As promised, tonight I will begin the first in a series of Harry Potter articles. The Grim Possibilities series is a character by character view of who may die before the end of Book VII. The first subject I am going to explore is Ron Weasley. I chose Ron because one doesn't have to look far to see death lurking in his shadow. In fact, there are so many warnings that I am going to write this in multiple parts. I will examine different indicative areas of Ron's life in order to assess his grim potential.
Position
Ron Weasley is in a very dangerous position. First, he is Harry's best friend. Second, he is a Weasley. Each item on their own invites peril. As a combination, the items may prove lethal.
When Voldemort is striving to kill Harry, it's probably not the safest idea to be Harry's best friend. Lord Voldemort has had a hard time defeating Harry, and has had to resort to luring Harry into face-to-face confrontations. In Book IV, Voldemort used the Tri-Wizard Tournament as a means to kidnap Harry. In Book V, Voldemort used false dreams to lure Harry into the Department of Mysteries. What plans will Voldemort unleash in future books? How can he lure Harry away? I would suggest that kidnapping Ron is a possibility. Why? As Ron is usually in the shadow, he is much easier to recieve access to than Harry.
Now add to this that Ron is a Weasley. The Weasley family is freckle deep in Order of the Phoenix business, with Arthur even getting attacked on duty. Arthur Weasley has never denied which side his loyalties lie, and neither has any of his family (to our knowledge). Therefore, it stands to reason that Voldemort would want to make an example of the one family that stands strong against him. Molly and Arthur can defend themselves, as could Bill or Charlie. Percy is not part of the families Order dealings yet, so not a great character to use as an example. This leaves Ginny and Ron as targets for Voldemort's wrath. If I were Voldemort, I would take out two with one shot and go for Ron. This would hurt both Harry and the Weasleys.
Also, Ron is Harry's Shadow. As I wrote in my Ron Weasley: Finding His Place in the World post, Ron may not like the shadow, but he does accept it. Ron recognized early on that Harry would have to be the one to defeat the bad guy (even if he thought it was Snape at the time, he did recognize it had to be Harry). Ron also recognized that sacrificies would have to be made. Does the fact that he is willing to sacrifice himself in Book I act as a foreshadow for later books and more dangerous situations? It is highly probable.
Items of Interest
Many of Ron Weasley's posessions could be auguries. For instance, pay attention to Ron receiving his own wand in Book III, 14-inches and willow with a unicorn hair. Willow is often associated with death and sorrow, usually involving lovers. The first literary recording that I know of with this refrence is the Faerie Queene (worst book ever!) where willow is the tree of lost paramours. Rowling has given us a number of hints that Ron likes Hermione, but how fruitful will their love be? Will Hermione recognize it just as Ron dies? This would fit perfectly with many stories related to the willow tree. Even if not dealing with lovers, the willow often includes the sorrow of friends weeping for lost friends.
"Weeping Willow dry your tears,
For I have something to calm your fears,
You think of death as always apart,
but I know he'll always be in your heart."
-From the movie My Girl
I personaly think that Ron's love for Hermione is actually one of his redeeming qualities. The fact that he loves her (another article for anotehr time) gives the reader a sense of a circular plot. If Harry dies, than Ron and Hermione's love could lead to a union that would express Harry's continuation. (Ron and Hermione are the two extremes of Harry, that is for another paper, however.) Yet, I've heard from reader ~Spirit~ and various sites (without seeing for myself, so I don't know if it is reliable or not), that Rowling said no one has the "couples" right. This would mean that Ron and Hermione would not be a couple, as there is no shortage for Ron/Hermione sites out there. Therefore, the fact that they may not be together can shine badly on Ron's survival. If he accepts Harry's shadow and is rejected by the girl he loves, he may be more willing to sacrifice himself to save the world. If he does have a chance with Hermione, he'll still be willing to sacrifice himself, but he might fight twice as hard (due to the power of love) to stay alive.
The other part of his wand is the unicorn tail. I can't seem to find it right now, but I know that in Book I someone tells Harry that "the innocent are always the first to die" in refrence to the unicorns. Later in Book IV we meet another character with a unicorn tail in his wand, Cedric Diggory. (Book IV, pg. 309 US) Cedric then dies at the end of Book IV. It is the first death among the kids, and the death that marks Voldemorts return. A combination of both willow and unicorn tail cannot be good for Ron.
Alright, there are so many auguries where Ron is concerned that I'm going to write this in parts. Tomorrow, I will have part 2.
Updated: Part II now available!
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