I've always felt really sorry for Percy, not because I think he was particularly good in everything he did but because he's so ridiculously average.
Like, he did everything right. He followed the rules, got a solid career after graduating, followed the Ministry pre-DH, and all he got out of it was estrangement from his family and a lot of inefficiency and corruption and mistakes from the people he'd staked his morals on. In HBP, he's still holding onto that clear path because, honestly, it would suck for him to have to go back and admit he was wrong when he can still pursue his dreams at the Ministry without actually dealing with any of his family shit. And then Voldemort takes over, and he's trapped in a position where he doesn't feel like he can go back to his family and he can't leave without putting both himself and potentially them at risk. Maybe he manages to do a little bit of good, but he's alone, and he probably feels like he can never do enough in Voldemort's borrowed bureaucracy.
And then... the war ends. He's gotten his family back, sort of, but between everything that's happened and Fred's death it's not like it can go back to how it was before. And maybe he has faith in the system at first, because better people are in charge now, people his parents had trusted when he was off being a moron, but, well, it's not enough. He's back in his old job, and the wheels turn the same way they always have, and he notices how little materially changes. And a few years pass and what little change had happened grinds to a halt.
And Percy's in a perfect position to see just how futile it is, how quickly things can go from equilibrium to horror, and he either has to ignore it or let his entire worldview collapse.
no subject
Like, he did everything right. He followed the rules, got a solid career after graduating, followed the Ministry pre-DH, and all he got out of it was estrangement from his family and a lot of inefficiency and corruption and mistakes from the people he'd staked his morals on. In HBP, he's still holding onto that clear path because, honestly, it would suck for him to have to go back and admit he was wrong when he can still pursue his dreams at the Ministry without actually dealing with any of his family shit. And then Voldemort takes over, and he's trapped in a position where he doesn't feel like he can go back to his family and he can't leave without putting both himself and potentially them at risk. Maybe he manages to do a little bit of good, but he's alone, and he probably feels like he can never do enough in Voldemort's borrowed bureaucracy.
And then... the war ends. He's gotten his family back, sort of, but between everything that's happened and Fred's death it's not like it can go back to how it was before. And maybe he has faith in the system at first, because better people are in charge now, people his parents had trusted when he was off being a moron, but, well, it's not enough. He's back in his old job, and the wheels turn the same way they always have, and he notices how little materially changes. And a few years pass and what little change had happened grinds to a halt.
And Percy's in a perfect position to see just how futile it is, how quickly things can go from equilibrium to horror, and he either has to ignore it or let his entire worldview collapse.