[HPforGrownups] Re: Percy Weasley under Lucius' Imperius Curse?

[manawydan]

No: HPFGUIDX 85346

Rebecca:
>I've heard this before (and you've certainly heard our
>theories many times).  But for some of us, his
>behavior is *not* explicable.  It doesn't make sense.

I think in many ways Percy has suffered the same kind of treatment that
constitutes brainwashing.

First of all he undergoes interrogation as part of the investigation into
Barty's death. Knowing what we do about the WW system of justice, that
_must_ have been a very nasty experience (I speak with personal experience
of an internal investigation in a real world government department which
left several people very scared indeed and one so badly damaged that she
suffered stress-related illness and needed counselling. And that was an open
interview, with a union rep present, and strict procedures being followed to
ensure fairness!)

Secondly, we don't know whether or not he's exonerated from the charges.
Fudge may still have the Barty dossier held over Percy's head, which he
could revive at any time if he wanted to. Percy really has no choice but to
be very very obedient and toe the party line very diligently.

Thirdly, Percy joined the MoM because he wanted a career there. Bearing in
mind wizarding life spans, his working life may well be over a century. He
really doesn't want to throw that away right at the beginning, after all,
what else could he do, especially with a dishonourable discharge on his
employment history.

And finally, to come back to the brainwashing point, Percy's effectively a
hostage. And it's known that hostages, exposed to the beliefs of their
captors, can start to accept and take on board those beliefs.

But of course, JKR alone knows all!

>You give many good insights.  But to me, it doesn't
>add up to OOTP Percy.  He went from three-dimensional
>to two.  His storyline was not resolved and he neither
>apologized nor reacted defesively.

That of course is something that's said about a number of the story lines in
OoP. It's not resolved. He could indeed apologise (and I'm sure his parents
would forgive him). It may be that Fudge will decide it's "time to spend
more time with his family" and there will be a new Minister. A lot will hang
on who that Minister is, which MoM faction they come from, and whether they
will still _want_ Percy working in their office. I look forward to more
story in the next book.

>And even if he did seriously believe all the things
>Fudge said, his behavior is still not consistent with
>GOF when he believed everything Crouch said.

Unless you think of Percy as someone who's very good at believing everything
his boss says!

Cheers

Ffred

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