HBP & the Weasleys

[caspenzoe]

No: HPFGUIDX 105397

Bill <plinker at y...> wrote:
> If the Weasleys are the true heirs, wouldn't the oldest son be 
> the one in line, instead of Ron or even Percy?


In our world, sure, the oldest son would be the one in line. In the 
WW who really knows? I've read some posts here and on other forums 
(sorry I don't have references for you at the moment) discussing the 
fact that we don't have any real affirmation of or description of 
any WW royalty in the canon, although Sirius refers to his family's 
considering itself "almost royalty" due to the pureness of it's 
blood (I believe that one's on a recent thread here), leaving one to 
wonder if there is such a thing as "Royalty" in the WW, in addition 
to mere "heirs," and, if so, what and/or whom it might consist of? 

Certainly, a sword such as Gryffindor's is a weapon that was 
historically reserved for royalty (in the broad sense, including 
minor nobility) in the muggle world, and Godric had one. But that 
doesn't preclude the possibiility of his being some kind of WW 
royalty either, does it? 

In addition, perhaps what was cut from COS was a discussion of what 
or whom might be Gryffindor's "heir" if any. We do find some 
commentary on how house membership is really determined in COS - 
none of which precludes however - to my best recollection - the 
possibility that there may be more than one way "Gryffindor-ness" is 
determined or there may be other ways of being a "Gryffindor" than 
Hogwart's house selection. 

Back to your question however, personally, it'd be neater if Ron had 
turned out to be a 7th Weasley son (with all the legendary 
connotations of the same), as that would bolster this speculation. 
However, of course  he's the 6th son. Hence my speculation about 
Ginny. 

I did however, after making the previous post, find a name origins 
site that connects the name "Ronald" (a Scottish name) directly with 
(I believe the also Scottish) name Reginald, meaning "King." Given 
JKR's admissions that she loves names and owns books of them (a 
quirk I also share, incidentally) this may be meaningful. 
Incidentally, none of the other brothers have names with any Royal 
connotation, though the first two mean "guardian" and "manly" and 
Percy's (assuming it's derived from "Percival" though I seem to 
recall that Percival is not actually Percy's given name - 
just "Percy" - has to do with piercing a valley or "vale," or 
even "veil" if you like, perhaps indcating that the current, fallow, 
death-like state of any royalness in the Weasley line is about to be 
overcome?

Along these lines, I've noted that JKR's names can and do correspond 
in a number of different ways (beyond etymology and history) to what 
they connote. For instance, Grimmauld Place is indeed a "grim old 
place;" Crookshanks has crooked shanks, etc. Perhaps, when "Weasely 
is Our King" rings throughout OOTP, JKR is simply being unexpectedly 
direct - hiding in plain sight - as it were - often the best way to 
hide - no?

Just my speculation though.

Casey