Peter Pettigrew

Peter Pettigrew, also known by his Marauder nickname Wormtail, was a Wizard who was sorted into Gryffindor house at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was a close friend of James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. Despite his association with this brave group and his membership in the original Order of the Phoenix, Pettigrew's defining trait was his cowardice. He became a spy for Lord Voldemort during the First Wizarding War and committed the ultimate betrayal by revealing the location of the Potter family, leading directly to the deaths of James and Lily Potter. He subsequently framed Sirius Black for his crimes, faked his own death, and spent twelve years in his unregistered Animagus form as a rat named Scabbers. Pettigrew was instrumental in Lord Voldemort's return to power and met his end at the hands of a magical silver hand gifted to him by his master.

Peter Pettigrew began attending Hogwarts in 1971 and was sorted into Gryffindor house, where he befriended the charismatic and popular James Potter and Sirius Black, as well as the quieter Remus Lupin. He became the fourth member of their group, later known as the Marauders. While he was the least magically gifted of the four, he participated in their many rule-breaking adventures. Upon discovering that Lupin was a Werewolf, Pettigrew, along with James and Sirius, secretly undertook the difficult process of becoming an Animagus to support their friend during his transformations. By their fifth year, Pettigrew had mastered the ability to transform into a rat, earning him the nickname Wormtail. The four friends used their abilities to explore the Hogwarts grounds, which led to their creation of the Marauder's Map.

After graduating from Hogwarts, Pettigrew joined the Order of the Phoenix alongside his friends to fight against Lord Voldemort. However, driven by fear and a desire to align himself with the stronger side, he secretly became a spy for the Death Eaters, passing information to Lord Voldemort for a year. In 1981, when the Potters were forced into hiding, they used the Fidelius Charm for protection. On the advice of Sirius Black, who believed he himself was too obvious a target, the Potters chose Pettigrew to be their Secret-Keeper. Within a week, Pettigrew betrayed them to Lord Voldemort, leading to their murders on Halloween night.

Following Lord Voldemort's downfall, a distraught Sirius Black sought out Pettigrew to exact revenge. When confronted on a street full of Muggles, Pettigrew shouted accusations that Sirius had betrayed the Potters before creating a massive explosion with a single Curse. The blast killed twelve Muggles and created a crater in the street. In the ensuing chaos, Pettigrew severed his own index finger, transformed into his rat form, and fled into the sewers, successfully framing Sirius for the Potters' betrayal, his own murder, and the death of the Muggles. Pettigrew, in his rat form, eventually found his way into the Weasley family, where he lived for twelve years as Ron Weasley's pet rat, Scabbers.

In 1993, Pettigrew's cover was blown when he was identified on the Marauder's Map by Harry Potter's third year. He was cornered in the Shrieking Shack by Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, who forced him back into his human form. He confessed his betrayal to Harry, Ron, and Hermione Granger. Harry intervened to stop Sirius and Lupin from killing him, insisting he be turned over to the Dementors. This act created a life debt between Pettigrew and Harry. However, as the group led him back to the castle, Lupin's transformation into a Werewolf at the full moon provided the distraction Pettigrew needed to transform back into a rat and escape. Fleeing Britain, Pettigrew sought out his old master. He located the wraith-like form of Lord Voldemort in the forests of Albania. There, he helped nurse Voldemort back to a rudimentary physical form using a potion involving Unicorn blood and Nagini's venom, and he captured Ministry of Magic employee Bertha Jorkins, from whom Voldemort extracted crucial information.

Pettigrew played a critical role in the ceremony that restored Lord Voldemort to a full body. In the Little Hangleton graveyard in 1995, he murdered Cedric Diggory on Voldemort's orders and then performed the dark ritual, which required him to willingly sacrifice his own hand. As a reward for his service, Lord Voldemort created a powerful, magical silver hand for him. During the Second Wizarding War, Pettigrew was largely relegated to the role of a servant, first at Voldemort's Riddle House headquarters and later at Malfoy Manor. In the spring of 1998, when Harry and his friends were captured and held prisoner in the manor's cellar, Pettigrew was sent to investigate a noise. When he was attacked, Harry reminded him of the life debt he owed. For a brief moment, Pettigrew hesitated, a flicker of mercy that his enchanted silver hand interpreted as betrayal to Lord Voldemort. The hand turned on him, wrapping itself around his throat and strangling him to death despite Ron Weasley's and Harry's attempts to save him.

Pettigrew was a short, stout man with thinning, mousy-brown hair, a pointed nose, and small, watery, grey eyes, which gave him a distinctly rat-like appearance. As Scabbers, he was a fat grey rat with a missing toe on one front paw, corresponding to the finger he cut off. After years on the run, his skin was grubby and he looked unkempt. His personality was defined by profound cowardice and a parasitic need for powerful protectors. He gravitated towards strong personalities like James Potter and Sirius Black at school, and later Lord Voldemort, offering loyalty in exchange for safety. He was weak-willed, sycophantic, and possessed little genuine conviction, driven almost entirely by fear. While not particularly intelligent or brave, he had a cunning instinct for self-preservation that allowed him to survive for years.

• Animagus: Pettigrew was a skilled, albeit unregistered, Animagus who could turn into a rat at will. This was a complex piece of Transfiguration that he accomplished during his school years with help from his friends.
• Dark Arts: He was capable of performing powerful Dark Arts. The Curse he used to kill twelve Muggles and fake his own death was powerful enough to shatter the street. He was also proficient enough to assist in the complex rebirthing potion for Lord Voldemort.
• General Magical Skill: He was considered the least talented of the Marauders and often needed help from his friends. He was not a proficient duelist and was easily overpowered in direct confrontations.
• Wand: His first Wand was lost after his confrontation with Sirius Black in 1981. He was later given a new Wand by Garrick Ollivander on Voldemort's orders: chestnut and Dragon heartstring, nine and a quarter inches, brittle.

• Marauder's Map: Pettigrew was a co-creator of this magical map but did not possess it after his time at Hogwarts.
• Silver Hand: A magical prosthetic hand given to him by Lord Voldemort. It possessed great strength but was also cursed to act against Pettigrew if he ever showed signs of betraying his master. This hand was ultimately the cause of his death.

• The Marauders: Pettigrew was the subordinate member of the group, idolizing James Potter and Sirius Black for their popularity and talent. His friendship with them was ultimately superficial, as he readily betrayed them, along with Remus Lupin, out of fear and a desire for self-preservation.
• Lord Voldemort: Pettigrew served Voldemort not from loyalty but from absolute terror. Voldemort, in turn, held Pettigrew in contempt, viewing him as a disgusting and cowardly but occasionally useful servant.
• Harry Potter: Pettigrew was directly responsible for the orphaning of Harry. Harry spared Pettigrew's life in the Shrieking Shack, creating a magical life debt. This debt was repaid when Pettigrew's brief hesitation to harm Harry resulted in his own death.
• Bertha Jorkins: Pettigrew was responsible for luring Bertha Jorkins into a trap for Lord Voldemort in Albania. Information tortured from her was vital to Voldemort's plans for his return.

• Peter: This name is likely an allusion to the apostle Peter from the Christian Bible, who denied his association with Jesus three times out of fear. This mirrors Pettigrew's betrayal of his closest friends.
• Pettigrew: The surname can be broken down into “petty” (meaning small or insignificant) and “grew.” This could signify his small-minded nature or his status as a “pet” who “grew” to commit a monumental act of treachery. It can also be interpreted as him “growing” smaller or less significant in character.
• Wormtail: His Marauder nickname is a combination of “worm,” which suggests a lowly, groveling, and deceitful creature, and “tail,” a direct reference to his rat Animagus form.

• In the film adaptations, Peter Pettigrew was portrayed by Timothy Spall as an adult and Charles Hughes as a teenager. (film)
• Pettigrew's death is altered in the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1*. In the book, his silver hand strangles him to death for his momentary hesitation to harm Harry. In the film, after his hesitation, Dobby disarms him and hits him with a Stunning Spell, and he is left behind in Malfoy Manor. His ultimate fate is not depicted on screen. (film)
• J.K. Rowling has confirmed that the life debt Harry created by saving Pettigrew was a very real and powerful piece of Magic. It was this debt that caused Pettigrew's brief, fatal hesitation in Malfoy Manor. (J.K. Rowling interview)