Fred and George: should we worry? (Was: next prank)

[frankielee242]

No: HPFGUIDX 42677

jenny from ravenclaw wrote: 
> I don't recall the book specifically stating that students were 
> purposely eating Canary Creams just so they could turn into canaries.  
> Doesn't Harry worry about eating any kind of candy for a while for 
> fear of what he might temporarily become?

Weeeeellll.... People weren't purposefully eating the Canary Creams,
they were purposefully buying them from Fred and George to slip into
other people's food. I don't think Billywig stings were an
ingredient... (FBWFT).

I think the idea of eating something and suddenly turning into a
canary is hysterical!! It's temporary, it doesn't hurt and it doesn't
humiliate. No one loses social credibility for turning into a canary,
nothing personal about them is trotted out into the light of day and
no one loses any friends over it. The fake wands and the fake
broomstick idea that Zeff8 had are extremely funny for the same reasons. 

The ton-tongue toffee has a gross-out factor of 10, but as long as
somebody else has a wand and can speak clearly for laughing, it's
reversible and okay. Like the canary creams, it's bound to wear off
eventually. Anyway, Dudley deserved it, Petunia deserved it and so did
Uncle Vinnie. Maybe I just have a broad sense of humor... =)   
 
HOWEVER, take a scenario like when Moody turned Malfoy into a ferret
and bounced him across the hall. Although temporary, it hurt and was
intended to be humiliating. If Fred and George pulled pranks like
that, I would worry about their mental health.

Coming from a large, Weasley-sized family (I'm the oldest), Fred and
George seem to me like two perfectly normal guys. Stand-up routines,
practical jokes and brawls are standard fare in large households, and
since Forge and Gred are still in school, they're not yet mature
enough to always stay on the funny side of the fine schadenfreude line.

They're dealing with the pressure to live up to their older brothers'
success a bit heavy-handed, though. They've obviously distinguished
themselves from the other boys to Molly and Arthur by deliberately not
choosing intellectual or political futures. It's not entirely in a
good way, but as middle children, at least they are getting attention...


> 
> As far as Percy and Draco "deserving" to be the targets of Fred and 
> George's wands, why?  Percy is no worse for having his badge changed, 
> but Draco is actually knocked unconscious and shows no signs of coming 
> to as Fred and George step on him as they leave the train.  Isn't that 
> like saying someone deserves to be punched because of something they 
> said?  As satisfied I was when Draco and Co. were hexed, and as much 
> as I like actually seeing Fred and George seriously angry, there is 
> also a part of me that was uncomfortable with what they did.  I can't 
> imagine walking *on* someone who is out cold - can you?


I would walk *on* someone who gloated over the murder of my friend. I
would probably do a lot worse than just step on them once they were
down. Then again, here's my perspective-- I grew up in Detroit,
Michgan. Not all of my friends survived to graduate high school.
Personally, I think they all showed admirable restraint; Ron, Harry
and Hermione included. 

Here's a little something I noticed about that train ride-- NO ONE
came to the assistance of the unconscious Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.
They were bundled out of the compartment and into the middle of the
corridor! It's a long train ride! People have to step over them to get
past and yet no one has helped them. 

That bothers me. Yes, I know I just said I would step on them. 


Frankie, who would probably have been in Hufflepuff