Harry Potter: J.K. Rowling Reveals Her Regrets About the Ron and Hermione Relationship to Emma Watson

J.K. Rowling has just reignited a major Harry Potter fan debate in a big way. You'll never find a more impassioned section of your fanbase than the "shippers," and there have always been fans who advocated that Harry and Hermione should have ended up together, not Ron and Hermione. Now Rowling has revealed that she actually thinks that, at the least, Hermione probably ended up with the wrong guy for her.

Emma Watson is the guest editor on the new issue of the magazine Wonderland, and she interviewed Rowling for the issue. In the interview, which the Sunday Times first reported on, before it hits stands, Rowling confesses, “I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment. That’s how it was conceived, really." Rowling basically says she stuck with her original plan even while it didn't completely add up for her as the years went on and she developed and grew the characters, telling Watson, "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.”

Rowling is of course well aware of how passionately Harry Potter fans are invested in her characters, continuing, “I know, I’m sorry. I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, 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.”

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It seems Watson herself wasn't so surprised though, essentially agreeing with Rowling and telling her, “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.” Rowling goes on to say that given that the very different Ron and Hermione did end up together, they must have needed, “relationship counseling.”

It should be noted that, at least in the quotes released by the Sunday Times so far, Rowling doesn't explicitly say she thinks Hermione and Harry should have been a couple either - just that she doesn't think the Hermione/Ron relationship really makes sense. Perhaps the full interview in Wonderland does go more into that. Regardless, Rowling's statement will certainly be the starting point for many more heated online HP fan arguments.

On a side note, while I was perfectly happy with Ron and Hermione being paired together, I must say I found that Harry and Hermione dancing scene (not from the books mind you), complete with a brief, implied moment of, "Hey, what if...?" between them in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 to be a terrific one...

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