In Defense of Fred and George (Was re: Fred and George: The Bullies You Do Know)

[Nicole L.]

No: HPFGUIDX 43189

Eileen said:

> But, in regards to all the chilling evidence about
> Fred and George, 
> they do seem to be Dumbledore's pets. Cindy noted
> that they get away 
> with much more than Draco. I would like to point out
> that they are the 
> only students Dumbledore publically favours.
> Dumbledore has long chats 
> with Harry in private, but he'll interrupt his
> public speeches to talk 
> to Fred and George, stare pointedly in their
> direction during the same 
> etc. 

Let me start by saying that I respect that not
everyone will have an opinion that matches mine. 
However, I really think that the twins are being very
much maligned.  They are thoughtless at times but I do
not think they are mean.  They are simply misguided
from time to time, unlike Draco and Snape, who are
both mean just for the sake of being mean.

As for Fred and George being Dumbledore's pets, I beg
to differ with that.  Perhaps Dumbledore does find
their antics amusing (much as he find the antics of
the Trio and, in the past, the Maruaders as amusing). 
Teachers are humans too and there are times when they
will think things are funny, even when they know that
the student should not have been doing them.  As other
listees have pointed out, Fred and George have lost
many, many points for Gryffindor.  I don't have the
cannon in front of me, but I believe it is also stated
that they have spent a great deal of time in Filch's
office and that they have had multiple detentions. 
So, even if Dumbledore is amused by them, they are
still being punished for breaking the rules.  If they
were truly Dumbledore's pets, he would let their bad
behavior slide by without any consequences.

> 
> Or what if it had been a humourless obsession for
> Quidditch? If you 
> want an illustration of the maliciousness in the
> twins' attitude 
> towards Percy, you should look at the twins'
> attitude towards Oliver 
> Wood. Wood, it is made clear throughout the books,
> is humourless 
> (though funny for us to read), quite arrogant in
> regards to the 
> importance of his pursuit in relation to peoples'
> lives, and completely obsessed to the point of
> boring people.  But, 
> Fred and George, you see, are interested in
> Quidditch. Their approach 
> to Wood's peculiarities is really funny,
> light-hearted, and friendly. 
> They gently dig at Wood's foibles. A good example
> would be their 
> recital of Oliver Wood's tense opening speech in
> Harry's first game. 
> Oliver retorts by telling them to "Shut up!" 

I think the major difference here is that there is no
sibling rivalry going on between the twins and Wood. 
What's more, Wood acknowledges that they are good
players and he values having them on the team.  Now, I
don't think Percy's a horrible person but he does have
a very superior attitude towards his brothers.  I can
hardly blame them for being irked with him.  If my
sibling was constantly making a point of how very
"important" he was, my patience with him would run out
just as Fred and George's has.  Percy grows more and
more pompous as the series progresses and, as a
result, Fred and George grow more and more annoyed
with him.  I fail to see how this make Fred and George
horrible people. 

> 
> Now, I find it quite telling that in the
> Potterverse, "Shut up!" seems 
> to be a gentle inoffensive almost endearing form of
> adress among boys. 
> (And in my family as well, I must say.) Our first
> Percy/twins exchange 
> reminds me of this. Fred and George make fun of
> Percy's pride at being 
> a prefect, and Percy tells them to shut up. I
> wouldn't say there was 
> much resentment between them
> at that point. Later in the book, there is the
> heartwarming sweater 
> scene, where it's obvious that Percy has dropped in
> because he wants 
> to be with the rest of the family, and that Fred and
> George really 
> treasure their older brother.

And what does Percy want to do?  He wants to sit with
the prefects.  Fred and George have to order him to
sit with his family.  So who is that's not valuing
their family connection in this scene?

> 
> But things change. As Elkins once asked, can you
> picture Fred and 
> George making Percy spend Christmas with them now?
> Not in GoF, at any 
> rate where Percy's brothers keep as far away from
> him as possible. 
> Now, the whole Ron/Percy dynamic is fascinating
> enough, but I would 
> suggest that it bears little relation to the
> F&G/Percy dynamic. 
> There's a lot more emotion between Ron and Percy.
> There are great 
> displays of pride, cruelty, loathing, and love
> between those two. I 
> once ventured that I believe Ron and Percy to be
> very similar in 
> character. On which of course I was asked for
> details. But it is a 
> post I've never got around to writing.

There is no cannon evidence to support the idea that
they would not have wanted Percy to be around them at
Christmas.  Sure, Percy annoys them but when do they
ever say, "God, I wish Percy would just go away and
leave us alone forever?"  

> 
> Fred and George, on the other hand, have no
> connection with Percy, as 
> far as I can see. Where Ron is sincerely bothered by
> Percy, the twins 
> seem to find their brother amusing, a target for
> their jokes, and most 
> disturbingly, a pawn in the war against their
> mother.
> 

I think that saying that they are waging a "war"
against their mother is very strong wording.  This
makes it sound as though the twins hate their mother
and want to ruin her.  IMO, they love their mother
very much and they tease her because of this love.  I
often tease my own mother because I find her little
quirks so endearing.  I think that Fred and George are
the same way.  Also, has been previously suggested,
Fred and George are middle children and are seeking
ways of earning attention from their mother. 
Obviously, they are not going to earn it with their
stellar schoolwork so they earn it by being the
clowns.  Now, I love Molly as much as the next HP fan
but I think that she is making a big mistake in
nagging Fred and George as she does.  Naturally, she
wants them to succeed because she is a loving mother
but she is refusing to see them for what they are and
is refusing to listen to them when they tell her what
they want to do with their lives.  If I were in their
shoes, I too would be very frustrated with this and
would feel resentment toward the brother against whom
I was constantly compared in an unflattering light.

> "Percy, the perfect prefect," says one of the twins
> when their mother 
> is trying to correct them for their illegalities.
> Obviously, Mrs. 
> Weasley has been holding up Percy as a standard of
> behaviour, and Bill 
> and Charlie as well. But Percy can be got at. The
> very unfunny 
> relentless teasing of Percy at the beginning of PoA
> is a case in 
> point. They are quite obviously ticked off with
> their mother's pride 
> in their brother. Therefore,

That's because they're jealous of the pride she shows
in them.  I think she loves them but they crave her
approval and she is not very forthcoming with it when
it comes to the twins.  I think their bitterness is
natural because of this.  They want her to look and
them and say, "It's fine with me if you go your own
way.  You don't need to choose the same path as your
brothers for me to be proud of you."  Again, I think
Molly is showing a serious lack of judgement here. 
She wants the best for them but she is going about it
in the wrong way.  She wants them to conform to her
idea of what they should be and they are resisting her
with all their might, as I would if I were in their
shoes.

> 
> "How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?"
> asked Fred, as they 
> tucked into a sumptuous chocolate pudding.
> 
> "The Ministry's providing a couple of cars," said
> Mr. Weasley.
> 
> Everyone looked up at him.
> 
> "Why?" said Percy curiously.
> 
> "It's because of you, Perce," said George seriously.
> "And there'll be 
> little flags on on the bonnets, with HB on them - "
> 
> "-for Humungous Bighead," said Fred.
> 
> Everyone except Percy and Mrs. Weasey snorted into
> their puddings."
> 
> Oh yes, Percy really was just asking for that one,
> wasn't he? So 
> remarkably witty too. 

Note that even *Mr. Weasley* laughs at that one. 
Obviously Percy doesn't because he's the butt of the
joke.  Percy also lacks a sense of humor.  Mrs.
Weasley also doesn't laugh because she's ticked that
the twins don't take her seriously when she urges them
to be more like Percy.  The twins are pushing her
buttons and she doesn't like it.  Think about this. 
Their antics often make her laugh but she is becoming
seriously annoyed with them for not conforming to her
ideas about how they should live their lives.  She is
too angry with them to laugh at them as she has in the
past.

> 
> But, as many listies have hastened to say, going
> after your siblings 
> is perfectly acceptable behaviour, and makes
> everyone love each other 
> ever so much so more. Well, it doesn't. Let's face
> it, of the families 
> we know are all the adult siblings very cozy with
> each other? One of 
> the worst bullies I know is a cousin who makes the
> exact excuse that 
> he can behave in any way towards his brother. Even
> between siblings 
> who seem friendly enough, there is still a good deal
> of resentment 
> over childhood wrongs. And, as Penny has pointed
> out, Percy's coming 
> out of it so splendidly, isn't he?

You're right, teasing among sibling doesn't always end
well.  So what about Fred and George?  What about what
all this enormous pressure is doing to their psyches? 
Why haven't I seen any posts about that?  It is not
fun to feel like you have to measure up to someone
only to find that you are constantly falling short. 
That can definitely lead to anger and bitterness.  The
rest of the Weasley clan love and accept Fred and
George for what they are.  Percy is older and more
mature so why on Earth can't he look at his mother and
say, "Lay off, Mum.  Fred and George aren't like me
and they shouldn't have to be.  They have their own
interests and talents."?

> 
> Another note from the Fred and George file: (Page
> 493 GoF)
> 
> "Then Fred said abruptly, "I've told you before,
> Ron, keep your nose 
> out if you like the shape it is."

It is not clear to me what your intent was when you
inserted this quote.  However, I will say that it
doesn't strike me as anything particularly disturbing.
 My brother and I used to constantly make threats like
this against each other and we used to carry through
on them.  We used to kick, punch, and smack each other
and he and I called each other far worse things than I
have ever heard Fred and George call Percy.  Now that
we're grown, we are extremely close and laugh about
the things we said and did in the past.  I'm sorry,
but I still maintain that what is going on between the
twins and Percy is normal sibling rivalry.  Yes, the
twins act in a childish manner, but so does Percy who
is the supposed adult as he is the one who has
graduated and now has a job.  I just think it's wrong
to portray Percy as the innocent victim.  He is doing
all her can to provoke the situation and, right or
wrong, Fred and George are responding in kind.

~Nicole, who became so impassioned when she wrote
this, she felt as though she were channeling Darrin. 
Thank you, Darrin, for the inspiration behind my
spirited defense!


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