Percy Weasley

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Percy Weasley
Harry Potter character
Image:Percy Weasley.jpg Chris Rankin as Percy in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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First appearance	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Percy Ignatius Weasley (born August 22, 1976) is a fictional character in the Harry Potter series. He is a son of Arthur Weasley and Molly Weasley, a younger brother of Bill Weasley and Charlie Weasley, and an older brother of Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Ron Weasley, and Ginny Weasley. His younger brother Ron is a close friend of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Percy entered Hogwarts in 1987, and is described in the book series as being tall and thin, and wearing horn-rimmed glasses (although he has not done so in the film adaptions).

When readers first meet Percy in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, he is a Gryffindor Prefect; and in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he becomes Head Boy. The black sheep of the family, he is relatively humourless, and thus becomes the butt of many of Fred and George's jokes and pranks. However, his mother favours him, as he causes her no grief while he is in school.

Percy owns a screech owl named Hermes after the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology. Hermes was given to Percy by his father for being made a Prefect.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 Percy's role in the books
2 Percy in the films
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 External links
6 References

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Percy's role in the books

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Percy is shown to be behaving furtively (perhaps a red herring with which to lead the reader to suspect he is responsible for the opening of the Chamber). He secretly has a girlfriend -- Penelope Clearwater (a Ravenclaw). Ginny discovers this before the other characters and it is through her that Harry and others find out.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he reached his final year at Hogwarts and is made Head Boy. He finished school in June of 1994 at the age of seventeen, and began working for the Ministry of Magic under Mr. Crouch, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Percy looked up to Mr. Crouch as something of an idol in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but Crouch never seemed to remember Percy's correct last name, and called him Weatherby instead. He takes Crouch's place as judge in the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament, and is very composed and professional until Ron seems to be in danger (like Harry he has taken the time-limit warning literally). He does however give Harry high marks for showing "strong moral fiber". He was also supposed to be a judge for the final task, but is unavailable to attend due to a schedule conflict (he is facing an Inquiry regarding Crouch's long absence). In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Percy was promoted to the status of Junior Assistant to the Minister of Magic by the Minister himself (Cornelius Fudge); this prompted a personal and political dispute with his father (Arthur Weasley), which resulted in Percy’s subsequent alienation from his family. Christmas gifts sent to him were returned.

When Percy learned that Ron had been made a Prefect, he sent Ron an owl letter suggesting that he "sever ties" with Harry Potter, whom the Ministry believed was lying about the return of Lord Voldemort, that he instead pay loyalty to Dolores Umbridge, who Percy called a "delightful woman," and even going so far as to criticize his parents. Ron ripped up Percy's letter and threw it into the fire. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Percy visits his family at Christmas time, in a presumed attempt to make up, but this visit is really just a ploy so the current Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, can talk to Harry Potter alone. The visit ends badly, with Fred, George and Ginny all taking credit for throwing food in Percy's face. Percy attends the funeral of Albus Dumbledore with members of the Ministry, including Dolores Umbridge.

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Percy in the films

In the films, Percy is played by Chris Rankin. Not much of Percy's character is seen onscreen, though he acts pompously (Rankin said in an interview that he deliberately overacted for the part.) Most of Percy's role in the film involves Prefect duties, such as leading the first years to their common room in the first film. He did not appear in the theatrical release of the fourth film.

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Trivia

Percy is short for Percival. There seems to be somewhat of a running theme of Arthurian legend in some Weasley family names. In the trial from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, he is identified as "Percy Ignatius Weasley", indicating "Percy", not "Percival", must be his full first name. Nonetheless, this is interesting to note.

His middle name Ignatius probably comes from Ignatius Prewett, who was married to Lucretia Black, a member of the Prewett family that appears to be an uncle of Molly Weasley and her brothers Gideon and Fabian.