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I read somewhere that at one point JK Rowling had planned to pair Fred Weasley with Hermione Granger, but then changed her mind. Supposedly, she said this in an interview. However, I can't find any citations for this. Is there any evidence or is this just an urban myth?

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    In the interviews I've read with J.K. Rowling, I've never seen her even remotely suggest Fred/Hermione as a pairing. But that's me -- maybe someone else has seen something different. I've seen fan fiction with Fred/Hermione as a pairing, but that's hardly canon, right? Recently a rumor went around, that got a lot of stock, that JKR had considered pairing Hermione with Draco, but apparently it was completely untrue. Commented Mar 13, 2014 at 23:51
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    There was recent controversy when she said that she wished she paired her with Harry. I've never heard anything about Fred. Commented Mar 13, 2014 at 23:52
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    @iandotkelly - Actually, what she said was she feels, at this point and in hindsight, that her pairing of Ron/Hermione was a form of "wish fulfillment" on her part. She didn't say exactly what she meant by "wish fulfillment", though. Emma Watson, who I think was conducting the interview, then said she had a hard time with the Ron/Hermione. JKR then said that Ron/Hermione either would have or might have needed marriage counseling. I don't think it was ever suggested or said that all this meant it should have been Harry/Hermione. I don't think Harry even came up, IIRC. :) Commented Mar 14, 2014 at 2:03
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    @Slytherincess - My money is on the giant squid </fanfic> Commented Mar 14, 2014 at 4:25
  • shipping.fandom.com/wiki/Fremione
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Aug 26, 2019 at 4:46

3 Answers 3

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I've managed to trace the genesis of the 'Fred and Hermione' rumour down to a posting on the 'HP Facts' Pinterest site. Fact #209 has been reposted approximately 20,000 times on Pinterest and many more times on Twitter and Facebook. It appears to be merely a fan-theory, like many of the other spurious "facts" on the now defunct website.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/414542340670136558/

enter image description here

In recent days, Rowling has mentioned that she seriously considered pairing Hermione with Harry (e.g. rather than Ron) but I've not read anywhere that she seriously considered pairing Hermione with any other character.

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    Yes, I think this is acceptable as the possible root of the Hermione/Fred rumor. "HP Facts" was quite often off its rocker, but sometimes it was totally right, so I can see it being the source. Pinterest repinning is less compelling, as it could be that people are sticking it onto their "Giant Pile of Blls*t" boards! But, +1 :) Commented Mar 14, 2014 at 2:10
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    Just as an FYI, HP Facts also has a Tumblr (at least they did at one point -- I haven't checked my Tumblr in over a year, though). Commented Mar 14, 2014 at 2:12
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According to J.K. Rowling in early interviews, Fred Weasley was going to live while Arthur was going to die in Order of the Pheonix and Ron was going to be killed out of "sheer spite". She admitted that if this plan was to be put in order Fred Weasley and Hermione Granger would have ended up in a relationship. Because this is not what happened, she admitted she regrets the Ron and Hermione pairing, after "stepping back" from the series, and prefers the Harry and Hermione pairing. She even claimed she could see Ron and Hermione needing large amounts of marriage counseling. This is what she has most recently said about relationships in the series and she has not mentioned the Fred and Hermione pairing further.

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    Do you have any citations to back this up? Commented May 7, 2014 at 1:56
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    Seriously. I'm not being snarky, I really do want to know. (That's why I asked the question.) I have a friend who swears up and down she actually saw the interview, but she couldn't find it when she went back to look. Commented Jul 3, 2014 at 19:23
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Okay in The interview with JK Rowling, she said that MAYBE Harry and Hermione would have made the better pair, she and Emma Watson were talking of the Harry and Hermione romance as hypothetical discussion. And yes JK Rowling did say Ron and Hermione would most likely need couple counseling, however that they would turn out fine (again in a jesting tone). JK Rowling also said that Ron and Hermione need each other to balance the other out, she to make him less insecure, and her to be less uptight and critical. And to answer your question about Fred and Hermione I read in an interview that she had always intended to pair Hermione with Ron, and that she had always intended to have Fred die at some point, however we can always ship. And believe me guys Fred and Hermione are my all time favorite ship in the series. :)

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    Which interview?
    – user1027
    Commented Mar 1, 2015 at 22:25

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