The relationship in Harry Potter between Ron and Hermione is one that has caused some debate within the fandom. While some fans like their relationship and how it was built up over the books, other people feel that they wouldn’t have been great together.

Some fans think that Ron and Hermione might have been better off in the long run being with other people. In fact, even J.K. Rowling herself has said that these two probably shouldn’t have gotten together.

However, for better or worse, Ron and Hermione are a canon couple. Here are five reasons why Ron would have been better off with Lavender if she had survived as well as five reasons why Hermione was the right choice.

10. LAVENDER: LAVENDER GAVE RON THE ATTENTION HE ALWAYS CRAVED

Ron always felt like he was second rate to the people he was closest to. Being Harry Potter’s best friend means that you’re always in his shadow, and it’s hard to never be the one who gets attention.

As the youngest of so many brothers, he also felt like he wasn’t living up to expectations. So, when Lavender was really interested in him, this was something that he had always wanted. He didn’t have to feel like he was second best to Harry when it came to this relationship.

9. HERMIONE: THEY HAD BEEN FRIENDS FOR A LONG TIME

For many people, a strong romantic relationship is predicated on a foundation of friendship. Ron and Hermione were close friends for many years before they started a romantic relationship. So, they knew a lot about each other including each other’s biggest flaws.

While they might not have always gotten along, they did care about each other as friends, and they were always able to work through their disagreements.

8. LAVENDER: RON WAS OFTEN UNAPPRECIATIVE OF HERMIONE

If there’s one flaw that Ron has, it’s the fact that he’s not very tactful or emotionally intelligent. He was often quite rude to Hermione, and he never really seemed to appreciate her.

Hermione did a ton of work when it came to studying and preparing so that the trio could survive their different adventures. Also, she continually helped Ron with his homework, but he was often very critical of her. He wasn’t particularly kind, and he doesn’t seem like he deserved her sometimes.

7. HERMIONE: THEY CARED ABOUT EACH OTHER A LOT

While the relationship between Hermione and Ron definitely had its flaws, and they for sure weren’t perfect together even as friends, they did care about each other. They were close friends, and they were often put into life-threatening situations together.

It’s clear that they cared a lot about the wellbeing of one another, even if they sometimes drive each other up the wall. This foundation of caring a lot is one of the strongest aspects of their relationship.

6. LAVENDER: RON AND LAVENDER SEEMED TO BE ON A SIMILAR EMOTIONAL LEVEL

Now, this isn’t to say that Ron was always a good boyfriend to Lavender because he really wasn’t. He was emotionally immature and needed to grow up a lot. But, in some ways, he and Lavender seemed to be more evenly matched emotionally.

They could both be bad at handling emotions, even if they expressed their emotions in different ways. Hermione always seemed a lot more mature than Ron whereas Lavender and Ron were more on a similar level maturity-wise.

5. HERMIONE: THESE TWO HAD CRUSHES ON EACH OTHER FOR A LONG TIME

Sometimes, who you want to be with doesn’t always make perfect sense on paper. While they didn’t always get along perfectly, they both had crushes on one another. They were obviously interested in each other, and this attraction manifested in different ways over the years.

Ron was often jealous because he liked Hermione but didn’t know how to express it. They did have this tension throughout the series, and it’s clear they wanted to date each other.

4. LAVENDER: RON AND HERMIONE DON’T SEEM LIKE A GOOD MATCH IN MANY WAYS

One of the biggest arguments for why Lavender, or even someone else entirely, would be a better match for Ron is the dynamic between Ron and Hermione. These two really don’t seem like a great match.

Hermione was a serious person who cared deeply about a lot of issues while Ron was more selfish and less emotionally aware. In the long run, it doesn’t seem like they would have a happy marriage, and it would likely have been better for them both to go their separate ways.

3. HERMIONE: HERMIONE PUSHED RON TO BE A BETTER PERSON

While Ron might not always have been the best influence on Hermione, she was a pretty good influence on him. Her help allowed him to do better at school and inspired him to be a bit more serious.

Also, she was a big part of helping Ron opened his mind to issues he was unaware of such as bigotry in the Harry Potter wizarding community. For Ron at least, having Hermione as a partner would have been a good thing.

2. LAVENDER: HERMIONE AND RON ALWAYS FOUGHT

While Ron and Lavender didn’t have a perfect relationship either, especially because Ron was still interested in Hermione, Ron and Hermione fought worse and more frequently.

These two were always bickering about things from small disagreements to big issues. They often went long periods of time without speaking, and they would get quite angry with each other. Their issues with fights and miscommunication don’t bode well for a healthy relationship.

1. HERMIONE: NO ONE ELSE COULD UNDERSTAND ALL THE THINGS THEY WENT THROUGH

Despite the times where they didn’t get along, Ron and Hermione were friends for years through some pretty intense things.

They were friends as they helped Harry go up against Voldemort and stayed by his side through the years. They went through some traumatic events together in a way that would cause a close bond.

No other person, except maybe Harry, could understand what they went through.