why didn't he try to hurt Harry for the three years they were together at Hogwarts. Sirius told her Peter never did anything for anyone unless he stood to gain out of it, and Voldemort was powerless for those twelve years.

Sirius eventually persuaded Harry that he was the one telling the truth, causing Peter to fall to his knees and plead with everyone for his life. When the others did not want to help him, he begged Harry for help. He told Harry he looked like James causing Sirius to berate him. Peter told Harry that James would have understood and let him live. Sirius and Peter threw Peter to the floor and asked if he still denied betraying James and Lily. Peter finally confessed to it and tried to say he did it because he was afraid of Voldemort. Sirius thought that Peter should have died rather than betray his friends, and Lupin stated he should have known they would kill him instead.

When they were about to kill Peter, Harry stood in the way and asked them not to. He did not want his father's friends to be murderers and preferred Peter to get sent to Azkaban where the Dementors could have him. They tied Peter up and told him if he tried to tranform into a rat, they would kill him with Harry's approval. Lupin guided Peter out of the Shrieking Shack and the Whomping Willow, pointing a wand at him. Peter's capture would ensure Sirius's freedom which brought Sirius Iand Harry great joy. However, once they were outside, Lupin began to tranform into a werewolf because he forgot to take his Wolfsbane Potion.

In the ensuing chaos, Peter took Lupin's wand and attacked Ron and Crookshanks. Harry tried to stop Peter using the Disarming Charm. However, Peter transformed into a rat and scurried away in the grass. The trio tried to tell Cornelius Fudge that Sirius was innocent and that they saw Peter but Fudge nor Severus Snape could believe it and thought they were Confunded.

### Triwizard Tournament

Upon escaping capture, Peter travelled to Albania where Voldemort was thought to be in hiding. He visited an inn where he was spotted by Bertha Jorkins. He lured her into the forest and led her to Voldemort, who figured out she had a very powerful Memory Charm placed on her. He broke through it and they discovered key information about the wizarding world, including the Quidditch World Cup, the Triwizard Tournament and Barty Crouch Junior. Though Peter had hoped Bertha would get to live, Voldemort killed her when she had served her purpose.

To help Voldemort, Pettigrew began milking Nagini's venom to produce a potion which built a small, weak rudimentary body. It had to drunk every few hours. Pettigrew cared for Voldemort, travelling with him to Riddle House. They created a plan to use the Triwizard Tournament to get Harry Potter so Voldemort could build a new body. Pettigrew, who Voldemort called "Wormtail", tried to persuade him it could be done without Harry, volunteering to get a subsitute. Howver, Voldemort questioned Pettigrew's loyalty, calling him a coward who was clearly uncomfortable with their situation.

While they were talking, Frank Bryce was standing outside the door. Nagini arrived to tell them about it. Voldemort ordered Pettigrew to invite Frank in, where he was murdered.

## Appearance

Peter was fat when he attended Hogwarts, and has brown hair. At the age of 33-34, he is short and thin but looks like he used to be plump and has lost considerable weight in a very short space of time. He has grubby skin, thin hair and a bald patch. He looks like he has lingering rat-like features even when he is human, including a pointed nose and tiny eyes.

Peter's animagus form is a fat, grey rat who has a tattered left ear. Because he cut off one of his fingers, he has a toe missing on one of his front claws. He looks thin and has lost patches of his fur due to the stress of Sirius escaping Azkaban. After he also chopped off his right hand, he is given a silver, glove-like hand instead.

## Notes and sources

1. ↑ In order to be in the same year of James Potter, he needed to be born in the same time period to have started Hogwarts at age eleven in September 1971.
2. ↑ It's known that Peter's mother was a witch, but not if Peter's father was a wizard.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 10
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 18
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 19
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 6
7. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 7
8. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 3
9. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 5
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 4
11. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 5
12. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 8
13. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 9
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 11
15. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 12
16. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 13
17. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 15
18. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 16
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 17
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 21
21. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 20
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*, Chapter 1
23. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*, Chapter 28