When Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger finally got together, we were all relieved. The signs were there from the beginning. It was written on the walls, (but not like that weird thing Ginny did under the trance of Voldemort in her first year).

So, why did it take so long for them to be an item? J.K. Rowling, we want answers!

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Let’s be honest: Hermione is not one to suffer fools, but she always gave Ron Weasley the time of day. She looked after him from the very start as she made sure he got that dirt off of his nose. We could all read her signals about Ronald asking her to the Yule Ball. It took a lovable-yet-dim Quidditch player for Ron to finally take a bit of notice, and then a bunch of bickering in their sixth year.

Ron too was always there to support her. He was there to defend her honor in the second book. He offered to help her with Buckbeak’s appeal in the Prisoner of Azkaban. Then, there are all those compliments he was giving her. He saw awesome and strong she was. We all saw it, but Ron was in love with it.

But when we really think about their relationship, it was probably a good thing they waited awhile to pair up. Much like the story of Lily and James Potter, Ron Weasley needed to grow a bit more to be really worth his leading lady. The Potters did not find love until their later years at Hogwarts too, and it makes sense the best friend of Harry Potter (a.k.a. James Jr.) would also be a bit like James too.

A little too immature and a little too oblivious, Hermione probably would have broken it off with Ron if they had started dating early on. And then where would the great trio of friends have been for the Battle of Hogwarts? Who would have helped Harry with all those Horcruxes? Timing is everything, but man did we have to wait a long time for those stars to align.

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