JK Rowling: I Screwed Up Marriage in Potter Series

Harry Potter fans, hope you're sitting down—and SPOILER ALERT to any who haven't read the seventh and final book. JK Rowling says that marrying Ron and Hermione was a mistake written as "a form of wish fulfillment." In an interview with Emma Watson, portrayer of Hermione in the blockbuster film series, Rowling goes on: "For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione ended up with Ron." Rowling admits that Hermione would have been happier with Harry, the Sunday Times reports.

"I know, I'm sorry," she says. "I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I'm absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that. It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility." Watson chimes in that some fans already agree, and "wonder whether Ron would have really been able to make her happy." CNN reports on reactions at the Potter fan site Mugglenet, which range from "WHAT??? I am heartbroken!" to "Hermione deserved someone better" than Ron. At least Rowling didn't knock off Ron altogether, as she admitted to contemplating in an interview two years ago. "Midway through, which I think was a reflection that I wasn't in a very happy place, I started thinking I might punish one of them off," she said. "I did seriously consider killing ... Ron." (More JK Rowling stories.)