Somebody please save Ron!

[dcyasser]

No: HPFGUIDX 44728

As we wait for Book 5, I admit that fear is right up there with 
anticipation as we wait for the happy WW to crumble; or at least safe 
havens such as Hogwarts and the Burrow to be irreversibly damaged by 
battles to come. I am as terrified to read it as I am excited, but 
have no wish to speculate on deaths we'll dread. 

But what I want to see most in Book 5 is someone to save Ron -- not 
necessarily from death, but from a complete absence of self-worth. I 
want someone to say something wonderful to Ron, about Ron! 

Ah, Ron, sidekick, buddy, comedian. Arriving at Hogwarts already 
expecting to do worse than his brothers, not as athletic as Charlie, 
not as smart as Bill, not as funny as Fred and George.  Which is OK, 
until he starts hanging out with Harry, famous infant; super-seeker; 
Voldemort-facer-downer;Triwizard champion; Dumbledore's boy; procurer 
of dates for the Yule ball. Even that would be bearable for Ron, if 
perhaps he could get the occasional recognition from his peers for 
what he does right. (Yes, he got points for his chess game. But what 
did Harry say to him about it?) 

We've heard the theory that a wounded Ron is perfect pickings for a 
Dark Lord on a mission.  We hope it's not so. But if it is, who has 
driven him to it?  2 culprits. 

1) Harry.  I was reading PoA to my daughter last night, and was so 
incensed with Harry at the end, in the hospital wing, when poor Ron 
comes round, asks what happened, and Harry flippantly (I think) says 
to Hermione "you tell him" while putting away more chocolate. (I do 
not have the book handy.) Yeah, cute and all, but poor Ron! Poor 
broken-legged, severely hexed, not- feeling-too-well Ron. As I read 
this last night, I pictured him pushing Harry out of the way of the 
attacking Padfoot; then gamely standing up on his broken leg and 
vowing to protect Harry in the Shrieking Shack.   He wakes up after 
it is all over, and Harry, flushed and tired from further adventures, 
decides he's not in the mood to talk to him.  This really made me 
angry, and I don't generally get angry with Harry. 

2) But worse, and I admit I say this as a parent...  My very favorite 
moment for Harry in all of the books is made possible by my very 
worst moment for Ron.  Best moment for Harry, when I actually 
said "finally" out loud, is when Molly Weasley embraces him in the 
hospital wing. I read this over and over, as if it would make up for 
Harry's years of deprivation.  But it came at Ron's expense, not 
right there at that moment, but earlier, before the third task, when 
Molly and Bill Weasley surprise Harry by showing up as his "family." 
That's all well and good, except that they surprised Ron as well. How 
could he not have been told they were coming?  And coming to fuss 
over Champion Harry, with an offhand sounding question to Ron about 
his exams.  I fully expected Ron to have known they were coming, that 
his mother would even have asked him if it was OK with him. This 
stung me as a reader, and it has to have stung Ron, although he may 
not feel it until later.

So how about a little Ron-appreciation cheer before it is too 
late!  "Ron, thanks so much for defending me in the Shrieking Shack, 
that was very brave!"  "Ron, you know I am very fond of Harry but 
you, you are my son."  Ron, hope you make the quidditch team because 
you are so good at strategy and details.  Y - E - A - H RON! 


"dcyasser"