Official Discussion Questions for the next Few Months: Question #1

[marinafrants]

No: HPFGUIDX 37266

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "jenny_ravenclaw" <meboriqua at a...> wrote:

> Anyway, I am most definitely a member of P.I.N.E., but I worry about 
> Percy just the same.  

That's pretty much my take on it too.  I admit I hadn't given Percy
much thought in the earlier books, but I was surprisingly touched by
the scene where he splashes into the lake after Ron.  For a moment
there, he stopped being the comically pompous stuffed-shirt, and
became a real 18-year-old boy who was worried about his little
brother. Awwww.

Dramatically speaking, I do think JKR has been highlighting Percy's
character flaws deliberately (particularly in GoF, where there's so
much emphasis on his wrong-headed admiration of Crouch), and I expect
it to become a plot point in the next book.  A conflict between the
Weasely family and the MoM is definitely brewing.  Without Percy, it
becomes a very neat and clear-cut conflict -- we know that all the
other Weasleys will stand united. Percy's potentially conflicted
loyalties add an element of tension and complexity.  I think Percy may
make some mistakes and do some unintentional damage.  But I believe
he'll do the right thing in the end and become a nicer person for it
(assuming he survives the experience).

Marina
rusalka at ix.netcom.com