Unpopular Opinion: Characters We Like
I very much like Peter Pettigrew, which is possibly the most unpopular opinion ever. Though Umbridge would have been more unpopular, I think. I also like Voldemort himself very much, but I am not alone there, at least. And Dumbledore, also a favourite of mine. But i do not think that is as controversial either, so let me focus on Wormtail.
Why do I like that rat Pettigrew? Well ... He is human. He makes human decisions.
Seeking the biggest bully in the playground as a child/teen to me suggests he was possibly bullied before Hogwarts. He is most likely left-handed, was small for his age, a bit pudgy - it is not unthinkable this boy would have had some bullies on him, especially in the 60s. Bullied children often join bullies or become bullies when switching schools to avoid this happening again. And wouldn't you know it, he finds himself part of the most popular gang of the school! But he is very mediocre compared to them in a school-setting at least. He needs their help, but manages a lot. He is constantly doing things he is scared of with their help, and probably this is how he joined the Order as well: terrified, but because they more-or-less told him to, and he has always done what they told him to. But the war is not a playground and his friends all go off to do their own things and this leaves a terrified Peter alone, at wartime, during a war Voldemort was winning, ountumbered twenty-to-one, and his support system is missing. Self-preservation and not wanting to die are things most people possess. Most people, in a war, do not join the resistance. Most people do not fight. Most people try to keep their heads down so they survive and keep their families safe. Peter Pettigrew could not do that anymore: he had already joined the resistance. You cannot make yourself unknown to the enemy once they know who you are, which they likely did.
So he joined Voldemort.
Now, betraying his friends is truly despicable, and I would not say I understand this at all - even Voldemort and the Death Eaters dislike this treachery (at least, I have always felt it this way), and I think it is a very big part of why he is not trusted by Voldemort. He knows he is capable of betraying just about anyone. But the joining Voldemort, the fear, the wanting to just get on with life and therefore being on the winning side - those are all so human nobody wants to acknowledge it. I think he made a terrible decision in a moment of genuine terror and he deserves all the hatred for that, but there are so many who claim he is the single most abhorrent character in the series or that he is unrealistic, and I thoroughly disagree. I think he is more human than most (side-characters, that is).
