Summary: Wormtail is the most despised character in all five Harry Potter books. We can even see that Voldemort has an element of coolness about him, but Pettigrew is just a pathetic little weasel. Here's his story, for what it's worth.
The Truth About Wormtail
Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, NOT MINE!
Author's note: I think a little explanation might be in order here. No character is wholly bad, and that applies to Peter Pettigrew as well. As much as he is a nasty little rat, everyone has a story to tell, and I'm sure he's no different. Yes, I am trying to create a bit of sympathy for him. Not any more than he deserves, you understand, but everyone deserves it once in a while. And that's why I'm writing this.
Chapter the first: The Final Straw
Peter Pettigrew sat at the back of the church, doing his best to smile and keep his real emotions from showing on his face, or in his eyes. A wedding was supposed to be a happy occasion, after all, and there was precious little to be happy about these days. As his friends James and Lily exchanged their vows, he had to be careful not to alert anyone to how he really felt.
Angry.
How could she marry him? After all these years, how could she fall in love with him? She had hated him for an age; and then he went and did something both remarkably brave and insanely stupid, and all of a sudden she was his. Peter watched, sickened slightly, as she gazed into James's eyes with an expression so full of love that there was little room for rational thought.
It was just another contest that James had won, yet another thing that he had taken for himself - and why shouldn't he? He had always been the smartest, and the bravest; the one Peter was forced to look up to. It made sense that the one girl Peter had always loved would end up with the friend that he had always resented. He knew that James was perfect in every conceivable way. He sighed inwardly, concluding gloomily that Lily really did deserve someone like James Potter.
But that still didn't make it fair. Anything James Potter wanted, James Potter got. Even Lily Evans, which might have seemed impossible five years ago. Peter resisted, with some difficulty, the urge to scowl openly as the minister announced them husband and wife.
She was Lily Potter now, forevermore.
As he passed Peter on his way down the aisle with Lily on his arm, James delivered a hatefully smug wink in the direction of his friend. Peter grinned back and felt his heart sinking like lead. Everyone clapped as the couple left the church.
'They look so right together,' remarked a mild voice on Peter's right. He turned to meet the smiling face of Remus Lupin.
Peter smiled back. It was all he could do to keep from cursing his unoffending, and much taller, friend. He didn't even trust himself to reply. All he could do was nod.
Remus frowned slightly and studied him carefully. 'Everything ok, Wormtail?' he asked, using the nickname that James had given Peter back in their schooldays. Peter did not want to be reminded of this nickname today. It seemed to represent every single time that James had beaten him at something, or had explained something in that irritating tone that made Peter feel inferior in some profound way - it represented everything about James Potter that made him such a perfect match for Lily and made Peter feel like a worm, like he was useless, like he was nothing compared to his friend.
Despite all of this, he continued to smile.
'Everything's fine, Moony,' he lied through his teeth.
Remus grinned. Together they stepped out of the church and into the bright sunlight.
'Good weather,' Peter remarked, trying not to look at the bride and groom as they climbed into the awaiting car. Remus, of course, had no such reservations. He waved to James and watched the car move gently away from the kerb as though he'd never been happier in his life.
'Excellent weather,' he replied to Peter. 'James and Lily couldn't have wished for better.'
Peter found that he was suddenly offended by the lack of clouds in the perfect sky.
'Yeah. I guess,' he muttered, but both he and Remus were momentarily distracted as Sirius Black snuck up behind them and threw his arms around their shoulders, causing them both to jump several feet into the air.
Sirius was very tall, and very handsome, and exceptionally intelligent. Peter often wondered why he surrounded himself with these people. It only served to make him feel even worse about his own shortcomings - in all three of the areas mentioned, either Sirius, James, or Remus could beat him easily. That was the way it had always been.
Today, Sirius was James's best man, and he had a sort of self-satisfied grin on his face.
'Well, lads,' he announced. 'I guess it's just us three now. Old Prongsie's going to be distracted for quite a while yet, I'd assume.'
Both he and Remus sniggered heartily at the joke. Peter, though he was not really in the mood, joined in half-heartedly. Most likely assuming that their friend Wormtail had not fully understood the jest, neither Sirius nor Remus chose to make comment on Peter's lack of enthusiasm.
'So, I can give one of you a ride to the reception if you want,' Sirius offered, gesturing to a massive motorbike that was parked in front of the church. Remus raised an eyebrow.
'What do you take me for?' he asked indignantly. 'I'm not riding anywhere on that thing, especially not if you're at the wheel, Sirius Black.'
Peter nodded emphatically at this. There were some things that were just universal truths.
Sirius looked hurt. 'I'd appreciate it if you'd stop talking about my baby like that,' he pouted. 'I haven't crashed her once, not even a scratch. Ok, so there was that time that I sideswiped the airplane …'
Remus snorted.
'It was only a little bit, and that muggle lady got her mind wiped in the end,' Sirius reminded him. 'I really don't know what all this fuss is about, Moony. It wouldn't hurt you to come out on a little spin.'
Remus gave him a look as hard as stone. 'It's not only your driving that I'm concerned about,' he informed Sirius. 'Your 'baby' isn't exactly legal, you know. If I get caught I'd be in a lot more trouble than you.'
Sirius turned to Peter. 'What about you, Pete? We'll be there in no time at all.'
'Count me out, Padfoot,' Peter said.
Sirius scowled suddenly. 'Chicken,' he accused, turning his back on the pair of them and heading down the steps to his bike. Most of the guests at James and Lily's wedding had disapparated by this point. Remus shook his head.
'Don't ever get on that bike, whatever you do, Pete,' he warned. 'Sirius may think that it's safe, but he's that reckless …' he trailed off, watching Sirius swing his leg over the bike and rev the engine, before speeding off down the country lane.
'You don't have to tell me, Remus,' Peter said darkly. 'I know not to trust Sirius.'
'It's not that I don't trust him,' Remus said quickly. 'It's just that …' he trailed off. Peter wasn't actually sure if his more composed friend actually did trust his most outgoing one. After that nasty incident in sixth year where Severus Snape had almost got himself killed, Peter wasn't sure if Remus could ever trust Sirius Black again.
'Maybe we should get going,' Peter suggested. 'We don't want to be late. Knowing James, this will be the party of the year.'
'Well, if you had just married a girl as gorgeous as Lily, wouldn't you want to celebrate a little?' Remus asked with a wicked grin. He winked at Peter and then disapparated with a loud crack.
Peter sighed. 'You don't know the half of it,' he murmured, before summoning up his own will to disapparate.
~
Peter had been right when he said that the reception of James and Lily's wedding would be the biggest party of the year. James and his new wife were a very popular couple in wizarding circles, and some of the most powerful wizards in Britain had been invited to the wedding. Albus Dumbledore was there, as well as many people that Peter recognised from the order. There were also a number of muggles present - relatives of Lily's mostly, and they kept to themselves. Peter sighed and took a table near the back while the others took to the dance floor. He thought that no one would even notice him if he just kept to the corners of the room.
That plan backfired rather quickly.
'Hey, Wormtail!' exclaimed James, taking a seat next to him. 'How's life, man? I haven't seen you around much - feels like ages since I last talked to you!'
Peter smiled back, while inside he was seething with jealousy and rage. James had never really shown an interest in him before. James was far too perfect and too caught up in his own life to pay much attention to anyone else. And of course, now that he was married, Peter couldn't see him getting any better.
'I'm great, Prongs,' he lied again, with a slight shrug of his shoulders. 'Can't complain.'
'Brilliant,' James replied with a wide grin.
Peter stuck to formality. 'Congratulations, by the way,' he said, regretting every syllable as it passed his lips.
James sent him a sudden shrewd look that completely caught him off-guard. 'Peter,' he said, dropping his voice so only the two of them could hear, serious for once. 'I know that you had feelings for Lily.'
There it was, right there. How did he do that? And the way he said it, too. There was no denying it. Peter just stared at his friend with a blank expression.
'Look, I don't know if you still do - and quite frankly, I think I'm better off not knowing,' James continued. 'But I just wanted to make sure … no hard feelings, right?' He extended his hand across the table.
Peter laughed, a trifle nervously. 'Of course not, Prongs,' he replied, reaching over and shaking James's hand. 'After all, the best man won.'
James grinned again. 'I dunno about that, Pete. You should get out there and dance, though.'
'Who would I dance with?' Peter asked. James winked.
'A dashing guy like you? I'm sure you'd have no trouble!' he joked.
Peter smiled but made no reply.
'Hey James!' a voice called from the other side of the room. 'Get over here, will you!'
'Prewett,' James muttered, standing up. 'Fabian I think, but I can never tell those two apart. Can you, Wormtail?'
'It's Gideon,' Peter informed him. 'He's got a little mole in the corner of his mouth.'
'So he has,' James mused. 'I better go talk to him, I suppose. I'll see you later. Don't sit here all night, ok? Go out and have some fun!'
'I'll do that,' Peter assured him. But as soon as James's back was turned, Peter frowned and went back to his drink. Looking up a second later, he saw Lily, her white gown set off by her fiery hair, standing beside James and laughing at a joke he had just told.
Peter set his glass back down on the table. This was just too much.
'I hope you have a wonderful life together,' he muttered sarcastically, as he left the hall.
The Truth About Wormtail
Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, NOT MINE!
Author's note: I think a little explanation might be in order here. No character is wholly bad, and that applies to Peter Pettigrew as well. As much as he is a nasty little rat, everyone has a story to tell, and I'm sure he's no different. Yes, I am trying to create a bit of sympathy for him. Not any more than he deserves, you understand, but everyone deserves it once in a while. And that's why I'm writing this.
Chapter the first: The Final Straw
Peter Pettigrew sat at the back of the church, doing his best to smile and keep his real emotions from showing on his face, or in his eyes. A wedding was supposed to be a happy occasion, after all, and there was precious little to be happy about these days. As his friends James and Lily exchanged their vows, he had to be careful not to alert anyone to how he really felt.
Angry.
How could she marry him? After all these years, how could she fall in love with him? She had hated him for an age; and then he went and did something both remarkably brave and insanely stupid, and all of a sudden she was his. Peter watched, sickened slightly, as she gazed into James's eyes with an expression so full of love that there was little room for rational thought.
It was just another contest that James had won, yet another thing that he had taken for himself - and why shouldn't he? He had always been the smartest, and the bravest; the one Peter was forced to look up to. It made sense that the one girl Peter had always loved would end up with the friend that he had always resented. He knew that James was perfect in every conceivable way. He sighed inwardly, concluding gloomily that Lily really did deserve someone like James Potter.
But that still didn't make it fair. Anything James Potter wanted, James Potter got. Even Lily Evans, which might have seemed impossible five years ago. Peter resisted, with some difficulty, the urge to scowl openly as the minister announced them husband and wife.
She was Lily Potter now, forevermore.
As he passed Peter on his way down the aisle with Lily on his arm, James delivered a hatefully smug wink in the direction of his friend. Peter grinned back and felt his heart sinking like lead. Everyone clapped as the couple left the church.
'They look so right together,' remarked a mild voice on Peter's right. He turned to meet the smiling face of Remus Lupin.
Peter smiled back. It was all he could do to keep from cursing his unoffending, and much taller, friend. He didn't even trust himself to reply. All he could do was nod.
Remus frowned slightly and studied him carefully. 'Everything ok, Wormtail?' he asked, using the nickname that James had given Peter back in their schooldays. Peter did not want to be reminded of this nickname today. It seemed to represent every single time that James had beaten him at something, or had explained something in that irritating tone that made Peter feel inferior in some profound way - it represented everything about James Potter that made him such a perfect match for Lily and made Peter feel like a worm, like he was useless, like he was nothing compared to his friend.
Despite all of this, he continued to smile.
'Everything's fine, Moony,' he lied through his teeth.
Remus grinned. Together they stepped out of the church and into the bright sunlight.
'Good weather,' Peter remarked, trying not to look at the bride and groom as they climbed into the awaiting car. Remus, of course, had no such reservations. He waved to James and watched the car move gently away from the kerb as though he'd never been happier in his life.
'Excellent weather,' he replied to Peter. 'James and Lily couldn't have wished for better.'
Peter found that he was suddenly offended by the lack of clouds in the perfect sky.
'Yeah. I guess,' he muttered, but both he and Remus were momentarily distracted as Sirius Black snuck up behind them and threw his arms around their shoulders, causing them both to jump several feet into the air.
Sirius was very tall, and very handsome, and exceptionally intelligent. Peter often wondered why he surrounded himself with these people. It only served to make him feel even worse about his own shortcomings - in all three of the areas mentioned, either Sirius, James, or Remus could beat him easily. That was the way it had always been.
Today, Sirius was James's best man, and he had a sort of self-satisfied grin on his face.
'Well, lads,' he announced. 'I guess it's just us three now. Old Prongsie's going to be distracted for quite a while yet, I'd assume.'
Both he and Remus sniggered heartily at the joke. Peter, though he was not really in the mood, joined in half-heartedly. Most likely assuming that their friend Wormtail had not fully understood the jest, neither Sirius nor Remus chose to make comment on Peter's lack of enthusiasm.
'So, I can give one of you a ride to the reception if you want,' Sirius offered, gesturing to a massive motorbike that was parked in front of the church. Remus raised an eyebrow.
'What do you take me for?' he asked indignantly. 'I'm not riding anywhere on that thing, especially not if you're at the wheel, Sirius Black.'
Peter nodded emphatically at this. There were some things that were just universal truths.
Sirius looked hurt. 'I'd appreciate it if you'd stop talking about my baby like that,' he pouted. 'I haven't crashed her once, not even a scratch. Ok, so there was that time that I sideswiped the airplane …'
Remus snorted.
'It was only a little bit, and that muggle lady got her mind wiped in the end,' Sirius reminded him. 'I really don't know what all this fuss is about, Moony. It wouldn't hurt you to come out on a little spin.'
Remus gave him a look as hard as stone. 'It's not only your driving that I'm concerned about,' he informed Sirius. 'Your 'baby' isn't exactly legal, you know. If I get caught I'd be in a lot more trouble than you.'
Sirius turned to Peter. 'What about you, Pete? We'll be there in no time at all.'
'Count me out, Padfoot,' Peter said.
Sirius scowled suddenly. 'Chicken,' he accused, turning his back on the pair of them and heading down the steps to his bike. Most of the guests at James and Lily's wedding had disapparated by this point. Remus shook his head.
'Don't ever get on that bike, whatever you do, Pete,' he warned. 'Sirius may think that it's safe, but he's that reckless …' he trailed off, watching Sirius swing his leg over the bike and rev the engine, before speeding off down the country lane.
'You don't have to tell me, Remus,' Peter said darkly. 'I know not to trust Sirius.'
'It's not that I don't trust him,' Remus said quickly. 'It's just that …' he trailed off. Peter wasn't actually sure if his more composed friend actually did trust his most outgoing one. After that nasty incident in sixth year where Severus Snape had almost got himself killed, Peter wasn't sure if Remus could ever trust Sirius Black again.
'Maybe we should get going,' Peter suggested. 'We don't want to be late. Knowing James, this will be the party of the year.'
'Well, if you had just married a girl as gorgeous as Lily, wouldn't you want to celebrate a little?' Remus asked with a wicked grin. He winked at Peter and then disapparated with a loud crack.
Peter sighed. 'You don't know the half of it,' he murmured, before summoning up his own will to disapparate.
~
Peter had been right when he said that the reception of James and Lily's wedding would be the biggest party of the year. James and his new wife were a very popular couple in wizarding circles, and some of the most powerful wizards in Britain had been invited to the wedding. Albus Dumbledore was there, as well as many people that Peter recognised from the order. There were also a number of muggles present - relatives of Lily's mostly, and they kept to themselves. Peter sighed and took a table near the back while the others took to the dance floor. He thought that no one would even notice him if he just kept to the corners of the room.
That plan backfired rather quickly.
'Hey, Wormtail!' exclaimed James, taking a seat next to him. 'How's life, man? I haven't seen you around much - feels like ages since I last talked to you!'
Peter smiled back, while inside he was seething with jealousy and rage. James had never really shown an interest in him before. James was far too perfect and too caught up in his own life to pay much attention to anyone else. And of course, now that he was married, Peter couldn't see him getting any better.
'I'm great, Prongs,' he lied again, with a slight shrug of his shoulders. 'Can't complain.'
'Brilliant,' James replied with a wide grin.
Peter stuck to formality. 'Congratulations, by the way,' he said, regretting every syllable as it passed his lips.
James sent him a sudden shrewd look that completely caught him off-guard. 'Peter,' he said, dropping his voice so only the two of them could hear, serious for once. 'I know that you had feelings for Lily.'
There it was, right there. How did he do that? And the way he said it, too. There was no denying it. Peter just stared at his friend with a blank expression.
'Look, I don't know if you still do - and quite frankly, I think I'm better off not knowing,' James continued. 'But I just wanted to make sure … no hard feelings, right?' He extended his hand across the table.
Peter laughed, a trifle nervously. 'Of course not, Prongs,' he replied, reaching over and shaking James's hand. 'After all, the best man won.'
James grinned again. 'I dunno about that, Pete. You should get out there and dance, though.'
'Who would I dance with?' Peter asked. James winked.
'A dashing guy like you? I'm sure you'd have no trouble!' he joked.
Peter smiled but made no reply.
'Hey James!' a voice called from the other side of the room. 'Get over here, will you!'
'Prewett,' James muttered, standing up. 'Fabian I think, but I can never tell those two apart. Can you, Wormtail?'
'It's Gideon,' Peter informed him. 'He's got a little mole in the corner of his mouth.'
'So he has,' James mused. 'I better go talk to him, I suppose. I'll see you later. Don't sit here all night, ok? Go out and have some fun!'
'I'll do that,' Peter assured him. But as soon as James's back was turned, Peter frowned and went back to his drink. Looking up a second later, he saw Lily, her white gown set off by her fiery hair, standing beside James and laughing at a joke he had just told.
Peter set his glass back down on the table. This was just too much.
'I hope you have a wonderful life together,' he muttered sarcastically, as he left the hall.