Other Weasleys (Fred)

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 16520

Ebony wrote:

> >But then again, I'm not hugely protective of either Ron or 
> > animals.  We established this fact in chat.  ;-)

Yeah, but you don't have to be an animal lover or animal rights 
supporter to be appalled by cruelty to animals.  And you don't even 
have to care about cruelty to animals to be appalled by someone 
killing someone's pet.

Catherine wrote:

> Yes, I remember this as well, and I think I suggested that Ron *may* 
> have been joking [about the Puffskein] - kind of sarcastic thing he 
would say.  (And you 
> did admit the possibility Amy!

I'm only too happy to be convinced.  I love Fred.

> 
> On the points above - 
> 1) This is akin telling children in the UK that when they start 
> secondary school they will have their head flushed down the toilet, 
> either on their first day, or their birthday.  I think everyone 
knows 
> that it's not true, and I am sure that Ron would not be stupid 
enough 
> to think that at 11 years old he would have to wrestle with a troll.

Yeah, I think this may be the case.  That's why I considered it the 
least serious of the pranks.  The nice elder-brother thing to do would 
have been to tell him exactly how the Sorting works, but my impression 
was that Ron wasn't seriously worried.

The example you give is horrific, however!  Telling a 6-year-old 
he/she's going to have his head flushed down the toilet really is 
cruel.  Kids that young will believe it and be very frightened.

> 2) Didn't Fred turn Ron's teddy into a spider because Ron had broken 
> his toy broom?  I can't for the life of me find the quote, but I am 
> sure it's in CoS somewhere.  I actually side with Ron on this one.  

Me too, but I'm pretty forgiving of both of them.  They were 3 and 5 
at the time.  It's unfair to blame a 3-year-old for breaking a toy 
broomstick, but it's unfair to blame the 5-year-old for taking 
vengeance, too.  This is in chapter 9 of CoS, BTW.

Fred was 9 at the time of the acid lolly incident--that's getting bad. 

Ebony wrote:

> > We don't hear if Ron ever did anything to the twins or Percy to 
> > provoke these reactions.  There are two sides to every story.  If 
> > Ron's like most younger sibs, then... never mind.

Ah, well, you see, I'm a younger sib with no younger sibs of my own, 
and I was, of course, always the purely innocent victim of my nasty 
older sister . . . lol!

Even with my pro-younger-sib bias, I take your point--we get all these 
stories from Ron.

Catherine wrote:

> I love this quote.  I am a staunch believer in the fact that George 
> and Fred are even more loveable and perhaps even sensitive 
> underneath.  IMO, they are good-natured, kind-hearted people who 
> enjoy a bit of fun, which as Harry admits, is sorely needed.  

I love this passage in PoA (ch 6):

                         ***********************
  "What's up with you, Harry?"
  "Malfoy," said Ron, sitting down on George's other side and glaring 
over at the Slytherin table.
  George looked up in time to see Malfoy pretending to faint with 
terror again.
  "That little git," he said calmly.  "He wasn't so cocky last night 
when the Dementors were down our end of the train.  Came running into 
our compartment, didn't he, Fred?"
  "Nearly wet himself," said Fred, with a contemptuous glance at 
Malfoy.
                        ************************

They continue in this supportive vein for several more lines.  

Amy Z

-----------------------------------------------------
 [Quidditch] is, of course, an entirely fictional 
 sport and nobody really plays it.  May I also take
 this opportunity to wish Puddlemere United the best
 of luck next season.
              -Foreword, Quidditch Through the Ages
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