Nerdy Stuff Hill Likes — How Tall Is Ron Weasley? - Hillnerd - Tumblr

I originally posted this in a thread- but decided to make it its own post.

So I obsess over stuff like this way too much (why yes, I have a spreadsheet of all the heights of characters I care about… because I’m very sane… Yes…)

So I guess first let’s establish what are considered small and tall heights for average cis men & women, for these purposes:

• Average height for a woman is around 5’4”- Under 5’3” is small, over 5’7” is tall
• Average height for a man is around 5’9.5”- Over 5’11” is tall, under 5’7” is small
• Most women reach their full height by age 14-15.
• Men reach their full height by age 20, but are typically 92% close to their full height by age 17.

I think Hermione is around 5’5” and Ron is around 6’5”. ( I know 6′5″ sounds ridiculously tall- but hear me out! :) )

The main way I am concluding people’s heights is by using other character references that are specific to lock them in.

To get Hermione’s height I mainly rely on this scene from OOtP:

““You need more persuasion?” [Bellatrix] said, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “Very well - take the smallest one,” she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. “Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I’ll do it.

Harry felt the others close in around Ginny; he stepped sideways so that he was right in front of her, the prophecy held up to his chest.”

• Ginny is described as ‘the smallest one’ when they’re all together- and they all seem to immeciately know that’s Ginny- so I picture Gin being between 5′0″ - 5′3″ - and for that height to look significantly shorter than the other girls there would need to be a fair few inches difference. I think Hermione’s hair definitely makes her height look taller.
• Hermione’s never described as particularly tall or small- putting her height somewhere between 5’3” and 5’7”.
• She probably has 2 inches of hair height, so I’d say she’s either 5’4” or 5’5”

So for Ron’s height- we know he’s tall (over 5’11”)-

but to get more specific we need to use Harry, James, Runcorn, The Twins, Charlie and Percy to establish heights:

Harry is not Taller than 6 ft.

““We don’t know who he is,” Hermione said, passing Harry several curly black hairs, “but he’s gone home with a dreadful nosebleed! Here, he’s pretty tall, you’ll need bigger robes… .” She pulled out a set of the old robes Kreacher had laundered for them, and Harry retired to take the potion and change.

Once the painful transformation was complete he was more than six feet tall and, from what he could tell from his well-muscled arms, powerfully built. He also had a beard. Stowing the Invisibility Cloak and his glasses inside his new robes, he rejoined the other two.

“Blimey, that’s scary,” said Ron, looking up at Harry, who now towered over him.” -Deathly Hallows

• When Harry polyjuices into Runcorn he goes up in height to over 6 ft tall, establishing that Harry is 6ft or shorter. This also establishes that Ron is used to being the one to tower over Harry.

Harry is between 5’7” and 6 feet tall

“At once, their features began to bubble and distort like hot wax. Hermione and Mundungus were shooting upward; Ron, Fred, and George were shrinking, their hair was darkening, Hermione’s and Fleur’s appearing to shoot backward into their skulls.” -Deathly Hallows

• Harry is established as shorter than Ron Fred and George, but taller than Hermione and Mundungus (no mention of Fleur’s height difference.)
• To ‘shoot upward’ in height, I’m imagining there would be about 4 inches at minimum of height increase. Hermione is between 5’3” and 5’7”- so with a ‘shoot up in height” this establishes Harry is between 5’7” and 6 feet exactly tall.
• Ron Fred and George are taller, and most likely have more general girth than Harry. The shrinking they do could be in girth or tallness- it’s not clear. Harry being slight is mentioned in that scene as well:

““Well, none of us really fancy it, Harry,” said Fred earnestly.“Imagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits forever.” —Deathly Hallows

Harry is the same height as James- and James is ‘tall.’

“[The Potters] had not drawn the curtains; [Voldemort] saw them quite clearly in their little sitting room, the tall black-haired man in his glasses, making puffs of colored smoke erupt from his wand for the amusement of the small black-haired boy in his blue pajamas.” -Deathly Hallows

“James was exactly the same height as Harry. He was wearing the clothes in which he had died, and his hair was untidy and ruffled, and his glasses were a little lopsided, like Mr. Weasley’s.” -Deathly Hallows

• Harry must be tall then, as James is described as tall by Harry (when it’s from his perspective) and Voldemort (when it’s from his perspective.) James is referred to as tall throughout the series as well.

So Harry is around 5’11” +/- to be considered ‘tall’- and to be under six feet

———————-

So establishing Harry as around 5’11” by the end of Deathly Hallows- we can infer the heights of the Weasleys. Fred George and Ron are all established as taller than Harry at the beginning of Deathly Hallows when they polyjuice and have to shrink to be his size. Fred George and Charlie are described as stockier Weasleys who are all shorter than Ron and Percy:

“Charlie was built like the twins, shorter and stockier than Percy and Ron, who were both long and lanky. He had a broad, good-natured face, which was weather-beaten and so freckly that he looked almost tanned; his arms were muscular, and one of them had a large, shiny burn on it.” ‘Goblet of Fire

“Charlie approached, running his hand slightly ruefully over his new, brutally short haircut. He was shorter than Ron, thickset, with a number of burns and scratches up his muscley arms.” -Deathly Hallows

The twins are over 5′11″

The twins are wider than Harry, and it can be assumed somewhat taller than Harry - so they are over 5’11” at least- for their heights to diminish noticeably with polyjuice, they probably are a few inches taller- so they’re around 6’0” to 6′1″- they are built stockier and shorter than Ron and Percy- so I think that means that Ron and Percy probably have a good 2-3 inches on the twins.

Putting Ron and Percy between 6’3” and 6’5”.

So! I think Ron is definitely taller than Percy (not because it’s established in the books, but just my own personal preference), so he’s either 6’4” or 6’5”.

I did a lineup of them a while back- note hermione is in heels with her hair up, so it adds some height:

more art can be found @hillyminne

Then I have my personal reasons for choosing these heights:

So for the twins to be tall, but also ‘shorter and stockier Weasleys’- that means they must be pretty in proportion. I picture the Weasley boys as all being very in proportion so they don’t read as all that tall until you get up near them- Ron took the longest to fill out as he was the tallest- so he read as a string bean for a long time. (Very 7 Brides for 7 Brothers inspired for me, as I remember them all being Gingers and the girls going ‘They’re all as tall as church steeples!’)

My husband’s large (both in number and height) family is like that- everyone are between 5′10″ and 6′7″ except a few of the gals- I’m 5′1′ so I look like a child next to them all, and my husband is 6′2″. :P

I have a soft spot for big height differences- So I choose a big one between Ron and Hermione.

Real-life Examples:

• Eliza Dushku and Rick Fox
• Hozier and Saoirse Ronan
• Armie Hammer and Alicia Vikander in Man from UNCLE (6′5″ and 5’5”.)
• (and that movie also shows Henry Cavill as looking short and stocky compared to the tall Armie Hammer (much like I picture the twins/Charlie to be by comparison.)