J.K. Rowling openly admitted she wanted to kill Ron Weasley off in the Harry Potter series. When you take a look at him, if anyone was going to die it was the red headed Weasley. When it comes to magic, Ron is about as gifted as rock.

He's not very smart, but turns out to be a good friend to Potter. They met on the train to Hogwarts and were inseparable for the entire series. With his family being low income, he was always left with the hand-me-downs and Rowling had no problem using this as both comedy and a plot device. Draco Malfoy and his family made fun of him several times and showed just how petty they really were.

I was hoping that has Ron grew up in the Harry Potter universe, we would see a change in his abilities and behavior. Instead, he ended up being a static character with little development. While both Harry and Hermione grew as characters, Ron never stopped being that awkward comic relief. It's not a wonder she wanted to kill him off.

Even in the later books when the world was falling apart, Ron's reactions were predictable and understated. He was a go with the flow kind of guy. He did what he was told and never really showed much initiative. I don't want to get too far into the plot and give away any endings, but even at the end of the series Ron went out with a whimper. He's the very best of the very average.