[HPforGrownups] Percy (yes, again :-)

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 69395

Doriane wrote:
> > 
> > I read a magazine about coding secret messages the other day. And 
> > yesterday, while I was re-reading Percy's letter to Ron, it struck 
> me 
> > hard : this letter feels fake. It feels to me like Percy is 
> > desperately trying to say something to Ron. 

I agree that even for Percy the letter seems a bit stilted, with phrasing that makes you stand up and take notice.  For example, calling Umbridge "a truly delightful woman."  Unless Percy sees a side of her completely at odds with what we've seen, I can't imagine anyone saying that voluntarily, even Percy.

I don't think it's a coded warning to Ron.  In fact, I don't think the letter was his idea at all.  My theory is that Umbridge advised him to write it, told Percy what points he should make, and edited it herself.  Who else could possibly think her *delightful*?  Look what else the letter advises:  Don't hang out with Harry.  Tell mum and dad to stay away from those petty criminals that hang out with Dumbledore.  Get to know Umbridge.  Be "willing to help" Umbridge since the poor woman gets no cooperation from staff.  There's even a hint of a bribe -- do this and you, too, could be Head Boy!  

KathyK wrote:

> I've always been inclined to believe that Percy is sincere in his 
> actions and that he truly believes he is doing what is right.  Mainly 
> this is because of all the debate over which character is a spy and 
> which one is evil.  As we know, characters in the Potterverse are 
> rarely who they appear to be.  But I think Percy's story is much more 
> interesting as one of a well intentioned young man who makes stupid 
> decisions and will hopefully live to correct his mistakes.  

Agreed.

Doriane again:

> > In the first paragraph of his letter, Percy mentions that he's 
> > writing to Ron because he learned from Umbridge through Fudge that 
> > Ron had been made a prefect. Sounds odd to me : would the Minister 
> of 
> > Magic and the freshly-appointed High Inquisitor care about 
> informing 
> > a junior assistant that his little brother was made prefect ? 

Umbridge wouldn't hesitate to inform Percy if she wanted to use Percy's relationship to Ron to get information about Harry and Dumbledore.  Since Percy ran away from his family, inadvertently wrecking her plan to use him to spy on the Weasleys, this is an alternate way of using Percy's connections for spying purposes.  And her explanation of the Dementor attack suggests that Umbridge is impatient with Fudge's dithering over what to do; perhaps she enlisted Fudge to tell Percy.  
   
> > And we know he can lie, since he says in the letter that Umbridge 
> is 
> > not getting much help in her work at school, while he is quoted as 
> > saying that she is immensely successfull the next day in the DP !!


But in my view, it is Umbridge who is lying.  Percy's continued naivete has caused him to swallow Umbridge's slander on his family hook, line and sinker.  If you read all the things he throws out at his family after he tells him about his new job, they all sound like things he's been told -- that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Arthur would go down with him.  I can imagine Umbridge having a meeting with Percy after he gets the job for the purpose of telling Percy point-blank that Arthur had a "lousy reputation" in the Ministry and that Percy would go nowhere in the Ministry unless he demonstrated that his loyalty lay with his bosses.  Because he was angry that his parents weren't impressed by his promotion, he threw it back in their faces.  

KathyK:

> He says in the letter that the other 
> teachers are not cooperating with Umbridge.  In the newspaper 
> article, he says "she's been an immediate success, totally 
> revolutionizing the teaching of Defense Against the Dark Arts and 
> providing the Minister with on-the-ground feedback about what's 
> really happening at Hogwarts." (that's on p 307 of the US edition). 
> He wouldn't want to report to the paper that the staff doesn't like 
> Umbridge, but he can say that she's been successful in her teaching 
> methods in DADA (how would he know any different?) and she is able to 
> report the goings-on to Fudge, which was a goal of placing her at 
> Hogwarts.

This looks like another piece of evidence to support Umbridge's manipulation.  This sounds just like an Umbridge speech.  Percy was never quite like this.  But his actions in OOP sufficiently resemble the pomposity he demonstrated before so that he doesn't appear too far out of character. 

Poor Percy was brainwashed by his desire to build a successful career in the Ministry into believing those who would reward him, and this gives Umbridge a very useful mouthpiece whom she can manipulate rather nicely.

Debbie
who thinks Umbridge is just as good at manipulating Fudge

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