Why Voldemort Called Peter Pettigrew 'Wormtail' - Harry Potter Theory

Hey everyone,

Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going to be discussing both Peter Pettigrew and Lord Voldemort. More specifically, however, we’re going to be identifying why on earth Lord Voldemort continued to call Pettigrew by his ‘Marauder’ nickname. Now- one thing is for certain-Voldemort and Wormtail certainly don’t have a lot in common- but one thing they DO have in common is that they use an alias that deviates from their birth name. Voldemort was born Tom Riddle, but chose the name Voldemort to shed his muggle fathers name, and Wormtail was born Peter Pettigrew, but was donned ‘Wormtail’ by his fellow Marauders. The difference, however, is that Peter Pettigrew was really only known as ‘Wormtail’ by his inner circle- where Voldemort became widely known under his new alias. So, again, why did Voldemort call Pettigrew by his nickname?

From the group of Marauders- comprised of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter & Peter Pettigrew, Pettigrew was the defector. All 4 boys began attending Hogwarts in the year 1971, and each of them were sorted in to Gryffindor. This was the initial basis of their friendship- a friendship that held strong for many years- but certainly not forever. The Marauders were hellbent on breaking the rules at the school, and were notorious for their rule-breaking and mischief making. The group existed for 7 years, from 1971-1978, and all members were active participants in the first wizarding war. The boys formed such a strong bond that they all had nicknames for each other- Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs. Though the 4 boys were friends, Wormtail was always a bit ‘different’ than the other Marauders- less magically talented, a bit more snivelly, and just..A bit of an outsider. He had a weak character, and this is exemplified in the actions that he took later in life... but we’ll get to that in a second.

Of course, despite Wormtail’s weak character, he never did anything to raise too many alarm bells, and so the 3 other marauders stuck by his side. They all eventually joined the Order of the phoenix, and while Pettigrew proved trustworthy at first, this all changed when he was made ‘secret keeper’ for the Potter family.

After being made secret keeper, Peter Pettigrew revealed his true colours, and in one infamous act of cowardice and disloyalty, revealed the location of the Potter cottage to Voldemort.. It was at this moment that this snivelling, disloyal man had secured his placement as a death eater - a loyal servant of the dark lord. You see, Peter had a tendency to cling to those in power- which-in his school days were the Marauders- and later, was Voldemort. After graduating from Hogwarts, he witnessed the rise of Voldemort first-hand, and, out of fear and cowardice, decided that he would rather serve Voldemort than become another one of his victims. Something unusual that I noticed, however, is that even after switching sides, Voldemort, along with many of the death eaters, continued to call him by his marauder name - Wormtail. I don’t think they called him by the name Wormtail unintentionally either, they were making a statement.

I think that, among other reasons, Voldemort called Pettigrew Wormtail to remind him of the people that he had betrayed. Wormtail already lacked strength of character, and reminding him of his betrayal only kept him further in line- ensuring that he would never have the mental strength to question his bidding. It was a demonstration of power and dominance- and while the childhood nickname may have been ‘fun’ during his time at Hogwarts, it wasn’t a name that fit a wizard in adulthood- it was humiliating. Broken apart, the words ‘Worm’ and ‘Tail’ don’t exactly command respect either - a constant reminder of his animagus form- a rat. I think another component to Voldemort using the name Wormtail was that it dehumanized Pettigrew- relegating him to his animal status. Whichever way you look at it, the name ‘Wormtail’ certainly wasn’t used warmly- it was just a constant reminder of the terrible person he had become.

And that’s it for this video! If you enjoyed the video please like it and subscribe to the channel.

Until next time

What would you have done, Sirius?

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[HarryPotterTheory]

Thanks for watching folks. Why do YOU think Voldemort called him by his MARAUDERS nickname? Leave a comment down below.

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[holly-hobbiest]

Voldemort called Peter pettigrew wormtail to remind him that he respects an elf more than Peter

[HarryPotterFolklore]

Such a simple question yet entertaining and definitely deserves such a quick view count

[aquamarin]

"We... we are alone, aren't we?" Narcissa asked quietly.

'Yes, of course. Well, Wormtail's here, but we're not counting vermin, are we?"

Snape to Narcissa before the unbeakable vow.

[rustydaboyrobot]

"Wormtail" reminds Peter that he betrayed his friends to belong to Voldemort. In other words, it reminds Peter the high cost he paid to be a servant, helping him stay loyal to Voldemort.

[koenigsaad]

hagrid: there isnt a witch or wizard that went bad who wasnt in slytherin
pettigrew

[babadraga]

I always thought Voldemort continued calling him Wormtail to constantly remind him of the cowardly piece of shit that he is, the one that betrayed his best friends who called him that with nothing but love in mind. It would be in Voldemorts character to rub that in his face for the rest of his life.

Edit: yaaaa called it lol

[ronnaketsiko]

Voldemort, despite of him being a bitch (I dont know whats the right term hehe), value the loyalty. So calling him as Wormtail is like a long term insult for Wormtail cuz he betrayed his only friends.

[hunterkiller]

Peter Pettigrew is gone. He was weak and foolish like his friends, so Wormtail destroyed him.

To the Muggle born Nerfherders: It's a Star Wars joke.

[jrcook-]

I think that's the name he gave Voldemort when he joined up. He probably wanted to remain somewhat anonymous, and he couldn't face using his own name in doing what he ended up doing. Over time, the name kind of stuck.

[Zando]

It isn’t just Voldemort. There is a shift after the 3rd book where everyone goes from calling him Peter or Pettigrew to exclusively Wormtail. Its never really explained and I didn’t really notice that until it was pointed out to me.

[TheBookloverforever]

Voldemort just wanted to be one of the cool gang.

[krystalkayne]

Sirius: I would have died rather than betray my friends!

[justineck]

Pettigrew is from a French phrase that means "little goose" and is used to mean "little man." His name literally means "give up little man." Wormtail is an improvement.

[GanonGhidorah]

I actually thought about it earlier this week. Not only does Voldemort do it, but so does Snape; so I think that on some level, all the Death Eaters must do it.
I think they do it out of a sign of contempt; Pettigrew is a coward, a sniveling weakling who is only on their side because now he definitively has no choice. And moreso, if he is in his 30s, then that means that he spent nearly _half of his life_ disguised as a Rat just to try and hide from them.
I think that calling him "Wormtail" is to remind him of how little they think of him; how _low_ he is to them. I doubt that any of them even want to _touch_ him considering how dirty they find him to be.

But for Snape, I'd venture that there is something else beneath the surface. Not only was Peter one of the Marauders - the bullies who tormented Snape at school - but also the fact that he is the one who _truly_ sold James and Lilly to Voldemort. Effectively, Peter is the reason that Lilly is dead. I can sense that Snape should have radiating waves of _pure hatred_ for the Man...if he can even see him as a man anymore. It was probably a test of Snape's loyalty that Voldemort sent Pettigrew to be Snape's servant over the summer in Half-Blood Prince; to see if he would lash-out at him due to his love for Lilly.
Must've taken a great deal of restraint for Snape not too. But I feel with Snape, calling him "Wormtail" is a bit different than calling him "low" or "dirty" or "cowardly." I think Snape is genuine in his feelings that he is calling Pettigrew, "A Rat."

[שרלילה-גכ]

I still never understood why he was sorted into Gryffindor. Gryffindor values courage so much, but Pettigrew was the biggest coward.

[gibbeldon]

I was wondering about this ever since I heard it.
My theory is that Voldemort, once he learned about the nickname, found it amusing and befitting for such a, even in his eyes, disgusting creature.
Henceforth he used it to show his disrespect for such a disloyal, weak minded and unskilled wizard.

Even as Peter Pettigrew was the only one of the free Deatheaters to seek Voldemort out and help him back to power, Voldemort still had no respect for Wormtail.
As he points out in the Goblet of Fire, Pettigrew only came back to him out of fear of his former friends. His 'reward' for helping him getting his body back also proved to be a deadly trap, for Voldemort knew exactly that Wormtail would betray him in an instant whenever he saw benefit in that.

Voldemort cannot stand weakness. During the series he shows respect for wizards who oppose him with bravery, even for his enemies as long as they remain loyal to their believes. Therefore he has no respect for Pettigrew and doesn't shy away from showing it by calling him Wormtail. The only reason Wormtail is allowed to be a deatheater is his usefulness. But even after helping Voldemort getting his body back he remained the lowest of the deatheaters. As we can see by the way he is treated rather as a servant and not as equal.

[amadhatter]

My theory Voldemort called him Wormtail as both insulting Peter, but the marauders as well. Voldemort for all his bad traits does value loyalty to some degree (likely why he kept the Malfoy's alive because they were loyal to him); So calling him Wormtail might be as an insult to betraying his friends, a true traitor only loyal to himself not to Voldemort.

[nathan]

Could you do a theory on why James wasn't his own secret keeper like Bill was for Shell Cottage?

[romasrivastava]

Voldemort called Peter Pettigrew Wormtail because he wanted to remind Peter Pettigrew that he had betrayed his only friends. Voldemort also changed his name from Tom Marvolo Riddle to Lord Voldemort just like Peter Pettigrew did from Peter Pettigrew to his marauder name- Wormtail by the other marauders.