Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today we're discussing Wormtail, Voldemort, The Potters, and the fabled Prophecy. More specifically, we're going to be addressing one very big question: WHAT IF Wormtail NEVER betrayed the Potters?
When Peter Pettigrew first came to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it is said that the Sorting Hat took an entire five minutes before deciding to place him in Gryffindor. As we are to understand it, the Hat was wavering between Gryffindor and Slytherin, showing very early on that Pettigrew had inclinations towards the characteristics most seen in students of the green and silver House. That later became obvious after Sirius Black revealed Peter to be a traitor and Death Eater who had framed him for Pettigrew’s crimes, faked his own death, and lived as a rat for 12 years, Peter was actually quite clever, ambitious, and resourceful – the main characteristics of a Slytherin pupil. In any case, having been sorted into Gryffindor, he very obviously lacked the qualities of his fellow House mates – he was not particularly brave or courageous, and being that he was somewhat of an underdog himself, he never stood up for the “little guy.”