Divination Fifteen: Wormtail’s Secret
‘Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt. When one wizard saves another wizard’s life, it creates a certain bond between them … and I’m much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter.’ (POA22)
Into the Pensieve: The terrible circumstances of Snape’s death are enough to convince Wormtail to abandon his former master. He makes a break for it and sneaks into Hogwarts in his Animagus form. ‘Scabbers’ is apprehended by Crookshanks and brought to the trio. Alone at Malfoy Manor, Narcissa takes poison; while her husband faces a renewed assault on the Ministry of Magic led by Kingsley Shacklebolt and the other Order members (including Arthur Weasley) who have escaped from Azkaban. In the ensuing battle, the famous locked room is opened releasing a powerful love magic that destroys the Dementors. Lucius Malfoy learns that his obsession with Voldemort has cost the lives of his wife and son. Without an heir to continue his line or inherit his fortune, the despairing Malfoy surrenders to the Order of the Phoenix. The hostages (i.e. Umbridge and Scrimgeour etc.) are freed and speedily transferred to Azkaban to await their trials as traitors. Lord Voldemort has vanished into the past, using a stolen Time-Turner. Meanwhile, Gringotts is retaken in a goblin rebellion. Before he is handed over to the authorities to face justice, Wormtail gives Harry a piece of crucial information: namely that he and Ron (as their seventeen year old selves) were somehow present at Godric’s Hollow on the night of Harry’s parents’ deaths. It was this older Harry who was responsible for Voldemort’s first defeat and baby Harry’s mysterious survival (just as Harry once saved himself from the Dementors). This is the ultimate bombshell deployed for maximum effect by a wizard who has long been the Secret-Keeper in Chief. Sixteen years earlier, Peter Pettigrew accompanied the former Voldemort to the house as a rat and was able to retrieve the Dark Lord’s wand after he vanished from his body. Wormtail witnessed Harry and Ron duelling with the current Voldemort – hence the reason he attached himself to the Weasleys as ‘Scabbers’ – and understands that Harry has to return to the past in order to fulfil the Prophecy. Moreover, Wormtail knows that Voldemort has gone back in time to change the past and will succeed if the boys do not intervene. Harry decides to trust Wormtail, realising that he could have chosen to remain silent but acted now, not to avoid his mandatory life sentence in Azkaban, but as a tribute to his former self – Pettigrew of Gryffindor – and to pay out his life debt to Harry Potter. He and Ron bid a solemn farewell to all their friends and to the extended Weasley family. Harry’s parting with Ginny is particularly tragic as he senses that he will not be returning.
Second Sight: March 2007
I thought I should let you know, I have changed my mind as to Wormtail’s fate. He really is one of the least sympathetic characters in the Potterverse, responsible for the deaths of Lily & James Potter (as well as who knows how many other members of the Order of the Phoenix who were murdered during the period he was spying for Voldemort) and has shown no real remorse. In the absence of any moral courage from Wormtail so far, I was disinclined to reward him with the heroic death which Snape for one seems to have earned. However, on this basis, I doubt he’ll be permitted to share the literary immortality bestowed on characters who survive DH! If any villain survives it’ll be Lucius Malfoy IMHO, whose fall will be colossal indeed if he loses his wife and his wealth, as well as his son and heir, and is confined to Azkaban for life.
Bearing in mind how the hyper-villain in Jasper Forde’s The Eyre Affair booby traps his servants, it occurs to me that Voldemort might well employ a similar device – (we have already seen the Unbreakable Vow!) – to punish Wormtail if he betrays Voldemort to Harry. Indeed, perhaps Voldemort has bound Wormtail by an Unbreakable Vow, in which case he will die if he breaks it. (We have yet to find out precisely how the Unbreakable Vow kills its victims.) It would be in keeping with JKR’s style if the Vow – like the Fidelius Charm – is used again. Or maybe some other ‘booby trap’ is in place. Who knows, perhaps Wormtail will be forced to die by his own ‘silver’ hand? A ‘gift’ from Voldemort should be regarded with great suspicion, IMHO … might it end up strangling Wormtail? *shivers*
Omens & Portents: Canonical Clues & Questions
1. Concerning goblins…
- ‘Couldn’t remember all the goblin rebels’ names, so I invented a few.’ (GOF31) Harry and Ron have spent a long time studying goblin rebellions in History of Magic. Might this be foreshadowing instead of filler?
2. Concerning Lucius Malfoy…
- Will Lucius Malfoy’s downfall parallel that of his namesake Lucifer? Do you think it is likely that (m)any of the Death Eaters will live to face the consequences of their actions? If so, then who will survive?
3. Concerning Pettigrew…
- ‘Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt. When one wizard saves another wizard’s life, it creates a certain bond between them … and I’m much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter.’ (POA22) What is the significance of Wormtail’s life-debt to Harry Potter? How can the debt be redeemed without making the morally weak and despicable Wormtail into the greatest hero of them all?
4. Concerning time travel…
- ‘No!’ said Hermione in a terrified whisper. ‘Don’t you understand? We’re breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! Nobody’s supposed to change time, nobody! You heard Dumbledore, if we’re seen –’ (POA21) In the Potterverse, time travel to the past is explained as having already happened: therefore, Buckbeak never died. We know that Harry did not go back and save his parents – therefore he is unable to do so in Book 7. But it is possible that he was responsible for his own survival and the first defeat of Voldemort; witnessed only by the secretive Wormtail.
Legilimency… what is JKR thinking?
‘Let’s go again … on the count of three … one – two – three – Legilimens!’ (OOtP24)
- JK won’t tell us if there will be another scene in the locked room in the Department of Mysteries. [JKR, Mugglenet/TLC interview, 2005 – Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Crookshanks is half-kneazle. [JKR, website – Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Wormtail is a coward who “will stand in the shadow of the strongest person.” [JKR, Entertainment Weekly, 2000 – Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Pettigrew “was a better wizard [and better at keeping secrets] than they knew.” [JKR, Mugglenet/TLC interview, 2005 – Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Except in very special circumstances, Muggle-born wizards are not allowed to be Death Eaters. [JKR, Edinburgh Book Festival, 2004 – Madam Scoop’s Index] This has led to much conjecture that Pettigrew’s betrayal was one of these ‘circumstances’.
- JKR told me that Pettigrew took Voldemort’s wand the day the Potters were killed and hid it. [Unsubstantiated fan report, 2004 – Madam Scoop’s Index]
Pettigrew owes his life to Harry, because in POA, he spared his life from Siririus(sp?) and Lupin. So maybe he will help. Snape never killed Harry because he owed his life to James. Are you getting the feeling there is a bond? A bond between people who owe lives? Then it means half the Weasly family owes their life to Harry. Just thinking that if they owe their lives to harry, then they somehow have to repay. Just a thought.
on Crookshanks, is she an unregistered Animagus? Or is she just smart?
I dont think the family owes their life to harry. Ginny almost died because riddle wanted to kill harry and in the act almost killed Ginny. If Aurthur wasn’t patrolling to keep Harry’s prophecey safe, he would’nt have been bitten. If Romilda Vane didn’t love Harry, Harry wouldn’t have had to go to Slughorns office for a love potion cure and Ron wouln’t have had to drink the gin.
Hi, wants to know!
Happily, JKR has answered both of those for us.
Firstly, although Mrs. Weasley comments that, “Half our family does seem to owe you their lives”, in HBP19, Ginny apparently does not have a life-debt to Harry (& by this reckoning, nor do the others).
“No, not really. Wormtail is different. You know, part of me would just love to explain the whole thing to you, plot of book seven, you know, I honestly would.”
http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2005/0705-tlc_mugglenet-anelli-3.htm
Secondly, concerning Crookshanks:
http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/extrastuff_view.cfm?id=10
what is a kneazle?
I don’t know when Wormtail became a Death Eater, but I am fairly certain he is the Muggleborn Death Eater. And I suspect he wasn’t made a Death Eater until he went to rescue Voldemort from Albania to save his own hide. This rescue was probably the ‘special circumstance’…Voldemort’s need of a Death Eater to call the other Death Eaters was out-weighed by the fact that many of the pureblood bigots in Voldemort’s service would be appalled. Someone made the excellent point that Peter may have been sent to Spinner’s End for his own safety as much as to spy on Snape.
JKR’s mention of Wormtail’s ability to keep secrets may refer to Voldemort as well as the Potters. I agree with the unsubstantiated fan report that Peter probably did get voldemort’s wand from Godric’s Hollow. It makes perfect sense that when Voldemort appeared to be defeated at Godric’s Hollow Peter’s first instinct would be to run for the Potters (the new power) because he thought they had killed voldemort. When he found them dead, he’d need to form a new plan, fast.
I’m not without hope that we learn Peter saw Snape ad Godric’s Hollow and has kept his mouth shut all this time. If so, Snape is Peter’s ticket to leniency if Voldemort falls…and Peter holds Snape’s life in his hands (prior to the end of book 6 one word to Voldemort of Snape’s presence at Godric’s Hollow would mean Snape’s death).
There’s only one (possible) problem wityh the time-turner theory; It was reported/said by Hermione (sorry can’t remember which) that the set of Ministry Time-Turners was destroyed when Harry visited the MOM
Michelle, an kneazle is a cat-like animal that is only known to wizards. But to quote JKR “And if you don’t know what a Kneazle is, you need to hurry up and buy Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (all royalties go to help some of the poorest children in the world)”
Thanks, Morne!
Sora, here is the full quote:
“Ar, I always knew yeh’d find it hard ter squeeze me inter yer timetables,” he [Hagrid] said gruffly, pouring them more tea. “Even if yeh applied fer Time-Turners —”
“We couldn’t have done,” said Hermione. “We smashed the entire stock of Ministry Time-Turners when we were there last summer. It was in the Daily Prophet.” (HBP11)
Actually, I took this as evidence *for* the Time-Turner theory. If Hermione says they’ve all been smashed (convenient!) that’s going to stop *everyone* going back in time in Book 7 (i.e. all the Aurors going back to stop Voldemort!)
However, it strikes me as quite likely that they’ll be a few lost or stolen Time-Turners unaccounted for by the MoM. One each for Harry and Voldemort, I reckon …
See http://book7.co.uk/five/ for my theory about Harry’s Time-Turner!
draco dies in the last book, when he tries to protect snape from bellatrix
If Harry & Ron were present at Godric’ s Hollow the night Voldemort attacked, the only possibility is that they travelled back in time. They could have done so only in book 7 as otherwise we would have known. However, JKR once told us that there is no time travelling in book 7. So how can it be possible?
well, i really think we should stop guessing lol, what will be will be. And judging by the fact that none of you actually wrote the harry potter series, you won’t figure out what’s happened Untill you’ve actually read the book. J.K. Rowling is an amazing author, whatever she has in store is more amazing than anything we have came up with!
Write for Today! Inspire for Tomorrow! =P
“draco dies in the last book, when he tries to protect snape from bellatrix”
Well, that’s my theory! It is not (I repeat) a spoiler :–)
JKR did NOT to my knowledge ever say that there would be no time-travel in Book 7. When asked if Harry would time-travel again, she replied: “Not telling!”. You can check out JKR quotes here: http://www.accio-quote.org/themes/wonttellus.htm
Nice motto, Bethie. I’m looking forward to July 21st immensely in the full knowledge that JKR has been preparing for this moment for seventeen years, so of course she knows this world better than anyone else could hope – but it’s been two years since the last book came out, during which time the speculation has kept a lot of us going!