Origin
Ron is the sixth son and second youngest child of the pure-blood Weasley family. He was raised in the Burrow, a home near Ottery St Catchpole in Devon, alongside his six siblings, and enjoyed a pleasant, if crowded, slightly poor and occasionally hectic, upbringing. His family was not wealthy, and was largely rejected by the pure-blood community, who saw them as blood traitors due to their acceptance of half-bloods, muggle-borns and muggles themselves.
Creation
Ron was originally created by JK Rowling for her Harry Potter series of books, making his first appearance in the first book in that series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. He made his first appearance in comics in Mad #412.
Major Story Arcs
Philosopher’s Stone
Ron first meets Harry Potter at King’s Cross Station outside of Platform 9 & 3/4, when Harry asks for help accessing the Platform. The pair share a train car on the way to the school and, along with fellow Hogwarts pupil Hermione Granger, become fast friends, spending most of their school year together. He is later instrumental in the attempt to protect the Philosopher’s Stone, sacrificing himself in a game of real wizard’s chess to allow Harry and Hermione to proceed further and eventually defeat Voldemort.
Chamber of Secrets
Ron and his brothers rescue Harry from his home, where he has been imprisoned by his aunt and uncle for causing mayhem during one of Vernon’s important meetings. Later, both he and Harry are prevented from taking the train to school when the gate at Platform 9 & 3/4 is sealed by Dobby the Elf. He drives a flying car to school, which results in his wand being broken, he and Harry being put in detention, and being humiliated by a Howler sent by his mother. Ron helps Harry discover the identity of Tom Riddle, and joins Harry on a trip into the Forbidden Forest, in the process confronting his arachnophobia. Ron enters the Chamber of Secrets along with Harry, but is prevented from aiding Harry in the final battle against the basilisk by a ceiling collapse.
Prisoner of Azkaban
Ron has a falling out with Hermione Granger over the apparent death of his pet rat Scabbers at the hands of Hermione’s cat, Crookshanks. He attempts to aid in the defence of Hagrid’s hippogriff Buckbeak, after the creature breaks Malfoy’s arm due to provocation. However, their defence fails and the hippogriff is sentenced to death. He joins his friends in offering comfort to Hagrid on the day of the execution, and finds that Scabbers is still alive and hiding in Hagrid’s cabin. When Scabbers flees, he pursues the rat and is attacked by a large black dog, which drags him through a tunnel to the Shrieking Shack, breaking his leg in the process. The dog is revealed to be escaped criminal Sirius Black, and Scabbers is revealed to be the man who committed the crimes for which Black was convicted, Peter Pettigrew. Ron is subsequently knocked unconscious upon Pettigrew’s escape, and is sent to the hospital wing, removing him from accompanying Hermione and Harry in the following action.
Goblet of Fire
Ron and his family travel to the Quidditch World Cup along with Harry, where Ron begins to hero worship the famous Quidditch player Viktor Krum. At school, he becomes jealous when Harry is mysteriously selected to enter the Triwazard Tournament, alongside Fleur (whom he has a temporary crush on), Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum himself. Because of his jealousy, stemming from his inferiority complex and the fact that Harry’s reputation plus glory count is rising by the day,, he alienates himself from Harry for some time. The pair reconcile after the first task, after which Ron starts verbally defending Harry. Hermione and Ron have a falling out during the Yule Ball, when Hermione attends the dance with Krum, causing him ferocious jealousy. Ron is the hostage chosen to be rescued by Harry in the second task (indicating the strong bond re-forged between the pair). He helps Harry to prepare for the third task.
Order of the Phoenix
Ron is made Gryffindor prefect alongside Hermione, to the surprise of many, including him. He offers his vocal support for Harry’s assertions that Voldemort has returned. He is one of the co-founders of Dumbledore’s Army, a secret student group dedicated to instructing fellow students in defensive and offensive magic. He becomes Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and, despite nervousness, leads the team to victory in the Quidditch Cup match. He joins Harry and several other students in travelling to the Department of Mysteries, where they battle a group of Death Eaters.
Half-Blood Prince
Ron remains on the Quidditch team, but loses confidence in himself. His confidence is bolstered when Harry pretends to dose him with Felix Felicis, a luck potion, and he helps to win the first game of the season. When he engages in his first romantic relationship with Lavender Brown, Hermione becomes jealous and the pair have a falling out. He accidentally ingests a powerful love potion, and shortly after being cured of the potion’s effects he accidentally drinks poisoned mead and nearly dies. After recovering from the poisoning he reconciles with Hermione and breaks up with Lavender. Ron and other members of Dumbledore’s Army are recruited by Harry to watch over the school while Harry and Dumbledore attempt to locate a horcrux. He and the other DA members confront invading Death Eaters, and are unharmed during the battle due to the effects of Felix Felicis. He vows to join Harry in locating the remaining horcruxes.
Deathly Hallows
Ron joins Harry and Hermione in their search for the horcruxes, but they spend a great deal of time wandering aimlessly and hiding from the Death Eater regime, which seeks to capture them. They eventually manage to locate one horcrux, but are unable to destroy it. Its poisonous aura soon begins to affect the group, and Ron becomes fed up with their lack of direction and storms off. He regrets his outburst and attempts to return to camp, but is unable to until Harry and Hermione mention his name, upon which an unknown magic guides him to where Harry is in the process of drowning in a frozen lake. He rescues Harry from the lake and destroys the horcrux with the sword of Godric Gryffindor, which Harry had pulled from the lake. He is later captured by Death Eaters alongside his friends, but they manage to effect an escape, learning the location of another horcrux, which they find and destroy. The group returns to Hogwarts, where another horcrux is located. Ron is able to gain entrance to the Chamber of Secrets by doing a passable imitation of Parseltongue, which enables him to locate the basilisk fangs that can be used to destroy horcruxes. He later takes part in the Battle of Hogwarts.
Personal Details
- Eyes: Blue
- Hair: Red
- Wand:
- First wand: Twelve inch, ash wood and unicorn tail hair, hand me down from his brother Charlie.
- Second wand: Fourteen inch, willow and unicorn tail hair.
- Patronus: Jack Russell terrier
- House: Gryffindor
Powers and Abilities
Ron is a wizard of fair power and abilities, meaning that he can wield magic to a variety of effects. He is a skilled duellist, and is capable of producing a fully fledged Patronus, which takes the form of a Jack Russell terrier. He is also a pretty good quidditch player and was a goalkeeper for Gryffindor. He is a skilled tactician, and fairly gifted at nonmagical vocal impersonation.
Other Media
Film
Harry Potter Series
Ron appears in all eight films in the Harry Potter series of films. He is portrayed by Rupert Grint.
Games
Ron has appeared in numerous game adaptations of the book series.
Literature
Harry Potter Series
Ron was originally created for the Harry Potter series of books. He appears in all seven books in the series.
Parodies
Ron has featured in numerous parodies and comedic works. Notable appearances include in the web series Potter Puppet Pals, in a sketch on charity program Comic Relief, and in the musical A Very Potter Musical, among a wide range of other appearances.