Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing The Weasley’s. More specifically- we’re going to be discussing FACTS about
the Weasley’s that people who have ONLY seen the films won’t know. Ahh the Weasley’s,
the child-wealthy, money-poor family that we’re introduced to right near the beginning
of the series as Harry attempts to board the Hogwarts express at platform 9 ¾. Fussy but
loving mrs. Molly Weasley is kicking her children in to gear in order to make sure that they
make the train on time, and Harry- just by being close by- is brought in to her gravitational
pull as she gives the children orders left and right. However, what surely no one knew
at that point was just how close Harry would become with the friendly, loving, and quirky
red-headed family.
The Weasley’s immediately make their mark in the story as good people who have nothing
but Harry’s best interest in mind- and this fact stays true for the entire story. As Harry
came from a very broken, complicated home, he spent countless weeks at the Weasley family
home, and during those times Molly Weasley took him in like one of her own, no questions
asked.
The immediate Weasley family, in it’s entirety, consists of Fred, George, Charlie, Molly,
Arthur, Ginny, Bill, Percy, and of course Ron. And I guess we should sort of count Harry
as a kind of pseudo foster child. Because of the prevalence of the Weasley’s to the
Harry Potter story, we get to know a lot of the characters quite well. We see them grow,
evolve and change in to strong independent people - but, with that said, the films certainly
don’t give us the same amount of information as the books. There are a lot of things about
these loveable characters (some fan favourites) that you simply will have MISSED if you didn’t
read the books, and in today’s video I’m going to be sharing some of these facts. We
can’t expect the films to include everything, that would be unreasonable. But would it have
really been SUCH a big deal to give us 5 hour extended editions of each film? Well, probably-
but a man can dream. Without further ado, here are 7 facts about the Weasleys that ONLY
book-readers will know.
7. Percy the Traitor
Remember Percy? The ‘problematic’ Weasley? Well, as it turns out the problematic nature
of Percy isn’t ever really properly addressed in the films. One moment he’s leading new
Gryffindor students to the Gryffindor common-room, and the next he’s got his hands on Harry
Potter- working on behalf of Cornelius Fudge and the ministry. So, what happened to Percy?
How did a boy that came from such a loving family (who had a close relationship with
Harry, I might add) turn in to this snivelling traitor? How could he work for FUDGE?
Well, as it turns out it’s actually revealed in the books how this happens, and it all
starts with Percy having a falling out with his family. Percy, like Fudge, refused to
believe that Voldemort had returned to Power- and so he had trouble coping with his family
who were BIG Harry and Dumbledore supporters. Percy was everything his family wanted him
to be- smart, driven, well-behaved- but he took it too far. They mainly quarreled because
he sided with the Ministry at a time when the Ministry was even more questionable than
usual. Fortunately, however, peace is made wirth Percy later on.
6. Molly’s Boggart
A boggart is essentially the manifestation of someone’s deepest darkest fears. It is
an amortal shape-shifting non-being that transforms itself in to whatever you fear most. Noone
knows what a boggart looks like by itself, because it will transform as soon you encounter
it. When boggarts aren’t scaring people, they can usually be found rustling around
in confined spaces or lurking around dark corners.
What the films never reveal however, is Molly Weasley’s boggart- which Harry witnesses
her trying to remove from 12 Grimmauld place. While trying to oust the creature from the
house- she sees HER biggest fear in the boggart- and that’s the death of everyone that she
loves.
5. Molly (and Ginny) HATED Fleur (at first)
It might come as a surprise to you that Molly, the loving, nurturing, caring mother that
she is- actually HATED Fleur Delacour- at least for a time. However, most of this stemmed
from her love for her son, and the likely reality that she felt no woman was ‘good’
enough for him. Her and Ginny’s rationale for hating Fleur was a combination of ‘fair’
and ‘unfair’ reasons.
First- they judged her by her looks- immediately categorizing her to fit the “dumb blonde”
stereotype. Secondly- Fleur was a bit arrogant which rubbed both Ginny & Molly the wrong
way. Next, there is of course the element of motherly love. To Molly, only a perfect
woman would be worthy of her Bill- and Molly was still under the impression that her relationship
to Bill was largely superficial and physical. Molly simply didn’t believe that Fleur was
‘good enough’ for Bill, but that is primarily because she overlooked all of Fleurs positive
traits. On the slightly less grave side, Molly was also irked by Fleurs distaste for her
favourite singer- Celestina Warbeck.
Fortunately, Molly and Ginny did eventually realize their mistake of being too harsh on
Fleur. This came after Fleur demonstrated her loyalty to Bill following his debilitating
injuries inflicted at the hands of Fenrir Greyback. When Fleur stayed with Bill after
his appearance changed as a result of his injuries, it became clear that her relationship
with him wasn’t just ‘superficial’ or ‘physical’ - they truly were compatible.
She really did love him.
4. Percy And Ron See Fred Die
Fred Weasley’s death was arguably one of the saddest moments in the story- book and
film alike. However, the representation of Fred’s death does differ a little bit from
book to film. In the films, Fred appears to die alone- with none of his loved ones around
him.
In the book, however, Fred’s demise is witnessed by both Ron and Percy. Percy, who fell out
with the family in a BIG way, has just patched things up with Fred- when BOOM- a blast sends
them all flying. The only one who doesn’t awake from the fall, however, is Fred.
Before we get to point #3, I just wanted to mention that I’ve been uploading a lot on
my other channel: Mythology Explained. So you want a Mythology fix, go and check it
out- link in the PINNED comment.
3. Charlie Weasley Makes an Appearance
Though Charlie didn’t make an appearance in the films, he does return to Hogwarts twice
in the books. The first was in the Philosopher’s Stone when he retrieves Norberta, and the
second was for the battle of Hogwarts where he fought Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
Charlie never married, nor had children, but got to spend his time with his copious siblings,
nieces and nephews. Being an outdoorsy type with an affinity for dragons- Charlie was
more preoccupied with his craft rather than pursuing ladies.
2. Arthur & Molly’s Love
Arthur and Molly, the Weasley parents, are oftened portrayed as well ‘parents’- and
we view them primarily in this way. But what we have to remember is that Arthur and Molly
are also individuals, they’re their own people, and not just their children’s parents.
This means that they of course have their own backstories. In the books we learn that
the pair met each other at Hogwarts- and got up to all sorts of mischief together. On one
occasion, Molly and Arthur decided to go for a late-night stroll on the Hogwarts grounds.
Apollyon Pringle, the caretaker at the time, ends up catching Arthur but not young Molly
Prewett.
1.The Unbreakable Vow
When you think of Unbreakable Vow’s you usually think of Severus Snape, Narcissa Malfoy,
Draco Malfoy, and Bellatrix Lestrange. HOWEVER, what film-watchers won’t know is that ANOTHER
unbreakable vow is actually mentioned in the books- a vow pertaining to the Weasleys.
Fred and George Weasley, in their youth, once attempted to coerce a then 5 year old Ron
in to one. It is said that Fred and George were ready to perform the vow, when their
father Arthur Weasley caught them. The vow, though not quite of the same magnitude as
the one engaged in by Narcissa and Snape, was still questionable magic for young wizards
to be performing- on your sibling no less. This is the only instance in which the mild
mannered Arthur Weasley is said to have gotten as angry as his wife Molly.
And that’s it for this video! Did you know all of these book facts about the Weasleys?
Obviously there are more, but I felt that these were definitely some of the big ones.
Share some of YOUR favourites down below.
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Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.