The Truly Forgotten Weasley

by Molly

It has been nearly eight years since the finale of the Harry Potter series, the bewitching novels that took the entire world by storm. Even though the Golden Trio will go on no more adventures, and the movies’ casts have all gone their separate ways, there are still many readers out there who love to analyze every word of the text. For those truly intrigued by the series, there has come a phenomena known as the “Forgotten Weasley”.

When talking about “the forgotten Weasley”, most are referring to the elusive Charlie Weasley, who was mentioned only scarcely in the books and only received a minor cameo in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Remember this guy?

The Harry Potter film series dropped Charlie Weasley from the plot altogether, which was probably a good plan. As having been introduced to so many red-headed young Weasley boys throughout the course of the series, it was beginning to become difficult to keep them all straight in our heads!

As much as we all would’ve liked to have known more of Charlie, though, the Weasley I’m referring to is Percy. I am, and always have been of the opinion that we as a fandom have never given the guy enough credit. When you really begin to analyze the text, you’ll quickly begin to realize that he is both the most underappreciated and underrated of all the Weasleys.

Percy Weasley is often looked at as being one of the minor antagonists of the Harry Potter series. However, this could not be any less the case. Percy is, in fact, what most of us are and strive to be. What could I possibly mean by that? Here are a few of his character traits, which JK Rowling was so clever as to layer in.

• He leaves his family behind because he has different beliefs and opinions.
• He fearlessly follows those in charge.
• In the end, family really is the most important thing to him.

Let’s break this down.

First of all, after his graduation from Hogwarts, he went directly into work for the Ministry of Magic, more or less becoming the Minister’s personal coffee-fetcher. While his family began to realize that the Ministry was not working in their favor, he refused to believe it. He was even estranged from the Weasleys for nearly a book and a half due to having sided with the Ministry. He literally lost everything he ever had while clinging tightly to his belief and faith in the Ministry. This is something that hardly any of us could even imagine doing. When the going gets tough, many of us want to run away with our tail between our legs. Not this guy. Even when the entire Wizarding World was against his beliefs, he clung to them.

In the end, though, he realizes (as all protagonists do), that family meant most. So, before the Battle of Hogwarts began, he came tumbling into the Room of Requirement, a disheveled mess, begging to make amends with his broken family.

That, ladies and gentlemen, in my opinion, makes Percy Weasley one of the most relatable characters in the entire series. Unfortunately, though, most of us glance right over him, because on the surface, he’s just a “filler” character. Let me fill you in on a little something, though. There is not one character in the Harry Potter books that is there to simply take up space! Every one of them has a distinct purpose. You may have to analyze a bit to find it, but I promise it’s there! It is clear that JK Rowling took great care when creating this character. I think the fact that he is so much like so many of us, is the reason behind why we love to hate him.

So, there’s my opinion. What’s yours? Who do you think is the most underrated character of the Harry Potter series? Leave an answer in the comments below!