Molly and the twins (Re: Am I the only one)

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 96101


Kathy King wrote :
> The twins have used school as far as they felt it could take them and
> is most likely a key in their success. 
(snip)
> It would be the equivalent of taking a calculus course when your 
> ambition is to become a physical education teacher. It's just not 
> necessary.

Del :
But even physical education teachers have to go to University, at
least in France, as some kids who thought their ability in sports was
enough painfully discover, too late usually.
Moreover, the Twins proved that they *never* cared much about school
by getting only 3 OWLs each. They never *truly* considered what school
or additional training could give them.

> > Del :
> > They *say* so, but that's not necessarily true ! I'm sure they 
> > could still benefit from some advanced courses in charms and
> > transfiguration, for example.
> 
> Kathy:
> At this point I think they could teach those classes given their 
> advance knowledge of the courses. Academics just don't seem to 
> interest them.

Del :
Just because they are good at some things (and we don't even know
*which* OWLs they got !) doesn't mean they know anywhere as much as
they would need to know in a professional environment. Being good at
making experiments with a Little Chemist box doesn't mean you could be
a chemistry teacher or work right away in a chemistry lab with no
further training.

Kathy :
> but in the twin's case they have planned out better than an 
> accountant on what where when and how. I don't see them going 
> into their endeavor blindly in any way. They take their future quite 
> seriously and are extremely ambitious in the direction that will 
> yield the most profit.

Del :
I don't see that they have made such deep *professional* plans. Oh
sure, they have sold items to fellow students, they have created order
forms, and they have rented a shop in Diagon Alley. But I don't
remember that they ever mentioned studying the magical equivalent of
accounting for example, or that they ever sold an item to a non-friend
*adult*. Moreover, they obviously haven't figured out the weight of
the government in private entreprises : alienating themselves to
Umbridge the way they did on their departure was a most unwise thing
to do. Peeves gave her hell as they told him to, but I'm sure Fudge
could also give *them* hell if Umbridge asked him to ! They are still
kids in their heads, with no conscience of how the adult world works.
Just like when they were willing to expose the whole Order just to go
and see their dad in hospital when he was attacked : no sense of
reality, of priorities, of social pressures. They do what they want
and like and don't care about the rest. If the joke shop got into
financial troubles, I can very well see them getting into illegal
stuff without ever realising they are turning into thieves and legal
criminals. As you said it, they "are extremely ambitious in the
direction that will  yield the most profit", and we all know what his
own type of ambition did to Percy.

Kathy:
> But the twins have extreme talent, financial backing and they have 
> received all that they can in the area that they need from schooling.

Del :
Molly would agree with you about the first point (talent), she would
most definitely disagree about the last point (school), and she didn't
know about the money until they left school anyway. She was behaving
in the only logical way in her position.

Kathy:
> I understand the point you are trying to make but the twins already 
> had the joke shop set up and were making money at their enterprise 
> before they decided to call it quits. They didn't burn their bridge 
> until they had crossed it. If they hadn't got the money to invest in 
> buying the necessary equipment that did turn their ideas into 
> successful products they most likely would have stayed in school 
> weighing their options at that point. 

Del :
I disagree. The simple fact that they got only 3 OWLs each is proof to
me that they *never* intended to go on with school no matter what.
Moreover, I have to repeat that making money and making *profits* are
2 widely different things. Yes they are selling the joke items, but do
they earn enough money out of them to pay for the ingredients to make
new ones, for the rent of the shop, for their food and clothing and
lodging, for the taxes next year, etc... ? A lot of people put up
their own little private entreprise each year, but a good deal of them
have to go bankrupt after barely a few months, and we don't know what
the policy in the WW is for little entrepreneurs who go bankrupt.
Knowing the WW as we know it, maybe the Twins will end up working for
Gringotts, cleaning the vaults and tunnels and never seeing the light
of day for the next 20 years to pay up their debt if the joke shop fails.

Kathy:
> All this leads back to Molly's "expectations". That is a cardinal 
> mommy no, no. Never "expect". Teach, take care for their needs, show 
> them by example but above all else, listen. It is not your wants and 
> needs but your children's. It's their choices and their consequences.

Del :
I'm afraid you are forcing your own principles on Molly and the WW
parents who seem to quite disagree with you. Neville and Draco for
example, the 2 magical kids we most know of apart from the Trio and
the  Weasleys, both have huge expectations laid on them by their
parents/grandparents. And Harry himself is expected by many caring
adults (DD, Sirius, Molly, Lupin) to be this or that. 

Kathy :
> Molly only sees one rode. The one that is accepted by her is one who 
> becomes a prefect or perfect person. In her eyes all else is failing 
> or not worthy of acknowledgement. She has made several examples of 
> this even to the point of emotionally hurting Fred and George. They 
> are her children and yet she excluded them as being part of the 
> family when she made the statement that that was everyone in the 
> family now when Ron became a prefect. Molly appears to have 
> conditional love in this instance, which is another mommy no, no. I 
> actually applaud the fact that the twins did not take this to heart 
> and become angry or distant from her because of the way she has 
> excluded them from their very family.

Del:
Oh I agree that Molly does have faults, and that her mothering methods
are sometimes not quite right.
I'd like to point, though, that the Twins had separated themselves
from their family long before Molly said it. Ever since we've known
them, they've always made a point of stating that they are not like
the other Weasley kids. For example, they've constantly criticised
Percy, and through him their mom who supported him. They also
apparently spent all their holidays holed up in their room
experimenting. Molly should not have said what she said, but she was
still only stating a fact that they themselves helped to create. 

Del