Chapter Text
In a big family like the Weasleys', with many kids of many different ages, it is not easy to treat all of these children the same. Some would say it is not possible at all. People outside the family, who are familiar with them, might have a special understanding of the family, depending on who they think of first, when they hear the name.
Most witches and wizards over the ripe age of 40, ministry officials and mothers and fathers of their kids' friends, would first picture Arthur and Molly. The power couple who manage to have and raise 7 children, while having barely enough money to do so.
Other people might associate the family with the oldest son William. Bill was well known at Hogwarts for being incredibly friendly, getting Outstanding on all 12 O.W.L.s, and having married the beautiful Fleur Delacour.
There's also those, who knew Charlie in school. During his time, he was Gryffindor's seeker, as well as Gryffindor's quidditch team captain. He was less popular amongst the majority of the school's students compared to his older brother. He didn't lack the academic knowledge nor the social skills in his circle, however. And even some who have never heard of him back then, now know the Weasley brother who studies dragons in Romania.
Of course, there are also Fred and George. The pranksters of the school. Whenever you found your dinner floating around the Great Hall, you could be sure to know the culprit.
Then, there's Ron. Not only an excellent keeper at quidditch, but most have heard of him due to his close friendship to the boy who lived. He is not only his best friend, but also has he helped him through the darkest of times. Ron is seen as a hero in many people's minds.
Last but not least, there is the youngest Weasley, the only daughter. Ginny has been under the blinding lights since she started dating Harry Potter. Other then that there is obviously the association to quidditch, as she, as well as almost all of the Weasley siblings, did outstandingly at the sport. She is also the only one, who joined a professional quidditch team and is currently still on the pitch.
The family is so big that one tends to forget about one of them, but that's alright. It's hard not to forget about one in nine names.
But why is it, that people always forget about Percy?
Nobody ever thinks about Percy Weasley first, right?
During his time at Hogwarts, most students thought of him as a stuck-up teachers-pet, who thought he was something better than the others just because he was a prefect and later head-boy. He had very few friends back then.
There was Penelope Clearwater, a Ravenclaw from his year, who was just as obsessed with her studies as him. There have been dating rumors about them since sixth year which both of them denied. Percy was being picked on nonetheless. It was either both of them who were made fun of, or there were those, who saw the beauty of the girl and instead decided to start joking about him being to ugly for her. In reality they have only ever been friends.
The other person he regularly spent time with, was Oliver Wood. The attractive boy who had been made quidditch captain by his brother when he had graduated. He was also Percy's roommate. Not to be mistaken, there had been more Gryffindor boys in their year, but Percy never got an answer as to why it was only the two of them sharing a dorm, while all of his brothers slept in rooms of three or four at least. Oliver never seemed bothered by this arrangement.
He was always nice to Percy, even after all of the jokes he had heard his friends make about the boy. He never agreed or even answered when students (sometimes even Percy's own brothers) spoke him their condolences about his roommate. Percy started considering him a friend around the end of fifth year. Nobody ever really knew about how close the two really were.
At the Burrow, things were different. Obviously, it is difficult for two parents to notice and comment every move, each of their seven children made. So what Percy had learned in his early childhood, was to be an easy child. He had tried to keep his younger siblings in line and not to cause any trouble himself. He wanted to make his parents proud of him and in very few occasions, he succeeded at that.
The act of trying to take care of his siblings, is probably what got him the nasty reputation with his brothers. In their teen years they were barely better than some students at Hogwarts. They constantly bickered with him, making jokes and playing pranks on him just to see 'perfect Percy' get mad.
But that's pretty much everything that was about him at home. He understood. His parents had to care more about the younger ones than the oldest. Charlie and Bill were out of the house, one of them even married, Fred and George were not to be kept in control and Ron was getting himself nearly killed every second day, for over seven years. Ginny got her share of the attention just for being the only girl.
But Percy was overlooked. And it was okay that way. His siblings only saw what they wanted to see and that was a wanna-be control freak whose only friends were his pseudo girlfriend and his books. In his parent's eyes, he was the easy one. He did what he was supposed to, he didn't argue and he was always quiet and polite.
His family was the most important thing in his life. Sometimes he just thought that maybe, he wasn't the most important thing for his family.
Luckily, they are all out of school now. Even Ginny had graduated last year. The twins had opened their own joke shop and though one might think, that that means they have not changed a single bit, you would be mistaken. Percy assumed the same at the beginning.
Especially because, at the time, he didn't know any better. See, after he had graduated, he took his report card with the same 12 O.W.L.s as his oldest brother had gotten, and applied at the ministry.
It had always been Percy's dream to work at the ministry and possibly, later in life, be voted as minister. He moved into a nice flat as soon as he got his first paycheck and for too long a time, he barely stayed in touch with his family.
Long story short, he made a whole bunch of mistakes during this time and was left utterly unhappy with his position at the ministry. It seemed not everybody viewed him to be fit for a high-ranked leading position. So he quit. He quit and he apologised to his family.
He was forgiven and he was welcomed back with the open arms of his mother. He had spent a long time after that adjusting back into the family and dealing with his guilt for leaving and abandoning them for a job.
At first it was obvious that his brothers, especially the twins, didn't forget about all of it as quickly as their mother. But they came along. Everybody did eventually. Now, Percy lives in his childhood bedroom again, and is desperately searching for another job.
As mentioned, his two younger brothers opened a shop in Diagon Alley. Percy felt a bit behind, because he didn't even pay his parents a galleon of rent, due to his non-existent income, while his brothers, two whole years younger than him, have their own flat above the shop.
Percy had visited the shop several times and though it isn't his area of expertise, he had been impressed and extremely proud of his brothers. It was going well for them. They wouldn't become rich, but they did present a decent competitor to Zonko's. What made him most happy of course, was to see his brothers work their dream job and have fun with their very own business.
Over the past year, he had gotten much colser to his siblings, the twins specifically. He was glad to finally build a steady and lasting relationship with his family.
Not to forget the others. He had watched his sister win quidditch games for Holyhead Harpies and read multiple articles about Ron's great work as an auror. His brothers abroad, had visited a few times and were more than happy to see their brother again.
Life was going well for Percy right now, if only he didn't have to look for a job.
His mom told him to take his time, that she had fed him for 17 years and that she could do it now too, but obviously he wanted to take some weight of his parent's shoulders. He was living there and he insisted on paying them a little bit of money.
If only he could find a career he liked....