How Do You Feel About The 'locking Percy Into A Pyramid' "prank"? I Dunno Why, But That Specific One

How do you feel about the 'locking Percy into a pyramid' "prank"? I dunno why, but that specific one has always pissed me off.

I recently saw a post on Screen Rant listing 5 of Fred and George's pranks that were funny & 5 that were cruel, and they listed shutting Percy in a pyramid as funny... I almost screamed. 😡

It's definitely crossing the line. I don't care if Percy could have used magic to escape (which is debatable) or if the twins wouldn't have left him in there for long (which I doubt anyway); it's still wrong.

Bill's entire job is breaking curses at these pyramids; ergo, the pyramids are dangerous. Even if they've checked that this specific pyramid was safe, you never know for sure. There could have been dormant curses that became active in an enclosed space (i.e. when the door was shut) that could have effected Percy.

Not to mention that there could have been spells to prevent the use of certain magic in the pyramids, so Percy may not have been able to get out. He could have run out of oxygen or a part of the ceiling could have collapsed from suddenly closing the door (that's not supposed to be closed), and Percy could have been seriously injured.

I also don't think they would have gotten him out quickly. I fully believe they would have left him there and made some excuse to their family that he went back to the room to study for NEWTs (which his family likely would have believed).

Plus, it would have been terrifying for anyone to be locked in a pyramid, and causing genuine fear is not what I would consider a funny joke.

That being said, I don't actually think the twins intended to hurt Percy or put him in danger (just to be clear, that still does not make it okay). This is an unpopular opinion, and I know it sounds strange, but hear me out: I think the twins literally have no concept of cause & effect.

They don't seem to recognize that behavior = consequences (I don't mean consequences as in a punishment; I mean the consequences to other people that are effected). They compartmentalize their actions as being one-and-done jokes that don't have any lasting effects, and part of that is because they are incapable of taking responsibility. They know it's not fun to get in trouble, but it's never their fault when it happens; it's Percy's for being too dramatic or Ron's for being too sensitive, etc.

I headcanon that Fred & George both have ADHD (though Fred's is slightly more severe), because they have many characteristics of it (and ones that I see commonly in my students). That is not to say that all people with ADHD act this way, but it can certainly be a symptom of it. Since people with ADHD struggle with executive functioning skills, this can manifest in ways such as having trouble connecting "right now" to the future or having difficulty understanding why they hurt somebody's feelings.

This has been a pattern with Fred & George, even at a very young age (i.e. when they turned Ron's teddy bear into a giant spider), and that's why I tend to think that they have ADHD, and unfortunately, some of their traits were exacerbated by Molly & Arthur's parenting. Molly & Arthur were never consistent with them; sometimes they were punished for behavior (by Molly), but other times they were rewarded with positive feedback such as laughter (by Arthur). When children aren't held accountable for their actions consistently, it makes it very difficult to create a connection between actions, consequences, and remorse. This becomes an even bigger problem when the child is not neurotypical.

Anyway, this turned into a bit of a rant (sorry), but the point is, this "joke" was completely out of line, regardless of their motives.

Thanks for the ask! 😊