Weasley family
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The Weasleys are a fictional family of wizards who figure prominently in the plot of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of novels. This is primarily because the youngest son, Ron Weasley, is the best friend of the series' protagonist, Harry Potter. They are one of the few remaining so-called pure blood wizarding families. The Weasleys have seven children, all of whom have red hair and freckles. On her official website, Rowling explained her choice of surname and hair colour for the Weasleys:[1]
| In Britain and Ireland the weasel has a bad reputation as an unfortunate, even malevolent, animal. However, since childhood I have had a great fondness for the family mustelidae; not so much malignant as maligned, in my opinion.
There are also many superstitions associated with redheaded people and most state that they are in some way unlucky (Judas Escariot was supposedly red-haired), but this is nonsense; I happen to like red hair as well as weasels. |
Contents |
[edit] Family tree
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[edit] The nuclear family and residence
Arthur and Molly Weasley (née Prewett) have seven children: (from oldest to youngest) Bill, Charlie, Percy, identical twins Fred and George, Ronald, and Ginevra. Ginevra ("Ginny") is the first female Weasley to be born in several generations. All of the Weasleys have been sorted into Gryffindor House at Hogwarts and, save Bill and Percy, are known to have played on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Bill and Percy were each Head Boy instead and they, along with Charlie and Ron, have been school Prefects.
The Weasley's home village is named Ottery St. Catchpole. It may also be the home of Luna Lovegood and the Fawcett family ("S. Fawcett" attempted to illegally enter the Triwizard Tournament). Amos Diggory also lives nearby. The town's name is similar to that of the real town of Ottery St. Mary, which lies on the River Otter in Devon, leading many to speculate that that is where St. Catchpole is located.
The Weasleys reside in a house known as The Burrow. The house is very tall – seven floors high. It is dilapidated, managing to remain standing only by magic. Despite the house's rundown appearance, Harry remarks on his first visit that it was the best house he had ever been in and it comes to be his second favourite place in the world (after Hogwarts).
The physical condition of The Burrow reflects the overall financial situation of the Weasleys, who are poor. Mr Weasley is incredibly enthusiastic about all things involving Muggles, going so far as to declare his goal in life to be figuring out how aeroplanes stay in the air. Because of his hobby, Mr Weasley chooses to remain in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic. His job allows him to explore his hobby, but between his meagre salary and their many children, the Weasleys find it difficult to maintain the style of living other wizarding families enjoy. As a result, their children, particularly the younger ones, often have second-hand school supplies and clothing. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Mr Weasley receives a promotion and becomes the head of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects.
The well-hidden orchard nearby doubles as a Quidditch pitch for the Weasley boys and (secretly) Ginny. Real Quidditch balls cannot be used in case they escape and fly over the Muggle village.
The Weasleys own a unique clock, a manifestation of Molly's anxiety about her family's well-being. Instead of telling time, each hand has the name of each of the Weasleys written on it and points to a term indicating their whereabouts: travelling, at work, at school, in prison, etc. When Harry arrives at the Burrow in Half-Blood Prince, with Voldemort waging war on the wizarding world, all the hands are fixed on mortal peril. According to J. K. Rowling, following the release of Half-Blood Prince, the Weasleys find themselves "in the firing line" as a direct result of their blood traitor status.[2]
[edit] Pets and animals
The many pets and animals having belonged to the Weasley family are:
- Errol, an ancient Great Grey Owl who serves as the family owl for delivering mail. He has trouble carrying loads due to his advanced age, often needing help from other owls. He is often found unconscious after crashing into things or collapsing from sheer exhaustion.
- Scabbers, a rat who had been in the Weasley family for twelve years. He first belonged to Percy, but was later passed down to Ron. Near the end of the third book, Scabbers is revealed to be an Animagus named Peter Pettigrew.
- Pigwidgeon (or "Pig"), Ron's small hyperactive owl, a gift from Sirius Black upon the loss of Scabbers, following the climactic events in Ron's third year.
- Hermes, an owl owned by Percy, which was a gift to him from his parents for becoming a Prefect in his fifth year.
- Arnold, a Pygmy Puff (miniature Puffskein) owned by Ginny. She gets him from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in the sixth book.
- Several family chickens.
- Some pigs (only seen in the films).
- A ghoul, who lives in the attic of The Burrow and causes minor disruptions by groaning and banging on the walls and pipes whenever things have gotten too quiet (which isn't often).
- A multitude of garden gnomes, which infest the garden of The Burrow. The Weasley family literally throws them away periodically.
[edit] Extended family
[edit] Future in-laws
As of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Bill Weasley is scheduled to marry Fleur Delacour in the summer of 1997 (if events permit). Once they are married, both Fleur and her sister Gabrielle will be in-laws of the family.
[edit] Relatives mentioned in passing
- Sirius Black, and the rest of the Black family – the Weasleys are related loosely to the Black family; Sirius says: "Molly and I are cousins by marriage and Arthur's something like my second cousin once removed."1 This statement, taken with the Black family tree, all but necessitates that Molly is the niece of Ignatius Prewett (who married Sirius' aunt Lucretia Black), and Arthur is the son of Cedrella Black and Septimus Weasley (this makes him precisely Sirius' second cousin once removed). Molly could also be Sirius' cousin by marriage if Lucretia was her stepmother rather than her aunt, but there's no evidence one way or the other.
- Grandfather (possibly Septimus Weasley) – once owned the wizard chess set Ron currently owns.
- Uncle Bilius – according to Ron, Bilius saw the Grim (an omen of death) and died within twenty-four hours. Ron's middle name is Bilius, possibly in honour of him.
- Fleur's grandmother, who is a Veela. One of her hairs is the core of Fleur's wand.
- Great-Aunt Muriel – said to be particularly fond of Bill. In Half-Blood Prince Ron and Ginny get in a fight and Ginny mocks him for having been kissed only by her, which prompts him to quickly go out with Lavender Brown. She is also mentioned as having a beautiful, goblin-made tiara, that she could be persuaded by Mrs Weasley to lend to Fleur to wear at her wedding to Bill. She is most probably a relative of Molly's, based on the fact that Ginny is the first female in the Weasley family in several generations and that Molly calls her "our great-auntie Muriel".
- Molly Weasley's second cousin – an accountant and presumable Squib. The family never talks about him.
- In early drafts of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire the Weasleys encountered Mafalda, the daughter of this Squib cousin. Though she didn't make the final cut, Mafalda would have been "a nosy eavesdropping Slytherin who likes to impress", and was originally going to play prominently in the story. Rowling eventually replaced her role by expanding the role of Rita Skeeter.[3]
[edit] Status as "blood traitors" among pure-bloods
The Weasleys are one of the older pure-blooded families in the wizarding world. Many of the prejudices held by and associated with the old pure-blood families are not held by the Weasleys, nor do the Weasleys take pride (or shame) in their heritage of pure magical blood. For instance, a prejudiced family like the Malfoys would never associate with a Muggle-born witch like Hermione Granger, much less allow her to spend the summers with them. A recurring theme in the Harry Potter series is discrimination against those who are not pure-blooded, that is, witches or wizards with some Muggle relations – or Muggle-born wizards, as well as muggles themselves.
[edit] Recurring motifs
All the Weasley sons who came in odd numbered births, first-born Bill, third-born Percy, and fifth-born Ron (though he is technically the sixth son) are all described as being tall, with Percy and Ron often described as being thin like their father Arthur, while the even born sons, Charlie and twins Fred and George, are described as short and stocky, similar to their mother Molly. Bill is never described as thin, only tall, while Ginny, the only daughter, is described simply as being small. No exact heights are given, but by book five Ron is described as having grown several inches, making him slightly taller than the twins, and in book six, he is described as having grown some more, so he is most likely at least six feet tall.
There appears to be a running theme of Arthurian legend in some of the Weasley family names. The father is named Arthur; the daughter is named Ginevra, which is the Italian form of Guinevere; a son is named Percy, which is a shortened form of Percival, and the youngest son is named Ron, the name of Arthur's spear in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, and in the "Brut" poems of Wace and Layamon [4][5] (it was originally "Rhongomynyad" in Welsh legend).
[edit] See also
- Arthur Weasley
- Molly Weasley
- Bill Weasley
- Fleur Delacour (Bill's fiancée, they are to marry in book seven if events permit).
- Charlie Weasley
- Percy Weasley
- Fred and George Weasley
- Ron Weasley
- Ginny Weasley
[edit] External links
- An essay about the Weasley children's ages posted at the Harry Potter Lexicon
- Information on Mafalda from J. K. Rowling's website
- Post HBP Cub Reporter Press Conference
- Weasley Network - A detailed site on the Weasley Family
[edit] References
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1Rowling, Joanne (2003). The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, pp. 98–120. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0-439-35806-X.pt:Família Weasley bs:Porodica Weasley es:Los Weasley fa:خانواده ویزلی (هری پاتر) fr:Weasley hr:Obitelj Weasley it:Famiglia Weasley he:משפחת ויזלי sv:Weasley
