Peter's flight to Albania
Nov. 4th, 2022 06:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunnyskywalker posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
deathtocapslockWhy did Peter go to Albania and restore Voldemort to power instead of, you know, running away? Why not find a distant corner of the globe where no one would recognize him and where the long arm of Dumbledore didn’t reach and live in relative peace?
Well. Remember what Remus said while literally rolling up his sleeves to murder Peter?
What would Peter be thinking once he got far enough away to catch his breath?
“Uh-oh, Dumbledore might actually believe Moony and Padfoot and the kids when they tell him I’m still alive and the real traitor. What if he clears Padfoot’s name, or at least helps him escape? Won’t that leave Padfoot at liberty to hunt me down? And it’s almost the summer holiday—Moony will be able to join the hunt in a couple of weeks. And no one’s taught DADA two years in a row in my lifetime, and where else is he going to get a job now? I’m going to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder for those two. If I’m lucky. They might actually find me! What options does that leave me?”
You’d think that working for Voldemort is such a terrible job that living on the run while fearing every shadow is a big black dog doesn’t sound that bad by comparison. There’s no Cruciatus, as long as he doesn’t get caught. On the other hand, Sirius is the guy who tricked a fellow student he didn’t like into entering a tunnel with a werewolf. And none of the Marauders ever actually confirmed that Remus wasn’t a willing participant in that plan. Why was he rolling up his sleeves in the Shrieking Shack if he was only planning a quick, clean death? Maybe Peter sincerely believed that whatever Sirius and Remus would do to him was so terrible, and living in fear of it so unbearable, that Voldemort didn’t automatically look like the worst choice.
And why didn’t Dumbledore send Sirius after Peter? Um. I’m sure we would all like to think that Sirius, unlike Quirrell, would be protected by plot armor if he ended up in Albania and would never return to Britain with a spiffy new turban. Or a motorcycle helmet and a sudden obsession with traffic safety. But…well, would you want a Voldemort with all of Sirius’s cleverness and skill at nasty curses to draw on? Me neither.
How he convinced Sirius not to hunt Peter is another question. Though did Sirius know Voldemort was in Albania? Maybe Dumbledore, ah, neglected to mention that, and Sirius was grimly hunting tropical islands for rats between replying to Harry’s letter and drinking rum.
Well. Remember what Remus said while literally rolling up his sleeves to murder Peter?
“You should have realized, Peter […] If Voldemort didn’t kill you, we would.”
What would Peter be thinking once he got far enough away to catch his breath?
“Uh-oh, Dumbledore might actually believe Moony and Padfoot and the kids when they tell him I’m still alive and the real traitor. What if he clears Padfoot’s name, or at least helps him escape? Won’t that leave Padfoot at liberty to hunt me down? And it’s almost the summer holiday—Moony will be able to join the hunt in a couple of weeks. And no one’s taught DADA two years in a row in my lifetime, and where else is he going to get a job now? I’m going to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder for those two. If I’m lucky. They might actually find me! What options does that leave me?”
You’d think that working for Voldemort is such a terrible job that living on the run while fearing every shadow is a big black dog doesn’t sound that bad by comparison. There’s no Cruciatus, as long as he doesn’t get caught. On the other hand, Sirius is the guy who tricked a fellow student he didn’t like into entering a tunnel with a werewolf. And none of the Marauders ever actually confirmed that Remus wasn’t a willing participant in that plan. Why was he rolling up his sleeves in the Shrieking Shack if he was only planning a quick, clean death? Maybe Peter sincerely believed that whatever Sirius and Remus would do to him was so terrible, and living in fear of it so unbearable, that Voldemort didn’t automatically look like the worst choice.
And why didn’t Dumbledore send Sirius after Peter? Um. I’m sure we would all like to think that Sirius, unlike Quirrell, would be protected by plot armor if he ended up in Albania and would never return to Britain with a spiffy new turban. Or a motorcycle helmet and a sudden obsession with traffic safety. But…well, would you want a Voldemort with all of Sirius’s cleverness and skill at nasty curses to draw on? Me neither.
How he convinced Sirius not to hunt Peter is another question. Though did Sirius know Voldemort was in Albania? Maybe Dumbledore, ah, neglected to mention that, and Sirius was grimly hunting tropical islands for rats between replying to Harry’s letter and drinking rum.
no subject
Date: 2023-03-09 02:21 am (UTC)Honestly, pretending to be a pet in wizarding family is very risky, no matter if Peter stayed in UK or not. First, in wizarding homes, you can cast spells so even if nobody suspects their pet to be an adult man in disguise accidents happen. Maybe startled child performs accidental magic on Peter and their concerned guardians perform some kind of diagnostic spell to make sure kid's pet is ok. Or maybe Hogwarts-aged child tests out some harmless spells on their pet... Possibilities are infinite.
Second, for all lack of common sense wizards tends to know the differences between magical and mundane animals and objects. Magical rats live slightly longer than normal rats, half-kneazles are smarter than normal cats, etc. The only reason Peter wasn't busted by Molly and Artur is sheer dumb luck and both of them being too busy to take a closer look at what their kids are up to.
What I think would be an interesting scenario is Harry accidentally adopting rat!Peter* after the first year (so it wouldn't be obvious to the reader) and then discovering in PoA that his pet rat was the man who for one reason or another betrayed his parents. It gives slightly more omph to emotional impact and considering how selectively perceptive Harry is, it is very plausible.
*obviously in this scenario Peter was never Weasley's pet rat.
no subject
Date: 2023-03-11 04:38 am (UTC)Harry adopting a "found" Scabbers might have been really interesting. It would fit with a Peter who kind of wants to keep an eye on Harry and help him because he feels guilty, but fails catastrophically because of cowardice at critical moments. And it would give Harry a more meaningful pet than Hedwig, whose functions could have been almost entirely replaced by a series of communal school owls Harry borrows whenever he needs one. (I think it was Dan Hemmens who summarized the Battle of the Seven Potters as "Harry's mail client goes down." Harsh, but true.) But then Harry would have had to care about an apparently weak and helpless pet he actually had to take care of every day, which might have been good for him but apparently wouldn't teach Harry anything Rowling wanted him to learn.