Is Tickling Not On?

[grannybat84112]

Touching on canon, but really more of a cultural question.

One of the most touching scenes in the series for me was the moment 
when Harry's in the infirmary, ready to crack after the stress of the 
graveyard incident and all that follows--and Molly Weasley gathers 
him into her arms and allows him a moment of physical protection and 
reassurance. Both Harry and the reader come to realize the poor kid 
has never experienced a single gesture of affection in all his years 
since losing his parents. Not a hug, not a kiss, nothing. 

(Hagrid's bone-crushing hugs and hearty claps on the back don't 
really count; Harry always ends up bruised afterwards.)

This got me thinking...Harry's never been tickled.

I started imagining a scene where the Weaseley twins pounced on Harry 
and held him down so Ron, Hermione, and maybe even his quidditch 
teammates could have at his toes and bellybutton until he's red in 
the face and breathless--but I stopped. Is tickling a teenaged friend 
the sort of thing that's generally allowed in British culture?

Tickling isn't unknown to Magical society; Harry brings down Malfoy 
in the dueling club with a tickling hex (jinx? I don't have the books 
at hand). But is the "hands-on" method something that Simply Is Not 
Done in ordinary life once a child is older than, say, the age of 
five, and then only by the immediate family? Even a clueless Yank 
like myself has noticed the typical British reserve when it comes to 
public displays of affection.

Harry's never been tickled...for some reason, I just find that 
thought ineffably sad.

Grannybat