-whew- Thanks Trey.

Thought I was losing it for a minute there.

Finally, a polite discussion that actually has a conclusion.

Mark this day, ladies and gentlemen, for it will never come again

SS: She (misguidedly) sets Snape's robes on fire. She figures out most of the mystery. She immobilizes Neville. She beats the plant guardian and the potions challenge.

CoS: She creates the polyjuice potion. She solves the mystery despite being paralyzed for months.

PoA: She punches Draco in the nose. She fights by Harry's side in the Shrieking Shack. She fixes everything with the time turner.

GoF: She helps Harry with the challenges. She keeps Victor Krum from winning the tournament that he is clearly best suited for by distracting him with--one assumes--blowjobs.

OotP: She starts Dumbledore's Army. She arranges the Quibbler interview that changes people's minds. She tricks Umbridge into going into the forest. She fights by Harry's side in the Ministry of Magic.

HBP: She mostly gives Harry bad advice but does help fight off the Death Eaters in the school at the end.

DH: She does all the prep and most of the advanced spell-casting. She makes the polyjuice potion to get them into the Ministry of Magic. She helps find the locket and destroy the diadem. She fights by Harry's side repeatedly.

I'm with Darth Praxus on this one, Ron is not useless by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think he's there to serve the same kind of purpose you want to judge him by Zarbs.

He is there as, not a foil, but at least a sounding board for how screwed up Harry's existence is inside the magic world. Along with being the only one of the 3 who has street knowledge about the wizarding world, (Harry and Hermione both being raised in the Muggle world. Granted he's a bit of an idiot sometimes about some stuff, but hey we all have that friend), he's also the only one that can really give a bit of perspective to us (the reader) about Harry and his fame. He's the friend that always get's shafted because his friend is famous, he always gets shafted because his family is poor. He always get's shafted because he's a bit of an idiot. And there's an incredible amount of tension there that obviously comes to a head in DH, but there's also a very strong friendship there.

So while he might not do much to progress the "plot" of the story, he doesn't have too, he gives us a lot of perspective about the world and the other 2, and in a lot of ways is the most sane of the three. He's, to get incredibly cliched, the heart of the group. Hermione is the brains obviously, and Harry is the courage, but without Ron I think they tend to get very wrapped up in their own heads, Hermione because she is so intellectual and Harry because he is so confused, Ron is always the one that brings the problem back down the dirt level.

Sorry bit of a wandering path of thought in this one, hopefully it makes sense.

He also stands by Harry when the whole school turns against him in Chamber and OotP. If you like, he serves as Harry's emotional support, and Hermione is his intellectual support. Loyalty like Ron's is nothing to sneeze at, which is a point that Rowling hammers home.