Ron in the Forbidden Forest

[scoutmom21113]

No: HPFGUIDX 103019

Joj:
Why did she have Norbert bite Ron so that he was in the Hospital 
wing instead of getting detention with H/H/D? <snip>

JKR didn't want Ron in the forest.

He did go in with Harry in CoS but twice Harry and Hermione went in 
without him in OotP. Why? 

There was no reason Ron couldn't have been in there all three of 
those times. It wouldn't have changed anything, having Ron there.


Bookworm:
I split up your quotes for emphasis.  I think your statement
("JKR didn't want Ron in the forest.") is the correct one
and that it *would* have changed things if he had been there.

Let's look at what happened those three times:
PS/SS: Harry, Hermione and Hagrid meet centaurs Firenze, Bane and 
Ronan. Bane and Ronan do their "Mars is bright tonight" act. 
Draco and Neville have taken a different path, so are not present 
during this meeting. (Ch. 15)

CoS: Harry and Ron see the spiders and the flying car.

OoP: Harry, Hermione and Umbridge meet the centaurs Magorian, Bane, 
Ronan, et. al. (Ch. 33)

We know that Ron has met Firenze (in Divination class, Ch. 27), so 
it's not centaurs in general that JKR didn't want Ron to meet
– it was Bane and/or Ronan.

There is also a hint that the centaurs (or at least Firenze) know 
about Ron.  After the Divination class, Firenze asks Harry to for a 
word with him.  Firenze told Ron that he could stay, then he asked 
Harry "...you are a friend of Hagrid's, are you not?"
This could be just a way of speaking, but he seems to be trying to 
confirm that Harry really is Hagrid's friend.  But if he is
trying to get a secret message to Hagrid, why let Ron stay in the 
room? (OoP, Ch.27)

Does he/the centaurs know something about Ron that we haven't 
learned yet?  What will happen when Ron meets Bane and Ronan?  My 
guess is it has something to do with his potential talent as a seer.

Ravenclaw Bookworm