Percy Ignatius Weasley -- where to now? v2

[rotsiepots]

Please find version one here for your viewing pleasure.

Here is the first post from the original thread:

Originally Posted by me

Oh dear. Percy is in a pickle. Now that the Ministry changed its stand, what is our dear Percy going to do? Will he acknowledge his errors and return to the Weasley fold? Will he be too proud and continue marching onwards, continuing to snub his family? Will he keep his job in Fudge's office?

Bring your speculating on the future of Percy here.

And the last post:

Originally Posted by albie

firstly , i do not think its necessary to think about whether or not he'll return , because jkr has only two options with him - he's a good guy or a bad one . he'll either do the right thing or -er- fudge it up , if i may say so . what ALL of us really need to think about is , what , if anything can make him go either way . what can happen that'll make percy see sense and return , or (though i dont think this'll happen) what will make percy completely lose his marbles and hand in his application form to dear tom .think about THIS guys....and gals , o'course , this'll get the story forward as well.......CHEERS !!

Now, discuss!

[SteveStarkill]

I have no real strong belief that Percy will go either way, but I know I am certainly hoping very strongly that he gives some serious apologies. I hate to see people who seem to have brains completely waste them, hehe.

[OrbitingElle]

I'm HOPING Percy is a spy for the good guys and it's all been an act this whole time, but I doubt it. That said, I find it hard to believe that JKR would allow a Weasley to end up as a bad guy, so I'm sticking to the theory that he will come around eventually and work his way back into everyone's good graces.

[Turtles]

he's a good guy or a bad one

I don't think that is necessarily true. Remember in OoTP when the trio was talking to Sirius’ head in the fireplace about how evil Umbridge was. They questioned whether or not she might even be a Death Eater. He told them that the world wasn’t simply divided into good people and Death Eaters. There is no simple dichotomy between “good guys” and “bad guys.”

Percy had a serious lapse in judgment. He was so blinded by ambition that he made some HUGE mistakes. But Percy’s heart is good. He loves his family, even longs for reconciliation with them. And the Weasleys are a forgiving bunch. I think he’ll be back in their good graces, fighting against Voldie in HBP. He’s arrogant, but he’s not stupid.

[TheSnidget]

Wow, I resurrected this thread a couple of months ago and now it's got a second version! Do I feel proud.

[GrangerExpress]

I am a person who once you are on my bad side, it is hard to get out. For this stubborn reason only, I hope Percy remains the way he is and I for one hope that the Weasley's do not let him back in.

After saying that, I do realize it is very harsh, and that a parents love for their child is probably strong enough to forgive a blunder like Percy made. I just thought it made a good storyline in the last book and I would like to see it continue in the future. JKR did a great job of showing what was more important to Percy. He would rather have power and money then live a modest life with the love of his family. If you were given the choice of money and power, would you sacrifice your family to get there? I know I wouldn't.

[randombassist]

I think that Percy is on his way to the Death Eaters. I've thought about it for a while now, and I've got some fairly good reasons for thinking it.

In PS, Quirell explains to us why he went over to Lord Voldemort. He says that when he went off first 'his head was full of ideas about right and wrong', but that Voldemort showed him that there was no such thing; 'just power and those too afraid to take it'.
To me, this is exactly the way Percy has been going through all the books. Think about it like this. At first it was used as a comic deivice. Him wearing/ polishing his badge all the time. And constant references to him having big aspirations.
Just one example of that being him reading Hogwart's prefects that have come to power in an old second-hand book shop.

These references, are, for me at least too numerable not to be foreshadowing. We saw Percy go even more down this route in the last two books. At the Quiddich world cup he was less concerned about who was the nice man (between Crouch and Bagman) and more into the one who rigidly followed orders. He spent all his time working, looking for more influence and power.

And then in OotP he went all out down the power hungry route. Now that he has been humiliated, and lost what influnce he had within the ministry with Fidge leaving, I think it is almost certain that he will seek it elsewhere, and will join the bad guys!

[GrangerExpress]

Indeed that was a good point. In looking at both Quirrel and Percy I would say there are several similarities. Percy is young and has great aspirations to gain power at the ministry. Ever since we have been introduced to him he has enjoyed being in charge.

Looking back to when Percy was a prefect and Head Boy, it seemed to have made him feel superior to other students. It looks like he has kept this attitude when working in the real world. In OotP, he felt superior to his family because he was working for Fudge and was in a position to have more power. The only difference I see between Percy and the Death Eaters is that Voldemort and his supporters feel superior because they are pure bloods (except we know Tom Riddle is not a pure blood, but that is for another discussion). We know Percy is a pure blood, but have never heard him say anything disrespectful about anyone being muggleborn or a half wizard (correct me if I'm wrong).

His past actions could have put him on the path to start thinking this way though. He already has felt superior because of his intellect and because he was often in charge of other students when he was at Hogwarts. Then straight into the real world he was working for Crouch, then after that reported directly to Fudge. Would it really be that far fetched if his next course of action was to start treating muggleborns with less respect because they are not pure blood, therefore not as good as him. If in the next book Percy combines his aspirations of power with a hatred for non-pure blood wizards, then I definitely think he will become a death eater. I hope all this rambling makes sense.

[Turtles]

I agree that he definitely has powerful ambitions, but that would have to be coupled with a hatred for Muggle-borns for him to join Voldemort. Percy definitely doesn't have that. He was raised by a Dad who loves Muggles. He has friendships with plenty of half-bloods. Surely his lapse in judgment doesn't indicate his ability to become a Death Eater. I hope.

[yorkiegirl]

I think you have got it about right randombassist - Percy has, throughout the books, grasped for power; he has been prepared to abandon his family in search of it and I'm not convinced it will stop now, rather the reverse.

Something tells me that Percy is prepared to do anything - Ron does describe him as ambitious - to put himself in a position of power.

Percy has more affection for authority and rules (a way of imposing power on others) than he does for his family, this is always a dangerous combination.

Besides he has always struck me as a 'Judas' type character - someone who goes too far then finds himself unable to pull back when he finally realises the mistake he has made choosing power over love

[houseelf25]

Percy is a follower, not a leader. If Voldemort somehow manages to take over the MoM, Percy will immidiately follow him. He is a bit Pettigrew-ish in the way that he follows whoever is in power.
Also, i was wondering what happened to Penelope Clearwater, his girlfriend. Did they break up? Or maybe his Power-hungry-ness scared her away...It would scare me!

[KiwiChi6]

That's true houseelf25, I've been wondering the same thing...where is Penelope? They never mention her again after book 3. She's apparently not important to the plot, but I'd love to find out what happened to her.

[Reverie]

Percy is not a bad guy at heart so I think that he will come back to the Order's side. He, like someone mentioned, is more of a follower and can be swung to another sideside easily, but since now there is proof that Harry wasn't lying and Voldy is back I think he will apologize though reluctant to do so. He want to be important and have power but with someone who is right and doesn't make foolish mistakes like the ministry has done. I think in the end that facts that he will not want to be wrong will bring him back and apoligize to his family.

[Turtles]

Percy is a follower, not a leader.

Do you think so? He seemed like a good leader as Prefect and Head Boy. I wonder why Dumbldeore chose him if he wasn't a good leader.

[hermy_weasley2]

Originally Posted by albie

- he's a good guy or a bad one . he'll either do the right thing or -er- fudge it up

But according to Sirius the world isn't divided into good people and Death Eaters, and, as we see in OoTP, he's right. Fudge & Co. aren't pro-Voldemort. They didn't want to admit that Dumbledore and Harry were right because that would take away from their prestige and power status which are two things they obviously hold dearly in their lives.

All Percy wants to do is to have that same status symbol since Arthur never has. His only mistake in PoA is that he sees siding with the Ministry as the only way to do that, and because his parents disagree with the Ministry, he rejected them to follow something he felt was more important. Now that Fudge has changed his mind, Percy will see no harm in rejoining his parents.

Percy's not a bad person and he's not on his way to becoming a Death Eater, because if nothing else, it's against the rules especially now that everyone's eyes have been opened. But Ithink we'll see some growth in Percy's character in HBP and the seventh book as he could possibly come to judge right and wrong based on something higher than rules. I have confidence that he will.


Now that I think about it, the whole situation with Ministry supporters versus non-Ministry is supporters is like a civil war.

[TheSnidget]

Originally Posted by Turtles

Do you think so? He seemed like a good leader as Prefect and Head Boy. I wonder why Dumbldeore chose him if he wasn't a good leader.

That's another reason why I think Percy's basically a good person...DD wouldn't have made him HB if he was nothing more than an ambitious, arrogant, power hungry maniac...on the other hand it is said that DD can be too trusting, but I still think it's a good sign for Percy.

[claret101]

If Percy does repent and want to join the Order, do you think anyone will forgive him? I'm sure Dumbledore would, but I'm not sure about anyone else. Mrs Weasley would, but his brothers and sister seemed pretty angry. Lupin probably would and Tonks, Moody probably not. Hermione probably would.

What about Harry? In PoA he managed (to a limited extent) to forgive Wormtail, at least to not wanting him killed. I know that was more for Sirius and Lupin, but still, he saved his life. However, OotP seemed a bit different, he was busy torturing Bellatrix (or trying to). He seems a little less forgiving now and Percy did say some horrible things about him in that letter.

[MadameHatter]

Percy may play the leader role but doesn't anyone notice that it's merely a semblance of power when he's prefect and head boy. Percy is too flip floppish to be able to join the order in my opinion and I think just like he turned a blind eye to the truth about voldie, he might not have the gusto to apologize to his parents, too stubborn to admit he was wrong.. however there will be a new minister of magic in the next book which may lead to percy's position in the ministry as temporary as fudge.

[Draco Spirit]

Personally i think Percy is going to go back to his family and hang his head in shame... And then start surporting Harry in the same way he suported Fudge and for the same reasons.

[Turtles]

DD wouldn't have made him HB if he was nothing more than an ambitious, arrogant, power hungry maniac.

I would like to think that too, but then I start remembering that maybe those adjectives do describe some Prefects. *coughMalfoycough*