Prologue: The Promotion

Years later, Percy would admit that this day was one of the major turning points in his life and he had always known it—though not for the reason he had originally expected it would be. When he'd gone to the Ministry that day, he'd honestly expected to be given the sack.

Awful as it would be, he was resigned to it. Young as he was, he knew better than to pretend he wasn't at least partially to blame for what had happened with Mr. Crouch. He had spent more time with the man than anyone else, so, dreadful as it was for his career, he accepted the inquiry and hoped that he would receive his dismissal as quickly as possible. (You can handle it, he told himself the night before. You were Head Boy at Hogwarts, you got top marks on your N. E. W. T. s. You can start over.)

So, of course he felt like reality made no sense anymore when he was called in to see Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic himself (Percy felt himself beginning to tremble in awe before he followed) and was offered a promotion.

He'd not believed it at first. "You trust me with such a position, sir?" His voice came out in a gasp.

"Of course," the Minister said. "You're a fine young worker. I do believe you will do well, Weasley."

Percy puffed up with pride. It did not hurt that this was the first time since he'd begun work at the Ministry of Magic that his superior referred to him by his actual name. "Thank you, sir."

It wasn't until he returned home that day that he was confronted with the possibility that his new position wasn't necessarily a good thing.

He arrived at The Burrow still bursting with enthusiasm. His siblings called him a pompous prat and he supposed he could be at times, but surely this time he deserved the right to celebrate his accomplishments.

Stepping into the house, he heard the usual noise. Fred and George, the terrors that they were, were thankfully nowhere to be found for the moment. (He loved those two, but they were surely going to blow themselves up one of these days. Oh, if only they could be more responsible!) Ron and Ginny were away as well. As for his parents—

"Mother, Father."

"Percy!" Mother strode out of the kitchen to give him her customary hug. "How was your day?"

Percy beamed. "It was wonderful." He turned to his father. "I've got great news for you both. I've been given a promotion."

"Really?" There was something in Father's expression that bothered him. A hint of regret, perhaps? No, it was probably just fatigue. He had been working a lot lately—everyone had in the Ministry as of late. Ah well.

Percy resumed speaking. "The Minister has offered me a wonderful opportunity to be his new Junior Assistant." His voice was full of his pride. "He told me that he felt I was perfect for the position after my excellent work under Mr. Crouch." It still hurt to think that his superior that he had so admired—if more in his dedication than in his lack of limits—had passed on. It felt like an eternity had passed since his seventh year.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Mother instigated another bonecrushing hug. There was a pause before Father reluctantly joined in. As small of a gesture it was, it comforted Percy to at least know that he had his parents' approval.

"That is very good news," Father agreed. "It's a bit odd, though, isn't it? The timing?"

"True," Percy said. "I felt much the same way, but . . ." He had always been the dutiful son who never complained, but it felt important that he tell the truth: "I need this, Dad. My job was wonderful for a while. But . . . since Mr. Crouch disappeared, most of the others in the department hadn't really been happy that I was left in charge. It's good work that they do there, but I think I've had my fill of it, at least for now."

His parents exchanged looks that said something between them he couldn't completely understand. Then they smiled. Percy knew part of it was because he'd called his father "Dad" again, something he had spent most of his adolescence removing from his vocabulary to represent his new maturity, but it still slipped out every now and again.

"We're happy for you, Percy," Father said. "But I want you to be careful."

"Er—for what?"

"Percy, Fudge is a good Minister, but he's still a politician and you never know what he might be planning."

Percy felt his temper flare. "Are you trying to tell me my promotion's not legitimate?"

"Not exactly," his father said. "I'm sure you're more than qualified for it. But—surely you've heard at work all the things he's been saying about Dumbledore?"

At the mention of that name, Percy's expression soured. "Yes, I have."

"He's also been going after poor Harry," Mother said. "And you know, Harry, Percy. He's a good boy—the Prophet is just full of lies right now."

"But, he's been saying You-Know-Who is back," Percy said.

"You don't believe?" Father sounded like he'd never met Percy before.

He may have been an adult now, but the disappointment stung. "I can't say I do right now. Not because I believe everything the Prophet is saying, but because it's just the word of two people. Even if the Headmaster is right, how's he expect to convince the Minister and all the public if they expect him to trust his word only?"

"It's Dumbledore, though, Percy. He's trustworthy."

"Is he?" said Percy. At that, he received looks of disapproval. "It's just . . . I can't be the only one in this family who's seen it. Since Harry Potter started at Hogwarts, it's like Professor Dumbledore hasn't been the same. The school's become completely unsafe, from trolls in the dungeon, giant snakes petrifying students, Sirius Black breaking into Ron's dorms. . . . I don't hate Dumbledore, but I just can't trust him on this alone." Or anything, but he had enough tact to not say that aloud.

His parents were silent for a moment. In the background, Percy noticed his siblings filing into the room. Wonderful. An audience. Hopefully this didn't become too messy.

"Mother, Father," he said, "I don't want to fight with you on this. I know you trust Dumbledore, and you're convinced You-Know-Who has risen from the grave. Fine. I'm simply going to wait until I hear some more proof or at least a full testimony from Harry before I act. If you think Minister Fudge is trying to use for me something, I won't let him. This is my job, but you're family and that's more important than anything."

His words calmed them.

"We're proud of you, dear," Mother whispered, giving him a kiss. "Never forget that."

"And we'll always love you," Father said, "even if we disagree."

Those words would stick with him for the rest of his days, as they comforted him whenever he felt like a disloyal Weasley. This was good, as he knew, even then, that their choice to agree to disagree meant that their relationship would be forever changed.

But, Percy vowed, we'll always be close. They may think I'd throw them away for a job, but I won't.

Those words would be his strength for years to come.

Author's Note: This was simply a beginning for a potential experiment depending on reader interest. My favorite Harry Potter character is Percy and while his arc is one of the few that actually has character development, I find myself disappointed that it's never acknowledged in the books that there were valid reasons to distrust Dumbledore and that his parents' devotion to the Order is just as blind and obsessive as Percy's to the Ministry. In many ways, it's very "black sheep has own opinion, gets portrayed as wrong for not conforming and is only welcomed back after conforming." And then I felt like the whole thing could've been avoided if Percy had simply been more open to the possibility that Voldemort is back and his family to the chance he might have earned the job and wouldn't use it to spy. And since I haven't seen anyone write that premise before, I tried it out myself.

In terms of plot, I have a vague idea of this lasting until the end of Order of the Phoenix, but obviously from Percy's perspective. The focus is mostly on Weasley family interaction, coming-of-age, and Ministry politics. My take on Percy is that he feels like he's at that stage in life where he doesn't fit in with his family but loves them quite a bit, yet he's not quite a fighter in the same way the rest of them are, so he's cautious for now and is going to remain neutral until he's convinced that Voldemort is back. He won't join the Order since he doesn't trust Dumbledore at all, but he may try to fight in his own bureaucratic way somehow—mainly if his family's involved.

Characterization is something I really want to nail, especially for Percy since a lot of people writing him as a protagonist make him too little like his canon self. I did some re-reads of the middle books to get him just right (and wow, Rowling really tried to make him as unlikable as possible in GoF and OoTP, didn't she? She even used her self-insert, Hermione, to show how awful he is by having him bow to Crouch's authority on his treatment of Winky.) So my Percy will be uptight, pompous, rule-obsessed, socially oblivious, lacks empathy regarding people or magical creatures who aren't relevant to his life, authority following; he will also shift allegiances in authority figures over time. He may come off very unlikable to readers who prefer him written like his more laid back and morally pure siblings, but I am firmly going with a grey Percy. In regards to his family . . . I suspect they didn't understand him much and could be awful, but I will be sticking to canon for their dynamic. Things will eventually change, though, regarding the twins. I will also try to develop his relationship with Ron, particularly once Umbridge starts teaching. No romance planned, but Penny Clearwater, Audrey, and other characters may appear as his social circle.

Note to new readers: Percy is wrong in many ways and is failing to see the bigger picture. So if his distrust sounds like something out of a Manipulative!Dumbledore story, this is not the case. All characters will be written as canon and the other side (particularly Arthur's and Molly's reasons for siding with him) will be presented in a fair and balanced manner.

Questions, comments, etc. are all welcome, even if just to tell me I suck. I'm still trying to decide what genres to put this under, so don't be surprised if it changes.