- "My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."
- — Draco Malfoy on the Weasley family[src]
Weasley is the surname of a pure-blood wizarding family, though the most recent generation has many non-pureblood members[1]. The Weasleys are related to many other wizarding families, including the Blacks, Prewetts, Longbottoms, Crouches[2], Delacours, and Potters, as well as the Muggle Granger family. Many members of the Weasley family are red-haired and sorted into Gryffindor house 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.[3]
Recent Family 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 to Harry Potter in 1998[src]
The Weasleys, unlike many other pure-blood families, willingly associate 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[2]. 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 were "blood traitors", and eventually had to go into hiding. The Weasley's took part in the Battle of Hogwarts during the battle Fred Weasley died which deeply upset the family. [4]
The Weasleys tended to have large numbers of children; an unusual trait for wizarding families, according to Draco Malfoy[3]. The most recent generations of Weasleys have been considered poor by wizarding standards[5]; their vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank only contained a small pile of Sickles and a single Galleon as of 1992[6]. This 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 Weasley, Percy Weasley, Ron Weasley and his brother-in-law Harry Potter as Aurors, and Hermione Weasley née Granger high up in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement[7].
Family Members
Molly and Arthur Weasley's Family
Arthur Weasley, one of three sons of Septimus Weasley and Cedrella Black[8], presumably 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 7 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.
- Arthur — previously employed by the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, head of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects as of 1996
- Molly — homemaker
- Bill — the eldest child; works as a Curse Breaker at Gringotts Bank
- Charlie — studies dragons in Romania
- Percy — worked at the Ministry of Magic from 1994 to 1998 before reaffirming his loyalty to the Order of the Phoenix; later works at the reformed Ministry under Kingsley Shacklebolt
- Fred — (died 1998) co-owner of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
- George — co-owner of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
- Ron — worked with George in WWW before becoming an Auror
- Ginny — only daughter in the family; played Quidditch for the Holyhead Harpies before becoming a Quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet; wife of Harry Potter
Other Weasleys
- Septimus Weasley — father of Arthur and his two brothers
- Cedrella Weasley née Black — mother of Arthur and his two brothers
- Arthur Weasley's two brothers
- Fleur Weasley née Delacour — wife of Bill Weasley
- Audrey Weasley — wife of Percy Weasley
- Angelina Weasley née Johnson — wife of George Weasley
- Hermione Weasley née Granger — wife of Ron Weasley
- Victorie Weasley — eldest child of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour
- Dominique Weasley — middle child of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour
- Louis Weasley — youngest child and only son of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour
- Molly Weasley II — older daughter of Percy and Audrey Weasley
- Lucy Weasley — younger daughter of Percy and Audrey Weasley
- Fred Weasley II — son of George Weasley and Angelina Johnson
- Roxanne Weasley — daughter of George Weasley and Angelina Johnson
- Rose Weasley — daughter and older child of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger
- Hugo Weasley — son and younger child of Ron Weasley and Hermione
Weasley Relatives
- Mr. and Mrs. Prewett — Molly Weasley née Prewett's parents
- Gideon Prewett — Molly's younger brother
- Fabian Prewett — Molly's younger brother
- Ignatius Prewett — Molly's uncle
- Lucretia Prewett née Black — Molly's aunt by marriage and a second cousin of Arthur Weasley
- Callidora Longbottom née Black — Arthur's maternal aunt
- Charis Crouch née Black — Arthur's maternal aunt
- Bilius — a brother or brother-in-law of Arthur or Molly
- An uncle of the Weasley children
- Muriel — Molly Weasley's aunt
- Monsieur Delacour — father of Fleur Weasley née Delacour
- Apolline Delacour — mother of Fleur Weasley née Delacour
- Gabrielle Delacour — sister of Fleur Weasley née Delacour
- Mr. Granger — father of Hermione Weasley née Granger
- Mrs. Granger — mother of Hermione Weasley née Granger
- Harry Potter — husband of Ginny Potter née Weasley
- James Potter I — Harry Potter's father
- Lily Potter née Evans — Harry Potter's mother
- James Potter II — eldest child of Harry Potter and Ginny Potter née Weasley
- Albus Potter — middle child of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley
- Lily Potter — youngest child and only daughter of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley
- Second cousin of Molly Weasley
- Great-Aunt Tessie — connected to the family tree through unknown ways
Family Tree
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."[10]
Behind the scenes
- There appears to be a pattern in the Weasley family of members being named after figures in Arthurian legend. Arthur Weasley, of course, shares a given name with King Arthur, the central character. His son Percy's name is a diminutive of the name Percival, which was the name of one of Arthur's Knights of the Round Table. Ginny Weasley's full name is Ginevra, the Italian form of the name Guinevere, 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.
- Hermione Weasley née 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.
- In the Harry Potter film adaptations, the Weasley family are portrayed by: Mark Williams played Arthur Weasley. Julie Walters played Molly Weasley. Richard Fish and Domhnall Gleeson played Bill Weasley. Richard portrayed Bill in the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban film in the Weasley's family photo on holiday in Egypt. Domhnall will portray Bill in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows film adaptation. Alex Crockford portrayed Charlie Weasley in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban film adaptation in the Weasley family photo on holiday in Egypt. Chris Rankin played Percy Weasley, Percy did not appear in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. James and Oliver Phelps portrayed Fred and George Weasley. Rupert Grint plays Ron Weasley, and Bonnie Wright plays Ginny Weasley.
- The only son's of Arthur Weasley and Molly Weasley that haven't any children are Fred Weasley and Charlie Weasley.
Notes and References
- ↑ Ron and Hermione's children are half-bloods; Bill and Fleur's children are one-eighth Veela. Harry and Ginny's children are Half-bloods as well.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Black family tree
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- ↑ Chamber of Secrets, Ch. 4
- ↑ J.K. Rowling's U.S. Book Tour
- ↑ Although it has never been confirmed that Septimus and Cedrella are Arthur's parents, this can be inferred based on Sirius Black's statement in Ch. 6 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that Arthur was "something like [his] second cousin once removed." The Black family tree establishes Cedrella as a first cousin once removed of both Orion and Walburga Black, Sirius's parents. Thus, any children she had would be their second cousins, and second cousins once removed of their sons Sirius and Regulus. Also, almost all of Sirius's relatives can be seen on the Black family tree because both his parents were born into the House of Black, making it unlikely that he could be related to Arthur in a way not shown. See also this talk page and an HPL essay for more information.
- ↑ Matilda Weasley is stated to have 'many nephews' (The Art and Making of Hogwarts Legacy), but it is never clarified if they are all G. Weasley's children.
- ↑ "Extra Stuff: The Weasley Family" at J.K. Rowling's Official Site