Played by: Timothy Spall A recurring motif in the Harry Potter stories is that, at the climax, Harry and his friends find out that the individual they thought to be the villain of the piece is innocent and another character is then revealed as the true thorn in their side. The best example of this could be the twist in The Prisoner of Azkaban when it is revealed that the betrayer of Harry's parents is not Sirius Black after all but rather Ron's pet rat, Scabbers - who is actually an old friend of the Potters in disguise, Peter Pettigrew. What makes Pettigrew, more commonly referred to as Wormtail, such a memorable villain is his monstrous double-crossing of his lifelong friends to the man who would kill them, simply to save his own skin. In fact, you could say that he is effectively responsible for the entire Harry Potter saga as he rendered Harry an orphan and directed his master to the child that would defeat him. Not bad going for a rat. So while his later appearances diminish his role to snivelling sidekick (and in the films, occasional comic relief) Wormtail's cowardice makes him easy to detest and one of the most hateable villains in Harry's rogues gallery.
