Ronald "Ron" Bilius Weasley (born March 1, 1980) is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of children's books. Ron and Hermione Granger are Harry Potter's two best friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All characters (except Luna Lovegood) call him "Ron" rather than "Ronald". Ron is the son of Arthur and Molly Weasley, and brother of Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and Ginny.

Ron's father is the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, but doesn't earn much. Consequently, most of Ron's possessions are second-hand, a fact he is sensitive about.

Ron and Harry meet while Harry is searching for Platform 9 3/4. They share a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, where Ron shows Harry his pet rat Scabbers and Harry shares some sweets with Ron.

Ron likes to play Wizard's Chess and teaches Harry how to play. Ron suffers from arachnophobia from when his brother Fred turned his teddy bear into a spider when he was little. He shares his dormitory at Hogwarts with Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas.

Ron in the books

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Ron's love of — and skill in — chess prove useful when one of the defences guarding the philosopher's stone is a giant Wizard's Chess board. Ron sacrifices himself (he later recovers) to win the game.

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Ron's wand is broken when he crashes his father's flying car into the Whomping Willow. The wand later backfires at crucial moments: first when Ron tries to curse Draco Malfoy for calling Hermione a mudblood, and later when Professor Lockhart tries to use it to modify Ron's and Harry's memories. Ron also faces his fear of spiders when he and Harry encounter a colony of them in the Forbidden Forest. Ron was so terrified by his encounter with Aragog the acromantula that he became mad at Hagrid for sending them into the forest.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ron's rat Scabbers is revealed to be the animagus Peter Pettigrew. (Sirius sends him an owl as compensation, which his sister Ginny names Pigwidgeon).

For the first time in the series Ron and Harry have a monumental fight in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Ron gets a taste of fame after the second task in which he took part because of being Harry's most prized possession.

Ron becomes keeper of the Gryffindor quidditch team in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; though not initially successful, he later overcomes his fears when performing in front of others.

Ron shows some jealousy over his friend, Hermione, which some argue is a proof that she is his romantic interest. Whether she returns these feelings is debated, but most of the evidence suggests that she does: she has shown jealousy over Ron's interest in Fleur Delacour and seems quite happy to argue with him constantly throughout the books despite their strong friendship, which is seen by many fans as unresolved sexual tension. (See Ron/Hermione "shipping")

Ron in the films

As of 2004, Rupert Grint plays Ron in the three released Harry Potter films, and is scheduled to continue the role for at least one more. Though Ron is no doubt a humorous character in the books, in the films his role seems more geared towards providing comic relief than it is in the novels. This is especially evident in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which features Ron as an archtypical sidekick.

See also:

• Weasley family