George looked at Vid and said, "Since then Percy has soared high—awarded the Third-level Merlin Medal, and rapidly promoted from a marginal role to the administrative head of the Auror Command Department, according to him, providing 'orderly' support for the Aurors' work."
His mouth curled into a sarcastic smile.
Fred's anger had simmered down, and he said pungently and frankly, "Actually, his job is just to polish the life-risking achievements of others into reports that align with the higher-ups' intentions."
"He even bragged to us that he has a private office at the Ministry of Magic," Ron added, "bigger than Dad's office, with more sunlight."
"I've been there," Ginny said, "he decorated his Merlin Medal with a gold-plated frame and hung it in the most conspicuous place on the wall, afraid that others might not see it! Right, and there's the clipping of him capturing Peter Pettigrew!"
"At that time, Mom was so proud of him!"
As they spoke, Ginny became sad.
Fred said, "To be honest, I still doubt how Peter Pettigrew, after escaping for so long, ended up in Percy's hands?"
"Not to be mean—his Stunning Spell skills even Ginny can't match! Even if a half-ton fatty stood in front of him, he'd still miss the spell!"
"Percy claims to have undergone a life-and-death battle," George said, "but I'd rather believe Pettigrew tripped and fainted, conveniently picked up by Percy."
As they spoke, they had already reached the tea room upstairs, found a secluded corner to sit down, ordered red tea, and then Fred shared the sandwiches from his bag with everyone.
"Just bought these, let's have them for lunch. I guess Mom and Dad don't have the appetite right now," he said.
"So what then?" Harry holding a sandwich asked, "Percy soared, I can guess Percy's attitude probably upset you guys. But hasn't he been that way since he became Prefect? Why then..."
"Because of this."
George took out a crumpled envelope from his pocket and placed it on the table.
Ron instantly reacted like seeing a spider he loathed, almost jumping out of his chair:
"Merlin's beard! George, you kept this thing? I thought we agreed to flush it down the toilet—it's where it truly belongs!"
George said, "No! I'm going to frame it, hang it in the most obvious place in our joke shop, titled 'A Paradigm of Contemporary Bureaucratic Hypocrisy,' what do you think?"
"Good idea." Ginny let out a snort, "Too bad I burned my copy to ashes after reading the first line!"
"Mom kept hers too, locked in her vanity drawer," Fred tried to sound calm, "I saw her take it out to read secretly at night, crying in the attic."
"What's this?" Harry asked.
"Percy's masterpiece," Ron said coldly, "Sent two days after Dad was hospitalized. An official letter from the Weasley supervisor to 'Mr. Arthur Weasley and his family members,' one for each, demanding us to 'learn and reflect.'"
"Learn and reflect?" Harry asked perplexed, "Reflect on what?"
Vid saw no one objecting, already took out the letter paper from the envelope and unfolded it, Harry also leaned in to look.
The parchment was of fine texture, printed with the Ministry of Magic's insignia, the handwritten script neat, just like Percy himself.
[...I have noted with great concern that certain behavioral patterns within the family regrettably diverge from the spirit of 'order, responsibility, and prudence' advocated by the current Ministry of Magic.
Out of loyalty to the Ministry's duties and consideration for the family's long-term reputation, I find it necessary to call upon everyone to notice and reflect on the following matters...]
This bureaucratic opening made Harry frown deeply. Once again, he confirmed that he still couldn't understand people like Percy.
Soon after, Percy criticized everyone except the mother in the letter.
He said his father's appearance near the Department of Mysteries' perimeter on a rest day was very suspicious. Although the Minister generously didn't pursue the matter, as the administrative head of the Auror Command Department, he would fulfill supervisory responsibilities.
He considered it extremely foolish for his brother Bill to run off to Egypt to dig up ancient rubbish, wasting his talents as a Twelve O.W.Ls certificate holder.
As for his other brother Charlie, equally talented, yet raising dragons in Romania was even more unseemly and crude behavior.
Next were Fred and George, their schemes at school had reached Percy's ears, and he considered those candies that made students skip classes and faint to be the "most absurd and useless" inventions.
Complaints from students' parents had been sent to Percy's office, causing an "extremely adverse" impact on his work.
[...These products disturb normal teaching order and pose potential threats to the health and safety of lower-year students.
As your elder brother, I must sternly warn: Continuing such marginal, and possibly legally borderline, commercial activities will ultimately lead to serious consequences.]
Percy wrote.
Then onto Ron, Percy cautioned him against getting too close to certain "high-risk individuals," to avoid trouble and suggested he associate more with self-disciplined and excellent people like Miss Granger and Cedric Diggory, to learn from their strengths.
[...Although Miss Granger's background is somewhat lacking, befriending her could greatly enhance your academic performance and discipline, which is way more meaningful than mingling with… those people.]
Upon seeing this, Harry self-perceived as the "high-risk individual" Percy mentioned, his ears reddened with a sense of embarrassment and absurdly sharp pain.
Ron saw his expression and knew what he was thinking, promptly said, "Don't mind what he says, it's bullshit!"
Harry barely nodded, pretending he didn't care.
Next, Percy didn't even spare his youngest sister, Ginny.
During the election period, Ginny once said at home, "No one is as good as Headmaster Dumbledore! If Dumbledore were Minister of the Ministry of Magic, that would be great."
Percy told her to "speak cautiously," to avoid inviting unnecessary scrutiny on the family due to personal immature preferences.
After criticizing everyone, Percy wrote in an extremely arrogant tone:
[...External entities might erroneously associate your private actions with my official stance, causing interference in my administrative duties.
Regarding the need to maintain the image of the Ministry of Magic and ensure seamless job execution, I, Percy Ignatius Weasley, administrative head of the Auror Command Department of the Magic Law Enforcement Department, hereby solemnly declare:
Effective immediately, I am suspending all non-essential personal engagements with the Weasley Clan.]
Seemingly realizing how cold it sounded, if exposed to the media, such a heartless attitude towards relatives could adversely impact his career path.
Thus afterward, Percy hypocritically added an explanatory segment:
[I made this difficult decision not out of neglect towards familial bonds, but quite the opposite, out of deeper protection. If Mr. Barty Crouch had timely taught his own son, surely Barty Crouch Jr wouldn't have strayed so astray.
I hope each of you takes this opportunity for profound self-examination and behavioral adjustments.
Only when family members' behaviors align more closely with the values advocated by the Ministry of Magic, and the rigorous standards required by my role, can we reevaluate the necessity and propriety of mutual connections.
Until then, maintaining a beneficial distance, both for my public duties and for yourselves, might be the wisest and most responsible choice.
May Merlin guide you onto a more suitable path forward.
—Percy Ignatius Weasley
Magic Law Enforcement Department·Auror Command Department Administrative Head]