George Weasley

"Need a hand?"

- George's first line

George Weasley (born April 1, 1978) is son of Molly and Arthur Weasley, and twin to Fred Weasley (deceased). A brilliant prankster and inventor, George left Hogwarts prior to graduation to become a successful entrepreneur, alongside his brother, and opened the joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes on Diagon Alley.

Physical Description and Traits
George Weasley sports flaming-red hair and freckles, and is short and stocky like his brothers Fred and Charlie. George was the quieter of the twins, and appeared slightly more moral, though he was not above blackmailing Ludo Bagman when the former Quidditch player defaulted on a bet at the Quidditch World Cup. George's prankster nature is enjoyed by nearly everyone in his family, aside from his brother Percy and his mother, who both consider jokes to be immature. However, his pranks targeted at Percy were usually good natured, and the only thing that got hurt was Percy's pride.

As a result of the Battle over Little Whinging, he is missing his right ear.

Early Life and Education
George Weasley was born April 1, 1978. He was raised at his family home of The Burrow, near Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon. He was educated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1989 to 1996, and was sorted into Gryffindor House. He made fast friends with Lee Jordan while at school. During his first year at Hogwarts, George and Fred swiped the Marauder's Map from Argus Filch's office. Four years later, they gave Harry Potter the map, as the brothers already knew the map by heart.

George Weasley, alongside his brother Fred, played for the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a Beater. They both used Cleansweep Five broomsticks. They were so skilled at Quidditch that they were both described as being like "human Bludgers." George played for Gryffindor until 1995 when he was given a lifetime ban after the first match of that year.

George never performed as meritoriously in school as did his older brothers Percy, Bill, or Charlie, and was forever causing his mother Molly grief for his refusal to take anything seriously. He earned three O.W.L.s in his time at Hogwarts, less than his youngest brother Ron. He was also the only boy other than Fred in his family to be overlooked for Prefect.

George and Fred both looked after their younger siblings Ron and Ginny, and also took to looking after Harry Potter while both in and out of school by making the best of his run-ins with bullying.

In 1996, before the end of his seventh year, George and his brother Fred dropped out of Hogwarts in a final act of malice against then-Headmaster Dolores Umbridge. They left in a flourish of fireworks, vandalism and chaos. A small part of a Portable Swamp created in the corridors by the twins was preserved by Professor Filius Flitwick, as he saw it as an example of "Extraordinary Magic".

Career as a Shop Proprietor
Although Molly had hoped George would obtain employment at the Ministry of Magic like Arthur, he instead set to making the most of his natural talents and opened Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes located at 93 Diagon Alley, alongside Fred. What had started out as a mail-order experiment in entrepreneurialism sky-rocketted into a very lucrative undertaking. In fact, it was so successful that in 1996, the twins had moved out of their childhood home and into a flat above the store; later, the twins considered buying Zonko's Joke Shop in Hogsmeade, which had closed the previous year. However, none of this might have been possible without the funding made available by Harry Potter's Triwizard Tournament winnings of 1000 Galleons, which Harry gave to the twins for the purpose of launching their business.

Deathly Hallows
"Saintlike ... I'm holey."

- George, joking about losing his ear.

In 1997, George lost an ear in Battle over Little Whinging, due to an off-target Sectumsempra spell fired by Severus Snape. However, he took this optimistically, and tried to turn it into a joke.

George never got over the death of his twin, but he eventually married Angelina Johnson, Fred's ex-girlfriend, and named his first child Fred in loving memory of the twin brother he lost. The couple also had a daughter named Roxanne.

Behind the scenes

 * George is played by Oliver Phelps in the film versions of the books.
 * George and Fred each earned fewer O.W.Ls than the rest of their brothers.