Ron Weasley

Ronald "Ron" Bilius Weasley is one of the main characters from the Harry Potter franchise.

Ron was a pure-blood wizard, the sixth and youngest son of Arthur and Molly Weasley (née Prewett). He was also the younger brother of Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, and the elder brother of Ginny. Ron and his brothers and sister lived at the Burrow, on the outskirts of Ottery St Catchpole.

Ron began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1991 and was Sorted into Gryffindor House. He soon became close friends with fellow student Harry Potter and later Hermione Granger. Together, they faced many challenges during their adolescence, including keeping the Philosopher's Stone from Professor Quirinus Quirrell, rescuing Ginny from the Basilisk of the Chamber of Secrets, saving Harry's godfather Sirius Black from the Dementors of Azkaban, guiding Harry through the Triwizard Tournament, forming Dumbledore's Army and fighting in numerous battles of the Second Wizarding War: including the Battle of the Department of Mysteries(1996), Battle of the Astronomy Tower (1997), and Battle of the Seven Potters (1997). Ron also became a Gryffindor prefect and a Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team during his fifth year at Hogwarts.

He skipped his last year of school in order to accompany Harry and Hermione on a hunt to destroy all of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, during which he lost his brother Fred, a loss which devastated him and his family, especially George, Fred's twin.

After the war, Ron became an Auror and helped reform and revolutionise the Ministry of Magic. After two years as an Auror, he went to work at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes with his brother George. He and Hermione eventually married and had two children, Roseand Hugo Granger-Weasley. Ron was also named the godfather of James Sirius Potter, his sister Ginny Weasley's and Harry Potter's eldest child.

Appearance
Ron inherited the typical Weasley family traits: fiery red hair and a freckled complexion. When he became embarrassed, his ears notably turned red. He had blue eyes, a long nose, and was described as being very tall and lanky, with big hands and feet. In this way, his stature was similar to those of his older brothers Bill and Percy, rather than the heavily built Charlie, and Fred and George.

His sister Ginny once joked to the trio that Ron had a Pygmy Puff tattoo, though it is doubtful that the remark had any truth in it.

Personality
Ron was a very loyal, brave, strong and funny person, but sometimes immature, and insensitive. He had a sardonic, wisecracking sense of humour that often brought his friends laughter and relaxation. However, as Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood pointed out, his humour could occasionally be hurtful, even if unintentionally. During his time searching for Voldemort's Horcruxes with Harry and Hermione, Ron matured greatly, and even took to leading the trio when Harry temporarily fell into a depressive mood.

Though his loyalty and bravery never faltered Ron's character was also marked by occasional jealousy and insecurity rising from feeling overshadowed by his five older brothers and his parents' constant comparisons between him and their other children. He could be argumentative, a trait particularly displayed in his bickering with the equally argumentative and occasionally highly critical Hermione. Though their bickering was frequent, it was never malicious (with the brief exception of sixth year) and generally a way to hide their deeper feelings for each other. Inheriting the Weasley trait of a strong temper Ron was not above provocation especially when dealing with the spiteful treatment of Professor Snape and the bigotry and hatred of Draco Malfoy. Always willing to stand up for his friends and family even when angry with them, Ron never stopped standing up for Hermione when she faced Muggle-born related prejudice and hatred. He also stood by Harry's side when he was met with disbelief and scorn from his classmates and Wizard society in general. Ron frequently demonstrated great bravery in attempting to protect those he loved, from facing his arachnophobia to stand by Harry in his second year to trying to take Hermione's place when Bellatrix Lestrange isolated her for interrogation with the Cruciatus Curse.

As a boy, Ron was very sensitive about his family's poverty, and sometimes embarrassed by them. Many, if not all, of Ron's possessions were hand-me-downs, including his robes, school books, wand, and even a pet rat whom he called Scabbers. His family's lack of finances often made Ron a target for taunting by Draco Malfoy, a spoiled, arrogant Slytherin. Ron was also prone to insecurity about his abilities, when compared to his older siblings and to his famous best friend. When he felt insecure or embarrassed, it was noted that his ears turned red. This became his tell-tale sign of his anger and embarrassment. He felt as if he was consistently overshadowed by the legacy of his older brothers and the fame of Harry; this lead to a feeling of being "second-best".

Although passionate about Quidditch, especially the Chudley Cannons, and a fine flyer, Ron had a problem with nerves, and sometimes his playing ability suffered for it. Salazar Slytherin's Locket revealed that Ron's deepest fears were that his mother loved him least and that Hermione preferred Harry to him. He also suffered from arachnophobia, a fear originating from his brother Fred transfiguring his teddy bear into a spider when Ron was a child.

Ron's point of view on many topics was often that of the stereotypical wizard, which clashed many times with those of Harry and Hermione because they were both raised by Muggles; but in exchange, he was typically more aware of standard factors abided by wizardkind. Examples of this are that while he liked Lupin the entire third year, the moment he discovered that Lupin was a werewolf he exclaimed "Get away from me, werewolf!"; that he was more shocked and disgusted than Harry and Hermione at discovering that Hagrid was half giant; and when he got into an argument with Griphook over wizards not giving goblins wands. However, he was clearly very much appreciative of Dobby's sacrifice for them, as he helped Harry dig the grave, found it difficult to say stuff at the grave (it is mentioned it "came out thickly", implying he was choked up), and he had sat on a rock and stripped off his shoes and socks, giving them to Dobby to be buried in.

Ron was particularly fond of food. He had a tendency to talk with his mouth full, often to Hermione's disgust, and a great fondness for bacon sandwiches, though he disliked corned beef sandwiches, as mentioned in his first year; his love of food eventually made him settle into a portly middle age. And like Harry, Ron was intelligent, but lacked the motivation to put forth effort in class due to incredible laziness; during their years at school, Ron frequently expected Hermione's help, and when she either refused or was unavailable, he was often dumbfounded about how to proceed. If not for Hermione's help, he would have undoubtedly failed his exams.

Ron was also shown to have a habit of swearing. In 1993, he called Professor Snape something that caused Hermione to exclaim: "Ron!". Also, after Draco Malfoy insulted him, Ron told him to do something he would never have dared say in front of Mrs Weasley. He also called Draco Malfoy a "two face-bastard" during the Battle of Hogwarts after saving him from a Death Eater, and rescuing him for a second time, from death.

Ron was brave, to a level which would put him on a par with his best friend Harry; he never hesitated to put himself into extremely dangerous situations with his best friends Harry and Hermione, and as shown many times, he would rather die than have someone else he cared about be harmed. He risked his life on many occasions, and his bravery was not unnoticed by his friends.

Ron was also a person who liked to do things the easy way, as he did not like to work hard. This quality was reflected in his first year when he just picked up books from the Hogwarts Library shelves randomly when finding out about Nicolas Flamel. He also had a tendency to make up predictions for his Divination homework, and frequently copied most of his homework from Hermione Granger. However, he could afford to let go of this tendency of his during tougher times, like when he researched information to help Hagrid in letting off Buckbeak in his third year. His peculiar trait did not seem to vanish, even after he grew up, as he confunded his driving examiner (breaking the International Statute of Secrecy which is considered illegal) and shrugged off his guilt by saying "I could always use a Supersensory Charm for that".

Ron was very protective of those he cared about, and this was shown perhaps, best of all, when Ginny was involved in a relationship with Dean Thomas. He was, of course, looking out for her, but his temper got the best of him and he lashed out at her, as she did the same to him.

Abilities
Ron was often insecure about his own abilities when compared to his elder brothers and famous best friend. However, once that lessened a bit he proved to be a powerful wizard in his own right. Ron was able to conjure a corporeal Jack Russell Terrier Patronus, which is a mark of superior magical ability.
 * Wizard's Chess: Ron was extremely talented at chess. It was he who taught Harry how to play. Ron and Harry often played Wizard's Chess together when they had free time. In his first year, his logistic ability helped him, Hermione, and Harry play past Professor McGonagall's magically Transfigured giant chessboard to get to the Philosopher's Stone and prevent it being stolen by Voldemort. As a result, he got fifty points for his house for "the best played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen these many years", as Dumbledore himself noted. His representation as a knight has been theorised to represent his status as a knight; his 'chivalrous' nature and his bravery.
 * Duelling: He was more than capable in battle; it is notable that he survived both the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and the Battle of the Astronomy Tower before this. He fought well in the Battle of the Seven Potters, stunning a Death Eater while flying. This was seen as such a noticeable feat that Tonks stated that she couldn't believe it and that it was a very hard thing to do. He also disarmed Bellatrix Lestrange, and saved Hermione during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor. Later he took down Fenrir Greybackwith Neville Longbottom and defeated several other Death Eaters during the Battle of Hogwarts. He also escaped a group of Snatchers, unharmed after he temporarily left the Horcrux hunt. It should also be noted that Ron had a physical approach to fighting as well as magical, as more than one occasion, he resorted to fighting physically rather than magically especially in his earlier years. He advised Harry to punch Draco Malfoy if his wand doesn't work during his first year as well as fought him with Neville during a Quidditch match. He took this trait to his later years when he wrestled with Wormtail at Malfoy Manor and punched Draco Malfoy after saving his life a second time during the Battle of Hogwarts. When Ron became an Auror, his skills greatly improved as he was able to track down and defeat multiple Death Eaters after the Battle of Hogwarts. He was also shown to help in overpowering Delphini when she tried to go back in time to stop Voldemort from killing Harry Potter when he was a baby.
 * Defence Against the Dark Arts: Ron was very skilled in this subject as, in 1996, he managed to achieved an 'Exceeds Expectations' grade on his O.W.L. exam. He was able to use spells such as the Full Body-Bind Curse and the Riddikulus spell. Ron was also the co founder of Dumbledore's Army and mastered all the spells that Harry taught. He mastered the Disarming Charm, Stunning Spell, Impediment Jinx, Blasting Curse, Revulsion Jinx, and various other jinxes and hexes. When he became an Auror his defensive and offensive magic greatly improved as he was constantly put up against Dark Magic.
 * Charms: Ron was rather good at this subject, being able to cast a successful Slug-Vomiting Charm in only his second year and receiving an 'Exceeds Expectations' on his O.W.L. exam. He was also known to be able to adequately cast the Confundus, the Super-Sensory, and even the Patronus Charm by his fifth year, the last of which is noted to be advanced magic not usually taught on the Hogwarts Curriculum. He could also cast simpler charms such as the; Levitation Charm, Wand-Lighting Charm, Unlocking Charm, and various others.
 * Potions: Ron was able to achieve an 'Exceeds Expectations' grade on his O.W.L. exam. He was one of only twelve students able to go on to N.E.W.T.-level in 1996, showing proficiency in the subject.
 * Apparition: Despite not achieving a licence in his sixth year, Ron was still able to Apparate during the hunt for the Horcruxes, though he did splinch himself on occasion.
 * Transfiguration: Ron advanced to N.E.W.T.-level and achieved an 'Exceeds Expectations' on his O.W.L. exam, showing aptitude in the subject. He was also able to cast Transforming Spells, including the Avifors Spell and Lapifors Spell.
 * Herbology: Ron achieved an 'Exceeds Expectations' on his O.W.L. exam. He attended N.E.W.T.-level Herbology in his sixth year. He could also cast plant related charms such as the Fire-Making Spell and the Herbivicus Charm.
 * Divination: Like Harry, Ron disliked Professor Sybill Trelawney's Divination class, but he did make at least two accurate predictions. In his first attempt at reading tea leaves, he predicted that Harry would receive "a windfall, unexpected gold". Harry received unexpected gold the following year (by winning the Triwizard Tournament after Barty Crouch Jr secretly submitted his name). He later inherited gold from his godfather, Sirius Black, after the death of Sirius. Ron also saw "a blob a bit like a bowler hat" among the tea leaves. Cornelius Fudge had a bowler hat when he met with Dumbledore and Harry after Voldemort's re-birth, and refused to believe Harry's story about the incident.
 * Nonverbal magic: Ron was able to stun a man who attempted to attack Hermione in 1998 without saying the incantation. He is also noted to have been able to achieve this at a young age as demonstrated in his second year when he attempted to "curse" Draco when he insulted Hermione. The charm worked without him saying the incantation, even though it backfired.
 * Astronomy: Ron earned on O.W.L. in this subject. It's unknown if he was able to continue on to the N.E.W.T. class, seeing as he did not apply for advancement.
 * Quidditch: Ron was a reasonably good Keeper. However, his performance was inconsistent because of his lack of confidence.
 * Care of Magical Creatures: Ron got an 'Exceeds Expectations' on his O.W.L. He showed talent in handling dangerous creatures like his brother Charlie Weasley.
 * Flying: Like his brothers, Ron was excellent at flying. He was good enough to be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and he flew successfully during the Battle of the Seven Potters.


 * Tactical thinking: Ron was good with tactical thinking and showed a talent for thinking outside of the box. For example, it was Ron who suggested that Harry use Felix Felicis to try to get Horace Slughorn's memory of telling Tom Riddle about the Horcruxes, and Ron's idea to go to the Chamber of Secrets in order to get Basilisk fangs to destroy the Horcruxes. Ron was also able to keep a level head in highly stressful situations, and was generally more pragmatic than either of his best friends. His knack for strategy allowed him to consistently outclass his peers in both combat and strategy games such as Wizards Chess.
 * Impersonation: Ron was clever at imitating voices. While at Malfoy Manor, he was able to convincingly imitate Peter Pettigrew to avoid arousing the suspicions of Bellatrix and the Malfoys. He was also able to mimic Parseltongue effectively, which is a rather difficult language to learn or even imitate, enough to open the Chamber of Secrets after previously hearing Harry do it.
 * Leadership skills: While it was mostly Harry or Hermione who did the leading, Ron also had relatively good leadership skills as he ordered Harry and Hermione to continue their search for the Philosophers Stone when he decided to become a sacrifice during the Wizard's Chess obstacle, formed and co-lead Dumbledores Army alongside Harry and Hermione, and temporarily lead their Horcrux hunt when Harry briefly fell into depression over his obsession for the Deathly Hallows. After the war ended, his leadership skills were again shown when he, Harry and Hermione helped to reform the Auror department and Ministry of Magic, and help reduce the prejudice towards non-pure bloods and other underprivileged magical creatures, and when he co owned Weasley Wizard Wheezes afterwards alongside George Weasley.

Possessions

 * Wand: Ron initially used his brother Charlie's old, chipped wand, made of ash with a unicorn hair sticking out of the end. He held the wand together with Spellotape after nearly breaking it in half at the start of his second year, but it malfunctioned dreadfully after this, backfiring spells, making strange noises, and emitting objects out from the wrong end. It eventually exploded. Before his third year, he received a new wand, fourteen inches, willow and unicorn hair. This wand seemed to suit him better, but he lost it at Malfoy Manor in 1998 and it is questionable whether he ever retrieved it.
 * Spellotape: He uses the Spellotape to hold together his first wand after nearly breaking it in half at the start of his second year, but it malfunctions dreadfully after this, backfiring spells, making strange noises and emitting objects from the wrong end.


 * Pigwidgeon: Ron's first pet owl he was gifted to him from Sirius Black in 1994. Pigwidgeon was described by Harry as resembling a "fluffy snitch". Though Ron acted very rude to Pigwidgeon in public, he was actually very attached to Pig, since this was his first owl.
 * Dress robes: Ron wore a set of dress robes to the Yule Ball in 1994. They were very traditional in style, and thus old-fashioned and frilly, much to Ron's distaste. Ron also owns a second set of dress robes, a present from the twins in the summer break of 1995. These robes were bought with some of Harry's Triwizard winnings, as a stipulation of him giving the money to Fred and George. These robes were only mentioned, never described.
 * Deluminator: Ron inherited the deluminator from Dumbledore.
 * Watch: He received a golden wristwatch on his 17th birthday from his parents.
 * Cleansweep Eleven: In the summer of 1995, Ronald Weasley was given a Cleansweep Eleven as a present from his parents for becoming a Prefect, and used it when he played as Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.


 * Shooting Star: Ron had a Shooting Star when he was young.


 * Sweetheart necklace: Ron received the necklace from Lavender Brown as a Christmas present in 1996, though it is unlikely that he kept it following their break up.
 * Chocolate Frog Cards: Ron had about five hundred chocolate frog cards.
 * Wizard's Chess Set: Ron had a battered old Wizard's Chess set in 1991. Like most other things he had, it was secondhand, being passed down to him by his grandfather. However, his chessmen were therefore more likely to trust his judgement in battle.

Trivia

 * Ron is portrayed by British actor Rupert Grint in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2 and is one of the 14 characters to appear in all 8 film adaptations.
 * Ron is portrayed by British actor Paul Thornley in the original West End production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
 * Jamie Waylett plays Ron when he is disguised as Vincent Crabbe in Chamber of Secrets, as do Steffan Rhodri when he is disguised as Reginald Cattermolein Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Rupert provided the voice for the character) and Rupert Grint (himself) when he is disguised as "Dragomir Despard" in Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Daniel Radcliffe also plays Ron in the "Seven Potters" scene.
 * Rupert Grint is like Ron in that he comes from a large family, has red hair, and suffers from arachnophobia.
 * Ron was the second friend Harry ever made, after Hagrid.
 * Rupert Grint does not have a long nose, as Ron is described as having in the novels, but he does have freckles - make-up covers them and they aren't on his face, causing some fans to claim he has no freckles at all. He also has green eyes, in contrast to Ron's blue eyes. Ironically, co-star Daniel Radcliffe has blue eyes in contrast to his character's green eyes. Unlike Ron, Rupert is not particularly tall, nor does he have large hands or feet. Although like Ron, Rupert is the tallest of the three actors however.
 * Ron was one of the few characters who was created before J. K. Rowling began writing the series, and whose name never changed from the original drafts.
 * Professor Slughorn accidentally calls Ron "Rupert," which, in fact, is the actor's name that portrays Ron, Rupert Grint.
 * In the films Ron is shown as the one to lose his head in a crisis (early on) rather than Hermione.
 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Ron is one of the group of four students to serve detention by helping out Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest. This differs from the book, since Neville was the fourth student (along with Hermione, Harry, and Draco Malfoy). This can be attributed to the significantly less amount of time spent on Hagrid having Norbert, along with the differing circumstances on how they were caught. In the book, Ron wasn't helping deliver Norbert because he was being treated for injuries suffered when he was helping Hagrid take care of Norbert.
 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ron is dragged away by the foot instead of by the arm by Sirius Black in his Animagus form causing the leg to break instead of having Ron break it when hooking it to the Whomping Willow's root to avoid being dragged away.
 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Ron supports Bulgaria instead of Ireland, which is who he supports in the book (despite being a Krum fanatic at the time).
 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Ron was introduced to Hagrid's half-brother Grawp at the same time as Harry and Hermione. In the book however Ron was playing in Gryffindor's championship Quidditch match during that time. This change was due to the removal of Quidditch from the film.
 * In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Professor Horace Slughorn refers to Ron by several names, one of which is Rupert.
 * Rowling described Ron's Patronus as a "really sentimental choice" on her part, since she has a Jack Russell.
 * Rowling has also said that if she had a Boggart, hers would likely be the same as Ron's, as she also dislikes spiders.
 * Throughout most of the series, Ron does not like to hear Voldemort's name spoken out loud, and as such never says it even when Harry and Hermione do. However, he says the name three times in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, even after asking Harry and Hermione not to. The first is at the Burrow when Hermione is packing books to take with them, and Ron says, "I forgot we'll be hunting down Voldemort in a mobile library". The second is at 12 Grimmauld Place when Remus Lupin tells them that Pius Thicknesse is Minister for Magic, and Ron says, "Why didn't Voldemort declare himself Minister for Magic?". The third is again at 12 Grimmauld Place when Harry has a vision of Voldemort killing a woman and her children in his hunt for Gregorovitch. Together, the three try to work out what it means and Ron says, "But according to you, Voldemort's got Ollivander locked up somewhere". Ron also said his name in The Queen's Handbag, where he jokingly says, "Voldemort's gettin' really inventive."
 * In the films, Ron is well known for using the phrase, "Bloody hell" when he is surprised or frightened.
 * Ron's favourite sandwich type is bacon and his least favourite is corned beef.
 * In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ron is revolted by the coffee Hermione ordered for them at the Muggle café, from which we can either assume he didn't like the café's coffee or he doesn't like coffee at all. The latter is more likely since he was raised a wizard and knew little about Muggles except from possibly his father's work with Muggle objects and from being friends with two wizards/witches who were raised by Muggles
 * In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ron was shocked that Harry and Hermione had never heard of the children's stories by Beedle the Bard wizard kids grew up with and when Hermione reminded him that she and Harry were raised by Muggles and that they had grown up with Muggle fairy tales such as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" and "Cinderella", Ron thought the latter was an illness.
 * Ron is related to Draco Malfoy distantly; his paternal grandmother was a Black, who are related to the Malfoys through Narcissa's marriage to Lucius, Draco's father. They are third cousins, however it is unknown if they know of this.
 * Rupert Grint says his favourite scene is the Yule Ball scene in the fourth film, the same as his co-star Emma Watson.
 * Ron's least favourite colour is maroon as he said when he received his Christmas jumper from his mother.
 * In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Ron has the ability to control Scabbers.
 * The wand that Ron wields in his two full body shot posters for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2differs. In the first, the wand he is pointing is his second wand, which was taken from him prior to the film. In the second poster, he is holding the wand he obtained after the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor.
 * Many fans feared the possible death of Ronald Weasley, yet in 2000, Rowling seemed dismissive of these fears, stating "As if I'm going to kill Harry's best friend."[50] Yet, when Daniel Radcliffe interviewed Rowling for a special feature on the combo pack Blu-ray edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Rowling stated that at a time she had considered killing one of three members of the Trio, specifically Ron. Reflecting upon this, she noted that she wasn't in a good place in her life at the time.