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Jan. 25th, 2012 01:35 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
mmmarcusz.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
deathtocapslockOne 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.
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.
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Date: 2012-01-31 08:31 pm (UTC)---They win their bet with Bagman....
I don't really see what's wrong about the twins winning the bet with Bagman unless one believes that gambling is inherently immoral. It certainly doesn't appear to be illegal to gamble in the WW.
----...(it was never explained how they knew it - maybe they used magical means in an early draft)....
The twins are Quidditch fanatics. If they believed that Ireland had a stronger team overall, but Bulgaria the better seeker, then their bet could very well have been an educated guess, especially if Krum had a history of catching the snitch even if his team was going to lose.
----...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).
If I remember correctly, Ludo owed larger sums of money to several other people, including the goblins, so he had bigger problems to deal with than his bet with the twins. Also, while I don't approve of how the twins do their product testing, is what they do actually illegal?
----In OOTP, they spy on Order meetings (how bad is the security?) but no DEs seem to exploit this.
Maybe the twins should have faced consequences for their spying, but what would have led the DEs to suspect that they might have inside info? I think it more likely that the DEs would have targeted known Order members, like Mundugus Fletcher, if they wanted intel. Plus, the Death Eaters believed that they already had a spy in the Order, Severus Snape.
----They also drop out of school without qualifications
In the WW, it appears that's it's pretty acceptable to leave school after completing one's O.W.L.S. Some readers believe that Charlie only stayed at Hogwarts through his fifth year. Also, the twins might have still been able to sit for their N.E.W.T.S., even though they left school early, because you don't have to attend Hogwarts in order to take the exams.
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Date: 2012-02-01 03:40 am (UTC)It is implied in OOTP that Mundungus was supplying them with some 'restricted' ingredients - not necessarily illegal, but the manner of acquisition may have been. As for testing on first-year students - it isn't clear what the laws are, but again, some formulations are illegal to use on minors, it isn't clear how the Wheezes fit such rules. I doubt wizards actually bothered to come up with laws regarding ethical product testing, so the use of minors in product research without parental input may be legal due to the general chaotic state of wizarding society. I'd say the state of regulation in wizarding Britain is about where we were in the 19th century or so.
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Date: 2012-02-01 04:20 am (UTC)If the DEs had ever pressured the twins into being their weapons suppliers - which they really should have - I wonder if there was any way they could have stumbled onto the fact that the twins knew things accidentally? And could this have caused problems for Snape, if they knew something he failed to report in a way it was hard for him to spin?