TBAY OOP: Percy is a PERFECT TARGET

[corinthum]

No: HPFGUIDX 67125

Are we still on spoiler policy here?





-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Almost two weeks since Hurricane Jo had wreaked havoc on Theory Bay,
the waters had once again calmed.  Much of the driftwood that had
littered the Bay had since been scavenged and added to new vessels, or
else had sunk slowly beneath the water.  The sun was shining gently on
a brand new little yacht, floating in the shallow water near the
shore.  On its deck, Corinth sat next to a collection of stencils and
a bucket of paint, contemplating an assortment of papers hapharzardly
placed around her.

Having lurked in the shadows of the Bay for some time before the
storm, Corinth had finally decided to take up residence in the Bay. 
Her little boat was finally ready; now it need to be named and armed.

"Percy..." she mused to herself.  "I'm sure I can get something here."
 She glanced back over the noted she had made while attending services
last week.

"GEORGE: Alas, P.I.N.E. never stood a chance when Hurricane Jo
arrived. The death certificate establishes the cause of death as
'Blunt Force
Trauma,' due to taking one hell of a beating in OoP...No, we must
accept it for in the end we have no other choice. Percy. *Is.* Evil.
But we must not grieve. It is better this way. Percy is now a threat
to the Order. He must be regarded with great suspicion in the next
books. He breaks the pattern of having each Weasley being just a
little too good, a little too able to resist temptation."  

Corinth shook her head.  "Evil?  Perhaps I have a different definition
of the word, but Percy's actions hardly struck me as evil.  He was, as
George Weasley so eloquently put it, 'the world's biggest prat', but
nothing he did was actually, definitively cruel."  She sighed.  "But
then, it doesn't really matter, does it?  The results are going to be
the same in the end, regardless of which side Percy chooses."

She stood and began pacing the deck.  "Let's analyze Percy.  He's
always been ambitious, and arrogant, and intelligent.  And he's always
been praised for being this way.  It was his claim to fame within his
family.  When he became prefect, his parents were overjoyed and bought
him an owl.  He became Head Boy, and despite his brothers' constant
teasing, his parents once again let him know how proud they were.  His
mother consistantly supported him when Fred and George started in on
him.  And despite the endless teasing, I have no doubt that Percy
loved his family."  Corinth glanced back at her notes.  "As Rebecca
points out, he was genuinely worried about Ron following the second
task.  And he never showed any signs of being let down by his father
previous to OoP."

"So what changed this last year?  Well, when did Percy go beserk?  Was
it after the Third Task, when Harry started the insane
Voldemort-has-returned rumor?  No.  Was is when he learned that his
parents were in Dumbledore's little circle of supporters?  We aren't
given direct evidence, but I get the feeling Percy, like the rest of
the family, was aware of this fact from the start.  But no, he doesn't
get upset then.  No, he gets upset when Arthur tells him that his
Fudge only promoted him to spy on Arthur.  A direct blow to his ego. 
Percy's weak spot is his pride.  And so he throws a fit.  He latches
on to the Ministry's story that Dumbledore is lying, and throws it in
Arthur's face.  He adds a couple more insults that he's certain will
hurt (the money comment) and storms out."

"But does Percy really believe this?  I think he wants to. 
Desperately.  He wants to believe that he really earned this
promotion, and that Fudge had no ulterior motives in hiring him.  Look
at his behavior throughout the book.  He overdoes it.  It seems to me
like he's trying to convince himself that he's made the right
decision.  I'm thinking Fudge asks about his family a little more
often than Percy would like.  He wants to believe in his own
abilities, but the doubts remain.  He shuts out his family, knowing
deep down that they would never risk their lives without proof but
unwilling to acknowledge this.  He willingly accepts the rumors about
Harry's instability.  And what about his letter to Ron?  It seemed a
bit odd that Percy would ignore his family but go out of his way to
write a letter that he must have known would get no response.  But
then, putting something in writing makes it a little more concrete. 
Again, that letter was an attempt to convince himself, not Ron."

"And see how Percy reacts when Dumbledore finally 'confesses'.  He's
thrilled.  And I don't think this is because he dislikes Dumbledore. 
In PS/SS, Percy, who has been at Hogwarts for five years, calls
Dubledore a genious.  Percy's intelligent, and he was Head Boy, which
I assume means he worked closely with Dumbledore and therefore knows
perfectly well that Dumbledore is usually right about things.  That
had to be the biggest snag in Percy's Ministry-right-Dumbledore-wrong
theory.  But now, he finally has proof.  Not just rumors, not just
hearsay, but an actual confession.  He was right.  He wasn't being
used as a spy.  His parents were mistaken is underestimating his
abilities.  He was right!"

"Fast forward to the end of the book.  The Ministry has admitted they
were wrong.  Voldemort is back.  Percy finally has to accept the
truth: Fudge was a paranoid fool, and Percy's promotion was in all
likelihood exactly what his father had said it was.  The question is,
will he admit this and ask his family's forgiveness?

Corinth sighed sadly.  "It doesn't matter though.  It doesn't matter
what Percy wants anymore.  He's a sitting duck.  A perfect target for
Voldemort.  Look at Voldemort's followers.  We seem to have two types.
 First, the purebloodists.  A big group, easy to recruit.  But we have
seen a few Death Eaters who have shown no strong opinions regarding
the pureblood vs. Muggle-born debate.  Most notably, Barty Crouch Jr.
 One of Voldemort's most loyal followers.  So why did young Barty
decide to follow Voldemort?  Because Barty's father had let him down,
and Voldemort had offered to take his place.  Voldemort the charmer. 
Same with Pettigrew.  For all Peter's whining about being terrified
for his life, I think Voldemort simply offered him, very convincingly,
the one thing he could find nowhere else: power and repect.  How about
Snape?  No real canon here, but it seems pretty probable that
unpopular, frustrated teenage Snape could be lured by the
power-and-respect offer as well."

"I'm sure Voldemort is keeping an eye on all Ministry workers.  And
I'm sure he's quite aware that, sitting in the office of the Minister
of Magic himself, is a horribly disappointed junior assistant.  A
junior assistant with strong family ties to Dumbledore's Order of the
Pheonix.  A junior assistant whose weakness is his own pride and
ambition.  A junior assistant who feels abandoned by the world. 
Voldemort won't pass up this chance."

"I don't think Percy is evil.  Or not evil.  He's still in the grey
area right now.  But very soon, he is going to be forced to choose. 
Begin spying for Voldemort, or openly defy him.  I'm not quite sure
which path he will choose.  But either way, he's toast."

Corinth picked up her stencils and paint, and added a name to her boat:

PERFECT TARGET: Percy Errs Regarding Fudge; Expect Contact from Tom To
be Attempted Regardless of Good or Evil Traits.

"Well, acronyms aren't my strong point.  But you get the idea".