the umbrella academy could've been so good if it was good to the end. it could've been so so so so good. it could've been great if it let the siblings grow together as a family and manage to stick together. it could've been great if it had kept it's focus on trauma and family. it could've been great if it hadn't let the world building get too confusing and weird. it could've been great if steve blackman didn't develop a weird fixation on five that lead to him neglecting all the other siblings and destroying five, lila, and diego. the umbrella academy could've been so good. it could've been so good if it had given the siblings a happy ending.
the true tragedy of the marauders era is peter pettigrew. like how do people overlook him when he literally started everything???
bro betrayed the people who he was with for 7 plus years, these were the people whom he considered friends, family even. he saw their highs and lows, were together for every meal, shared a room together, and even became an illegal animagus for one of them for crying out loud !!!
so yeah peter is the tragedy that people don’t talk about. because how can someone who was in the house of the loyal and brave, someone who was in what was described as a tight knit friend group who would go lengths for each other, just turn around and betrays them like they’re dust at the bottom of his shoes?
how can sweet peter look at his friends whom shared their concerns and deepest fears freely as the war brews upon them and makes them come true?
how can someone who was part of the group the teachers of hogwarts deemed as the people who had the brightest future ahead of them fall so far?
if james potter was the sun, sirius black was the star, and remus lupin was the moon then peter pettigrew was the meteor.
a meteor who looks like a shooting star from down below, completely harmless to those far away but completely destructive to those near.
(Or, at least he was until the movies and JKR dumbed him down)
So, Ron is actually really smart in the books. Even though he gets dumbed down in books 6 and 7 (movies influence, I'm almost certain), he is really clever in the earlier books, and even in DH he has clever moments of his prior characterisation shine through. And I want to defend the intelligence of my boy, Ron.
So, like with Harry’s post, I'm going to start with Ron's grades. Contrary to popular consensus, Ron's (and Harry’s) grades are above average:
He looked around. Hermione had her back to him and her head
bent, but Ron was looking delighted.
“Only failed Divination and History of Magic, and who cares
about them?” he said happily to Harry. “Here — swap —”
Harry glanced down Ron’s grades: There were no “Outstandings” there. . . .
(HBP, Ch5)
So Ron's grades are probably something like this:
Astronomy - A (He drops Divination)
Care of Magical Creatures - E (It's the grade Harry got, and we know he chose to drop it)
Charms - E (We see him in class)
Defense Against the Dark Arts - E (no outstandings + We see him in class)
Divination - P (we know he failed)
Herbology - E (We see him in class)
History of Magic - P (we know he failed)
Potions - E (We see him in class)
Transfiguration - E (We see him in class)
This makes 5 'E's and 1 'A'.
'A' is for 'Acceptable' because it is the average grade. We know only 12 students get an E or O in Potions, and the grade distribution is something like this:
(Grade distrebution discussed more here)
Where the average Hogwarts student only takes 3-4 NEWTs, like Neville, who's cleared for 3 NEWTs:
“Herbology, fine,” she said. “Professor Sprout will be delighted
to see you back with an ‘Outstanding’ O.W.L. And you qualify for
Defense Against the Dark Arts with ‘Exceeds Expectations.’ But the
problem is Transfiguration. I’m sorry, Longbottom, but an
Acceptable’ really isn’t good enough to continue to N.E.W.T level.
[...]
“Take Charms,” said Professor McGonagall, “and I shall drop Augusta a line reminding her that just because she failed her
Charms O.W.L., the subject is not necessarily worthless.” Smiling slightly at the look of delighted incredulity on Neville’s face, Professor McGonagall tapped a blank schedule with the tip of her wand and handed it, now carrying details of his new classes, to Neville.
(HBP, Ch9)
Or Fred and George, who also only take 3 O.W.Ls each:
“You know, I don’t get why Fred and George only got three O.W.L.s each,” said Harry, watching as Fred, George, and Lee collected gold from the eager crowd. “They really know their stuff...”
(OotP, Ch17)
Hermione talks them down as just being "flashy", but Harry is right. Fred and George are smart and magically gifted. They just don't care for school.
Now the point is that Neville and the twins are treated as the average — 3 NEWT classes is normal. By comparison, Ron and Harry's 5 NEWT classes are more than most students take:
“So, Potter, Potter . . .” said Professor McGonagall, consulting
her notes as she turned to Harry. “Charms, Defense Against the
Dark Arts, Herbology, Transfiguration . . . all fine. I must say, I was
pleased with your Transfiguration mark, Potter, very pleased. [and then she brings up Potions]
(HBP, Ch9)
(Hermione takes more classes, of course, but I'm defending Ron right now, and she still only takes 7. And all of them could've taken Care of Magical Creatures if they wanted to, they had the grades for it. Harry and Ron each passed 7 O.W.Ls, which is higher than the average 3-4, including subjects that are considered harder like Potions and Transfiguration)
This is even more impressive when you consider the fact that Harry and Ron put in the literal minimal effort into their classwork. All of the Golden Trio are naturally gifted, Hermione just puts in the effort to get all these 'O's. She studies a lot, she likes studying, and it's important to her. If Ron or Harry studied like Hermione, they would get all 'O's too. It's a matter of priorities, not abilities.
Now, in the early books, Ron is treated as the character who knows the Wizarding World. He knows wizarding rules, culture and customs:
“But it’s against our laws,” said Ron. “Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks’ Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It’s hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we’re keeping dragons in the back garden — anyway, you can’t tame dragons, it’s dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie’s got off wild ones in Romania.”
“But there aren’t wild dragons in Britain?” said Harry.
“Of course there are,” said Ron. “Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who’ve spotted them, to make them forget.”
“So what on earth’s Hagrid up to?” said Hermione.
(PS, Ch14)
He can and does recite laws and facts about their government, and creatures — stuff even Hermione doesn't know. He grew up in this world, he doesn't need to memorise books, he grew up with it. It's his common knowledge of the world he grew up in, and I think fanon/fics should use Ron for exposition as much as the early books did. There's no reason Hermione would have more common knowledge of the Wizarding World than Ron, who grew up there. She would know more about specific fields she researched, but not the daily, general stuff.
Ron is also calm under pressure. He and Harry tend to keep their cool when Hermione panics. And Ron is the born and raised wizard in their group and it shows:
“Devil’s Snare, Devil’s Snare…what did Professor Sprout say? — it likes the dark and the damp.”
“So light a fire!” Harry choked.
“Yes — of course — but there’s no wood!” Hermione cried, wringing her hands.
“HAVE YOU GONE MAD?” Ron bellowed. “ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?”
“Oh, right!” said Hermione
[...]
“Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione,” said Harry as he joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.
“Yeah,” said Ron, “and lucky Harry doesn’t lose his head in a crisis — ‘there’s no wood,’ honestly.”
(PS, Ch16)
He's the one who thinks of magic as his first solution to everything because he always knew about it.
(I also want to note that Ron didn't lose his head in a crisis, but he mentions only Harry. Because Ron loves his new best friend and wants to compliment him and he has low self-esteem)
We knew he is strategic. In the early books, his skills in chess are mentioned often (this is just an example):
“Oh I suppose not,” she sighed, and she sat down to watch their chess match, which culminated in an exciting checkmate of Ron’s, involving a couple of recklessly brave pawns and a very violent bishop.
(GoF, Ch23)
Strategy is a kind of intelligence. A kind of intelligence Hermione often struggles with (see Devil's Snare, Umbridge & the Centaurs, etc. Hermione, when put on the spot, struggles with plannign and thinking ahead. That's were Harry and Ron shine, in different ways, that is), and it shows when he keeps beating her in chess:
where he found Ron and Hermione playing chess. Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at, something Harry and Ron thought was very good for her.
(PS, Ch13)
Ron can and does come to smart conclusions based on evidence. He's, at times, better at it than Hermione.
In PoA, he's the one to suspect Hermione has something going on. He notices the discrepancies in her schedule and keeps noticing throughout the year because he is observant:
“Hermione,” said Ron, frowning as he looked over her shoulder,
“they’ve messed up your schedule. Look — they’ve got you down
for about ten subjects a day. There isn’t enough time.”
“I’ll manage. I’ve fixed it all with Professor McGonagall.”
“But look,” said Ron, laughing, “see this morning? Nine o’clock,
Divination. And underneath, nine o’clock, Muggle Studies.
And” — Ron leaned closer to the schedule, disbelieving — “look —
underneath that, Arithmancy, nine o’clock. I mean, I know you’re
good, Hermione, but no one’s that good. How’re you supposed to
be in three classes at once?”
(PoA, Ch6)
Ron frowned after her.
“What’s she talking about?” he said to Harry. “She hasn’t been to
an Arithmancy class yet.”
(PoA, Ch6)
And he raises the possibility that Snape or Dumbledore want Harry's mind more open to Voldemort. He comes to conclusions based on the information he has and is willing to consider less savory, more out-of-the-box possibilities:
“That’s not funny,” said Hermione sharply. “Dumbledore doesn’t want you to have dreams about that corridor at all, or he wouldn’t have asked Snape to teach you Occlumency. You’re just going to have to work a bit harder in your lessons.”
“I am working!” said Harry, nettled. “You try it sometime, Snape trying to get inside your head, it’s not a bundle of laughs, you know!”
“Maybe . . .” said Ron slowly.
“Maybe what?” said Hermione rather snappishly.
“Maybe it’s not Harry’s fault he can’t close his mind,” said Ron darkly.
“What do you mean?” said Hermione.
“Well, maybe Snape isn’t really trying to help Harry. . . .”
Harry and Hermione stared at him. Ron looked darkly and meaningfully from one to the other.
“Maybe,” he said again in a lower voice, “he’s actually trying to open Harry’s mind a bit wider . . . make it easier for You-Know —” “Shut up, Ron,” said Hermione angrily.
(OotP, Ch25)
And he is right in the above. He is correct that it's suspicious, and I think Dumbledore knew it would happen. I can't believe Dumbledore is stupid enough to not realise that having Snape teach Harry is a bad idea. No, I think he wanted Harry to see into Voldemort’s mind for spying purposes, especially after it was so helpful with Arthur, but I digress.
Another example of Ron's presceptiveness is with the twins and the fact that they have money they shouldn’t:
“Yeah, but that’s another thing, how did they get premises?” said Ron, hitting his teacup so hard with his wand that its legs collapsed again and it lay twitching before him. “It’s a bit dodgy, isn’t it? They’ll need loads of Galleons to afford the rent on a place in Diagon Alley, she’ll want to know what they’ve been up to, to get their hands on that sort of gold. . . .”
“Well, yes, that occurred to me too,” said Hermione
(OotP, Ch30)
He notices independently of Hermione. Again, all the Golden Trio are smart and receptive — it just shines in different situations.
Even into DH (when Ron has been dumbed down and became more obsessed with food, like the movies), he is still the wisest one in the trio at times and has moments of his former characterisation peeking through (no moments like this I could remember from HBP). He is the one who knows to ask the right questions and make good strategic decisions (even if it's rarer in the last 2 books):
“What are we going to do with them?” Ron whispered to Harry through the dark; then, even more quietly, “Kill them? They’d kill us. They had a good go just now.”
(DH, Ch9)
He doesn't want to kill them, but the moment Harry took control of the situation and started giving orders, Hermione was still panicking, and Ron started thinking about how to deal with their problem — even if he may not like the solution.
Ron turned suddenly to Harry.
“Why can’t they help?”
“What?”
“They can help.” He dropped his voice and said, so that none of them could hear but Hermione, who stood between then, “We don’t know where it is, We’ve got to find it fast. We don’t have to tell them it’s a Horcrux.”
(DH, Ch29)
The above shows how Ron is willing to ask for help — which is an incredibly useful skill both Harry and Hermione lack at times. Ron recognises the D.A. can help, and that Dumbledore is dead and that they don't need to keep his secrets. Something Harry doesn't really consider since he is so used to doing things on his own and taking sole responsibility for everything (plus his head hurt from Voldemort, I'm giving him a pass here).
Ron is good at magic as well. I wouldn't say he is the best, but he is no slouch either. In the D.A., he succeeds in disarming Hermione while they practice:
“Only once,” said Hermione, stung. “I got you loads more than you got me — ”
“I did not only get you once, I got you at least three times — ”
(OotP, Ch18)
Hermione denies it, but he got her at least 3 times.
And in DH he succeeds in escaping and disarming 5 snatchers on his own by getting them to argue with each other and then fighting his way out:
“Anyway, they had a row about whether I was Stan or not. It was a bit pathetic to be honest, but there were still five of them and only one of me and they’d taken my wand. then two of them got into a fight and while the others were distracted I managed to hit the one holding me in the stomach, grabbed his wand, Disarmed the bloke holding mine, and Diapparated. I didn’t do it so well, Splinched myself again”—Ron held up his right hand to show two missing fingernails; Hermione raised her eyebrows coldly—“and I came out miles from where you were. By the time I got back to that bit of riverbank where we’d been . . . you’d gone.”
(DH, Ch19)
(he splinched himself because DH Ron can't be too effective, honestly, I don't like how Harry and Hermione become proficient in apparition pretty quickly, and Ron is the only one to struggle with it for no reason. He can focus when he needs to. I would've been fine with this struggle if Ron wasn't painted as dumb by DH, in general. Like, as one magical struggle, that's fine, but when he thinks the doe is Harry's Patronus? Come on, Ron isn't that stupid. I just discussed how prescriptive he is and that he pays attention to detail! A strategist got to!)
The fact that he thinks about using the basilisk fangs for the Horcruxes is, again, clever and good thinking on Ron's part in DH. Unfortunately, I hate the fact that he can sorta-not-really speak Parseltongue, so the whole plot point is sour for me.
Conclusion: Ron is smart, especially in the early books. I despise how the movies dumbed him down and how JKR nerfed him in the final books:
“Yea, well, food’s one of the five exceptions to Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration,” said Ron to general astonishment.
(DH, Ch29) - Astonished because Hermione told him that, and everyone's surprised he'd know the sort of things he knew since year 1. Actually, they should all know this too. This should be common wizarding knowledge. She dumbed down Neville and the other purebloods too.
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