Percy's letter

[hermionegallo]

No: HPFGUIDX 80225

Responding to silmariel, post 80213:


(snip)
"See Del's "Percy (yes, again :-)" #69029. One of the basic ideas of
> that post is that the letter was edited by Umbridge, that Percy
> wouldn't write that. I think he would...
I think the letter was not edited by Umbridge but rather, was written 
to be read by at least three people: Ron, Hermione and Umbridge (the 
MoM). > 
> I start with the assumption that Percy is not stupid and knows Ron 
> well enough to anger him on purpose by being a git...  

..."what we might call the F&G route, rather than following my
> footsteps"...  Ron would hang himself rather than follow the Percy
> route.  With this single line, Ron's bound to do the opposite of 
> whatever Percy advises in the letter...
> 
> "The Daily Prophet tomorrow" - for Hermione. He wants to make sure 
> that the one who can think about something to counterattack the MoM 
> with will pay close attention.  I think Hermione's SPEW is 
> well-known enough in the Weasley family.
> 
>> "If you are writing to mother, tell her that a certain Sturgis 
> Podmore, who is a great friend of DD...'," : Here Percy states he 
> is aware that she knows DD and DD knows Podmore, but it is also 
> written in a way that Percy can be appearing to explain who he is, 
> as if she didn't already know that... just in case the MoM reads 
> the letter...

> We are not given a first reaction shot of Hermione, we have
> to wait a while to just obtain "H was looking at Ron with an odd
> expression on her face" followed by a change of theme. This drives 
> away the reader's focus, but Hermione is really quick catching MoM 
> interference, as she has demonstrated so far, and I know she has 
> read the letter another way.
> 
> In conclusion, Percy has written what can be read as a petulant
> multi-tasking letter, designed to:
> 
> Get Ron and Hermione very close to Harry.
> Advise Hermione about the future.
> Try to manipulate Ron.
> Be proofread against possible MoM filters.
> 
> silmariel


Coupled with Del's post (69029) this is very plausible to me.  What 
makes it is the reference to Podmore.  As Del pointed out, unless he 
were associated with the Order, he wouldn't know about Podmore's 
involvement in it, or his parents' involvement for that matter.  
Percy (supposedly?) severed ties with his family before the 
reinstatement of the Order.  
Del wondered if Percy might be a really good actor.  Which leads me 
to wonder if Molly and Arthur aren't really good actors, too; if 
Percy were "undercover" in some way, shape or form, they could likely 
be in on it.
I've felt all along since reading OoP that Percy wasn't acting like 
himself.  I've wondered if he had been replaced, which seems like an 
unpopular theory around here.  I've wondered if he was undercover, 
too.  Ultimately, the Percy in OoP doesn't match the Percy of the 
previous four books.  I have never seen him as one dimensional, until 
now, perhaps, after reading book 5.  His behavior is way over the 
top, as far as Percy's standards go.  His letter from book 4 is 
nothing like the letter in book 5.

GoF, page 549, American hardback ("Percy's letter was short and 
irritated"):
"As I am constantly telling the Daily Prophet, Mr. Crouch is taking a 
well-deserved break.  He is sending in regular owls with 
instructions.  No, I haven't actually seen him, but I think I can be 
trusted to know my own superior's handwriting.  I have quite enough 
to do at the moment without trying to quash these ridiculous rumors.  
Please don't bother me again unless it's something important.  Happy 
Easter."
There is no reaction to the letter in the text following.  But it's 
either not the same letter writer, or there are two very dissimilar 
agendas attached to each letter.

I've wondered if, after getting H/R/H's owl and writing back this 
terse reply, maybe Percy did start wondering if something was up, and 
actually went to Mr. Crouch's house.  What might he have found?

My only problem with assuming that Percy and his parents are good 
actors (or even that Percy himself is) and that there's an undercover 
Percy here, is that: if he's so deep undercover, why try to reveal it 
to H/R/H in a coded message?  Were the stakes high enough at that 
point to attempt to reveal it to the trio?  Was he worried about his 
parents and their involvement in the Order?  Was he trying 
say "Constant Vigilance"?

I cannot assume, nor have I ever, that Percy is simply a huge git.  

hg.