The thirdHarry Potterbook -The Prisoner of Azkabanintroduces the company Harry’s father, James Potter kept at Hogwarts. Harry hears the group’s name - The Marauders in chapter 10 ofThe Prisoner of Azkaban, titled, “The Marauder’s Map.” The titular magical document looks like a bit of old parchment to Harry at first, but it lights up when George Weasley gives it a prod with his wand and says, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” Thin ink lines spread and join each other on the parchment paper from where George’s wand touches it. These lines fan into every corner and across the top of the map appear the curly green words:
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present THE MARAUDER’S MAP
The Marauder’s Map shows every detail of Hogwarts Castle and grounds. It shows everyone, their location, and what they do through tiny ink dots that move around and are labeled with names. Harry can see Professor Albus Dumbledore pacing in his study in the thirdHarry Potterbook. He also sees Argus Filch’s cat, Mrs. Norris prowling the second floor. Fred and George inform Harry that they stole the map in their first year from Filch’s Confiscated and Highly Dangerous filing cabinet. George says that they owe the four noble creators aka Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs so much for creating the map, while Fred says the brains behind the dangerous, magical object worked tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers.
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Finally, Harry sneaks into Hogsmeade using one of the secret passages shown on the map.The Marauders, including Harry’s father, James Potter were four Gryffindors and classmates who attended Hogwarts in the ’70s. One among them, Pettigrew broke bad and betrayed James and Lily Potter to the Dark Lord. He was also responsible for the wrongful imprisonment of Sirius Black. Surely, Pettigrew must have exhibited personality traits during his time at Hogwarts that drove him to sell his friends to Lord Voldemort.
Pettigrew Was Unimpressive
As explained by Professor Minerva McGonagall and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge inHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Pettigrew was friends with Potter, Black, and Remus Lupin at Hogwarts. He trailed behind Potter and Black, and his fawning sycophancy annoyed Harry when he saw him in Snape’s memories inThe Order of the Phoenix. In chapter 10 ofHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry overhears a rather unsettling conversationbetween Professor McGonagall, Rubeus Hagrid, Madam Rosmerta, and Professor Flitwick at the Three Broomsticks Inn. When Fudge says he’s determined to keep people safe from the Azkaban escapee and mass murderer, Sirius Black, McGonagall jumps in and recalls Potter and his friends' time at Hogwarts. She describes Potter and Black using the words “ringleaders of their little gang,” “exceptionally bright” and “a pair of troublemakers.”
As the lot goes over the events of Black’s so-called treachery, Fudge adds that it wasn’t the Ministry but another of Potter’s friends, “little Peter Pettigrew” who found Black. “Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself,” he narrates to the group. Another description of Pettigrew comes from Madam Rosmerta, who recalls him as that little boy always tagging around after Potter and Black at Hogwarts. McGonagall agrees, saying Pettigrew hero-worshipped Black and Potter, and that he was never quite in their league talent-wise. “I was often rather sharp with him. you’re able to imagine how I - how I regret that now…” she adds.
Fudge comforts her by saying Pettigrew died a hero’s death, as the eyewitnesses reported to the Ministry the manner in which he cornered Black on a busy street. According to them, Pettigrew was sobbing over Lily and James' fates and when he went for his wand, Black was quicker and blew him to smithereens, leaving behind a few of his fragments. McGonagall says Pettigrew never stood a chance against Black as he was always hopeless at dueling at Hogwarts.The Prisoner of Azkabanreveals that while Black was nabbed by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class.
The statements convey only part of the truth. Voldemort was indeed after the Potters and Dumbledore had advised them to go into hiding under the Fidelius Charm, i.e., the complex spell that magically conceals a secret inside a chosen person known as the Secret-Keeper. The information is impossible to find unless the chosen person divulges it. People wrongly believe that Black was the Secret-Keeper, but the truth is, he’d persuaded the Potters to switch to Pettigrew at the last moment. The fourth friend, Lupin remained unaware of this change, as Black believed he was a spy for You-Know-Who. As for why Pettigrew betrayed his friends, he maintained he was never brave like his friends, that he never meant for it to happen, and finally, the Dark Lord forced him to. The truth is, he had been passing information to his master for a year before Lily and James died. Since Voldemort was taking over everywhere, Pettigrew thought that there was nothing to be gained by fighting against him. In other words, the coward chose what looked like the winning side over the good side duringthe First Wizarding War.
Pettigrew As A Marauder
As for Pettigrew’s life at Hogwarts, Harry noticed his sycophancy upon diving into Snape’s memory inHarry Potter and Order of the Phoenix. He found himself standing in the Great Hall, looking at Snape, his father, Black, and Pettigrew taking their Defense Against the Dark Arts - Ordinary Wizarding Level test. The fifthHarry Potterbook describes him as, “a small, mousy-haired boy with a pointed nose.” He looked anxious while taking the exam, he was chewing his fingernails and he glanced at his neighbor’s paper now and then. While Potter, Black, and Lupin had done their very best, Pettigrew barely managed. He couldn’t write a proper answer to the question - ‘Give five signs that identify the werewolf.’ Potter called him “thick” as the lot ran around withLupin, who was a Werewolfevery month.
Pettigrew watched in awe as Potter played with his Snitch.Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenixsays that every time James made a difficult catch, Pettigrew “gasped and applauded” and let out cheers. At his point, Black asked Potter to stop as he was afraid Pettigrew would wet himself with excitement. Soon after, Pettigrew avidly watched Potter and Black when they approached Severus Snape who was nearby, minding his own business. Pettigrew sniggered and roared with laughter andPotter bullied Snape. The other fact about Pettigrew’s life was that he’d learned to be an illegal Animagus to keep his friend, Lupin company during his monthly transformations. Potter, Black, and he were the unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts.
In chapter 18 ofHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs,“Lupin explains how he became a Werewolf, how his sympathetic headmaster, Professor Dumbledore admitted him to Hogwarts, and finally, how he was smuggled out of the castle into the Shrieking Shack to transform. Terrified his friends would desert him, he hid his secret from them, but they worked out the truth and made his transformations bearable by becoming Animagi. Potter and Black transformed first and Peter needed all the help he could get from the duo. In the boys' fifth year, they managed to turn into a different animal at will. Potter and Black transformed into large animals to keep Lupin in check, and eventually, they came to write the Marauder’s Map and sign it with their nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot, Peter is Wormtail, James is Prongs and Lupin is Moony. As for Pettigrew’s betrayal,Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanexplains when Black cornered him, he blew apart the street and killed twelve Muggles with a loud explosive spell. He cut off his finger as a ploy to fake his own death. Thereafter, he transformed into a rat and went down the sewers. Peter Pettigrew is remembered as an unimpressive Hogwarts alum and the selfish coward ofHarry Potter.
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