Post Owls / Umbridge Quill / Dragon / The Twins / Royal Ron / Garden Reward?

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 125674


>>Betsy:
>...we know [Ron's] spider phobia was a lovely gift from the 
twins...<

>>Catlady: 
>I am sure that was accident. Was it when Ron was 3 and Fred was 5 
that Fred turned his teddy bear into a spider because Ron broke 
Fred's toy broomstick? Five years old is more the age for unintended 
wand magic to happen when the wizard child is angry or scared than 
the age to do Transfiguration with a wand.<

Betsy:
Yeah, I'm sure you're right about it being an accident.  I didn't 
think through the ages, but now you've pointed it out I'm sure Fred 
got angry at Ron and *presto*, Ron's clutching a large, hairy 
spider.  Still rather icky for poor Ron, but not malicious on Fred's 
part.

>>Betsy:
>And I don't recall either parent doing anything to protect Percy 
from them. Instead, Molly actively fueled the twins resentment of 
their brother, using Percy as an instrument to bludgeon them with.<

>>Catlady: 
>I think Molly thought she WAS trying to protect Percy from the 
twins by trying to make them respect him by telling them how good he 
was. Of course, it didn't work -- can you think of a method that 
would have worked?<

Betsy:
Ooh!  Way to call me on my cynical criticizing!  Much easier to just 
throw stones than actually think up alternatives, but I'll give it a 
shot. <bg>

For one thing, I'm not sure Molly was worried about protecting 
Percy.  And if she was I think she thought her non-stop yelling at 
the twins would have been enough.  I think, when it came to Percy 
and the twins, Molly never realized how much the twins were hurting 
Percy.  I mean he *is* rather pompous and I think he'd cover his 
pain in a series of lectures or long winded complaints.  I think 
Molly saw Percy as her easy child and recruited him to act as a sort 
of parent to help her deal with the more difficult twins.  And 
therein lies the problem.  

So, to the solution:  For one, I think it would have been helpful 
for Molly *and* Arthur (who gets a share of the blame) to provide a 
sanctuary for Percy - like his room perhaps - where the twins could 
not bother him.  I don't expect all teasing could have been 
stopped.  And a little teasing can be a healthy thing.  But Molly 
and Arthur could have helped the twins learn about limits.

Also, they should have encouraged Percy to involve himself in the 
other childrens play.  He's not sporty, but it may have helped ease 
tensions if he'd been encouraged to participate in the pickup 
Quidditch games the younger Weasleys engaged in.  (I believe as per 
canon, Percy didn't join in, but I'm too lazy to go pouring through 
the books, so I may well be proved wrong, wrong, wrong.)

But the biggest thing Molly should have done differently, IMO, was 
to not make Percy a parent figure for the twins.  Percy was 
different enough on his own.  To saddle him with being the example 
of a perfect child...  Molly may as well have taped a big "kick me" 
sign to Percy's forehead.  It was never enough for her to tell the 
twins what they were doing wrong, she had to point out how Percy 
would never have acted the same way.  (Weirdly enough, Molly 
actually lies about how perfect Percy is.  In OotP when she yells at 
the twins for Apperating all over the place, she starts into 
her, "Percy never..." routine.  But Percy *did* do unnecessary 
Apperating after he got his license.  Ron was complaining about it 
in GoF, IIRC.)  

Anyway, those are some ideas.  I can well imagine that the twins 
would have been a handful for anybody, let alone a mother of seven 
whose husband seems to have abdicated his role as father (though I 
suspect Molly may have encouraged Arthur's absence).  But I'm afraid 
that Percy, being such an odd duck within the Weasley fold, got a 
tiny bit shafted.  

Betsy