Fred and George Weasley

Lore & Background

Fred and George are introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) when they meet Harry Potter at King's Cross station. They are two years ahead of Harry, Ron, and Hermione Granger. They are the school clowns and troublemakers, more interested in inventing new pranks than studying. Despite their unimpressive academic record, they show a high degree of knowledge and skill in creating magical jokes and tricks.

Both play as Beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and are very talented players. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, they begin selling their own jokes by owl order under the name 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.' Harry makes their ambition to run their own joke shop possible by giving them his winnings from the Triwizard Tournament. In return, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, they allow Harry to take anything from their joke shop for free while asking Ron to pay for the items in his arms.

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. 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.

They were also members of Dumbledore's Army. Later that year, they are banned from Quidditch and decide to abandon formal education; before leaving, they pay tribute to Dumbledore by waging a prank war against the dictatorial Dolores Umbridge. It is stated by several characters, including Professor Flitwick and Hermione, that despite their poor grades, the Weasley twins are extremely proficient wizards, capable of sophisticated magic. 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 was old enough to attend Hogwarts.

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 to Snape's Sectumsempra curse. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Fred is killed in an explosion. Before his death, Fred reconciles with his estranged brother Percy, who arrives at Hogwarts to participate in the fight and apologises to the family for not believing them.

Percy, who was right next to him, was distraught, and refused to leave Fred's body. Fred died with a smile frozen on his face, as moments before death he was laughing at Percy for making a rare joke. According to Rowling, she always knew, intuitively, that Fred would die. Although not mentioned in the novel, Rowling said in a web chat that George never does fully get over Fred's death.

However, he goes on with his life, turning Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes into a 'money spinner' with Ron. George later names his first child with Angelina Johnson after his twin.

Reader's Guide

Fred and George Weasley are the embodiment of spirited rebellion and creative genius within the Harry Potter universe. In Half-Blood Prince they run their very successful joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, in Diagon Alley.