Percy (and some Ron and some Hermione thoughts too)

[catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk]

No: HPFGUIDX 16308

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Morag Traynor" <moragt at h...> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> > > > (CoS Ch 16) After Ginny's abduction, Percy sends an owl to his
> > > > parents then locks himself in his dormitory. Fred, George and 
Ron
> >sit
> > > > in the Common Room. I would categorize Ginny's abduction as a
> >"time
> > > > of trial", yet Percy isolates himself from his brothers.
> 
> Yes, people handle times of trial differently, but there's another 
dimension 
> as well.  Percy is blaming himself for Ginny's abduction (and, for 
all they 
> know, death) because he feels he, as the oldest brother at 
Hogwarts, has 
> failed to protect her, and is too ashamed to join the others in the 
common 
> room.  In his mind, he has failed his whole family and the school - 
in other 
> words, his whole world.  His self-image as a good brother and 
prefect means 
> a lot to him, and this has been dealt a severe blow.   He feels he 
has 
> nothing to offer the others.  This may not be perfect behaviour, 
but it is 
> understandable, and I feel desperately sorry for him.  I like to 
think 
> Dumbledore had a
> quiet word with him and helped him to see that he couldn't have 
prevented 
> it.
>

I agree with you totally.  I have always felt sorry for Percy.  The 
major problem with him is that he is perfectionist, and, I believe, 
basically insecure, which means he has to over achieve in order to 
live up to his own standards.  He is very proud of his achievements, 
and puts as much energy into his report on cauldron thicknesses as 
his exams and his roles as Prefect/Headboy.  In return, he is 
ridiculed by everyone in his family barr Mrs Weasley (and perhaps, 
less than the others, Ginny) and his boss can't even get his name 
right.  I have always felt that his pomposity has always stemmed from 
this insecurity and perfectionism, with a dash of lack of sense of 
humour for good measure - and this latter element again is probably 
due to wanting to be looked up to, and not made fun of, and he has 
been made fun of all his life.

Because of the perfectionist in him, and his regard for his family 
(which I believe in very strongly) I think that part of the reason he 
shut himself away during CoS is because of self-loathing (he failed 
his family and did not live up to his own exacting standards) and 
because he probably thinks that George, Fred and Ron think the same 
thing.

Therefore, I too, felt desperately sorry for Percy.

Catherine