Weasley Bashing
| Synonyms: | Ron bashing, Ginny bashing, Molly bashing, etc. |
| See also: | character bashing, Weasley Family |
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Weasley Bashing is a form of Character Bashing related to the Weasley family in the Harry Potter fandom, treating one of more members of the Weasley as the villain of the fic, or at the very least, as an unfavorable character.
On Archive of Our Own, a search of the Weasley Bashing tag reveals almost 100 variations of the tag, although some of those are references to not bashing or lightly bashing a character.[1]
From the same search, the most frequently bashed Weasleys are:
There is also limited reference to bashing on Percy, Charlie, and the twins, Fred and George. And are the smallest number of tags (4) for bashing Bill as of June 2022.
A number of stories show George and Fred to be allies of Harry, even when part or all of the rest of the family has turned against Harry.
Tropes
A frequent focus of Molly and/or Ginny bashing revolve around having or forcing Harry to marry Ginny (often using love potions), primarily to allow Ginny access to Harry's money.
Ron bashing can focus around Ron wanting what Harry has (money, fame), often without having to do any work.
Ron the Death Eater
The Ron the Death Eater trope on TV Tropes is named after Ron bashing trope wherein Ron tends to be twisted into a villain in opposition to Harry. The trope page states: "The fandom's tendency to shoehorn a good canon character into being a villain or make a villain significantly more evil than in canon is Ron the Death Eater, the inverse of Draco in Leather Pants."
Named for the tendency in Harry Potter fanfics where Draco Malfoy turns good and hooks up with Hermione to have Ron—in canon a decent, upstanding sort of fellow with a few faults but firmly on the side of good who happens to have a long-standing enmity with Draco—lose his mind (or have it lost for him) and often join Lord Voldemort just for a chance to kill the sainted Malfoy.[...]
Contrast Draco in Leather Pants, where an evil or mean character is interpreted by fans as being a better person than they are in canon.
Some Fanworks Examples
Gen
- [1]Potter's Wheel by esama, Harry has been thinking and Voldemort gets to be the first to hear the results.
Slash
- [2]The Coyote and the Philosopher's Stone by penumbria, Harry spent much of his young childhood isolated and awakened as a Sentinel at four years old. Draco Malfoy met Harry in Diagon Alley and awakened as his Guide. In their first year as a bonded pair, they must deal with manipulative headmasters, possessed teachers, and annoying classmates. Hogwarts wasn't prepared for this Harry. (Harry/Draco)
- [3]The Perfect Bond by phoenixgirl26, When Harry found out he was bonded to Severus Snape by his mother, at first he thought he would never have a loving relationship, he was proven wrong. Molly, Ginny and Ron Weasley however did everything they could to break up the pair, even going as far as trying to have Harry arrested. (Harry/Severus)
- [4]Not What I Expected in a Marriage by phoenixgirl26, Not long after the war with Voldemort finished, Harry Potter finds that he was magically bonded to Ginny Weasley as a child. After he found out his rights, his thoughts drifted to Ginny and hoped she was ready for how her married life with him would be. (Harry/Severus)
Polyamorous
- [5]Darkly Loyal by Keira Marcos, They call him Blackmoor. They call him a dark lord. They only have themselves to blame for the man Harry Potter became. When the Light strikes a personal blow in their efforts to control him, Harry will risk everything to take back the life stolen from him. (Harry/Draco/Hermione)
- [6]It Makes You Wonder by elvirakitties, What if Harry knew all along? What if he staged everything, just by following Dumbledore's general plan? (Harry Potter/Tom Riddle/Severus Snape)
References
- ^ "Weasley Family Bashing (Harry Potter)". AO3. Archived from the original on 2022-08-11.