J.K. Rowling Has Some Regrets About Ron and Hermione's Relationship in Harry Potter

In 2011, following the theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, many Potterheads found themselves at the end of an era in their lives. Fans were saddened by the fact that the series had come to an end—and even today, eight years later, it's still a sore subject for many longtime readers. But the pain has been somewhat alleviated thanks to Pottermore, new books such as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and even insightful tweets from J.K. Rowling herself.

Did you really think the Potterverse would just be forgotten overnight? No, of course not. In fact, it only seems to keep growing with time as new readers and viewers come to the books and movies, thanks in large part to Rowling’s openness to sharing pieces of non-canon trivia.

One surprising admission Rowling shared following the conclusion of the series is that she had some misgivings about pairing up Ron and Hermione. In an interview conducted by Emma Watson in 2014, the author told the actress that she put Ron and Hermione together because she wanted to see them together, but that in many ways Harry and Hermione would have been the better fit.

"I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment," Rowling said. "That’s how it was conceived, really. 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 with Ron."

Though Rowling knew that her words would be met with "rage and fury" by some fans, she explained that "distance has given me perspective on that. It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility ... There was too much fundamental incompatibility."

In a later interview, however, Rowling (possibly backtracking) said she thought Harry and Ginny were more like soulmates, whereas Ron and Hermione were a kind of an opposites-attract couple. “[They] are drawn to each other because they balance each other out. Hermione's got the sensitivity and maturity that's been left out of Ron, and Ron loosens up Hermione a bit, gets her to have some fun,” the author explained. “They love each other and they bicker a bit, but they enjoy bickering, so we shouldn't worry about it."

Whether or not Ron and Hermione should’ve been together in Rowling’s eyes, all that truly matters is that they did end up together—and made some pretty cute kids to boot.