Percy Weasly

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 105125


I, Del, wrote :
> > As a matter of fact, Percy *did* have a proof, albeit an indirect 
> > one : LV was nowhere to be seen.

Amey answered :
> Percy didn't have any proof. Lack of proof is never same as absence 
> of proof, and not at all close to absence of the original happening. 

Del replies :
Percy didn't have any proof that Harry had told the truth either. He
had Harry's *word* that LV was back, and the whole Ministry's word
that LV was nowhere to be seen. Tough choice ? Not really.

Amey wrote :
> Also, he decided to believe his superior with whom he is working for 
> 1 year more than his parents, at least 2 brothers (elder ones, not 
> considering others), Harry, with whom he was for 4 year, and 
> Dumbledore, who is (nobody argues) The Greatest Wizard of the 
> century. What does this tell about him? In the least, that he
> cannot judge people properly.

Del replies :
Well, that's no news that Percy can't judge people properly, now is it
;-) ?
However I'd like to counter a few details.
Percy was never "with Harry". They were at school at the same time,
they shared the same common room, and they spent a precious handful of
holidays under the same roof, but that's about it. Percy was no more
with Harry than Harry is with any first-year at school. If the
Weasleys had a kid 4 years younger than Harry, I don't think Harry
would talk to him much. Percy and Harry are acquaintances, not friends
: a brother's friend and a friend's brother.
Percy was with DD all right. I'm sure that as Prefect and then Head
Boy he was well placed to see for himself how DD acts : weirdly at
times, secretly most of the time. DD doesn't bother explaining his
decisions, he doesn't care about being understood. Percy had a great
admiration for DD, but their personalities are so different that he
was also bound to be baffled by DD quite often. I'm sure he finds
Fudge to be a much more reasonable and understandable man.
And about his parents and brothers : is Percy supposed to trust them
like a little kid still ? When he was a kid, his parents and older
brothers' words were divine word, sure. But he's almost an adult now,
so this doesn't apply anymore. I'm sure that when they contacted
Charlie, the Weasley parents presented their case in a much more
detailed and respectful way. But Percy, maybe because he was still
living at home, seems to have been expected to follow his parents'
decision automatically. Not fair.

Amey wrote :
> Also working hard for success is not at all bad. But respecting 
> people only because they are in power is not at all good. People 
> should be respected because they deserve it, not just because they 
> are in power. 

Del replies :
Ah, but you don't understand Percy's logic : people who are in *legal*
power are there because they deserve it. There are always exceptions,
like Ludo Bagman, but that's the general rule. So yes, in Percy's
eyes, it's quite obvious that people in power should automatically be
respected.

Amey wrote :
> he was never asked to follow Dumbledore blindly. In fact, he followed
> Fudge and MoM blindly.

Del replies :
We don't know how much he was told of what really happened. My guess
would be not much. As I said in another post, if Percy had been
presented with the whole truth beforehand, he would have been able to
see Fudge's manoeuver for what it was *himself*. He's not stupid.

Amey wrote :
> What kind of son/brother he is if he cannot follow his parents and 
> other family members and decided to follow some stranger? 

Del replies :
The only one with a right mind ?
If your whole family got under the rule of a guru, would you feel that
you *have* to become a member of the sect too ?

Amey wrote :
> In my mind, Percy will always be "HeadBoy", "Prefect" or "Assistant",
> he will never be "Percy".

Del replies :
Maybe that's the heart of the problem : most people don't see Percy as
a living, breathing, feeling human being, but just as a machine with a
different label according to the book. But Percy *is* a human being,
complete with flaws and qualities, and entitled to his opinions and
his mistakes. Other people are being cut tons of slack because some
fans love them, but nobody loves Percy so he's condemned to a life
sentence in Azkaban on rather small charges : having made a wrong
decision, shouting a few bad words at his father, and being stubborn.
How fair is that ?

Amey wrote :
> He is not encouraging Ron with to get with the right people : the 
> ones who are apparently sane and patriotic, he is telling him to get 
> up with "people who count". There is a huge difference in these two 
> things.

Del replies :
I agree. But I still believe that Percy has not figured out the real
magnitude of the conflict between DD and Fudge. He doesn't realise
he's in a war situation, he thinks it's just a little conflict, with
DD on the losing side. 

Amey wrote :
> I accept Dumbledore and Harry had no proof, but why should he create 
> panic? Just to make people respect him more? Does that make sense to 
> you after seeing Dumbledore for 5 years?

Del replies :
You shouldn't ask me that :-), because after 5 years I've come to
distrust DD quite a lot. I would still obey a direct order from him,
but I'd keep looking behind my back. DD still hasn't made his agenda
public. He says he's fighting LV, but he doesn't reveal his plans. He
tells people only the minimum they need to know to perform their task
correctly. And he's quite mad sometimes :-)

Amey wrote :
> (Harry at least had Cedric's body and Crouch Jr, though Fudge
>  didn't and can't listen to them). 

Del replies :
Percy most probably doesn't know about Crouch Jr, nobody does outside
of those that were at Hogwarts at the time it happened and the people
in the Order.

Amey wrote :
> Yes, there is some hope for him, but still of he goes on his current 
> route, he is next Crouch Sr (Remember what Ron says about him in PoA,
>  he is really ambitious. That is really *great* comment coming from 
> his brother).

Del replies :
Percy is 19, only 19 !! Give him a break ! He's not like Crouch Jr who
went Crucioing the Longbottoms, and even if he separated himself from
his family, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't send any of them to the
Dementors like Crouch Sr (no matter what Ron says).
And Ron always *overtly* despised ambition, but deep inside his
deepest dream at age 11 was to become Head Boy and Quidditch Captain !
Quite hypocrit don't you think ? At least Percy was always honest
about his ambitions.

Del