Fred and George Weasley
Template:Current fiction Template:HP characterFrederick "Fred" and George Weasley are fictional characters in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling.
Character biography
Fred and George are the identical[1] twin sons of Arthur and Molly Weasley, the younger brothers of Bill, Charlie and Percy, and the older brothers of Ron and Ginny, who are both members of Harry Potter's close group of friends. The twins revel in practical jokes and pranks and are generally considered amusing by both the books' characters and readers. Fittingly, they were born on April Fools Day — April 1 1978.[2][3] Their names mirror that of their decreased uncles Fabian and Gideon Prewett, and like them they join the fight against Voldemort, but unlike Fabian and Gideon only one of them dies.
While their best friend is Lee Jordan — their classmate, dormmate and fellow prankster — the twins are also good friends with Harry, having played Quidditch with him for Gryffindor. In fact, they generally treat Harry better than they do Ron; they love to torment Ron and Percy (although the tormenting of Ron is a lot more benign) but are close with Ginny (who closely resembles them both in appearance and personality) and vice versa. Like the other Weasleys, they have flaming red hair and are described as being on the shorter, stockier side like their second older brother Charlie. They seem to be quite popular among the Gryffindors, as well as with students in other Houses and with some teachers.
In the film adaptations, Fred and George are played by real-life twins James and Oliver Phelps. While the Phelps twins are quite tall and lanky, the twins are described in the books as short and stocky. The actors are also not natural redheads and have their hair dyed for the films.[4]
In the books
Students at Hogwarts
Fred (April 1, 1978 – June 1998) and George (born April 1, 1978) attended Hogwarts from 1989 to around springtime of the 1996 school year. They were the school clowns and troublemakers, more interested in inventing new pranks than studying, although they show a high degree of knowledge and skill in creating magical jokes and tricks. They are among the most popular characters with fans, and many of their jokes and pranks are legendary, both in the novels and in the real world. Fred, at times, appears to be the more dominant twin, but they generally work as a team. Both were the Beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team — and were very talented players — before they were banned by Dolores Umbridge and consequently quit Hogwarts.
Fred and George care little for Prefects or rules. Their appearances and personalities are so indistinguishable that they can fool even their mother. Fred appears slightly more aggressive/take-charge than George, which is most apparent in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire where George is more cautious about blackmailing Ludo Bagman and, unlike Fred, is not mentioned as having a date at the Yule Ball. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Fred's date was Angelina Johnson. Fred is also seen to speak a lot more often than George.
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Fred and George begin selling their own jokes by mail order, under the name "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes." They play a prank on Harry's first cousin, the fat, bullying Dudley Dursley by "accidentally" dropping a Ton Tongue Toffee — Dudley, a glutton on a forced diet, soon has a four-foot-long tongue protruding from his mouth. At the Quidditch World Cup they impress Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry of Magic, with their fake wands.
Their ambition in life has always been to run their own joke shop. Harry (who inherited more than enough money for his needs) makes this possible by giving them his winnings from the Triwizard Tournament.
The pair provide Harry with useful assistance throughout the series; in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets they and Ron help him escape his house arrest at Privet Drive, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban they give him the Marauder's Map, and in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix they provide distractions so Harry can use the Floo system that is unmonitored in Dolores Umbridge's office. They were also members of Dumbledore's Army, a group started by Harry, Ron, and Hermione to teach practical instruction in Defence Against the Dark Arts, which Umbridge had removed from that course's curriculum.
Later that year, they are banned from Quidditch and decide to abandon formal education; they do not, however, leave before paying tribute to Dumbledore by waging a virtual war against the dictatorial Dolores Umbridge. Threatened with flogging for conjuring a "portable swamp" in a corridor, they depart on broomsticks, yelling to Peeves in the process, "Give her hell from us, Peeves." This is perhaps the only time in school history that Peeves does what a student tells him to do - saluting the twins, he proceeds to cause weeks of havoc, throwing the school into chaos (with the aid of students and some teachers) and generally making life miserable for Umbridge.
It is implied by several characters, including Professor Flitwick and Hermione Granger, that despite their poor grades and meager number of O.W.L.s, the Weasley twins are extremely proficient wizards, capable of sophisticated magic (such as spells for high-quality daydreams). This is evidenced by the large number of inventions they have created and by Fred's ability to transform Ron's teddy bear into a spider even before he had gone to and was old enough to attend Hogwarts.
After Hogwarts
As they leave, the twins inform their fellow students of their new shop in Diagon Alley and offer discounts to students who will likewise harass Umbridge. The swamp, meanwhile, remains for some time, since Umbridge is unable to remove it and no other teacher particularly wishes to. After Professor Umbridge is driven from the school, Professor Flitwick removes it, but leaves a small bit as a tribute to the Weasley twins.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Fred and George are members of the Order of the Phoenix and serve as two of Harry's six decoys when he escapes Privet Drive. George loses one of his ears when Snape's Sectumsempra curse misfires (its target was a Death Eater's wand hand), and, as the injury was caused by dark magic, it cannot be repaired. George remarks that, at the very least, he and his brother became much more distinguishable.
During the Battle of Hogwarts, George, along with Lee Jordan, defeats Yaxley. Later on, Fred is killed, along with numerous other Hogwarts defenders, including Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Colin Creevey. He dies from an explosion of unknown origin, buried under rubble. Percy cradles Fred's body, which is described with laughter on his face as he was laughing with glee at Percy making a (rare, for him) joke, protecting it from further harm. Fred is the only member of the Weasley family who dies, and plays a factor in his mother's duel with Bellatrix Lestrange.
According to Rowling, she knew that Fred would be the one that got killed out of the twins, but she doesn't exactly know the reason. She thinks most people would have expected George to die because he was the quieter of the two and appeared more vulnerable. She described Fred as the "ringleader, crueler and funnier."[5]
Although not mentioned in the novel, Rowling mntioned in a web chat that George never does fully get over Fred's death. However, he does go on with his life, turning Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes into a "money spinner" with Ron. George later names his first child Fred.[6]
Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
In The Half-Blood Prince, Fred and George continue to run their very successful joke shop out of Diagon Alley, with at least one employee. At the beginning of the school year, they have a large advertisement for a potion called "U-No-Poo," poking fun at the common euphemism of Lord Voldemort in the wizarding community. Their import item, Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder is used by Draco Malfoy to escape the detection of former DA members. It is unclear if Fred and George have joined the Order of the Phoenix like they wished during the previous book. Their wares have twice been indirectly responsible for injuries suffered by their siblings: their Peruvian Darkness Powder allowed the werewolf Fenrir Greyback into Hogwarts, where he proceeded to savage Bill Weasley; and a love potion sold by them was ingested by Ron Weasley, requiring him to seek an antidote from the Potions Master, Professor Slughorn — who then accidentally poisoned him.
Though Mrs. Weasley initially disapproved of their enterprises, she realised they had a natural gift and passion for their business and has since raised no objections. In fact, she is now rather impressed with how successful the twins have become since leaving school. According to their proud younger brother Ron, "they're raking in the Galleons!"
They are also part-time companions to Harry and Ron. In Goblet of Fire, they try to encourage Harry and Ron to find dates to the Yule Ball by letting them see Fred ask Angelina Johnson. They also help Harry in Order of the Phoenix when Harry wishes to talk with his godfather, Sirius Black, by creating a distraction, leaving Hogwarts in a state of chaos.
Though they always seem to be berating and insulting their younger brother Ron, it seems that they are sometimes considerate to him. This is evident in Order of the Phoenix when they make an effort to not mock Ron for his poor performance at Quidditch, although they do nothing to support or encourage him either. In The Half-Blood Prince, when Ron visits their joke shop for the first time, his arms are loaded with items and they ask him to pay up while allowing Harry to take anything for free. However, they are visibly distressed when Ron is poisoned. This occurs on Ron's birthday, and the twins have arrived at school to surprise him, carrying enormous presents from their shop.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, every member of the Weasley family is being watched by the Ministry of Magic (now led by Death Eaters). It is impossible for Fred and George to return to their shop in Diagon Alley to sell their products, so they begin to run another owl-order business out of their Auntie Muriel's house.
Personality
Throughout the series, the twins are portrayed as troublemakers. They break, or bend in their minds, the rules often, as in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when they wished to try out for the Triwizard Tournament, when they aged themselves a few months to get it. However, this did not work, and they were aged several years by a charm set by Albus Dumbledore, and had to be sent to the Hospital Wing and get treatment. Even with their mischievous behavior, the twins explain to Hermione in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that they do care about getting in trouble and, despite all of their schemes, have never been kicked out of school. "We've always known where to draw the line," says Fred. "We might have put a toe across it occasionally," adds George. With Dumbledore out of Hogwarts, they cause real mayhem when they create a swamp in the corridors creating a diversion so Harry and sneak a conversation with Sirius. Before Umbridge can punish them, they summon their confiscated brooms and depart the school in a "flight of freedom"; a memorable scene which would in later years still be referred to as a "Hogwarts legend." They later opened their shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
Though they are jokers and troublemakers, they also seem to have a caring part in them, and a quality of friendship. This is shown when George was the first Weasley to befriend Harry as he arrived alone to leave for Hogwarts (and not yet knowing he was the famous Harry Potter); he summons Fred to help him load Harry's trunk onto the train. A softer side is shown when Fred gives Harry the Marauder's Map so he can join his friends during Hogsmeade trips, and when they care for Ron when he is poisoned. Also, in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, they are shown trying to cheer up a younger student who had recently come from a torture session with Umbridge, just before they decide to leave Hogwarts
Family tree
See also
References
- ^ "I'm not Fred, I'm George ... can't you tell I'm George?" p. 70, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- ^ http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/extrastuff_view.cfm?id=7
- ^ http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=63
- ^ http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=330345
- ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20026225/
- ^ http://www.bloomsbury.com/harrypotter/content.asp?sec=3&sec2=1
External Links
Fred and George at the HP Lexicon
