Expect spoilers from Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts films!

1. The way Ron reacted when Hermione kissed him on the cheek

Ron seemed to come to himself slightly as they walked back across the Great Hall. He touched the spot on his face where Hermione had kissed him, looking puzzled, as though he was not quite sure what had just happened.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

As we all know, Ron and Hermione didn’t properly kiss until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, (in the words of Sirius – ‘we had done our waiting!’) but an innocuous kiss on the cheek some time before gave us a huge insight into just how much Ron liked Hermione. In this moment, Ron was already in a state of anxiety, as he was about to play Quidditch for the Gryffindor team, but something about Hermione’s simple, encouraging gesture seemed to completely stop him in his tracks... We wonder why.

2. When Newt compared Tina’s eyes to a Salamander

Oh, Newt! The ever-awkward Magizoologist tried his hand at flirting during Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in the only way he knew how: to compare Tina Goldstein to a magical creature, specifically a Salamander. The compliment sort of worked, however, (telling Tina her eyes looked like ‘fire in water’) leading us to one of the sweetest scenes we’ve ever seen between them. Tina even finished Newt’s sentence for him.

3. When Harry stood up (literally) for Ginny at the Slug Club dinner

Another adorably awkward moment now, this time from the film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In this scene, it became transparent just how much Harry had started fancying Ginny, when he stood up in a very gentlemanly fashion when she arrived to one of Professor Slughorn’s dinner parties. The scene’s atmosphere, already overwhelmed with an uncomfortable feeling in the air, was made all the more awkward by this moment of course, but Hermione found it very amusing. And really, we found it quite adorable too.

4. Ron tries to defend Hermione against Malfoy

RON
Malfoy, you may be all chummy chummy with Harry, and you may have produced a relatively nice child, but you’ve said some very unfair things to and about my wife . . .
HERMIONE
And your wife doesn’t need you fighting her battles for her.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

In Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, we find Ron and Hermione happily married, but still bickering as much as they did as teenagers, of course. In one sweet scene, however, Ron tries to stand-up to a grown-up Draco Malfoy, who has said some ‘very unfair things’ to Hermione. Hermione casually bats off Ron saying she can fight her own battles, but we love that Ron is still trying to protect Hermione all these years later. Remember when he tried to defend her honour after Draco called her a Mudblood in Chamber of Secrets – but ended up just making himself vomit slugs? How far the white knight Ron Weasley has come!

5. Ginny’s Valentine’s poem for Harry

‘His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad, His hair is as dark as a blackboard. I wish he was mine, he’s really divine, The hero who conquered the Dark Lord.’
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Well, allegedly this was Ginny – we never got firm proof – but we are fairly sure it was. During Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Ginny’s first year at Hogwarts, the youngest Weasley harboured a huge crush on Harry, and what better way to portray that than with a gruff dwarf dressed as a Cupid reciting a self-written Valentine’s poem? Nonetheless, the similes might not have been all that flattering (‘His eyes were as green as a fresh pickled toad) but Ginny gets 10/10 for rhyming skills and effort. Many years later, they would end up married with children, so this work was certainly not in vain.

6. Jacob trying to be cool while drinking Gigglewater with Queenie

He was a No-Maj aspiring baker, she was a talented witch with the power to hear peoples’ thoughts – can we make it any more obvious? Yes, this is the budding romance of Jacob and Queenie, which we saw come to light in the first Fantastic Beasts film. Being a No-Maj presented certain challenges to Jacob during his courtship with Queenie, including trying to style out drinking some magical Gigglewater – the clue is in the title on what Gigglewater makes you do! Thankfully, for Jacob, he was endlessly endearing to Queenie, and the chemistry between them was plain to see.

7. Fred asking Angelina to the Yule Ball

‘Want to come to the ball with me?’ Angelina gave Fred an appraising sort of look. ‘All right, then,’ she said, and she turned back to Alicia and carried on chatting, with a bit of a grin on her face. ‘There you go,’ said Fred to Harry and Ron, ‘piece of cake.’
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Fred and George’s practical jokes made us forget that the twins could be a bit more grown-up at times, and this moment between Fred and his fellow Quidditch teammate Angelina showed that he could actually be romantic. Well, sort of. Wrapped up in his standard level of bravado, Fred’s casual asking of Angelina to the ball may have seemed a bit abrupt, but Angelina’s smile afterwards showed that these two must have really liked each other for a while.

8. Hagrid getting all fancy for Madam Maxime

There was an air of enormous excitement about Hagrid. He was wearing a flower that resembled an oversized artichoke in his buttonhole. It looked as though he had abandoned the use of axle grease, but he had certainly attempted to comb his hair – Harry could see the comb’s broken teeth tangled in it.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Bless Hagrid. Bless Hagrid and his horrible hairy suit. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, we got to see the romantic side of many characters as Hogwarts prepared for the grand dance, the Yule Ball. But while the students were wrestling with the teenage anxieties that come with looking for a date, we even saw a new side to the Hogwarts gamekeeper. Upon meeting Madame Maxime, Hagrid had a new tendency to style his hair, wear flowers, and on special occasions, get dressed up to the nines in his hairy, brown suit.

All of this, apparently, was an attempt to woo the visiting Beauxbatons headmistress Madam Maxime. Well, it seemed to be working until Hagrid inferred Madame Maxime was a half-giant at the Yule Ball... not a good thing to say on a date.

9. Ron saying Hermione’s name in his sleep

Alright, just one more Ron and Hermione moment for this list – although this sweet moment was marred by Ron unconsciously upsetting Lavender.

After being accidentally poisoned, Ron wound up in the hospital wing, with his friends (and girlfriend) coming to visit him. Unfortunately for poor Lavender, who was dating Ron at the time, Ron took this as an opportunity to ignore her, even pretending to be asleep when she came to visit. The only person a sick Ron wanted to see at his bedside was Hermione, to the extent he called out her name during his sleep. Although we disapprove of Ron’s way of handling his break-up with Lavender, this was yet another subtle moment that Ron had feelings for his best friend. We’re just sad that Lavender had to get caught up in the middle!

10. Molly’s Hogwarts anecdote

‘What were you doing out of your dormitory at four in the morning?’ said Bill, surveying Mrs Weasley with amazement. Mrs Weasley grinned, her eyes twinkling. ‘Your father and I had been for a night-time stroll,’ she said. ‘He got caught by Apollyon Pringle – he was the caretaker in those days – your father’s still got the marks.’
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Mrs Weasley comes to Hogwarts to cheer Harry on in the Triwizard Tournament and shares a memory of her own time as a student. As it turned out, Molly was known to sneak around the corridors with her future-husband Arthur, even getting told off by the Fat Lady for being out so late. Mr and Mrs Weasley give us many adorable moments during the books, but we like this stolen moment from their youth to show off their sassy side.

Which subtle romantic moment from the Wizarding World is your favourite?