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Teaser for Chapter 4
Teaser for Chapter 4
#1
   "Dear Ron,

   "I have just heard through a mutual acquaintance that you have 
   become a Hogwarts prefect.

   "I was most pleasantly surprised when I heard this news and 
   must offer my congratulations.  I must admit that I have 
   always been afraid that you would take what we might call the 
   'Fred and George' route, rather than following in my 
   footsteps, so you can imagine my feelings on hearing you have 
   stopped flouting authority and have decided to shoulder some 
   real responsibility.

   "But I want to give you more than congratulations, Ron, I want 
   to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at 
   night rather than by the usual morning post.  Hopefully you 
   will be able to read this away from prying eyes and avoid 
   awkward questions.

   "First, I presume that absent any radical changes in your 
   life, you are still close to Harry Potter.  I have reason to 
   fear that continued fraternization with him could cost you 
   your badge -- or worse.  Before you throw this letter away in 
   anger, please let me explain.

   "The Minister is convinced that Potter and Dumbledore are
   spearheading a campaign to undermine him.  I have heard him 
   say in private moments that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named cannot 
   have returned, and thus Potter must be insane and/or lying 
   about it for political reasons.  His primary Undersecretary, 
   Dolores Umbridge, agrees with him and together they are 
   planning some manner of retaliation against Potter and 
   Dumbledore both.  

   "However, in my time here, I have cultivated contacts in other 
   parts of the Ministry.  From my acquaintances within the 
   Department of Mysteries I have learned that the Unspeakables 
   have accepted Potter's account of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's 
   return as an incontrovertible fact and are acting accordingly. 
   I cannot relay their reasons for this to you due to Ministry 
   regulations imposed just this week, but the evidence offered 
   to me has been most convincing.

   "Thus I find myself in the position of having to warn you to 
   sever your ties with Potter for the sake of both your future 
   and your safety.  Potter's disciplinary hearing before the 
   Wizengamot this summer was only the beginning of the 
   Minister's campaign against him, if what I have overheard is 
   any indication.  I suspect that there will be no hesitation to 
   strike at his associates if it furthers the Minister's plans.  
   If you are tarred with the same brush as Potter, it could be 
   very damaging to your future prospects, and I am talking here 
   about life after school, too, should matters fall out as the 
   Minister desires.

   "That is assuming you *have* future prospects.  Remaining a 
   very visible friend and supporter of Potter will make you a 
   primary target for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers.  
   While I understand that our family is already marked for death 
   as 'Blood Traitors', the simple fact is that by being one of 
   Potter's two closest friends you have elevated yourself (and 
   most likely everyone else in our family) to 'kill first, kill 
   at all costs' in the eyes of the Dark Lord and his followers.

   "This is the simple truth, Ron:  in the current social and 
   political atmosphere, keeping company with Harry Potter is at 
   best a decision that will ruin your immediate future, and at 
   worst will cost you your life.  Please, please distance 
   yourself from him and protect not only yourself, but the rest 
   of our family.

   "I am sorry that I was unable to see more of you over the 
   summer.  At the time I was afraid that I could no longer live 
   under our parents' roof while they remained mixed up with what 
   I saw as the dangerous crowd around Dumbledore.  Even though I 
   now know that Potter and Dumbledore are right, that does not 
   make their crowd any less dangerous.  I choose to continue my 
   estrangement from our parents in order that some part of our 
   family will escape the inevitable retribution which 
   He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will visit upon the Weasleys for 
   their rejection of his cause.

   "I count myself very lucky to have escaped the stigma of 
   association with Dumbledore's people, but make no mistake -- 
   as much as I respect the Minister, his refusal to accept the 
   evidence possessed by the Unspeakables reveals him to be far 
   less astute than I had believed.  However, by sticking close 
   to him and to Dolores Umbridge I have acquired a certain 
   protective coloration that will serve me in good stead should 
   the worst occur.  I strongly recommend that you make similar 
   arrangements.  Break publicly with Harry Potter, and align 
   yourself with any clique or classmate whose political views 
   can shield you.  The rest of our family may be doomed by their 
   association with Potter and Dumbledore, but you do not have to 
   be.  And if by some miracle they and I both survive the next 
   few years, rest assured that I will be ready to offer them a 
   full apology for the pain and anguish I have surely put them 
   through.

   "Please think over what I have said most carefully, and 
   congratulations again on becoming prefect.

   "Your brother,

   "Percy"

Harry looked up from the parchment in his hand.  "Well," he said
after a long moment of thought.  "He's not exactly wrong, you
know."
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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#2
Nice. Very Percy, while making a clear difference from canon.
-People may die, but ideas are forever. Je suis Charlie.
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#3
Quote:Seraviel wrote:
Nice. Very Percy, while making a clear difference from canon.
Yes. This makes him a coward, instead of just a prig.  
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."
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#4
Ebony Wrote:
Quote:Seraviel wrote:Nice. Very Percy, while making a clear difference from canon.
Yes. This makes him a coward, instead of just a prig.
  
I don't know - it takes a certain kind of courage to separate oneself from one's family.

(Amongst other things, I'd call that kind of courage "misguided," but it is courage.)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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#5
Actually, I think Arthur and Molly would approve. In secret. So if worse did come to worse, Percy would have that protection.

Besides, to me it sounds as though Percy is going to be doing a bit of undermining of his own, seeing as he has declared Umbridge and Fudge to be incompetent.
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#6
Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:
Actually, I think Arthur and Molly would approve. In secret. So if worse did come to worse, Percy would have that protection.

Besides, to me it sounds as though Percy is going to be doing a bit of undermining of his own, seeing as he has declared Umbridge and Fudge to be incompetent.
I disagree. The tone of the letter seems to be more those of a man who is willing to cut ties with everyone who cares for him because they're "marked for death." Rather than take that knowledge and act upon it (aside from trying to persuade Ron to do otherwise), he chose to hide in the safety of his position. History is filled with men who did that, and they were surprised as hell when their loyal service was rewarded with internment camps and inquisitorial torture.
Mind you, without context, it's difficult to say whether or not this is Percy providing Ron with information in the guise of a (pardon the pun) weasely cry for him to save himself. It may be that he is working from within the system to try and stop Voldemort, but I don't see any of that in this letter. Just a man trying to keep his head down in hopes that it doesn't get cut off.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."
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