Ever wondered which Weasley twin is older?
No need -- J.K. Rowling confirmed on Twitter in 2015 that Fred is the older of the two. Fittingly, Fred is more independent than his brother, and he tends to take the lead both in their relationship and in their interactions with others. He’s also the first twin to crack a joke in the movies. When Harry sees the Weasley family at Platform 9 and 3 / 4, Mrs. Weasley is in the middle of herding her children to the train. Fred pretends to be George and is mock offended that his own mother can’t tell them apart, before cheekily telling the truth just before dashing through the barrier.
Rowling has stated that she thought that the twins’ birth order was obvious. This might be because F comes before G in the alphabet (would Mrs. Weasley have done that on purpose?), or perhaps it’s because of their personalities.
George is The Quiet Twin
It seems impossible that there could be a ‘quiet’ Weasley twin, but quiet is entirely relative in this case. Because the twins are so similar, it can be hard to pick out any differences between them. After all, they often finish each other’s sentences, they're rarely seen without the other, and more often than not, they seem to be halves of a whole instead of individuals. However, as the older twin, Fred is also the ringleader. Even though their personalities are almost as identical as their faces, George tends to follow his big brother.
Most of the twins' schemes are devised by Fred, with George serving as an eager participant and fellow mischievous mastermind. Fred also tends to begin sentences more often, though George can complete his thoughts easily. Fred’s slightly louder personality is evidenced by the number of times he’s mentioned in the books. He grabs over half of the mentions of the Weasley twins throughout the original seven books -- 905 to George’s 731.
They’re only Seriously injured when they’re Apart
“ stronger together.” As a duo, they’re an unstoppable force of jokes, pranks, and good humor. It seems like they can accomplish anything -- after all, they managed to win the loyalty of the notorious Peeves. On their own, however, they’re far more vulnerable.
Apart from small injuries like nosebleeds or bruises (or self-inflicted, Skiving Snackbox sickness), neither twin is really hurt until Deathly Hallows. Towards the beginning of the book, they split up after taking Polyjuice Potion to become two of the several Harry Potters leaving Privet Drive. In the ensuing battle, George loses an ear to a Sectumsempra curse cast by Snape. George losing something that’s part of a pair foreshadows the more significant loss later on, when Fred is killed after a wall explodes. Although Percy and Ron were in the corridor where Fred died, George was elsewhere in the castle, unable to help his brother.
Fred was Bellatrix’s last Word
In spite of the scene that still haunts fans nearly ten years later, Fred’s death in Deathly Hallows isn’t the last time that the Weasley twin is mentioned. When Mrs. Weasley pushes aside Hermione, Ginny, and Luna to start dueling Bellatrix Lestrange, at first, the Death Eater is amused by her eager challenger. It doesn’t take long for her to start taunting Mrs. Weasley.
Bellatrix even has the gall to ask what happens “when Mummy’s gone the same way as Freddie?” That turns out to be the last mistake she’d ever make. Just as she starts laughing at her own evil brand of humor, Mrs. Weasley’s curse hits her right in the chest. You don’t mess with Molly Weasley’s children, and you especially don’t taunt her about a loss only hours old. Fred probably would have found a way to joke about his name being the last thing Bellatrix said -- or if he didn’t, George would undoubtedly make fun of him for it instead.
They Invented Several Spells
Fred and George weren’t exactly known for their academic success. They’re the only Weasley brothers who don’t become prefects, they only scraped a handful of OWLs together between the two of them, and they dropped out of Hogwarts in a literal blaze of fireworks. However, just like the kids who ace standardized tests but flunk their classes, the twins were much smarter than they let on.
Their joke shop is legendary among both the Harry Potter characters and real-world fans who visit its incarnation at Universal Studios, but not everyone realizes that they invented their own spells to bring their inventions to life. Daydream Charms are their invention, and their line of Shield Clothing required manipulating the Protego Charm. Even Hermione is impressed by the way they manage to extend the area of the charm from the enchanted object to the wearer. They may not have been sorted into Ravenclaw, but the twins were geniuses in their own way.