Mister Arthur Weasley

Arthur Weasley (b. 6 February 1950) was an English pure-blood wizard in the employ of the Ministry of Magic, as well as a member of the second Order of the Phoenix. He was a staunch believer in the equality of all magical and Muggle folk and was the head of the Weasley family.Arthur was born to Septimus and Cedrella Weasley (née Black) and had two brothers. He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1961-1968 and was sorted into Gryffindor house. Soon after graduating, Arthur married Molly Prewett. During the First Wizarding War, he and Molly had seven children: sons Bill, Charlie, Percy, twins Fred and George, and Ron, as well as their daughter Ginny. He was not a member of the Order of the Phoenix during this period, and it is unknown if he participated in any way in the First Wizarding War. At some point after graduating from Hogwarts, Arthur began working for the Ministry, in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.
==Biography==
===Early life ===
Arthur Weasley was born on 6 FebruaryMugglenet - JKR Birthday Archive 1950Pottermore - Explore the story: Arthur Weasley to Septimus and Cedrella Weasley (née Black).Although it has never been directly confirmed that Septimus and Cedrella are Arthur's parents, this can be inferred based on Sirius Black's statement in Ch. 6 of OOTP that Arthur was "something like [his] second cousin once removed." The Black family tree establishes Cedrella as a first cousin once removed of both Orion and Walburga Black, Sirius's parents. Thus, any children she had would be their second cousins, and second cousins once removed of their sons Sirius and Regulus. Also, almost all of Sirius's relatives can be seen on the Black family tree because both his parents were born into the House of Black, making it unlikely that he could be related to Arthur in a way not shown. See also this talk page and an HPL essay for more information. Additionally, the Gobstones with Charlie Weasley activity in HM states Charlie's grandmother is named Cedrella Weasley. His mother was disowned for marrying a "blood traitor," as her family believed strongly in the notion of pure-blood supremacy. Arthur had two brothers."Extra Stuff: The Weasley Family" at JKRSHe attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1961-1968 and was sorted into Gryffindor House. In his third year in 1963, he may have chosen to take Muggle Studies, due to his interest in Muggles. While at school, he met and began dating fellow Gryffindor Molly Prewett. Arthur got caught out of bed by the school caretaker Apollyon Pringle after he and Molly went for a night-time stroll one evening and was severely punished.
===First Wizarding War ===
Shortly after graduating from Hogwarts, Arthur and Molly married. Their marriage was rather rushed, as Lord Voldemort was gaining power during that time and the First Wizarding War began.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) • An Chapter 005 - ""It was the same last time he was powerful, people eloping left, right, and centre —” “Including you and Dad,” said Ginny slyly." Arthur was not a member of the first Order of the Phoenix. It is unknown if he was otherwise involved in the war, although he was familiar with the Death Eaters' use of the Imperius Curse and the trouble it caused the Ministry of Magic at the time.Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire (film) • An Chapter 014 - "“Ah, yes,” said Moody appreciatively. “Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse.”" During the course of the war, he and Molly had seven children: Bill in late 1970, Charlie in 1972, Percy in 1976, twins Fred and George in 1978, Ron in 1980, and the first daughter to be born into the Weasley family in generations, Ginny, in 1981.The war ended soon after Ginny's birth, but not before Arthur's brothers-in-law Fabian and Gideon Prewett, both Order members, were killed by Death Eaters. Arthur was upset when some Death Eaters, such as Lucius Malfoy, were able to escape punishment by claiming that they had been under the Imperius Curse. Arthur believed they were lying, and he and Lucius were hostile towards one another whenever they crossed paths.
====The Chamber of Secrets====
In 1992, Ron, Fred, and George borrowed their father's car to rescue Harry Potter from Privet Drive, after not receiving letters from him all summer. When Arthur returned to the Burrow after a night of Ministry raids, he was pleased to find out the car could indeed fly. That was until he caught his wife's eye; he then poorly reprimanded the boys for doing so. When asked if he had found anything during the raids, he responded that they had only found a bunch of shrinking door-keys and a biting kettle. He was also introduced to Harry Potter and asked him about rubber ducks, due to his fascination with muggles.A few days later, the family, as well as Harry, went to Diagon Alley to purchase school supplies for the upcoming year. While there, they visited Flourish and Blotts, where Gilderoy Lockhart was having a book signing event, during which Arthur got into a fist fight with Lucius Malfoy over Arthur's support for Muggles. He was very excited to meet Hermione Granger's parents, both Muggle dentists, insisting on taking them out for a drink.When Harry and Ron were prevented from getting on Platform 9¾, the pair borrowed the Ford Anglia to fly to Hogwarts. As this was a serious potential breach of the Statute of Secrecy, Mr Weasley faced an inquiry at work over the incident.
====Sirius Black====
In the spring of 1993, Arthur and Molly were called to Hogwarts when it was learned the Monster of Slytherin had taken their daughter, Ginny, into the Chamber of Secrets. It turned out that Lucius Malfoy had planted an old school diary of Tom Riddle's on Ginny, which subsequently possessed her and forced her to open the Chamber. Ginny was nearly killed, but was saved by Harry Potter and her brother Ron.
==Physical description==
Like many other members of the Weasley family, Arthur had bright red hair, though he was balding by the early 1990s. He wore glasses and had green eyes, and also possessed the tall, thin build inherited by his sons Ron and Bill. He also had visible marks somewhere on his body from a decent caning whilst at Hogwarts, for being late. The punishment was set by the caretaker at the time, Apollyon Pringle.
==Personality and traits==
In the wizarding world, Arthur Weasley was known for being a well-meaning, reasonable and competent every-man, trying to take care of his family and do the right thing. A man of principle, he was strongly opposed to the discrimination of Muggles, Muggle-borns, half-bloods, half-breeds, and cursed beings such as werewolves, and did not think highly of those who subscribed to such intolerant beliefs, despite it being the prevailing views of so many of his fellow pure-bloods. While this earned him respect of his friends and family, others, such as Lucius Malfoy, considered him to be a "blood traitor." and a "disgrace to the name of wizard". The latter, however, he never truly took to heart, as his opinion about what disgraced the name of wizard differed greatly from theirs. While Arthur Weasley was often seen as "fun" in the earlier years, with the return of Lord Voldemort and the gathering crisis in the wizarding world he shouldered a role of increasing challenges, assuming duties within the Order of the Phoenix in addition to new responsibilities at the Ministry. He was protective of Harry, and at times assumed a father like role, a position previously occupied by Harry's godfather Sirius Black, and by Albus Dumbledore. He was a man of principle and remained loyal to Dumbledore, even though this impeded his advancement in the Ministry of Magic and cost him the respect of Percy, who also worked at the Ministry but agreed more strongly with the policies of the Minister for Magic. A devoted father, Arthur was the more laid-back parent than his wife, but was nevertheless very protective of them, and loved his own flesh and blood so much that the only times he was seen to lose control of himself was when any of his children were hurt. In addition, he could also get just as angry at them as his wife if they did something very seriously bad; an example of this was when he went berserk on catching Fred and George trying to trick Ron into making an Unbreakable Vow, a potentially lethal act of magic, and his reaction was so pronouncedly different from his usual temperament that Ron still recalled it over a decade later and Fred swore at least one part of his anatomy was never the same since.
Arthur was fascinated at how Muggles were able to go about their lives without magic. Whenever he found himself in close proximity to them, he had a hard time containing his enthusiasm. During Harry's stays at the Burrow, he liked to sit next to Harry, in order to ask him questions about living with them and had at various times attempted to engage the Dursleys in conversation about electricity. In 1992, when he learned Harry had never travelled by the Floo Network, he joyfully began to ask about the "escapators" in the London Underground. When the Weasleys and Harry met Hermione Granger in Diagon Alley that same year, Arthur was ecstatic to meet Hermione's parents, both Muggles, who were exchanging money at Gringotts. While the other family members went shopping for school supplies, Arthur insisted on taking Mr and Mrs Granger for a drink in the Leaky Cauldron.
==Magical abilities and skills==
*Charms: Arthur was shown to be particularly gifted with charm-work, having placed various charms, spells, and enchantments on Muggle objects. For example, he once charmed a Ford Anglia car to be able to fly and become invisible. With help from Hagrid, Arthur also enchanted Sirius' flying motorcycle, enabling it to produce fire like that of a dragon's as a weapon, and a brick wall as a defence from the tail-pipe. Arthur was also able to conjure a corporeal Patronus in the form of a Weasel, which is an extremely advanced and powerful piece of magic as well as proof of superior magical ability. As a member of the Order of the Phoenix, he was able to send messages using his Patronus. Arthur was also highly proficient with the Memory Charm, having used it to erase the memories of Muggles who had unwittingly witnessed magic, as part of his career duties with the Ministry.
*Nonverbal magic: Arthur was capable of casting spells without speaking their incantations aloud, which testifies to him being a powerful wizard as non-verbal magic was very difficult.
*Transfiguration: Arthur was shown to be skilled in this department of magic to a high level, given how he was able to effectively perform conjuration, which is a highly advanced and difficult branch of transfiguration. He conjured candles to light up the Burrow garden one summer evening, and conjured several chairs for his family when they came to visit him at St Mungo's, both with seemingly little effort.
*Duelling: Arthur was shown to be a very proficient duellist. He was fully confident that he could match his rival Lucius Malfoy (a notably skilled duellist himself) in skill if not defeat him. When the Death Eaters attacked the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, he helped the Ministry chase off the Death Eaters and did not suffer any injuries from the incident. He was chosen as one of the protectors during the Battle of the Seven Potters where he survived unscathed, most likely defeating several Death Eaters in the process or at least holding them at bay. Later during Battle of Hogwarts, he was chosen to lead one of the teams of combatants onto the grounds, and at one point engages in a fierce duel with a Death Eater where he likely emerged victorious. Later on, along with his son, Percy, he took down the Imperiused Pius Thicknesse in the latter half of the battle, and emerged as one of the survivors of the Second Wizarding War.
*Apparition: Like most adult wizards, Arthur was capable of Apparating successfully at will. He usually Apparated to work at the British Ministry of Magic Headquarters.
*Mechanical skills: Due to Arthur's interest in Muggle technology, particularly automobiles, Arthur developed quite a bit of skill in repairing muggle machinery in his spare time. Along with his flying car, Arthur made several mechanical and magical modifications to Sirius Black's motorcycle. Though the bike was severely damaged during the Battle of the Seven Potters, he managed to repair the vehicle to perfect working order, which he then later returned to Harry, who as Sirius's named heir, was the bike's proper owner. He likely improved his skills significantly during this little sojourn into automotive engineering and learned a great deal from it.
*Muggle Knowledge: As stated above, unlike the most part of wizard community, Arthur Weasley was fascinated by Muggles and the Muggle world; he spent his whole life studying Muggles' way of life and acquired an acceptable, although almost purely theoretical, knowledge of their world, even if he still had some gaps (for instance, he had troubles with the Muggle monetary system, particularly with banknotes). However, he learned how to drive a car.
*Legal skills: Working at the Ministry of Magic, Arthur developed a good knowledge of Magical Law. Specifically referring to his area of specialisation, Muggles, he notably helped to draft a Muggle Protection Act and wrote the law regarding ownership of charmed objects. and when Ali Bashir wanted to import flying carpets into the country, Arthur sent him an owl to inform him that the Ministry had outlawed flying carpets in Great Britain, as they were defined as a Muggle Artefact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects. As he was later promoted to Head of Department, he likely had a considerable, well-rounded understanding of Wizarding law overall.
==Possessions==
*Wand: Arthur was chosen by a wand of unknown materials.
*Shed: He owned a shed which he kept on the grounds of the Burrow.
*Muggle artefacts: In the family shed, he kept an impressive collection of Muggle artefacts. He also collected plugs.
*Ford Anglia (formerly): Among his Muggle Artefacts was a Ford Anglia, which he enchanted to make it fly. When his son Ron and Harry Potter flew it to Hogwarts Castle in 1992, it escaped into the Forbidden Forest on its own.
==Relationships==
===Family===
====Parents and siblings====
Arthur was the son of Septimus and Cedrella Weasley. They were both pure-bloods, although Cedrella was disowned by her family, because she married a blood-traitor. The relationship between them is unknown; it is possible that his father's point of view made Arthur realise that there was no difference between wizards and Muggles. Arthur also had at least two brothers.
====Wife, children and grandchildren====
Arthur eventually married Molly Prewett, whom he had been dating since Hogwarts, and they had seven children; Bill, Charlie, Percy, the twins Fred and George Weasley, Ron, and Ginny. Arthur was less strict than his wife, and his children thought he was funny. He had a good relationship with all of them, before his son Percy became angry with him. However, during the Second Wizarding War, Arthur appeared to have been more protective, because he was afraid of what happened to his children.His son Bill was a very good student; he had become prefect and Head Boy during his years at Hogwarts. He later worked for Gringotts in Egypt and married Fleur Delacour.Charlie was also a good student; he was prefect and Captain for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He studied dragons in Romania, but he never married.He also had a good relationship with Percy, but their relationship was broken up in 1995. Percy was more serious than his father, and they both worked for the Ministry of Magic, although Percy loved to obey the rules and was also very ambitious. Arthur forgave his son in 1998, during the Battle of Hogwarts when Percy was ready to apologise for his previous actions.His sense of humour was similar to Fred and George's. He loved them very much, and, although they were not model students, Arthur knew they were very clever wizards. Though not as strict towards their mischievous behaviour, a few rare exceptions are when they attempted an Unbreakable Vow with Ron in their earlier years, in 1994 when they left a Ton-Tongue Toffee for Dudley Dursley to have, and in 1995, when he agreed with his wife on their irresponsible use of magic ever since they had come of age. Fred was killed during the Battle of Hogwarts; Arthur was grief-stricken over his death.Arthur was very protective of Ron and Ginny, who were his youngest children. Ginny was the youngest and the only daughter. When she was possessed by a memory of Tom Marvolo Riddle, in a diary, Arthur was very upset; he shouted at Ginny, saying that he had told her not to trust magical objects that had a mind of their own. He also helped Ron to his mission; he hexed the family ghoul, along with Fred and George, in order to make it look like Ron, who had gone to help Harry and Hermione find and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes.
====Harry Potter====
Harry Potter was Ron's best friend. He met Arthur in 1992, at the Burrow. Arthur liked to discuss Muggle things with Harry Potter and had entrusted Harry with certain information that many felt him too young to understand, such as in 1993 when the Ministry would not tell Harry that they thought Sirius Black was going to seek him out. Harry had also saved Arthur's life once when Harry saw him being attacked by Nagini in the Department of Mysteries before Christmas of 1995. They fought together at the Battle of the Seven Potters and the Battle of Hogwarts, and both survived the Second Wizarding War.As Molly once said that Harry was like a son to her, it is possible that Arthur felt the same way. Arthur became like a father to Harry. Harry married Arthur's daughter Ginny and became Arthur's only son-in-law. He also had three children with Ginny, who are some of Arthur's many grandchildren: James, Albus, and Lily.
====Hermione Granger====
Because of her friendships with Ron and Ginny, Hermione Granger became friendly with the entire Weasley family. She spent a portion of many of her summer and Christmas holidays at their home of the Burrow and attended some family outings with them, such as shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley and attending the 1994 Quidditch World Cup with them. Arthur was fascinated by the Muggle world and thus Hermione's background and even invited Hermione's parents for a drink upon first meeting them in Diagon alley before the start of her second year. He seemed to like Hermione, as if she were his daughter. Hermione married Ron, and became one of Arthur's many daughters-in-law. She also had two children with Ron, who were Arthur's grandchildren; Rose and Hugo.
===Albus Dumbledore===
Arthur considered Albus Dumbledore as being the greatest wizard of all time. Dumbledore was the Hogwarts headmaster at the time Arthur attended Hogwarts. They were both sorted into Gryffindor house and appeared to be on friendly terms. They both believed in the equality of all wizards and Muggles. Dumbledore seemed to like most people, especially the Weasleys, because they were all fair and good people. Arthur also served in the Order of the Phoenix during the Second Wizarding War with Dumbledore, who was the leader. When Arthur was bitten by Nagini, Dumbledore was upset; he helped find him, using the portraits that were hung at the office of Dumbledore. 
===Cornelius Fudge===
As Arthur was a lower-class person and having a poor family, Cornelius Fudge always neglected Arthur while having a manipulated friendship with his wealthy rival, Lucius Malfoy, due to Fudge's swaying of money and power. Fudge also happened to consider Arthur strange because of his obsession with Muggles, causing Fudge to think he lacked proper wizarding pride, thus he held Arthur back within the Ministry. When Lord Voldemort had returned, Fudge suspected Arthur being in league with Dumbledore since he was aware that the two of them were friendly. He even invited Arthur's son, Percy to become his Junior Assistant in an attempt to spy on the Weasley family and Dumbledore, which led to Percy defecting from his family after a row with Arthur. Fudge ignored Arthur and Harry's existences when he and the Wizengamot exited Courtroom Ten. After Fudge was disgraced and forced to resign, Arthur was instantly promoted by Fudge's successor.
===Lucius Draco Malfoy===
Arthur and Lucius Malfoy despised each other (as Arthur himself noted, the two of them had very different personalities), often exchanging insults when they met and even getting into a fistfight on at least one occasion. Lucius disdained the Weasley family for their poverty and so-called blood traitor status; while the Malfoys prized their pure-blood heritage, the Weasleys accepted Muggles and Muggle-borns. He and Arthur apparently clashed multiple times over this at the Ministry of Magic, where Arthur worked and Lucius visited regularly to see Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge.When Arthur proposed the Muggle Protection Act in 1992, Lucius was furious to the point of trying to sabotage Arthur by placing an old diary of Tom Marvolo Riddle’s on Arthur’s eleven-year-old daughter, Ginny, endangering her life as well as those of Muggle-born Hogwarts students, as this led to the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. Also, Arthur never believed Lucius' claim that he had been under the Imperius Curse during the First Wizarding War, indicating that their enmity likely dates back to their younger years.
===Order of the Phoenix===
He seemed to know Sirius Black since the First Wizarding War. After the war, Sirius was imprisoned in Azkaban for betraying the Potters to Voldemort and killing twelve Muggles. In fact, Peter Pettigrew had committed the crimes and blamed Sirius. Arthur believed that when Sirius escaped from the prison, he wanted to kill Harry Potter. He told Harry not to try to find Sirius, as he knew that Harry would learn about Sirius's crimes. Harry, Ron, and Hermione learned the truth in 1994, and Pettigrew escaped again.Rubeus Hagrid was a member of the Order and very loyal to Dumbledore. He seemed to know the Weasleys since their earlier years, as they appeared to be friends in 1992. Hagrid told Arthur not to argue with Lucius Malfoy, believing that he was not worth it.
==Behind the scenes==
*Arthur is portrayed by British actor Mark Williams in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2.
*Arthur was originally intended to die in either the fifth or seventh book (particularly when Nagini attacked him), but J. K. Rowling decided against it, because he was "one of the few good fathers in the series" and because she didn't want to turn Ron into "half a Harry" i.e. losing one of his parents. Doing so would remove Ron's light hearted comic relief, as most of his humour stems from his immaturity and insensitivity. Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, two other good parents, were killed off to compensate for this.http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/10/20/j-k-rowling-at-carnegie-hall-reveals-dumbledore-is-gay-neville-marries-hannah-abbott-and-scores-more
*There may be a pattern in the Weasley family of naming after characters from Arthurian Legend. King Arthur was a legendary British ruler; the names "Percy" and "Ginny" may also be derived from the legendary figures of Percival and Guinevere, respectively. Ron could have originated from the name of King Arthur's spear.
*In , he comments to Mr and Mrs Granger "I understand other Muggles are quite afraid of you." This refers to a common Muggle phobia of visiting the dentist, as Mr and Mrs Granger are both dentists.
*In the films, Arthur is shown without glasses, and he is not balding, as he is described in the books. In fact, Arthur's hair appears to lengthen as the film series progresses.
*He also wears bow-ties in the films, something which was not acknowledged in the novels.
*In , when Arthur is telling Harry about Sirius Black, Harry uses the name "Voldemort" and Arthur tells him not to say the name; but in , when Arthur is talking to Harry about Draco Malfoy, Arthur actually says the name "Voldemort".
*In , Arthur Weasley attended the third task for the Triwizard Tournament. In the book, Arthur was notably the only one of the older Weasley family members that did not attend any of the tasks, with Charlie managing the dragons in the first task, Percy filling in for Crouch Snr in the second task, and Molly and Bill attending as part of the audience during the third task. These four were cut from the film.
*It is revealed in the sixth book that his greatest ambition is learning how aeroplanes stay up.
*Based on how Arthur developed his skills in automotive engineering and other skills in muggle machinery, it can be assumed that he has a kinesthetic learning style - in that he learns best by doing rather than simply analysing. This is supported by his very hands-on way of going about things, somewhat overly enthusiastic personality, and borderline need to challenge himself.
==Appearances==
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==Notes and references==
Category:1950 Entire Births
Category:Blood-Traitors
Category:Gryffindors
Category:Pure-bloods
Category:Sorted In-The 1960s
Arthur
Category:Wizards
Category:Characters