SIDEKICKS: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger
FAITHFUL COMPANION OF: Harry Potter
A lonely adolescence can be a terrible experience — all the more so for a young wizard literally marked as being different. So it’s a good thing for Harry Potter (and, one supposes, our world), that he has been blessed with two remarkable friends. The bright and gifted Hermione gets the group out of all kinds of scrapes, while Ron, perhaps not the sharpest wand, is possessed with courage and loyalty that often proves just as valuable. Which isn’t to say that this trio is immune to the petty jealousies and resentments that visit all kids: in fact, its those unpleasant facets of adolescence — often leading to confusion, anger, and loneliness — that gives their stories an astringent ring of truth.
INTERESTING FACT: J.K. Rowling has acknowledged that the character of Ron was inspired by her real-life best friend Sean Harris; Hermione, she has said, is “an exaggeration of how I was when I was younger.”