Weasley family

"My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

- Draco Malfoy regarding the Weasley family

Weasley is the surname of a pure-blood family (though the most recent generation has many non-pureblood members). The Weasleys know many other wizarding families, including the Blacks, Prewetts, Longbottoms, Crouches, Delacours, and Potters, as well as the Muggle Granger family. All members of the Weasley family are red-haired and Sorted into Gryffindor upon attendance of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The family home, known as the Burrow, is located just outside Ottery St Catchpole, in Devon, England. The Weasleys live near other magical families such as the Diggory, Fawcett, and Lovegood families.

When Harry Potter befriended Arthur and Molly Weasley's youngest son, Ronald Weasley, the Weasleys became a second family to Harry. The Burrow became Harry's home away from home (he only resided with the Dursley family out of necessity), and Arthur and Molly served as de facto godparents in Sirius Black's absence. Harry would eventually marry into the family when he married Ginny.

They were included in the Sacred Twenty-Eight list, published in the Pure-Blood Directory by the 1930s. However, they deplored their inclusion in the list, because they said they had ancestral ties to many interesting Muggles. Their protests earned these families the opprobrium of advocates of the pure-blood doctrine, and the epithet 'blood traitor'.

Early history
"The Death Eaters know Ron's with you now, they're bound to target the family — don't apologise. It was always a matter of time, Dad's been saying so for months. We're the biggest blood traitor family there is."

- Bill Weasley regarding his family and how they are viewed

The Weasleys (unlike many other pure-blood families) willingly associated with Muggles, Muggle-borns, and half-bloods and do not consider themselves superior to others because of their blood status. Thus, elitist pure-blood families such as the Malfoys and the Blacks consider them "blood traitors" and treat them with disdain; Cedrella Black was even disowned by her family for marrying Septimus Weasley. Despite being "one of the biggest blood traitor" families, they seemed rather proud of it.

The Weasleys tended to have large numbers of children; an unusual trait for wizarding families, according to Draco Malfoy. The most recent generations of Weasleys have been considered poor by wizarding standards ; their vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank only contained a small pile of Sickles and a single Galleon as of 1992.

For several generations, only boys were born into the family, until the birth of Ginevra Molly Weasley. This trend ended with the grandchildren of Arthur and Molly, who include more girls than boys.

Recent history
"Red hair, and a hand-me-down-robe? You must be a Weasley"

- The Weasleys are financially poor

Arthur Weasley was born on 6 February, 1950 to Septimus and Cedrella Weasley (née Black). Arthur had at least two brothers. He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1961-1968 and was sorted into Gryffindor House. In his third year in 1963, he probably chose to take Muggle Studies, due to his interest in Muggles. While at school, he met and began dating fellow Gryffindor Molly Prewett.



Shortly after graduating from Hogwarts, Arthur and Molly married. Their marriage was rather rushed, as Lord Voldemort was gaining power during that time and the First Wizarding War began. Arthur and Molly were not members of the first Order of the Phoenix; it is unknown if he was otherwise involved in the war. During the course of the war, he and Molly had seven children: Bill in late 1970, Charlie in 1972, Percy in 1976, twins Fred and George in 1978, Ron in 1980, and Ginny in 1981.

The war ended soon after Ginny's birth, but not before Molly's brothers Fabian and Gideon Prewett, both Order members, were murdered by Death Eaters. The family was upset when some Death Eaters, such as Lucius Malfoy, were able to get off scot-free by claiming that they had been under the Imperius Curse. Arthur believed they were lying, and he and Lucius were hostile towards one another whenever they crossed paths.



The Weasleys' views led to their support to the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army during the Second Wizarding War. During the height of the latter conflict, the Weasleys were placed under surveillance by the Voldemort-controlled Ministry of Magic because they had been in close contact with Harry, and eventually had to go into hiding. The Weasleys took part in the Battle of Hogwarts. During the battle Fred was killed, deeply upsetting the rest of the family, and his death was enough to make his mother commit murder to save her daughter from the same fate.

The families financial status likely changed with the great commercial success of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and the successful careers of various family members. By the twenty-first century, many Weasleys and their relatives worked for the Ministry of Magic, including Arthur, Percy, Ron, and their in-laws Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.

Main family
Arthur Weasley, one of three sons of Septimus Weasley and Cedrella Black, met Molly Prewett while they attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the 1960s. They married soon after finishing school and went on to have seven children, whom they loved but did not spoil. All of those who were of age, except Percy, eventually became members of the reinstated Order of the Phoenix.

Etymology

 * There appears to be a pattern in the Weasley family of members having names that may possibly allude to figures in medieval history and Arthurian legend:
 * Arthur Weasley, shares a given name with, the central character of Arthurian legends.
 * The eldest son, Bill, has the same given name as William Marshal. Between the mid 12th and early 13th centuries, this knight rose from obscurity by serving four Plantagenet kings of England (Henry II, Richard I, John and Henry III), and eventually became Regent of England. At times, he is referred to as "the Flower of Chivalry." In, Bill marries Fleur Delacour, whose name translates as "flower of the court".
 * Charles Weasley's name may be a reference to.
 * Fred Weasley's name is a diminutive of the name Frederick, which may be an allusion to Frederick Barbarossa. Frederick was an Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, served in both the Second and Third Crusades. His nickname, Barbarossa, means "red beard."
 * George Weasley's name may be a reference to St George.
 * Percy Weasley's name is a diminutive of the name , which was the name of one of Arthur's Knights of the Round Table.
 * Ron Weasley connects into this pattern of medieval and Arthurian naming in three ways:
 * Firstly, he shares his name with King Arthur's spear Rhongomyniad, which called "Ron."
 * If one were to take the name Ronald and switch the "n" and "l," they would have . Historically Roland was a military leader under Charlemagne and was responsible for defending the Frankish Kingdom's border with Brittany. Brittany is considered a potential place of origin for many of the Arthurian legends. Later, he became the subject of a chanson de geste, which is considered one of the earliest pieces of French literature, and was popular throughout the medieval era.
 * The name Ronald is derived from an Old Norse name that was a cognate of the name Reginald. This connection is supported when Ron uses Polyjuice Potion to masquerade as Reginald Cattermole while infiltrating the Ministry of Magic in . During 12th century, there were two Reginalds that this cognitive naming may be an allusion to:
 * was a monk who chronicled the life of Saint Godric of Finchale, who shares a given name with Godric Gryffindor, founder of [Gryffindor House.
 * (Raynald is also a cognate of Reginald), served in the Second Crusade and ruled as until he was captured and executed by Saladin. While discussing the Deathly Hallows with Harry and Hermione, Ron states that he favours the Elder Wand, whose original wielder was Antioch Peverell.
 * Ginny Weasley's full name is , the Italian form of the name, who was Arthur's queen.
 * Also, Muriel had a cousin named Lancelot, who was one of Arthur's knights, though it should be noted that Muriel is only related to the Weasleys by the marriage of her niece Molly.

Author's comments

 * J. K. Rowling has said that unlike with many other characters, Ron Weasley's name always remained the same in various drafts of the series. She has remarked that the surname Weasley is derived from the weasel, which is also Arthur Weasley's Patronus. About the family's name and characteristic red hair, she commented:
 * "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."



Behind the scenes

 * In the Harry Potter film adaptations, the Weasleys are portrayed by:
 * Mark Williams, who portrays Arthur Weasley in all film adaptations except Harry Potter and the Philosopher&apos;s Stone, in which Arthur does not appear.
 * Julie Walters, who portrays Molly Weasley in all film adaptations except Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, in which Molly does not appear.
 * Richard Fish and Domhnall Gleeson, who both portray Bill Weasley. Fish portrayed him in, in the family photo of their trip to Egypt. Gleeson portrays Bill in the film adaptation of.
 * Alex Crockford, who portrayed Charles Weasley in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in the Weasley family photo on holiday in Egypt. A young man who appears to be Charlie is seen beside Nymphadora Tonks in the wedding scene in.
 * Chris Rankin who portrays Percy Weasley, did not appear in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire or Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
 * James and Oliver Phelps, who portray Fred and George respectively in all film adaptations.
 * Rupert Grint, who portrays Ron Weasley in all film adaptations.
 * Bonnie Wright, who portrays Ginny Weasley in all film adaptations.
 * Hermione Granger's Patronus is an otter, which is in the same family as the weasel, Mustelidae. This, as well as the fact that the Weasleys live in Ottery St Catchpole, may have foreshadowed her marriage into the family.
 * Her nephew Albus Potter owns a pet ferret, which is also in the same family as the weasel.
 * Weasley sounds like weaver, convenient considering that Mrs Weasley loves to knit, or at least charm her needles to do it for her.
 * The only sons of Arthur Weasley and Molly Weasley that do not have any known children are Fred Weasley and Charles Weasley, the former because of his death and the latter because he is much more interested in studying dragons.
 * The Weasleys own a tractor.
 * Harry Potter has saved several lives of members of the Weasley family, something Arthur and Molly gratefully pointed out, and believed it was lucky that Ron chose to sit in the same cabin on their first day at the Hogwarts Express.
 * He destroyed Tom Riddle's diary before Ginny had her life force drained away.
 * He saw Arthur being attacked by Nagini and reported it in time to save him.
 * He gave Ron a Bezoar when he was poisoned.
 * He shielded Molly when Voldemort turned on her after she killed Bellatrix Lestrange in the Battle of Hogwarts.
 * Along with the Muggle Granger family, the Weasleys are also related to the Muggle Evans family and the Muggle Dursley family. They are related to the Evans and Dursleys through Harry Potter, who married Ginny.
 * The only children who may call the Weasleys their "maternal family" are the children of Ginny: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna Potter.
 * It is possible that Victoire Weasley, Bill and Fleur&apos;s daughter, might marry Teddy Lupin, making the Weasleys related to the Lupin family in two ways: from the marriage of Victoire and from sharing distant ancestry through the Black family.
 * J.K. Rowling said in an interview that Molly Weasley educated her children in the basics (reading, maths, spelling, grammar, etc.) before they went to Hogwarts.
 * If the young man seen beside Tonks in the wedding scene in is in fact Charlie, that would mean that this is the second film (along with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) in which all nine Weasleys appear.
 * The oldest child, Bill has his father's first name, Arthur, as his middle name and the youngest child, Ginny, has her mother's first name, Molly, as her middle name.
 * Orange hair was considered a sign of witchcraft in medieval times.
 * According to houseofnames.com, the Weasley family originally hailed from Normandy in France.

Notes and references
Weasley Familia Weasley Famille Weasley Rodzina Weasley'ów Уизли