stars by the pocketful

STRANGER THINGS 2.02 / 4.08

Charlie and Caleb at the Stranger Things 4 Premiere

The Weasley twins are the best.

Seriously, I just love that JK Rowling depicted a set of characters who are ambitious and intelligent but who don’t do well in school.

You’ve got Percy who becomes a prefect, Head Boy, and gets twelve O.W.L.s but he ends up being loyal to his job and blinding himself to the truth as well as shutting out those he loves. We see no evidence of brilliant spellwork from Percy, just boring cauldron bottom reports and lots of passive aggression.

And then there’s Fred and George who, from the first book, show an aptitude for fun and mischief but clearly prove that they have above average intelligence but put it to work doing what they love. They leave school early to pursue their dream and their brilliance pays off big time. They wind up making a real difference in the terror-stricken world of book 6 because they bring smiles to people’s faces when everything looks grim.

The Weasley twins are proof that grades don’t make intelligence. It’s a message you don’t see much in books and their inclusion in Harry Potter, even if it’s just on the side, is really important. It goes to show that you can be successful, smart, and popular without doing well in school.