(no subject)

[mmmarcusz.livejournal.com]

One thing that bothers me about the twins is that no matter what they do, they get away with it. There are never any consequences. When they sneak Harry out of his house, flying a magic car into a Muggle area, there are no legal consequences and Molly blusters but doesn't do anything. When they more or less ignore how badly Ginny's getting on (as do Percy and Ron), and don't notice she's being bewitched, there's no real guilt.

They give Harry the Marauders' Map - what if he disappeared some day - would they have told the authorities that they gave him a method of sneaking out of school? Or just stayed quiet and hoped things worked out?

They slip Dudley Ton-Tongue Toffees - he could have died, but again no consequences. They win their bet with Bagman (it was never explained how they knew it - maybe they used magical means in an early draft) but never face consequences (given that the Ministry is notoriously corrupt, it's surprising that Ludo is always on the defensive, and never tries to e.g. get Arthur fired or have the twins prosecuted for their illegal testing). And then Harry hands them a pile of cash, because there are no more worthy causes.

In OOTP, they spy on Order meetings (how bad is the security?) but no DEs seem to exploit this. They also drop out of school without qualifications - unlike in real life, where this would lead to months of them sitting about in the Burrow doing nothing, they instead become master businessmen.

In HBP, their shop sells stuff that is obviously dangerous if exploited, but even when the DEs use their powder, no-one blames them for selling it, or questions a society that allows such weapons to be owned.

In DH, Fred is killed, but a heroic death in battle. It would be much more likely for him to be killed in one of the twins' experiments gone wrong - this would actually force George to undergo some sort of reflection or growth as a character - but as it is, it confirms that Fred was great and everything the twins did was great.

Comments

[sharaz-jek.livejournal.com]

An adult might have given the money to Cedric Diggory's parents to distribute in a way Cedric might have wanted, or set up a scholarship fund.

IIRC, Harry did offer them the money, shockingly enough*, but they refused it - Harry had apparently won it fairly, and gods forbid he receive less glory than his dead rival.

*Presumably, being the victim of a pointless death, Cedric had proved his courage.

[dungeonwriter.livejournal.com]

I get why they refused it, they lost their only child and I doubt the money (around 5000 pounds or 10,000 dollars) would do much for them.

But how much would it actually do for the Twins? 10k is a tidy sum, but it's not the stuff business by 16 year olds are made of. Someone has to manage it, keep track of the bottom line.

And did you notice, none seemed to think about sharing with the rest of the family, considering how "poor" they are supposed to be.

[sunnyskywalker]

That shop in Diagon Alley must be really cheap to rent... that, or the Ministry is actually putting up most of the cash thanks to their defense contract with the Twins. It must be quite a lucrative contract.

[dungeonwriter.livejournal.com]

I did the Median gross rent for Scranton, Kanses. I got $576. Aka, sleepy small town, instead of you know, prime real estate.

Say it's 500 dollars a month, or 50 galleons a month.

We're at 60% to just cover rent.

[sunnyskywalker]

I think they definitely have some explaining to do about their accounts! Seriously, how much is the Ministry paying them for those Shield Charmed-hats and whatever?

[danajsparks.livejournal.com]

My favorite theory is that the shop has an "adult toys" section that generates a good deal of their income. :)

[sunnyskywalker]

Makes sense :D Some of those Daydream Charms probably come in brown paper wrappers.

[the-bitter-word.livejournal.com]

Thanks. My memories of the books diminish by the day. Lucky me!