I'm left with the question... why does he fixate on James? It's so hopeless.
I think he needed to fixate on *someone* -- his emotional isolation had already reached some kind of a crisis point. But why James, as opposed to Sirius or Remus?
Remus seems like the obvious choice at first... he may have been Peter's "in" to become a part of the group, and may well have been nicer to him than the others. But Remus is an introvert, and lacks the impressive bravado of the other two. He doesn't lend himself to worship as a larger-than-life figure.
How about Sirius? He's the leader of the group, very handsome, comes off as incredibly confident, smart, always ready with a snappy answer. But Sirius is so confident as to be arrogant, and has a definite cruel streak and a demonstrated lack of regard for Peter's feelings. I think Peter would have been too intimidated by Sirius to become obsessively attached to him.
Perhaps James can be considered the happy medium between the two, in Peter's eyes. He's outgoing and confident, but not haughty like Sirius -- he shows some charming awkwardness in the way he tries a little too hard to impress people. He participates in tormenting Snape, which (for whatever reason) Peter enjoys, but his cruelty doesn't extend as far as Sirius's, as evidenced by what happened with the "prank". He's both a troublemaker and a hero, and just flawed enough that he might almost have seemed attainable.
Having a crush on a popular kid is normal. I think it turned into fixation over time, as Peter fed more of his energy into loving James, and James took more pleasure in being admired and continued to encourage it.
And why does James not pick up on how weird it is that Peter's like that?
I think both James and Sirius grossly underestimated Peter -- fatally so, in the former case. They see him as nothing more than a sidekick, someone to show off to. I doubt that they gave a lot of thought to the fact that he really had thoughts and feelings as complex as theirs, and motivations for his actions.
Remus, on the other hand... he may have sensed there was something weird going on with Peter. He doesn't dismiss people easily -- in his position, trying to keep his secret, he *always* has to consider what other people are thinking. I do think Remus was kind to Peter, but I wouldn't be surprised if he also felt somewhat uncomfortable around him when James was present.
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Date: 2003-08-29 01:08 am (UTC)I think he needed to fixate on *someone* -- his emotional isolation had already reached some kind of a crisis point. But why James, as opposed to Sirius or Remus?
Remus seems like the obvious choice at first... he may have been Peter's "in" to become a part of the group, and may well have been nicer to him than the others. But Remus is an introvert, and lacks the impressive bravado of the other two. He doesn't lend himself to worship as a larger-than-life figure.
How about Sirius? He's the leader of the group, very handsome, comes off as incredibly confident, smart, always ready with a snappy answer. But Sirius is so confident as to be arrogant, and has a definite cruel streak and a demonstrated lack of regard for Peter's feelings. I think Peter would have been too intimidated by Sirius to become obsessively attached to him.
Perhaps James can be considered the happy medium between the two, in Peter's eyes. He's outgoing and confident, but not haughty like Sirius -- he shows some charming awkwardness in the way he tries a little too hard to impress people. He participates in tormenting Snape, which (for whatever reason) Peter enjoys, but his cruelty doesn't extend as far as Sirius's, as evidenced by what happened with the "prank". He's both a troublemaker and a hero, and just flawed enough that he might almost have seemed attainable.
Having a crush on a popular kid is normal. I think it turned into fixation over time, as Peter fed more of his energy into loving James, and James took more pleasure in being admired and continued to encourage it.
And why does James not pick up on how weird it is that Peter's like that?
I think both James and Sirius grossly underestimated Peter -- fatally so, in the former case. They see him as nothing more than a sidekick, someone to show off to. I doubt that they gave a lot of thought to the fact that he really had thoughts and feelings as complex as theirs, and motivations for his actions.
Remus, on the other hand... he may have sensed there was something weird going on with Peter. He doesn't dismiss people easily -- in his position, trying to keep his secret, he *always* has to consider what other people are thinking. I do think Remus was kind to Peter, but I wouldn't be surprised if he also felt somewhat uncomfortable around him when James was present.