Escaping Hogwarts

Many times, children feel like they are helpless or trapped because they are kids. Books have always been an escape. A way to vent their anger and frustration out on the villain or to sympathize with the hero. Throughout these blogs and rereading Harry Potter, I have been able to relive these books as an adult. Some of my feelings have not changed since I was 15 years old, but some have become more intense. When Fred and George start setting pranks within Hogwarts after Dumbledore is forced to flee to mess with Delores Umbridge, I couldn't be happier. Not only were they personally messing with a character the I have completely hated since I first met her, but they also encouraged others in the school to make her life as hard as possible. The twins behaved as long as Dumbledore was still the headmaster at the school, I'm sure it was out of respect for him, but the moment he was gone they no longer had any intentions in completing their schooling. They wanted to open a joke shop, and taking some swings at Umbridge on their way out was just a cherry on top of their triumph exit.

'George,' said Fred, 'I think we've outgrown full-time education. '

 'Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself,' said George lightly.

 'Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?' asked Fred.

Not only do they jump on their brooms and fly off, they tell everyone of the shop they are opening offer a discount to any Hogwarts students if they promise to use their products to "get rid of this old bat."

Fred looked across the hall at the poltergeist bobbing on his level above the crowd.

 'Give her hell from us, Peeves. '

I had a verbal outburst at this point, and I was ecstatic; they had done something that I had wished I had the power to do. To be able to stand up for myself when I was being bullied when I was young. I feel that the twins, although they may not the best role models when in, comes to doing well in school. They support their friends and are loyal to their beliefs; they happen to do it while being a couple of jokesters. The fact that they were born on April first is just a little fun fact that I adore. I wonder if J.K. Rowling planed that the biggest jokester in the book would be born on April fools day (also my son's birthday). Of course, this is just a small part of a long book but I felt this was the beginning of the end for Umbridge. She was unable to control much before this but after it just became increasingly harder since others took after the twins example.