A Collection of Posts Re: Percy Weasley
Compiled by Pigwidgeon
Revision date: September 29, 2002
Table of Contents
Percy Weasley is the third eldest Weasley son. He is red-haired, tall, and
lanky, and wears horn-rimmed glasses. He was a Prefect and Head Boy at Hogwarts.
As soon as he left school, Percy began working for the Minstry of Magic, in
the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Just before Christmas,
he was promoted, and became personal assistant to the head of his department,
Mr. Bartemius Crouch.
. . .
Percy’s Nature and Place in the Weasley Family
Where does Percy really stand amongst his siblings? Is he really as pompous
and ambitious as he sometimes seems, or is that just his persona? Why does he
act the way that he does?
Theory posted by bittersweet on 4/5/02:
Percy has most likely had a great deal of responsibility placed on him at an
early age. He was one of those good kids that an overwhelmed mother relys on
a bit too much. He has little humor because he has always had to be mother's
helper.
Theory posted by Aly Teirna on 4/20/02:
Percy is smack dab in the middle, with a large gap between him and Charlie
and four younger sibs who can make his life miserable on a daily basis. This
is not a fun place to be in peeps, because I've been there. He's responsible,
but he has to adhere to his older brothers. Where does his authority go then?
He has to enforce it with titles even, and gets pride from them since the older
he gets, the more he sees it as defining who he is when this may not be the
case.
Percy found a niche. This is important not only with being a middle sibling
but in a family like the Weasleys. He ran with it. Except he gets teased mercilessly
for it. No wonder his sense of humor seems lacking. No one likes to be told
that all they've worked for and accomplished is not wanted, needed or even recognized.
Only Molly really backs him. That's hard. I admire Percy. He loves his siblings
dearly. Especially Ron. Percy sacrifices so that Ron won't have to. To explain
that, just look at how Percy acts towards Ron sometimes. He actually lets him
get away with alot. Ron may get cast-offs and such but Percy had to grow up
in a hard environment and I feel that his actions towards Ron show a protectiveness,
even a paranoia that someone who hasn't experienced the ending years of Voldie's
reign couldn't understand.
Theory posted by Circex on 3/23/02:
(Percy: He should lighten up and learn to communicate.)
This isn't so much a 'nature' question. In large families, especially around
a gap in a large family, one child (the gap baby) tends to be quite different
from the others...be it a means to draw attention or to hide from it. Percy,
in order to enjoy his family more, should 'lighten up' a bit. Once he gets over
his urge to climb the corperate ladder and prove that he is not another 'poor
Weasley' will lighten up. ^.^ I think he commincates okay but he could definately
do with more. I think that Percy, too, will change as he he gets older. Right
now he's fresh out of school and eager to prove himself...to very stiff, formal
and demanding bosses.
Theory posted by Cairnsy7 on 10/14/01:
A lot of the tension we do see in the books are between Percy and Ron, Percy
and the twins and very rarely, but I can think of at least one occasion, Percy
and Bill/Charlie. Each time a situation arises, Percy *always* either backs
down, or more frequently, leaves in some way. Of all the negative things that
have been said about or to Percy, Percy has never once replied with anything
harsher than "Shut up", before making a quick exit. Percy seems to hate confrontations.
Theory posted by evalusion on 4/1/02:
Percy ... becomes more insufferable when challenged. He denies the truth when
it contradicts what he wants to believe. He makes no effort to be less obnoxious
and is ready to lecture anyone who criticizes him. He can't laugh at himself
or admit to being wrong, while Ron can and does.
Theory posted by Doctor Cornelius on 4/27/01:
Perhaps that explains the F/G/P conflict: Percy keeps trying harder and harder
to take everything seriously, and the twins keep trying harder and harder to
lighten things up, and so the sibling rivalry escalates.
Theory posted by karinalupin on 4/18/01:
I think he only seems so pompous because he's so insecure. I think that, like
Ron, he's always comparing himself to his brothers and feels like he falls short
somehow. He's one of the characters I most want to understand *why* he's the
way he is - because there has to be some reason we don't see.
Theory posted by Zsenya on 4/19/01:
I've always maintained that despite his pompous attitude, Percy is too much
of a Weasley to be as boring as all that. I mean, we hear about him sneaking
around classrooms kissing his girlfriend - what other Weasley has shown evidence
of that? I think it's sweet. And I think I mentioned this in an earlier thread,
but at one point during Christmas break, Ron suggests playing with a set of
gobstones that Percy left behind. Now I ask, if Percy has a set of gobstones
- how snooty can he really be?
Cairnsy - you are entirely correct to note that Percy's age at the time of
Voldemort's earlier terror may have something to do with his character. I can
totally see that. He gives the impression also of someone who may have been
ill quite a lot as a youngster, although there's nothing inthe books to back
this up - it's just an impression.
Theory posted by Cairnsy on 4/19/01:
I'm planning a story somewhere down the line tied into this part of Percy's
past and the fact Percy needs glasses, which seems to be rare in the wizard
world as well.
My theory is that something rather damaging had to happen for his eyesight not
to have been able to be corrected when problems first arose. While you can understand
that people coming from Muggle backgrounds such as Harry would have been in
a situation where it was too late for the magic to work, the same excuse can't
be used for Percy.
So I can definately see where you are coming from with seeing Percy as a sickly
child.
Theory posted by Cairnsy on 4/22/01:
... Percy seems so completely devoted to his mother yet doesn't seem to have
that relationship with his father. It had always seemed to me that Percy seeks
Molly's aproval over Arthur's - could this be because Arthur was never around
as a child for Percy to bond with? He certainly comes across as being more influenced
by Molly than Arthur. Molly is the one who blows up when the twins don't get
brilliant grades, and Molly is the one who is so career orientated. Just chance
that those two things are so important to Percy as well?
Theory posted by The Elfir on 3/6/02:
I think Percy's gotten most of the share of attention for academic accomplishment
for at least seven years, as well as being mummy's favorite before hand for
being the least of a headache. His siblings tend to be really rude to him because
of this.
Theory posted by kimberly on 4/27/01:
Second thing I disagree with - I just have to leap to the defense of my beloved
Weasleys - is that they treat him horribly. There is no instance of Molly or
Arthur treating him badly at all, and in fact he is rather disrespectful toward
Arthur regarding the Skeeter article after the World Cup. As for his siblings,
they do not treat him any differently than they do each other. They are a family
of jokers, and each member gets teased plenty in their turn. The difference
does not lie in the way he is treated, but in the way he reacts. If he could
either laugh at himself (like Neville did with the Canary Cream) or come back
with a zinger every once in awhile instead of taking everything seriously and
personally, he would have far more fun, and be a less appealing target for ridicule
as well. They are not being cruel to him, just trying to get him to lighten
up and join in the fun, or at least that's my take on it. Cruelty does not seem
to be a Weasley trait in any other instance, and I can't bear to see it it attributed
to them, especially in regards to one of their own!
Theory posted by Firebolt909 on 4/18/01:
I think the most obvious thing about the perspective that some people have
with Percy is that since the books are mostly in Harry's POV, Harry sees Percy
through Ron's eyes, which isn't very favorable sometimes. That's not to say
that I think that Ron and Percy don't like each other, they're brothers. Brothers
do that sort of thing, such as argue and fight and nitpick. And also, Percy
is the "middle brother" so he's going to be the one that has the most pressure
on him. First of all, he has his older brothers shoes to fill, and then there's
the fact that he's also the oldest Weasley sibling at home, so he's now the
one that has to look out for the others: such as Fred and George, Ron and of
course, Ginny.
As for Percy being caring: there's evidence of this long before GoF. In CoS,
Percy was the one who caught onto Ginny's "acting strangely" long before anyone
else. I don't have the book at hand here at work, but on the very first page
of the chapter "The Death Day Party" Percy is the one who "bullies Ginny into
taking Pepper-up Potion" because she was looking peaked. At the end when Tom
is reciting lines that Ginny wrote from the diary, he mentions that Ginny said
that "I think Percy suspects something" (my paraphrase). That's definately a
mark of a Gryffindor. He's also the one who has to chase Fred and George off
of Ginny when they decided that jumping out from behind statues with boils and
fur covering them would cheer her up after the first victim of the Basilisk.
Theory posted by Cairnsy7 on 3/4/02:
On Ron, specifically, Percy certainly looks out for him and attempts to protect
him. Of all the Weasleys, it would be easy to see Percy feeling the most guilty
over the two major injuries Ron substained, as it was Percy's responsibility
as not only the oldest brother at the school, but on a lesser note, Prefect
and Head Boy, to make sure Ron was always safe. Perhaps it is why Percy's reaction
after the second task is so un-Percy like, as he is dealing with that guilt,
still. Throw into that the obvious guilt he felt about Ginny ... . . .
Percy’s Role in Book V
There has been much speculation on how Percy will react to the events that
occurred on the night of the Third Task. There is no doubt about the fact that
the other Weasleys are supporting Dumbledore’s actions, but Percy is the wild
card.
Theory posted by Arabella on 1/2/01:
JK has said that in Book 5, we'll find out whether Percy goes with his family
or the Ministry. My personal opinion is that he's going to go with the Ministry.
I don't think he'd go to the Dark side - but the bureaucratic side? Yes.
Theory posted by Doctor Cornelius on 1/12/01:
And yes, I agree that Percy will join Fudge's side of the conflict. The only
questions are how long will it last, how far will he go, and whether he will
come back. I think it's better than 50-50 that he'll renounce the bureaucracy
before the end of book VII-- but far from certain. Certainly I expect him to
spend all of book V on Fudge's side, anyway. I can certainly see him testifying
against his family in court; but if it turns out that he has in fact thrown
his own flesh and blood to the Dementors (if indeed Voldemort hasn't liberated
Azkaban by that time!), that may be what causes him to see the error of his
ways.
For JKR certainly makes it clear in book IV that the Bureaucratic Side is just
as evil, in its own way, as the Dark Side. She suggests it first in the "Padfoot
Returns" chapter, when Sirius explains to HH&R what Crouch Sr. was like in his
prime. And the "Parting of the Ways" chapter confirms it even further. In JKR's
view, evil does not consist merely in "Dark Magic" as such, but in anything
(including "Dark Magic" but not limited to it) where the person goes after his
own best interests and doesn't care about anyone else. And Percy "Prefects Who
Gained Power" Weasley is as vulnerable to that as anyone (and his classmate
Oliver "just because I said I didn't care if Harry fell off his broom as long
as he catches the Snitch first" Wood may fall into that category also).
Theory posted by Arabella1 on 1/12/01:
I think - and somebody else said this to me, this may have been Honeychurch
as well, I'm getting dim on the details - that Percy would come back around
to side with his family, but only if something that Fudge asked him to do put
one of the Weasleys in the way of danger. I just can't see Percy doing anything
that'd put his father, his mum or Ginny at risk. Although retaliation against
his brothers isn't an impossible motive for Percy - after all, everyone in his
family has teased him and snorted at him his whole life; he might not have too
many qualms about seeing Gred and Forge take one on the lip. Everyone has shunted
him aside at one point or another - the only one who's been totally consistently
defensive of him is his mother. "Prefects Who Gained Power" really *is* sort
of a glimpse into the future, isn't it? Rather spooky, gives me a sick sort
of feeling. Especially since we know that Voldemort was a prefect who gained
power.
Theory posted by Zsenya on 1/12/01:
I just listened to the second task on my Goblet of Fire tapes. When Harry brings
Ron out of the water, Percy runs all the way into the water 'looking pale' to
see if they are all right. This is not the first time throughout the series
that Percy looks scared and shocked and concerned when someone in his family
is really in trouble.
I'm still unsure about Percy though - I'd feel better if he'd lost control at
least once and showed some sort of Weasley temper. Percy may end up siding with
his family, but I think he could do some serious damage before that happens...
Theory posted by kimberly on 1/13/01:
I'd say Percy's shown plenty of the Weasley temper:
-At Gred and Forge when they mess with his prefect's badge.
-And Gred and Forge again when they mess with his *bighead boy* badge. (PoA,
beginning, when they're all staying at the Leakey Cauldron)
-At Ron, too the next morning.
What he hasn't shown is the far more loveable Weasley humor. That's what I'd
like to see. And maybe a little bit more family loyalty (i.e. the desire to
sit with his brothers and sister at Christmas dinner in CoS, to wear his Weasley
sweater...). But as you said, there are several examples of him being concerned
about his family when they're in trouble, so that part I don't worry about as
much as the humor thing. He takes himself so seriously - that's what could make
him blind to the fact that Voldemort is really back, and it's what would make
him choose his career over his family. But like most people said, I don't think
that would be permanent - if they were in danger I'm sure he'd wake up to reality.
I just hope it wouldn't be too late to prevent something awful happening.
Theory poster by Moey00 on 1/13/01:
I strongly believe that something Percy is involved in at the Ministry will
indirectly put one of his family members in danger. My money is on Arthur because
he works there as well AND he is now working with Dumbledore. This is when Percy
will 'see the light.'
JKR has shown us the conflict going on inside Percy. He does love his family
- concern over Ginny's illness, worrying about Ron during the second task. However,
he is in awe of his superiors at the Ministry. Remember it is all about choices.
Percy is going to have to make a big choice. He will make the right one. I just
hope that it isn't too late.
Theory posted by Homeychurch on 1/16/01:
I just don't think Percy is cursed with self-awareness. You know what I mean?
He doesn't really have the ability to look at himself from the outside and have
a sense of what anyone else would see. He has no imagination- I think J.K. has
made that quite clear, and that's why we don't see the trademark Weasley sense
of humor from him. I agree with y'all. He'll be on the side of the Ministry
until something so egregious happens that even he can't ignore it. Until then,
he'll be happily dancing along the narrow path of paperwork and cauldron bottoms.
Theory posted by reanna20 on 11/9/01:
Yes, Percy strives for perfection. But why oh why oh why does that that mean
that he would be willing to do "evil" deeds to gain that perfection? Just as
Ron wouldn't betray his friends for money or fame, Percy won't betray his family
for perfection or "power". He might make a mistake at some point, but ALL the
characters can make mistakes.
Theory posted by Cairnsy7 on 11/13/01:
The major problem is that there is really no evidence that Percy would do 'anything'
for the Ministry. He got into the Ministry through hard work and dedication
- he took no short cuts, he most certainly did not ride on his father's coat
tales. Percy set himself a goal, and went about the way a normal person would
- by dedicating himself.
Why do fans see mere hard work as a sign that Percy is going to turn to the
dark side? Yes, he wanted a position in the Ministry badly, and yes, he probably
likes the money he is getting there in comparision to the relative poverty that
he is used to. But why stress the very normal means and lengths that Percy went
to, while ignoring the abnormal ones people like the twins use? The Twins resort
to *black mail* in attempt to reach their goal of owning their joke shop, and
they used pranks and tricks against fellow school mates to gain their 'power'
while at school. Ron complains bitterly about *not* having power and money,
but does none of the hard work to change his position.
Also, you forget that Percy already HAS had to decide between the Ministry
and his family. He threw his reputation completely out the window when he rushed
down to check on Ron after the second task, even though as a judge, he had to
know that Ron was fine. Even knowing that, he couldn't have given a toss what
the Ministry thought, his mind was completely on his brother. Put Ron in a situation
were he actually *is* at risk? There is no way that Percy wouldn't act even
more protectively of his younger brother.
Theory posted by catwoman on 6/19/02:
I can't imagine Percy quickly believing Harry's story about the Crouch family
or about Cornelius Fudge. He would certainly not want to believe that Crouch
Sr. broke a convicted criminal out of Azkaban and then harbored a fugitive for
12 years. Even though at heart, Percy is a good guy, I can easily see him calling
Harry a liar. I think this will be especially true if he learns about Harry's
relationship with Sirius.
Theory posted by Michelle Ravel on 4/24/01:
Percy is a Weasley. He loves his family--he's brave, and he wants the good
guys to win. He's willing to do ANYTHING to get the good guys to win.
This leads us to our slight problem. Percy has a bit of a skewed opinion about
what "good" means. For him, good means rules. Good means structure. Rules are
made for the safety of everyone. If you follow the rules, you're good. If you
don't, you're not.
In his head, this works. He's a little naive. It's his tragic flaw.
In GoF, when Ron and Harry are discussing Mr. Crouch and being shocked that
Mr. Crouch would ever do what he did to his own son, they get onto the topic
of Percy. Ron expresses a fear that, if it came to a choice between the law
and his family, Percy would choose the law, just like Mr. Crouch. (I always
thought this was one of those "blatant forshadowing" bits.)
Theory posted by Circex on 8/3/01:
I think Percy is a lot like Ron. He doesn't want to be poor, he wants to make
a name for himself. And he sees the Ministry as a place to do that. And Mr.
Crouch was a real Mentor to him...he wanted to be that respected and respectable.
And he's twenty-three. This is his first job. Of course he's going to go overboard.
And let's not forget...little Percy saw the Ministry of Magic setting his world
to rights. How can something so good do the wrong thing? So I think he'll side
with the Ministry...until he just can't anymore. Unfortunately...he'll know
what his family is up too...he might know details. And the Dark Side could kill
him.
But we're meant to think Percy might go evil. THe book he was reading 'Prefects
who Gained Power' and the 'ambitious' comment. I don't think he will be evil
though. He loves his family too much. He loves life too much. He made Ginny
take Pepper-up Potion, he jumped up and down (all dignity gone) when Gryffindor
took the Cup, he ran out into the lake (looking younger and paler) to Ron's
side after the second task. He lets Fred and George shove him into his sweater
and frog march him into sitting with them.
Theory posted by alphabet on 11/30/01:
I think Percy would only disagree with the other Weasleys internally. He might
tell them they're all wrong and blah blah blah, but if *Fudge* started to say
his dad was a fool or something, I think Percy would jump right up and defend
him and say that as a matter of fact, he thought his dad was right.
Theory posted by Michelle Ravel on 12/15/01:
The thing is, Percy truly loves his family and the society he lives in. He
wants to preserve them, and he wants to keep them safe, and he wants them to
be good and happy.
But as I've said before, for Percy, "good" "safe" and "happy" is completely
interchangeable with "following the rules". There is no difference. There is
no middle ground. If it's good, it's good all the time. No exceptions.
Because he is a person who does things by extremes, as do many Head Boy types,
it was easy to convince himself that "following the rules" must be done ALL
the time or else nothing will be "good".
So, for him, he wouldn't be choosing between his family and the Ministry. He
would be choosing between "following authority", or not. Which to him, means
choosing between "good" and "evil". There are no shades of gray in his world.
Anyone Weasley would choose Good instead of Evil in a second. So, in siding
with the Ministry, he would be trying to protect his family, in a sort of twisted
way.
Theory posted by bluemeanies42 on 1/30/02:
All kidding aside, one very important aspect of Percy that is frequently overlooked
influences my decision: His age. Specifically that he was approximately six
years old when Voldemort was defeated. This means that most of Percy's early
memories are probably "Percy, stay out of the way, Mommy and Daddy are very
busy.", "Bill, Charlie, Percy, look after the twins and Ron, Mommy and Daddy
have very important business." and maybe even "Percy, shut up or you're going
to get us all killed." Percy was also old enough to understand that Voldemort
was the reason everyone was so frightened, unlike the twins, but had no idea
what was really going on. So for Percy, subconsciously, Voldemort is someone
you run away and hide from and let the grown-ups deal with it. So now Percy
is one of the grown-ups, what does he do? His first instinct is probably to
hide, but then he'll think better of it and decide he has to fight.
Theory posted by Cairnsy7 on 3/21/02:
Percy siding with Voldemort
For:
1. The Scabbers connection. What we've seen so far in the magical world is that
often there is a strong connection between the familiars and their owners. If
what applies to the rest of the Wizard world holds true when selecting an animal
companion to go to Hogwarts with, then there is a fair amount of fate associated
with it, not to mention character reflection.
How and why did Scabbers choose the Weasley family, and why Percy? According
to the books, Percy would have been all of six years old when Scabbers became
part of the Weasley household, and all evidence points to Percy having been
the only owner prior to Ron.
Is the fact Scabbers was Percy's by choice (either Percy's or Peter's), as opposed
to Ron having very little say in the matter, have anything to do with the personality
of either of them? Did Peter see something in a young Percy that he believed
he could use to his own advantage, or was it simply 'fate', so to speak?
2. The whole Crouch situation.
Of all the people one of Voldemort's supporters could have chosen to take Crouch's
place, Percy was chosen. Why? Surely it would have seemed more logical to have
had someone who had worked in the department for a longer time, someone that
Crouch was known to trust - not someone who's last name he couldn't remember?
Not only that, but Percy is a Weasley - why involve someone who would constantly
be sharing the details of the work assigned to him with one of the most powerful
members of the Ministry - his own father? Why take such a big risk of Arthur
Weasley figuring out something was fishy even if Percy didn't?
Careless risks, or something more?
3. Ron's quote in Goblet of Fire.
Because foreshadowing is a powerful device, used by many writers.Against:
1. You'll notice I left out one argument that is often used to support this
theory, and that is that Percy is ambitious. In my mind, it is a *very* weak
link between being ambitious and being prepared to murder innocent people.
To say Percy wants power is one thing (a whole debate in itself), but power
is not what he would get by siding with Voldemort, not the sort he craves. There
is a huge gap between wanting to be powerful, and the kind of thing Death Eaters
do.
2. He has never shown any Death Eater qualities. Remember, Death Eaters aren't
simply bad guys who have power, they have their own set of beliefs and codes.
Percy has no problem with Muggles, it seems he has a friendship with at least
Hermione, and it is made mention of the fact they always tend to agree, he has
no problem putting the son of a major Death Eater (Draco) in his place, and
his whole responsibility as a Prefect was to protect others.
3. Percy would have been about 6 when the first war ended. You can bet he still
has horrifying memories of what the Death Eaters were capable of, and the fear
that they produced.
4. Any power that he has come by is purely through hard work - he's never taken
short cuts. Why would he suddenly decide to take the easy way out, when it completely
contridicts his entire work ethic (and character) up until now? There is nothing
that can be drawn on from the books that suggest he would ever take the easy
road or the one that isn't 'true and right', unlike the twins who have shown
they are prepared to do *anything* to achieve what they want.
Percy siding with the Ministry
For:
1. His obvious devotion to Crouch Sn.
While I personally find it rather cute, Percy’s devotion to Crouch cannot be
ignored. He was willing to listen to his advice, run around after him, and basically
put up with a lot of humiliation on his own behalf.
2. His devotion to following the rules.
Rules are very important to Percy, and in his mind, the Ministry is *the* establishment
that makes the rules, and that those are the rules that must be followed. The
Ministry is always right, because they’re supposed to be.Against:
1. The first problem here is that Percy’s devotion to Crouch is not an instant
reflection of his opinions of other Ministry workers. He dislikes Bagman, and
I highly doubt he worships the ground that Lucius walks on. Yes, Percy was blindsided
by Crouch Sn, but Crouch WAS his very first boss and the man that, at the time,
Percy felt he needed to impress the most. Chances are, you put any 18 year old
in that same situation, desperate to come across as worthy and intelligent to
your new boss, and their going to make an equal fool of themselves.
2. Percy is in a very different situation to much of the rest of the Ministry.
He was a direct link/pawn in the murder/cover up of Crouch Sn, the man
he idolised. He can’t ignore it, because he was *part* of the whole situation.
At the end of the 4th book, he is even being investigated/interviewed over the
part he played in the whole thing. You have someone who is basically still a
child, being given the news that his dream position and dream year in the Ministry,
was in fact what enabled not only the person he had admired the most to be murdered,
but Cedric as well.
How easy is it going to be for Percy to ignore all that? First off, it would
be hard to believe that Percy would still have an idealised version of the Ministry.
The only way he could possibly side in their denial, would be if it was a way
for *him* to try and avoid the part he played, and the guilt the poor kid must
be feeling.
3. There is no reason to suggest that Percy holds other Ministry members ideals
and thoughts above his father’s. Nor that he wouldn’t believe what Harry had
seen.
Percy will side with his family/Dumbledore
For:
1. Percy has always been shown to be protective of his siblings, even going
so far as to throw all decorum out the window during the second task to make
sure Ron was ok, even though as a judge, he must have known his younger brother
would be fine.
2. He seems to seek the approval of his mother on a constant basis. I don’t
think Molly would quite approve of him supporting the Ministry or Voldemort
=)
3. Percy has very strong ties to Dumbledore. Percy is trusted explicitly by
Dumbledore - in the third book, Dumbledore chose to share confidential information
with Percy, and obviously knows him on a personal level to have made him Head
Boy over more likely candidates such as Marcus Flint or Oliver Wood. Not to
mention that in the first book, Percy brags openly about Dumbledore to Harry,
even though he admits to thinking he is 'quite mad'. As we have been shown,
Percy prefers people in charge to be strict and uncompromising - a far cry from
Dumbledore. The fact that his opinion of Dumbledore differs so strongly to the
disdain he holds for people who tend to act like Dumbeldore, suggests that perhaps
Percy knows him fairly well to get past that initial prejudice.
We are supposed to believe that Dumbledore’s judgement of character, while at
times strange, is often very good. Snape, Moody, Sirius, Remus – people that
others wouldn’t automatically trust, but Dumbledore does. Percy slips into that
same mould very easily.
4. While he has never shown any loyalty to the Death Eater ideals, or to anyone
other than Crouch in the Ministry, he shows it constantly to his own family.Against:
1. Ron suggesting that Percy would sell out his family for power. Not exactly
strong evidence, compared to the above.Conclusion
For Percy to side with Voldemort would go completely against what we know of
his character thus far. To have experienced what he did in GOF and still support
the Ministry in an attempt to deny everything, would have to hinge largely on
his state of mind, and how fragile it is. There isn’t a huge amount to contradict
him not believing his family or Dumbledore, which is why it is the theory I
support the most.
. . .
Will Percy Die?
Who will live and who will die? It is a thouroughly discussed topic amongst
fans, and many seem to think that Percy is marked for death. So, will Percy
see the end of Book VII? And what leads people to believe that he will or will
not make it?
Theory posted by Cairnsy on 4/18/01:
Sadly enough, it's becoming far too evident to me that Percy is the next big
kill. Throughout the series, it's constantly stated that almost every family
lost someone due to the Voldemort reign. One of the few familys that it *wasn't*
brought up about was Cedric's, who then of course died. All this time, the Weasley
family has been shown as complete and uneffected by death or injury from that
period, even though they are a large family. Not only has a death to the Weasley
family been practically forshadowed, it gives us major angst for one of the
main characters. Ron. Either Ron, Hermione or Harry need to suffer emotionally
from the death that takes place. Hermione and Harry have no developed relationships,
so it makes sense that it is Ron, and therefore a developed Weasley who dies.
That cuts out Bill and Charlie immediately. Sure, you could spend the book
developing them, but why not use a character who has been used in all four other
books? It also cuts out Mr and Mrs Weasley. Fans don't have the emotional attachment
to them as they do to the others. Which leaves us with the twins, Ginny and
Percy. Ginny is out. It would be poor story telling to put her in a simular
situation to what she was only in a couple of books ago. The twins are out.
If Fred dies, Ron's angst is only secondary to George's. If George dies, the
situation is reversed.
Which brings us to Percy. Percy, who is one of the most developed and complex
minor characters in the series - yet why? There was no need to include him in
the fourth book at all, yet he was still a contributing minor character. Percy
has shown evidence of how much he cares for Ron, yet Ron still thinks badly
of him. The angst level that would occur if Percy sacrificed himself for Ron,
therefore making Ron realise that he had completely miss-interpreted his brother,
would be huge. It would also be fantastic - and heart breaking, story telling.
. . .
Whatever Happened To Penelope?
At the end of Chamber of Secrets, we learned from Ginny that Percy had a girlfriend,
Ravenclaw prefect Penelope Clearwater, and that she had caught them kissing
in an empty classroom. We know that in Prisoner of Azkaban, Percy and Penny
are still dating, but what is their status as of Goblet of Fire? Percy is working
for Mr. Crouch while Penelope is in 7th year, and she isn’t mentioned once,
by Percy or in narrative. The girl didn’t evaporate!
Theory posted by MorganTuatha on 12/23/01:
Does Percy ever actually talk about Penelope? Harry observes them together
and the rest of the Weasley's talk about his girlfriend, but I don't recall
Percy ever actually mentioning anything about her in the previous books. It
seems to me like Percy is simply the type that does not speak about his relationships.
Theory posted by Michelle Ravel on 12/23/01:He does mention her...like when
he smooths down his hair and says, "Oh, there's Penelope..."
...but in GoF, he doesn't talk about her at all! Which is annoying to P/P fans
since she was apparently AT the Yule Ball, and we just don't know what happened
to her.Right now? I think he may be ignoring her for his "career". Which would
be a shame.
Theory posted by The Elfir on 12/23/01:
I think it's likely that he thinks it's inappropriate for him to be involved
with a girl while he's working, and whenever he was at Hogwarts for book 4,
he was working. Since Penny put up with him during book 2 when he wanted to
keep it secret, she may have put up with it during GOF. On the other hand, she
may have gotten fed up and dumped him, in which case he'd be even less likely
to mention her.
Theory posted by Zsenya on 12/28/01:
I feel like JKR wouldn't have bothered making Penelope be the one who was Petrified
with Hermione without a good reason. I think that CoS has excellent insight
into Percy's character - the fact that he is basically in a state of shock (Fred
and George read into it that he's upset only because Penelope's a prefect as
well) after she is attacked is, in my eyes, very telling.
Percy's character seems to be a bit of an Ebenezer Scrooge. It's very possible
that Penelope dumped him once he began to get so obsessed with his work at the
Ministry. It's important to remember, however, that by the end of GoF, Percy
is not in a great position at the Ministry. His boss is missing/dead, he's been
hauled in for questioning, and we don't know if he's been reassigned to another
office or not. That whole experience could have entirely changed his view on
working for the Ministry, we just don't know.
Theory posted by Murasaki Shikibu on 12/29/01:
I can just see Percy shoving Penelope aside to further his career at the ministry.
He would have a mental agenda in his head on when a good time would be to take
a relationship into account.
He seems the type to compartmentalize everything in its proper time and place
(whatever he thinks is the proper time and place, at any rate) and I'm getting
the impression that Penelope isn't quite up there at this point. I'm hoping
he'll come around.
Theory posted by OpalEmber on 1/13/01:
I always assumed that they broke up after Percy left Hogwarts. I can see him
thinking that him being involved with someone who was still in school would
be "improper" (even though she *is* only a year younger than him).
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