Do we really get our closer?

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 177106

James Casey wrote:
<snip>
 
> Ron Weasley... He is useless. And JK realized this while writting
> this book. You can tell. When he leaves them JK and all of use
> realise that there is nothing missing. He doesn't hurt them, other
> than feelings, when he leaves. He had made no contributions in the
> book, this or any other. And we know she sees this because upon his
> return he is a totally different character. She makes a point of
> stating it. He is decisive and helpfull. A complete change in his
> character. <snip>

Carol responds:

I see Ron a bit differently. First, I disagree that he's useless
(though he certainly does have his moods). With the exception of the
fight with Harry in GoF (which is IMO partly Harry's fault) and the
weeks in GoF when he's under the influence of the Horcrux, he's loyal
and supportive of Harry. He has always wanted Harry to get together
with Ginny (any resentment of their relationship by Ron is a figment
of their imagination except in DH when he's protecting Ginny from
getting her hopes up unrealistically). He's funny and he helps Harry
out of some tight spots (the chess game in SS/PS; saving Harry's life
in DH). He follows Harry to face the spiders, overcoming his greatest
fear because his loyalty is stronger. It's his idea, not Harry's, to
see Lockhart about the CoS. He suffers for Harry in PoA when he's
dragged into the Shrieking Shack and tells Sirius Black that if he
kills Harry, he'll have to kill them, too (IIRC, that line was given
to Hermione in the film, but it's Ron's in the book). 

It's not accident that he, not Hermione, is the hostage Harry has to
rescue in the Second Task. He's Harry's *best* friend, the one he
would miss most. In OoP, he goes with Harry to the MoM without
questioning whether it's sensible or not (that's Hermione's job). In
HBP, he's again on Harry's side (rightly or wrongly) regarding the
HBP's Potions book and he again fights the Death Eaters. In DH, Ron at
last has to face his demons--insecurity and the jealousy of Harry that
he has tried to suppress all these years. He fears that Hermione must
prefer the Chosen One to his more ordinary best friend. Once the
combination of frustration with the lack of a plan, fear for his
family, jealousy, and the Horcrux drives him to leave Harry and
Hermione, he instantly realizes his mistake, but he can't get back to
them because of the Snatchers. But Dumbledore, knowing both his
weakness and his strength, has provided him with a way back, and Ron
proves his "valor, nerve, and chivalry" first by saving Harry from
drowning and strangulation by the Horcrux, then symbolically destroys
his own fears and insecurities by destroying the mocking figures
within the Horcrux and the Horcrux itself. Later, he's secure enough
to allow Hermione to destroy the cup Horcrux rather than insisting on
doing it himself.

IMO, Ron grows more clearly and dramatically than any other character
in DH, and yet he remains himself from the moment Harry meets him
until the epilogue nearly everyone except me seems to hate.

Carol, realizing that she hasn't done Ron justice in this post and
hoping that others will step up to defend him