Could the twins turn bad?

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 34592

Somebody above (forgive me for not remembering who; I get this list as a
digest) said that she didn't like the Weasley twins, Gred-and-Forge.  She
cited things like their hexing the Slyths at the end of GoF (and then
physically abusing them when they were helpless to defend themselves) and
other things they've done, like hissing Malcolm Baddock for being sorted
into Slytherin.

It occurs to me that they _might_ be prime candidates for the role of Next
Evil Overlord.  I've never been fond of practical jokers---remember,
Batman's _worst_ and most frequent enemy is called the Joker.  Sure, they're
popular and well-liked _now,_ but apparently so was Tom (Lord Voldemort)
Riddle when _he_ was at Hogwarts.

A lot of the stuff they've pulled really isn't very funny when you think
about it---feeding somebody Ton-Tongue Toffees or Canary Creams _without_
making clear what's about to happen could go horribly wrong.  They're
awfully unpleasant to their brother Percy---hexing his "Head Boy" badge to
read "Bighead Boy," sending him dragon dung at his office, and hiding his
Prefect's badge---and this is just the stuff we _know_ about.  Who knows
what stuff they get up to that we don't know about?  Just being identical
twins offers endless opportunities---as in "Okay, one of us hexed you, and
you've had us dragged in to see Professor McGonagall.  _Which one of us
actually did it?_  There was another Weasley twin out on the Quidditch field
at the time, and we've got a hundred witnesses to that, so which of us do
you say did it?"

They're also anxious to get ahead, and not too worried about how---if my dad
had caught me gambling at the age they were at at the QWC, he'd have gone up
like Mount Krakatoa.  Once they're out of Hogwarts and not under the
parental thumbs, they could just as easily turn evil---maybe using a "joke
shop" as a cover for selling Dark Arts-related material and brewing up new
evil hexes to do things like rob wizard banks.

If I were around them, although I'd probably be amused by a lot of their
antics, I'd keep a sharp eye on them---and NEVER accept food or objects from
them!  I'm not saying that they _will_ turn evil---I'm just saying that the
possibility is definitely there...and if that happens in a later book (Hurry
UP, Ms. Rowling!) we'll be looking back on this list, saying "How could we
have missed all those clues?" just as we do about Quirrel and
Crouch-as-Moody.

--Eric, who likes the twins but wouldn't trust them much.