The Weasleys: Five Keys to a Happy Family

One of the best examples of Mrs. Weasley’s love for her kids is in the Deathly Hallows book. For Ron and Harry’s 17th birthdays, she gifts them both a watch. Ron’s is brand new, while Harry’s is old and dented because it used to belong to Molly’s brother Fabian. As a younger child in a large family, Ron was always getting hand-me-downs, so getting something brand new just for him is something he’ll appreciate more. Harry has to buy most of what he has brand new because he doesn’t have family heirlooms, so being gifted something tied to the only real family he has is something he’ll appreciate more than buying one brand new.

Molly didn't have 7 children. She had 8. The moment she met Harry, even before he got with Ginny, he was her son. No questions asked. She became the motherly figure in his life. The Weasley's were his true family from day one. They all loved him. That was the one thing Harry needed more than anything. Kind, loving people who just want him in their space.

One of my favorite things about Molly's arc is that she IS JUST A MOM. She has tons of kids and plenty to do without having some grand endeavor that she's working on on the side. We see her hobbies, she knits and cooks. It makes the moment when she pulls out her wand and starts kicking ass AND WINNING that much more impactful. She CHOSE to be "just" a mother, it doesn't make her less than she is

One thing that really warmed my heart about Molly is that she sees Harry, and knows that he’s being abused and neglected. And the very first thing she says to him is “It’s not your fault. I’m not mad at you. Now, sit down and eat,” probably knowing full well that he hasn’t had a real meal in weeks.

My kids once told me I reminded them of Mrs. Weasley, and I consider that to be one of the best compliments I have ever received.

As a Brit I feel the need to say that Julie Walters is a national treasure. The cast of Harry Potter had so many iconic casting choices and sometimes it's like she gets overlooked. Julie Walters embodied that role so well she was the glue that held that family dynamic together and made it feel so real.

I'm an adoptee of an abusive woman, seeing Molly adopt Harry and provide so much love hit me to the core, she's one of my favorite characters in the series.

Two moments that always break my heart in the books are first, in Chamber of Secrets, when Harry is staying with the Weasleys for the summer, the strangest thing he finds is that everyone in the house seemed to like him, and the narration goes on to describe the most basic things any child should have: Mrs. Weasley offering him second helpings of food, Mr. Weasley wanting to talk to him and valuing his opinion, and everyone else simply noticing him and giving him the attention he never had; second, in Goblet of Fire, after the graveyard, when Harry is in the hospital and Mrs. Weasley hugs him tight. The line goes something like "Harry couldn't remember ever being hugged like this, as though by a mother". It makes me so emotional 😭

Molly is actually very gifted at charms. The clock, the dishes being washed handsfree, that's supposedly her work and not at all easy. She has her own thing, she's crafty.

I absolutely adore the Weasleys. Someone told me something once that I have never forgotten. "If you're ever feeling sad, down about yourself, or if you're just having a bad day, just think how excited Mr. Weasley would be to meet you." So for anyone who hasn't heard that, here you go lol.

Arthur Weasley was the kindest person in the books. He was happy to include two people into his family (Harry, Hermione), he parented his kids and them, he looked out for Harry's safety, he made sure all his children had a half-strict and half-easygoing upbringing. He taught them his values by example, his humility and acceptance of his position, his kindness towards non-Magical creatures, his sense of humour. He's the OG dad and that's why JK Rowling almost killed him off but couldn't get herself to do it completely.

One of my favorite things about Molly vs. Bellatrix was the realization that Molly and Arthur have produced SEVEN extraordinary wizards. There isn't a single Weasley kid that doesn't have some sort of hella wizard strength. I feel like we go the whole series thinking about those kids and how neat they all are, and then right at the end we get reminded that their talents weren't just random luck. When I first read this part of the book, it struck me that I'd never thought about who Molly and Arthur were before they were parents. All of a sudden I'm wondering how powerful you have to be to create an entire clan of strong wizards, what life would have looked like for them if they hadn't been so family-oriented. It emphasized the idea that they could have done other things, but they chose to center their lives around their family.

Un-fun fact about Fred’s death: the actor that played George actually burst into tears in this scene because it suddenly became to real for him and they paused everything and cleared the room for a bit to give “the twins” some space. They said so in an interview. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time and knowing this, the scene became even richer for me. So, if you didn’t already know that fact - here you go :)

One of the things that immediately endeared me to Molly in the second novel was that as soon as she learns that the Dursleys were starving Harry, there is an instant shift from anger to concern. She still reprimands her boys, still makes sure they know they were being reckless, but she also jumps straight to preparing breakfast and making sure Harry eats his fill. What an amazing, nurturing woman.

Someone once pointed out that Molly is actually an extremely skilled witch. She does wand free magic without speaking, is a strong member of the Order of the Phoenix, and is a fierce dueler. Her enchantments around the home are quite skilled too.

I think something else is that in the first movie/book Molly had only met Harry briefly at the train platform. She takes the time to make him a jumper for Christmas, probably from Ron writing home about his new friend who isn’t expecting to get any presents. I think It shows how she’s taking her sons letters/feelings seriously.

When she wasn’t in Goblet of Fire, a lot of the kids wrote letters to her saying how much they missed her during filming. She was a mother to all of them on and off screen. Such a perfect casting. There’s so much commentary just on mothers throughout Harry Potter. With Lily Potter, Narcisa Malfoy, even Tonks. Honestly, could make a whole video just on that

The Weasleys are a perfect example of an often chaotic, but overall happy family. Molly is the ultimate mama bear, strict and fierce but also loving and warm. She practically takes Harry in as an adopted son without him even asking her to. Arthur is more of a goofball and doesn’t care about his family’s blood status, but he is still loving and supportive of his family’s choices. There is the issue with Percy, but I do admire how they address how politics can affect families. The Weasleys face prejudice because of their poverty and love for Muggles but they’re still amazing because in the end they come together as a family

I remember a part in the book where molly is trying to get rid of a boggart and she was struggling because it kept appearing as her children dead and harry also appeared as dead and it was that moment I realised just how much maternal love molly has for her children including harry

I love that Arthur can be having a full on conversation and has so many kids running around that it takes him a good couple of minutes to even notice Harry is there. It gets me every time. Also, I have always admired how Molly and most all the Weasleys just treat him like another kid. They never treat him like "different" or "special" because at the end of the day, Harry never asked to be famous and have everyone know him, it just happened. I think that Molly sees that and just treats him like a regular person and lets him be a kid as much as she can in a world that is paying a lot of attention him.