The Sorting Hat says:
You might belong in Gryffindor
Where dwell the brave at heart
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart . . .
Sorcerer's Stone - Page 118 - US Hardcover
Are there any canon examples of Peter Pettigrew displaying any of the aforementioned traits in a positive way? My sense is that Godric Gryffindor's definitions of "daring" and "nerve" did not include a person joining a group like the Death Eaters.
Two points:
Are there any canon examples of Peter Pettigrew displaying any of the aforementioned traits in a positive way?
Yes. He chose not to kill Harry Potter in Malfoy dungeon (for which his silver hand killed him).
My sense is that Godric Gryffindor's definitions of "daring" and "nerve" did not include a person joining a group like the Death Eaters.
If you didn't know anything post-Hogwarts-years, I don't think most of the things that we are shown James Potter engaging in would be "Godric Gryffindor's definitions" either. He was out to make - seemingly, largely destructive and malicious - mischief, and aimed for power. Death Eaters or not, until Potter changed later, it was only a difference in quantity, not quality (Or, at best, a spectrum).
To put it another way, until graduation from Hogwarts, James Potter displayed more Slytherin-like qualities than Wormtail did.
The sorting hat looks at people's minds and finds what they have the potential to rise to, it doesn't look at what they are.
Hermione was CERTAINLY qualified for Ravenclaw, but the sorting hat placed her in Gryffindor, seeing within her the capability for great courage and skill. Initially, she didn't display much of this, but she had grown into it by the end of the first book.
Harry Potter was strongly considered for Slytherin, because he DID, at the time, want power. Later in life, he made the conscious choice to set aside power - he'd grown and changed as a person.
Neville is yet another example of someone who was apparently unfit, but the sorting hat saw a great potential.
Each of these characters was Sorted based on what they had the potential for, not what they were. Had things in their lives NOT gone as they did, they may have turned out very differently.
Without his experiences in DA and the encouragement he got at the end of the very first book, Neville would never have had the courage he displayed in Book 7.
Lacking all his growth in the early parts of 7, Harry could not have given up the Elder Wand's power.
In short, Pettigrew had, at one time, great potential for bravery and courage. His life took a different path, and we may never know why.
Peter showed nerve, daring and a certain amount of chivalry when he became an animagus during his school days. The only reason we are given in the books for Peter, James and Sirius attempting this difficult and dangerous magic is that they believed it would allow them to safely keep company with their friend Remus Lupin during his nights as a werewolf.
It took guts, determination and a lot of work to achieve that goal, and, according to Lupin, it transformed his life in important ways. Instead of spending three nights in utter misery each month, his friends' courage (and adolescent belief in their own infallibity and immortality) gave him a sense of belonging and camaraderie, an important part of growing up in any society.
The inherent foolishness of their wandering Hogsmead with a full-blown werewolf does not take away from their basic good intentions. Had they remained in the Shrieking Shack the whole time instead, the only danger would have been to the three of them and Lupin.
It took true friendship to give up free time and expend the amount of effort it had to take to master the spells involved, and, especially, to risk punishment by both the school and the Wizarding government for the transgression.
You argue that joining the Death Eaters doesn't count as daring. That would be true if you were talking about a Death Eater who just mindlessly runs errands for Lord Voldemort, tortures Muggles, and enjoys the bullying.
But consider how Peter has become a Death eater. He has accepted to become the secret-keeper for Lily and James' hiding place, then went straight to Lord Voldemort to betray them. Sirius accuses him of this in the Prisoner of Azkaban, and while Peter later denies this and claims he's done it only because the Dark Lord has forced him, Sirius's arguments are convincing: Peter has betrayed the Marauders on his own accord, using a clever plan. This is not chivalrious, but it certainly takes a nerve.
Secondly, consider the role Peter has played in the Dark Lord rising again. In chapter 33 of the Goblet of Fire, Voldemort himself praises Peter for seeking Voldemort while he was powerless, caring for him, and helping him return. Voldemort doesn't actually use the word “courage” anywhere, but he still calls a Death Eater who does not return coward. Pettigrew cuts his own hand to help create a new body for Voldemort! If that's not bravery, then what is?
Recall this sentence from the Order of the Phoenix chapter 37.
‘Snape – Snape g – goaded Sirius about staying in the house – he made out Sirius was a coward –’
You know Sirius was not a coward. He stayed hidden because that was the best way he could serve the Order, and he knew that. When Pettigrew was caring about the helpless and bodyless Voldemort, and later when he served the risen Voldemort, he might seem like playing coward if you only look at how he was sucking up to the Dark Lord, but he did actually need considerable bravery at those times.
Pettigrew certainly had many traits characteristic of Slytherin. According to Pottermore, he was a Hatstall between Gryffindor and Slytherin, meaning that he was, in the Hat's estimation, about evenly balanced between them:
The only true Hatstalls known personally to Harry Potter were Minerva McGonagall and Peter Pettigrew. The former caused the hat to agonise for five and a half minutes as to whether Minerva ought to go to Ravenclaw or Gryffindor; the latter was placed in Gryffindor after a long deliberation between that house and Slytherin. The Sorting Hat, which is infamously stubborn, still refuses to accept that its decision in the case of the latter may have been erroneous, citing the manner in which Pettigrew died as (dubious) evidence.
The phrasing here even suggests that the Hat may have made a mistake, referring to Pettigrew's actions toward Harry as "(dubious) evidence" of his suitability for Gryffindor.
The Sorting Hat does not use any unusual magic to determine students' aptitudes. All it has is Legilimency.
Talks, sings, uses Legilimency
It can only determine someone's disposition from what is in their head at that time: their thoughts, their memories. Despite the Sorting Hat's stubborn insistence otherwise, it is quite possible for people to change between their Sorting and their death, a fact that Dumbledore recognized:
“Karkaroff’s Mark is becoming darker too. He is panicking, he fears retribution; you know how much help he gave the Ministry after the Dark Lord fell.” Snape looked sideways at Dumbledore’s crooked-nosed profile. “Karkaroff intends to flee if the Mark burns.”
“Does he?” said Dumbledore softly, as Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies came giggling in from the grounds. “And are you tempted to join him?”
“No,” said Snape, his black eyes on Fleur’s and Roger’s retreating figures. “I am not such a coward.”
“No,” agreed Dumbledore. “You are a braver man by far than Igor Karkaroff. You know, I sometimes think we Sort too soon. . . ”
—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
When Pettigrew was Sorted, he was balanced on the edge between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Perhaps he had enough bravery, or potential for bravery, to develop into a true Gryffindor, much as Neville Longbottom did. But what happened after his Sorting? He was taken in by James's group (and James was a bit of a bully). He was pushed to its periphery and constantly mocked by the others. And then a war with Voldemort started, which could have pushed his fear to new levels. In the end, the Sorting Hat simply could not have foreseen all this.
So Pettigrew did not really display much bravery in the main series. But no surprise: this was decades after the Sorting Hat, just barely, though that he had an aptitude for Gryffindor. In the ensuing period, he had developed in quite a different direction.
It's surely true that the sorting hat makes mistakes. After all, Peter seems to be more suited to Slytherin than to Gryffindor. But if Peter was absolutely unqualified why was he sorted into Gryffindor at all? Why would he immediately not have been sorted into Slytherin?
Because a part of Peter chooses Gryffindor. The hat puts one where one chooses to be and or- where a person will thrive. This is important. The way I think of the hat is this. It puts one where they need to be. Imagine if you will a young Snape. Scared and tortured by his Father. Now he has 2 choices. Number one we know Snape is brave, even as a young child he is cited standing up for his mother when his father is abusive. But should he be put into Gryffindor? It's a possibility. But someone who is hurting, who needs strength in themselves - should they be put into a roomful of arrogant and brave Gryffindors? For the other option is to be sorted into Slytherin. Where the ambitious and those who are clever go. Which will he draw strength from? I would hazard to say the latter. Snape is sorted to where he will thrive, where he can learn skills to pick himself up. Likewise Peter is sorted where he needs to be. Peter needs to be surrounded by the brave. Peter the terrified mouse admires courage and desires to be fearless. His greatest weakness is his greatest ambition. How do I know this? I will explain.
The circumstances of Peters death are not dismissable. It is important that Peter hesitates before killing Harry because in doing so, for a split moment he is not concerned with his own self preservation. Peters morals or his guilt or his compassion, stops him. Its not a clever or ambitious thing to do. For in this moment Peter is acting against the very core of Slytherins' principals. Perhaps Peter has a poor track record. Because whatever desire he has to do good comes second place to his own well-being. And yet Peter must have spoken that day to the hat and asked for strength, he must have said something about courage or had a burning desire for bravery. For why else would he have been sorted where he was? Alas our poor friend Peter was afraid. He needed something like bravery to find his step in the world. If we consider all the houses it makes sense that the place Peter would thrive most in a place where bravery and chivalry existed. It is a pity that Peter was so afraid, for he did not realize like our own hero did that there is nothing to fear but fear itself.
Pettigrew, at some point, qualified the guts of being a GRYFFINDOR Brave and courage. We may even think that he doesn't have the honor to be sorted to Gryffindor. But the point is, Wormtail is somehow brave. Neville, why was he sorted in Gryffindor? Because he is brave, he even stands up to his friends. Maybe Wormtail isn't that just strong with his own feet, maybe there are some points that Wormtail is a coward, but like everyone who was sorted to different houses, the Sorting hat bases the qualification based on their own attitude.
