Can One Like The Twins *And* Percy?

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 35860

I've been following the Percy discussion, and I think I agree 
with . . . everyone.  JKR does seem to encourage the reader to view 
Percy as a cartoonish straight-man.  She also paints Fred and George 
as cartoonish jokers.  Percy has his fans; Fred and George have 
their fans.  But given that Percy is in many ways the opposite of 
Fred and George, is it possible to really like both sets of 
characters?

I must say that I like Fred and George better than Percy.  To the 
extent I like Percy, it is just to have a laugh at Percy's expense.  
(Hey, it's not my fault; JKR *wants* me to have a laugh at Percy's 
expense.)  I know I have heard others say they don't like Fred and 
George because they don't appreciate their particular brand of 
humor, but I wonder if they find Percy more interesting.

And for what it is worth, Percy doesn't seem to have any Edge at 
all, and the jury is still out on whether Percy is Tough.  He seems 
to bounce around between "pompous" and "worried."  It's a rather 
harsh assessment, but there you have it.  Sorry, Percy fans.  

Maybe Percy will get more interesting in future books?  We can 
always hope, but somehow I doubt it.  JKR really has her work cut 
out for her if she is going to flesh out every recurring character 
that is two-dimensional and could benefit from some development.  
The list is *really* long.  Fred & George.  Bill.  Charlie.  Ginny.  
Sirius.  Fudge.  Molly.  Arthur.  McGonagall.  Flitwick.  Draco.  
And of course Mrs. Lestrange.  :-)

There just may not be time for a make-over for Percy.

Cindy (who, if she could pick only one character for major character 
development in future books, would pick Draco because she's already 
had too much of Draco just showing up and saying nasty things to the 
trio over and over)