l personally subscribe to the theory that Harry is smarter than Ron he just does fuck all because he's been consistently punished for achieving anything throughout his life. Furthermore, he grows up so neglected that the first person who's nice to him, Ron, would immediately become someone who Harry would want to please and emulate. So when he sees how Ron treats someone who does care about academic achievements, Hermione, he obviously gets even further motivated to fuck around and do nothing for the rest of his school-career. Hell, Ron probably would resent him and act all jealous if Harry actually started out-achieving him academically, and Harry probably knows that deep down.

So yeah, I think Ron's probably a terrible influence on Harry. If Harry had had different friends, he might have been far, far, more driven to achieve.

 

Déjà-vu. Also friends influence each other, shocking news.

 

Or perhaps Harry just isn't a nerd.

 

Exactly this. Harry's attitude towards his schoolwork is pretty much exactly the same as the vast majority of pre-teen/teenage student. Hell, he's actually above average considering we never see him just flat-out not doing his schoolwork. The fact that he never even did that on Snape's classes is pretty amazing—most teens would say "He'll just flunk me anyway" and half-ass it at best.

 

As much as I'd love to toss the OP into the fuckwit category and move on, it's going to bother me if I don't respond.

So, @ChosenOne, what do you think has a greater de/motivational effect on Harry's study habits: a less than driven best friend (in conjunction with a driven best friend), or the knowledge that there's a scary bastard out there who wants you dead?

0.5/10, OP needs new material.

 

All these Ron threads that are made biweekly should be automatically deleted. They're never constructive.

 

He always seems to be right there to distract Harry from actually working. When Hermione says "let's go to the library", he says "let's play quidditch/let's play chess" and drags Harry down to his level. What I dislike about Ron is his willingness to completely betray Harry whenever he feels somehow overshadowed by him.

 

Or, maybe Harry would rather have played Quidditch or chess than study.

 

Look, Harry's a teenager and one that has all this pressure on him to go and kill Voldemort. I think that he's more worried of being murdered in his sleep, than failing school. I would be too. Honestly, even if Harry was a regular teen, he still wouldn't have gone and studied like Hermione. Think about the last time you studied for a test in high school/middle school. You would probably cram it all into one night, studying till one in the morning. You wouldn't do the sensible thing and time it all out, because you are a teenager.

In my opinion, Harry actually puts a lot more effort into his schoolwork than I would ever think he would. @Chengar Qordath made an excellent point when they said that most teens Harry's age would just go 'meh', and either: half-ass it, or just not do it. It's not really Ron that's dragging Harry down, it's more of Harry is just being a teenager. Going along the same lines of your reasoning, since Harry is also friends with Hermione, he should be a pretty studious person. Not Hermione level, but definitely not lazy. Why just pick on Ron?

Why do we still argue about these things again?

 

Maybe Harry needed something to distract himself, a moment to have fun.

Go to the library and study isn't anyone's (but Hermione's) idea of fun and distraction.

 

The funny thing is I actually think this question has it backwards: how did Hermione negatively effect Harry and Ron.

Ever since Hermione became friends with the two, she was always the one to get them out of especially tricky situations. Whenever they had to worry anything from especially hard homework to serious life-or-death situations, she was always the one who gave them the answer. Oh, she complained they should study and work harder, but she still did it.

Now, answer this honestly: when a teenager has a ridiculously smart friend able to give you all the answers, all but doing their homework for them, what is that going to do to the teenager's academic level? Was it going to make them into some super-smart genius held back only by that one redhead, or was it going to make them lazy? Make them so dependent on the smart friend as a crutch, their own academic stills are stifled and maybe even decline a little.

If anything, I'd actually love to read a story where Hermione, for whatever reason, was never friends with Harry and Ron. From there, I'd imagine the two would be forced to actually study and learn harder than ever. Eventually, the two end up being smarter and more powerful wizards. All because they no longer had Hermione Jean Granger to write their essays.

 

Bros before hoes.

Ron puts himself between Mass murderer Sirius Black and Harry while on a broken leg.

Also read the fucking books. Ron gets several Es in hard subjects. He is a fairly solid student.

Tonks said after the air battle he was brilliant.

Personally I would want Ron Weasley next to me in a fight than Hermione, or almost anyone else.

 

https://forums.darklordpotter.net/threads/what-would-broz-do-a-harry-ron-series-of-events.36108/

Vlad actually wrote that, and it was good. Then it died. Such is life.

 

I'd say it depends on just how much value you put on the homework and essays. I've always been of the opinion that how well they did on essays/tests doesn't necessarily show how well they've read, understood, and retained all the materiel. Until the latter books Hermoine pretty consistently had the issue of being much better in a classroom than she was out in the real world.

 

Listen man, there was a time I hated Ron...but now, I realize he's the kind of guy I would want to be friends with....Sure he has his problems but really, he's the kind of friend you just hang out and play around with...If you went to a school of magic, you would probably play quidditch all day too. So calm down.

 

Nah, man. Harry is the one you want next to you. Not because he's a good fighter (though he is). No, it's simply because the bad guys will always want him and forget about you. (Either that or consider you a spare).

Anyway, the litmus test of whether Ron has a negative effect on Harry's study habits comes in GoF when they spend a lot of time apart. Does Harry suddenly start studying more? No. Big surprise...

 

Harry actually did pretty great on his OWLS didn't he?

The way I see it, he's perfectly happy with his grades and doesn't see them as something that should rule over his life. He likes to have fun but he doesn't avoid his responsibilities for them.

Not everything has to be about improving your grades.

He's actually remarkably well adjusted for someone being hunted by the 2nd most powerful wizard alive.

Too soon.

 

I too hate Ron because he dragged Harry down to his level. There is NOTHING in this world that I hate more than someone squandering someone else's potential. NOTHING. It just really makes me sick when I see somebody who could do all kinds of great things given the right training and/or encouragement, and they're sitting on their ass doing nothing to better themselves because one of their friends/parents/associates has convinced them to do something else. I hate that. I know that it's slightly irrational, but I've seen it way to many times where someone's life is ruined because somebody interfered with it. Fuck Ron