The Boy Who Lived may have been the central character in J.K. Rowling's iconic Harry Potter novels, but his best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were just as integral to the beloved series as Harry himself. Each year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hermione and Ron were right there by the Chosen One's side as he fought to save the world from Voldemort, and the Dark Lord would never have been vanquished without their guidance, assistance and unwavering loyalty.
The Golden Trio grew closer with each Harry Potter novel and film, but the relationship between Hermione and Ron developed in a more substantial way. Ron finally started to recognize his feelings for Hermione after the Yule Ball in Goblet of Fire, and in the final official Potter installment, fans were delighted to see the couple finally act on their emotions and find their way into each other's arms.
The Deathly Hallows epilogue revealed that they eventually married and started a family together, but readers and viewers alike demanded to know more about fan-favorite character Ron Weasley's future following the Battle of Hogwarts. Thanks to details revealed by Rowling on Pottermore and in various interviews and found in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, we finally have some answers. Pottermore, Rowling's "digital heart of the Wizarding World," has included Cursed Child in the Potterverse timeline, so even though Rowling herself didn't write the entirety of the play, it is now considered canon and these fun facts are actually official.
Here are 20 Things Ron Did Between Deathly Hallows And Cursed Child.
HE CHOSE NOT TO GRADUATE FROM HOGWARTS
Harry, Ron, and Hermione weren't able to attend their seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry because Dumbledore had tasked Harry with scouring the world for Voldemort's Horcruxes so he could finally be defeated. The Dark Lord placed several of his Death Eaters in the school so it wouldn't have been safe for Harry and his friends to attend Hogwarts anyway, but the trio was still upset about putting their education on hold and leaving behind their home away from home.
When Voldemort was finally defeated in the Battle of Hogwarts at the end of the school year, they were free to re-enroll and earn their diplomas. Hermione unsurprisingly returned to take her final exams and further prove just how intelligent she was, but Harry and Ron actually chose to just start their adult lives and failed to graduate.
RON BECAME AN AUROR
To become an Auror within the British Ministry of Magic, one is expected to have earned a minimum of five N.E.W.T.s in challenging subjects, with top grades of 'Outstanding' or 'Exceeds Expectations' in those subjects. Luckily for Harry and Ron, Kingsley Shacklebolt relaxed these requirements after the Battle of Hogwarts and hired them as Aurors despite their failure to graduate or achieve any N.E.W.T.s.
Since several Aurors perished in the final war against Voldemort and his supporters, the new Minister had to restrengthen the department to combat the remaining Death Eaters. Harry and Ron had proven themselves for years, so Shacklebolt felt they more than satisfied the character and skill requirements to be Aurors. In an interview with TODAY, Rowling stated that “Harry and Ron utterly revolutionized the Auror Department. It doesn’t matter how old they are or what else they’ve done.”
HE MARRIED HERMIONE
Ron Weasley wasn't particularly kind to Hermione Granger during their first year at Hogwarts. He initially made Harry's other best friend feel unwanted and undesirable, but as time went on, he started valuing Hermione's contributions to the group and recognizing her brilliance and beauty. When she finally tamed her wild hair and dressed up to be Viktor Krum's date at the Yule Ball during their fourth year, Ron realized that he was actually starting to fall for Hermione.
Ron still struggled to articulate or act on his developing feelings for the next two years, but during the Battle of Hogwarts, he finally made his move and kissed his closest female friend. From that moment on, he and Hermione were inseparable. At some point between 1998 and 2006, they took their relationship to the next level and got married.
HE got a little out of hand AT HIS WEDDING
The drinking age for wizards seems to be shockingly low, since Harry and his friends were allowed to have Butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade in their third year at Hogwarts. The Golden Trio drank pints of the butterscotch-flavored beverage on countless occasions throughout the series, and it seems Ron developed quite the taste for it because he got very intoxicated at his wedding.
In Cursed Child, he asked Hermione to marry him again so he could renew his vows to her in front of their family and friends and actually have the memory of doing so. "We were only young when we did it the first time, and I got very drunk and - well, to be honest, I can't remember much of it," Ron confessed. "I'd like the opportunity to say so in front of lots of other people. Again. Sober."
RON BECAME JAMES SIRIUS POTTER'S GODFATHER
Godparents always played an important role in the Harry Potter series. James and Lily Potter named Sirius Black the godfather of their son Harry, which prompted Sirius to break out of Azkaban to look after the Chosen One years later. Harry was named the godfather of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks' son Teddy, so when that fan-favorite couple tragically passed side-by-side during the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry made sure Teddy was looked after and loved for the rest of his life.
Rowling clearly believed godparents should always be chosen carefully, which is why it was such an honor when Harry and Ginny had their first son, James Sirius Potter, and named Ron his godfather.
HE AND HERMIONE BECAME PARENTS
Around two years after Ron became a godfather to Harry's son James, he became an actual father as well. Hermione gave birth to their daughter Rose around 2005, within a year of the birth of Harry and Ginny's second son Albus Severus. Since they were approximately the same age, Rose and her cousin Albus were very close, and at the age of six, they considered each other as best friends. They started their education at Hogwarts together in 2017.
Ron was extremely proud of his daughter, because she inherited her mother's intelligence, was incredibly popular at school, and earned a spot on Gryffindor's Quidditch team as a Chaser in her second year.
RON JOINED GEORGE AT WEASLEY'S WIZARD WHEEZES
Harry Potter dueled against Draco Malfoy in front of his peers in only his second year at Hogwarts, and went on to face-off against several Death Eaters and eventually, Lord Voldemort himself. He mostly just stuck to the same Disarming Charm, Expelliarmus, but his proficiency in combat made his career as an Auror seem like a perfect fit. Ron, however, never really seemed to be Auror material. He was average at best as a student, and didn't seem to share his best friend's passion for fighting against Dark wizards.
That's why it wasn't particularly surprising to discover in Cursed Child that Ron abandoned his position within the Ministry and joined his brother George at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes instead. His change in career definitely worked out, since Rowling told Bloomsbury that the joke shop went on to become "an enormous money-spinner."
HE AND HERMIONE HAD THEIR SECOND CHILD, HUGO
About two years after Hermione and Ron had their daughter Rose, Hermione gave birth to their son Hugo Granger-Weasley. Harry and Ginny had their daughter Lily Luna Potter—named after Harry's mother and old friend Luna Lovegood—that same year, so Hugo and Lily grew up together and became best friends.
When Rose and Albus went on the Hogwarts Express to travel to the school for their first year, Hugo and Lily expressed their jealousy and begged their parents to let them get on the train as well. In the Deathly Hallows epilogue, it was revealed that the young duo had "an animated discussion about which House they would be sorted into when they finally went to Hogwarts".
RON SUPPORTED HERMIONE'S CAMPAIGN TO BECOME MINISTER OF MAGIC
Ron wasn't cut out for a job at the Ministry of Magic, but it was always clear that Hermione was destined for greatness within the wizarding world. Hermione was well-versed in wizarding history, was close to former Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt and her work while still attending school to improve house elf rights proved that she cared about making a positive change in the world. She was the perfect fit to become Minister of Magic, and in Cursed Child, fans were delighted to discover that that's exactly the job she went on to earn in her adulthood.
Even though Hermione's top position at the Ministry meant he didn't get to spend as much time with his wife as he wanted, Ron was always very supportive of Hermione and made it clear that he was there for her in any way she needed.
HE REUNITED WITH DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY
Dumbledore's Army fought to protect their school and their fellow students during the Battle of Hogwarts, but when Lord Voldemort was finally taken out, the group disbanded. It seems like its members stayed in touch with each other, though, because in a Rita Skeeter Gossip Column article posted on Pottermore, fans discovered that several former DA members gathered together to watch the 427th Quidditch World Cup.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all in attendance at the event, and were joined by Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and several of the other students who fought against the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters with the Golden Trio in Deathly Hallows. The Potter-Weasley's and Granger-Weasley's brought their kids with them, and Luna and Neville brought their spouses along to the reunion at the event's VIP tent.
HE GOT OVER HIS FEUD WITH VIKTOR KRUM
Ron was once Viktor Krum's biggest fan, but when the Bulgarian National Quidditch team's star Seeker journeyed to Hogwarts to compete in the Triwizard Tournament as Durmstrang's champion and started courting Hermione, Viktor became Ron's biggest rival. He was livid when he found out Hermione and Viktor had "snogged," and his jealousy upon seeing the couple together at the Yule Ball is what prompted Ron to finally acknowledge his feelings for Hermione.
It seems like Ron eventually got over his feud with Viktor, though, because at the 427th Quidditch World Cup, he openly joined the rest of Dumbledore's Army in cheering Krum on and had "a determined grin on his face" when Krum caught the Golden Snitch and won his first championship in the final match.
RON DEALT WITH CLAIMS OF HIS MENTAL INSTABILITY
In Deathly Hallows, Harry, Ron, and Hermione took turns wearing Voldemort's cursed Horcrux locket as the trio searched for a way to destroy it. The locket affected its wearer's mental state and seemed to have the biggest effect on Ron, who eventually abandoned his best friends in a jealous, Horcrux-fueled rage.
Rita Skeeter believes the experience changed Ron's entire mental state, and was responsible for his change in career later in life. In her Gossip Column, she noted that he quit his job as an Auror after only two years, and hinted that the work of the Auror Department may have been "too much for a man who has admitted that the destruction of He Who Could Not Be Named’s Horcruxes ‘took its toll’ on him."
HE WAS FEATURED ON A CHOCOLATE FROG CARD
Ron's love for his family and friends was always unquestionable, but his greatest love may have always been sweets. When Ron was first introduced in Sorcerer's Stone, he was stuffing his mouth full of candy on the Hogwarts Express. He always seemed to eat until his stomach couldn't possibly fit anything else at the school's all-you-can-eat dining hall, and his weight gain noted in Cursed Child is likely due to his continued passion for treats.
Ron ate enough Chocolate Frogs as a child to have a whole collection of the wizard cards which could be found in each container of the animated amphibian-shaped candy, so when Rowling told Bloomsbury that each member of the Golden Trio eventually earned their own Chocolate Frog card, it wasn't surprising to see the author add that Ron "will describe this as his finest hour."
RON ASKED ROSE TO KEEP AN EYE ON ALBUS
Ron's daughter Rose was almost the same age as Harry and Ginny's second-born son Albus Severus, so they grew up not only as cousins, but as best friends as well. When they entered into their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry together, Ron asked for his daughter to look after Albus, since being the son of the Chosen One was sure to bring with it a lot of pressure.
Unfortunately, Albus was Sorted into Slytherin and wasn't particularly popular despite his widely-beloved father's reputation, so Rose and Albus started to grow apart at school. Despite this, when they went back to Hogwarts for their second year, Ron instructed Rose to do what she could to protect Albus.
HE MARRIED PADMA PATIL
When Albus and Scorpius Malfoy used a Time-Turner to try to alter the past, they changed the entire future timeline and accidentally split up Ron and Hermione. The duo went back to the Triwizard Tournament in an attempt to save Cedric Diggory, but when they disguised themselves as Durmstrang students, Hermione grew suspicious of the school and decided not to attend the Yule Ball with its champion, Viktor Krum.
Hermione went to the Ball with Ron, but instead of this bringing them closer together as a couple, it had the exact opposite effect. Ron needed to be jealous of Viktor to realize his feelings for Hermione, so when he went to the Ball with her, he simply ditched her for Padma Patil. He and Padma went on to get married years later, and had a son, Panju.
RON AND HERMIONE WENT INTO HIDING
In another attempt to change reality, Albus and Severus went back to the Triwizard Tournament but accidentally humiliated Cedric Diggory in the process and inspired the once noble Hufflepuff to completely alter his personality and join the ranks of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters. Cedric ended Neville Longbottom's life in the Battle of Hogwarts, keeping Neville from taking out Nagini and helping Voldemort defeat Harry Potter and win the Second Wizarding War.
In this alternate future, Ron and Hermione were forced into hiding alongside the other surviving members of Dumbledore's Army. Harry's elimination wiped Albus out of existence, so Scorpius had to convince Ron and Hermione to halt their efforts to mount a resistance against Voldemort in order to help him fix his and Albus' mistake.
HE SACRIFICED HIMSELF TO SAVE SCORPIUS MALFOY
Ron spent the majority of his life hating the Malfoy family, but in Cursed Child, he actually sacrificed his own life to save Draco's son Scorpius. The young Slytherin asked for Ron and Hermione's help in fixing the past to keep Cedric from joining with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but when they undid Scorpius' mistake and returned to the future, nothing had changed. Voldemort's Dementors discovered their location, and swarmed the leaders of the resistance.
Ron delivered an emotional speech which reaffirmed his love for Hermione before the couple took on the Dementors in an attempt to save Scorpius. Their heroic sacrificed helped Draco's son travel back to the Second Task to restore the original timeline.
RON EARNED A MUGGLE DRIVER'S LICENSE
When Ron drove his father's enchanted Ford Anglia to Hogwarts in Chamber of Secrets, he accidentally flew it right into the Whomping Willow. He seemingly got better at driving as an adult, because in 2017, a driving examiner awarded him with a Muggle driver's license.
Well technically, Ron didn't quite earn the license. In Cursed Child, he admitted that he failed to look in the wing mirror during the driving test and that when the examiner pointed this out, he used a Confundus Charm to keep the examiner from failing him. He didn't think this was a big deal, though, since a Supersensory Charm could have been used for the same purpose as the mirror.
HE ENCOURAGED ROSE TO BE SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR
When Albus Severus confided in his father his worries about the Sorting Hat putting him into Slytherin House, Harry told his son that he'd be proud of him no matter where he was Sorted and told him that Severus Snape, one of the bravest men he'd ever met, was a Slytherin.
Ron wasn't quite as open-minded as his best friend, however, and made it perfectly clear to his daughter Rose that he expected her to be Sorted into Gryffindor like the rest of the Weasley family. He also took the time to point out Scorpius Malfoy in the crowd at King's Landing, and told Rose to "beat him in every test," instilling his own hatred for Slytherins in his daughter.
RON DEVELOPED "A BIT OF A GUT"
Harry was always known for his bravery while Hermione was renowned for her intelligence. Ron's defining characteristic while attending Hogwarts was probably his addiction to food. While his best friends were busy trying to survive constant attacks from Voldemort or reading piles upon piles of books, Ron could be found in the Great Halls eating more snacks than most people would think possible.
Eventually, all of Ron's eating caught up with him. When Scorpius Malfoy used Polyjuice Potion to turn into Ron during Cursed Child, Albus pointed out that he had "a bit of a gut." In Rita Skeeter's Gossip Column, she also noted that time affected Ron's hair as well, writing that his "famous ginger hair appears to be thinning slightly."
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