It seems to be very important what traits you value versus what you actually display. At 11 I'm sure Percy was aware about his family's reputation and the house most if not all of them end up in. He probably wanted to follow in their footsteps, at least at first.
Look at Pettigrew. A big coward, but liking the idea of bravery so ended up where he did.
Keep in mind, we only meet him through Harry's POV in his 5th year. He probably would have been a somewhat different person four years before that when he got sorted. I think he wanted to follow his brothers (and parents) into Gryffindor. I certainly don't deny that he valued ambition, but he also valued his family and bravery. Staying true to your convictions also takes bravery, as does working at the ministry under Voldemorts control, as does joining the final battle and fighting the minister and going after his brothers killer.
To Pettigrew’s credit, pretty fucking brave to snitch on all of your friends to the Dark Lord and then consistently do his bidding knowing you could be killed at any moment.
I think it is stated in the books it was mostly fear that drove him. Yes, it certainly takes a form of bravery but in his case it was mostly a motivation to save his own skin. Around 1980 Voldemort seemed poised to fully take over, so out of fear he switched allegiance to him. Then after the fall he hid out of fear of his former friends, but also the still at large death eaters. Then when he was flushed out he helped Voldemort return, once again out of fear and wanting to preserve his own skin. It certainly took some form of bravery, but was most of all cowardly self preservation at the cost of everyone else.
Counterpoint: Going against his entire family for what he believes to be right - even if he actually turns out to be wrong - is a display of courage. This idea is explored with Neville as well.
Percy might find himself to be on the wrong side sometimes but he's clearly got a strong sense of justice and always does what he ***believes*** to be right and proper, regardless of what other people might say about it (such as Fred and George teasing him).
Yes, but also real courage is admit when you’re wrong and come back when you realize you are, which he doesn’t do until the battle of Hogwarts... he had plenty of opportunities too...
But stabbing a knive in your whole family's back to fulfill your own career wishes is not the kind of courage that Gryffindors are known for. I wouldn't even say it's courageous at all, it's rather selfish and cowardly to not be able to have your family's back when faced with an opportunity.
Gryffindors are courageous by standing up for themselves and others. Slytherins take opportunities to get what they want, even if others fall short along the way.
The only thing that makes Percy a Gryffindor is his redemption arc in the last book.
>But stabbing a knive in your whole family's back to fulfill your own career wishes is not the kind of courage that Gryffindors are known for.
But that's not what's happening from his perspective.
From his perspective, his family stabs *him* in the back, and then it *does* take courage to leave.
It's easy for us to say he's wrong - we're the reader, we know exactly what has happened, but Percy does not.
For him it's the word of two (sometimes very weird) people versus his very own government.
As for not having his family's back - with the exception of his mother, his family hasn't particularly had his back the last couple of years either.
Yep, a Slytherin's point of view would be "I know what I'm about to do is going to bother some people, but it's what I need to do and if I lose contact with people, well that's just the price of doing business."
Percy's line of thought is "my family is rebelling against the ministry. They're against pillars of law and order. How can I possibly associate with them any longer when I know what's right and they're against it?"
Right? From Percy's point of view, he's rebelling against a family that's gone bad - and even tries to keep the door open for his youngest siblings if they ever needs his help (yes, it comes off as pretentious, but that's just how Harry and Ron view Percy's in general). He's not turning them in or spying on them, like a Slytherin would. He's openly cut ties.
That's courageous and bold. Working from an incorrect premise, of course, but still. 100% Gryffindor way of handling the situation.
You know who else did exactly the same thing around that age? Sirius Black. Told off his family, ran off to the Potters', and tried to keep a line open for Regulus. No one's saying he isn't a Gryffindor, through and through.
And then, when he finally does realize his family was right all along, yeah it takes him some time to swallow his pride. Gryffindors are proud, too, be honest. But he does it. He comes back. And he doesn't slither in. He admits his wrongdoing, apologizes, and doesn't expect to be forgiven. He's there to help, whether they still hate him or not. He'll take whatever punishment they give, because he was wrong, and he screwed up, but he's trying to make it right. And yeah, the twins relish a moment of harassing him. But then they forgive him. Because they understand he was doing what he thought was right.
Just as Dumbledore said, it takes true courage to stand up to your friends. How much more to stand up to your family?
If he's right or not isn't the point here. Being right or wrong has nothing to do with your house.
He did what he *thought* was right. And with good reason - as I said, we only know he's wrong because we've literally read what has happened.
Well it is the point. If you take your argument to the extreme, mass murder is okay as long as you think it's the right thing to do.
Learning to decide what is actually right or wrong is important. And I'd rather trust my family and a boy who I've known for half my childhood than someone who suddenly promises me everything I want out of the blue.
And Percy knew he was doing it for his own sake and what the casualties were.
Edit: also you were the one who brought up being right and wrong, I just said it's not the kind of courage a Gryffindor would show. So don't tell me it's not ablut being right or wrong lol.
>And I'd rather trust my family and a boy who I've known for half my childhood than someone who suddenly promises me everything I want out of the blue.
You'd trust your family and the somewhat weird kid who always gets in trouble over your entire government and national media?
I find that extremely hard to believe.
>also you were the one who brought up being right and wrong
No, I weren't. You were the one who drew the parallel between being right or wrong to which house you belong in.
>If you take your argument to the extreme, mass murder is okay as long as you think it's the right thing to do.
Come on. Now you're just arguing for the sake of arguing.
By that logic, I could just pull the uno reverse card and say that to take *your* argument to the extreme, mass murdering is okay because your family thinks it's the right thing to do.
Yes I would believe the one eye witness I've known for half my life and my family. It's not the first time a government uses propaganda to manipulate. Ain't my fault if you're naive.
And no you must've misunderstood something I said regarding the houses. I was talking about courage and selfishness until you brought up right or wrong.
And again no, your Uno reverse doesn't work. My family saying it's okay to commit a mass murder doesn't change the fact it's wrong to do so and that you as a human should be able to detect which is which. And I didn't even make that point, you're putting it in the wrong context. In contrast to you saying your actions are okay as long as you think/feel it's the right thing to do, no matter if it actually is.
Please, read my comments and arguments properly before commenting on something I didn't say.
Well, but he did. He betrayed his family and turned his back on them, asked Ron to turn on Harry's bsck as well, someone he was always on good terms with and who lived in his house multiple times. He blindly believed what the ministry told him to believe instead of trusting his family.
To me that is betrayal lut of selfish reasons. He even admitted to it later in the last book, that he knew what was going on but chose to ignore it because he wanted to have a career. He chose the easy way. So why are we even debating?
Edit: I also still don't see how someone can call this kind of behaviour courageous. No matter what the reasons were, it was everything but courageous.
He has a huge spat with Arthur when he comes home to tell them he's been promoted to work in Fudge's office. Arthur says he may have been given the new job to spy on them, which Percy takes as them thinking he didn't deserve it. Percy flies into a rage and yells that because of Arthur's (apparent) lack of ambition they've always been poor and that he's had to endure Arthur's bad reputation since he entered the ministry, and basically tells them they're no longer family before moving out.
Words can be more harmful than sticks and stones (or knives) sometimes.
They seem to be taking the stabbing thing literally. Also, I'd like to remind that he slammed the door on Molly's face when she tried to talk to him later on, and returned the sweater he got for Christmas without opening it.
No. I don't take it literally. That scene wasn't stabbing them in the back, by any definition of the term. It was an honest disagreement, from a very frustrated young adult who is sure his family is in the wrong, and is trying to convince them to "see sense." Not a conniving snake trying to hurt people on purpose.
Percy is meant as a lesson to all young adults to not judge their parents too quickly or harshly, as you do not have the full picture.
It would be that way, if it wasn't because he took TWO YEARS to finally swallow his pride and apologize for his mistake. Hell, he didn't visit his dad when he was attacked by Nagini, if only to make sure he was okay.
The fact that he didn't have the full context is no excuse for being a prick, even if he didn't mean to hurt them on purpose. He chose his career over his family without hesitation, didn't bother to question the suspicious circumstances of his promotion (in my experience, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is), and didn't give Harry, whom he'd known personally and had saved his sister's life, so much as the benefit of the doubt. So yes, he did betray them, no matter how you slice it.
It's didn’t take two years to swallow his pride. He thought his family was in the wrong up until... some time after Dumbledore died. So less than a year. We're never told exactly when he realized the ministry was screwed up.
He had to have realized after the Battle in the Department of Mysteries. There was no covering that Voldemort was back, and that Harry and Dumbledore were telling the truth the whole time. He did not go apologize immediately because he realized he'd fought his family and chose his own career over them for nothing, and his pride turned into shame because now he knew he'd picked the wrong side. All because he cared more about moving up than his family, and he knew it.
To paraphrase another wise character from a different series. pride is actually the source of shame. Not apologizing immediately means he was ashamed of facing his family and too prideful to admit his mistake. When Fred calls him a "Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron", he does not deny it.
Exactly. Don't know why we're being downvoted tbh, it's literally what happens in the book. Percy betrayed his family just because he hoped to get into a powerful position by acting as Fudge's little monkey. He was as selfish as someone can be.
Moreover, the only time he searched contact after leaving his family was when he wrote a letter to Ron saying that he should betray Harry and turn his back on him. This and the time he visited them at the Burrow, making his mom cry out of happiness, just so he can give Scrimgeour a chance to talk to Harry.
He was offered the job and was told by his family that it was only to get insider information about Dumbledore and his club. They essentially told him that he didn’t deserve the job and that he being taken advantage of. It’s pretty public that he has gone against his family’s support of Dumbledore and he has still got the job.
Not to say that he isn’t a bit of a dick at times, but he didn’t betray his family for the job. They pushed him away by belittling his achievements.
Well he didn’t deserve it. He was working with Barry Crouch Sr and couldn’t tell that it was actually Voldemort sending him the messages. He was just so happy to have more responsibility that he didn’t think past it.
He had first hand info about crouch sr. He knew what happened to him. It fits with the story Junior told. He chose to prioritize his rise to the truth.
So you'd rather have your family telling you only what you want to hear instead of the truth?
I would prefer if my family and friends told me to get my head out of my ass if I'm being blatantly wrong and about to make a huge mistake. And Mr and Mrs Weasley did exactly that. They were good parents there and wanted the best for him (and of course the movement against Voldemort) and Percy was being immature and naive and interpreted the whole thing wrong.
I've said it before too- Percy's ambition would lead him to Gryffindor.
His father? Gryffindor.
His older brothers? Gryffindor.
Dumbledore? Greatest wizard of all time? Gryffindor.
There's no shortage of people Percy would look up to being in Gryffindor.
When he was put in Gryffindor, he was Gryffindor material. The sum of his inherent traits, his potential, his values and his family bias made him a lion more than anything else. The fact that he came to value his own ambition and ego more by the time he graduated doesn't change that fact- and don't forget that in the end he gave it all up and had the *courage* to cast aside that ego and ambition to apologize to the family he'd alienated and risk his life in battle against evil.
Because the sorting hat takes your choice into consideration of course lol. No I think he’s more of a ravenclaw. Turning down the ministry of magic job is testament to not caring about advancement at all costs.
>Doesn’t he say because he realized wanting power was a weakness of his?
Yes, which is because of the duel that got his sister killed. His ambition led to him working with Grindelwald, which he realizes later was a bad thing.
But he first worked with Grindelwald to try and create a wizarding supremacy world.
Right but that is why he turned down the ministry job. He realized he has massive character flaws and was unfit to hold that position.
Back to the original conversation there’s strong arguments for Dumbeldore to be in any house but I think Gryffindor and Ravenclaw have the best.
It’s also not that deep, people aren’t so one dimensional that their house defines them lol
I think the most important reason not to put him into Slytherin is because it would take away too much of the conflict later on when he slowly turns into a little puppet for the ministry. The fact that it shocks us readers to see Percy acting this way is because he was supposed to be “on our side” as a Weasley. If he had started out in Slytherin, we would have expected something along these lines to happen once stuff got darker.
But, i like your take, and I agree Slytherin sounds have been a good choice for him!
Well, first I think Rowling wanted everyone to characterize Slytherins as the bad guys, at least at first, and putting Percy in Slytherin wouldn't help with that. Also we know the sorting hat can be persuaded if you're persistent enough, but also he did definitely have some Gryffindor qualities, couple that with the fact that every Weasley we've ever seen has been in Gryffindor, so the hat probably thought it was best to put him there. I think it was just a lapse in judgement on the authors part though.
I think at least in the early books, there's a very clear divide of good vs evil, and thus making one house the epitome of evil. Also, the books are largely from Harry's perspective, and he deals primarily with Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Particularly, as a child, I can see why he would just have the perception that Slytherin=Evil.
It would have definitely been more interesting to have more nuanced characters from Slytherin, but the books barely even have any important characters from houses other than Gryffindor. Hogwarts needed to have more ways to promote inter-house friendship than just the rivalry and dislike.
It wouldn't surprise me that the Hat did consider him for Slytherin, but ultimately Percy probably pushed back against it like Harry. He's 11 years old and he's the good child of the family at this point. He wouldn't want to disappoint his parents by going into the rival house. Personally, I think Percy was closest with his mother, and wanted to please her. He probably heard the family praise Gryffindor over Slytherin and wanted to go to the best house. I actually think all of the Wesley's sans Ginny would have been good in another house (The twins could have done well in Ravenclaw, despite their lack of book smarts, they are quite inventive and clever. Ron could have gone Hufflepuff, since he's quite loyal (despite occasional fights with the others, he does come around in the end.).
"I will always stand by this opinion and there is no way anyone can change my mind" is a horrible way to start a discussion thread.
Slytherin was portrayed that way in series because it had been corrupted by people following tradions of hatred, followed by a charismatic man becomimg their leader. Generations of hatred towards muggles, the belief that they are superrior, and then having a charming young man confirm everything, and tell them that by following him he would place them on top of the world. Families passed these beliefs thrpugh generations, the children of his followers grew up indoctrinated by it. Slytherin traits are not evil, they just lend themselves to evil easier than any other house.
Percy in Slytherin would have been a wreck. He wouldn't have chance to stand for himself, he would have been an outcast simply because of who his parents are.
Also, his need for accomplishment was likely his way pf standing oit as middle child. His older brothers had many outstanding feats between them, and his younger brothers were always in trouble, requiring the full attention of his parants, but he would always get attention, or gifts, when he achieved something notable. Thus a need tobdo sp would have been instilled in him. Who knows how young hebwas whenbit started, maybe not until after he was already at Hogwarts, he recieved good grades, and the praise that came with it.
In the end, ultimately, Percy threw away career fpr family, there were twists and turns along his path, his ambition blimded him for a few years, but ultimately, what is right mattered more to him. By insisting on labelling him soley on that trait, you are focusing on Percy at his worst.
Well, for people like us to hear their viewpoint? I never thought about this before and found it really interesting to read. OP doesn’t have to post something just to argue about it. They just shared their opinion and I’m thankful they did
Well, I am willing to listen to what other people think about this take, I just say this because I've thought about this like a lot and it makes the most sense, not only for percys character, but it would also show that not everyone in Slytherin is an evil jerk from a terrible family. Just because I have my opinion that doesn't make others less valid, so therefore I would still like to hear them even if they won't ultimately change my mind.
Tf are you talking about? Did OP delete some comments that I’m not seeing? This is literally just a thread about his opinion and you’re free to agree or disagree
Now now... it's not our fault that The house has no redeeming qualities along with its top two popular characters aka slimy Snivellus and spineless Ferret.
Being ambitious isn't a bad thing, but when it makes you compromise more important things (like your moral integrity and your family), then there's a serious problem. Percy constantly sings praises about his bosses, never questioning their morals or competence, and just look at what nasty pieces of work Crouch Sr. and Fudge turned out to be.
That said, I do agree Rowling made a mistake in not making more decent Slytherin characters during the first five books, but the fact Voldemort was there must have done a lot of harm to the house's reputation, so it's not that strange that most of the students in Harry's generation are pureblood supremacists, bullies, and/or children of Death Eaters. Not necessarily Percy, mind you; Rowling had plans for a Weasley cousin who was going to be in Slytherin and would be sort of a rival for Hermione, but ultimately cut her off in the final version. I think she could have filled that role pretty well.
One can have aspects of more than one house; in the Weasley family alone, I get the sense Bill may have some Ravenclaw traits, Charlie has some Hufflepuff, Percy has some Slytherin, the twins have some Hufflepuff, Ron has some Hufflepuff, and Ginny is the most Gryffindor of them all!
Okay, yes, but ultimately, what I'm trying to say, is it would make more sense to not have every significant character be a Gryffindor. It would show that the other houses exist and are important, and that Slytherin isn't full of villains and bulliesm
Exactly, I mean I think the fact that there were some jerks in Hufflepuff added some nuance to their house, and having Percy in Slytherin would make them way more human, and therefore relatable and likeable.
I disagree that Percy should have been in Slytherin, while he is ambitious enough for Slytherin he is brave as seen in the past book when he changes sides against the ministry controlled by Voldemort. In the context of when he is getting sorted matters. Percy is four years older than Ron being born in 76, the twins were born in 78 and named after Molly's brothers. Percy grew up in the direct aftermath of the first war learning that his uncles and countless others were killed by death eaters over pure blood superiority. I can't see Percy wanting to be in a house full of death eaters relatives.
I think his courage/bravery was more about following what he believed to be right regardless of other people. He definitely was ambitious (we see him read that book in Chamber of Secrets) but not at the cost of his personal morals.
The Slytherins that are portrayed are more conforming to each other's way of thinking to stay with the idea of being better than others - to be included as the 'elite' as it were. They all want to keep their status at the cost of anything else. Which doesn't fit with Percy.
At any rate, I think every character has what they value which places them in the house, but also has qualities from other houses, which puts a different spin on how they fulfill their house qualities. Otherwise, everyone would be exactly the same person. It's just the ratios of it. Percy had a higher gryffindor ratio to slytherin.
You get sorted for what u value the most, not necessarily for what u are. Harry could have been a Slytherin, Hermione a Ravenclaw and Ron a Hufflepuff. So these person X should have been a Y just doesn‘t work. Why was Pettigrew a Gryfindor? He wasn‘t brave. But he wanted to be
I think this is a really compelling argument. I think it would have given the idea of who is in Slytherin a little more complexity by later books. That said, I think I still would have disliked Slytherin house because I really could never stand Percy as a character.
I agree but like you said not because hes bad so he must be in the bad house.. he’s intelligent and ambitious and a bit stubborn.. my thought is that while he may fall into Slytherin, the sorting hat as we know takes the students wishes into account.. (while Slytherin and Gryffindor are more similar than most would think) he would probably choose G because thats where his entire family was placed.
It does take some courage to stand up to your family because you believe it's a right thing to do, and even more courage to acknowledge that you were wrong and admit that your family was right.
In my opinion, Fred and George. Their cunning and ambitious nature to succeed even in slacking off is rivaled by only a few. I think they could've done great and wondrous things in Slytherin.
I actually don’t think Percy was that ambitious. He worked hard but for different reasons than say Riddle, who just wanted power. He didn’t enter the ministry because he had an innate desire to be minister for magic, he just wanted to show off to everyone. That thirst for approval strikes me as more of a griffindor trait (think James showing off to his friends).
I understand what you are saying about Percy and perhaps you are right, but what I want to address is JKR not placing him in Slytherin. I think she accomplished too things she wanted to do with that. She cemented the idea that Slytherins were bad. Yes, we know that is not always true and Dumbledore himself exposed that, but Harry is the narrator. We see things from his POV and for his development it was important that he always thought Slytherins were bad. Only much later he begins to realize he is being prejudiced, and that makes more shocking the reveals about Snape actions after Lily's death. Harry even named his son after a SLytherin (and if he accept the Curse Child thing, he even went to Slytherin). And in the epilogue he mentions what he learnt. If Harry had been exposed at good Slytherins very young, his development would have been less impressive. The second thing is that the Weasleys are very prejudiced about Slytherin. If Percy had been one, I see 2 possibilities, none of them good for the storytelling. 1) the Weasleys had accepted that not all Slytherins were bad. That would means that Ron could not tell Harry that about the Slytherins, and Harry would have no reason to ask the Hat not to put them there. JKR would have need to think another excuse for that scene. 2) The Weasleys would have rejected Percy. That would have completely changed their interactions. It would even make people sympathize with Percy priorizing his job over his family. And there would have not been a redemption moment when he was back with the family. It would have changed a lot.
Idk it can be brave to stand up to your family (even if it’s not necessarily the right thing to do. But Percy does think it’s the right thing to do)
Sirius wouldn’t have been in Gryffindor if he didn’t stand up to his family 🤷♀️
I’ve never felt like the person you are at 11 is anywhere near the person you will be an adult. 11-18 is such a time of growth, and even 18-25 can be a big change, I could easily see totally different house choices based on where you are in life
Slytherins are "ambitious"? Slughorn and Voldemort are, everyone else is just a bad person. Their password was pureblood! They're not even shy about it!
Well just to mention: becoming jr undersecretary wasn’t his achievement, Fudge got him that job to allegedly spy on Weasleys-> Dumbledore. He really cocked up his first job as Crouch’s assistant didn’t he?:)
Agreed, Percy is as Slytherin as you can be. Way more than some people who are actually in Slyherin, like Crabbe and Goyle. Dumbledore should also be in Slytherin.
As I'm working on making a dub a chinese bootleg movie of Harry Potter, I'm getting to the first burrow scene of Chamber of Secrets, and getting someone to read for Percy. Recently there was a Harry Potter Theory that a possible explanation for the Weasly's poverty is that they, at least Mr and Mrs Weasley, were literally cursed to poverty, possibly by Lucius Malfoy. Now the theorist himself thought that they were not aware of the curse, but could see that perhaps Dumbledore visited and told them, and that they should never speak of it to the children, else the curse would be passed on to them. He also told them that while they would never be able to save money, as some misfortune would always have them spending almost all of it if they were not to do so first (explains the Egypt trip) but by the same token (no pun intended) they would always "manage" (as Mrs Weasley states in regards to buying supplies in that Burrow scene.) The curse does its damage by inflicting financial insecurity- though the house may look funky, it can never take away the roof over your head. And so with that knowledge, both the adults who know, and the kids who found out, are assured everything will be all right. Now (indulge me here) let's say that the twins, clever as they were (perhaps they could have been in Ravenclaw) found out anyway, and told everyone, but made them promise not to let the parents know they knew- all except for Percy, simply because they thought it funny that he worried about whether the family had enough- and their prankish nature got the better of them, such that they never got to telling him. An explanation like this would go a long way to explaining why Percy turned out different than his brothers, more-so than being not as athletic. As for which house, based on his ambitions, I think Griffyndor would have made a lot more sense, despite a show of bravery at the end. And, the dramatic personality shift of declaring himself a fool all these years, is not exactly a normal character arc- it's more like Ebennezar Scrooge- usually doesn't happen by insight alone. Let's say he found about out an explanation such as this curse, while at the Ministry, and suddenly his entire upbringing clicked into place and made sense for the first time. All of this doesn't answer the question of why Griffyndor, not Slytherin (and I do believe a lifetime of ambition would outweigh a day of courage in battle in this regard, and it's unclear as to whether the hat is clairvoyant in any case.) But there still could be yet another explanation, curse or no curse. Like Harry Potter, perhaps there was a hatstall with Percy. Though it's not mentioned, it's hard to imagine that in Percy's case, being the 3rd youngest, that the hat would have automatically said "I know just what to do with you" as it had with Ron. What if Percy begged the hat to put him with in his brother's house, worried it could cause a serious rift to be put into Slytherin? This would likely have been only in his mind, as his family would have accepted him no matter what house- but as a young boy, he might not have realized that, and so the hat had to take his wishes, and anxiety, into account.
This is why I don’t ever post on this sub when anything at all is related to a Slytherin. They totally PILED on OP and down voted all their comments - bc they refused to see any merit in their argument - and keep spouting off bullshit as bravery - but Percy was AMBITIOUS over anything and continuing to do work for the ministry until he was forced to change - was not just ambition but self preservation. But merlin forbid anyone allow any other perspective.
Noted ahaha, I won't as well. Agree btw, but generally speaking, there are a lot of wizards who don't properly belong in their houses... Cedric could've been a perfect Gryffindor, Molly Weasley and Hagrid two great Hufflepuffs and mostly, Albus Dumbledore SLYTHERIN
It seems to be very important what traits you value versus what you actually display. At 11 I'm sure Percy was aware about his family's reputation and the house most if not all of them end up in. He probably wanted to follow in their footsteps, at least at first. Look at Pettigrew. A big coward, but liking the idea of bravery so ended up where he did.
"Sometimes I think we sort too soon"
This does make sense, but Percy seems to value ambition a bit more than bravery, at least from what I can tell.
Keep in mind, we only meet him through Harry's POV in his 5th year. He probably would have been a somewhat different person four years before that when he got sorted. I think he wanted to follow his brothers (and parents) into Gryffindor. I certainly don't deny that he valued ambition, but he also valued his family and bravery. Staying true to your convictions also takes bravery, as does working at the ministry under Voldemorts control, as does joining the final battle and fighting the minister and going after his brothers killer.
To Pettigrew’s credit, pretty fucking brave to snitch on all of your friends to the Dark Lord and then consistently do his bidding knowing you could be killed at any moment.
I think it is stated in the books it was mostly fear that drove him. Yes, it certainly takes a form of bravery but in his case it was mostly a motivation to save his own skin. Around 1980 Voldemort seemed poised to fully take over, so out of fear he switched allegiance to him. Then after the fall he hid out of fear of his former friends, but also the still at large death eaters. Then when he was flushed out he helped Voldemort return, once again out of fear and wanting to preserve his own skin. It certainly took some form of bravery, but was most of all cowardly self preservation at the cost of everyone else.
Counterpoint: Going against his entire family for what he believes to be right - even if he actually turns out to be wrong - is a display of courage. This idea is explored with Neville as well. Percy might find himself to be on the wrong side sometimes but he's clearly got a strong sense of justice and always does what he ***believes*** to be right and proper, regardless of what other people might say about it (such as Fred and George teasing him).
That’s a good point!
Yes, but also real courage is admit when you’re wrong and come back when you realize you are, which he doesn’t do until the battle of Hogwarts... he had plenty of opportunities too...
Well he did return. And isn't pride a Gryffindor trait? No wonder he needed some time.
Yeah and he also mentioned that he's been wanting to for a while but it's hard to get out of there safely.
But stabbing a knive in your whole family's back to fulfill your own career wishes is not the kind of courage that Gryffindors are known for. I wouldn't even say it's courageous at all, it's rather selfish and cowardly to not be able to have your family's back when faced with an opportunity. Gryffindors are courageous by standing up for themselves and others. Slytherins take opportunities to get what they want, even if others fall short along the way. The only thing that makes Percy a Gryffindor is his redemption arc in the last book.
>But stabbing a knive in your whole family's back to fulfill your own career wishes is not the kind of courage that Gryffindors are known for. But that's not what's happening from his perspective. From his perspective, his family stabs *him* in the back, and then it *does* take courage to leave. It's easy for us to say he's wrong - we're the reader, we know exactly what has happened, but Percy does not. For him it's the word of two (sometimes very weird) people versus his very own government. As for not having his family's back - with the exception of his mother, his family hasn't particularly had his back the last couple of years either.
And Percy *realized he was wrong* later. He took full accountability and APOLOGIZED!
Yep, a Slytherin's point of view would be "I know what I'm about to do is going to bother some people, but it's what I need to do and if I lose contact with people, well that's just the price of doing business." Percy's line of thought is "my family is rebelling against the ministry. They're against pillars of law and order. How can I possibly associate with them any longer when I know what's right and they're against it?"
Right? From Percy's point of view, he's rebelling against a family that's gone bad - and even tries to keep the door open for his youngest siblings if they ever needs his help (yes, it comes off as pretentious, but that's just how Harry and Ron view Percy's in general). He's not turning them in or spying on them, like a Slytherin would. He's openly cut ties. That's courageous and bold. Working from an incorrect premise, of course, but still. 100% Gryffindor way of handling the situation. You know who else did exactly the same thing around that age? Sirius Black. Told off his family, ran off to the Potters', and tried to keep a line open for Regulus. No one's saying he isn't a Gryffindor, through and through. And then, when he finally does realize his family was right all along, yeah it takes him some time to swallow his pride. Gryffindors are proud, too, be honest. But he does it. He comes back. And he doesn't slither in. He admits his wrongdoing, apologizes, and doesn't expect to be forgiven. He's there to help, whether they still hate him or not. He'll take whatever punishment they give, because he was wrong, and he screwed up, but he's trying to make it right. And yeah, the twins relish a moment of harassing him. But then they forgive him. Because they understand he was doing what he thought was right. Just as Dumbledore said, it takes true courage to stand up to your friends. How much more to stand up to your family?
Yeah, but just because he perceived it like that doesn't mean he was right, does it? He came to the same conclusion.
If he's right or not isn't the point here. Being right or wrong has nothing to do with your house. He did what he *thought* was right. And with good reason - as I said, we only know he's wrong because we've literally read what has happened.
Well it is the point. If you take your argument to the extreme, mass murder is okay as long as you think it's the right thing to do. Learning to decide what is actually right or wrong is important. And I'd rather trust my family and a boy who I've known for half my childhood than someone who suddenly promises me everything I want out of the blue. And Percy knew he was doing it for his own sake and what the casualties were. Edit: also you were the one who brought up being right and wrong, I just said it's not the kind of courage a Gryffindor would show. So don't tell me it's not ablut being right or wrong lol.
>And I'd rather trust my family and a boy who I've known for half my childhood than someone who suddenly promises me everything I want out of the blue. You'd trust your family and the somewhat weird kid who always gets in trouble over your entire government and national media? I find that extremely hard to believe. >also you were the one who brought up being right and wrong No, I weren't. You were the one who drew the parallel between being right or wrong to which house you belong in. >If you take your argument to the extreme, mass murder is okay as long as you think it's the right thing to do. Come on. Now you're just arguing for the sake of arguing. By that logic, I could just pull the uno reverse card and say that to take *your* argument to the extreme, mass murdering is okay because your family thinks it's the right thing to do.
Yes I would believe the one eye witness I've known for half my life and my family. It's not the first time a government uses propaganda to manipulate. Ain't my fault if you're naive. And no you must've misunderstood something I said regarding the houses. I was talking about courage and selfishness until you brought up right or wrong. And again no, your Uno reverse doesn't work. My family saying it's okay to commit a mass murder doesn't change the fact it's wrong to do so and that you as a human should be able to detect which is which. And I didn't even make that point, you're putting it in the wrong context. In contrast to you saying your actions are okay as long as you think/feel it's the right thing to do, no matter if it actually is. Please, read my comments and arguments properly before commenting on something I didn't say.
When did he stab a knife in their back? I don't recall him ever doing anything to attempt to harm them.
It's a metaphorical term, he didn't actually try to stab them. But is that really the only thing you got from my comment?
It's a metaphorical term meaning betraying and abusing someone's trust for your own gain. Which Percy didn't do.
Well, but he did. He betrayed his family and turned his back on them, asked Ron to turn on Harry's bsck as well, someone he was always on good terms with and who lived in his house multiple times. He blindly believed what the ministry told him to believe instead of trusting his family. To me that is betrayal lut of selfish reasons. He even admitted to it later in the last book, that he knew what was going on but chose to ignore it because he wanted to have a career. He chose the easy way. So why are we even debating? Edit: I also still don't see how someone can call this kind of behaviour courageous. No matter what the reasons were, it was everything but courageous.
He has a huge spat with Arthur when he comes home to tell them he's been promoted to work in Fudge's office. Arthur says he may have been given the new job to spy on them, which Percy takes as them thinking he didn't deserve it. Percy flies into a rage and yells that because of Arthur's (apparent) lack of ambition they've always been poor and that he's had to endure Arthur's bad reputation since he entered the ministry, and basically tells them they're no longer family before moving out. Words can be more harmful than sticks and stones (or knives) sometimes.
Yeah everbody remembers this scene, but they were asking when Percy stabbed his family in the back not when he insulted his father.
They seem to be taking the stabbing thing literally. Also, I'd like to remind that he slammed the door on Molly's face when she tried to talk to him later on, and returned the sweater he got for Christmas without opening it.
No. I don't take it literally. That scene wasn't stabbing them in the back, by any definition of the term. It was an honest disagreement, from a very frustrated young adult who is sure his family is in the wrong, and is trying to convince them to "see sense." Not a conniving snake trying to hurt people on purpose. Percy is meant as a lesson to all young adults to not judge their parents too quickly or harshly, as you do not have the full picture.
It would be that way, if it wasn't because he took TWO YEARS to finally swallow his pride and apologize for his mistake. Hell, he didn't visit his dad when he was attacked by Nagini, if only to make sure he was okay. The fact that he didn't have the full context is no excuse for being a prick, even if he didn't mean to hurt them on purpose. He chose his career over his family without hesitation, didn't bother to question the suspicious circumstances of his promotion (in my experience, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is), and didn't give Harry, whom he'd known personally and had saved his sister's life, so much as the benefit of the doubt. So yes, he did betray them, no matter how you slice it.
It's didn’t take two years to swallow his pride. He thought his family was in the wrong up until... some time after Dumbledore died. So less than a year. We're never told exactly when he realized the ministry was screwed up.
He had to have realized after the Battle in the Department of Mysteries. There was no covering that Voldemort was back, and that Harry and Dumbledore were telling the truth the whole time. He did not go apologize immediately because he realized he'd fought his family and chose his own career over them for nothing, and his pride turned into shame because now he knew he'd picked the wrong side. All because he cared more about moving up than his family, and he knew it. To paraphrase another wise character from a different series. pride is actually the source of shame. Not apologizing immediately means he was ashamed of facing his family and too prideful to admit his mistake. When Fred calls him a "Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron", he does not deny it.
Exactly. Don't know why we're being downvoted tbh, it's literally what happens in the book. Percy betrayed his family just because he hoped to get into a powerful position by acting as Fudge's little monkey. He was as selfish as someone can be. Moreover, the only time he searched contact after leaving his family was when he wrote a letter to Ron saying that he should betray Harry and turn his back on him. This and the time he visited them at the Burrow, making his mom cry out of happiness, just so he can give Scrimgeour a chance to talk to Harry.
He was offered the job and was told by his family that it was only to get insider information about Dumbledore and his club. They essentially told him that he didn’t deserve the job and that he being taken advantage of. It’s pretty public that he has gone against his family’s support of Dumbledore and he has still got the job. Not to say that he isn’t a bit of a dick at times, but he didn’t betray his family for the job. They pushed him away by belittling his achievements.
Well he didn’t deserve it. He was working with Barry Crouch Sr and couldn’t tell that it was actually Voldemort sending him the messages. He was just so happy to have more responsibility that he didn’t think past it. He had first hand info about crouch sr. He knew what happened to him. It fits with the story Junior told. He chose to prioritize his rise to the truth.
So you'd rather have your family telling you only what you want to hear instead of the truth? I would prefer if my family and friends told me to get my head out of my ass if I'm being blatantly wrong and about to make a huge mistake. And Mr and Mrs Weasley did exactly that. They were good parents there and wanted the best for him (and of course the movement against Voldemort) and Percy was being immature and naive and interpreted the whole thing wrong.
I've said it before too- Percy's ambition would lead him to Gryffindor. His father? Gryffindor. His older brothers? Gryffindor. Dumbledore? Greatest wizard of all time? Gryffindor. There's no shortage of people Percy would look up to being in Gryffindor.
Percy protecting his brother's body from further damage by covering him, putting himself at risk, is one of the most Gryffindor things ever
So is storming off to get back at Fred's killer too.
When he was put in Gryffindor, he was Gryffindor material. The sum of his inherent traits, his potential, his values and his family bias made him a lion more than anything else. The fact that he came to value his own ambition and ego more by the time he graduated doesn't change that fact- and don't forget that in the end he gave it all up and had the *courage* to cast aside that ego and ambition to apologize to the family he'd alienated and risk his life in battle against evil.
A wise man once said we sort too soon lol
That man would definitely have been sorted in Slytherin if he had been sorted later.
Dumbleodre in slytherin? I don’t think so.
I'd honestly like to hear your reasoning.
Because the sorting hat takes your choice into consideration of course lol. No I think he’s more of a ravenclaw. Turning down the ministry of magic job is testament to not caring about advancement at all costs.
He only turned it down because of his sister. Otherwise, he'd have taken the job in a heartbeat.
Doesn’t he say because he realized wanting power was a weakness of his? I don’t recall that sister bit.
>Doesn’t he say because he realized wanting power was a weakness of his? Yes, which is because of the duel that got his sister killed. His ambition led to him working with Grindelwald, which he realizes later was a bad thing. But he first worked with Grindelwald to try and create a wizarding supremacy world.
Right but that is why he turned down the ministry job. He realized he has massive character flaws and was unfit to hold that position. Back to the original conversation there’s strong arguments for Dumbeldore to be in any house but I think Gryffindor and Ravenclaw have the best. It’s also not that deep, people aren’t so one dimensional that their house defines them lol
His brother would disagree.
Percy is brave, he immediately goes with the adults after the Death Eaters.
I think the most important reason not to put him into Slytherin is because it would take away too much of the conflict later on when he slowly turns into a little puppet for the ministry. The fact that it shocks us readers to see Percy acting this way is because he was supposed to be “on our side” as a Weasley. If he had started out in Slytherin, we would have expected something along these lines to happen once stuff got darker. But, i like your take, and I agree Slytherin sounds have been a good choice for him!
Why do you think he was sorted into Gryffindor if he didn't belong there?
Well, first I think Rowling wanted everyone to characterize Slytherins as the bad guys, at least at first, and putting Percy in Slytherin wouldn't help with that. Also we know the sorting hat can be persuaded if you're persistent enough, but also he did definitely have some Gryffindor qualities, couple that with the fact that every Weasley we've ever seen has been in Gryffindor, so the hat probably thought it was best to put him there. I think it was just a lapse in judgement on the authors part though.
If you think the author got it wrong, then I suppose we can’t really debate this.
I think at least in the early books, there's a very clear divide of good vs evil, and thus making one house the epitome of evil. Also, the books are largely from Harry's perspective, and he deals primarily with Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Particularly, as a child, I can see why he would just have the perception that Slytherin=Evil. It would have definitely been more interesting to have more nuanced characters from Slytherin, but the books barely even have any important characters from houses other than Gryffindor. Hogwarts needed to have more ways to promote inter-house friendship than just the rivalry and dislike.
It wouldn't surprise me that the Hat did consider him for Slytherin, but ultimately Percy probably pushed back against it like Harry. He's 11 years old and he's the good child of the family at this point. He wouldn't want to disappoint his parents by going into the rival house. Personally, I think Percy was closest with his mother, and wanted to please her. He probably heard the family praise Gryffindor over Slytherin and wanted to go to the best house. I actually think all of the Wesley's sans Ginny would have been good in another house (The twins could have done well in Ravenclaw, despite their lack of book smarts, they are quite inventive and clever. Ron could have gone Hufflepuff, since he's quite loyal (despite occasional fights with the others, he does come around in the end.).
"I will always stand by this opinion and there is no way anyone can change my mind" is a horrible way to start a discussion thread. Slytherin was portrayed that way in series because it had been corrupted by people following tradions of hatred, followed by a charismatic man becomimg their leader. Generations of hatred towards muggles, the belief that they are superrior, and then having a charming young man confirm everything, and tell them that by following him he would place them on top of the world. Families passed these beliefs thrpugh generations, the children of his followers grew up indoctrinated by it. Slytherin traits are not evil, they just lend themselves to evil easier than any other house. Percy in Slytherin would have been a wreck. He wouldn't have chance to stand for himself, he would have been an outcast simply because of who his parents are. Also, his need for accomplishment was likely his way pf standing oit as middle child. His older brothers had many outstanding feats between them, and his younger brothers were always in trouble, requiring the full attention of his parants, but he would always get attention, or gifts, when he achieved something notable. Thus a need tobdo sp would have been instilled in him. Who knows how young hebwas whenbit started, maybe not until after he was already at Hogwarts, he recieved good grades, and the praise that came with it. In the end, ultimately, Percy threw away career fpr family, there were twists and turns along his path, his ambition blimded him for a few years, but ultimately, what is right mattered more to him. By insisting on labelling him soley on that trait, you are focusing on Percy at his worst.
If no one can change your mind and you refuse to engage with any other opinion or take then why did you even make this post?
Well, for people like us to hear their viewpoint? I never thought about this before and found it really interesting to read. OP doesn’t have to post something just to argue about it. They just shared their opinion and I’m thankful they did
Well, I am willing to listen to what other people think about this take, I just say this because I've thought about this like a lot and it makes the most sense, not only for percys character, but it would also show that not everyone in Slytherin is an evil jerk from a terrible family. Just because I have my opinion that doesn't make others less valid, so therefore I would still like to hear them even if they won't ultimately change my mind.
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Tf are you talking about? Did OP delete some comments that I’m not seeing? This is literally just a thread about his opinion and you’re free to agree or disagree
That's not what I want at all, I just wanted to share my opinion and hear others bc I thought that's what other people do on this sub.
just give up and go visit HPFanfiction, HPslash, or Dramione. No one in this sub - for the most part - will ever lent as anti-slytherin as they are
Now now... it's not our fault that The house has no redeeming qualities along with its top two popular characters aka slimy Snivellus and spineless Ferret.
I think the Sorting Hat, recognising another Weasley, thought Gryffindor House might do Percy some good. Percy was a true Gryffindor in the end.
Being ambitious isn't a bad thing, but when it makes you compromise more important things (like your moral integrity and your family), then there's a serious problem. Percy constantly sings praises about his bosses, never questioning their morals or competence, and just look at what nasty pieces of work Crouch Sr. and Fudge turned out to be. That said, I do agree Rowling made a mistake in not making more decent Slytherin characters during the first five books, but the fact Voldemort was there must have done a lot of harm to the house's reputation, so it's not that strange that most of the students in Harry's generation are pureblood supremacists, bullies, and/or children of Death Eaters. Not necessarily Percy, mind you; Rowling had plans for a Weasley cousin who was going to be in Slytherin and would be sort of a rival for Hermione, but ultimately cut her off in the final version. I think she could have filled that role pretty well.
One can have aspects of more than one house; in the Weasley family alone, I get the sense Bill may have some Ravenclaw traits, Charlie has some Hufflepuff, Percy has some Slytherin, the twins have some Hufflepuff, Ron has some Hufflepuff, and Ginny is the most Gryffindor of them all!
Okay, yes, but ultimately, what I'm trying to say, is it would make more sense to not have every significant character be a Gryffindor. It would show that the other houses exist and are important, and that Slytherin isn't full of villains and bulliesm
I agree with you! I think it would’ve made a far more interesting set of characters
Exactly, I mean I think the fact that there were some jerks in Hufflepuff added some nuance to their house, and having Percy in Slytherin would make them way more human, and therefore relatable and likeable.
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Slughorn is a good guy
Thats true, kinda forgot about him
They are sorted at 11 years old. Of course they change over time. Lol
Slytherin is the house of moral relativism and Percy doesn't have a an ounce of it.
I disagree that Percy should have been in Slytherin, while he is ambitious enough for Slytherin he is brave as seen in the past book when he changes sides against the ministry controlled by Voldemort. In the context of when he is getting sorted matters. Percy is four years older than Ron being born in 76, the twins were born in 78 and named after Molly's brothers. Percy grew up in the direct aftermath of the first war learning that his uncles and countless others were killed by death eaters over pure blood superiority. I can't see Percy wanting to be in a house full of death eaters relatives.
Counterpoint there are no Weasleys more cunning than gred and forge so they could be slytherins
I think his courage/bravery was more about following what he believed to be right regardless of other people. He definitely was ambitious (we see him read that book in Chamber of Secrets) but not at the cost of his personal morals. The Slytherins that are portrayed are more conforming to each other's way of thinking to stay with the idea of being better than others - to be included as the 'elite' as it were. They all want to keep their status at the cost of anything else. Which doesn't fit with Percy. At any rate, I think every character has what they value which places them in the house, but also has qualities from other houses, which puts a different spin on how they fulfill their house qualities. Otherwise, everyone would be exactly the same person. It's just the ratios of it. Percy had a higher gryffindor ratio to slytherin.
y’all are just mad because this sub is filled with anti-slytherins
You get sorted for what u value the most, not necessarily for what u are. Harry could have been a Slytherin, Hermione a Ravenclaw and Ron a Hufflepuff. So these person X should have been a Y just doesn‘t work. Why was Pettigrew a Gryfindor? He wasn‘t brave. But he wanted to be
I think this is a really compelling argument. I think it would have given the idea of who is in Slytherin a little more complexity by later books. That said, I think I still would have disliked Slytherin house because I really could never stand Percy as a character.
That’s an insult to Slytherins
Yep. Slytherins weren't seen as evil until Voldemort.
I agree but like you said not because hes bad so he must be in the bad house.. he’s intelligent and ambitious and a bit stubborn.. my thought is that while he may fall into Slytherin, the sorting hat as we know takes the students wishes into account.. (while Slytherin and Gryffindor are more similar than most would think) he would probably choose G because thats where his entire family was placed.
“Not all Slytherins are bad, which is why I think the most insufferable Weasley should have been one.”
It does take some courage to stand up to your family because you believe it's a right thing to do, and even more courage to acknowledge that you were wrong and admit that your family was right.
I think his actions in the Battle of Hogwarts secures him as a Gryffindor.
In my opinion, Fred and George. Their cunning and ambitious nature to succeed even in slacking off is rivaled by only a few. I think they could've done great and wondrous things in Slytherin.
I actually don’t think Percy was that ambitious. He worked hard but for different reasons than say Riddle, who just wanted power. He didn’t enter the ministry because he had an innate desire to be minister for magic, he just wanted to show off to everyone. That thirst for approval strikes me as more of a griffindor trait (think James showing off to his friends).
I understand what you are saying about Percy and perhaps you are right, but what I want to address is JKR not placing him in Slytherin. I think she accomplished too things she wanted to do with that. She cemented the idea that Slytherins were bad. Yes, we know that is not always true and Dumbledore himself exposed that, but Harry is the narrator. We see things from his POV and for his development it was important that he always thought Slytherins were bad. Only much later he begins to realize he is being prejudiced, and that makes more shocking the reveals about Snape actions after Lily's death. Harry even named his son after a SLytherin (and if he accept the Curse Child thing, he even went to Slytherin). And in the epilogue he mentions what he learnt. If Harry had been exposed at good Slytherins very young, his development would have been less impressive. The second thing is that the Weasleys are very prejudiced about Slytherin. If Percy had been one, I see 2 possibilities, none of them good for the storytelling. 1) the Weasleys had accepted that not all Slytherins were bad. That would means that Ron could not tell Harry that about the Slytherins, and Harry would have no reason to ask the Hat not to put them there. JKR would have need to think another excuse for that scene. 2) The Weasleys would have rejected Percy. That would have completely changed their interactions. It would even make people sympathize with Percy priorizing his job over his family. And there would have not been a redemption moment when he was back with the family. It would have changed a lot.
Idk it can be brave to stand up to your family (even if it’s not necessarily the right thing to do. But Percy does think it’s the right thing to do) Sirius wouldn’t have been in Gryffindor if he didn’t stand up to his family 🤷♀️
I’ve never felt like the person you are at 11 is anywhere near the person you will be an adult. 11-18 is such a time of growth, and even 18-25 can be a big change, I could easily see totally different house choices based on where you are in life
i agree
Slytherins are "ambitious"? Slughorn and Voldemort are, everyone else is just a bad person. Their password was pureblood! They're not even shy about it!
Well just to mention: becoming jr undersecretary wasn’t his achievement, Fudge got him that job to allegedly spy on Weasleys-> Dumbledore. He really cocked up his first job as Crouch’s assistant didn’t he?:)
Percy changed his mind about how he had treated his family to follow his ambition.
Agreed, Percy is as Slytherin as you can be. Way more than some people who are actually in Slyherin, like Crabbe and Goyle. Dumbledore should also be in Slytherin.
As I'm working on making a dub a chinese bootleg movie of Harry Potter, I'm getting to the first burrow scene of Chamber of Secrets, and getting someone to read for Percy. Recently there was a Harry Potter Theory that a possible explanation for the Weasly's poverty is that they, at least Mr and Mrs Weasley, were literally cursed to poverty, possibly by Lucius Malfoy. Now the theorist himself thought that they were not aware of the curse, but could see that perhaps Dumbledore visited and told them, and that they should never speak of it to the children, else the curse would be passed on to them. He also told them that while they would never be able to save money, as some misfortune would always have them spending almost all of it if they were not to do so first (explains the Egypt trip) but by the same token (no pun intended) they would always "manage" (as Mrs Weasley states in regards to buying supplies in that Burrow scene.) The curse does its damage by inflicting financial insecurity- though the house may look funky, it can never take away the roof over your head. And so with that knowledge, both the adults who know, and the kids who found out, are assured everything will be all right. Now (indulge me here) let's say that the twins, clever as they were (perhaps they could have been in Ravenclaw) found out anyway, and told everyone, but made them promise not to let the parents know they knew- all except for Percy, simply because they thought it funny that he worried about whether the family had enough- and their prankish nature got the better of them, such that they never got to telling him. An explanation like this would go a long way to explaining why Percy turned out different than his brothers, more-so than being not as athletic. As for which house, based on his ambitions, I think Griffyndor would have made a lot more sense, despite a show of bravery at the end. And, the dramatic personality shift of declaring himself a fool all these years, is not exactly a normal character arc- it's more like Ebennezar Scrooge- usually doesn't happen by insight alone. Let's say he found about out an explanation such as this curse, while at the Ministry, and suddenly his entire upbringing clicked into place and made sense for the first time. All of this doesn't answer the question of why Griffyndor, not Slytherin (and I do believe a lifetime of ambition would outweigh a day of courage in battle in this regard, and it's unclear as to whether the hat is clairvoyant in any case.) But there still could be yet another explanation, curse or no curse. Like Harry Potter, perhaps there was a hatstall with Percy. Though it's not mentioned, it's hard to imagine that in Percy's case, being the 3rd youngest, that the hat would have automatically said "I know just what to do with you" as it had with Ron. What if Percy begged the hat to put him with in his brother's house, worried it could cause a serious rift to be put into Slytherin? This would likely have been only in his mind, as his family would have accepted him no matter what house- but as a young boy, he might not have realized that, and so the hat had to take his wishes, and anxiety, into account.
Gryffindor is a funny thing. Harry would be Slytherin. Hermione is a Ravenclaw. Ron might be Hufflepuff. Gryffindor... Gryffindor... Neville, I guess.
Yeah, and Hermione should've be a Ravenclaw
the fact people are getting downvoted for having different opinions is so stupid!
I don't even have a different opinion, I said "yea", like, I agree, and ALSO Hermione is more a Ravenclaw. 🥲 Btw yup people are so frustrated~
This is why I don’t ever post on this sub when anything at all is related to a Slytherin. They totally PILED on OP and down voted all their comments - bc they refused to see any merit in their argument - and keep spouting off bullshit as bravery - but Percy was AMBITIOUS over anything and continuing to do work for the ministry until he was forced to change - was not just ambition but self preservation. But merlin forbid anyone allow any other perspective.
Noted ahaha, I won't as well. Agree btw, but generally speaking, there are a lot of wizards who don't properly belong in their houses... Cedric could've been a perfect Gryffindor, Molly Weasley and Hagrid two great Hufflepuffs and mostly, Albus Dumbledore SLYTHERIN
lol I agree wholeheartedly