Percy and Pyramids

[June Ewing]

No: HPFGUIDX 190126

> ncfan17:
> Does anyone else find it disturbing that Fred and George once shut
their brother Percy up in a pyramid?

What I'm talking about is a throwaway line on page 63 of PoA. George
tells Harry that he and Fred "tried to shut [Percy] in a pyramid",
but that their mother caught them.

While this only says that Fred and George tried to shut Percy in a
pyramid, there's nothing that suggests that they didn't actually
manage it.

I know Percy isn't the most popular of characters (please don't kill
me for going to bat for him), but I have to feel for him. He was
never arrogant as much as he was painfully insecure and hiding it in
all the wrong ways, and the Twins both seem to delight in making life
harder for him. The rest of his family, even his mother, seems rather
contemptuous of him or at least bemused by him. Percy is, plainly,
the Odd Duck of the Weasley Clan long before he's the Black Sheep.

Back to the topic at hand. George's remark that "Mum" spotted them
indicates to me that it's entirely possible that Molly was the only
one who took Percy's side during the course of the "pyramid
incident", meaning that the rest of the family took Fred and George's
sides (as they tend to do anyway) and regarded the whole incident as
a joke. I personally don't see this as a joke, I don't think it's
anything resembling harmless, and if Percy were a real person he'd
probably agree with me.

And one has to wonder how this affected Percy. <snip> One wonders
just how far this incident went in helping along the breakdown of
> Percy's relationships among his family.


June:
I do not believe the twins did lock him in a pyramid. As you
stated yourself Fred said that they were caught by their mother
so she would have put a stop to it. Mrs. Weasley (the way I see
it) somewhat favors her other children over the twins because
they have not quite lived up to her expectations (although her
feelings on the matter change when they open their own joke shop
and are successful). I think the twins as well as finding Percy
to be a pompous ass (as I am afraid I do too) are maybe a little
jealous of him. As for the rest of the family I don't think for
a minute that their dad would have allowed the twins to lock
Percy (or anyone else for that matter) in a pyramid. Ron might
have turned a blind eye because of the way Percy treats him
(referring to the scene where Percy is abusing Ron verbally when
he can't find his head boy badge). Ginny again may have turned a
blind eye because it is true that the rest of the Weasleys do
see what their mum cannot see. Percy makes me think of my Aunt
Linda. She was the outcast in my mum's family and even as adults
her siblings would taunt her but she was somewhat like Percy
(though not as bad).