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Failed featured[]

Peter Pettigrew was previously a failed featured article nomination. It is now featured. ProfessorTofty (talk) 00:39, December 14, 2012 (UTC)

Gryffindor?[]

How come he was sorted into Gryffindor? Has he displayed a sole ounce of courage during his life? Well, maybe all his help to aid the Marauders and especially Lupin during childhood was taken into account but... Come on, how could he possibly lose his character in less than three years?--K ) (talk)


Well, not everyone is defined by their house. And remember, the Sorting Hat takes your choice into account. There's lots of possible reasons as to why he was sorted into it, but this aint really the place to discuss. Go to the Leaky Cauldron Forums or something to talk about it. Lemniwinks

The Sorting Hat isn't infallible. "You know, I sometimes think we Sort too soon" - Dumbledore to Snape (DH, The Prince's Tale). Pettigrew and Snape got sorted to the opposite houses they should have been. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 132.70.50.117 (talkcontribs).
Actually, it's been stated by JKR that the sorting hat never once made a mistake in its sortings. Was he really not brave? I think he lacked confidence, not bravery. --SilverDrama 07:42, 18 April 2009 (UTC)
I'm not sure if JKR has ever answered a question regarding Peter's suitability for Gryffindor, but she did get asked about whether Snape truly belonged in Slytherin after DH, and responded as such:
"Yes, God, yes, definitely, at the time that he was sorted. I believe what Dumbledore believes when he says to Snape in the very last book, 'Sometimes I think we sort too soon.' To judge someone at the age of eleven, to judge them, to set their future course so young, seems to me to be a very harsh thing to do, and it doesn't take into account the fact that we do change and evolve. A lot of people are at forty what they were at eleven, having said that, so I think Sorting Hat is shrewd, but Snape does redeem himself and it fails to take that into account."
I suppose that, when Peter was Sorted at 11, he belonged in Gryffindor. He may have started out inwardly brave and outwardly timid, like Neville, but never learned to overcome that timidity, and thus became ruled by fear. Starstuff (Owl me!) 10:51, 18 April 2009 (UTC)
I agree with Starstuff about him being like Neville in his bravery. See, what I think happened to Wormtail was he was a "false hero". He originally had brave, noble ideas in his head, like Neville, but being suddenly thrust into a dangerous situation made him forget all of that, and he immediately began acting on his survival instincts and not his beliefs. One cannot judge how someone would behave in a situation like Wormtail's until they have actually been in it. So, the difference between Wormtail and Neville is that Neville learned to stand up for what he believed in, Wormtail didn't. 98.182.42.245 20:32, 25 May 2009 (UTC)
I think Pettigrew didn't have the bravery to be in Gryffindor's house but maybe J.K. Rowling put him in that house to the Marauders story fit, in other words, all four marauders had to be of the same house. Andre G. Dias (talk) 14:03, December 18, 2013 (UTC)

I noticed the info box said he was in Slytherin, unless I'm wrong wasn't he in Gryffindor? Skyreader 14:50, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

You must be confusing the Slytherin infobox with the Death Deater infobox. Peter has the DE infobox. -- Seth Cooper Moon (Owl Post) 14:55, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

Main image change[]

We still have got a Main image from film 3. Hasn´t an image from film 6 been released yet? If not, the most recent would be one from film 5 (teenaged Peter, not appropriate in my opion)or from film 4. --Rodolphus 08:42, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Can we upload an image from film 6 now? He definitely was in it.--Rodolphus 11:23, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

We'll probably have to wait until the DVD comes out. I don't believe that Peter Pettigrew's brief appearance has been shown in any of the trailers or promotional stills. Starstuff (Owl me!) 08:50, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

Unfortunately, it wasn´t. Or at least, I don´t know.--Rodolphus 08:52, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

The DVD has been released. Can we update the main image now?--Rodolphus 17:58, November 20, 2009 (UTC)

Category[]

In which category should we sort Peter in? Killed by Lord Voldemort ( as the hand was created by him) or killed by Peter Pettigrew?--Rodolphus 09:00, 24 July 2009 (UTC)

I think that it's fine for him to be in both. Snape is in both Category:Killed by Lord Voldemort and Category:Killed by Nagini. However, I do think it's somewhat awkward to essentially categorize a person as their own victim, but though Pettigrew's death was self-caused, it was unintentional on his part, so it wouldn't fit under Category:Deaths by suicide. Starstuff (Owl me!) 09:08, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

OK, I´ve added him to both.--Rodolphus 15:56, September 11, 2009 (UTC)

Loyalty[]

The Order of Merlin is not a group or something like this. It´s an award. You can´t be loyal to an award, can´t you?--Rodolphus 13:11, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

The Ordr of Merlin is an organization for whom mebership is represented by the receiving of the award. Jayden Matthews 13:25, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Roldolphus is correct. The Order of Merlin is an award. It began as an organization when it was founded by Merlin, but at some point in history, it changed to an award. Starstuff (Owl me!) 08:19, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Do we know for certain that it ever stopped being an organization? There's no reason we it can't be an organization and an award at that same time, and unless we know for sure, saying that it it no longer an organization is assumption. Jayden Matthews 13:04, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

In the books, the Order of Merlin is usually referred to as something a person can possess, which suggests it is now only an award. Fudge states in Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 10, that Pettigrew received "the Order of Merlin, first class" and Slughorn says of Damocles "Outstanding wizard, outstanding, and his Order of Merlin most well-deserved" in HBP7. I don't see an issue with editing the Order of Merlin article to indicate that it is possible that the Order is still an organization. However, including "Order of Merlin" as an allegiance in a character infobox would be making the statement that it is still an organization, and we don't know if this is the case. Starstuff (Owl me!) 08:54, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

The rat in transfiguration[]

Regarding that image of the rat being transfigured into a cup: The animals used in Transfiguration were given to the students by Professor McGonagall. They didn't have to use their own pets in Transfiguration. So I don't think the rat in the image is Scabbers/Pettigrew. Also, it looks too healthy for it. Scabbers had lost weight and whole patches of hair while the rat in the image hasn't. --Maxl 09:33, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

The one you mentioned that animals used in Transfiguration were given only to the students by Professor McGonagall is obviously not done or shown in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, so the rat in Ron's table like what Jayden said is identical to Scabbers. --ÈnŔîčö DCRavenclawcrest(Send me an Owl!) 18:02, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Scabbers declinig health started in Prisoner of Azkaban, after he heard that Sirius Black had escaped. The rat in the Transfiguration scene is identical to Scabbers so it's clearly meant to be him. Jayden Matthews 10:05, 13 August 2009 (UTC)


Relationshiips image[]

Under Relationships/Lord Voldemort we have a picture of him in the Ministry. I don´t think this fits the article. Don´t we have a screenshot with him and Peter at the Graveyard?--Rodolphus 17:29, 30 August 2009 (UTC)

Any ideas for a good image?--Rodolphus 14:06, September 13, 2009 (UTC)

I have deleted the old image and replaced it with a new one of Lord Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew in the graveyard of Little Hangleton--Wizard44 12:20 June 11, 2010

Harry Potter's blood[]

If Wormtail said if we were to do it without the boy then why did he get harry's blood--User:Jeffrey1992 Slytherin User talk:Jeffrey1992 3:28, 29 October 2009 (UTC) (Owl me!) TO Seth Cooper

Right after Pettigrew said that Voldemort said (on the film version, at least) "No! The boy is everything. It cannot be done without him, and it will be done exactly as I said!".--  Seth Cooper  owl post! 12:48, October 30, 2009 (UTC)

About these two opinions, I'd say that because of life debt that Pettigrew had to Harry Potter, he tried to convince Voldemort to do the "Life Potion" without the participation of Harry Potter. Maybe, Pettigrew said that because he didn't know but Voldemort yes, that the "Life Potion" was not possible to do without the "blood of the enemy". Andre G. Dias (talk) 22:36, December 16, 2013 (UTC)

James and Lily Potter[]

Why did Peter Pettigrew betrayed James and Lily Potter? Not for who of course.--Station7 12:34, October 30, 2009 (UTC)

It was pure fear. he feared that he would get killed by "him".--Rodolphus 12:41, October 30, 2009 (UTC)

Redemption[]

Does anyone think that Peter redeemed himself before he died?--Jj7362 19:47, February 15, 2010 (UTC)

I'm going to respond with a big NO here. While it's clear he had a twinge of regret he still tried to undo his merciful impulse before being killed by his own hand.--Ztyran

How did Peter Pettigrew get his Order of Merlin, First Class?[]

How did Peter Pettigrew get his Order of Merlin, First Class? 110.32.86.21 13:20, June 11, 2010 (UTC)

It was awarded to him for supposedly getting blown into little pieces by Sirius Black. After Sirius was vindicated, we believe the award was retracted. --JKochRavenclawcrest(Owl Me!) 16:14, June 11, 2010 (UTC)

Getting to the Weasleys[]

I've been wondering about this for awhile. How did Peter get from a street in London to the Weasly's home? And then becomes Percy's rat, instead of being killed like regular vermin? Really, who finds a common sewer rat and keeps them? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 99.149.73.16 (talkcontribs) 18:18, June 26, 2011.

This is one of the great unanswered questions of the Potter series. I've always assumed that since Scabbers wasn't Bill or Charlie's rat, and Percy didn't start at Hogwarts until 1987, he must've stuck it out for a few years on his own before finding his way to Magical Menagerie, where the Weasleys picked him up because a common garden rat was cheaper than any of the magical pets on offer there. I hope that JKR gives us an answer with Pottermore or the Scottish Book. Starstuff (Owl me!) 22:11, June 26, 2011 (UTC)
Is that truth that the Weasley family bought Scabbers in Magical Menagerie store?
Anyone knows why the Weasley family did not suspect about the long lifetime of Scabbers? Did they really not know about the true identity of Scabbers? If anyone knows the answers, please add the information in the Peter Pettigrew page. Andre G. Dias (talk) 22:54, December 16, 2013 (UTC)

Magical skills[]

A few parts of this article, particularly the section on his relationship with Severus Snape, describe Pettigrew's magical skills as minimal. This contradicts the "Magical skill and abilities" section, which states: "[I]t was a testament that, contrary to universal belief, Peter was actually a considerably powerful wizard in his own right." This section lists a large amount of advanced magic that Pettrigrew managed by himself.

The following passage from the Snape section is particularly troublesome, as it states absolutely that Pettigrew was unskilled, rather than talking about other characters' perceptions of him: "Pettigrew, who certainly wouldn't have fared well duelling with a wizard as skilled and powerful as Snape, only got away with doing so because he had more-talented friends backing him up."

One or the other of these sections should be changed for consistency's sake. Any thoughts / suggestions on resolving this?

Seansinc 00:42, July 8, 2011 (UTC)

Infobox Color[]

Shouldn't it be red? I know he essentially acted like a Slytherin but he was still a Gryffindor.

-HoboHunter28- (Leave me an owl!) 04:07, August 12, 2011 (UTC)


That's the Death Eater infobox, not Slytherin.--Rodolphus 08:18, August 12, 2011 (UTC)

When does it say he has order of merlin 1st class? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.45.119.21 (talkcontribs).

"Well, there you have it, Rosmerta. Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Pettigrew recieved the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother. Black's been in Azkaban ever since."
— Cornelius Fudge[src]

-- 1337star 02:08, October 20, 2011 (UTC)

Hey where's the source for his death day being March 26? If that's true, than shouldn't that be the same for Dobby and the SKirmish at Malfoy Manor? Alumeng 20:42, October 28, 2011 (UTC)

March 26?[]

Where did we get that date from? --KiumaruHamachi 17:16, November 29, 2011 (UTC)KiumaruHamachi

the wiki should not sayhe's disloyal nor have an INCREDIBLE act of selfishness especially not an incredible act of cowardice.[]

the book never tried to imply that he's DISLOYAL and it is not widely regarded by fans that he's disloyal either. lets see, Voldemort probably said "tell me or die"(well probably something like that), and also being voldemort he definitely tortured Peter. Peter betrayed them cause he didn't want to get killed nor be tortured more. he valued his own life more than his friends. the only thing that that implies is he's not all noble like the other three are - you can say that's selfish but not an incredible act(since as we all know, all humans are selfish being animals from evolution). loyalty means you don't walk off from someone else like karkaroff did. cowardice means you're afraid of things that few people are afraid of and your constantly afraid of it and you have low confidence. it was very well true that voldemort would have killed him if he didn't say so the only thing we can conclude is that peters selfish since its stupid to fight voldemort. and why doesn't the snape article say "betraying voldemort was a incredible level of disloyalty" then?

-he was actually helping Voldemort before that, and he also framded Sirius. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 108.7.207.239 (talkcontribs).

Would you call him loyal to his friends James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin? He betrayed the Potters which led to their deaths. When that is not disloyal, then I don't know what disloyalty is. You can say that death fear is the cause but makes that less disloyal or selfish or not a coward?  Harry granger   Talk   contribs 21:59, April 20, 2013 (UTC)

Blood Status[]

Pettigrew's blood status is listed as Half-Blood or Pure-Blood, but even if his mother was known to be magical, it is determined by ancestry, not by what ones parents were. Thus he could be a Muggle-born. Unlikely, as he was a Death-eater, but as he helped Voldemort out to such an extent, an exception could have been made.Simongr81 (talk) 01:10, June 27, 2012 (UTC)

No. A Muggle-born is only a witch or wizard born from two Muggles. A wizard who has any direct wizarding ancestry, no matter to what degree, cannot be any less than half-blood. -- 1337star (Drop me a line!) 01:13, June 27, 2012 (UTC)
You make an interesting argument, but by the standard you give, a wizard with two Muggle-Born parents would be a Pure-blood. That just can't be. Harry would be a Pure-blood as his dad was a Pure-blood and his mom was Muggle-born. But he is classified as a Half-blood. Simongr81 (talk) 21:40, June 28, 2012 (UTC)
I always thought that a witch or wizard was only pure-blood if all 4 grandparents were magical, making Harry half-blood as his mothers parents were muggles, anyone with at least one non-magical grandparent would be half-blood. A muggleborn would therefore have 0 magical grandparents.  AlwaysOpugno (talk) 22:17, November 23, 2014 (UTC) 

Ímage[]

This image is repeated twice in the article (without counting the almost identical picture on the Relationships section). --{{SUBST:User:Lluvia Roja/Firma}} 21:42, November 10, 2012 (UTC)

Hair colour[]

When was it stated that his hair colour was "mousy brown"? Is it taken from the movie? I really need to know this. Has J. K. Rowling made an announcement about it? Whatever it is, I think we should add a footnote. Chanpuruuu (talk) 22:20, June 15, 2013 (UTC)

If the books don't provide any information about it, then what's shown in the films is considered canon, per our policy, for the purposes of this wiki. ProfessorTofty (talk) 22:45, June 15, 2013 (UTC)
Mm, yeah, I know that. I just wanted to know where it came from. So you took it from his looks in the movie? I think it's pretty confusing, can't we add a footnote? Chanpuruuu (talk) 00:17, June 16, 2013 (UTC)

Birth year[]

It says 1960 on the page but to be in that year group surely he could have been born in 1959 or 1960, or is there other information I'm missing that narrowed it down? AlwaysOpugno (talk) 22:19, November 23, 2014 (UTC)

It says "c. 1960". The C stands for "circa", which means "approximately". -- Saxon 17:24, November 24, 2014 (UTC)
Oh! Ok, thanks, I'm new to this so I didnt realise. AlwaysOpugno (talk) 13:54, November 25, 2014 (UTC)

Double agent[]

This article currently describes Pettigrew as a "double agent" in two locations. A double agent is someone assigned to spy on an organization who is actually spying for that organization. Snape would be an example. Is that actually the case with Pettigrew? Was Pettigrew ever assigned to spy on the Death Eaters by the Order? I can't remember anything in canon where it says that. I think these two occurrences should be changed to "spy". Luna Scamander (talk) 21:08, December 2, 2014 (UTC)

Done, as no one has objected to this. Luna Scamander (talk) 11:19, December 9, 2014 (UTC)

True servant?[]

In the divination class in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the teacher says "..servant and master shall be reunited once more". This is assumed to refer to Peter Pettigrew and his return to Lord Voldermort at the end of the story. But in the next story, Voldemort does not consider him as a loyal follower at all but merely accompanying him out of fear. So who is the servant referred to in the previous story?Vasumathi (talk) 07:49, June 23, 2015 (UTC)

While it is wholly possible it is Peter (after all, the prophecy says "servant", not "loyal servant") that is being referred to, if it isn't, then it was surely Barty Crouch JrScrooge MacDuck (talk) 10:21, September 22, 2017 (UTC)
While this discussion has been dead for over two years, I'm pretty sure that Professor Trelawney meant Peter Pettigrew as the one that would be reunited with Lord Voldemort, although she probably believed it to be Sirius Black that she meant, since I'm pretty sure no one realised at the time that Barty Crouch Jr was still alive, or that he was still Voldemort's faithful servant. ― C.Syde (talk | contribs) 10:40, September 22, 2017 (UTC)
I may be wrong, but I believe Seers speaking Prophecies are only channeling power they do not understand. Trelawney probably had no idea who the "The one with the power to defeat…" prophecy was referring to, either. --Scrooge MacDuck (talk) 11:44, September 22, 2017 (UTC)
You could be right. I'm not sure. ― C.Syde (talk | contribs) 11:46, September 22, 2017 (UTC)

Balding[]

Balding is unusual for 33-year-old people? This comment is subjective and wrong. It should be removed. ---Darjeeling- (talk) 05:22, September 11, 2015 (UTC)

This may have been posted two years ago, but I thought I'd say this. I think that it would be sort of uncommon among men his age, yet somehow not. Some people in their thirties do start to lose hair, but I think he lost a lot of hair in a short time. I think being scared that Sirius Black was on the loose may have caused him to bald more than he otherwise should have done. ― C.Syde (talk | contribs) 11:02, September 22, 2017 (UTC)

First and Second Year[]

It's something I just tought... Why is that Peter never tought about kill Harry in the first or second year? He was after all "the-boy-who-lived" and it could help if he killed him. And is not like he didn't have chances in the first and second years because Ron sleep just in front of Harry.

Setokayba (talk) 13:29, August 8, 2016 (UTC)

Pettigrew didn't know Voldemort would be coming back with or without him. Until he was forced to flee and had no other resort than to bring back Voldemort to have a powerful protector, I think he just wanted to live in peace as a rat forever and never have to worry about anything ever again. He had no active malice against Harry. Scrooge MacDuck (talk) 14:01, June 11, 2018 (UTC)
Hermione asks the excact same question in the book. The explanatation can be found in the Cat, Rat and dog chapter. --Rodolphus (talk) 13:35, August 8, 2016 (UTC)

I noticed something[]

In the film adaptation of Goblet of Fire Pettigrew is portrayed as ruthless, cold-blooded character. He hardly shows any signs of cowardice. When he notices Frank Bryce, he smiles evilly at him, most likely with intent of hurting him. When he was about to cut off his hand, he wasn't crying nor hesitating and after cutting it he retained his ominous attitude. It is also worth noting that in the films Pettigrew is slightly less cowardly than in the books.Kintobor (talk) 19:48, October 12, 2018 (UTC)Kintobor

Dobby didn't kill him in the movie[]

Because Dobby would never willingly kill anyone. It would show him in too negative way if he willingly killed someone. Dobby is rather gentle and he would never bring himself to kill anyone. There is no way that Dobby would ever willingly kill anyone. He hated Lucius Malfoy for mistreating him but he would never ever bring himself to kill him. However, the fact that Pettigrew is absent in the last movie creates plothole.Kintobor (talk) 17:41, November 11, 2018 (UTC)Kintobor

Twelve years?[]

Twice the article says that Scabbers was with the Weasleys for twelve years. Although Lupin does say that in Ron's presence, we get no indication from any Weasley that this is true; and Lupin had no previous connection with the Weasleys. The only indication of a time by which Scabbers was already with them would be the fact that he's "Percy's old rat"; even if he was Percy's when Percy started at Hovwarts, that would be seven years.

On the other hand, if you accept Hogwarts Mystery (which the article does elsewhere), there is reason to think that Wormtail was present at Hogwarts the year before Percy's first, yet he didn't belong to either of Percy's big brothers. Od Mishehu (talk) 00:42, June 28, 2019 (UTC)

I feel like Ron not correcting him when Lupin says it is indication enough that it is true, in the absence of contradictory evidence. And the way the Hogwarts Mystery information is presented on the page doesn't make it seem as thought it contradicts the idea that Scabbers was already the Weasley's pet at the time. --Scrooge MacDuck (talk) 10:07, June 28, 2019 (UTC)

Pettigrew's knowledge about the lineage of Voldemort[]

Can we take it as a fact that Pettigrew knew everything about the lineage of Voldemort? That through Merope he was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, but his father was the muggle Tom Riddle Sr.! Therefore Pettigrew knew that Voldemort himself was a half-blood, right? Exodianecross (talk) 14:29, December 23, 2019 (UTC)

"Personality and traits" section[]

I don't like what the "Personality and traits" section of this article currently says.

I feel it overemphasizes how much of a coward Pettigrew is and how everything in his life is defined by that and how he didn't fit at all into Gryffindor because of that. But a lot of that is based on the things Pettigrew says in PoA when confronted by Sirius and Remus, and we just assume it is true that the things he says there (that he defected out of fear etc.) are actually true and not excuses he makes when confronted.

I would like to rewrite a lot of that at some point in the near future, but this is something I expect resistance on; what are other editors' thoughts? Luna Scamander (talk) 21:07, 18 July 2023 (UTC)

His cowardice and weakness is evident in almost all of his actions, in particular with the Marauders, Voldemort, Harry, Severus, etc. It is not inaccurate to label him extremely weak and feeble. If you feel it is over-written or perhaps too biased, then feel free to re-write it, but I always find it hard for descriptions about characters to be truly neutral, because Rowling herself is not. RedWizard98 (talk) 21:11, 18 July 2023 (UTC)
I've now made these changes which I think resolve this issue somewhat. I always find it odd that fans tend to take Pettigrew at his word when he claims that the reason he defected to Voldemort was because his life was threatened. He did many brave things in his life: he spied on the Order in a world where legilimency existed, he ran around with a werewolf, he chose to live as a rat in a school full of cats and owls, he severed his own hand. Bad people can still be brave. Luna Scamander (talk) 20:05, 19 July 2023 (UTC)
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