Chapter Discussion: Goblet of Fire Ch. 5: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 191462


> Questions:
> 
> 1. What was your first impression of Charlie? Did you think he would be an
> important character?
> 
> 2. What about Bill? What did you think of him?

Pippin:
Like Harry, I was surprised to find out that Bill was *cool*.  I was surprised to find that Charlie was stocky because I thought he had been a Seeker like Harry and they are supposed to be small and light. 

I had the idea that all Ron's brothers were going to die -- would that have made them more important characters? 

> 
> 3. How do you think things would have gone down if the situation were reversed,
> and Mrs. Weasley had gone to get Harry with Fred and George, and was now
> explaining to Mr. Weasley what happened?

Pippin:
I doubt very much that Molly would have taken Fred and George with her in the first place. IMO, Arthur only took them to  get them out of Molly's hair for a bit. 

I think Arthur was secretly cheering on the Twins' ambition to open a joke shop, while Molly still expected them to settle down and get what she thinks of as proper Establishment jobs. I think that, more than carelessness with magic, is what made her object so violently to the Wizard Wheezes. 

But Arthur was genuinely furious about what the Twins did to Dudley. I know the Twins did not mean to be anti-Muggle. But they observe boundaries with their fellow wizards that didn't operate in Dudley's case. It will take a lot more provocation than they got from Dudley before the Twins go after Draco, as they do at the end of the book. 

And even Harry, when he's more detached, as in SWM, does not think it's funny to attack a  person on the grounds of general  gittiness just because it would cheer up a friend.  


> 
> 4. What do you think Fred and George have been exploding in their room - any
> particular ingredients or recipes you think they might have started with?

Pippin:
I'd guess  repeated explosions meant they were trying their hand with fireworks. Unlike Neville, they don't have a reputation for blowing things up accidentally. 

> 
> 5. Why do you think most people believed that Bertha Jorkins had gone to Albania
> on holiday and never come back? Do you think that is a popular wizarding
> vacation spot?

Pippin:
There's an attraction in touring remote, lawless places. The Twins are envious of Harry for having been to Knockturn Alley. I think it's an adventure destination, like the Wild West or the Scottish Highlands once were, or the Amazon is now. 

But  Barty Sr had his own reasons for being concerned about Bertha, and for wanting Bagman to find her instead of, say, turning the matter over to the Aurors.  So he was, as Percy says, taking a personal interest. I don't suppose he would have minded her disappearing if she would stay disappeared, but she had a habit of getting lost and turning up again. It must have been nerve-wracking. 

Thanks to Megan for the questions.

Pippin