Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

by

J. K. Rowling

Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew Character Analysis

Scabbers is Ron's rat, but later in the book it is revealed that he is really the wizard Peter Pettigrew who has taken a rat form. The Weasley family adopted Scabbers (the rat) thirteen years ago; he used to belong to Percy but was passed down to Ron when Percy got an owl. Ron begins to notice Scabbers's health declining in the weeks before Hermione adopts her cat Crookshanks, who is intent on catching Scabbers. This continues for months until Ron discovers blood on his sheets and assumes that Scabbers is dead. However, Hermione finds Scabbers hiding in Hagrid's hut months later. After Harry, Ron, and Hermione end up in the Shrieking Shack with Lupin and Sirius Black, they learn the truth about Scabbers's true identity: the rat is actually the animal form of the wizard Peter Pettigrew. As a boy Pettigrew was friends with James, Lupin, and Sirius. He wasn't very smart but managed to become an Animagus as a fifth year. During Voldemort's rise to power, however, he aligned himself with Voldemort but remained a double agent. Sirius insists that this is very in character for Pettigrew, who always wanted to align himself with whomever had the most power and would be able to protect him. After being made the Secret Keeper for the Potters, Pettigrew shared their location with Voldemort, which resulted in their death. Days later, he framed Black, the Potters' first Secret Keeper, by yelling that Black killed Lily and James, blowing up a street and killing twelve muggles, and cutting off his finger before turning into a rat and going into hiding. Black then went to Azkaban for Pettigrew's crimes. Harry finds Pettigrew revolting and pathetic. Pettigrew simpers, pleads for mercy, and insists that there was no reason to stand up to Voldemort when he started to come to power. Harry stops Lupin and Black from killing Pettigrew, though this results in Pettigrew's escape.

Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew Quotes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban quotes below are all either spoken by Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew or refer to Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Justice Theme Icon
).
Chapter Thirteen Quotes

Hermione burst into tears. Before Harry could say or do anything, she tucked the enormous book under her arm, and, still sobbing, ran toward the staircase to the girls' dormitories and out of sight.

"Can't you give her a break?" Harry asked Ron quietly.

"No," said Ron flatly. "If she just acted like she was sorry--but she'll never admit she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting like Scabbers has gone on vacation or something."

Related Characters: Harry Potter (speaker), Ron Weasley (speaker), Hermione Granger, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, Crookshanks
Page Number: 265
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Fourteen Quotes

"I'm not blamin' yeh!" said Hagrid, waving Harry's apology aside. "Gawd knows yeh've had enough ter be gettin' on with. I've seen yeh practicin' Quidditch ev'ry hour o' the day an' night--but I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's all."

Related Characters: Rubeus Hagrid (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew
Page Number: 274
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Sixteen Quotes

"THE DARK LORD LIES ALONE AND FRIENDLESS, ABANDONED BY HIS FOLLOWERS. HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED THESE TWELVE YEARS. TONIGHT, BEFORE MIDNIGHT...THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE AND SET OUT TO REJOIN HIS MASTER. THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT'S AID, GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN EVER BEFORE."

Related Characters: Professor Trelawney (speaker), Harry Potter, Sirius Black, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, Voldemort
Page Number: 324
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Eighteen Quotes

"I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth...

"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."

Related Characters: Professor Lupin (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Sirius Black, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, James Potter
Page Number: 354
Explanation and Analysis:

"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless--carried away with our own cleverness."

Related Characters: Hermione Granger (speaker), Professor Lupin (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Sirius Black, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, James Potter
Page Number: 355
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Nineteen Quotes

"But if--if there was a mistake--"

"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

Related Characters: Hermione Granger (speaker), Professor Snape (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Professor Lupin, Sirius Black, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew
Page Number: 360
Explanation and Analysis:

"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple...so brilliant...he cut if off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself--and sped down into the sewer with the other rats..."

Related Characters: Professor Lupin (speaker), Sirius Black (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Professor Lupin, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, Lily Potter
Page Number: 363
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Twenty-Two Quotes

"It didn't make any difference," said Harry bitterly. "Pettigrew got away."

"Didn't make any difference?" said Dumbledore quietly. "It made all the difference in the world, Harry. You helped uncover the truth. You saved an innocent man from a terrible fate."

Related Characters: Harry Potter (speaker), Albus Dumbledore (speaker), Sirius Black, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew
Page Number: 425
Explanation and Analysis:
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Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew Quotes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban quotes below are all either spoken by Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew or refer to Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Justice Theme Icon
).
Chapter Thirteen Quotes

Hermione burst into tears. Before Harry could say or do anything, she tucked the enormous book under her arm, and, still sobbing, ran toward the staircase to the girls' dormitories and out of sight.

"Can't you give her a break?" Harry asked Ron quietly.

"No," said Ron flatly. "If she just acted like she was sorry--but she'll never admit she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting like Scabbers has gone on vacation or something."

Related Characters: Harry Potter (speaker), Ron Weasley (speaker), Hermione Granger, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, Crookshanks
Page Number: 265
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Fourteen Quotes

"I'm not blamin' yeh!" said Hagrid, waving Harry's apology aside. "Gawd knows yeh've had enough ter be gettin' on with. I've seen yeh practicin' Quidditch ev'ry hour o' the day an' night--but I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's all."

Related Characters: Rubeus Hagrid (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew
Page Number: 274
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Sixteen Quotes

"THE DARK LORD LIES ALONE AND FRIENDLESS, ABANDONED BY HIS FOLLOWERS. HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED THESE TWELVE YEARS. TONIGHT, BEFORE MIDNIGHT...THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE AND SET OUT TO REJOIN HIS MASTER. THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT'S AID, GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN EVER BEFORE."

Related Characters: Professor Trelawney (speaker), Harry Potter, Sirius Black, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, Voldemort
Page Number: 324
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Eighteen Quotes

"I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth...

"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."

Related Characters: Professor Lupin (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Sirius Black, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, James Potter
Page Number: 354
Explanation and Analysis:

"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless--carried away with our own cleverness."

Related Characters: Hermione Granger (speaker), Professor Lupin (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Sirius Black, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, James Potter
Page Number: 355
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Nineteen Quotes

"But if--if there was a mistake--"

"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

Related Characters: Hermione Granger (speaker), Professor Snape (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Professor Lupin, Sirius Black, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew
Page Number: 360
Explanation and Analysis:

"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple...so brilliant...he cut if off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself--and sped down into the sewer with the other rats..."

Related Characters: Professor Lupin (speaker), Sirius Black (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Professor Lupin, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, Lily Potter
Page Number: 363
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Twenty-Two Quotes

"It didn't make any difference," said Harry bitterly. "Pettigrew got away."

"Didn't make any difference?" said Dumbledore quietly. "It made all the difference in the world, Harry. You helped uncover the truth. You saved an innocent man from a terrible fate."

Related Characters: Harry Potter (speaker), Albus Dumbledore (speaker), Sirius Black, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew
Page Number: 425
Explanation and Analysis: