Identifying Enemies/Twins

[hickengruendler]

No: HPFGUIDX 140903

Hickengruendler:

I have very mixed feelings bout the twins. On the one hand, I think 
they can be highly entertaining, particularly when they make 
Umbridge's life a hell, and I don't think they will ever be Harry's 
enemies. However, on the other hand, there are things like the Dudley 
incident, in which they went way far too far and which are not funny 
at all, IMO.
 
> Finwitch:
> 
> You know - Fred *dropped* it. (both he and Arthur know he did on
> purpose, though, but that's beside the point) He *does* have a valid
> point on it being Dudley's fault he ate it.
> 
> An honest person would have given it back to Fred (or Arthur if he 
had
> already left) in which case Dudley wouldn't have been subject to the
> Ton Tongue effect. It was, in effect, in nature of a theft.
  
Hickengruendler:

It doesn't matter. Fred and George knew very well, that Dudley was on 
a diet and would seize every opportunity to eat a candy, as Arthur 
rightfully pointed out. Therefore whatever Dudley did, was calculated 
by Fred and George.

However, I don't even think giving Dudley that candy was the worst 
thing they did this day. The worst thing was *leaving*. If they had 
stayed and made sure that Dudley would have eaten the Toffee as long 
as they were around, or if they had least *tried* to delay their 
departure, then it wouldn't have been as bad. But in calmly leaving 
they made it obvious, that they didn't care if Dudley had died, or 
that they didn't consider the possibility that her products could end 
in any really bad results. Sure, Arthur was still there to fix the 
damage, but that was solely by accident and JKR's good will. The 
twins had nothing to do with it. If Dudley had eaten the Toffee one 
minute later, he might very well have died.

Until book 5, I thought it was simply that JKR and I have a 
completely different sense of humour, and that JKR can laugh at such 
black humour, as long as nothing really serious happens, while I 
can't. But now I'm not so sure about this anymore. The twins sort of 
got their come-uppance for pushing Montague into the Vanishing 
cabinet and not caring at all for what happened to him. It led to the 
Death Eaters storming the castle, and in Fred and George's own 
brother being disfigured forever.