Halloween Countdown: 5 best Weasley moments

My family has plenty of redheads in it, from my older sister's fiery version to my darker curls and therefore I feel an instant connection to the Weasleys. They also happen to be amazing characters. For today's Halloween Countdown, let's look at five of the best moments from the inhabitants of the Burrow. It's admittedly a hard list to narrow down, but I'm sure we'll come back to this topic again in the futrue.

1. Platform 9 3/4

I frequent community forums and will often see people ask a very relevant question: "Why did Mrs. Weasley not know how to get onto the train in Harry Potter 1?" The answers range from "She's forgetful" to "She's trying to teach her kids responsibility."

My personal theory is that Mrs. Weasley secretly loves Muggle-borns and knows that every year, there will be someone who isn't supported enough. Asking the number of the platform for Hogwarts is an easy way to attract the attention of anyone who might need the help of a wizarding family that is eager to help. It certainly worked for Harry.

2. The flying Ford Anglia

I'm not intending to go in order, but I have never loved the Weasley siblings as much as when they turned up outside Harry's window in his time of need. We all are lucky if we know someone who would put aside some of the rules if it meant that they could help.

Hermione tells Harry that he has a saving-people thing but Ron has his own version of this. And he learns it from his father who runs off in Year 4 to help Mad-Eye Moody avoid prosecution from the Ministry of Magic. Fred and George have a saving-people thing when they turn up with the Marauder's Map. And don't get me started on Ginny.

3. "He's as good as."

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is full of complex moments where families are concerned. The Weasleys have fallen out with Percy and it's heartbreaking to see war divide any family. One of the best moments is when Harry's two unofficial families get into a bit of an argument over what is best for him. On one side, we have Sirius and, to an extent, Lupin. On the other are the people who have worried about him since he was eleven years old.

When Sirius quietly says that Harry's not her son, Molly immediately declares the place he has in her family. Harry is impatient with her "mollycoddling" later, but it's wonderful to have him firmly marked as a loved one. And even more touching is that when Molly's boggart takes the form of deceased family members, Harry is included in the terrifying vision.

4. The Third Task

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is one of my favorite books for the ordinary stuff. Having been camping with my family and known what it was like to share sports excitement, I loved the Quidditch World Cup. The mystery of Fred and George's letters are a great through-plot. In the Triwizard Tournament, Mrs. Weasley gets a little too emotional over Harry, reportedly overreacting to Rita Skeeter's sob stories about him and giving Hermione the cold shoulder because of a Witch Weekly article about her betrayal of Harry.

The moment when the champions' families are mentioned and Molly and Bill turn up as Harry's representatives is one of the best surprises of the Tournament in my opinion. It never says how the Weasleys found out about this tradition--possibly from Percy--but I also think that as soon as the tradition was mentioned, Molly contacted Professor McGonagall to arrange the visit. The head of Gryffindor House and the mother of Fred and George probably had a somewhat regular correspondence over the years, so this is not out of the question.

5. The reconciliation

I always identified with Percy, since I liked rules and liked school. So when he had a schism with his family over willful ignorance,, it broke my heart. It also gave me hope that he would see sense before the end.

The moment when someone came to defend Hogwarts wearing horn-rimmed spectacles, there was a great deal of anxiety and hope running through my brain. So when Fred put aside his grudge after one admission of guilt and the Weasley parents "hurried" to reconnect with their "Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron," some kind of happy ending for the Weasleys seemed possible. And it's a gift that they were all able to mourn Fred as a family.