Why is Percy in Gryffindor?

[amiabledorsai]

No: HPFGUIDX 144607

> Brothergib:
> Shouldn't he be in Slytherin? Thirst for power? Abuse of power?
> Ability to befriend those in power? Lack of family loyalty? Attempts
> to divide family?

Amiable Dorsai:
Aside from the obvious difficulties involved in trying to sum up
people as exclusively brave, smart, ambitious, or none of the above,
the fact is that Percy *is* brave--he waded into a fight with Death
Eaters at the World Cup with no hesitation.  Ambition is only one side
of his personality.

He's not the only Gryffindor, or even the only Weasley, whose
personality is multi-faceted: the twins, for example, are also quite
ambitious--and were determined to open their shop even if it caused a
rift with their mother.

The difference between them, I think, has more to do with other
aspects of their personalities: the twins are people people, Percy is
not.  The twins could let their mother's disapproval roll off their
backs--Percy, I think, saw his parents' doubts as a direct attack on
him and his worthiness as a human being.  I'm sure that at the time,
Percy saw himself as the injured party.

Could he have done well in Slytherin?  Maybe, but I doubt it.  The
other relevant part of Percy's personality is his need for
structure--his love of rules, as some have put it.  I think he'd
simply have been taken advantage of in a house were the rules are just
another obstacle--or another tool--on the road to the top.

Ravenclaw might have worked for him, but not necessarily any better
than Gryffindor.
Amiable Dorsai