The Twins/Umbridge a DE?

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 145061

> Potioncat:
> The twins are one reason I sometimes remind myself that JKR and I 
may 
> not be in complete agreement about...oh, life in general. She 
> presents the twins as lovable, adorable teens. And I do think they 
> are adorable. But they are mean. Very mean. And they are reckless 
to 
> the point of being dangerous. They do have their nice moments 
> too...but their behaviour raises a number of red flags. No wonder 
> Molly fusses at them so much.
> 

Magpie:

There is one thing with the Twins I do wonder if it might happen, 
though it might not.  In GoF I was really struck by what seemed like 
a very serious desire for money--Ron uncomfortably tells Harry that 
when he was hanging around them they had become very focused on it 
because they wanted to open their joke shop.  He's saying that they 
really might be blackmailing someone (which they are).  When Ron 
says something about it they shut him up by implying he's another 
Percy, which they know Ron is sensitive about.

Harry gives them the money for their shop and so solves that 
problem, but I do wonder if this could come up later.  The twins' 
shop is going strong now, they're dressing in gaudy and expensive 
clothes and having the salesclerk call them the 'Mr. Weasleys.'  
Their products are being bought by the Ministry and also help the DE 
plot.  Ron has a throwaway line about speaking to the twins about 
who they sell to.

Now, it could be that that's all there will be to it and this won't 
go anywhere, but I can't help but think it would be interesting to 
see the Twins' desire for money be a problem.  I don't mean they'd 
become DEs, but the I'd love to see this temptation of theirs get a 
scary, showing that even now that they have money they still 
instinctually chase it and perhaps are in danger of valuing it over 
better things.  

I am just really drawn to this as being a sort of Shadow in the 
Weasley family.  Percy is rejected for resenting Arthur for his own 
choices at work, and people often like to hold up the Weasleys as 
the "worthy poor" who simply value things other than money.  Out of 
the 7 there's only 2 I can think of with no big connections to 
money.  Ginny (Harry's ideal girl) seems to mirror back Harry's own 
thoughts about it (as usual, though perhaps as a girl she's had to 
deal less with hand-me-downs) and Charlie seems happy with his 
dragons.  But of the others we've got often complaining and 
humiliated Ron, the blackmailing twins who can't wait to start a 
business and wear ostentatious clothes and Bill who appears to make 
his living robbing tombs for a bank.  

Like I said I don't think this is necessarily going to happen, but 
I'd be very interested in seeing Fred and George chase money into a 
frightening situation.  The groundwork is there if Rowling wants to 
use it, anyway. It seems to fit perfectly with the surface 
presentation of the Weasleys as poor (due strictly to Dad's 
nobility!) but rich on love.  

> "va32h" <va32h at c...> wrote:

> > this theme would be played out better if JKR 
> > showed us a friendly and cheerful Death Eater
> > for comparison.

> Eggplant> 

> I disagree. All Death Eaters are evil, but not all evil people are
> Death Eaters.

Magpie:

I think va32h's point is that one can be friendly and cheerful and 
also evil.

-m