J.K. Rowling Says Hermione Should Have Ended Up With Harry Potter

In the Harry Potter books and films, there's never much question that Hermione will end up with Ron instead of Harry. Although she and Harry share a warm friendship, they never seem to see each other in a romantic way, whereas she and Ron spend years bickering and flirting and getting jealous before finally ending up together in the last volume.

But while Hermione may not have had any doubts about her feelings for Ron, author J.K. Rowling admits she did. In an interview with Emma Watson, who played Hermione in the movies, Rowling confessed that she regretted having Hermione end up with Ron and that she should have put her with Harry instead. Read her comments after the jump.

Rowling explained, "I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment. 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 ended up with Ron."

The author seemed very aware of the potential backlash from her fans. "I know, I'm sorry, I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I'm absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that," she added. "It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility. Am I breaking people's hearts by saying this? I hope not."

Watson seemed to agree. "I think there are fans out there who know that too and who wonder whether Ron would have really been able to make her happy," she said. Rowling speculated that the couple would have ended up in marriage counseling.

Which kinda sucks for Ron, but perhaps he should just be grateful he survived the saga at all. In 2011, Rowling revealed during a chat with Daniel Radcliffe for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 home video release that she'd considered killing off Ron altogether.

"Funnily enough, I planned from the start that none of them would die. Then midway through, which I think is a reflection of the fact that I wasn't in a very happy place, I started thinking I might polish one of them off. Out of sheer spite. 'There, now you definitely can't have him any more.' But I think in my absolute heart of heart of hearts, although I did seriously consider killing Ron, I wouldn't have done it," she said.

So maybe what's really going on here is that Rowling just isn't that big a fan of Ron in general. Basically, the next time you read that chapter of Deathly Hallows where Tom Riddle, through the Horcrux, plays on Ron's fears that Hermione and his own mother both secretly love Harry better, you can just picture Rowling cackling and sneering right along with Riddle.Discuss: So, in light of this new information, are you Team Harry or Team Ron? Me, I'm Team Ginny. Both of those girls are too good for the boys they've attached themselves to, and the sooner they realize that and run off together, the better.