My Logical Brain Agrees, But My Heart Can't Help But Support Unethical Haterism. To Some Degree It Will

Ohhh Harry's reflexes must be insane! And I totally agree with your arguments, although I'm not sure how cardiovascular endurance plays a part, sorry I'm a bit dumb xd and oh yes grip strength must be crazy too since he must be able to stay on the broom while it's flying super fast. That takes real physical strength in the arms and stomach muscles. His stamina is probably also high level.

Thanks for your imput ☺️

describing harry as "an insanely athletic man" while all he does is sit on a flying broom is crazy work

As a descendant of sea sponges, whose ancestors were ruthlessly exploited by Roman patricians for their decadent baths, as someone whose great-great-great-sponge ancestors experienced the full weight of class oppression when rich Romans used them in their thermal baths, as someone with deep sponge trauma, I understand better than anyone the dynamics between different social classes.

And I declare — James Potter didn't “bully” Snape because he was poor

HP Canon for the Game Avoidant: The Marauders Era

Now that I have your attention! There seems to be some need for it so I decided to write up one of those brief character profile posts I was talking about in the two earlier installations of this series. If you didn't see the previous parts, the whole purpose of this series is to give canon info that people might not be familiar with so they can see what the series has been up to and take from it what they like. I'm also including a heavy dose of Pottermore info on this post since that seems to get heavily ignored.

The Marauders were at Hogwarts 1971-1978, and I'll be covering all the people we know or suspect were at school at the same time as them (that means anyone that started Hogwarts between 1965 and 1977), all clearly marked with when they started Hogwarts and what House they were in when such details are known from canon. I also intended to give you a look into the relevant adults that were around, but this post got way too long for that. So you get a brief timeline summary instead.

(reminder for the non-gamers among us: if anyone is referred to as 'unnamed', that character is an empty slot to insert your OC into. You get to decide their name, appearance, and House among other factors all by yourself, canon sources simply provide the detail of what happens to them)

Briefly on the Timeline

Just so we're all on the same page! It was quite a time of change back then. Across the pond Rappaport's Law (banning wizard-muggle marriages in MACUSA-controlled areas) was repealed in 1965 as we know from Fantastic Beasts, so it was quite recent still, and the Ban on Experimental Breeding came into effect in Britain around that same time as per the books. Also, Albus Dumbledore most likely became Headmaster in mid 1960s, at which time Minerva McGonagall took over as the Head of Gryffindor and Head of the Transfiguration Department, as told us by the supplementary Pottermore materials. A slight bit later, before 1970 considering that's when the books say the war started, a previous DADA professor quit for whatever reason, just as Voldemort came back from continental Europe. Voldemort applied for the DADA professor job and came to the castle for his job interview, but Dumbledore basically told him "lol no". And ever since then no DADA professor of that position (it's unknown whether that position is 'Head of the DADA Department' or anything of the like) has been able to keep the job for more than a year. The ever-changing DADA professors were still a fairly new thing at the time period we'll be looking into, as there had only been 2-5 such one-year professors previously.

The sixties also saw some other notable events at the school and elsewhere, such as the highest scoring student quidditch match in the history of Hogwarts in the quidditch cup final in spring 1967, according to Hogwarts Mystery. The person responsible, Ethan Parkin, graduated shortly thereafter and enlisted as a chaser for the Wigtown Wanderers. That same year Devlin Whitehorn founded the Nimbus Racing Broom Company and has produced high quality professional brooms ever since. Societal changes also saw the Squib Rights March make waves in 1969, along with the pureblood riots in counter to that.

The Minister for Magic at the time of the Squib Rights March and the pureblood riots was Eugenia Jenkins. People on the whole liked her peacetime handling of the politics, but she was eventually ousted from office in 1975 when she failed to contain Voldemort's rise. A bloke called Harold Minchum became the Minister instead, and immediately stuffed Azkaban to the gills with even more dementors. His actions also failed to do anything about Voldemort. Finally in 1980, the decisive Millicent Bagnold became the Minister and saw the wizarding world to the end of the war, although probably not due to any action of hers.

As mentioned, the war started in 1970 and lasted for 11 years. Despite that Dumbledore was busy on other fronts too. Over summer 1971 he prepared the Shrieking Shack, had a tunnel dug from Hogwarts grounds all the way to Hogsmeade, and had the school's whomping willow replanted on top of the tunnel entrance, all to bring a werewolf to attend Hogwarts as a student. It was a risky maneuver as not only were they at war in which werewolves generally allied with Voldemort, but there was no wolfsbane potion yet so any lapse in security measures would mean a rabid werewolf running wild in Hogwarts itself.

For the faculty, Dumbledore was Headmaster, McGonagall taught transfiguration, Flitwick charms, Slughorn potions, and Hooch was the flying instructor. Binns was on History of Magic quite naturally. Care of Magical Creatures was taught by Silvanus Kettleburn, him of the missing limbs also mentioned in PoA, and Herbology most likely by Herbert Beery still, although that might have changed to Sprout sometime in the mid 70s. Filch might have become the caretaker as early as 1968, but might also be that he didn't start until further into the 70s and the previous caretaker by the name of Apollyon Pringle was still on staff until then. Same thing with Pince, she might have started as late as 1976 but could potentially have started earlier. The rest of the faculty is quite a bit harder to say anything about. Divination and Muggle Studies are a complete unknown since Trelawney didn't start until 1980 and Quirrell not until sometime in the early 80s, and while it's quite possible that Pomfrey was already on staff since she's old enough, the astronomy class or the other electives we have no word about one way or another.

Quidditch continued to be a big thing throughout the 1970s, which we know from the mini-book Quidditch Through the Ages. In 1974 the Quidditch World Cup final between Syria and Madagascar saw wands forbidden for the audience amid draconian security measures. The following year Fabius Watkins, chaser for the Montrose Magpies, died in a freak collision with a helicopter. They may have technically been at war, but quidditch must go on, and such.

And now that we know a bit of what was going on at the time, let's look at the list of known students at the time. I know for a fact that it's quite a bit longer than some (most?) people are expecting. I've gone over the data before and I didn't register just how many people we know who attended Hogwarts in those years (certainly I didn't think that there'd be enough for it to take four days to type up this post!). I honestly ended up skipping mention of most of the murkier cases, there were much too many of them to write even a brief description about all in a single post.

The Student List

(note that several students have been omitted due to there not being anything to say about their school years that isn't in the books, provided that the character in question isn't widely ignored by the fandom. Don't worry, there's no chance you could forget any of the omitted characters attended Hogwarts at this time period)

Duncan Ashe a Slytherin who started Hogwarts in 1974, at the time when Snape was a fourth year. He was friends with Olivia Green (a Ravenclaw), and Jacob the unnamed (has the same surname and Hogwarts house as the unnamed Hogwarts Mystery protagonist). He was largely unremarkable for most of the time Snape and others were still at Hogwarts, the major events of his life happened after their graduation. In specific, he and Jacob were used by the criminal organization known as R to advance their goals. Duncan was made to brew potions beyond his skill level and eventually one exploded on him and he died, most likely in early 1981 or late 1980. He's haunted the prefects' bathroom ever since and is incredibly jaded towards all living beings.

Bertram Aubrey was targeted at least once by James Potter and Sirius Black, with an illegal hex that made his head gigantic. Unlike most of their tormenting other students the two of them got caught this time, but just like all the other times they faced practically no consequences. I mean. Detention. For an illegal hex!! (did you know hexes are canonically Dark magic?) We don't know for sure which year he was in, but considering their modus operandi Bertram was likely younger than James and Sirius, or at most in their own year. It's also unknown what house he was in.

Avery (M) + Mulciber (M) are more than a bit of an unknown. They could have been years older or younger or even the same age as the Marauders, and we can't even be sure if they were in the same year with each other. One can have friends in different years after all. Both joined the Death Eaters after graduation and fought in the First War, and both also had a male relative who was friends with Voldemort back in his school days, but we don't know how exactly the new generation Avery and Mulciber are related to the older ones, and we don't know for how long they were Death Eaters during the First War. Aside from their actions in the Second War we know basically nothing about them. That, and how Lily Evans once claimed that they tried to use Dark magic on Mary MacDonald. Considering how vague the definition of Dark magic is and how we didn't actually witness this event in question, they might have used a jelly-leg jinx on her for all we know. Being a jinx it technically counts as Dark magic by canon definition! And that is, of course, if they weren't just using a non-Dark spell in ways that disgusted some who heard of it - canonically, Lily complained that their sense of humor is evil and therefore Dark, and gave no further hints on the identity of any possible spell used.

Narcissa Black (later Malfoy) started Hogwarts in 1966 or '67, so she was fifth or sixth year when Snape started at Hogwarts. Was also very much a Slytherin, and before her older sister Bellatrix had graduated (in 1969 or '70) she was already being courted by Lucius Malfoy. At Bellatrix's graduation she would have been on her fourth or fifth, possibly as early as third year. She was close to both her sisters all through their school years, real problems didn't start until Andromeda's graduation (likely before Snape came to Hogwarts) when she left to marry a muggleborn.

Sirius + Regulus Black I trust we all know no problem who these are supposed to be. I would just like to emphasize that while Blacks were basically extinct by the 1990s, in the 70s there were still plenty of them left. Including but not limited to their parents, their three cousins, their uncles Cygnus and Alphard, grandparents Pollux and Irma as well as Cygnus and Melania, great-aunts Cassiopeia and Dorea... and in fact, Dorea married Charlus Potter so some manner of family tie already existed between him and the Potters long before Sirius befriended James. Dorea may have died in '77, same as Alphard, but by that point Sirius had already lived with the Potters for several years. Who knows whether she had any interactions with Fleamont and Euphemia concerning Sirius. And let's not forget the squib great-uncle Marius, nothing better to stir up trouble than his sudden reappearance. Or the first cousins twice removed Callidora, Cedrella, and Charis, of whom Cedrella married a Weasley (and was disinherited for it), which means Arthur Weasley is Sirius and Regulus's second cousin once removed. Hell, since Charis married a Crouch and had a son and three daughters it's in fact entirely possible that Barty Senior is also one of their second cousins once removed (yeah the math of their ages does work out), which in turn would make Barty Junior into their third cousin. And let's not forget that Callidora married a Longbottom so there's also Longbottom cousins somewhere, a man and a woman specifically even though we don't know their names or whether they had any children roughly Sirius and Regulus's age. And then there's the Gamp cousins and Crabbe cousins, but we know zilch about them other than that they likely exist. Clearly all these are an opportunity to expand, yeah? The web of various cousins the Blacks have is huge.

Greta Catchlove started Hogwarts in 1971 or '72, making her either be in the same year as Snape or the year below (same year as Regulus Black). She's a bitpart character at most, but what she'll eventually be known for is writing the book Charm Your Own Cheese. Clearly a homemaking type.

Glenda Chittock started in 1975 or '76 when Snape was a fifth or sixth year. It's unknown what house she was sorted into, but a personality like hers she was probably very outgoing, and as such would have been much more visible to older students. After graduation she became the host of the enormously popular radio programme Witching Hour.

Dirk Cresswell started Hogwarts in 1972 in an unknown house, back when Snape was a second year (and in the same year as Regulus Black). As a muggleborn the current goings-on of the wizarding world would have been highly relevant to him. He was also one of Professor Slughorn's favorite students. Anyone who intends to write about Regulus in his school years would do themselves a favor to pay attention to this character. We don't know much about him, but by the 1990s he was Head of the Goblin Liaison Office. He was also married and had an unknown number of sons. He was killed in 1998 by a group of Snatchers during the Second War.

Bartemius Crouch Jr unlike what some people would have you believe, Barty started Hogwarts in 1973, possibly '74, when the Marauders were in their third or fourth year. Sirius saw him after his trial and identified him as "no more than 19". That was early 1982. The canon is what the canon is. What Sirius says also underlines that he'd never seen Barty in his life before they were both in Azkaban, at least not so that Sirius would have paid any attention to this random kid. I also pointed out in Sirius's section that there's a chance the two are third cousins, but at the same time - how many people know who their third cousins are? Clearly Sirius didn't, if they're actually related in that way.

Mundungus Fletcher the series is very reluctant to give out info on Dung for some reason. However, from the hints given he started Hogwarts sometime after 1968 or so (after Filch was already caretaker) and no later than 1973 (was banned from Hog's Head in 1975). Either way he attended Hogwarts at least some of the same time as Snape did, although could be a couple years younger or older. His Hogwarts house isn't known either, and while we know all of his family is dead by the the late 80s, we don't even know when exactly they died. Or for that matter, when and why Dung joined the Order of the Phoenix. Because oh yes, here we have an Order member who supposedly fights alongside the Marauders in the First War, canonically knew both Lily and James well, and is more or less their age even. And yet, how often do you see Dung's existence so much as acknowledged? I guess an alcoholic petty thief just doesn't cut it for some fans.

Shane Golding a largely unknown entity, most of what he know of Shane comes from his wife Glenna (née Merriweather). He was either the same age or a bit older than Glenna, so likely started Hogwarts in the late 60s, and would have been roughly the same age as Narcissa Black. His House is unknown. After the wedding, he moved into the old Merriweather house in Hogsmeade. Sometime between late 80s and early 90s him and Glenna had a son, Nyle, who was born a squib. He wasn't discouraged by it though and did his best to include Nyle in wizarding daily life. He died over christmas 2010 of unknown causes.

Olivia Green started Hogwarts in 1974 when Snape was in his fourth year. Was sorted Ravenclaw, and was friends with the Slytherin student Duncan Ashe as well as Jacob, who shares his surname and house both with the unnamed protagonist of Hogwarts Mystery. While a lot happened over their school years, most of it happened in their last years at Hogwarts when Snape and the others had already graduated. To make a long story short, the international criminal organization known as R was using the boys for some of their dirty work inside Hogwarts. An unknown time after graduating in spring 1981 she was accepted into the Department of Mysteries as an Unspeakable. In 1990-91 she became the year's DADA professor as a personal favor to Dumbledore, although was careful to resign when the year was up so as not to suffer worse consequences from the curse. Afterwards, she joined up with the Rare, Obscure and Confounding Case division at the Ministry, who mainly go after international crime.

Daisy Hookum started Hogwarts in 1973 or '74, when Snape was third or fourth year, and attended an unknown house. We don't know much about her, except that after she graduated she gave up magic for a while and wrote the bestseller My Life as a Muggle. She also married celebrity herbologist Tilden Toots at some point, who'd been 2-4 years above her at Hogwarts.

Bertha Jorkins Sirius mentions she was a few years above him at Hogwarts, so she would have started attending around 1969, in an unknown house. She was a plump teenager with a nose for gossip and a memory for personal details. She must have been quite the memorable gossip for Sirius to have remembered and reviled her despite her being just a random older student, although if there was any particular incident behind that dislike we don't know about it for sure. Dumbledore may give a hint via pensieve though, when he goes through the trouble of finding a memory of her gossiping about a 'him' and a 'Florence' kissing behind the greenhouses. Why show Harry that particular memory of her if it had no relevance? Regardless of speculation, she went on to find employment at the Department of Magical Games and Sports an unknown time after graduation, where she eventually found out about Barty Crouch Senior's busting his son out of Azkaban and keeping him imprisoned inside the family home. The resulting obliviation to keep her quiet frayed her mind enough that she became known as particularly absent-minded, despite her mental acuity in her Hogwarts years. And of course, she was killed with Voldemort's wand in summer 1994 in Albania.

Gilderoy Lockhart started Hogwarts in 1975 when Snape was a fifth year, and was sorted Ravenclaw. In his school years was known for his grandiose stunts, such as carving his name on the quidditch pitch in twenty foot high letters, and sending a picture of his face in the sky in imitation of the Dark Mark. This is not a student that anyone who attended at the same time could have ignored or overlooked. Gilderoy graduated in spring 1982, after the war was already over. He wasted no time going for fame however, as even if he wrote just one book a year that means his first was published two years after his graduation - and that's calculated based on just the books that we know about from canon. And, as I'm sure we all remember, each of those books was him listening to the story of the person who actually did the deed and then obliviating them.

Frank Longbottom + Alice (maiden name unknown) while far from being in the same year as Snape (auror training takes three years and we know that Frank and Alice were both aurors before the end of the war), it's in fact quite likely that Frank and Alice were among the older students when Snape first started at Hogwarts. We know this also from the age of Augusta Longbottom (Frank's mother), who had to have been in the same year as Minerva McGonagall for Minerva to know her OWL scores intimately well. The time between Augusta's school years and the time required for Frank to become an established and well respected auror before 1981 when put together mean he likely started Hogwarts sometime around 1967, and thus would've been a fifth year when Snape was a firstie. Alice can't have been far behind for her to be a well respected auror too, before 1981. Additionally, we know Frank was a Gryffindor, but Alice's house is uncertain. It's more than likely both of them had graduated by spring 1976 at the absolute latest and went straight to auror training. If they took time off to do something else between graduation and auror training, Frank at the very least would have already graduated before Snape started Hogwarts, otherwise there's no time to establish a well respected pillar of the community type career.

Mary Macdonald an unknown entity who was a Gryffindor at least partially around the same time that Snape attended Hogwarts, as we know she was there when Snape was in his fifth year. It's noteworthy that Lily Evans refers to her by her full name despite the two being in the same house, meaning she either doesn't know her very well or she knows multiple Marys so she has to specify which one she's talking about.

Lucius Malfoy good ol' Lucy started Hogwarts in 1965 and was a seventh year when Snape was on his first. He was also one of the Slytherin prefects so younger students, even firsties, would have had reason to interact with him more than any non-prefect older student. By the time he was in his seventh year he'd been courting Narcissa Black for several years already.

M.G. McGonagall won an award of some sort for playing quidditch at Hogwarts in 1971, so they were definitely a student in at least Snape's first year, probably for longer. The last name and the sorting to Gryffindor indicates this was probably one of the nieces and nephews of Minerva McGonagall, and their father was either Malcolm or Robert Junior. The latter was killed sometime during the First War, which means basically the 70s. It's a quite relevant point to remember when writing Minerva McGonagall too, that she lost a brother in the war most likely when the Marauders were still at school.

Tarquin McTavish started Hogwarts in 1966 or '67, so he was a fifth or sixth year when Snape started school. Coincidentally, it's likely that he was in the same year as Narcissa Black. Nothing is known about him though, except that later in his life he was sentenced to Azkaban for trapping a muggle neighbor inside his kettle.

Glenna Merriweather (later Golding) one of the two daughters of the Hogsmeade Merriweathers, Glenna attended Hogwarts mainly in the 1970s. She could be a couple years older than Snape or even up to the same age, although what House she was in is unknown. She has pale blue eyes and brown hair in intricately arranged braids. Her home is located roughly behind Gladrags in Hogsmeade, on a road that leads towards the Shrieking Shack, and it's haunted by her great-great-great-grandfather Morven who built the house. She had a squib sister who was much younger than her, to the degree that when the squib was ousted from the family and left in the muggle world she retained no memories of the wizarding world, but Glenna still remembered her. The Squib Rights March in 1969 would have been of extreme importance to Glenna, even though she was likely too young to attend. Glenna went on to have a job at the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. Married Shane Golding an unknown time after graduation, and the two had a squib son, Nyle. After Shane's death over christmas 2010 she joined NOTME (more about NOTME in the post handling post-books events) in order to expose magic to muggles and through that create better conditions for squibs. It's also very much worth noting that Glenna's squib sister married a muggle, and they had at least one muggle daughter, and that daughter had at least one child who was a muggleborn witch or wizard. This is the same unnamed muggleborn who is the protagonist of Magic Awakened.

Sturgis Podmore started Hogwarts in 1968 most likely, and as such was a fourth year when Snape and the others started school. He was sorted to an unknown House. His graduation in 1975 afforded him plenty of time to join the Order of the Phoenix during the First Wizarding War and actually be useful. By the end of the war he had potentially been fighting for up to six years, although we don't know when he joined the Order exactly. In his adult life lived in Clapham (in London), and continued being an Order member in the Second War. Unfortunately, he was Imperius'd in the Death Eaters' efforts to enter the Department of Mysteries, and was sentenced to six months in Azkaban. For some reason I've never seen Sturgis mentioned when the time period in question comes up. Funny how it goes. This is canonically supposed to be one of the Marauders' brothers in arms though.

James Potter Just like I felt the need to point out with Sirius and Regulus, the Potter family (or at least this branch of it) wasn't always on the verge of disappearing. We don't know much about the Potters, but we do know that in the 70s there was still Charlus and his wife Dorea, even though we don't know their exact relation to James and Fleamont. What should also be taken into account is that Charlus and Dorea had a son, he would have been a cousin of some sort to James. It's unknown when this cousin died or why, we just know it happened before October 1981.

Gethsemane Prickle started Hogwarts in 1969, so she was a third year when Snape came along. We don't know her House, but at least in later life she's a prickly and strict personality, wears glasses and her hair in a bun, and is a notably good potioneer, even if she decided to not make a career out of it. She took NEWT level Potions, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures at the very least. After graduation she went to work at the Ministry, and starting in 2003 won every consecutive Ministry Exstimulo Potion Brewing Contest for the next 17 years. By around 2015 she was the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and while we don't know for sure when exactly she got the job she definitely went far in her career.

Quirinus Quirrell a bit of an unknown, but he almost definitely attended Hogwarts (as a Ravenclaw) in time to share at least part of his school years with Snape, if not most of them - and there is that slight chance that he was in the same year. Not very likely though, considering that he was picked up as a professor (of Muggle Studies!) sometime in the early 1980s, and if him and Snape are the same age then Snape's age kind of fails to stand out for being hired. Regardless, it would have been fairly close. Of Quirrell's school years we know that he was bullied and turned to the Dark Arts because of that, in an effort to find something to 'prove' himself. His sabbatical year in 1990-91 with its end result of Voldemort almost being resurrected would never have happened if he hadn't been bullied, so he has kind of a major impact in the Second War beyond the obvious. And, lest the memory elude you for the moment, what Quirrell got for it was being either killed (movies) or severely wounded (books) in June 1992.

Patricia Rakepick started at Hogwarts in 1967 and was sorted Gryffindor, which makes her a fifth year when Snape was a firstie. She was always an out of control student who routinely broke school rules just for the fun of it, and was despised by most if not all of her teachers. Some among the students loved her though - mainly the Marauders. Rakepick loved to jump in on them tormenting Snape in particular and had good rapport with James and Sirius for that. They were close enough that Rakepick had seen the Marauder's Map and knew how it works, although that can be interpreted as the boys wanting to show off to an older girl instead of actual friendship. She graduated in spring 1974 when the Marauders and Snape were finishing their third year. After graduating Rakepick eventually became a cursebreaker for Gringotts, and was good enough at it that by late 80s she was famous worldwide. Less known is that by late 70s she had joined the criminal organization R. Around early to mid 80s she had teamed up with Jacob (him of the unnamed surname) and then locked him in one of the Cursed Vaults they were investigating, dooming him to eventual madness and death. Dumbledore hired her as a DADA professor for 1988-89. At the end of the school year she attempted sealing a bunch of students in the same Vault that Jacob was sealed in. When that failed she escaped, and later Avada Kedavra'd a sixth year student Rowan Khanna in late 1989. She was eventually imprisoned in Azkaban.

Evan Rosier once again we have a character that very little is known about. He was a Slytherin and later became one of Voldemort's most trusted Death Eaters. We can deduce that he probably shared at least a few years at Hogwarts with the Marauders since Sirius knew of him, and that considering they appear to share the same father (who was among Voldemort's original crowd from his own Hogwarts days) he has a younger brother called Felix. That's where it gets complicated since Felix didn't start Hogwarts until 1980 - the same year Evan was killed for resisting arrest. Evan can't have been still at school then either, as he was skilled enough to do some serious damage to the arresting auror Alastor Moody. The problem with saying he started Hogwarts in early 70s is his skill level and his high status with the Death Eaters. Those two seem to require someone far older than Sirius, but also the older you make him the more ridiculous the age gap between him and his brother becomes. Who even knows really, but the evidence does seem to point at him starting Hogwarts in the latter half of the 60s. We can also speculate that Evan and Felix's father the OG Death Eater might have gotten a young new wife at some point, which would explain the big age difference between the brothers, but that's pure speculation. There is also the tidbit that Sirius claims Evan was friends with Wilkes, but Sirius is unreliable on these things and the only thing we can really take from that is that Sirius canonically didn't know either of them other than for their names. Both Rosier and Wilkes were killed roughly around the same time though, so he might actually be on to something there.

Kingsley Shacklebolt there's no hard evidence, but Kingsley talks about James Potter as if he knew him. Considering that James canonically became a full-time Order member after graduation (James being an auror is pure fanon, sorry), and the fact that Kingsley didn't join the Order until the Second War, that pretty much just leaves Hogwarts as the time they met. He likely started Hogwarts in the latter half of the 60s and is of similar age to Lucius Malfoy and/or Narcissa Black, meaning he was at Hogwarts for a year or two at the same time as James and the others.

Stebbins (M) took the OWLs at the same time as Snape and the others, so he started Hogwarts in 1971 just the same as them. We don't know a single thing about him beyond that fact though, so it's OC creation time! He might have a son who attended the 1994 Yule Ball, as there's a Stebbins there. There's also a Stebbins who was an auror in the 1920s, so there's a potential grandfather or great uncle or whatever.

Tilden Toots started Hogwarts in 1970 or '71, and as such was either in the same year as Snape or one year above him. Other details of his student life aren't known, but he likely took NEWT Herbology at least. After graduation became a celebrity herbologist and a radio personality. Married the bestselling author Daisy Hookum at some point, who'd been two or three years below him at Hogwarts.

Sybill Trelawney probably started Hogwarts in the late 1960s, as she's young and still looking for her first job in 1980, but has had time for a brief marriage. It's possible she's of around the same age as Patricia Rakepick although could be younger by a couple years, making her probably somewhere between third and fifth year when Snape started at Hogwarts. Pottermore additionally reports that she was always very proud of her family ancestry and their abilities, so it's likely that if anyone took an interest in Divination while she was at school she would have gotten herself involved somehow as a supposed expert.

Dolores Umbridge must have started Hogwarts sometime between 1960s and '75, since she started working for the Ministry before she was 30 and we already see her there in 1990, although she's possibly been working there for some years by that point. Not too long though considering she isn't greying yet in 1995, which seems to favor starting Hogwarts in the 70s. We also know that she was sorted Slytherin. Here we have a rare potential girl Slytherin around the same age as the Marauders! She's also a rare half-blood Slytherin, which is bound to make her dynamic with the other kids in her house very interesting, not to mention her squib younger brother who she'd have done anything to conceal the existence of so it wouldn't affect her personally. As we all know, she committed quite the atrocities over the course of her life. By the early 90s she was Senior Undersecretary for the Minister for Magic and was creating anti-werewolf laws, and during the year of Voldemort's reign she was Head of the Muggleborn Registration Commission. She was imprisoned in Azkaban in 1998 after the Second War.

Wilkes (M) another one of them future Death Eaters we know almost nothing about. Sirius does say he's friends with Evan Rosier, but Sirius also claims that Snape used to hang out with Bellatrix who had long since graduated. So the only thing we can really say for sure is that he was in Slytherin, shared at least a few years with Sirius at Hogwarts (and was possibly in the same year as Rosier, but neither of them had any dealings with Sirius), and after graduation became a Death Eater who was killed by aurors in 1980. Since that coincides with Evan Rosier's death and Sirius does claim they're friends, there's some chance that the two were taken down together, but that's pure conjecture.

Florence (last name unknown) was snitched on to have been kissing a 'him' behind the greenhouses by Bertha Jorkins, and Bertha was friendly enough with her to call her by her first name only. She was probably in the same year (possibly even same house) as Bertha, or at the very least the two were friends. What's curious is that Bertha felt the need to snitch on her to Albus Dumledore of all people. Why report such a thing to the Headmaster? There could be any number of reasons, most of them very good fic material.

Jacob (unnamed) as already mentioned a couple times before, Jacob is the older brother of the unnamed protagonist of Hogwarts Mystery, and started school in 1974 when Snape started his fourth year, in the same house as the protagonist. He was initially groomed to become the next head of the criminal organization R after his father, but when he failed to meet expectations their focus switched to Jacob's younger sibling instead. Regardless, Jacob was a natural legilimens who received training for his gift from Dumbledore when the headmaster discovered the talent during his school years. If any of the Marauders paid any attention to him, it was likely through noticing Jacob was doing shady stuff around the school and meeting in secret with Dumbledore. Despite Dumbledore's inclination to keep him on no matter what, Jacob refused to tell the truth of what happened to cause the death of his friend Duncan Ashe and Dumbledore was forced to agree into expelling Jacob. His wand was snapped and the whole debacle widely reported in the Daily Prophet. The last of this all happened around 1980 though, when Snape and the others had long since graduated. Jacob was subsequently imprisoned within a portrait in one of the Cursed Vaults, from where he wasn't freed until early summer 1989. He then started hunting for Patricia Rakepick for what she'd done to him.

Also Consider

Mr + Mrs Brown In general, I find it a bit funny how the parents of other students in Harry and Draco's year get completely skipped over as if they don't exist, so let this stand in as a reminder that chances are, the majority of them shared at least some Hogwarts years with Snape and the others. And hey, if you're in need of some less white representation, there's a good chance that Lavender's father Mr Brown has Jamaican ancestry from a hundred years back. We know that there were Browns that arrived to Britain from Jamaica in 19th century, and while that's not a guarantee that the two appearances of Browns are related, there's no guarantee that they aren't either. They're also a particularly fascinating case since we know that at least in late 19th century, the (freshly from Jamaica) Browns owned a book store in Hogsmeade known as Tomes and Scrolls. That's fic fodder right there.

Amycus + Alecto Carrow We don't get ages for these two siblings, but we know they fought in the First Wizarding War for at least a few years. Like many other Death Eaters, there's some chance that they could have been older students when Snape started Hogwarts. Then again, they could already have been adults, but neither took the time to couple up before the war's end as far as we know, so it'd be realistic for them to be on the younger side. These two are a fairly good choice if you need to fill in some older Slytherin students.

Mr + Mrs Chang I offer you more diversity: the parents of poor Cho Chang. If even one of them was 20 when they had her, that parent would've started attending Hogwarts in 1970. That makes them a year older than Snape. Either way they probably shared at least a few years at Hogwarts with Snape and the others. See what I mean about the parents? You really shouldn't neglect the parents.

Gregory Cotton, Dougal McBride, others the thing with quidditch players is that they have a limited time on the pitch before they grow too old for the sport. Which then means that almost any professional British quidditch player in the 1980s or early 1990s can believably be made to attend Hogwarts in the 1970s, in a year of your choosing. Gregory was the Appleby Arrows Seeker in late 80s, while Dougal was the Pride of Portree Seeker, and the two had a bit of a rivalry going on.

Crabbe Senior + Goyle Senior + wives Considering that they both had sons of Harry and Draco's age, it's quite likely they were roughly around the same age as those two's fathers. This could mean that they've already graduated by the time Snape starts at Hogwarts, but they could also be among the older students in Slytherin.

Todd Cribb + Corrine (maiden name unknown) one of them couples that we don't technically know the ages of, but they look young enough in mid- to late 1980s when they appear in Hogwarts Mystery, so might just have attended Hogwarts in the 70s. Todd looks just like a self-important 25-year old to my eye, although that's just a personal opinion. It'd mean he would've started Hogwarts around 1974. Corrine is definitively a dark witch who takes pleasure in targeting magical creatures to use their parts for fun and profit, and while Todd tries his best, what he does usually amounts to petty theft at best. He's absolutely devoted to Corrine though. If you're in need of some light fun, add a young Todd and Corrine to your fanfic soup and watch the fireworks.

Lorcan d'Eath okay, so this one is a bit uncertain. Lorcan is a part vampire (someone whose parent was a vampire, and yes vampires can have children in the wizarding world), and we don't exactly know whether he attended Hogwarts. Considering the name he might've been French for what anyone knows and just sung in English for whatever reason, and that's on top of the whole 'part vampire' thing. He was born at the right time though, considering if he did attend Hogwarts he started in 1975 or '76. He went on to become a famous singer, and honestly? If he really did attend Hogwarts he probably made quite a splash, just like the Weird Sisters in the 80s. Not to mention the whole vampire thing. How often do you get a (part) vampire attending Hogwarts. No matter how much of an age difference there is, Lorcan would have garnered attention.

Bilius Finbok Bilius is one of those people who we don't get the age of, although considering that he has slightly graying hair in 2017 when we see him, it's entirely possible that he was a student in the 1970s should you feel like including him. He's a probably-Hufflepuff who lives in Cornwall at least as an adult, and dicks around with dangerous substances while being an experimental potioneer in his free time. Meaning he most probably took NEWT level Potions. He technically works at the Department of Intoxicating Substances at the Ministry, although might've been fired in 2017 after he was discovered using illegal ingredients.

Gerard Grey his age is unknown but he's definitely well into adulthood and definitely had a daughter in 1996-97 or so. He could well have attended Hogwarts in the 70s! He's stupidly tall and really buff, but what makes him interesting is that he was turned into a werewolf sometime over the course of his life. He takes a proactive approach and gathered himself a little pack of other werewolves that he protects at all costs, although that pack possibly didn't happen until after the wars were both over.

Rowena Rowle, Thorfinn Rowle members of the very large Rowle family that seems to keep producing girl children. We don't technically know how old Rowena is, but attending Hogwarts in the 1970s would fit just as well as any other option. Rowena is an employee of the Department of Mysteries (likely an Unspeakable) and appears to have been one since at least early 2010s, although probably quite a bit longer than that. And of course, Thorfinn is a Death Eater in the Second War. We don't have confirmation whether he'd already joined up in the First War or not, but since we get no hints on his age either it's entirely possible that he was a student in the 1970s.

Emmeline Vance a member of the Order of the Phoenix in both the First and Second War. We technically know nothing of her beyond that, but she's depicted as being fairly young-looking in all official art. One could suspect that she shared at least several years with Snape at Hogwarts.

Weasley cousins Honestly now. Considering how plentiful the Weasleys are and how much of a big deal is made out of there being too many Weasley cousins, it'd be more than a little unrealistic if there wasn't at least one or two Weasleys running around in the 70s. Go create some, shoo.

Wendy Wunderwind we have no indication whatsoever of this person's age, so she might as well have gone to Hogarts in the 1970s, right? She lives in Wrexham (in Wales) at least later in her life, and becomes an expert in weather modification charms. Sounds like someone useful to know, under specific circumstances!

(Likely) Not Attending in 1971-78

Bellatrix + Andromeda Black, Ted Tonks Bellatrix started Hogwarts in 1962 or '63, and as such she had most definitely graduated by the time Snape came along. Long before Snape ever even set foot in Hogwarts Bellatrix was already a marked Death Eater, since that happened before the war started. Andromeda we don't know for sure but since she's the middle sister she had to have started between 1963 and '65, depending on which years her sisters did (although the later years are more unlikely due to the birth of her child). Some configurations allow her to still be in her sixth or seventh year when Snape starts school, but in most sensible options she's already graduated by then. Regardless, she started secretly dating Ted Tonks while they were still at Hogwarts and married him shortly after. This is also the reason Ted Tonks is very unlikely to still be at Hogwarts when Snape is there. Their only child was born in 1972-73, not that there's any certainty her sisters or anyone else would have known about it at least immediately, but that's why it's very likely she and Ted didn't share Hogwarts years with Snape any more than Bellatrix did. You have Andromeda still be a student in 1971-72 and there's a good chance she got pregnant while at Hogwarts. Her free choice to marry a muggleborn in opposition to her family would turn into a scramble to get married for the kid's sake.

Marlene McKinnon (unknown if maiden name or married name) a complete unknown other than for being a core member of the Order of the Phoenix in summer 1981, and was said to be extremely skilled. Was not especially close to Lily Evans or Sirius Black as she was obliquely referenced as one of 'the McKinnons', although was their common acquaintance through the Order. She was killed "along with her family" in late summer that year, s per Moody, although we don't know if by 'family' they meant her parents and siblings, or whether they meant her husband and kids, or possibly both of the above. Her being especially targeted by the Death Eaters and killed along with said 'family' hints that she's no fresh-faced graduate but a recurring nuisance throughout the war who ran the risk of inspiring others to resist, to the degree that she along with her whole family had to be made into a warning to not go against them.

Dorcas Meadowes A full member of the Order of the Phoenix in the First War, and enough of a threat to Voldemort that he had to kill her himself. This is not something a literal child could have made happen. She was more than likely an active member of the resistance for the duration of the war to be so special. This powerhouse was most definitely nowhere near Hogwarts in the 70s unless it was to protect the kids.

Xenophilius Lovegood + Pandora (maiden name unknown) There's very little personal information known about the two of them, but what we do know for sure is that Xenophilius and Pandora met while both were Hogwarts students so they attended at the same time. And for Xenophilius there's a practical reason why he probably wasn't a student in the 1970s - the Quibbler was already a big name in its niche in 1986. It takes time and effort and above all money to get a publication off the ground, and the younger you make Xeno the more money he had to have access to before even starting, to make the magic happen well before 1986. I could see them being sixth or seventh year at most when Snape starts at Hogwarts, but again. You have to make Xeno filthy rich in some regard (or at least have a filthy rich patron willing to fund his passion) if you're saying that he managed to make the Quibbler into a sensation when he was right out of Hogwarts. With a baby. Since Xeno and Pandora's daughter Luna was born in February 1981. The possibility of them being school kids in the 70s is not looking very realistic when they had a baby to worry about all through early 80s when they by all sense should have been working on getting the Quibbler off the ground after graduating.

Voldemort is NOT a bad boy mysterious type. He wants to be, but his hobbies are journaling and antique collecting. Gayass.

So, last night I got to thinking what I want Snape in my interpretation to look like, so please take this offering with my thought process

And after that I also made a rough sketch for a fun idea with a late night sneaking around that I l've got, so here's that as well

"Detention, Potter."

Perfect analysis.

Hello!

Fistly, I love your content <3

Secondly, do you think there were other reasons besides the difference in wealth, class and power as to why James and Sirius treated Severus the way they did?

They mock and humiliate him and reduce him to a toy, a doll to have fun with. But if that's all there is, they should torment him and leave, right? However, that does not happen. And this is the part I find odd. The way they watch him during the exam in the flashback (what business do they have watching someone write their paper?), the way Sirius' eyes follow him like a preditor to a rabbit when he spots Snape under the tree. James promises Lily to stop pranking people, but goes behind her back to get to Severus anyway. He dies for the tiniest chance that this woman may leave, but he betrays her trust that easily just to torment Snape more? It seems a bit obsessive to me, not just the typycal bullying,worse, something a bit off. Obsessive from James' side and then Sirius would follow his lead in any case. Ofc, I could be wrong about all of this.

What do you think?

<3

Oh, this is such a juicy question, and thanks for the kind words! ❤️

Buckle up, because we're diving deep into the murky waters of school bullying dynamics and why James and Sirius’s treatment of Severus isn’t your average schoolyard torment. (I love to made these type of meta because analyze violence is my cardio lol) This is gonna be looooooong:

At its core, bullying thrives on power imbalances. James and Sirius had every advantage: wealth, status, looks, charisma, magical talent—you name it. Severus, on the other hand, was everything they weren’t: poor, socially awkward, a loner, and unkempt. People like James and Sirius often prey on someone like Severus because he represents a threat to their sense of superiority. He’s smart, talented, and doesn’t bow to them, which means they can’t control or dominate him the way they can others. For people like James, that’s an itch they have to scratch.

But with James and Sirius, this goes beyond garden-variety bullying. It has this weird intensity to it that’s worth unpacking and as you said before, there’s something almost compulsive about the way James and Sirius target Severus. This isn’t just "let’s embarrass the nerd for laughs and move on." It’s fixated. Watching him during an exam? Catching sight of him under a tree and zoning in like a predator? Going out of his way to break his promise to Lily just to torment him again? That’s next-level, and here’s why that might be:

Severus was different: Beyond class, wealth, and upbringing, Severus was a challenge. He didn’t back down, didn’t beg, and he didn’t play the role of the "grateful victim" who might humor them to escape more torment. Instead, he fought back (verbally or with magic), which probably pissed James off even more. Bullies hate it when their victim refuses to crumble.

Insecurity masked as dominance: James, despite his wealth and privilege, could still be deeply insecure. Think about it: someone like Severus, who came from nothing, could rival him in magical skill and intelligence. That’s a big bruise to James’s ego. Bullying might have been his way of proving to himself—and everyone watching—that he was "better."

Additionally, let’s not forget that canonically, James’s animosity toward Severus began because of his relationship with Lily. It’s likely that, until he managed to date her and ensure any bond she had with Severus was completely severed, James experienced jealousy, anger, and even the insecurity of thinking they might have something more.

For someone like James—accustomed to being handed everything by his doting parents, who gets what he wants with the snap of a finger, and who’s probably never been told “no”—insecurity wasn’t something he’d know how to handle. The idea that someone like Severus, from a rival house, who held beliefs James had been taught were “wrong,” who was poor, scruffy, unattractive, could possibly achieve what James wanted, or spend endless time with the girl he liked, must have been inconceivable. Unthinkable.

Once again, class and status come into play: the wealthy kid who’s had everything can present himself as a fighter for social justice, but deep down, in certain situations, that intrinsic sense of superiority and entitlement always surfaces. After winning Lily over, James probably thought he had every right to treat Severus however he wanted. By that point, he’d dehumanized him to such an extent that he no longer saw him as a person.

On top of that, if you consider that James likely justified his bullying by convincing himself it was legitimate because Severus was hanging around with dark wizards, it all makes sense. It’s the classic psychological mechanism of rationalizing harmful behavior: “I’m not doing anything wrong; he deserves it.” It’s actually a pretty logical progression when you think about it.

Sirius’s role: Sirius is a complicated mess of a character. Growing up in a family where dominance, control, and punishment were the norm, Sirius might have channeled that energy into his dynamic with Severus. If James was leading the charge, Sirius probably saw joining in as a way to solidify their bond while also exercising some of his own unresolved issues. But the predatory way you describe Sirius observing Severus? That’s chilling, and it checks out.

I’ve mentioned this in another post, but Sirius is a Black, and his rebellious persona and attempts to distance himself from his family rested on two fundamental pillars: being a Gryffindor and defending Muggle-borns. However, at the end of the day, Sirius was still a boy raised in an aristocratic family that believed they were superior to others for absurd reasons. This superiority complex led them to treat an entire group of people as “the other,” dehumanizing them to justify their marginalization and even their extermination.

These are the values Sirius grew up with, and like many rich kids who rebel without bothering to deconstruct the behavioral patterns they’ve inherited, he thought that simply rejecting blood purity and getting Sorted into another house was enough to absolve him.

But Snape’s presence challenges that belief. Sirius’s relationship with Severus reveals that, deep down, Sirius isn’t so different from his mother or his cousin Bellatrix. Sirius sees Snape as “the other.” He dehumanizes Severus in the same way his family dehumanizes Muggle-borns—but for being a Slytherin and for desiring the things Sirius himself has chosen to reject. This cognitive dissonance makes Sirius feel justified in tormenting Severus, much like his family feels justified in their bigotry.

In the end, Sirius is just another hypocrite with a different spin—like so many others.

I’ve also pointed out several times that Sirius has a sadistic streak. Maybe not to the same degree as Bellatrix, because she’s clearly far more unhinged, but Sirius does have that violent, bloodthirsty impulse typical of the Blacks. Since he can’t channel it the way his family does, he chose an easy target—someone disliked by many, someone who didn’t fit in, who was isolated, and, most tragically, someone who no one cared about, not even his own parents. Sirius used Severus as a means to vent his anger and sadistic tendencies, fully aware that no one would step in to defend him.

Furthermore, as a wealthy boy from an aristocratic family with progressive ideas, it’s no surprise that Sirius relied on James as his moral compass when he struggled to discern right from wrong. If James believed it was entirely justified to bully and torment Severus, why would Sirius think otherwise?

James embodied everything Sirius wished he could be: a boy with the same privilege as him, but from a family without extremist beliefs. James’s parents treated Sirius like a son. They believed in “good” things. They were the “good” ones. If James was convinced that bullying Severus was the right thing to do, then Sirius had no reason to question it.

It became a way for Sirius to justify and validate his own awful behavior—a pattern that’s sadly all too common among bullies.

When we look at how James and Sirius treated Severus, it’s clear they didn’t just see him as someone to mock and forget; they actively sought to dehumanize him. This process of dehumanization is deeply rooted in power dynamics. Severus wasn’t just the “nerd” they bullied—he was someone who challenged their place in the social order. He dared to stand up to James over Lily and, as a highly capable student, constantly reminded them that they weren’t untouchable. Even if they had reached the top of the social and academic hierarchy, Severus was proof that someone outside their circle could match or even surpass them. In their eyes, Severus became the "other," someone who had to be eliminated to keep their world intact.

Dehumanization in bullying has devastating effects on the victim. It’s not just about causing temporary physical or emotional harm—it’s about erasing the person’s identity, reducing them to nothing more than an object for entertainment or a pawn in a game of power.

In Severus’s case, James and Sirius didn’t just want to make him miserable—they wanted to strip away his dignity, his individuality, and his sense of self-worth. They needed to prove, not only to Severus but also to themselves and their peers, that he didn’t belong. This is why their actions go beyond mere pranks or teasing—they were asserting their dominance and ensuring that Severus could never challenge the status quo they benefited from.

The relationship between James, Sirius, and Severus is a reflection of how power dynamics, insecurity, and the struggle for control can lead to psychological abuse far more complex than simple schoolyard rivalry. Throughout the story, James and Sirius don’t just try to humiliate Severus—they do it to prove something about themselves, about their place in the world, and about the relationships they maintain with those around them. This isn’t just bullying; it’s a demonstration of how children raised in a dysfunctional value system, with a limited understanding of others, can wield destructive power over the more vulnerable.

That’s why, when we look at Severus and understand what he endured, it’s not just a matter of “he joined the Death Eaters because he was bad.” There’s a context of pain, abuse, and a desperate search to belong to something or someone. What James and Sirius did wasn’t just cruel—it was one of the cornerstones that pushed Severus down the path he later followed.

i actually never ever want AO3 to be censored bc nothing is more fun than reading the tags on a fic and going “huh. didn’t know there was a market for that.”

It makes me sad that we don't know more about Hermione's parents and all of their relationships' dynamic.

Finished Squid Game 2 and I'm obsessed. It got me so hooked I literally cried so hard at the most random moments because of how impactful and meaningful everything felt and the metaphors for capitalism and class and omggg. Season 1 was great but this one just meant more for me and I'm so excited for this thing to become my new source of dopamine for the unforeseen future.

The last part is...interesting 😧 But the rest is absolute gold!

Thoughts on Peter Pettigrew? And if you ship him with anyone, who?

thank you very much for the ask, pal! peter is a fascinating character and i always enjoy properly thinking about him.

because - let's be honest - he really goes under the radar, in both canon and fanon. he's extraordinarily cunning, ruthless, powerful, adaptable, emotionally literate, intelligent…

and yet you wouldn't get that impression if you take harry's narrative at face value. even after peter escapes at the end of prisoner of azkaban/cuts his own hand off in goblet of fire.

[which is one of harry's most interesting character traits - his tendency to split the world into black-and-white "good people" and "bad people" is something we talk about a lot, but he also has a tendency to split the world into "special people, who have agency" and "unspecial people, who don't"... hence his attitude to characters such as stan shunpike.]

but the main thing i find fascinating about peter isn't actually the way his talents are overlooked by the text. it's the way he embodies one of the series' central messages: that "it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live" [PS 12].

when dumbledore says this to harry, it's as advice on how to deal productively with grief. and obviously that's a good and healthy message to receive - especially for the children who are philosopher's stone's intended audience.

but the statement has another application, which ties to another one of the series' themes: that all that glitters is not gold.

so much of the overarching seven-book narrative is about jealousy and longing - harry's longing for a family, ron's jealousy of harry's fame, petunia's longing for magic and jealousy of lily, snape's longing for lily and jealousy of james, etc.

and it's also about how this jealousy and longing leads us to see what we want to see - ron becoming convinced that harry's feelings for hermione are romantic, lupin's inability to criticise james leading to his rage when harry's appalled at him walking out on tonks, the death eaters being convinced that voldemort is a champion of pureblood oligarchy, fudge refusing to believe that voldemort has returned etc.

as both ron and harry learn after ron stabs the locket-horcrux, you have to live the life you actually have and you have to know the people you know as they actually are. you can't imagine them into something they're not, become sad and/or angry when they fail to meet expectations it was always impossible for them to fulfil, and then let that sadness and anger fester until the poison within you can no longer be contained...

which is the peter pettigrew special, really...

sirius' assessment of peter in prisoner of azkaban comes in clutch for us on this point:

"Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you?" [PoA 19]

i love this line for a lot of reasons - especially sirius' tacit admission that he and james once met that criteria of "biggest bully in the playground" - but i particularly like the way it aligns peter with [dumbledore's assessment of] voldemort's school friends:

"As he moved up the school, he gathered about him a group of dedicated friends; I call them that, for want of a better term, although as I have already indicated, Riddle undoubtedly felt no affection for any of them. This group had a kind of dark glamour within the castle. They were a motley collection; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish gravitating toward a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty. In other words, they were the forerunners of the Death Eaters, and indeed some of them became the first Death Eaters after leaving Hogwarts." [HBP 17]

peter is fundamentally someone ambitious seeking shared glory. and he does this - like, it's implied, quite a lot of death eaters - by putting on his rose-tinted glasses and deluding himself into believing that the person he expects to share that glory with him actually will share it... until everything comes crashing down and he's forced to see that they actually think of him as unworthy of sharing anything with. and his fury becomes toxic.

because peter is someone who inherently views himself as a follower.

lord voldemort would never - to borrow sirius' phrase - do something for someone else unless he could see what was in it for him. but voldemort's selfishness is because he sees himself as the unparalleled superior of everyone he meets - there's no need to help those under you if they're the only people who benefit!

peter's selfishness is slightly different - everything he does is in pursuit of vicarious glory. he wants to be praised and rewarded by a leader he's made more powerful. he doesn't want to be that leader himself.

peter the marauder

indeed, canon emphasises that this is what attracted him to james and sirius:

To Sirius' right stood Pettigrew, more than a head shorter, plump and watery-eyed, flushed with pleasure at his inclusion in this coolest of gangs, with the much-admired rebels that James and Sirius had been. [DH 10]

obviously this is harry's subjective view ["much-admired rebels" is a bit of a stretch, let's be real…], which the text does acknowledge ["or was it simply because harry knew how it had been, that he saw these things in the picture?"].

but harry's assessment of the teenage peter here matches the one we're given across the series:

"Pettigrew... that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?" said Madam Rosmerta. "Hero-worshipped Black and Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "Never quite in their league, talent-wise." [PoA 10]

James was still playing with the Snitch, letting it zoom farther and farther away, almost escaping but always grabbed at the last second. Wormtail was watching him with his mouth open. Every time James made a particularly difficult catch, Wormtail gasped and applauded. After five minutes of this, Harry wondered why James didn't tell Wormtail to get a grip on himself, but James seemed to be enjoying the attention. [OotP 28]

peter is set up as someone who's understood by everyone not to occupy the same role in society [both "society" as in the social ecosystem of hogwarts, and as in wizarding society more generally] as james and sirius.

this is almost certainly for class and blood-status related reasons - and hello to another anon on this point:

the fact that the only parent mentioned in the text is his mother strongly suggests that he's a half-blood with a muggle or muggleborn father [which his narrative parallels with snape, his narrative relationship with voldemort, and his narrative contrast with barty crouch jr. also support].

the way his mother is spoken about by other characters in prisoner of azkaban - especially fudge: "black was taken away by twenty members of the magical law enforcement squad and pettigrew received the order of merlin, first class, which i think was some comfort to his poor mother" [PoA 10] - sets her up as the passive figure in her relationship to the state [the ministry deigns to provide her with comfort], thus implying that she was ordinary, middle-class, and respectable, but lacked the class-based social power to occupy a more active role in the relationship.

[contrast her, for example, with someone like augusta longbottom, who is a much more active figure narratively.]

but she also can't come from a working-class background, because otherwise voldemort wouldn't seek to humiliate peter by making him live in snape's slum house as his servant.

but peter is also set up as someone who - while he accepts that james and sirius are his superiors and doesn't want to usurp their positions - nonetheless thinks that the two of them will do all they can to increase his chances of helping them accrue more glory, thus allowing the glory he shares in to be all the greater.

and why not? after all, he has plenty of evidence that they'd be capable of doing this, given the lengths they go to for remus…

i think he can be very easily understood as somebody who thinks that - once the three of them have nailed the animagus transformation and achieved their goal of supporting remus during the full moon - then the next thing on james and sirius' list of priorities is putting in a similar level of effort on his behalf.

indeed, the text does imply this - in snape's worst memory, peter goes from being positioned with remus as james and sirius' inferior:

Snape was on his feet again, and was stowing the O.W.L. paper in his bag. As he emerged from the shadows of the bushes and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up. Lupin and Wormtail remained sitting.

to being physically positioned with remus but clearly wanting to be an active member of james and sirius' shenanigans:

Lupin was still staring down at his book, though his eyes were not moving and a faint frown line had appeared between his eyebrows. Wormtail was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with a look of avid anticipation on his face. [...] Wormtail was on his feet now, watching hungrily, edging around Lupin to get a clearer view.

to physically joining - but still being excluded from equality of power with - james and sirius:

"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" said James. "I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment," said Sirius viciously. "There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won’t be able to read a word."   Several people watching laughed; Snape was clearly unpopular. Wormtail sniggered shrilly. 

to being positioned as sirius' equal under james' leadership:

"Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean..." Many of the surrounding watchers laughed, Sirius and Wormtail included.

to being included as both james and sirius' equal:

But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James' face, spattering his robes with blood. James whirled about; a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of greying underpants. Many people in the small crowd watching cheered. Sirius, James, and Wormtail roared with laughter. [OotP 28]

but this symbolic ascent towards james and sirius recognising and including him isn't what actually comes to pass, is it?

[and as a little shipping-related aside... this is an immaculate wormbucks or padtail premise.]

clearly, peter's experience from the beginning of his sixth year onwards [so from the autumn of 1976] is one in which his hero-worship of james and sirius [and it is just james and sirius - if he felt aggrieved enough by remus that he wanted to implicate him in the potters' deaths he absolutely could have done so] begins to crumble...

and then to fester...

until he's reached a point where the following isn't something he believes is actually true:

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" [PoA 19]

[this - as an aside - is one of the major differences between harry and james/sirius. harry's understanding of loyalty and sacrifice is much less transactional: "dumbledore knew, as voldemort knew, that harry would not let anyone else die for him now that he had discovered it was in his power to stop it" [DH 34].]

and decides that he should probably transfer his loyalties to the much bigger bully who's just arrived on the scene.

enter lord voldemort.

peter the death eater

while there are some key differences [peter is the one who has to approach voldemort, rather than the other way round, and - as i've said here - i think voldemort withholds the dark mark from him to keep him striving], peter's recruitment by the death eaters has a huge amount in common with draco malfoy's.

[more on which... here.]

voldemort must win him over by validating his belief that james and sirius [and also dumbledore/the order] don't take him and his talents seriously, that they need to be punished for this, and that when peter has humiliated them, he will have the time of his life basking in the glow of the victorious voldemort, who will also reward him spectacularly.

this is what voldemort does with quite a few of his minions - including regulus [another fantastic ship for peter], barty crouch jr. [likewise], and, of course, snape [which flops], all of whom have that corrosive perception of themselves as always being overlooked.

in the first war, then, voldemort must be pretty nice to him.

[or as nice as voldemort ever gets...]

the threats and the punishment come later.

[as another aside, the implication of canon is that voldemort's use of violence against his minions is relatively infrequent - and only used in specific circumstances - in the first war. the egregious torture he subjects them to in the second - and the fact that he does this publicly - shocks, terrifies, and humiliates even the most ardent first war loyalists. i think we can assume, then, that peter returned to voldemort expecting to find him in the same "you catch more flies with honey" mode as in the first war. he was mistaken.]

the contempt 90s!voldemort holds peter in is iconic - so many of his best lines are times he's mocking him!

but something which always stands out to me is that voldemort's contempt for peter is inextricably linked to his previous position as one of the four marauders.

[indeed, i find it fascinating that voldemort says that peter "faked his own death to escape justice" [DH 33], because the only thing he can mean by "justice" in this context is that peter should have let sirius murder him...]

and the most explicit demonstration of this is the fact that he always calls him wormtail.

this is a fascinating twist on the way voldemort plays with the language of intimacy with his death eaters. his favourites get referred to by their given names, while the rest are referred to more formally, using their surnames:

"Severus, here," said Voldemort, indicating the seat on his immediate right. "Yaxley - beside Dolohov." [DH 1]

and, of course, his ultimate favourite gets referred to by her nickname.

but peter isn't being called wormtail by the dark lord as a show of affection... it's an expression of disregard.

it's clear that the voldemort of the second war deeply understands that peter's life between the potters' deaths and his unmasking at the end of prisoner of azkaban [that is, the period when he didn't get the glory he wanted, he just got a dead james, two friends who want to murder him, and a master who hates him] made him start to regret his resentment of james and sirius for not living up to the versions of themselves he'd invented in his head - especially following sirius' death, when he receives a second demonstration of voldemort's contempt for him, since the moment sirius is out of the picture, the dark lord declares him surplus to requirements and dumps him on snape.

voldemort also knows that peter can only suppress these regrets and pretend they don't exist for so long...

and so everything about their second war relationship is voldemort pre-empting a betrayal he knows will come, when peter's long-buried grief for his friends comes roaring back. hence him setting up peter's silver hand to kill him when his loyalty wavers.

or, more succinctly:

"You returned to me, not out of loyalty, but out of fear of your old friends. You deserve this pain, Wormtail. You know that, don't you?" [DH 33]

peter the [un]man

there's one final thing which i think is really interesting about peter's portrayal in the text, and that's his relationship with gender.

he's someone whose presentation as unmasculine is consistent across his appearances - and is consistently intended to be belittling. but he's also someone whose lack of masculinity is used both to underscore his villainy [and to emphasise that it's the worst type of villainy - to quote jkr, "i loathe a traitor"; peter is the most reprehensible villain in the doylist text's eyes] and to misdirect the reader away from it.

before he's unmasked at the end of prisoner of azkaban, peter is associated narratively with neville:

A hatred such as he had never known before was coursing through Harry like poison. He could see Black laughing at him through the darkness, as though somebody had pasted the picture from the album over his eyes. He watched, as though somebody was playing him a piece of film, Sirius Black blasting Peter Pettigrew (who resembled Neville Longbottom) into a thousand pieces. [PoA 11]

and - therefore - is associated with a lack of masculinity in a fond way. neville is a character the reader is supposed to like, but not a character the reader is supposed to aspire to be like.

the text uses both peter and neville's appearance - especially the fact that both of them are noted to be fat [neville gets described as "plump", which is understood as slightly more polite, but the meaning is the same...] - to emphasise this. they're soft and shy and unsporty. they're passive, in contrast to harry [and james'] masculine vigour. they're both followers, but in a good way.

or, they both occupy the role female characters tend to: conduits for the male characters' deeds and desires, but lacking the agency to have deeds and desires of their own.

[hence why i am extremely compelled by @whinlatter's theory that the best lightning-gen parallel for peter is ginny...]

this is the tone of the secret keeper swap. peter is chosen by james and sirius precisely because they understand him as a vessel. he can contain and surround and envelope the potters and keep them safe that way, while sirius - who embodies the active qualities of a masculine protector - protects them by fighting and running and being hunted.

but - of course - peter doesn't perform this feminine protector role. he corrupts it. and this another way the text underscores that he's its worst villain... he bastardises a role typically associated with motherhood.

he and sirius are set up narratively as the parallel to james and lily: sirius is the masculine figure, the father, the "take harry and run"; peter is the feminine, the mother, the "refuses to stand aside".

once peter is unmasked at the end of prisoner of azkaban and his corruption of his maternal role is revealed, the text's presentation of his unmanliness then becomes something used to emphasise how vile and creepy the reader is supposed to find him.

it does this while maintaining the corrupted motherhood metaphor - hence him having to nurse voldemort's pseudo-infant form in goblet of fire, and hence him being positioned as inferior to barty crouch jr., who joins voldemort and peter, his "wife", to take the narrative role of voldemort's son and heir.

this is extremely interesting, since the text typically uses a lack of maternal or pseudo-maternal experience to indicate that its female villains [especially bellatrix and umbridge] are to be understood as villains by the reader. the exceptions, petunia dursley and walburga black, are fascinating parallels for peter, given the way that they also embody the corrosiveness of resentment and the impact it has on truly being able to grieve.

but peter also becomes a second, specific form of unman once he's unmasked...

the eunuch.

it's really striking that - from the latter chapters of prisoner of azkaban onwards - peter is frequently associated with the theme of voyeurism:

But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion. "I let you sleep in my bed," he said. [PoA 19]

Snape held up a hand to stop her, then pointed his wand again at the concealed staircase door. There was a loud bang and a squeal, followed by the sound of Wormtail scurrying back up the stairs. "My apologies," said Snape. "He has lately taken to listening at doors, I don't know what he means by it." [HBP 2]

the sexual undertone to these associations is really significant, because - when combined with the presentation of peter as a follower/an outsider looking in and with the presentation of him as lacking in virility - it renders him sexless, but in a specifically jealous way. he's not voldemort, whose canon presentation as aromantic is used to underscore his villainy by implying there's something "wrong" with him... he's someone who should have been able to access the "normal" structures of love and family, but who has self-castrated himself from this "normality" due to his corruption arc, and who is forced to watch from the sidelines coveting what others have and regretting his decisions and loathing himself.

[hence my absolute conviction that the reason he's not at home on halloween 1981, when sirius goes to check on him and finds his safe-house empty, is because he's snuck into the potters' house in rat form to watch james and lily be murdered...]

and this idea of peter as somebody unsexed or castrated is really interesting as a lens to examine one of his most sinister moments - his role in the torture and murder of bertha jorkins.

nb: there is a discussion of rape in what follows.

i liked this post by @pangaeaseas - and the discussion in the notes -about voldemort's treatment of peter surrounding his capture of bertha jorkins. but i thought it was interesting how a lot of this discussion focused on the ways voldemort is insulting peter's intellect in this context... and not the ways he's attacking his sexual prowess.

the text is pretty clear - not least in the enormous victim-blaming undertone to the way many characters [especially male ones] talk about bertha's disappearance - that peter brought bertha to voldemort after convincing her that he wanted to engage in some form of consensual sexual encounter [described by voldemort, in pg-13 terms, as a "nighttime stroll"]. voldemort's astonishment at peter managing to accomplish this isn't so much him being shocked that he had the way with words/quick thinking abilities to talk bertha into going with him, it's him being shocked that someone he considers to be so unmanly as to be impotent managed to pull.

and then - it is heavily implied, both in the text itself and in jkr's statements since publication that her editor looked like she wanted to be sick when she described how voldemort was restored to a rudimentary body - to rape:

"He was the penis able-bodied servant I needed, and, eunuch poor wizard though he is, Wormtail was able to violate a woman follow the instructions I gave him, which would return me to a rudimentary, weak body of my own, a body I would be able to inhabit while awaiting the essential ingredients for true rebirth." [GoF 33]