Fred and George Weasley

File:Fred and George Deathly Hallows promo image.jpg

"You haven't got a letter on yours. I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid — we know we're called Gred and Forge."

— George Weasley to Harry on their Christmas Weasley jumpers

Fred and George Weasley were identical and mischievous twin wizards born on 1 April, 1978 to Arthur Weasley and Molly Weasley (née Prewett). Brilliant pranksters, they co-founded and ran the joke shop Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and were members of both Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix. See their individual articles for more information:

• Fred Weasley
• George Weasley

History

Fred: "He never managed to get all the words out, due to the fact that we forced him head-first into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor."

Hermione Granger: "But you’ll get into terrible trouble!"

Fred: "Not until Montague reappears, and that could take weeks, I dunno where we sent him."

— Fred Weasley on him and his twin George pushing Montague into the Vanishing Cabinet in 1996

Fred and George were both born on 1 April, 1978 to Arthur and Molly Weasley; although they were identical twins, Fred was born first.

The twins departed from Hogwarts sometime after the Easter Holidays in 1996 in a final act of rebellion against Dolores Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad. After leaving school, the twins went on to open their joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, which was made possible because Harry Potter had given them his Triwizard earnings. All the products in the shop were mainly of their creation.

The twins were famous for their pranking and mischief at the school. They were also very brotherly-like figures to Harry Potter, giving him the Marauder's Map and playfully teasing him.  They were skilled in magic and created an entire line of magical joke items known as "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes". According to their brother Ron, they had good grades, but they only received six O.W.L.s combined. Both of them played as Beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. George Weasley was devastated by the tragic loss of Fred Weasley in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Behind the scenes

• James and Oliver Phelps have played the roles of Fred and George (respectively) in all Harry Potter films to date. Although naturally brunettes, they dyed their hair to appear as the redheaded Weasleys.
• James and Oliver Phelps have admitted to having to reshoot some of the scenes because of them swapping roles without anyone realising.
• J. K. Rowling has said that Fred and George are among her favourite characters.
• Fred and George, being both pranksters, were rather fittingly given the birthday of the 1st of April, commonly known as April Fool's Day.
• Fred and George both have the same first letters (of their first names) as their maternal uncles, Fabian and Gideon Prewett.
• Fred and George were the only sons of Arthur and Molly Weasley who did not become prefects during their education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and hence Percy's disparaging reference in his letter to Ron concerning "what we might call the "Fred and George" route".
• Fred and George's latter skill with their shop was actually foreshadowed in the videogame versions of the series.
  • In the PC/MAC version of the Philospher's Stone the twins trade Harry Bertie Bott's Beans for Famous Wizard trading cards. The Gameboy versions had the boys setting up shop in Classroom 5B with two shops; Weasley Supplies Bargain Basement and Weasley Candy Emporium.
    • This is the only time in the games where the shops receive individual names.
  • The PC/MAC version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets has the boys set up an economic system of merchants throughout the school, while in the console versions they set up a shop in Gryffindor tower, which is only open at night and must be accessed by sneaking through the Study Room past Percy. In the GBC version it is a shop in Diagon Alley and not connected to the Weasleys in any way.
  • In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban the twins have set up a large shop in a bathroom off of the Gryffindor Common Room. Their inventory has expanded significantly from the second game, including Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, Passwords for the portraits around the castle, and special Chocolate Frog Cards.
  • Most notably, at the back of the shop is a card with the wizard's image blocked out, which Fred and George promise to give Harry for free if he collects all other cards in the set. Collecting all of the Wizard cards unlocks Harry's own wizard card and opens the Bean Bonus Room with an unlimited timer. This is the only time in the series Fred and George have displayed the ability to access the room.

See also

• Fred Weasley
• George Weasley
• Weasley family