Facts about Harry Potter that you didn't know

Original Plans

JK Rowling’s original plan for the books were very different. For one, Fred would have lived and Hermione and him would have had a relationship. Additionally, Arthur Weasley was originally killed by Nagini’s bite in Book 5. 

Rowling decided against this mainly because of how it would affect Ron. Ron, as Harry’s best friend, provides comic relief through his admittedly juvenile behavior. The books themselves deal with dark subject matter, with death and evil as prominent motifs. Ron would have been affected greatly by the loss of his father and he would lose much of his humor in his grief. The incident did force him to acknowledge his family’s mortality without losing his father. Ron grows up because of this but still keeps the lovable and immature personality that is so uniquely him.