Weasleys and Siblings, plus a bit o' R/H analysis

[Brian]

No: HPFGUIDX 89260

Some great points out there about the Weasleys.  Consider these, 
though (if they've already been made, then don't post my post):

JKR seems to show that with the Weasleys, blood is thicker than water 
(or something like I think that saying means).  For example:
The twins tell Percy that he's not sitting at the prefects' during 
Christmas because "Christmas is for families."  (SS?)

For example: The twins ask Percy why he doesn't have his Weasley 
sweater on.  (SS?)

For example: Percy looks "younger" in GOF when Ron emerges from the 
lake.  Ron must be removed from Percy's "clutches."

The Weasley twins don't cut Percy much slack, but I'd be the last one 
to rip his character apart in front of them as a non-family member.  

In a like manner, I don't believe for a minute that Percy isn't 
pained by his family situation.  All evidence shows he is the odd man 
out in the family.  His temperament is VERY serious, a trait he 
shares with none of the other Weasleys as far as I can tell.  He is 
so "On task" that he can't even be polite when Harry and friends come 
up the stairs while he's working on his cauldron report.  It's quite 
common to be in families with people with whom you'd never associate 
if they were strangers.  I think Percy ended up the odd man out, but 
I wouldn't bet that he's cut off from the family for good.

About Ron and Hermione:
I think JKR has Hermione watching Ron.  I'm not sure that Hermione 
has a crush on Ron, but she watches him very closely.  His actions 
affect her mood.  Perhaps the most powerful example of this occurs in 
OOTP when Ron rips Percy's letter and calls him "the world's biggest 
git."  Hermione looks at him strangely and then her mood changes for 
the better, so much so that she reverses her policy of tough love and 
finishes the boys' essays.  I think the look she gave him was one of 
appraisal.  

JKR has stated her favorite author to be Jane Austen.  Though I don't 
see her books as imitative of Austen's, it's possible that JKR will 
handle any potential romantic pairings in an Austenian way.  In Jane 
Austen's books, the heroines end up with the best match possible 
under the circumstances.  If JKR patterns any HP romances like this, 
then Ron and Hermione might end up together, but only if Ron goes 
through a serious revelation or change.  I think Hermione's 
appraisals show a hope for the man she thinks Ron could be, but if he 
doesn't measure up, he's got no chance.  Such a change in Ron, such 
as the one Hermione seems to detect in his rejection of Percy's 
letter, will be a change that shows Ron to be Hermione's equal, if 
not in intellect, then in human development.  Note that Ron's refusal 
to back her up when confronting Fred and George chafes her.  His 
treatment of the Percy letter shows her that Ron is not completely 
blinded by family ties and that he is becoming his own man.

"Brian"