Harry Potter isn't the only person in danger from Lord Voldemort and his horrible band of Death Eaters during the course of the eight movies and seven books. Those closest to the Boy Who Lived also become targets for the Dark Lord as well. And Ron Weasley, as Harry's best friend, often finds himself in the firing line alongside Hermione Granger.
Ron is courageous and his loyalty rarely wavers, much to his credit. He ends up surviving at the end of the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, but things could easily have been so different. Especially as he could have been killed off several times or severely injured.
Looking After Norberta
To start things off on a light-hearted note, it's time to talk about Norberta the dragon. Hagrid acquires the creature in mysterious circumstances during the events of The Sorcerer's Stone and, though they're illegal, insists on taking care of it. However, Norberta quickly grows and ends up being quite difficult to have around.
Ron is bitten at one point so, while he wasn't in mortal danger, things could easily have been worse. Dragons are aggressive creatures and one look at the Hungarian Horntail in the Goblet of Fire shows just how dangerous they can be. He got away with it this time merely because the dragon was still relatively new to the world.
Wizard's Chess
Chess in the real world is slow to play and, unless you plan on throwing the pieces around, pretty safe to play. Wizard's chess, however, is a different story entirely. And fans discover this during The Sorcerer's Stone, with Ron producing a brilliant performance on a board, designed by Minerva McGonagall.
He ends up sacrificing himself and is violently attacked, falling unconscious to the floor. Had his head hit the ground at the wrong angle, things could have been worse. Instead, he ends up making a full recovery, with Hermione ensuring he's taken to the Hospital Wing.
The Whomping Willow
At the beginning of The Chamber Of Secrets, Harry and Ron find themselves unable to get to Hogwarts at Platform Nine And Three-Quarters. Most young wizards and witches would send an owl to the castle explaining the situation, perhaps requesting an alternative mode of transport. But the double act instead opt to travel via Arthur Weasley's Flying Ford Anglia.
Things go badly and they crash into the Whomping Willow. It's a violent, savage tree that batters the car and comes precariously close to killing the pair. Luckily they are able to walk away unharmed.
Skirmish With Sirius Black
During the events of The Prisoner of Azkaban, the wizarding world believe Sirius Black to be a mass murderer out to get Harry. So, when Ron Weasley finds himself being dragged into the Shrieking Shack and coming face to face with Gary Oldman's character, he could be forgiven for fearing the worst.
If Sirius was the murderer many think he is, he would have likely killed Ron on the spot. However, he's let off the hook when it emerges Peter Pettigrew is actually responsible for the deaths of the Potters and many innocent muggles, too. He does sustain a broken leg but, given how things could have played out, he can hardly complain.
The Brains
The Order of the Phoenix movie does a good job at showing the battle at the Ministry of Magic, where Sirius Black is heartbreakingly killed off and Albus Dumbledore does battle with Lord Voldemort. Yet, given how large the book is, not every single little detail was going to be deemed worthy of inclusion.
And that meant fans were deprived of the chance to see Ron fighting his way through a room full of brains. They nearly choke him to death, with Hermione coming to his rescue just in time. Ron is left scarred from the experience but Warner Bros may have chosen to omit this due to its dark nature.
Poisoned At Slughorn's
In the Half-Blood Prince book and movie, Ron swallows some love potion by mistake. Determined to stop him obsessing over Romilda Vane, Harry then takes him to Professor Horace Slughorn in order to get fixed up. However, this little trip nearly has horrendous consequences.
Ron is given a drink by Slughorn but falls to the floor. He's been poisoned and only survives when Harry forces a bezoar stone down his throat. If the Boy Who Lived hadn't been on hand and thought so quickly, it's extremely likely his best friend would have been no more.
Breaking The Locket
Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes are rather difficult to destroy. This is made clear in the Half-Blood Prince, with hundreds of Inferi surrounding Harry and Albus Dumbledore in an attempt to murder them. So that means that, if you're to try and eliminate one of the dark forces, they're bound to fight back.
And this is what happens when Ron opens Salazar Slytherin's old locket in the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 blockbuster. Though he does have the situation under control, and succeeds, his hesitancy gives the Horcrux reason to fight back. Had he paused for even longer, he could have met his end.
Crabbe And Fiendfyre
Throughout the series, Vincent Crabbe is a student without much going for him. He's all brawn and no brains, to put it politely. However, when the Death Eaters take control of Hogwarts, he's suddenly a top student. And he excels after learning the Dark Arts from the horrible Carrows, who replace the subject of Defence Against the Dark Arts.
In the Room of Requirement, Crabbe casts Fiendfyre. However, he loses control of the spell and ends up perishing as the flames destroy everything in sight. Ron is present at this time and could easily have been caught up in the blaze. Luckily, Harry is able to get his friend to safety just in time.
The Explosion
The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 movie doesn't actually divulge much information about Fred Weasley's heartbreaking death. But, in the book, Ron is actually present at the time of the incident.
There's a big explosion during the Battle of Hogwarts that rips through the walls of the castle, sending Ron, Harry, Percy Weasley, and Fred flying backward. It's Fred who ends up being the casualty, but it could have been any of the quartet instead. Ron would later work at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, filling in for his late brother and helping George keep the business afloat.
Nagini's Dinner
Towards the end of the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Voldemort is left reeling and enraged when Harry comes back from the dead. He and his band of Death Eaters then attack the castle with renewed vigor, with Nagini the snake in tow. And the monster nearly makes Ron and Hermione her dinner for the evening.
The snake comes precariously close to gobbling them up and, had it not been for Neville Longbottom, would have succeeded. Neville is on hand to behead Nagini just in time, moving the good guys a giant step closer to defeating Voldemort once and for all.