JK Rowling's shocking Harry Potter romance reveal

To most Harry Potter fans, the realisation of the romance that had been burgeoning between Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley for years was one of the finale's best pay-offs. But author JK Rowling has revealed she doesn't actually approve of the match.

The novelist has admitted that she thinks Hermione was better suited to Harry than Ron.

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The revelation came in an interview for Wonderland magazine conducted by Emma Watson - who played Hermione in the franchise's film adaptations.

Rowling explained that Ron and Hermione were not a "credible" couple, even suggesting that they would have needed relationship counselling.

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As well as featuring the couple's first kiss, the ending of The Deathly Hallows flashed forward to the future where Ron and Hermione were married with two children.

"I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment," the author explained.

"That's how it was conceived really. 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.

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"I'm sorry. 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," she added.

"It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility. Am I breaking people's hearts by saying this? I hope not."

Watson agreed with the author's change of heart, saying: "I think there are fans out there who know that too and who wonder whether Ron would have really been able to make her happy."