Percy Weasley was finally working his way up in the world. He was tired of his family disregarding their pureblood lineage, and had decided to restore honor to the Weasley name. His siblings made that task especially difficult, but he was not deterred. He would achieve greatness.
Ronald had deluded his entire family to believe that the Dark Lord had returned somehow. What happened to the Diggory boy was tragic, but Harry was clearly too traumatized to give an accurate report about the events.
Percy had attempted to make amends with his family, but they simply refused to understand his perspectives and what steps were necessary to be a respectable wizard.
One day, not long after Percy had received his prestigious title of Junior Assistant to the Minister of Magic, he received a special task.
“Percy,” Prime Minister Cornelius Fudge smiled as he put a hand on Weasley’s back.
“Yes, Prime Minister?” Percy asked, his heart racing from anticipation. Did he finally have a task? An opportunity to prove himself at last?
“You’ll be helping Umbridge at Hogwarts this school year,” Fudge smiled, “You know the grounds, are familiar with the student body, and would be the ideal representative to assist Delores with whatever she needs.”
Percy was filled with both pride and dread at the prospect. He was a respected ministry official and would be proud to present himself to the student body as such. He’d always been an authority at Hogwarts, first a prefect and again as head boy.
He only worried about his younger siblings. There was no telling the kind of pranks they’d be willing to pull on him. Ronald was merely a nuisance and Gin was likely too concerned with boys to care about Percy’s presence at the school.
While he may have been anxious, he wasn’t afraid to face his family,
“I’d happily assist Umbridge in whatever she may need,” Percy smiled.
Fudge nodded and the paperwork was filed. While Percy looked over the paperwork and was incredibly intrigued by their approach in educating the dark arts.
Percy was initially skeptical, but he trusted the ministry to know what they were doing. Three days before he was scheduled to accompany Umbridge to Hogwarts, he finally met the small pink toad.
She was extremely distasteful, far more toadish than Percy expected. She was rather square in shape, with large hands that were slightly unsettling. He wasn’t sure what to make of the squat woman’s demeanor, but he quickly ignored.
“Hello, Mr. Weasley, pleasure to meet you,” Umbridge said in a disturbingly sweet voice. Percy couldn’t help but notice the slight rasp in the back of his throat, but it was a small observation.
When the pair arrived at Hogwarts, Umbridge set up her office with dozens of cat- adorned plates and pink decor littered the small, stone office. Percy couldn’t help but notice a rather large supply of bugs she seemed to hoard in her desk, but he quickly assumed it was nothing more than an interesting quirk.
Over the next few months, Umbridge slowly became more rigid in her position at Hogwarts. Percy was slightly disturbed by the short woman’s actions, but was more so curious about the slow migration of her eyes.
It was a gradual shift, but he was positive her eyes were spreading slightly farther apart and that her mouth was widening slightly. Some nights, when he walked by her office, he’d hear the strangest low humming noise emanate from the other side of the door.
He decided to investigate further, and had intended on picking up some literature in the library. However, when he got to the section that the book was in, he found Draco Malfoy with his tongue down Hermione Granger's throat. He initially considered breaking them up, but he’d become rather disillusioned with authority.
He turned and just went back to his room where several explosives were hidden in his bed. He’d almost grown to like the pranks his brothers were pulling on him. It almost felt like they still cared.
He missed his mum and dad, his annoying brothers, and bustling holidays. Umbridge had essentially quietly usurped power and Dumbledore was one technicality away from being deposed as headmaster.
It was depressing.
A few weeks later, Percy began to notice a slight green tint to Umbridge's complexion and her teeth had seemingly shrunk. After the revelation of Dumbledore’s army, Umbridge had officially become headmistress of Hogwarts.
The power made her ruthless and her methods only grew more sadistic. Percy tried to report the abuse, but it soon became clear that the ministry didn’t care about the actual wellbeing of the students. It was all a ploy for power.
Near the end of the year, Percy noticed warts on Umbridge's hands. It didn’t make any sense, so he took it upon himself to investigate her office. Her cats were accustomed to him, so he didn’t trigger any alarms by investigating in her absence.
He found notes from known death eaters and realized Umbridge was working with the Dark Lord. It completely changed his perspective, and Percy decided that he longer wanted to pursue a career in politics.
He continued to read the correspondence, and made a horrific discovery. He knew what he needed to do.
Percy hid in the shadows and waited for Umbridge to enter. When the woman walked in, she was almost haggardly. Horror washed over Percy as he watched the woman strip to her underthings and squat on the ground. Her skin was covered in warts and bumps. It was appalling. Percy wasn’t sure how to process the sight, but he knew what he needed to do.
He stepped out of the shadows and shouted, “Revelio!”
The disgusting woman had no time to counteract the spell, and she slowly morphed into a large pile of toads. They turned to begin an attack against Percy. Before he was swarmed by the army of toads, he levitated as many as he could and directed them into the fire.
The flames grew, burning off Percy’s eyebrows. He cowered under the desk until the flames subsided.
When he rose, he sprinted to Mcgonagall to explain the entire ordeal. She immediately notified the ministry, showing them Percy’s memory and the overwhelming evidence that the Dark Lord had returned.
Percy was declared a hero, but denied any promotion at the ministry. Instead, he reconciled with his family while they prepared for an impending war.