Percy Weasley

"Course, he's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all planned out ... he wants to be Minister for Magic ..."

- Ron Weasley on Percy

Percy Ignatius Weasley, born August 22, 1976, is a pure-blood wizard and the third eldest child of Arthur and Molly Weasley. He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1987 to 1994, and was both a Prefect and Head Boy. A high achiever, he went to work at the Ministry of Magic after leaving school, working in the Department of International Magical Co-operation under Bartemius Crouch, and later as Junior Assistant to the Minister for Magic himself. However, Percy's rise through the Ministry caused a rift between him and his family following the return of Lord Voldemort. His father thought that his promotion to Cornelius Fudge's office was a ploy to keep tabs on the Weasleys, and through them, Albus Dumbledore. Percy denied this, and remained steadfastly loyal to the Ministry's line that Voldemort was not back, estranging himself from his family. Even after it was proved that the Dark Lord had returned, Percy did not reconcile with his family, although the fall of the Ministry to the Death Eaters in 1997 finally made him see sense. Percy was tipped off by Aberforth Dumbledore about the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, and finally made up with his family. He survived the battle, but was grief-stricken over the death of his brother, Fred, who he was fighting alongside. Following the downfall of Voldemort, Percy returned to work for the Ministry as a high-ranking official under the new Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt. He also married a woman named Audrey, and have two daughters, Molly and Lucy.

Early Life and Hogwarts Years
"Oh, are you a Prefect, Percy? You should have said something, we had no idea."

- Fred or George Weasley

Percy grew up at the Weasley family home, the Burrow, in Devon, England. He started Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in September of 1987 and was sorted into Gryffindor House. An academically gifted student, he was made Prefect in his fifth year, and, as a reward, was given a Screech Owl - who he named Hermes - and new robes. His previous pet, a rat named Scabbers, was handed down to his younger brother, Ron. In his new duties as a Prefect, Percy was responsible for the new first-year Gryffindors, and had to lead them to safety at Halloween in 1991, following the arrival of a troll in the dungeons. He remained at Hogwarts during the Christmas period in 1991, and sat his O.W.Ls at the end of the year. At some point in his fifth year, Percy began dating Penelope Clearwater, a Ravenclaw Prefect, though he kept it a secret from his family, most likely due to the fact that the twins would mercilessly tease him (which they probably did when they found out). .

Percy spent much of the summer of 1992 in his room exchanging letters with Penelope, and his family only saw him at mealtimes. He obtained top grades in his O.W.Ls, but hardly gloated over the fact. The behaviour was noted by his siblings, who classed it as strange, although they did not know of his romance with Penelope then. Back at school, Percy's duties as Prefect led him into conflict with his brothers when he caught Ron in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and Fred and George's loud, sarcastic proclamations over Harry Potter being the Heir of Slytherin. He tried to look out for his sister, Ginny, once forcing her to take Pepperup Potion because she looked ill, and by trying to assuage her fears that Ron's behaviour would get him expelled.

Because of the petrification of students following the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, Percy, like the other Prefects, was required to patrol the castle to maintain order and report anything suspicious. He would also sneak away to empty classrooms to be with Penelope away from the prying eyes of his siblings, but was caught on one occasion by Ginny. He swore her to secrecy.

Percy advised Harry on his choice of subjects for his third year, but suffered an immense shock when Penelope was petrified by the Basilisk, although it was put down to the fact that she was a fellow Prefect. He also had to write to his parents to tell them that Ginny had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets. He was reunited with Penelope and his sister after Professor Sprout's Mandrake potion was able to restore those petrified to a normal state, and Ginny was saved from the Chamber of Secrets by Harry. However, his secret over Penelope was not to last as Ginny finally revealed it to Harry, Ron, Fred and George on the train ride home. .

Percy spent the summer of 1993 in Egypt with his family visiting his eldest brother, Bill, after his father had won seven hundred galleons in the Daily Prophet Annual Grand Prize Draw. He also learned that he was being made Head Boy for his seventh year. During the year, when Sirius Black attempted to break into Gryffindor Tower, Percy was left in charge of the students when they all camped out in the Great Hall while the teachers searched the castle. At the end of the year, Percy sat his N.E.W.Ts, and obtained top grades in all subjects.

Working for the Ministry
After leaving school, Percy went to work at the Ministry of Magic, just as he had planned to, and was assigned to the Department of International Magical Co-operation under Bartemius Crouch. During the summer of 1994, Percy worked diligently under Crouch, a man whom he admired and respected for his attitude towards his work. He was responsible for authoring a report on standardising cauldron thickness, and learned about the plans for the Triwizard Tournament, which he took great delight in hinting about to his younger siblings. Two weeks before the Quidditch World Cup, Percy learned to Apparate, and took to Apparating downstairs to breakfast every morning just to prove he could do it.

Along with the rest of his family, he attended the Quidditch World Cup, and was embarrassed when Mr. Crouch addressed him as "Weatherby" in front of his family. When Death Eaters caused panic in the aftermath of the Irish victory, Percy assisted the Ministry alongside his brothers and father, and got a bloody nose for his efforts. In the weeks that followed, Percy had to work doubly hard at the Ministry to cope with the large number of Howlers that crossed his desk from disgruntled and frightened wizards.

Prior to the Christmas of 1994, Percy was promoted to Mr Crouch's personal assistant, and began taking orders from him via owl. Crouch was supposedly ill and taking time off to recover, and it was being blamed on the stress caused by the debacle following the Quidditch World Cup. Percy took over some of Crouch's official duties, and attended the Yule Ball at Hogwarts in his stead. In February, he presided as a judge for the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament, once again filling in for Crouch.

However, the discovery of a confused Crouch in the Forbidden Forest caused a stir in the Ministry when it was believed by some that he may not have been acting under his own influence, and that his instructions may have been written by someone else. Percy was called in for questioning over the affair since he had been following Crouch's instructions, and was not allowed to take Crouch's place as judge for the Third Task. An inquiry was held, and Percy got into trouble since it was felt that he should have realised that something was amiss with Crouch and informed a superior.

Family disputes
Although Cornelius Fudge did not believe Harry Potter's claim that Lord Voldemort was back, he did believe that Dumbledore was using the threat of his return as a springboard, and spreading rumours to the effect to destabilise his administration. Surprisingly, despite the trouble he was in, Percy was offered the position of Junior Assistant to Fudge himself. He expected his family to be pleased for him, but his father made it clear that he thought that Percy had been offered the post so that Fudge could keep track of Dumbledore. Percy and his father had a huge row, with Percy telling his father that he had to struggle against his lousy reputation since he had started at the Ministry, that he had no ambition, and that was the reason the family was so poor. He also told his father that he was an idiot for believing Dumbledore, and his loyalty lay with the Ministry.

Percy split all ties with his family, wanting everyone to know that he had nothing to do with them. Packing his bags, he left the Burrow, moved to London, and took the position in Fudge's office. His mother went to London to try to talk with him, but Percy slammed the door in her face.

Work as a Ministry Scribe
In the summer of 1995, Percy acted as Court Scribe during Harry Potter's hearing before the Wizengamot for using magic in front of a Muggle. Following the hearing, he ignored his father, who was waiting outside for Harry. His estrangement from his family continued, although he did write to Ron, congratulating him on becoming a Prefect and urging him to stop associating with Harry, whom he felt was a bad influence. Ron found it extremely offensive and tore it up. Shortly after, Percy gave an interview to the Daily Prophet concerning Dolores Umbridge's appointment as Hogwarts High Inquisitor. At Christmas, 1995, Percy returned his traditional Christmas jumper to his Mother unopened without a note, much to her distress, and neither visited his father in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries nor asked after him following his wounding by Nagini.

In the early part of 1996, Percy was one of the Ministry officials who was summoned to Hogwarts following Professor Umbridge's discovery of Dumbledore's Army. Percy once again acted as a Scribe, and was excited to hear Dumbledore confess to Fudge's accusations that he was building an army to challenge the Minister. Percy was ordered to take a copy of his notes and send them to the Daily Prophet, and he left Dumbledore's office before the Headmaster made his escape.

Following the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Percy now knew the truth about Lord Voldemort's return, but did not turn his back on the Ministry. When Fudge was succeeded by Rufus Scrimgeour as Minister, Percy continued in his role as Junior Assistant.

At Christmas in 1996, Percy was pressured by Rufus Scrimgeour to go to the Burrow with him. Scrimgeour was using the visit as a pretence to have a talk with Harry, who was spending Christmas there. Scrimgeour exploited Percy's family connections to get close to Harry, and Percy was very uncomfortable with seeing his family again, as he had not planned to see them for the holidays. His mother was overjoyed to see him, and immediately ran to hug him, while his father and siblings simply stared at him. Percy only spoke to his mother, and the visit ended badly with Percy storming out after mashed parsnips were flung at him, an action for which Fred, George and Ginny all took credit. In the June of 1997, he attended the funeral of Albus Dumbledore.

Atonement and reunion
On August 1, 1997, Percy was the only member of his family not to attend his brother Bill's wedding to Fleur Delacour. On the same day, the Ministry of Magic was taken over by Death Eaters, and Rufus Scrimgeour was killed and replaced by a puppet of Voldemort's. Percy finally began to see what was happening around him, but could do nothing since he was being watched closely. He continued to work at the Ministry, presumably under the new Minister, Pius Thicknesse. Eventually, though, he managed to make contact with Aberforth Dumbledore, who had connections with the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army.

In May of 1998, Aberforth tipped Percy off to the fact that Hogwarts was taking a stand against Voldemort. Percy Apparated to the Hog's Head, and travelled down the secret tunnel to the Room of Requirement, hoping he hadn't missed the battle. In the room, he found the majority of his family trying to restrain Ginny from joining the battle. In a tense moment, Percy apologised profusely to his family, and his brother Fred was the first to forgive him. Reunited with his family, he stood with the defenders of Hogwarts against the Death Eaters.

Battle of Hogwarts
During the Battle of Hogwarts, Percy and Fred fought alongside each other. Percy was dueling Pius Thicknesse, and in the middle of the battle, jokingly told the Minister he was resigning. Fred was overjoyed as his brother was finally telling a joke - but the joyous mood was shattered when an explosion destroyed part of the corridor they were in and killed Fred. Percy, grief-stricken, refused to leave his brother's body until Harry and Ron helped him store it safely in a wall niche. Full of anger and sorrow, Percy stormed back into battle, charging after Augustus Rookwood. Just prior to the final duel between Harry and Lord Voldemort, Percy joined forces with his father to floor Thicknesse.

After the War
Following the end of the Second Wizarding War, Percy returned to the now-reformed Ministry of Magic, and became a high-ranking official under Kingsley Shacklebolt. Percy eventually married a woman named Audrey, and the couple had two daughters, Molly and Lucy. On September 1st, 2017, he was present on Platform 9¾, discussing broom regulations, presumably seeing off one or both of his daughters to school.

Physical description
Percy was tall and thin, like his father and brothers Bill and Ron, and with the vivid red hair characteristic of the Weasley family. He wore horn-rimmed glasses, and also tried to carry himself in a dignified manner, although he usually came off looking pompous.

Personality and traits
"Percy wouldn't recognise a joke if it danced naked in front of him wearing Dobby's tea-cosy."

- Ron Weasley

Percy was extremely ambitious and dedicated to his goals, which was apparently to become Minister for Magic. A stickler for rules and regulations, he respected authority, and when he attained it himself, expected respect in return. However, Percy usually came off as seeming arrogant or pompous since he constantly tried to look and sound dignified, including calling his parents "Mother" and "Father" rather than "Mum" and "Dad" like the rest of his siblings.

Percy was also highly opinionated, and made loud comments regarding the Sirius Black situation and the measures he would suggest when he made it into the Ministry of Magic. He was also very dismissive of Ludo Bagman's skills in running the Department of Magical Games and Sports when compared to Mr. Crouch, but that didn't stop him attempting to make a good impression in front of him when he met him at the Quidditch World Cup.

Percy was extremely pompous, stiff-necked and always very serious; he took himself very seriously and was often the butt of pranks and jokes played on him by his fun-loving siblings. However, he showed rare flashes of a sense of humour when joking with Penelope Clearwater over sabotaging Harry's Firebolt, and when duelling Pius Thicknesse during the Battle of Hogwarts.

Percy proved himself to be very much of a social climber. He wanted to achieve prominence at the Ministry, choosing to dedicate himself to the institution and abandoning his family when they chose to rebel against the Ministry. His love of order and rules and obedience to authorities blinded him to the truth about Lord Voldemort's return. It was only when the Ministry crashed and was taken over by the Death Eaters that Percy reconciled with his family.

Family
"Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right."

- Hermione Granger

Percy was quite different in temperament from his family members, which impacted this relationships with them. His academic studies and responsible nature earned him praise and adoration in the eyes of his mother and father, although even Mr. Weasley was not above having a small laugh at the expense of his son's stuffiness. However, his behaviour alienated him from his younger siblings, especially Fred and George, who were the exact opposite of him. Because of this, Percy was a constant butt of their jokes and pranks, including bewitching his Prefect and Head Boy badges to read Pinhead and Bighead Boy, and sending dragon dung to his office at the Ministry. However, the twin's pranks were generally good-natured ribbing at his expense - during Christmas in 1991, the twins forbade him from sitting with the other Prefects, noting that Christmas was a time for family. He tried to be a role-model for Ron and Ginny, but they took after the fun-loving twins.

In 1995, he broke off all ties with his family following an argument with his father over his promotion to Junior Assistant to Fudge. Proud and ambitious, he could not conceive that Fudge would be using him to spy on Dumbledore. He could also not see that both the Ministry and the Daily Prophet were not telling the public the truth over the return of Lord Voldemort. Even after the truth was revealed, his pride kept him from apologising to his family, until the moment that he might have lost them during the Battle of Hogwarts, even though he had been wanting to do it for some time.

Curiously enough, while it was the twins who led the anti-Percy movement within the family, constantly telling the others that he was no good and to forget about him, it was also Fred and George who were the first to forgive him and welcome him back to the family. Fred was the first to forgive him, while George seemed to carry on as if the split had never occurred, and made a small joke about Percy having been a Prefect.

Over the years, Percy was particularly proud and protective of his youngest brother, Ron. During Ron's first year, Percy was extremely proud that he had beaten Professor McGonagall's enchanted chess set that guarded the Philosopher's Stone. During the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament, he rushed to help him from the lake after he had been rescued by Harry Potter. After severing ties with his family, Ron was the only one he contacted, congratulating him on becoming a Prefect, and urging him to cut his ties with Harry Potter so that he would not be dragged down with him. Finally, in the brief ceasefire allowed to them by Lord Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts, Percy comforted Ron following the death of Fred.

Penelope Clearwater
"He's been meeting her all over the school in secret. I walked in on them kissing in an empty classroom one day. He was so upset when she was - you know - attacked.  You won't tease him, will you?"

- Ginny Weasley on Percy and Penelope

Percy began dating Penelope Clearwater, a fellow Prefect, sometime during his fifth year, but never revealed the fact to his family. They would meet in deserted classrooms to kiss, but were caught once by Percy's sister, Ginny. Percy was distraught when Penelope was petrified in 1993, and immensely relieved when she was cured by Professor Sprout's Mandrake potion. The secrecy was broken when Ginny revealed the truth to her brothers, asking them not to tease Percy over the fact, which they did anyway.

With the secret out, Percy and Penelope appeared in public together, and he kept a photo of her. During his stay at the Leaky Cauldron before the start of his seventh year, he accused Ron of dripping tea on it. He met her on Platform 9¾, showing off his Head Boy badge, and, later in the year, wagered ten Galleons on the outcome of the Gryffindor - Ravenclaw match, despite not actually having ten galleons. He playfully remarked to her about sabotaging Harry's Firebolt when she asked if she could touch it.

Harry Potter
"Well done, Harry! Ten Galleons to me! Must find Penelope, excuse me."

- Percy Weasley talking about Harry's performance at a Quidditch match.

Harry Potter first met Percy Weasley at Kings Cross Station when he saw him go through the barrier to Platform 9¾. In Harry's second year, Percy Weasley helped Harry out with his choice of subjects that he would take in the third year. For the most part, Percy liked Harry, and awarded him full marks during the Triwizard Tournament.

However, in Harry's fifth year, when the Ministry began publishing articles about Harry being "a liar and very violent", Percy bought into it, wanting to be obedient to Fudge. He considered Harry a bad influence for Ron and sent him a letter encouraging him to sever ties with Harry and to stay on Umbridge's good side so that he could become eligible for Head Boyship in a few years. Ron promptly threw the letter in the fire, calling Percy "the world's biggest git".

Audrey
In later life, Percy married a woman named Audrey, and the couple had two children, Molly and Lucy.

Etymology
Percy is a short form of the name Percival, which is derived from Old French, meaning "pierce the veil". It was the name of one of the Knights of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. This may be a pattern in names in the Weasley family, as Percy's father is named Arthur and his sister is named Ginevra, a version of Guinevere. Percival is also one of Albus Dumbledore's middle names, and Albus formerly had reddish (auburn) hair, suggesting a possible link between the two families.

The namesake for Percy's middle name, Ignatius, was likely his mother's uncle Ignatius Prewett. Ignatius is a Roman name altered from its original Etruscan to resemble the Latin ignis, meaning "fire". It was the name of several saints, including the founder of the Jesuits.

Behind the scenes

 * Percy has been portrayed by Chris Rankin in four of the film adaptations. The character was cut from the adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Rankin thinks he will get cut from Half-Blood Prince.
 * In the Harry Potter films, Percy is shown without glasses.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Notes and references
Percival Ignatius Weasley