Percy and the Twins (was: Weasley Types (was Molly and Arthur )

[Hannah]

No: HPFGUIDX 125646


<snip of all the upthread discussions>

Hannah:  Replying here to the whole of this thread in general.  
Apologies if I repeat something someone else has said, this is just 
my general view on the matter.  

I'm going to sit on the fence on this one.  Percy is pompous, self-
obsessed and makes himself a target for his brothers, but I agree 
that their teasing affects him badly and he ends up having a hard 
time of it.  Likewise, the twins' 'pranks' end up upsetting people 
and could potentially cause a lot of damage, but I don't see the 
twins as being malicious.

The main problem is the essential difference between the twins and 
Percy.  Percy has no sense of humour.  Ron himself puts it very 
nicely; 'Percy wouldn't recognise a joke if it danced naked in front 
of him wearing Dobby's tea cosy.'  Thus Percy cannot accept the 
twins' teasing and laugh it off.  I see Percy as being very 
insecure, hence his constant boasting and toadying up to his 
superiors.  After all, he's grown up in the shadow of Bill and 
Charlie, and probably suffered from a lack of attention once the 
very demanding twins came along.

Fred and George however, strike me as being thick-skinned, secure 
people, who are able to laugh at themselves. Take their reaction 
when they are 'pranked' in canon - the beards they grow after they 
cross the age-line in GoF.  They have each other, and are confident 
enough to go against what their parents want, and start up a joke 
shop, not to mention all their audacious pranks.   

The twins do not, IMO, behave maliciously, but they can be 
insesitive, especially to Percy, whom I don't think they really 
understand.  Percy's reluctance to admit he had a girlfriend is 
evidence of the effect that their teasing has had on him.  The twins 
teasing isn't exceptionally cruel, it's just that Percy can't take 
it.  Of course, his reactions make it all the more tempting for the 
twins to continue, and a vicious circle is formed.  

A similar pattern is seen with Ron and his Quidditch.  Ron improves 
when the twins aren't around.  I'm sure that the twins didn't mean 
to make Ron play badly - or realise that was the effect they had - 
since they care a lot about that Quidditch cup.  But nevertheless, 
they had that effect.  

The twins' 'pranking' has been tacitly supported, and even 
encouraged, by the administration at Hogwarts.  Dumbledore has a 
sense of humour and an obvious fondness for the twins, and no doubts 
sees no harm in a few little practical jokes.  The trouble is when 
the 'pranks' stop being harmless.  Reminds me of another bunch 
of 'harmless pranksters,' apparently well loved by the staff, who 
one day went a step too far and nearly killed somebody... Not to 
mention that their years of 'pranking' permanently damaged and 
embittered a fellow student - once again, someone without a great 
sense of humour.  Maybe its time that the Hogwarts staff take the 
behaviour of studnets like Fred and George more seriously, and 
acknowledge that it's important merry pranksters know when to draw 
the line.

Hannah