Percy reached a high ranking government position within a few years of leaving school. Imagine someone finishing their A levels and ending up working for Boris Johnson before they’d turned 21! Regardless of personality or politics, this is dynamic ladder-climbing.
He was only a junior assistant to the Minister. Presumably some sort of Assistant Private Secretary role. So while it is a good position for someone only a couple of years out of Hogwarts (Fudge had an ulterior motive with the appointment), it's far from a senior position. He did end up as Head of the Department for Magical Transportation but we don't know when, I can imagine that promotions came thick and fast under the Shacklebolt administration because the ranks had been thinned considerably by the war.
And Fred and George left school, likely “asked to leave” after assaulting the stand-in headmistress with magical explosives, and managed to raise capital - no family money - to open up a rip-roaringly successful shop in the middle of prime wizarding commercial real estate in the middle of an economic downturn and catastrophic political upheaval. It doesn’t get anymore dynamic than that!
They got caught turning a corridor into a swamp and escaped Filch's corporal punishments (Umbridge intended to make an example of them) by summoning their broomsticks and flying out. Harry gave them 1000 galleons as an investment (£5k) which presumably got them a rental deposit on the Diagon Alley shop (1997 prices, remember) and they were already doing a decent business at school and by mail order.
Or even just make his death look like an accident - boot him off the astronomy tower and say he was playing on his broom and fell. Or say he fell in the lake and drowned. Honestly with the health and safety procedures at Hogwarts that’s probably just par for the course and everyone would be like ‘ah it happens.’
Quirrell tried jinxing Harry while he was flying but Snape used a counter-jinx.
I don't know why Sirius didn't tell Fudge he was innocent when he visited Azkaban and explain they were animagi (although out of universe it would have messed the plot up!).
I don't know why Sirius didn't tell Fudge he was innocent when he visited Azkaban and explain they were animagi (although out of universe it would have messed the plot up!).
Sirius thought Peter really was dead though. He also blamed himself for passing on the secret keeper role.
Grey areas like Slughorn were only introduced in the last couple of books. It would have been good to have a few threads running throughout of fundamentally decent kids who are just kind of twattish who are placed into Slytherin.
Don't forget Regulus Black who was so appalled by Voldemort's treatment of a house elf that he sacrificed himself to end his former master.
Malfoy is bratty and Snape doesn't treat him that way.
Malfoy was never bratty to Snape though, was he? He was always very crawly. Lucius and Severus were of course old comrades too.