CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS: DH7 - The Will of Albus Dumbledore

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 179022

Potioncat:
Great job! I'm going to answer in bits and pieces, due to time issues 
in the RW. 

> "Kathryn Jones" <kjones at ...> wrote:
> 10.	Is this patronus appropriate for Arthur Weasley from what we 
>know about his character?  Is it a foregone conclusion that some 
>Weasley will have a weasel for a patronus?  Wouldn't Percy make a 
>better weasel?

Potioncat:
Well, my firmly held belief---and there are precious few of them left 
after DH---is that the Patronus doesn't so much reflect the 
individual as it reflects someone or something the spell caster sees 
as a protector or patron. That symbol doesn't have to have a 
conscious connection. The stag Patronus reflected James for Harry, 
even though Harry didn't know about James's being a stag. The 
Patronus is like a patron sprit. The weasel could reflect Arthur's 
father or his family. I don't mean Molly and the kids, 
but  "Weasley". So, yeah, I guess it does make sense that a Weasley 
would have a weasel for a Patronus.

Would Percy make a better weasel? I take it here that you mean Percy 
is such a weasel with its negative connotation.  According to 
Webster's New World Dictionary weasel is a "a sly, cunning or sneaky 
person."  Sounds more like Severus, if you ask me.

The real weasel, (the one usually meant in folklore) has ginger 
coloured fur; is a fierce fighter; lives in burrows which are often 
taken from another animal or was abandoned by another animal; can 
have large litters; and is the only animal that can kill a Basilisk, 
but dies in the process. (JKR must have missed that detail.)  
Actually, Arthur does have a lot of weasel attributes, doesn't he?

They are sometimes considered vermin. I think Lucius would agree.

I found part of this from this site:  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_Weasel


While we're at it, ferrets and otters fall under the weasel family. 
Can't work Draco in here; but Hermione's Patronus is an otter. I 
think her otter Patronus reflects Ron, or else the Weasley family in 
general.