[HPforGrownups] Percy the PA (was Crouch's memory)

[Eileen]

No: HPFGUIDX 51289

Ahem... <pushes horn-rimmed spectacles up her nose>

Percy is only appointed personal assistant after the
QWC and some time before Christmas, which makes a
substantial difference in evaluating his duties. I
think it would be reasonable to take Crouch's
observation that he left Weatherby in charge as
showing that he was his personal assistant by the time
Tournament started.

--- "David <dfrankiswork at netscape.net>"
<dfrankiswork at netscape.net> wrote: 
> Very senior civil servants, particularly those who
> are not merely 
> general administrators but have some sort of
> specialist advice role 
> (e.g. Chief Scientific Advisor) will usually have
> *two* assistants.
> 
> One will be a PA as conventionally understood,
> typically someone 
> with extensive secretarial experience and
> organisational ability.  
> That person will take up the burden of the servant
> role that Elkins 
> describes (i.e. to the outside observer being the
> most powerful 
> person in the organisation because they control the
> diary!).
> 
> The other will be a junior person who has been
> identified as having 
> potential, and is intended should get a broad range
> of experience, 
> in particular the opportunity to observe the
> workings of the upper 
> reaches.  That person will support their boss in
> their specialist 
> role, dealing with, for example more straightforward
> issues 
> (cauldron bottoms anyone?) that still need the
> authority of the 
> head. Drafting memos for signature, for example. 
> One might deduce 
> that Percy has shown an aptitude for languages, for
> example, though 
> where his education would have given him opportunity
> escapes me.  As 
> a person with an outstanding academic record, he
> fits the bill, 
> though.

The cauldron bottom report was before Percy was
appointed Crouch's personal assistant, though. 

If we want to get a taste of what Percy was doing as
Crouch's personal assistant while Crouch was still at
the office. 

"and when you've done that, Weatherby, send an owl to
Dumbledore confirming the number of Durmstrang
students who will be attending the Tournament, Karkoff
had just sent word there will be twelve..."

"... and then send another owl to Madame Maxime,
beause she might want to up the number of students
she's bringing, now Karkaroff's made it a round
dozen... do that, Weatherby, will you?"

"Thank you, Weatherby, and when you have done that, I
would like a cup of tea. My wife and son will be
arriving shortly, we are attending a concert tonight
with Mr. and Mrs. Fudge,"

"Yes, my son has recently gained twelve O.W.Ls, most
satisfactory, yes, thank you, yes, very proud indeed.
Now, if you could bring me that memo from the Andorran
Minister for Magic, I think I will have time to draft
a response..."

>From the above, I can't help but conclude that Percy's
position was more as Elkins describes it, being a
professional servant. He was carting papers in and
out, filing stuff, making tea, attending to basic
correspondence. 

Elkins wrote:
>It is work that is much easier to perform well if 
>you are able to convince yourself, at least while 
>on the clock, that your employer really *is* a 
>kind of minor deity.

Just the job for Percy then. He got to listen to
Crouch talking. (I think the above passages support my
contention that Crouch did like to talk a lot about
himself.) And he must have nearly died and went to
heaven everytime Crouch said thank you. Not to
mention, that Crouch might actually have drank the tea
he made. 

Elkins wrote:
>I have no difficulty believing that Percy would 
>have been that person for Mr. Crouch.  I've always 
>read a certain degree of amused approval mixed in 
>with the faint exasperation of Crouch's description 
>of Percy as a tad over-enthusiastic at times. 

Me too! In fact, this is one of my favourite Crouch
lines. 

I could see myself in Percy's place. 

In fact, I was a personal assistant for a political
lobbyist the summer I turned eighteen. A job which
included making tea, dealing with basic
correspondence, filing stuff, making appointments, and
turning a bright shade of pink whenever a politician
or a journalist spoke to me. 

And I did think my boss was a minor deity. 

After Voldemort decides to keep Crouch at home, we
know that Percy took over directing the entire
Department from Crouch's written instructions. 

<wonders briefly what the Head of the Transylvanian
Department of International Magical Co-operation
thought of dealing with Percy>

But Percy's just perfect for that job, isn't he? Just
like poor Matthew Johnston, who became a national
celebrity by filling in on talk radio for his boss,
Rahim Jaffer, a Canadian MP.

("You're not Jaffer. You're Jaffer's personal
assistant," insisted the caller. It was a lovely
little scandal.)

Grey Wolf wrote:
>Thus, Crouch gets the impression that that 
>red-haired guy is called Weatherby. He might even 
>ask if he's related to the Weasleys, to which 
>Percy would just nod again, but simply wouldn't be 
>able to utter a word. 

Thankyou for that priceless mental image, Grey.

Derannimer wrote:
> Elkins, do you think that Mr. Crouch's inability 
> to recognize other people's identities has anything 
> to do with his cronic inability to remember his 
> assistant's *name?*)

Elkins replied:
>Yeah, thematically, I do view Crouch's inability 
>to remember Percy's name in just that light.

An interesting thought here. What about in the "Yule
Ball" chapter when Percy calls Winky "Blinky?" A
harbringer of doom? Does Percy recognize other
people's identities? Will Percy really pull a Crouch?

Eileen

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