Thoughts on Ron W (and Percy and the twins)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 159736

BetsyHP wrote:
> >> I agree that Ron would never turn evil.  (Hermione is the trio 
> > member skating close to that particular fall, IMO.)  But the twins?
> > For the record, I'm not a twin fan.  I don't think they're funny, 
> > and I actually see them quite capable causing quite a bit of 
> harm.  In many ways I think they're living examples of what is wrong 
> in the Weasley family.  Of course, I'm not sure JKR agrees with me.  
> > 
> [snip] 
> 
Steven1965aaa responded:
> 
> Remember, Ron is the guy who vomited slugs all over Tom Riddle's 
> award for special services to the school!
> 
> With respect to the twins, I agree with you that they are quite 
> capable of causing harm, and they did so accidentally with the 
> cabinet, but IMO their heart is in the right place and they're not 
> going over to the dark side anytime soon.  A few examples come to 
> mind: In SS helping Harry get his trunk on the train before they 
> even knew who he was, in COS they went bezerk when Malfoy called 
> Hermione a "mudblood", in POA giving Harry a gift of the invaluable 
> and priceless Marauder's map (if they were looking for $ they could 
> have tried to sell that map to Malfoy or some other rich student for 
> big bucks), in OOP expressing their desire to join the Order, etc.
>
Carol adds:

Although I'm not much more amused by the Twins than Betsy is (except
for an embarrassed giggle when Fred said "Shut up, Weatherby!" in
GoF--which is odd because even then I felt sorry for Percy and was
later quite touched when he waded into the water in concern for Ron
after the second task), I don't see them as clones. Everyone says "the
Twins" as if they were identical in personality as well as appearance,
but perhaps it's significant that Harry and others can tell them apart
after a brief acquaintance.

It's Fred who wants to blackmail Ludo Bagman and George who protests
against it (but when Ron objects, it's George who ties the letter to
the owl's leg in a gesture of solidarity). It's George who offers to
help Harry with his trunk and calls Fred over. Perhaps significantly,
Harry stuffs his TWT gold into George's hands, not Fred's.

In general, I see the Twins as too mischievous for their own good and
as occasional bullies, rather like dear James Potter (I hated what
they did to Dudley, a helpless Muggle, even though he's a bully
himself), but I see George as being slightly more perceptive, slightly
more aware of other people's feelings, slightly more conscientious,
but just as inventive and just as money-oriented as his brother and
all too willing to follow his lead when it comes to, say, testing
their products on first-years or Muggles. (Note that George was in on
the plan to test ton-tongue toffees on Dudley--he's the one who
defends it on the grounds that Dudley is a bullying git--but it's Fred
who actually drops the toffees.) It's strange, but I feel a real
affection for George that doesn't extend to Fred, and yet George is
just as responsible for stuffing Montague into the Vanishing Cabinet
as Fred is. He has a conscience but doesn't always listen to it, maybe
because his loyalty to Fred is stronger than his sense of right and wrong.

I have a feeling that the two unplanned deaths JKR recently spoke
about are those of the Twins. I think that's more likely than their
going over to Voldemort (though I wouldn't be surprised if the DEs use
more of their products, causing them to do something reckless in a
failed attempt to retrieve them). Their deaths (if I'm right) would
prompt Percy to rejoin his family. (He does love them, as his reaction
to Ron's reappearance after the Second Task shows.)

Carol, thinking that not even JKR would be ruthless enough to kill off
one Twin and leave the other grieving for life