No, Ron and Hermione do not break up in the main timeline of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. They are happily married at the beginning and end of the play, continuing their long-standing relationship. However, the narrative explores an alternate timeline where their relationship is fundamentally altered, leading to them never marrying.
Ron and Hermione's Relationship in Cursed Child
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a play by Jack Thorne based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, delves into the complexities of time travel and its potential impact on established realities. While Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are a steadfast couple in the primary narrative, their relationship faces significant, albeit temporary, changes in an alternate reality.
The Primary Timeline: A Lasting Love
In the Cursed Child's main timeline, which follows the events of the original Harry Potter book series, Ron and Hermione are depicted as a happily married couple. They share two children, Rose and Hugo Granger-Weasley, and Hermione has achieved a prominent career as the Minister for Magic. Their relationship is characterized by mutual respect, love, and a deep understanding of each other, reflecting the enduring bond established throughout their Hogwarts years.
Key aspects of their relationship in the main timeline:
- Marital Status: Happily married.
- Family: Parents to Rose and Hugo Granger-Weasley.
- Hermione's Career: Minister for Magic.
- Ron's Career: Co-manager of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes alongside George.
The Alternate Timeline: A Different Reality
A significant portion of Cursed Child involves Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy's attempts to alter the past using a powerful Time-Turner. Their interference inadvertently creates several dark alternate timelines. In one such altered reality, their actions prevent Ron and Hermione's relationship from ever forming.
In this specific alternate timeline:
- Ron never experiences the formative jealousy crucial to his relationship development with Hermione.
- The two never marry.
- Instead, Ron falls in love with and marries Padma Patil after the Yule Ball, having a son with her.
- Hermione, profoundly impacted by her altered personal life, becomes a frustrated and bitter professor at Hogwarts. She dedicates herself intensely to her work but lacks the joy and balance her relationship with Ron provided in the original timeline.
This scenario represents a profound break from their canonical relationship, not as a "break up" from an existing marriage in that reality, but as a complete erasure of their romantic connection from the outset.
The Ripple Effect of Time Travel
The creation of this alternate timeline where Ron and Hermione never marry underscores the dramatic consequences of tampering with history. The absence of their relationship has a ripple effect, altering their individual paths and personal happiness, as well as the broader Wizarding World. Fortunately, these alternate realities are eventually corrected by the protagonists, restoring the original timeline where Ron and Hermione remain together.
To summarize the relationship status across timelines:
| Aspect | Primary Timeline | Alternate Timeline (First Major Change) |
|---|---|---|
| Relationship Status | Happily Married | Never Married |
| Ron's Partner | Hermione Granger | Padma Patil |
| Hermione's Role | Minister for Magic | Frustrated Hogwarts Professor |
| Children (with Ron) | Rose and Hugo Weasley | None |
| Outcome | Enduring love and family | Separate, unfulfilled lives for Ron & Hermione |
For more details on the play's plot and characters, you can visit the official Harry Potter and the Cursed Child website or the Wizarding World portal.
