In the films, he is portrayed by Rupert Grint.
Rowling first introduces Ron with his family in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Harry is lost at King's Cross railway station and the Weasleys guide him through the barrier of Platform 9¾ into the Wizarding world. Ron and Harry share a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, and they begin their friendship: Ron fascinated with the famous Harry, and Harry fascinated with the ordinary wizard Ron. It is here that they both meet Hermione Granger as well, whom they initially dislike but who later becomes their close friend after they save each other during a dangerous encounter with a mountain troll. Ron and Harry share the same classes throughout the series, and generally have similar academic successes and disappointments. Ron plays a vital part in the quest to save the Philosopher's Stone. His strategy at Wizard's Chess allows Hermione and Harry to proceed safely through a dangerous life-size, animated chess game. During the game, Ron allows his piece to be sacrificed and is subsequently knocked unconscious. At the Leaving Feast, the last dinner of the school year, Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts' Headmaster, awards Ron fifty House points to Gryffindor for "the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years." These last-minute points help support Gryffindor's win of the House Cup.
The second instalment, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), takes place the year following the events of the Philosopher's Stone. During the summer, Ron attempts to write to Harry several times. He receives no reply because Dobby the house elf is stopping Harry's wizard mail. Ron becomes so concerned that he and his brothers Fred and George fly their father's enchanted Ford Anglia car to Harry's home at his aunt and uncle's house. Harry spends the next month at the Weasleys' home, the Burrow. While attempting to depart from King's Cross station, Harry and Ron find themselves unable to enter the barrier to access Platform 9¾. With Harry, Ron conceives the idea of taking the flying Ford Anglia to Hogwarts. The plan is successful, but the Anglia loses power at the end of the journey and crashes into the Whomping Willow. Ron and Harry survive the impact, but the car drives itself off into the Forbidden Forest, a forest at the edge of the Hogwarts grounds in which student access is prohibited. Ron receives a Howler from his mother, chastising him for taking the car.
Later in the novel, Ron and Harry transform themselves using Polyjuice Potion to resemble Draco Malfoy's close associates Crabbe and Goyle, so that they can spy on him, and find out what he knows about the Chamber of Secrets. During the hunt to find the Heir of Slytherin, Ron is responsible for providing the first clue to the identity of Tom Marvolo Riddle, recalling that he saw the name "T. M. Riddle" on a trophy inscribed "For Special Services To The School". Later Ron is forced to come face-to-face with his biggest fear, spiders, in the Forbidden Forest, where the two have ventured at Hagrid's suggestion. Giant spiders nearly eat the two of them, but the Ford Anglia returns from the Forbidden Forest and rescues the pair. Ron and Harry then discover the entrance into the Chamber, and enter it in the hopes of saving Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, who had been kidnapped and kept in the Chamber. Due to an accident with Ron's wand, the Chamber Entrance's ceiling collapses, trapping Ron on one side and Harry on the other. Harry goes on to rescue Ginny and save the day. Ron and Harry are given Special Awards for Services to the School for this.
When Ron's rat, Scabbers, already seen in Philosopher's Stone, goes missing, he blames Hermione's new cat Crookshanks, and the two have a falling out. They eventually make up when Hermione has a nervous breakdown brought by taking too many classes and distress at the fate of the hippogriff Buckbeak. The animal, owned by Hagrid, has been put on trial for injuring Draco Malfoy and risks execution. Ron offers to help with the preparation of Buckbeak's defence, but this fails to help. Harry, Ron and Hermione go to see Hagrid on the execution day where they discover Scabbers hiding out in Hagrid's hut. As they leave, Scabbers struggles free of Ron and runs away. He chases Scabbers to the Whomping Willow where he is grabbed by a large black dog and dragged into a tunnel hidden below the tree.
Harry and Hermione follow the tunnel, which leads to the Shrieking Shack. The dog is actually the animal form of Sirius Black (an Animagus), Harry's godfather and an escaped convict from the wizard prison Azkaban. The school's Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Remus Lupin arrives just after Harry and Hermione. Along with Black, Lupin casts a spell on Scabbers, who also turns out to be an Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew was Black's, Lupin's, and James Potter's school friend, thought to have been murdered by Black. Pettigrew, who had lived as a rat ever since faking his death, denies everything, but Sirius and Lupin piece together that he has been a servant of Voldemort, and it was he who divulged the secret whereabouts of Harry's parents, leading to their murder. Initially, Ron does not believe Sirius and refuses to turn over Scabbers to him, but he is disgusted when he learns his rat's identity. Pettigrew escapes when the main characters lead him out of the Whomping Willow. Ron, knocked out by a spell from Pettigrew, is taken to the hospital wing, and is forced to remain there while Harry and Hermione travel back in time to save Sirius and Buckbeak. At the end of the novel, Sirius sends Ron an excitable little owl whom Ginny names Pigwidgeon, but whom Ron refers to as "Pig".
At Christmas time, as per Triwizard Tournament tradition, Hogwarts hosts a Yule Ball. Ron and Harry panic at the prospect of having to secure dates for the event, and Ron appals Hermione with his immature approach, particularly for failing to extend her an invitation, apparently failing until the last minute to even realise she is a girl. At the last minute, Harry saves the day by getting Parvati Patil and her sister Padma to agree to come with the duo, although Padma seems less than pleased at Ron's surly attitude and shabby dress. Ron becomes overcome with jealousy when he sees Hermione with her date: his former idol Viktor Krum. When Hermione comes over to Ron and Harry for a friendly chat, Ron loses control and accuses her of "fraternising with the enemy" and giving away Harry's Triwizard secrets. At the evening's end, the two have a heated row, in which Hermione tells Ron he should have asked her before Krum, rather than simply hoping to secure her by default. Ron completely fails to get the hint and remains either in denial or oblivious to the pair's increasingly obvious feelings for each other. Ron's jealousy over Krum is mirrored by Hermione's dislike of Fleur Delacour (of the Beauxbatons Academy and a Triwizard competitor), on whom Ron has an obvious crush.
In the Second Task of the Tournament, Ron is the person selected for Harry to rescue from the depths of the Hogwarts Lake, as he is the one whom Harry would most miss. Harry successfully saves him and Ron mocks him gently for thinking that the hostages for the task were in actual danger.
On his birthday in March, Ron accidentally eats love-potion-infused Chocolate Cauldrons (actually meant for Harry). After being cured by Slughorn, he then consumes poisoned mead (which Draco Malfoy actually intended for Dumbledore). Harry saves his life by forcing a bezoar, a poison antidote, into his mouth, and Ron is transferred to the hospital wing. A panic-stricken Hermione arrives, forgetting her past anger. While sitting by his bed, Hermione, Harry, Ginny and the twins hear Ron mutter Hermione's name in his delirium. Conversely, Ron feigns sleep when Lavender visits him. Upon recovering, Ron and Hermione reconcile. A little while later, Ron and Lavender break up. Rowling in an interview said that she "really enjoyed writing the Ron/Lavender business, and the reason that was enjoyable was Ron up to this point has been quite immature compared to the other two, and he kind of needed to make himself worthy of Hermione....he had to grow up emotionally and now he's taken a big step up."
Initially, Ron does not support Harry's belief that Draco Malfoy is a Death Eater, a follower of Voldemort, but later is convinced. Before leaving Hogwarts with Dumbledore to recover a Horcrux Harry arranges for Ron, Hermione, and Ginny—together with any of Dumbledore's Army they can summon—to keep a close watch on Malfoy and Snape. Harry also provides them with the remains of his vial of Felix Felicis, to aid them in the effort. Despite the D.A.'s watch, Malfoy provides the Death Eaters entrance into Hogwarts, and a battle ensues. Thanks to Felix Felicis, Ron, Hermione and Ginny are unharmed by the Death Eater's hexes during the battle. Snape kills Dumbledore during the battle when Malfoy proves that he is unable to. During his funeral, Ron comforts a weeping Hermione. Ron and Hermione vow to help Harry find and destroy the Horcruxes and kill Voldemort, even if it means leaving Hogwarts.
Attention is drawn several times to Ron's deepening relationships to Harry and Hermione, with unresolved romantic tension with Hermione being one of the main subplots of the novel (and, indeed, the series as a whole). Furthermore, Harry and Ron's friendship has strengthened to the point where Harry can tell Ron that his Quidditch performance is endangering his membership on the team without either character getting personal.
Harry decides he wants someone to wear the Horcrux at all time, fearing it might be lost or stolen. This has a much more profound effect on Ron (splinched at the time due to Hermione's Disapparition) than it seems to have on Hermione or Harry. Ron ends up lashing out in frustration at the lack of comforts and a concrete plan, eventually leaving his friends behind. Distressed over his absence, Harry and Hermione do not even mention his name during the time that he is gone. However, when they finally mention his name, Ron, who had immediately regretted his decision to leave but was captured by Snatchers and then could not return due to Hermione's anti-Death Eater enchantments, was lead to Harry's location by unknown magic within the Deluminator he inherited from Dumbledore. Ron dramatically returns by saving Harry from drowning when Harry is attempting to recover Godric Gryffindor's sword from an icy pool. Harry, a sudden believer in the fate created by his return, immediately forgives Ron and insists it must be Ron who uses the sword to destroy Slytherin's locket. However, the portion of Voldemort's soul inside it plays on Ron's insecurities by revealing that he thinks he is "least loved by a mother who craved a daughter", then by showing him a Harry who tells him that he was happier without him and a Hermione that does not return his affections and is involved instead with Harry. Ron summons his courage and finally breaks through the spell, destroying the locket, but is visibly shaken until Harry tells him that he thinks of Hermione as a sister and a friend, nothing more.
The trio are eventually captured by snatchers, and Bellatrix Lestrange tortures Hermione with the Cruciatus curse for information. This sends Ron into a panic, and continually screams and fights with all his effort to save her, despite Harry's instruction that he calm down and think of a better plan. The trio and some other prisoners are rescued by Dobby, but the house-elf is killed by Bellatrix during the escape. Eventually, the trio returns to Hogwarts, hoping to find the last unknown Horcrux shown in Harry's vision. Having lost the Sword of Gryffindor to Griphook the goblin, Ron gets an idea to procure more Basilisk fangs and manages to speak enough Parseltongue to open the Chamber of Secrets, where Hermione destroys the Horcrux in Helga Hufflepuff's cup. He begins to worry about the fate of Hogwarts' elves. Upon hearing this, Hermione drops the basilisk fangs she was carrying and kisses him for the first time. After this, he looks as if he has been hit by a bludger. He also takes part in the Battle of Hogwarts, witnessing the death of his brother Fred, and teams up with Neville Longbottom to defeat Fenrir Greyback.
Rowling in an interview described Ron as very funny but insensitive and immature, "There’s a lot of immaturity about Ron, and that’s where a lot of the humor comes from. Commenting on Ron's character development in the final book, Rowling explained that "Ron is the most immature of the three main characters, but in part seven he grows up. He was never strong footed , people see him mostly as Harry's friend; his mother had actually wanted a girl and in the last book he finally has to acknowledge his weaknesses. But it's exactly that which makes Ron a man."
Ron is sarcastic, passionate, hotheaded, often wears his heart on his sleeve. He is a good chess player and has considerable wit; however, is a fairly average student, and is often too lazy to bother with his studies, a habit enabled by Hermione's perfectionist need to do even other people's work for them. With Harry and Hermione, Ron tends to use his sarcasm to bring his friends back to reality when they are formulating far-fetched concepts. There is a highly ambitious side to Ron, and he wants dearly to be popular and successful, due mainly to feelings of being overshadowed by his older brothers and best friend. Despite great loyalty to his family, he occasionally shows signs of being ashamed of their economic situation. This has occasionally manifested itself into fights with Harry out of jealousy. Like many of the boisterous Weasley family, Ron has a tendency to argue. This trait is never so present as it is in his relationship with Hermione Granger where bickering is a staple of their relationship, and is often how they best communicate. He seems to show surprise when some, such as Harry, express annoyance at their arguing, as neither he nor Hermione appear to think it is a big deal. In their arguments, while Hermione's tone tends to be patronising, Ron is more often than not bitingly sarcastic.
Rowling has stated that Ron's Patronus Charm takes the form of a Jack Russell terrier, "a really sentimental choice" as Rowling herself owns a Jack Russell.
Rowling has described the Weasleys as an old pure-blood Wizarding family. The family is relatively poor, and despite Ron's father's promotion from head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office at the Ministry of Magic to Head of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects in 2005's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, they remain financially strained. Ron is particularly self-conscious, frustrated, and even resentful of his family's modest means; indeed, his school enemies, including Draco Malfoy and his father Lucius Malfoy, taunt him for his lack of wealth. Ironically, by the sixth book, Ron's father has been promoted to a much higher-paid position and Lucius Malfoy has been thrown in jail.
Ron is distantly related to Sirius Black and is part of the famed Black family, though he and the rest of his immediate family have been considered 'blood traitors' and are disowned. Other distant relatives include Draco Malfoy, Nymphadora Tonks, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Phineas Nigellus Black.
Ron later marries Hermione and has two children: a daughter, Rose, and a son, Hugo.
In the films, he is portrayed by Rupert Grint.
Rowling first introduces Ron with his family in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Harry is lost at King's Cross railway station and the Weasleys guide him through the barrier of Platform 9¾ into the Wizarding world. Ron and Harry share a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, and they begin their friendship: Ron fascinated with the famous Harry, and Harry fascinated with the ordinary wizard Ron. It is here that they both meet Hermione Granger as well, whom they initially dislike but who later becomes their close friend after they save each other during a dangerous encounter with a mountain troll. Ron and Harry share the same classes throughout the series, and generally have similar academic successes and disappointments. Ron plays a vital part in the quest to save the Philosopher's Stone. His strategy at Wizard's Chess allows Hermione and Harry to proceed safely through a dangerous life-size, animated chess game. During the game, Ron allows his piece to be sacrificed and is subsequently knocked unconscious. At the Leaving Feast, the last dinner of the school year, Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts' Headmaster, awards Ron fifty House points to Gryffindor for "the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years." These last-minute points help support Gryffindor's win of the House Cup.
The second instalment, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), takes place the year following the events of the Philosopher's Stone. During the summer, Ron attempts to write to Harry several times. He receives no reply because Dobby the house elf is stopping Harry's wizard mail. Ron becomes so concerned that he and his brothers Fred and George fly their father's enchanted Ford Anglia car to Harry's home at his aunt and uncle's house. Harry spends the next month at the Weasleys' home, the Burrow. While attempting to depart from King's Cross station, Harry and Ron find themselves unable to enter the barrier to access Platform 9¾. With Harry, Ron conceives the idea of taking the flying Ford Anglia to Hogwarts. The plan is successful, but the Anglia loses power at the end of the journey and crashes into the Whomping Willow. Ron and Harry survive the impact, but the car drives itself off into the Forbidden Forest, a forest at the edge of the Hogwarts grounds in which student access is prohibited. Ron receives a Howler from his mother, chastising him for taking the car.
Later in the novel, Ron and Harry transform themselves using Polyjuice Potion to resemble Draco Malfoy's close associates Crabbe and Goyle, so that they can spy on him, and find out what he knows about the Chamber of Secrets. During the hunt to find the Heir of Slytherin, Ron is responsible for providing the first clue to the identity of Tom Marvolo Riddle, recalling that he saw the name "T. M. Riddle" on a trophy inscribed "For Special Services To The School". Later Ron is forced to come face-to-face with his biggest fear, spiders, in the Forbidden Forest, where the two have ventured at Hagrid's suggestion. Giant spiders nearly eat the two of them, but the Ford Anglia returns from the Forbidden Forest and rescues the pair. Ron and Harry then discover the entrance into the Chamber, and enter it in the hopes of saving Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, who had been kidnapped and kept in the Chamber. Due to an accident with Ron's wand, the Chamber Entrance's ceiling collapses, trapping Ron on one side and Harry on the other. Harry goes on to rescue Ginny and save the day. Ron and Harry are given Special Awards for Services to the School for this.
When Ron's rat, Scabbers, already seen in Philosopher's Stone, goes missing, he blames Hermione's new cat Crookshanks, and the two have a falling out. They eventually make up when Hermione has a nervous breakdown brought by taking too many classes and distress at the fate of the hippogriff Buckbeak. The animal, owned by Hagrid, has been put on trial for injuring Draco Malfoy and risks execution. Ron offers to help with the preparation of Buckbeak's defence, but this fails to help. Harry, Ron and Hermione go to see Hagrid on the execution day where they discover Scabbers hiding out in Hagrid's hut. As they leave, Scabbers struggles free of Ron and runs away. He chases Scabbers to the Whomping Willow where he is grabbed by a large black dog and dragged into a tunnel hidden below the tree.
Harry and Hermione follow the tunnel, which leads to the Shrieking Shack. The dog is actually the animal form of Sirius Black (an Animagus), Harry's godfather and an escaped convict from the wizard prison Azkaban. The school's Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Remus Lupin arrives just after Harry and Hermione. Along with Black, Lupin casts a spell on Scabbers, who also turns out to be an Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew was Black's, Lupin's, and James Potter's school friend, thought to have been murdered by Black. Pettigrew, who had lived as a rat ever since faking his death, denies everything, but Sirius and Lupin piece together that he has been a servant of Voldemort, and it was he who divulged the secret whereabouts of Harry's parents, leading to their murder. Initially, Ron does not believe Sirius and refuses to turn over Scabbers to him, but he is disgusted when he learns his rat's identity. Pettigrew escapes when the main characters lead him out of the Whomping Willow. Ron, knocked out by a spell from Pettigrew, is taken to the hospital wing, and is forced to remain there while Harry and Hermione travel back in time to save Sirius and Buckbeak. At the end of the novel, Sirius sends Ron an excitable little owl whom Ginny names Pigwidgeon, but whom Ron refers to as "Pig".
At Christmas time, as per Triwizard Tournament tradition, Hogwarts hosts a Yule Ball. Ron and Harry panic at the prospect of having to secure dates for the event, and Ron appals Hermione with his immature approach, particularly for failing to extend her an invitation, apparently failing until the last minute to even realise she is a girl. At the last minute, Harry saves the day by getting Parvati Patil and her sister Padma to agree to come with the duo, although Padma seems less than pleased at Ron's surly attitude and shabby dress. Ron becomes overcome with jealousy when he sees Hermione with her date: his former idol Viktor Krum. When Hermione comes over to Ron and Harry for a friendly chat, Ron loses control and accuses her of "fraternising with the enemy" and giving away Harry's Triwizard secrets. At the evening's end, the two have a heated row, in which Hermione tells Ron he should have asked her before Krum, rather than simply hoping to secure her by default. Ron completely fails to get the hint and remains either in denial or oblivious to the pair's increasingly obvious feelings for each other. Ron's jealousy over Krum is mirrored by Hermione's dislike of Fleur Delacour (of the Beauxbatons Academy and a Triwizard competitor), on whom Ron has an obvious crush.
In the Second Task of the Tournament, Ron is the person selected for Harry to rescue from the depths of the Hogwarts Lake, as he is the one whom Harry would most miss. Harry successfully saves him and Ron mocks him gently for thinking that the hostages for the task were in actual danger.
On his birthday in March, Ron accidentally eats love-potion-infused Chocolate Cauldrons (actually meant for Harry). After being cured by Slughorn, he then consumes poisoned mead (which Draco Malfoy actually intended for Dumbledore). Harry saves his life by forcing a bezoar, a poison antidote, into his mouth, and Ron is transferred to the hospital wing. A panic-stricken Hermione arrives, forgetting her past anger. While sitting by his bed, Hermione, Harry, Ginny and the twins hear Ron mutter Hermione's name in his delirium. Conversely, Ron feigns sleep when Lavender visits him. Upon recovering, Ron and Hermione reconcile. A little while later, Ron and Lavender break up. Rowling in an interview said that she "really enjoyed writing the Ron/Lavender business, and the reason that was enjoyable was Ron up to this point has been quite immature compared to the other two, and he kind of needed to make himself worthy of Hermione....he had to grow up emotionally and now he's taken a big step up."
Initially, Ron does not support Harry's belief that Draco Malfoy is a Death Eater, a follower of Voldemort, but later is convinced. Before leaving Hogwarts with Dumbledore to recover a Horcrux Harry arranges for Ron, Hermione, and Ginny—together with any of Dumbledore's Army they can summon—to keep a close watch on Malfoy and Snape. Harry also provides them with the remains of his vial of Felix Felicis, to aid them in the effort. Despite the D.A.'s watch, Malfoy provides the Death Eaters entrance into Hogwarts, and a battle ensues. Thanks to Felix Felicis, Ron, Hermione and Ginny are unharmed by the Death Eater's hexes during the battle. Snape kills Dumbledore during the battle when Malfoy proves that he is unable to. During his funeral, Ron comforts a weeping Hermione. Ron and Hermione vow to help Harry find and destroy the Horcruxes and kill Voldemort, even if it means leaving Hogwarts.
Attention is drawn several times to Ron's deepening relationships to Harry and Hermione, with unresolved romantic tension with Hermione being one of the main subplots of the novel (and, indeed, the series as a whole). Furthermore, Harry and Ron's friendship has strengthened to the point where Harry can tell Ron that his Quidditch performance is endangering his membership on the team without either character getting personal.
Harry decides he wants someone to wear the Horcrux at all time, fearing it might be lost or stolen. This has a much more profound effect on Ron (splinched at the time due to Hermione's Disapparition) than it seems to have on Hermione or Harry. Ron ends up lashing out in frustration at the lack of comforts and a concrete plan, eventually leaving his friends behind. Distressed over his absence, Harry and Hermione do not even mention his name during the time that he is gone. However, when they finally mention his name, Ron, who had immediately regretted his decision to leave but was captured by Snatchers and then could not return due to Hermione's anti-Death Eater enchantments, was lead to Harry's location by unknown magic within the Deluminator he inherited from Dumbledore. Ron dramatically returns by saving Harry from drowning when Harry is attempting to recover Godric Gryffindor's sword from an icy pool. Harry, a sudden believer in the fate created by his return, immediately forgives Ron and insists it must be Ron who uses the sword to destroy Slytherin's locket. However, the portion of Voldemort's soul inside it plays on Ron's insecurities by revealing that he thinks he is "least loved by a mother who craved a daughter", then by showing him a Harry who tells him that he was happier without him and a Hermione that does not return his affections and is involved instead with Harry. Ron summons his courage and finally breaks through the spell, destroying the locket, but is visibly shaken until Harry tells him that he thinks of Hermione as a sister and a friend, nothing more.
The trio are eventually captured by snatchers, and Bellatrix Lestrange tortures Hermione with the Cruciatus curse for information. This sends Ron into a panic, and continually screams and fights with all his effort to save her, despite Harry's instruction that he calm down and think of a better plan. The trio and some other prisoners are rescued by Dobby, but the house-elf is killed by Bellatrix during the escape. Eventually, the trio returns to Hogwarts, hoping to find the last unknown Horcrux shown in Harry's vision. Having lost the Sword of Gryffindor to Griphook the goblin, Ron gets an idea to procure more Basilisk fangs and manages to speak enough Parseltongue to open the Chamber of Secrets, where Hermione destroys the Horcrux in Helga Hufflepuff's cup. He begins to worry about the fate of Hogwarts' elves. Upon hearing this, Hermione drops the basilisk fangs she was carrying and kisses him for the first time. After this, he looks as if he has been hit by a bludger. He also takes part in the Battle of Hogwarts, witnessing the death of his brother Fred, and teams up with Neville Longbottom to defeat Fenrir Greyback.
Rowling in an interview described Ron as very funny but insensitive and immature, "There’s a lot of immaturity about Ron, and that’s where a lot of the humor comes from. Commenting on Ron's character development in the final book, Rowling explained that "Ron is the most immature of the three main characters, but in part seven he grows up. He was never strong footed , people see him mostly as Harry's friend; his mother had actually wanted a girl and in the last book he finally has to acknowledge his weaknesses. But it's exactly that which makes Ron a man."
Ron is sarcastic, passionate, hotheaded, often wears his heart on his sleeve. He is a good chess player and has considerable wit; however, is a fairly average student, and is often too lazy to bother with his studies, a habit enabled by Hermione's perfectionist need to do even other people's work for them. With Harry and Hermione, Ron tends to use his sarcasm to bring his friends back to reality when they are formulating far-fetched concepts. There is a highly ambitious side to Ron, and he wants dearly to be popular and successful, due mainly to feelings of being overshadowed by his older brothers and best friend. Despite great loyalty to his family, he occasionally shows signs of being ashamed of their economic situation. This has occasionally manifested itself into fights with Harry out of jealousy. Like many of the boisterous Weasley family, Ron has a tendency to argue. This trait is never so present as it is in his relationship with Hermione Granger where bickering is a staple of their relationship, and is often how they best communicate. He seems to show surprise when some, such as Harry, express annoyance at their arguing, as neither he nor Hermione appear to think it is a big deal. In their arguments, while Hermione's tone tends to be patronising, Ron is more often than not bitingly sarcastic.
Rowling has stated that Ron's Patronus Charm takes the form of a Jack Russell terrier, "a really sentimental choice" as Rowling herself owns a Jack Russell.
Rowling has described the Weasleys as an old pure-blood Wizarding family. The family is relatively poor, and despite Ron's father's promotion from head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office at the Ministry of Magic to Head of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects in 2005's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, they remain financially strained. Ron is particularly self-conscious, frustrated, and even resentful of his family's modest means; indeed, his school enemies, including Draco Malfoy and his father Lucius Malfoy, taunt him for his lack of wealth. Ironically, by the sixth book, Ron's father has been promoted to a much higher-paid position and Lucius Malfoy has been thrown in jail.
Ron is distantly related to Sirius Black and is part of the famed Black family, though he and the rest of his immediate family have been considered 'blood traitors' and are disowned. Other distant relatives include Draco Malfoy, Nymphadora Tonks, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Phineas Nigellus Black.
Ron later marries Hermione and has two children: a daughter, Rose, and a son, Hugo.