Why Percy Weasley Is One of the Best Characters in Harry Potter

If you read the Harry Potter books, odds are you hated Percy Weasley.

And why wouldn't you? After years of acting like a condescending jerk in school, he chose his career over his family and unwittingly assisted Voldemort's return to power.

I never gave Percy much thought growing up; of the seven Weasley siblings, he was the least interesting, likeable, or involved. Going back and reading these books now, however, I can finally see the brilliance of this side plot.

Percy is described as pompous, focused, and ambitious. After graduating from Hogwarts in Harry's third year, he goes on to work for the Ministry of Magic in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Goblet of Fire sees the third Weasley brother serving as personal assistant to Barty Crouch Sr., growing increasingly arrogant, and starting to distance himself from his family.

When Harry witnesses Voldemort's return and tries to warn the magical community, a paranoid Cornelius Fudge refuses to acknowledge the truth, choosing to believe that Harry's claims are part of an attempt on the part of Albus Dumbledore to take control of the Ministry of Magic. Rather than trusting his brother's best friend, Percy buys into the corruption and sides with his employer.

In Order of the Phoenix, we read about the Weasley family's devastation at their son's estrangement. We see the impact that it has on his mother, father, and siblings, all of whom are actively resisting the institution to which Percy has pledged his loyalty. This isn't an "agree to disagree" situation; there can be no compromise or reconciliation, because, well, it's Voldemort.

As a kid, Percy's character just made me angry. How dare he choose the wrong side? How could he believe those ignorant Ministry buffoons over a boy he'd known for years?

What stands out to me now is that feeling of loss.

It's the pain of watching those you love choose the wrong side, knowing that they've been duped by the bad guys, and watching helplessly as they drift further away from you, utterly convinced of the righteousness of their cause.

I know that feeling. I've been experiencing it for the past five years.

The rise of Trumpism meant watching the Percys in our lives choose the side of deceit and hate and corruption. It was incredulously watching them believe the lies and ramblings of a leader intent on maintaining power no matter the cost. It was the surreal experience of watching intelligent, rational people ignore the evidence before them.

I relate to the Percy storyline now. I've felt the helplessness that accompanies the loss of a loved one to ignorance and bigotry. I know what it's like to watch people you care about unwittingly back a system that is costing people their lives.

Rowling captured that devastation, a feeling many of us had yet to experience. A decade before Donald Trump came on the political scene, she depicted a scenario in which families were divided, forced to choose between right and wrong, and cases in which good people chose wrong.

Percy wasn't evil. He wasn't filled with hate. He just put his faith in the wrong people. He believed the authority figures he had been raised to respect and blindly followed a bad leader whose self-interested policies got people hurt.

Percy's character showed me that not all bad guys are Death Eaters. Injustice is not solely the result of cruel and malicious people like Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy; it often stems from misguided beliefs or complacency. There are neo-Nazis and KKK-ers, and then there's your uncle who watches Hannity every night, your neighbor who believes One America News, your mom who got sucked in by QAnon conspiracies.

I know I'm never going to have that satisfying Deathly Hallows moment of Percy admitting that he'd been wrong. My Trump-supporting friends and family members aren't the same people they were six years ago. Our relationships aren't the same. Donald Trump has created a rift between the American people that will persist for decades.

But this plotline has acquired new meaning for me, and I find it oddly comforting that this pain is so poignantly articulated in my favorite book series. Percy has come to represent those I lost to Donald Trump, and his family is the fictional entity with which I share my grief.

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