"Definitely not." Dumbledore said. "Voldemort would never trust anyone enough to willingly put his life in their hands in such a way. Perhaps we can determine if a mistake was made, and I have reason to believe it was. Harry Potter is on his way here as we speak, and with his permission I would like to show you the memory of Voldemort's resurrection that he provided to me. I am curious to see if you come to the same conclusion I have."
"Very well." Snape said as he sat down and began to wait for Harry to arrive. His mind was too busy to even think about his dislike for the son of James Potter. A few minutes later Dumbledore arose from his desk a mere moment before a knock was heard at the door.
"Enter." Dumbledore called from his desk. The doors opened to reveal Harry who briefly looked surprised at seeing Professor Snape though he attempted to hide his reaction. "Thank you for coming, Harry. How are you feeling?"
"Much better, sir." Harry reported. "The pain from the Cruciatus is almost gone."
"Excellent." Dumbledore responded. "I would like to know if you would allow Professor Snape to view your memory of what happened at the cemetery. I would not ask if it were not important."
"Why?" Harry asked suspiciously. Dumbledore might trust Snape, but he definitely did not.
"We have reason to believe that something went wrong during the ritual, this may allow us to confirm that."
"Ok, then." Harry said after a few moments. He thought back to that fateful night but couldn't remember anything happening that would upset the ritual. In retrospect he was a little disappointed with how he handled the situation but there wasn't much else he could do. The three of them approached Dumbledore's pensieve where the memory had already been prepared for viewing.
"You don't have to view this again if you don't want to, Harry." Dumbledore said.
"No, it's ok." Harry assured him. "Let's go." With that they leaned closer and felt their consciousnesses being transported into the memory. Harry saw that his past self was already tied up in preparation for the ritual. Once again he saw Wormtail place Voldemort into the cauldron and add the 'bone of the father' while he struggled to free himself. Snape was watching with a great deal of fascination while Dumbledore, who had already viewed the memory, watched how the others reacted.
"Flesh of the servant… willingly given… you will revive your master."
"Peter, stop!" Harry yelled. "Please don't do this."
"It's too late for that, Harry." Wormtail answered and raised the knife again.
"You don't have to do this!" Harry replied, still hoping that the man would change his mind.
"But I do. I have no choice, you see. If I don't do this he will kill me."
"I saved your life! You owe me." Harry said, but he knew his words were having little impact.
"It doesn't work that way." Wormtail then turned away placed the knife on his wrist once again. He closed his eyes as if trying to work up the courage to go through with the act and then, with all his strength, pushed the blade through the flesh and bone of his arm. When he was done his entire hand dropped into the cauldron and he howled in pain.
Soon after the memory ended and the viewers exited the pensieve. When they were all sat back down Dumbledore looked at Snape and signaled for him to voice his thoughts on what he had just seen.
"It was Pettigrew's fault after all." Snape finally declared. Dumbledore smiled and nodded at the comment while Harry looked at them both in confusion. He had not noticed Wormtail making an obvious mistake, but then again he was not familiar with the ritual so maybe there was something there he did not see.
"What did he do wrong?" Harry finally asked.
"The final ingredients of the potion require not only bone, flesh, and blood but that they be taken unknowingly, willingly, and forcefully." Dumbledore explained. "What did Pettigrew say just before he severed his hand?"
"That he had no choice, Voldemort would kill him if he didn't do it." Harry said in realization.
"Exactly." Dumbledore said happily. "His statement indicates that he was acting under duress, not willingly as the ritual had required."
"So Wormtail never could have performed it correctly?" Harry asked.
"I believe in fact that he could have." Dumbledore answered. "What mattered is the emotion he was feeling as he placed his flesh into the cauldron. If you had not attempted to talk him out of doing so it is possible he would not have thought about why he was slicing off his hand and everything would have gone according to plan. It seems you inadvertently seriously weakened Voldemort."
"Weakened?" Harry said disbelievingly. "He didn't seem weak when we fought."
"Silly child." Snape said, interrupting the conversation. "Do you truly believe that the Dark Lord needed to be at full strength to defeat you? The Potter arrogance shows itself again."
"Severus is, unfortunately, correct. Even in his weakened state Voldemort is still likely the most powerful wizard in the world." Dumbledore said sadly.
"But not more powerful than you, right?" Harry asked.
"Yes, even more powerful than I." Dumbledore confirmed. "True, I am one of the more powerful wizards alive but my main strength has always been my skill and creativity during a duel. Voldemort possesses so much power that he has rarely had to rely on anything else. That is a key weakness you would be wise to remember."
"Do you really think encouraging Potter to seek out confrontations against the Dark Lord is wise, Albus?" Snape asked.
"Of course not, and Harry I would hope that you know that is not what I mean." Dumbledore answered. "One day you will be ready to face him, but until then you should do everything in your power to avoid him."
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