In the Harry Potter series, a lot of the main characters' parents don't exactly fare very well. We all know what happened to the Potters, for example, their demise is pretty crucial to the whole story, Hermione ends up having to wipe her parents' memories of her for their own protection, and Neville Longbottom's parents have been left permanently changed by the Cruciatus Curse. All in all, it's not good news for the older generation in J.K. Rowling's Potterverse.
Luckily, Ron Weasley's parents are left mostly unscathed by the events of the series. Molly and Arthur Weasley are parent goals, relationship goals, and essentially, just human being goals. They're kind, brave, caring, and basically adopt Harry from the moment he starts Hogwarts. They're the happy family our hero never had, with the Weasley siblings becoming some of Harry's best friends, and, in the case of Ginny, his wife! Molly must have been excited about that particular marriage. Since Molly and Arthur Weasley are present in pretty much every Harry Potter book, we learn a lot about them and their background. J.K. Rowling has told their story from their initial Hogwarts romance to the birth of their many, many grandchildren. We've experienced their family's difficult moments (R.I.P Fred) and celebrated their better times. We've also learned a lot of pretty surprising things about Arthur and Molly along the way. Here are just some of the interesting, surprising, and downright ridiculous things we've found out about this Potter universe power couple.
25 Molly Used A Hidden Love Potion
Love potions don't exactly have the best reputation in the Harry Potter universe. A potion of this kind directly caused the birth of one Tom Riddle: Lord Voldemort himself.
Still, the known dangers of love potions apparently aren't enough to stop Hogwarts students from brewing them. Romilda Vane allegedly tried to enchant Harry with one, and back in her day, Molly Weasley successfully brewed one too! We're not told who the intended target was, or if Molly actually used the potion, but we're hoping that her and Arthur's love is more than just a manufactured romance.
24 Caught In The Act — Ron's Parents Got Together Way Too Early
Speaking of Molly and Arthur Weasley's romance, turns out they broke the rules in the early days of their relationship! Molly and Arthur got together while they were both at Hogwarts in the 1960s. It must have been hard to get any privacy in the Gryffindor Common Room, so the two lovebirds took to roaming around Hogwarts at night for some precious time together.
Unfortunately, they didn't always get away with their antics. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Molly reveals that Arthur was once caught by the school caretaker after a romantic 4:00 a.m. stroll. Oops!
23 Molly's Tragic Family
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, it's revealed that Molly Weasley has a pretty tragic family background. Molly had two brothers, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, who were both members of the Order of the Phoenix. At some point before Lord Voldemort was defeated for the first time, the brothers were defeated by the Death Eaters, however, they didn't go down without a fight. “Mad-Eye” Moody notes that it took five Death Eaters to defeat the Prewett brothers.
22 Molly Vs Bellatrix
Who doesn't love that scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when Molly Weasley defeats Bellatrix Lestrange in a duel? It may seem strange that someone as usually careful and worrisome as Molly would suddenly become capable of defeating one of the most wicked witches of her time.
Once again, the power of love prevailed in the Potter universe. After Bellatrix almost caught Ginny with a Killing Curse, Molly's maternal instincts kicked in with powerful consequences.
21 Arthur's Patronus
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Arthur Weasley uses a Patronus to send a message to Harry, Ron, and Hermione after they escape the Death Eater attack at Bill and Fleur's wedding.
Not only does this scene prove that Arthur is an incredibly powerful wizard (Patronuses aren't easy to cast), but it also proves that J.K. Rowling is a massive troll. What animal did she give Arthur as a Patronus? A weasel. Literally the most obvious Patronus ever, considering what Arthur's surname is. Where's your imagination, J.K.?!
20 Magical Hair Gives Them Power? Maybe?
One of the most distinctive features of the Weasley family, Arthur and Molly included, is their bright ginger hair. It's easy to assume that this was just an aesthetic choice on the part of J.K. Rowling, however, there could actually be a deeper meaning to the Weasleys' redheadedness.
Hundreds of years ago, it was thought that being ginger was a sign of being a witch! In fact, some evidence suggests that ancient pagan “sorcerers” actively dyed their hair red because they thought it would increase their powers.
19 Lucky To Be Here
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Arthur Weasley very nearly meets his maker after an encounter with Voldemort's snake, Nagini. Arthur is guarding the Department of Mysteries when Nagini attacks and leaves him mortally injured. Luckily, Arthur makes a full recovery in St. Mungo's Hospital. However, he wasn't always going to be so lucky.
J.K. Rowling originally planned to bump Arthur off! But, she decided against it on the grounds that it would affect Ron's character too much and she ended up writing Lupin and Tonks' end instead.
18 Wizarding Relations
As pure-blood wizards, the Weasleys are related to all sorts of prestigious magical families. Arthur's grandparents were Arcturus and Lysandra Black, making the Weasley patriarch a cousin of Harry's godfather Sirius. Also, Arthur is related to the Crouch family and the Longbottoms.
Molly's ancestry is less clear. Well, J.K. Rowling probably knows what it is, but she hasn't decided to reveal it to the rest of the world, yet. She does love to drip-feed us all the information, though, so we may learn who Molly’s ancestors were in the future.
17 Arthur's Missing Brothers
Speaking of family connections, did any of you realize that Arthur Weasley has two brothers? If you missed this slight detail while reading the Harry Potter books, don't worry, it's not actually in there. J.K. Rowling just happened to mention it in passing during an interview that Arthur isn't an only child.
There are vague references to Weasley uncles and cousins attending Bill and Fleur's wedding in Deathly Hallows, but that's about it. Why didn't J.K. decide to flesh these Weasley brothers' characters out more? I guess we'll never know.
16 A Surprise Elopement
The story of how Arthur and Molly Weasley got married is actually a pretty surprising one. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Molly Weasley isn't exactly pleased when Bill and Fleur get engaged. She claims that the couple has only taken this step because of the uncertainty surrounding Voldemort's return.
Apparently, this happened during the First Wizarding War, too, as lots of couples eloped. It turns out, Molly and Arthur were one such couple! It may have been a surprise marriage at the time, but it clearly turned out well.
15 The Weasleys And The Order
During the events of the later Harry Potter books, Molly and Arthur Weasley are pretty prominent members of the Order of the Phoenix. They're fiercely loyal to Dumbledore and even use their home as a center for the Order's business. It'd be easy to assume that the Weasleys were members of the Order during the First Wizarding War, too.
However, this wasn't the case! While the couple clearly weren't on Voldemort's side the first time around, they didn't officially join the Order. Some fans have speculated that this was due to Molly being pregnant when the war broke out.
14 Arthurian Connections
Have you ever noticed that the names of various Weasley family members have links to the legend of King Arthur?
First, there's the obvious one: Arthur Weasley himself. Then, you have Ginny, which could be short for Guinevere; Percy could be based on Percival, one of the Knights of the Round Table, and as for Ron, well, he's got the same name as King Arthur's spear. Coincidence? It could be, but, we all know that J.K. Rowling loves to leave hidden messages in her work.
13 Lucy Weasley?
Pretty much ever since the first Harry Potter book was released in the 1990s, the franchise has been something of an international phenomenon. The books have been translated into loads of different languages and the movies have been dubbed, too. Generally, the translations of the books and movies are pretty good. However, even translators aren't perfect.
One mistake in the German dub of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets relates to the Weasley family. At one point, Arthur refers to his wife as Lucy; that's definitely not her name...
12 Molly And Hermione's Relationship
In general, Molly Weasley gets along with pretty much all of her children's friends. This includes her future daughter-in-law, Hermione Granger. However, Molly and Hermione's relationship goes through a bit of a rough patch in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
After Rita Skeeter prints a false story claiming that Hermione is toying with the emotions of Viktor Krum and Harry Potter, Molly becomes sour toward her out of loyalty to Harry. The thing is, why would Molly even believe those lies in the first place? Surely, she knows Hermione well enough to know it isn't true? Apparently not...
11 Molly's Dueling Skills
We've already addressed the fact that Molly Weasley defeated Bellatrix Lestrange in magical combat, and that it was pretty darn cool. However, we haven't talked about the fact that Molly managed to keep her dueling skills hidden until the very last book in the Harry Potter series.
Sure, up until that point, Molly hadn't really needed to duel anyone, but, J.K. Rowling could have at least brought up the fact that Molly can duel! The Weasley matriarch deserves all the credit.
10 The Weasleys And Snape
Throughout the Harry Potter series, Arthur and Molly Weasley are seen to have a pretty generous attitude towards Severus Snape. Despite the fact that Snape was actively unpleasant to their children, and to Harry, who's basically their adoptive son, the Weasleys discourage any Snape trash-talking in their household.
Sure, Dumbledore trusts the guy, and sure, he turns out to be a good guy in the end, but does that really excuse the fact that Snape was mean to literal children? Surely, Arthur and Molly would hold a grudge for that?
9 Arthur's Law-Making
Until Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Arthur Weasley works in the Ministry of Magic's Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. It may not have been a job that paid well, but it was one that Arthur enjoyed.
However, you could argue that Arthur exploited his position in the Ministry, somewhat, to make it easier for him to tinker with non-magical objects. For example, Arthur included a loophole in a law that allowed him to own a flying Muggle car as long as nobody actually intended to fly it. We all know how that ended…
8 Setting A Bad Example
In general, Molly and Arthur Weasley set pretty good examples for their children. They refuse to discriminate against Muggle-borns, even though lots of other pure-blood families do, and Molly tries to impress upon her children the importance of being careful with magic. And then you have Arthur.
He's well-meaning, bless him, but there are times when he isn't the most responsible parent. For example, when Fred, George, and Ron take his flying car for a ride, he doesn't care at all about the potential safety and legal ramifications. He just wants to know if the car flew well.
7 The Flying Car Enquiry
Speaking of the flying car, did J.K. Rowling ever address the results of the “inquiry” that Arthur Weasley had to go through when Ron and Harry stole his car? A lot of Muggles saw the two boys driving, well, flying, the vehicle.
Arthur's Ministry of Magic bosses were understandably not very pleased about that, and you'd think that a Ministry employee messing up so publicly would be reason enough for Arthur to get sacked, but, luckily, he keeps his job and the enquiry is seemingly dropped. Did J.K. ever explain why?
6 Denial About Draco
From the very beginning of the Harry Potter series, it's clear that Draco Malfoy is a villain.
He outright insults Harry, Ron, and Hermione for most of their time at Hogwarts. Draco comes from a family of known Death Eaters and Arthur Weasley dislikes his father Lucius with a passion. So, when Harry shares his suspicion that Draco is a Death Eater in Half-Blood Prince, why don't the Weasleys believe him? Why are they in total denial about the fact that he could be a slightly dodgy guy? It makes no sense!