Stefan Pettigrew

**Stefan Pettigrew** (19 September, 1932 - 30 September, 1980) was an English pure-blood wizard who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1 September, 1944 to June 1951. He was the only son of Wilfrid Pettigrew, a Knight Bus driver, and Keziah Pettigrew (née Goshawk), the latter of which was the oldest of nine siblings, one of whom was Miranda Goshawk, Stefan's aunt.

Eight years after leaving school, Stefan married a witch called Joan Soley and they had one son together, Peter Pettigrew. Stefan had been a longtime employee of Flourish and Blotts as well as a lifelong resident of Lewisham, London. His son, Peter, would grow up to become a member of the Order of the Phoenix and turn traitor, joining the Death Eaters, after Stefan's death.

Stefan himself was killed in 1980 when Death Eaters entered his son's home looking for Order members. His wife, Joan, was not present during the attack. She survived him for five years, and then died in 1986, when they reunited in death.

## Biography

### Early life (1932-1958)

Stefan Pettigrew was born on 19 September, 1932, in Forest Hill, south east London. His father, Wilfrid Pettigrew, drove the Knight Bus. His mother, Keziah, stayed at home. She had been a member of the Goshawk family of Hadleigh Heath, Suffolk, and had eight younger sisters, the youngest being Miranda, who was just eleven when Stefan was born.

His father, Wilfrid Pettigrew, was on staff as a driver for long nighttime hours, which made his parent's relationship difficult. Stefan Pettigrew also grew up during one of the worst conflict periods in the wizarding world's history: the Global Wizarding War. Although it did not effect the Pettigrews at home, hearing about the devastation as a young child surely ought to have had an affect on him.

When Stefan was ten years old, in 1942, the Second World War began in the muggle world. However, the Global Wizarding War was spreading quickly throughout Europe, and by late 1942 there were attacks happening in Wizarding Britain. His aunt Rosanna Goshawk died in Southgate in February of 1943 when Stefan was eleven.

#### Hogwarts years (1944-1951)

Stefan Pettigrew received his Hogwarts letter in the summer of 1944. That same summer, he visited Diagon Alley, and purchased his wand, which was made of spruce and unicorn hair from Ollivander's. His mother was very nervous about the trip and insisted that they use Floo powder to get to the Leaky Cauldron, which was expensive at the time.

On 1 September, 1944, Stefan Pettigrew boarded the train for Hogwarts and was sorted into Gryffindor House that same night. He had been sitting on the stool for a rather long time during the Sorting Ceremony, and seeing as both of his parents had been in different houses, he hadn't been sure what house he would be sorted into. To his surprise, he was sorted into Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw, like his mother, and Slytherin, like his father.

Pettigrew shared a dormitory with a boy called Magnus Macdonald, who became his good friend at school. He also became acquainted with his second cousin, Ephraim Goshawk.

He left the school in June of 1951 after completing his seventh year. He supposedly did poorly on his N.E.W.T. examinations, and got a job at Flourish and Blotts, a bookshop which, was to say, "flourishing" due to the end to the Global Wizarding War and Grindelwald's downfall in 1945.

#### Marriage (1955-1959)

Through his second cousin he became re-acquainted with an old friend of his, Joan Soley, from school. She, like Ephraim Goshawk, had been a Ravenclaw. They began dating in 1955.

Stefan and Joan married on 27 July, 1959. Their only son, Peter, was born about thirteen months later. His parents moved in with them to help with child support. They all lived together in one shared house in Forest Hill, with Stefan supporting his wife, son, mother, and father with his job at Flourish and Blotts.

### Later life (1959-1980)

Stefan's father, Wilfrid Pettigrew, passed away in 1969. His son, Peter Pettigrew, started school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in September 1971. His mother, Keziah Pettigrew (née Goshawk) died in 1978.

#### First Wizarding War (1970-1981)

Stefan's son Peter joined the Order of the Phoenix with his three friends, James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin after leaving school in 1979. The organisation was designed to combat Voldemort, and was led by Albus Dumbledore, widely considered to be the only wizard Voldemort ever feared. Even still, it was a secret organisation. It is unlikely whether Stefen knew that his son had joined such a group, only that he was doing something dangerous.

Unfortunately, Voldemort and his Death Eaters attempted to target people of whom they thought were members of the Order of the Phoenix, launching an onslaught beginning in late 1980 and ending in the summer of 1981.

#### Death (1980)

Stefan himself was killed in 1980 when Death Eaters entered his son's home looking for Order members. Peter had since moved out of the house in Forest Hill, but Stefan was visiting when they attacked.

### Post-mortem (1980-)

In the moments after Stefan Pettigrew was killed, Peter Pettigrew, who was also present, pleaded for his own life- in doing so, he offered to become a spy for Voldemort. He was taken and held in Death Eater captivity for a matter of four days before he was returned to the Order, disheveled, but alive.

His son, Peter Pettigrew, was later made Secret-Keeper for the Potters when they went into hiding with the use of the Fidelius Charm, but betrayed them to Lord Voldemort on 31 October, 1981. After Voldemort's fall, Stefan's son faked his own death and framed a friend, Sirius Black, for betraying James and Lily, as well as for his own murder and those of the twelve Muggles he killed during his escape.

Stefan's wife, Joan, was not present during the attack on the Pettigrew home in London. She survived him for five years, and then died in 1986, when they reunited in death.

## Etymology

The name Stefan is a variant of Stephen, which derives from the Greek name *Στέφανος (Stephanos)* meaning "crown, wreath", more precisely "that which surrounds". Saint Stephen was a deacon who was stoned to death, as told in Acts in the New Testament. He is regarded as the first Christian martyr. Due to him, the name became common in the Christian world. It was popularized in England by the Normans. His son was called Peter, which was the name of one of Christ's apostles who, on the morning of the crucifixion, denied Christ, although he later repented.

The name "Pettigrew" could be derived from the French word "*petit*" ("small") and the English word "*grew*," hence "grew small."