Poor Ron Weasley; more and more, he's becoming the red-headed step-child of the "Harry Potter" universe, well after the series' conclusion.
In 2011, "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling revealed that she "seriously considered killing Ron." Now, in an interview conducted by Hermione actress Emma Watson, to be published in Wonderland Magazine, Rowling has dropped another Ron bombshell: she regrets pairing Ron and Hermione together.
"I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment," said Rowling, according to Variety. "That's how it was conceived, really. For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione ended up with Ron."
"I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans," she continued, "but if I'm absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that. It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility. Am I breaking people's hearts by saying this? I hope not."
For her part, Watson's heart didn't break upon hearing Rowling's confession. Indeed, the actress agreed with the author's regrets, saying, "I think there are fans out there who know that too and who wonder whether Ron would have really been able to make her happy."
It's yet another harsh blow for the Ron fan community. That being said, it's entirely possible that Ron actor Rupert Grint would have been up for a different, sadder outcome for his character. Back when reports of Ron's near-death experience first surfaced, Grint told MTV News that he would have been "quite up for" Ron's death.
"Nobody really dies in the Wizarding World," he reasoned. "He could've come back as a ghost or something!"