Fred and George Weasley are fictional characters in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. The characters are the identical twin brothers of the Weasley family, making them the older brothers to Ron and Ginny and friends of Harry Potter. They are initial members of Dumbledore's Army later joining the Order of the Phoenix after their departure from Hogwarts. They are also the founders of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley, a shop they opened post-graduation to sell their mischievous pranks. The twins were played by identical twin brothers James and Oliver Phelps in the film adaptations of the books. Character biography Fred (1 April 1978 – 2 May 1998) and George (b. 1 April 1978) are identical<ref>"I'm not Fred, I'm George ... can't you tell I'm George?" Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone; Page 70 (UK edition); Page 92 (US edition).</ref> twin sons of Arthur and Molly Weasley, the younger brothers of Bill, Charlie, and Percy, and the older brothers of Ron and Ginny, who are both members of Harry Potter's close group of friends. The twins revel in practical jokes and pranks and are generally considered amusing by both the books' characters and readers. Their names mirror those of their deceased uncles Fabian and Gideon Prewett, brothers of their mother, Molly. Like their uncles, they join the fight against Voldemort. When Fred Weasley was five years old, he had a toy broomstick, which he probably liked to play on. Their younger brother Ron, who was three years old at the time, accidentally broke Fred's broomstick, which made Fred angry and turn Ron's teddy bear into a spider, which causes Ron's fear of spiders. While their best friend is Lee Jordan – their classmate, dormmate, and fellow prankster – the twins are also good friends with Harry, having played Quidditch with him for Gryffindor. In fact, they generally treat Harry better than they treat Ron. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, they allow Harry to take anything from their joke shop for free while asking Ron to pay for the items in his arms (however, given that Harry gave them the money to start the shop, this can be seen as repaying a debt they feel they owe Harry). They love to torment Percy for being a model student and often their teasing of Ron is less than benign. They are close with Ginny (who