Why I like the Twins (was Fred and George, the Bullies You Do Know)

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 43107

Catherine Coleman wrote:

>  So why do I like the Twins?  Well...
> 
> I think that we get the measure of the twins on the very first 
occasion we see them interact with Harry.  What do the twins see when 
they first set eyes on Harry?  A first year boy who is small for his 
age and thin (even pale and delicate looking?) , who is on his own so 
is presumably friendless, who is dressed in shabby, ill-fitting 
clothes, and who is struggling to get a large trunk onto the train.  
They may also have assumed that he was Muggle born, considering that 
he didn't know how to get onto the platform.
> 

This is an excellent point. In my admittedly spirited defense of the 
lads, I left this one out.

Contrast this with Draco's first meeting with Harry, when he also 
doesn't know who Harry is, which house he'll be in, or whether or not 
he's Wizard- or Muggle-born.

UK, page 60-61:

Draco insults Hufflepuff; degrades Hagrid as a servant and a "savage";
insists on knowing whether Harry's parents were "our kind"; spews his 
doctrine of how Muggle-borns shouldn't be allowed into Hogwarts; and 
asks to hear Harry's surname. (Harry leaves before giving it)

This was not part of the latest thread, but let us fast-forward to 
when he discovers who Harry is. I've read some Draco apologies that 
treat the moment when Draco offers his friendship to Harry as a 
tragic thing for Draco, rejected by mean Harry.

Page 81:

He insults the Weasleys -- Harry's only wizard friends close to his 
own age so far -- for the offense of being poor and then when Harry 
neatly puts him down, takes it up to another level. He says: "Unless 
you're a bit politer, you'll go the same way as your parents."

A reasonable translation might go like this:
"Be nicer to me, or you'll be killed. They had what was coming to 
them."

It has been brought up -- why the comparisons to Fred and George and 
Draco?

Because the same word that surely applies to Draco -- bully -- has 
been attempted to be slapped on Fred and George. If that 
characterization is attempted, I think it is very valid to compare 
their actions, the motivations behind them, and the reactions of 
others to them.

I have said it before and I'll say it here again, hopefully more 
concisely. Picture a kid who feels like an outcast, be it because of 
his or her poverty, sexual orientation, family name, lack of social 
skills, lack of talent, or whatever.

Do you believe that person will be treated better and welcomed more 
in Draco's circle or Harry's circle?

 
> Another thing about bullies.  They are cowards at heart.  They very 
> rarely attack other bullies, for fear of retribution.  I think that 
Fred  and George are disgusted by Dudley's behaviour, and disgusted 
by Draco's  behaviour, because they find the whole idea of bullying 
reprehensible, and therefore a) try and give them a taste of their 
own medicine and b) try and even the score a little.  They don't 
always go about things in  the best way, and I do agree that they 
occasionally go too far, but I honestly believe that their intentions 
are good.
> 

The Two-Ton Toffee incident is an example of going too far with good 
intentions. That prank is a lot riskier than you might think. A 
combination of an enlarged tongue and sheer panic could lead to 
suffocation. 

I despise Dudley for a cowardly bully and despise the Dursleys even 
more for creating this monster with their abysmal parenting and 
inflicting him on the world, but I don't think he deserves to die.

Also, the prank was risky to Arthur. Although F&G know, and Arthur 
knows, that the prank wasn't Muggle-attacking for the sake of Muggle-
attacking, for a man in Arthur's job, perception is truth. (Lucius 
Malfoy so deviously plotted for this very reality when he handed 
Ginny the book in CoS.)

But again, their motive was to give Dudley a little karmic payback 
for the years of abuse against Harry.

I'll keep saying it. The true bullying victim of the books is Harry.

Also, poor little Malcolm Braddick.  In the  context we are given, 
this isn't very pleasant, but I'm afraid that I  saw it again as the 
Twins being a bit thoughtless, and behaving in a Pantomime-ish way, 
not as being particularly malicious.  And we don't hear about them 
hissing at other Slytherins.  Could this be a clue about 
> the Braddicks as a whole?  Is there some history there which is 
going to  come out later.  Otherwise, why wouldn't JKR make a point 
of saying that the Twins hiss at all first years who are sorted into 
Slytherin?
> 

After the Malcolm Braddock incident first came to light as a F&G 
attack, I found myself wondering: "Am I that insensitive that I 
missed this in the canon?"

Then I read the canon and find that maybe I'm still somewhat human.

The image of this has been created by the F&G attackers that Malcolm 
walked directly by the twins and they hissed at him, tormenting a 
terrified kid. I don't believe that to be the case.

UK PS pg 89 tells us that the Gryffindor table is on the far left of 
the hall, with the Ravenclaw table the second from left. Hufflepuff 
is on the "right" which I'm taking to mean far right. This would 
place Slytherin second from right, so there is a table - Ravenclaw - 
between Gryffs and Slyths. I could be wrong and Slyth is on the far 
right, in which case I'm wrong but strengthening the case I'm about 
to make. 

In GoF, pg 158, the Slytherin table is referred to as "on the other 
side of the Hall" which would indicate two tables between them. Pg 
154 says that HRH walked by the Slytherins, Ravenclaws and 
Hufflepuffs and sat down at the far side of the Hall, further adding 
to that layout.

It could be that in the space of four books, Dumbledore decided it 
was prudent to put as much space between Gryffs and Slyths as 
possible and rearranged the tables. I'll leave it to the LOON-
meisters (who have no doubt already covered this) to worry about. :)

UK GoF pg 158 says: "Fred and George hissed Malcolm Baddock as he sat 
down."

So, Malcolm was sitting down, at least two tables and probably three 
tables away, amidst claps and cheers around him, distracted by what 
was probably handshakes from his fellow Slyths, and Fred and George 
hiss at him.

There is no evidence he even heard it. It reads like a spontaneous 
gesture by the Twins.

I have also imagined a conversation between Draco and Malcolm, if he 
did hear it.

Malcolm: Who are those twins hissing at me?
Draco: Weasleys
Malcolm: You mean Arthur Weasley's sons?
Draco: Yeah, he has so many I've lost count. (something undelicate 
about how Arthur and Molly should practice birth control and not risk 
going on welfare)
Malcolm: Lousy gits.

Is it good behavior by the Twins? Not at all, but I also do not think 
we can ascribe "poor Malcolm Braddock, traumatized by the twins" 
either. 
 
Darrin
-- Yes, it's early, and my last post was late. I HATE INSOMNIA!