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[nick / name]: Kisa
[personal LJ name]: trustintomorrow
[other characters currently played]: N/A
[e-mail]: tomorrowsneverclear@gmail.com
[AIM / messenger]: seasaltmemory
[series]: Harry Potter
[character]: Ronald Weasley
[character history / background]: Background
[character abilities]: Yer a wizard, Ron
[character personality]:
With Ron you cannot look on the first layer to understand him and this is where many people's problems come in. He comes off as angry, moping, jealous, sometimes harsh as well as an all around prat. This happens to be, however, one fragment of the impossibly complex, fragile male. As such I think, to give the idea about Ron this quote in-particular is needed:
”Dumbledore understood Ron's importance in the trio. He wasn't the most skilled, or the most intelligent, but he held them together. His humour and good heart was essential.”
--J.K. Rowling
The above quote is important to remember as we delve into the mind of Ronald Weasley. For while there are often times his explosive anger gets it the best of him, is it truly anger or is insecurities? There are differences in Ron's anger than we see in that of Harry. Harry's anger often comes off irrational and unprompted, he flies off the handle easily. Ron, on the other hand, we must look at with more scrutiny.
There are three reasons where Ron can become truly angered: jealousy, insecurities and his protective nature. It is only when these things are tampered with that we see Ron lash out and when he does it's not pretty.
Well, why then does Ron always seem angry? For that we must look further in starting with the very base of it: Ron holds in a lot of emotions. In a way it's almost as if he cannot express these emotions properly. Rowling describes Ron as “emotionally immature” and he shows this time and again. Because of his unwillingness to show every emotion within him, Ron has stunted his emotional growth. Throughout the series it's shown he can't tell when he hurts others feelings or how to deal with romantic relationships. He presses these emotions down until they become deformed in nature, changing them to become a sarcastic, sulking and tempered sort.
In truth, Ron is capable of feeling so many things he doesn't know how to deal with it.
One of the most easily noticeable traits about Ron are his insecurities. Ron grew up with five older brothers that excelled in many paths of life and had two best friends that were fairly well known by their fourth year. As a child of seven and the last son before the ever wanted daughter, Ron grew up with what he felt a lot on his shoulders to prove himself. Because of this a low self-confidence and many insecurities stemmed from his view on how he should conduct himself. He believes he's least loved by his mother, he believes the girl he loves is into his best friend, and he doesn't feel he's smart enough for anything. Ron wants to prove himself and get attention like those around him. Although, for the latter, he'd prefer it be for something good (he does not believe being a “war hero” merits happiness to be celebrated over after people died).
Stemming from his many insecurities is Ron's jealousy where we see most of his explosive nature come out. Ron isn't exactly capable of seeing emotions and relationships in a rational sort of way, he's gotten better about it but his inferiority complex has him watch his friends and family in a resentful sort of way. Growing up with having second-hand everything he just once wants something new for himself. He wants the people he meets to know him as Ron Weasley not another Weasley or Harry Potter's best mate. So, when these things fail, he becomes jealous of the fact he's unnoticed. Ron truly wants someone to pay attention to him. This is why he enjoyed his relationship with Lavender, despite it lasting a short time.
Finally, we come to the last factor of Ron's angry outbursts. His protectiveness of his friends in family. Ron isn't exactly always nice to them, but he is under the frame of mind that no one else is allowed to be awful to the people he is close to. Even when he's angry with someone, he's shown he will stand up for them (as seen when Malfoy's ricocheted curse hit Hermione in fourth year and Snape tried dismissing it). Ron is a self-sacrificing sort of person seen risking himself for his friends from the very beginning of the series to the end, and this shows in his nature. He refuses to allow his friends and family in harms way if he can be put into it himself . If this impossible, he'll protect them until he no longer can. Ron sees no harm in yelling, punching or cursing a person should they so much as insult someone he loves-try literally harming them? Oh, there's hell to pay if you try that much.
Briefly touched on before is Ron's self-sacrificing nature and his ability to mask his feelings. As aforementioned, the reason Ron's anger is so explosive is because he squashes it, masks it behind a joke or two and a bit of sulking. Ron will do anything to protect the people around him, and that's even from his own feelings. Take year four for example. He was so angry with Harry, Harry had no idea what was wrong with him. From Hermione's perspective she could tell Ron was jealous of Harry's standing. The fact that it's implied only Hermione was able to see that Ron was jealous shows a lot, especially as everyone else was able to see he was mad about her but she couldn't. It's almost as if Ron is able to hide the emotions from the person in question but not everyone else. He hides a lot of these emotions as to not change their dynamic and even keep them from knowing he's jealous, but sometimes it becomes to much... Those are the times when we see his explosive side.
What many people don't seem to realize about Ron is that he comes from an old-fashioned mindset. With the lack of technological advances that the Muggle World had, certain things Ron is oblivious to. The poor kid blushes and sputters when seeing his sister snogging of all things. While it can be said it's because that was his kid sister there's more to it than that. Ron was raised almost purely around family and didn't likely get the chance to often go to the village behind the orchard. Growing up it was mostly him, Ginny, Fred and George until they went off to school. Growing up in seclusion and with a strict mother who demands they go by certain mannerisms, it's needless to say Ron doesn't have the progressive mind those from the Muggle world might have. He starts leaning, however, as over the years more slang and the sort bleed into his vocabulary (for example, his favorite line “bloody hell”, takes him three years to say regularly). With this in mind, it's a bit more understandable when it comes to Ron's viewpoints on certain things-especially relationships-especially when adding in his emotional stunting.
Like his patronus the Jack Russel Terrier, Ron is an extremely loyal person. Upon meeting Harry in the Hogwarts express when they were eleven, Ron took no time standing up next to him when Draco Malfoy arrived shortly into their friendship. This very act shows the very beginning of the extremes Ron will go for friendship seeing as eventually he puts his life as well as his whole family's on the line for Harry. There are times Ron risks losing a friendship when his insecurities and jealousy get the better of him, but it's important to note even on these occasions he still stands by the person. He refuses to play along with the jokes against Harry in year four. In year seven he tries to find Harry and Hermione immediately after leaving (although, in this case it was more for the latter).
Although generally friendly once you get to know him, Ron's not the most trusting of people. Being around mostly family in his early years and then growing up in a time of war has taken its toll on Ron. He's often suspicious of others and uncertain of their motives, but he's no where near as bad as Harry when he becomes set on Malfoy being up to something. For Ron it's more in an uncertainty, but he will eventually warm up given enough time. If not he'll keep the person at arms length and answer in short answers (although, he answers in short answers no matter what, he just doesn't keep up the discussion unless he gets to tell some heroic story about himself).
Growing up around Fred and George, Ron has not come to be without his own wisecracking sense of humour. While he's not an inventive prankster as his brothers are, he can easily get people laughing when given the chance and enjoys his brothers' inventions. While his sense of humour can be a joy, it's also harmful as well. See, with Ron's emotional immaturity he doesn't understand when he crosses the line into the territory where he may hurt someone in his joking. Even we he does he often times shrugs it off thinking they'll get over it seeing as he figures if he can they can. This... doesn't exactly end well for him a lot of the time, earning him a few haughty looks by girls especially since his jokes are taken vulgar by their point of view (“Can I see Uranus, too?”).
Despite popular belief, Ron isn't, for lack of a better word, dumb. Canonically he earns passing O.W.L. scores of E (equivalent to U.S. B) and only failed the two courses he didn't care about anyway. Ron just isn't motivated-he doesn't see a point in all the homework they're given, doesn't think reading the subject for fun is needed and is generally lazy. We must also remember that he eventually becomes an Auror, which is one of the hardest occupations to get into. It's just this: if Ron doesn't feel he'll get anything from it he won't put his all into it. He puts in what he feels is needed to pass and stops there. All that extra work could be spent on something he finds more interesting or necessary, such as Quidditch, chess, or eating.
Within the group, as you saw above, Rowling states Ron as the glue that keeps them together. He’s not the smartest or most skilled, but he’s the one with the most heart. When Hermione and Harry go off in their tangents, Ron’s the one that bucks up and keeps them grounded. He’s often the sensibility of the group without even meaning to be. As seen in Deathly Hallows when Harry begins thinking about Hallows, Ron is the one that can keep them moving when things get rough. He’s the chess master, the one that understands that some things need to be done rather they like it or not. Even though he’s often grumpy, it’s shown that his anger isn’t… quite as rash as Harry’s who lashes out without prompted reason. For Ron it’s always something building up or a protective nature. The trio have always defended each other, but when it comes down to it Ron’s the first one to be protective and will be the first to try and sacrifice himself for the others. As shown in third year when, on a broken leg no less, he stands and tries to protect Harry saying Sirius would have to kill them first, or during Deathly Hallows when he tells Bellatrix to take him instead of Hermione.
Ultimately, Ron is a boy and a typical one at that, except... Except, because of the war he's been forced to grow up too fast. He is ultimately still the same boy we saw from day one near the end of Deathly Hallows, but the war has added subtle changes to him that are beginning to flourish. He's become more serious and understanding, trying to do his best to do what is right. He's beginning to see relationships and feelings for what they are and it shows-especially when throughout year seven he comforts Hermione to the best of his ability. When Fred died he had to swallow what grief he had and help his family out and, in doing so, he grows to be more of a man. Ron's still got a long way to go, but these subtle changes are appearing and showing themselves in the most outstanding ways. Yet, at the end of the day, he is still very much Ron-the awkward boy who fought beside his best friend from day one.
BELOW IS A SECTION ON THE OTHER TWO-THIRDS OF THE TRIO AND HIS RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM AND HOW THEY AFFECT HIS PERSONALITY
Perhaps the easiest relationship to touch on is the one between that of Ron and Hermione as, in many interviews; Rowling has expanded on the depth of their relationship to great extents. At first Ron couldn’t stand her thinking her a haughty know-it-all who was a “nightmare”. In return, Hermione seemed to have a snotty, sniping attitude towards him. Of course, this changed when Ron and Harry accidentally lock her in a bathroom with a fully grown mountain troll and the three are forced to fight it. Since then, the two of them have constantly bickered and sometimes it can hardly be told why they’re friends.
But there are more important aspects of their relationship: Ron seems to believe he has a certain responsibility over her since they became friends. As aforementioned, Ron is under the mindset that he can say whatever he wants about his friends, but if someone else dares he sees fit to attack. This is seen especially in light of Hermione who, in year two, he defended with a broken wand and during Deathly Hallows tried to refuse letting her near anywhere dangerous, saying if any of them did anything as such it would be him. Ron has a constant nature of putting himself between Hermione and whatever may come their way, rather it be insults or attacks and, in a way, it could be said this is because of how his mother raised him… Yet, anyone who’s read the books know better.
Hermione is the one person who can truly make Ron emotional. Let me better say this, Ron is capable of trying to keep his real emotions back and grumbling about things for ages for almost everything else but Hermione. He’s seen arguing, protecting, jealous, and worrying more openly than he has with any of the other characters, in a way it’s because she’s the emotional balance between them.
"Ron and Hermione, however, are drawn to each other because they balance each other
out. Hermione's got the sensitivity and maturity that's been left out of Ron, and
Ron loosens up Hermione a bit, gets her to have some fun. They love each other and
they bicker a bit, but they enjoy bickering, so we shouldn't worry about it."
The above is how Rowling explains the two of theirs relationship-where Ron fails to see the picture because of his anger, jealousy, and generally sulking, Hermione is the one that puts it straight. Even when they’re rowing she’s able to put him in perspective. Consequently, Ron truly listens to Hermione. In Deathly Hallows he’s seen openly taking care of her and pulling her to him when she was crying, showing a level of maturity that he hadn’t yet. He even shows a sense of logic that Hermione didn’t realize he has, even repeating her own words to her.
Where Hermione lacks, Ron takes up. He’s the one between the two boys that can get her to stop panicking, calm down and even laugh. Even if it’s sometimes unwittingly that he does so. While Hermione is reason and logic, Ron is often the sensibility. This was deeply portrayed in year four when she started her campaigning for S.P.E.W. and he told her it’d be impossible to change things and free the house-elves and tried his darnedest to get her to eat. He often grumbles about her behavior in not sleeping and eating during these times and shows a concern for her he doesn’t quite anyone else… Well, when they’re not in one of their epic rows that is.
One of the most important aspects of their relationship built up through the course of the seven novels and became known in Deathly Hallows: they’re affection for each other. When Ron leaves during their hunt for horcruxes it’s not Harry or their mission that brings him back to them: it’s Hermione. We see an increased tension in their relationship during the horcrux hunt and learn that the girl Ron loves is Hermione (as said by Riddle via the locket). Which sort of makes all their bickering fall into place-for as loyal as Ron was to Harry it was Hermione that really brought him back. He just never has the courage to say or do anything about it the entirety of the novel until she kisses him. The idea of her liking or kissing anyone else, Harry via the locket, is a subject of great grief and jealousy for him. The idea she kissed Krum, after all, was exactly why he started dating Lavender in Half-Blood Prince.
Harry was Ron’s first friend outside of his own family members and, from day one, he showed a certain loyalty to him. The two were instantaneous friends and for the both of them it was because they seemed able to readily accept them for who the other was. Ron didn’t mind Harry was from a muggle home or that his clothes were hardly his own size. And Harry didn’t mind that Ron was from a large family, second-hand everything and poor. They had found a friend in the other that would continue for the next seven years into their later life.
While Ron and Harry hardly had as much trouble getting along as Ron did with Hermione, they had their spats and it could be said they were worse than his with Hermione. For, while he and Hermione got into tiffs where they wouldn’t speak to each other for days-the worst being in year six-when Ron and Harry fight there’s a break in the friendship. The first initial one in year four, Hermione ended up staying more by Harry although she realized the reasoning behind it, but the later locket-induced fight in Deathly Hallows had Ron completely abandon them. Which, in truth, had never happened in any of the trios spats before.
Ron may not be there, but he’s never abandoned Harry. Not once. Sound absurd? Yes, of course, but not being in sight or speaking doesn’t mean they’ve abandoned in a complete sense. In year four when he had left Harry there were nasty jokes and bets going around, and although he was angry and thought Harry had lied to him, it’s noted Ron never participates in it. He stands in the corner looking on like nothing’s happened, but shows no sign of taking any enjoyment from it, even helping him yell at Snape when Hermione was cursed. This was even shown in Deathly Hallows for, while he had the chance to go home and not return, he still looked for Harry and Hermione. Even if the implied leading cause was the latter.
From day one, Ron has shown an infallible loyalty to Harry. He fights with him in every battle with little question and defends him even when the times go for the worst. Most importantly, he’s willing to sacrifice everything for his friend. Ron first shows this in year one when he says that in order for Harry to go on *he* must be taken and that, sometimes, some sacrifices must be done. Furthermore, in year six and seven, Ron and Hermione are both fully aware that during the Horcrux hunt there was a possibility of one, if not all, of them dying. Yet, both of them proceeded, putting their families at risk despite their attempts to protect them. We can also never forget that it was for Harry that Ron faced his greatest fears for in facing the spiders in the forest.
It’s known that Ron is jealous of his older brothers and feels easily overshadowed, but after befriending Harry this only intensifies. Ron is jealous that Hermione and his mother love and choose Harry over him, and this plays quite the roll considering it’s the very reason he leaves in Deathly Hallows. Ron’s anger and jealousy cause rifts in their relationship that almost break the trio as a whole, as mentioned before, but both of these known times were because of Ron’s outstanding insecurities. He considers himself as “Harry Potter’s stupid best friend,” and while often times it’s a thing of honor for him-there’s always a deep-rooted insecurity. After his defeating of the horcrux and Harry telling him the opposite, this seems to have diminished, but it’s such a core part of Ron that it will never fully leave him.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: Post-Deathly Hallows but pre-Epilogue. Ron's being taken a few months after the war. Hermione's returned to school and Ron's helping George with Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes before starting Auror Training. He's being taken roughly the same time as Hermione during a Hogsmeade visit.
[journal post]: I'm doing this as if Ron's been here a bit and tossed his communication device only to have it return to him, if that's alright!
[You know what a bloke likes when he chucks weird muggle devices? He likes them to stay the bloody hell away. Unfortunately for Ron, when he nearly trips over something the device kicks on and the viewer is met with the scowling, furrowed brows redhead as he tries to figure out what he tripped on.]
Wha--? Oh, bloody hell, you've got to be kidding me.
[Scowl deepening, he picks it up with a shake of his head.] If I wanted this barmy thing I would've asked for it. A bloke likes a bit of privacy, and if this is how you greet someone reckon you could find a better way of it.
Next time I chuck this thing in a bin, it had best stay there. [But he comes up with an idea since the stupid thing obviously wants him to say something.] ...Anyone around here good at a bit of chess?
[third person / log sample]:
If there was one thing Ron Weasley hated it was cleaning the dishes by hand. Don’t get him wrong, he hated a lot of things and quite adamantly pointed out he hated them, but when his mum told him to clean the dishes without using magic he thought it the worst thing at the time.
Even as he scrubbed the plate absentmindedly there was annoyance at the tedious task. If she just let him use magic this could be done faster, but she wouldn’t and he was beginning to think this was some sort of punishment. Of course, considering how she interrupted him and the other two constantly it just might be. Merlin, they couldn’t even sit alone to talk without her peering her head around the corner and finding some mindless task for them to do in the longest most difficult way possible! If it kept up much longer he was sure he was going to explode, what with spending the last week or so dodging her to have a brief moment with even one of them.
With a scoff he put the last dish down and craned his neck to look around the normally overly-crowded house. The Burrow only appeared as empty as it did as Molly had most of the family and anyone she can wrangle in running about errands for the wedding. She had gained a nasty habit of appearing when you stopped working for even a minute, or at least it was far worse than it ever was before, but even a flash of her was what he was looking for.
Comforted with the thought his mum wasn’t about to come storming down the stairs Ron backed away from the sink and rolled his shoulders. Really, he thought, how did Muggles do it? The thought was followed by a shake of his head as Ron tried to wrap his mind around the thought once more. All things considered he had an awful time of trying to figure out how they did all of what they did without the use of magic.
He cast another wary look around before pulling the wand out of his pocket. He’d already done most of the dishes by hand, what was finishing the last half-or-so by magic? Besides, it’s not like she would notice if he finished before she even saw! A confident sort of smirk playing against his lips, Ron flicked the wand with a choice spell word at the dishes. Watching it momentarily the smirk turned into an inward grin as he moved over to the kitchen table.
Pleased with his sneakiness, Ron grabbed an apple from the basket on the table and sunk his teeth in it... Only to drop it in horror as the sound of his mother’s scolding erupted in his ears. “Bloody hell,” he muttered grimacing to himself. Instinct told him to run and he had half the mind to, but if there was one thing the Weasley children knew about their mother was that evading just made the worst even worse. And with how frantic Molly was being with the wedding, well, it was best to make her as happy as possible. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Ron went against primal instinct and turned to face his mother with only one thought in his mind:
Blimey, would he be happy when this whole wedding business was over.
[personal LJ name]: trustintomorrow
[other characters currently played]: N/A
[e-mail]: tomorrowsneverclear@gmail.com
[AIM / messenger]: seasaltmemory
[series]: Harry Potter
[character]: Ronald Weasley
[character history / background]: Background
[character abilities]: Yer a wizard, Ron
[character personality]:
With Ron you cannot look on the first layer to understand him and this is where many people's problems come in. He comes off as angry, moping, jealous, sometimes harsh as well as an all around prat. This happens to be, however, one fragment of the impossibly complex, fragile male. As such I think, to give the idea about Ron this quote in-particular is needed:
”Dumbledore understood Ron's importance in the trio. He wasn't the most skilled, or the most intelligent, but he held them together. His humour and good heart was essential.”
--J.K. Rowling
The above quote is important to remember as we delve into the mind of Ronald Weasley. For while there are often times his explosive anger gets it the best of him, is it truly anger or is insecurities? There are differences in Ron's anger than we see in that of Harry. Harry's anger often comes off irrational and unprompted, he flies off the handle easily. Ron, on the other hand, we must look at with more scrutiny.
There are three reasons where Ron can become truly angered: jealousy, insecurities and his protective nature. It is only when these things are tampered with that we see Ron lash out and when he does it's not pretty.
Well, why then does Ron always seem angry? For that we must look further in starting with the very base of it: Ron holds in a lot of emotions. In a way it's almost as if he cannot express these emotions properly. Rowling describes Ron as “emotionally immature” and he shows this time and again. Because of his unwillingness to show every emotion within him, Ron has stunted his emotional growth. Throughout the series it's shown he can't tell when he hurts others feelings or how to deal with romantic relationships. He presses these emotions down until they become deformed in nature, changing them to become a sarcastic, sulking and tempered sort.
In truth, Ron is capable of feeling so many things he doesn't know how to deal with it.
One of the most easily noticeable traits about Ron are his insecurities. Ron grew up with five older brothers that excelled in many paths of life and had two best friends that were fairly well known by their fourth year. As a child of seven and the last son before the ever wanted daughter, Ron grew up with what he felt a lot on his shoulders to prove himself. Because of this a low self-confidence and many insecurities stemmed from his view on how he should conduct himself. He believes he's least loved by his mother, he believes the girl he loves is into his best friend, and he doesn't feel he's smart enough for anything. Ron wants to prove himself and get attention like those around him. Although, for the latter, he'd prefer it be for something good (he does not believe being a “war hero” merits happiness to be celebrated over after people died).
Stemming from his many insecurities is Ron's jealousy where we see most of his explosive nature come out. Ron isn't exactly capable of seeing emotions and relationships in a rational sort of way, he's gotten better about it but his inferiority complex has him watch his friends and family in a resentful sort of way. Growing up with having second-hand everything he just once wants something new for himself. He wants the people he meets to know him as Ron Weasley not another Weasley or Harry Potter's best mate. So, when these things fail, he becomes jealous of the fact he's unnoticed. Ron truly wants someone to pay attention to him. This is why he enjoyed his relationship with Lavender, despite it lasting a short time.
Finally, we come to the last factor of Ron's angry outbursts. His protectiveness of his friends in family. Ron isn't exactly always nice to them, but he is under the frame of mind that no one else is allowed to be awful to the people he is close to. Even when he's angry with someone, he's shown he will stand up for them (as seen when Malfoy's ricocheted curse hit Hermione in fourth year and Snape tried dismissing it). Ron is a self-sacrificing sort of person seen risking himself for his friends from the very beginning of the series to the end, and this shows in his nature. He refuses to allow his friends and family in harms way if he can be put into it himself . If this impossible, he'll protect them until he no longer can. Ron sees no harm in yelling, punching or cursing a person should they so much as insult someone he loves-try literally harming them? Oh, there's hell to pay if you try that much.
Briefly touched on before is Ron's self-sacrificing nature and his ability to mask his feelings. As aforementioned, the reason Ron's anger is so explosive is because he squashes it, masks it behind a joke or two and a bit of sulking. Ron will do anything to protect the people around him, and that's even from his own feelings. Take year four for example. He was so angry with Harry, Harry had no idea what was wrong with him. From Hermione's perspective she could tell Ron was jealous of Harry's standing. The fact that it's implied only Hermione was able to see that Ron was jealous shows a lot, especially as everyone else was able to see he was mad about her but she couldn't. It's almost as if Ron is able to hide the emotions from the person in question but not everyone else. He hides a lot of these emotions as to not change their dynamic and even keep them from knowing he's jealous, but sometimes it becomes to much... Those are the times when we see his explosive side.
What many people don't seem to realize about Ron is that he comes from an old-fashioned mindset. With the lack of technological advances that the Muggle World had, certain things Ron is oblivious to. The poor kid blushes and sputters when seeing his sister snogging of all things. While it can be said it's because that was his kid sister there's more to it than that. Ron was raised almost purely around family and didn't likely get the chance to often go to the village behind the orchard. Growing up it was mostly him, Ginny, Fred and George until they went off to school. Growing up in seclusion and with a strict mother who demands they go by certain mannerisms, it's needless to say Ron doesn't have the progressive mind those from the Muggle world might have. He starts leaning, however, as over the years more slang and the sort bleed into his vocabulary (for example, his favorite line “bloody hell”, takes him three years to say regularly). With this in mind, it's a bit more understandable when it comes to Ron's viewpoints on certain things-especially relationships-especially when adding in his emotional stunting.
Like his patronus the Jack Russel Terrier, Ron is an extremely loyal person. Upon meeting Harry in the Hogwarts express when they were eleven, Ron took no time standing up next to him when Draco Malfoy arrived shortly into their friendship. This very act shows the very beginning of the extremes Ron will go for friendship seeing as eventually he puts his life as well as his whole family's on the line for Harry. There are times Ron risks losing a friendship when his insecurities and jealousy get the better of him, but it's important to note even on these occasions he still stands by the person. He refuses to play along with the jokes against Harry in year four. In year seven he tries to find Harry and Hermione immediately after leaving (although, in this case it was more for the latter).
Although generally friendly once you get to know him, Ron's not the most trusting of people. Being around mostly family in his early years and then growing up in a time of war has taken its toll on Ron. He's often suspicious of others and uncertain of their motives, but he's no where near as bad as Harry when he becomes set on Malfoy being up to something. For Ron it's more in an uncertainty, but he will eventually warm up given enough time. If not he'll keep the person at arms length and answer in short answers (although, he answers in short answers no matter what, he just doesn't keep up the discussion unless he gets to tell some heroic story about himself).
Growing up around Fred and George, Ron has not come to be without his own wisecracking sense of humour. While he's not an inventive prankster as his brothers are, he can easily get people laughing when given the chance and enjoys his brothers' inventions. While his sense of humour can be a joy, it's also harmful as well. See, with Ron's emotional immaturity he doesn't understand when he crosses the line into the territory where he may hurt someone in his joking. Even we he does he often times shrugs it off thinking they'll get over it seeing as he figures if he can they can. This... doesn't exactly end well for him a lot of the time, earning him a few haughty looks by girls especially since his jokes are taken vulgar by their point of view (“Can I see Uranus, too?”).
Despite popular belief, Ron isn't, for lack of a better word, dumb. Canonically he earns passing O.W.L. scores of E (equivalent to U.S. B) and only failed the two courses he didn't care about anyway. Ron just isn't motivated-he doesn't see a point in all the homework they're given, doesn't think reading the subject for fun is needed and is generally lazy. We must also remember that he eventually becomes an Auror, which is one of the hardest occupations to get into. It's just this: if Ron doesn't feel he'll get anything from it he won't put his all into it. He puts in what he feels is needed to pass and stops there. All that extra work could be spent on something he finds more interesting or necessary, such as Quidditch, chess, or eating.
Within the group, as you saw above, Rowling states Ron as the glue that keeps them together. He’s not the smartest or most skilled, but he’s the one with the most heart. When Hermione and Harry go off in their tangents, Ron’s the one that bucks up and keeps them grounded. He’s often the sensibility of the group without even meaning to be. As seen in Deathly Hallows when Harry begins thinking about Hallows, Ron is the one that can keep them moving when things get rough. He’s the chess master, the one that understands that some things need to be done rather they like it or not. Even though he’s often grumpy, it’s shown that his anger isn’t… quite as rash as Harry’s who lashes out without prompted reason. For Ron it’s always something building up or a protective nature. The trio have always defended each other, but when it comes down to it Ron’s the first one to be protective and will be the first to try and sacrifice himself for the others. As shown in third year when, on a broken leg no less, he stands and tries to protect Harry saying Sirius would have to kill them first, or during Deathly Hallows when he tells Bellatrix to take him instead of Hermione.
Ultimately, Ron is a boy and a typical one at that, except... Except, because of the war he's been forced to grow up too fast. He is ultimately still the same boy we saw from day one near the end of Deathly Hallows, but the war has added subtle changes to him that are beginning to flourish. He's become more serious and understanding, trying to do his best to do what is right. He's beginning to see relationships and feelings for what they are and it shows-especially when throughout year seven he comforts Hermione to the best of his ability. When Fred died he had to swallow what grief he had and help his family out and, in doing so, he grows to be more of a man. Ron's still got a long way to go, but these subtle changes are appearing and showing themselves in the most outstanding ways. Yet, at the end of the day, he is still very much Ron-the awkward boy who fought beside his best friend from day one.
BELOW IS A SECTION ON THE OTHER TWO-THIRDS OF THE TRIO AND HIS RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM AND HOW THEY AFFECT HIS PERSONALITY
Perhaps the easiest relationship to touch on is the one between that of Ron and Hermione as, in many interviews; Rowling has expanded on the depth of their relationship to great extents. At first Ron couldn’t stand her thinking her a haughty know-it-all who was a “nightmare”. In return, Hermione seemed to have a snotty, sniping attitude towards him. Of course, this changed when Ron and Harry accidentally lock her in a bathroom with a fully grown mountain troll and the three are forced to fight it. Since then, the two of them have constantly bickered and sometimes it can hardly be told why they’re friends.
But there are more important aspects of their relationship: Ron seems to believe he has a certain responsibility over her since they became friends. As aforementioned, Ron is under the mindset that he can say whatever he wants about his friends, but if someone else dares he sees fit to attack. This is seen especially in light of Hermione who, in year two, he defended with a broken wand and during Deathly Hallows tried to refuse letting her near anywhere dangerous, saying if any of them did anything as such it would be him. Ron has a constant nature of putting himself between Hermione and whatever may come their way, rather it be insults or attacks and, in a way, it could be said this is because of how his mother raised him… Yet, anyone who’s read the books know better.
Hermione is the one person who can truly make Ron emotional. Let me better say this, Ron is capable of trying to keep his real emotions back and grumbling about things for ages for almost everything else but Hermione. He’s seen arguing, protecting, jealous, and worrying more openly than he has with any of the other characters, in a way it’s because she’s the emotional balance between them.
"Ron and Hermione, however, are drawn to each other because they balance each other
out. Hermione's got the sensitivity and maturity that's been left out of Ron, and
Ron loosens up Hermione a bit, gets her to have some fun. They love each other and
they bicker a bit, but they enjoy bickering, so we shouldn't worry about it."
The above is how Rowling explains the two of theirs relationship-where Ron fails to see the picture because of his anger, jealousy, and generally sulking, Hermione is the one that puts it straight. Even when they’re rowing she’s able to put him in perspective. Consequently, Ron truly listens to Hermione. In Deathly Hallows he’s seen openly taking care of her and pulling her to him when she was crying, showing a level of maturity that he hadn’t yet. He even shows a sense of logic that Hermione didn’t realize he has, even repeating her own words to her.
Where Hermione lacks, Ron takes up. He’s the one between the two boys that can get her to stop panicking, calm down and even laugh. Even if it’s sometimes unwittingly that he does so. While Hermione is reason and logic, Ron is often the sensibility. This was deeply portrayed in year four when she started her campaigning for S.P.E.W. and he told her it’d be impossible to change things and free the house-elves and tried his darnedest to get her to eat. He often grumbles about her behavior in not sleeping and eating during these times and shows a concern for her he doesn’t quite anyone else… Well, when they’re not in one of their epic rows that is.
One of the most important aspects of their relationship built up through the course of the seven novels and became known in Deathly Hallows: they’re affection for each other. When Ron leaves during their hunt for horcruxes it’s not Harry or their mission that brings him back to them: it’s Hermione. We see an increased tension in their relationship during the horcrux hunt and learn that the girl Ron loves is Hermione (as said by Riddle via the locket). Which sort of makes all their bickering fall into place-for as loyal as Ron was to Harry it was Hermione that really brought him back. He just never has the courage to say or do anything about it the entirety of the novel until she kisses him. The idea of her liking or kissing anyone else, Harry via the locket, is a subject of great grief and jealousy for him. The idea she kissed Krum, after all, was exactly why he started dating Lavender in Half-Blood Prince.
Harry was Ron’s first friend outside of his own family members and, from day one, he showed a certain loyalty to him. The two were instantaneous friends and for the both of them it was because they seemed able to readily accept them for who the other was. Ron didn’t mind Harry was from a muggle home or that his clothes were hardly his own size. And Harry didn’t mind that Ron was from a large family, second-hand everything and poor. They had found a friend in the other that would continue for the next seven years into their later life.
While Ron and Harry hardly had as much trouble getting along as Ron did with Hermione, they had their spats and it could be said they were worse than his with Hermione. For, while he and Hermione got into tiffs where they wouldn’t speak to each other for days-the worst being in year six-when Ron and Harry fight there’s a break in the friendship. The first initial one in year four, Hermione ended up staying more by Harry although she realized the reasoning behind it, but the later locket-induced fight in Deathly Hallows had Ron completely abandon them. Which, in truth, had never happened in any of the trios spats before.
Ron may not be there, but he’s never abandoned Harry. Not once. Sound absurd? Yes, of course, but not being in sight or speaking doesn’t mean they’ve abandoned in a complete sense. In year four when he had left Harry there were nasty jokes and bets going around, and although he was angry and thought Harry had lied to him, it’s noted Ron never participates in it. He stands in the corner looking on like nothing’s happened, but shows no sign of taking any enjoyment from it, even helping him yell at Snape when Hermione was cursed. This was even shown in Deathly Hallows for, while he had the chance to go home and not return, he still looked for Harry and Hermione. Even if the implied leading cause was the latter.
From day one, Ron has shown an infallible loyalty to Harry. He fights with him in every battle with little question and defends him even when the times go for the worst. Most importantly, he’s willing to sacrifice everything for his friend. Ron first shows this in year one when he says that in order for Harry to go on *he* must be taken and that, sometimes, some sacrifices must be done. Furthermore, in year six and seven, Ron and Hermione are both fully aware that during the Horcrux hunt there was a possibility of one, if not all, of them dying. Yet, both of them proceeded, putting their families at risk despite their attempts to protect them. We can also never forget that it was for Harry that Ron faced his greatest fears for in facing the spiders in the forest.
It’s known that Ron is jealous of his older brothers and feels easily overshadowed, but after befriending Harry this only intensifies. Ron is jealous that Hermione and his mother love and choose Harry over him, and this plays quite the roll considering it’s the very reason he leaves in Deathly Hallows. Ron’s anger and jealousy cause rifts in their relationship that almost break the trio as a whole, as mentioned before, but both of these known times were because of Ron’s outstanding insecurities. He considers himself as “Harry Potter’s stupid best friend,” and while often times it’s a thing of honor for him-there’s always a deep-rooted insecurity. After his defeating of the horcrux and Harry telling him the opposite, this seems to have diminished, but it’s such a core part of Ron that it will never fully leave him.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: Post-Deathly Hallows but pre-Epilogue. Ron's being taken a few months after the war. Hermione's returned to school and Ron's helping George with Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes before starting Auror Training. He's being taken roughly the same time as Hermione during a Hogsmeade visit.
[journal post]: I'm doing this as if Ron's been here a bit and tossed his communication device only to have it return to him, if that's alright!
[You know what a bloke likes when he chucks weird muggle devices? He likes them to stay the bloody hell away. Unfortunately for Ron, when he nearly trips over something the device kicks on and the viewer is met with the scowling, furrowed brows redhead as he tries to figure out what he tripped on.]
Wha--? Oh, bloody hell, you've got to be kidding me.
[Scowl deepening, he picks it up with a shake of his head.] If I wanted this barmy thing I would've asked for it. A bloke likes a bit of privacy, and if this is how you greet someone reckon you could find a better way of it.
Next time I chuck this thing in a bin, it had best stay there. [But he comes up with an idea since the stupid thing obviously wants him to say something.] ...Anyone around here good at a bit of chess?
[third person / log sample]:
If there was one thing Ron Weasley hated it was cleaning the dishes by hand. Don’t get him wrong, he hated a lot of things and quite adamantly pointed out he hated them, but when his mum told him to clean the dishes without using magic he thought it the worst thing at the time.
Even as he scrubbed the plate absentmindedly there was annoyance at the tedious task. If she just let him use magic this could be done faster, but she wouldn’t and he was beginning to think this was some sort of punishment. Of course, considering how she interrupted him and the other two constantly it just might be. Merlin, they couldn’t even sit alone to talk without her peering her head around the corner and finding some mindless task for them to do in the longest most difficult way possible! If it kept up much longer he was sure he was going to explode, what with spending the last week or so dodging her to have a brief moment with even one of them.
With a scoff he put the last dish down and craned his neck to look around the normally overly-crowded house. The Burrow only appeared as empty as it did as Molly had most of the family and anyone she can wrangle in running about errands for the wedding. She had gained a nasty habit of appearing when you stopped working for even a minute, or at least it was far worse than it ever was before, but even a flash of her was what he was looking for.
Comforted with the thought his mum wasn’t about to come storming down the stairs Ron backed away from the sink and rolled his shoulders. Really, he thought, how did Muggles do it? The thought was followed by a shake of his head as Ron tried to wrap his mind around the thought once more. All things considered he had an awful time of trying to figure out how they did all of what they did without the use of magic.
He cast another wary look around before pulling the wand out of his pocket. He’d already done most of the dishes by hand, what was finishing the last half-or-so by magic? Besides, it’s not like she would notice if he finished before she even saw! A confident sort of smirk playing against his lips, Ron flicked the wand with a choice spell word at the dishes. Watching it momentarily the smirk turned into an inward grin as he moved over to the kitchen table.
Pleased with his sneakiness, Ron grabbed an apple from the basket on the table and sunk his teeth in it... Only to drop it in horror as the sound of his mother’s scolding erupted in his ears. “Bloody hell,” he muttered grimacing to himself. Instinct told him to run and he had half the mind to, but if there was one thing the Weasley children knew about their mother was that evading just made the worst even worse. And with how frantic Molly was being with the wedding, well, it was best to make her as happy as possible. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Ron went against primal instinct and turned to face his mother with only one thought in his mind:
Blimey, would he be happy when this whole wedding business was over.