In Defence (Somewhat) of Percy Weasley.

[saeva]

You know, normally I’d be the first to admit that I’m not a Percy fan. It’s not because I dislike him, per se, but he doesn’t interest me. I knew Percy, in high school. Taking a number of advanced placement classes (more to stave off the boredom of secondary education than any desire to be an overachiever) in high school, it was rather inevitable

Comments

[insheepsclothng]

I tihnk one of the reasons Percy is demonized in fandom is that a lot of people view the Wesley family as perfect. With that view in mind, it's very hard to understand why Percy would jeopardize family harmony like he does.

But as you and some others have pointed out, the Weasleys only seem perfect to Hary, who hasn't ever had a loving family. For Percy, on the other hand, the family dynamic is far from perfect, and you do a great job of explaining that.

[sistermagpie]

Good point--even though this always amazes me because to me the Weasleys seem so far from perfect! Not that I think they're evil or anything, but I find their house very stifling and potentially negative in a pretty realistic way. Percy has already learned, I'd think, that he'd never going to be that great by his family's standards, so it only makes sense he'd find someone who appreciated the same things he did. Unfortunately, given his background, he may just not yet be able to choose his mentors wisely, but that doesn't make him bad.

[insheepsclothng]

I was contemplating an essay on the parallels between Percy and Sirius when it came to rejection of family, and the completely different reactions they provoke in readers. I will probably never write it, however.

[sistermagpie]

I was contemplating an essay on the parallels between Percy and Sirius when it came to rejection of family, and the completely different reactions they provoke in readers. I will probably never write it, however.

Heh. Great minds think alike. I love those two so much I wrote about them twice.

It's not exactly the same thing as you're talking about--I'd be very interested to read it if you do write it!!

[etherealshores]

I'm a little late but I think that's so well-written!

[fangirling_it]

Wow! This is...wow