Harry Potter and the Underlying Theme

richardthinks posted an essay about the zipper pulling all the disparate bits of HP together, with the argument being that Harry and his friends are always willing to pay the cost of what they want-- in advance-- while the bad guys shuffle costs off onto other people.

It sounds plausible, but I haven't read the series recently enough to have much of an opinion about it. Where do the Weasley twins fit? They're a couple of cost-shufflers in some ways, but maybe this theme explains why they didn't get a big part in the final battle (something I was looking forward to).

You might be able to present Umbridge as a cost-shuffler, but it certainly isn't as obvious as in Voldemort's case. Actually, while she's a great villain, I'm not sure what her motives are. Is it just that she doesn't like Hogwarts and/or Dumbledore and/or Defense against Dark Arts, or is her flaw (in addition to sadism) that she wants to be in charge of things without knowing anything about them?

Anyway, willingness (or not) to pay the cost of what one wants is probably a big theme in the books, even if it doesn't cover everything.