Ron Weasley. Harry's best friend, youngest male Weasley

Apart from being Harry Potter's bumbling sidekick, Ron Weasley is also Harry's refuge from the world of number 4 Privet Drive. The Burrow, residence of the Weasley family, is like some kind of haven to which Harry is stolen away more than once. Ron is perhaps Harry's closest link to the wizarding world, and as such is an important source of general information on things magically mundane. Ron is arguably Harry's greatest friend, as shown by the Mermen taking him to the bottom of the lake in the second test of the Triwizard Tournament. Ron is a great Quidditch fan, and is very scared of spiders.

Ron meets Harry on their first journey aboard the Hogwarts express, after Ron's mother shows Harry the way through to platform 9 3/4. The two end up sharing a carriage, and strike up a lasting friendship. Ron proves his worth at the end of the first year, when Harry, Hermione and Ron are trying to defend the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort as he sacrifices himself to win the giant chess match and get Harry and Hermione on to the next task.

Other than flying himself and Harry to school in his father's car at the start of the year, Ron generally has little personal glory in the second year. As a loyal companion he follows Harry all over, looking for the Chamber of Secrets, but his only major contribution is to break his wand early on, allowing Lockhart's memory charm to backfire just before the final showdown.

Fourth year sees the Triwizard Tournament come to Hogwarts, and Ron stops speaking to Harry out of jealousy, as once again Harry is the center of attention. With his jealousy of Hermione and Viktor Krum as well, it's a bad year for Ron. In the second Triwizard test he is taken to the bottom of the lake for Harry to rescue. Needless to say, by the end of the year all friendships are mended.

In the fifth year Harry is the one to feel envious, as Ron is made Gryffindor prefect, an honour everyone expected to go to Harry and which nobody expected to be Ron's. He spends much of the year being harangued by Hermione about not doing his job properly. With Oliver Wood having left school, Gryffindor quidditch team is without a keeper and Ron takes the plunge and tries out for the position. He makes the grade, although perhaps because everyone else is unsuitable rather than on his own merits. He then becomes the target of a very well orchestrated Slytherin taunting campaign, which serves to put him way off his game. Eventually though, he gains enough confidence to ignore the chanting and helps keep the quidditch cup with Gryffindor house.