Cookies help us deliver our Services. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn More.
What Happened To Percy Weasley After Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows?
Not every character in the “Harry Potter” series is a winner. For every Sirius Black or Albus Dumbledore — played in the movies by Gary Oldman and Michael Gambon, respectively — there’s some kid in Hufflepuff named Ernie MacMillan who’s kind of a wet blanket. (No disrespect intended to Hufflepuffs who are not Ernie MacMillan.) One of those damp mops of a character just so happens to be a member of the beloved Weasley family — specifically, Percy Weasley, portrayed in the films by actor Chris Rankin.
We’ll return to Percy’s good and bad qualities in a moment, but first, let’s answer a pressing question: what happens to the third-eldest Weasley brother after the books end? In a now-archived post from Pottermore (the first incarnation of the “Harry Potter” encyclopedia now known as Wizarding World) that depicts the Weasley family tree, it’s noted that Percy marries a woman named Audrey whose maiden name isn’t revealed, and the couple have two daughters named Molly (after the matriarch of the Weasley family, played by Julie Walters) and Lucy.
In another archived post from Pottermore, series author Joanne K. Rowling penned a little article about the 2014 Quidditch World Cup that catches up with some of the characters, saying that Percy is “Head of the Department of Magical Transportation – it’s his fault if the Floo Network’s too busy!”
Percy was always an extremely irritating character in Harry Potter — but he came through at the end
Warner Bros.
So what’s Percy Weasley’s deal throughout the main narrative of “Harry Potter?” In essence, he’s a rule-follower and a strict enforcer, which constantly puts him at odds with his younger brother Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), his Muggleborn cohort Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), and Harry Potter himself (Daniel Radcliffe). By the time the main trio begins their education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Percy is already a fifth-year Gryffindor and serves as a prefect, which explains his love of rules. Nearly every time Harry, Ron, and Hermione get into scrapes at school, they find themselves reprimanded by Percy … which only gets more obnoxious when he’s named Head Boy in the trio’s third year.
By the fourth book and film, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” Percy is out of Hogwarts and working at the Ministry of Magic; in the books, he works in the Department of International Magical Co-operation, but when he fails to notice that his boss is acting erratically for an entire year — erratic behavior that leads, both directly and indirectly, to the return of the Dark Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) — he’s left disgraced. However, he’s then installed as an assistant to the Minister of Magic and sides with them against Harry during the government’s smear campaign regarding Harry in “Order of the Phoenix” and becomes estranged from the Weasleys as a result, eventually returning to fight alongside his family during the final war against Voldemort. Percy is a difficult character, but in the end, he’s there for his family.
What has actor Chris Rankin been doing since he played Percy Weasley in Harry Potter?
Comic Relief/Getty Images
Raised in New Zealand at first before his adoptive parents moved him to Norfolk, Chris Rankin made his film debut in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” (titled “Sorcerer’s Stone” in American markets) and subsequently appeared in all of the “Harry Potter” movies except for “Order of the Phoenix” and “Half-Blood Prince,” as his character’s plotlines were cut for time. Rankin also appeared in projects like the miniseries “The Rotters Club” and “Victoria Cross Heroes” but quit professional acting at 24 years old and attended the University of Lincoln.
Rankin is still quite active on Instagram and apparently still performs in community theater productions, but it certainly looks like he’s left his movie career in the rear view mirror. Still, his performance as Percy lives on … even if he had to play sort of irritating character at the end of the day.