chapter and character discussion 2/2

[cairnsyNZ]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C5306
From: cairnsyNZ
Subject: Re: chapter and character discussion 2/2
Reply To: [Yahoo! #5305] Re:chapter and character discussion 1/2
Date: 7/29/00 3:53 am  (ET)

More on Percy ...

Spoiler space - just in case.

..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Aspect two is Percy's first couple of years at Hogwarts. Unlike Fred
and George who had each other, and Ron who had all three of them, Percy
would have gone to Hogwarts alone as a little boy. There doesn't seem to
be anything that suggests it in Book One (knowing my luck it does in one
of the future books!) that Percy is very close to a particular person -
if he goes somewhere it's with the Prefects, when they caught the train
to go to Hogwarts he went to sit again with the Prefects. The Prefects -
not individuals.

The legend Percy had to live up to at Hogwarts was perhaps greater than
the one Ron does now. Charlie and Bill had each been great in their
individual ways, but only a few students would have been there at the
same time they were and the time Percy starts.

With Bill and Charlie no longer being at Hogwarts, it is very likely
their reputations were blown out of proportion, especially with the
Gryffs. having not won the cup for a long period of time. Percy would
have gone to Hogwarts expected by other students to live up to a Weasley
name that over time had been stripped of all the negative factors. He
probably would have been expected not only to live up to one of Bill or
Charlies reputation, but both simultaneously.

Ron has it slightly easier because everyone knows that George, Percy and
Fred have faults - they've had to deal with them on a daily basis. Percy
would have been dealing with the myth of two perfect brothers - pretty
tough for an eleven year old.

I think it's because of this pressure - put on by either himself, others,
or both, that he tried to become the 'Perfect Weasley', and we ended
up with the Percy we've got today. I think Percy is scared of not being
perfect - every time he isn't he is ridiculed and publicly embarrassed
by others, most of the time by his own brothers.

I think the most telling thing about Percy however (moving on to aspect
three!) is that he was sorted into Gryffindor. That means that his
"daring, nerve, and chivalry" was more evident than Ravenclaws "where
those of wit and learning, Will always find their kind" or Slytherins
"Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends" .

The fact that Percy then became a Prefect of his house, and later Head
Boy, shows that firstly he is not only a *true* Gryffindor, but one of the
best, and that he must be highly thought of by those high up at Hogwarts,
including Dumbledore. Speaking from my own experience as an ex-prefect,
it is the Headmaster who 9 times out of 10 chooses the Head Boy and Girl.

The Gryffindor definition doesn't really seem to have much in common
with the Percy we've been shown, but the fact that it is supported
shows Percy in a whole new light. Maybe it is the 'Gryffindor Percy'
we are finally going to see in the future books.

Everything I've written is largely speculation - we really have no idea
what Percy's younger years were like. However I really believe that the
fact he was in Gryffindor and got as far in that house as he did really
says something about his character.

I've rambled on for far too long, I better finish it off here. Hope this
post provides a couple of points to mull over!

Cairnsy