The Weasleys - who lived in Ottery St Catchpole in a kooky, misshapen house called The Burrow - were the biggest bunch of blood traitors around. They were immensely poor but somehow managed to raise seven children; although the younger siblings (like Ron) always wore ill-fitting, faded clothes from decades past and their toys were always hand-me-downs. Ron was always convinced that the grass was greener, even from a young age. He struggled to appreciate what he did have, and looked forward to attending Hogwarts as a means of getting his own friends, and having something separate from the chaos of his homestead.

Like all the Weasley siblings, Ron was taught to a muggle primary level by his stay-at-home Mum. While at home, he was often the victim of pranks and mischief from his two older brothers Fred and George: the pair enjoyed teasing and placing the blame on him whenever things went awry. Fortunately, his Mum wasn't daft and knew exactly what the twins were like: it was more than likely their fault that chaos ensued, rather than any of the others. But despite the twins causing trouble, Ron's least favourite brother was always Percy. Unlike the others in their family, he didn't really have a sense of humour.

Percy did surprise him, however. Just when Ron was about to depart on his first train ride to Hogwarts, Percy gave him his old rat Scabbers; saying that he was very good at keeping him company, and Ron could do with a loyal pet. Slightly embarrassed but also deeply touched, Ron took Scabbers's cage onto the Hogwarts Express after saying goodbye to his teary mother, and envious sister. Then there was the trouble of finding somewhere to sit. At first he thought of joining Fred and George in their compartment; but they and their friend Lee Jordan had already got out the Dungbombs and somehow Ron knew he'd spend the next eight hours falling prey to their exploits.

So he set off to find an empty compartment.

The only one he could find had a boy inside. This boy, as it so happened, would end up his very good friend. But he wasn't an ordinary boy - he was Harry Potter! The famous Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived...

They hit it off right away. Harry had bought out the entire lunch trolley, had shared a boat with him across the lake, and had stuck up for him when confronted by Draco Malfoy: a pale, white blond boy who outright called him 'the wrong sort'. After he and Harry had both been sorted into Gryffindor house, they were inseparable.

If Draco Malfoy was trouble, it was nothing compared to the know-it-all Hermione Granger, who constantly annoyed Ron with her pettiness. As far as he was concerned, Hermione was exactly like Percy: a pure buzz kill. But when the castle had been invaded by a mountain troll at Halloween, Harry insisted that they try to find Hermione as she was absent from the feast. After the three of them fended off the troll, they all became immediate friends: if it wasn't for Hermione guiding him through the levitation charm, they probably wouldn't still have their heads.

The trio had worked out the existence of the philosopher's stone and were convinced Snape was trying to steal it. If it wasn't for their combined effort of wizard chess prowess (Ron's part, he'll remind you), Hermione's quick thinking and knowledge beyond her years, and Harry's sheer bravery and flying skill - they wouldn't have succeeded. After such an eventful first year, Ron didn't really want to go home. He told Harry that he'd try seeing him over the summer, though.

Second year matched up to all the chaos of first year, though - if not it was even more eventful. At the beginning of the year, after Ron drove a flying Ford Anglia into the Whomping Willow, he and Harry both thought they'd be expelled. Luckily for them, they were excused by Dumbledore. As brilliant as that flying car was, Ron won't be doing anything like that again in a hurry...

After it became clear that something was attacking muggleborns around the castle and Professor Binns revealed to them the nature of the Chamber of Secrets, the trio immediately suspected Malfoy as being Slytherin's heir. In a disused bathroom they brewed Polyjuice potion (or Hermione did), went undercover to get the truth out of Malfoy and when Hermione was petrified - Ron had to pluck up his courage to follow horribly large spiders into the forbidden forest. He had nightmares for quite a while after that. Still - they uncovered the truth about the chamber, and Ginny was saved. If only they'd all paid closer attention to her...

Anyway, at the end of the year when everything went back to normal; Ron told Harry he'd try phoning him at the muggles' house.

That... didn't turn out so well.

Irregardless, it's now the start of Ron's third year. What with the news of the mass murderer Sirius Black escaped, however; he's pretty much already set for another trying year at Hogwarts.