Mugglenet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died - Emerson Spartz [24]
Who helps Harry more on his quest: Ron or Hermione?
Ron
In Book One, the first friend Harry makes on the train to Hogwarts is Ron Weasley, and they become best buds for life. They understand each other instantly, the way kids so often do. Harry sees a kindred soul in Ron, who also wears hand-me-down clothes and can’t afford Chocolate Frogs [SS, p. 101]. Ron simply accepts Harry with his scar and all even when everyone else seems to avoid him like the plague. Oh sure, they argue now and then as best friends do, but that’s because it is difficult for Ron to be in the shadow of the most famous wizard alive. It’s a lot easier for Hermione to be the gal pal because she never has to compete with Harry, either at Quidditch or for popularity. And Ron is used to competing against his older brothers, so it’s part of his personality, along with his temper. But whenever Harry really needs him, such as when the rest of the wizarding world turns on Harry in OotP, Ron is there to be supportive and watch his back. It’s also because of Ron that Harry experiences magical family life, and the Weasleys nearly adopt Harry as one of their own. So Ron and Harry grow up almost as brothers.
It may sometimes seem that Hermione is the better friend because her rational plans so often get the Trio out of trouble, but sometimes Harry just wants someone to agree with him and not point out the flaws of all his ideas. Because Hermione’s mind is so sharp, Ron doesn’t always get credit when he does have a flash of brilliance, like when he wins the life-sized chess match in Book One. Except for his trouble with Apparating, Ron is just as magical as Hermione. At least he remembers that he is a wizard, while Hermione gets emotional in stressful times and falls into Muggle ways. She’s unable to light a fire with her wand when the Trio is captured by the Devil’s Snare plant on their way to finding the Sorcerer’s Stone, for instance.
Ron gains depth as the series goes along, learning truths about love and loyalty and how to find his way back from despair after running away in anger. He is also heroic, saving Harry’s life in DH by diving into freezing water, then destroying a Horcrux with the Sword of Gryffindor [DH, p. 377]. It may seem that Ron exists just to say silly things and not do his homework, but Harry needs these moments to lighten up and just be a kid. That’s always the problem with Hermione—she’s too serious and judgmental. Harry can’t just sit around worrying all the time the way she does, and Ron is always there to have a sword fight with trick wands or to play a game of Exploding Snap. That’s what best friends are for.
Hermione
Basically, Ron is a goof who is good with one-liners, but he is often missing in action during important times in Harry’s life. Hermione is the one who is Harry’s true friend and advisor. She helps him more than anyone else in the series. For one thing, without Hermione to help him study, Harry would never pass his classes, and that goes for Ron as well. Ron is useless at helping Harry figure out the mystery of Nicholas Flamel and the Sorcerer’s Stone in Book One, which Hermione figures out on her own at the library. She also solves the puzzle of the basilisk in CoS just before she is Petrified [CoS, p. 290]. Ron, on the other hand, can’t even fathom that his rat is really the evil Peter Pettigrew in dumpy Animagus form, and he certainly