Panju Weasley

Panju Weasley was born to Ron Weasley and Padma Patil sometime in the 2000s. Panju Weasley’s only appearance took place in the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. However, from the perspective of the readers, Panju only existed for a short while as he was born in an alternate reality and an alternate timeline where Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy had intervened with Cedric Diggory’s first task in the Triwizard Tournament. The events occurring during this timeline had already occurred in the original timeline during Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Albus and Scorpius were only trying to alter a few events to prevent Cedric Diggory from getting killed. 

Panju Weasley’s existence is what tipped off Albus and Scorpius about them having changed their reality in the process of trying to save Cedric Diggory. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger never got married in this reality, and therefore, Rose Granger-Weasley and Hugo Weasley were never born. Instead, Ron married Padma Patil and had a son named Panju Weasley.

The Events that Led to Panju Weasley’s Birth

Albus Severus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy used the Time Turner that was kept in Hermione Granger’s office and with the help of Delphi Diggory, who was later revealed to be Delphini, the daughter of Lord Voldemort. They went to the time when the first task of the Triwizard Tournament was supposed to take place and dressed up as students from Durmstrang school. In the crowd, they came across a young Hermione Granger who looked exactly like her future daughter Rose. So, Scorpius suddenly called her Rose and then, realizing his mistake, went away with Albus. 

However, Hermione thought of this as suspicious behavior and followed them until she saw them deliberately interfering with Cedric’s task. She then concluded that Viktor Krum must have told them to do this so that he could gain an advantage in the competition. She decided not to go with Viktor Krum to the Yule Ball and instead went with Ron Weasley as friends. This resulted in Ron being jealous of Viktor Krum for going with Hermione to the Yule Ball, which never happened. Instead, Ron danced with Padma Patil in the Yule Ball, and the two fell in love. They eventually got married and had a son named Panju Weasley.

Discovering Panju Weasley’s Existence

Panju Weasley’s existence was discovered when Albus Potter heard Ron Weasley talking about him when he came to Hogwarts to straighten out a matter regarding Panju. Panju was very mischievous and would often get into trouble at school. His wife had insisted that he visit Hogwarts and set matters straight instead of just sending a Howler from home as Ron had suggested. However, Albus insisted that Ron was not married to Padma but was married to Hermione. Furthermore, he was surprised that Ron had become so serious instead of his usual fun-loving and jovial self. 

Besides realizing that Ron had a son named Panju Weasley, he also realized that his and Scorpius’s actions had caused for Rose Granger-Weasley and Hugo Granger-Weasley to be erased from existence altogether. Ron would later meet Hermione in Hogwarts, where she was a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He would recount the incident to her, which would surprise her.

Panju Weasley’s Character

Panju Weasley’s character is an interesting take on alternate realities and other possibilities that could have come true. However, several fans have criticized the way Panju Weasley was created as a comic relief by J. K. Rowling. The Harry Potter series has sometimes been criticized for its lack of diversity, but there have been characters outside of British origin, including an Asian character in the form of Cho Chang and two Indian characters, Parvati Patil and Padma Patil, to name a few. A Buzzfeed article exists, too, questioning what exactly the term “Panju” means, as despite its Indian-sounding timbre, it has no meaningful significance.

Panju Weasley’s Life at Hogwarts

Panju was considered to be a very mischievous kid and was punished several times for causing problems at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the first year, at the beginning of the school year, he bet against the possibility of his cousin Albus Potter ever getting into Gryffindor house, which prompted the latter to ask the Sorting Hat to put him in Gryffindor. During a Potions class, Panju had accidentally lost his eyebrows and ended up having a large moustache. Padma wanted Ron to talk to Panju about it as it was apparently a father’s job to have a discussion with his son about facial growths.

Panju Weasley – A Deeper Character Than Obvious?

Despite several real-world oppositions to the character for being a disservice to people of color, which may actually be true, Panju seems to be a deeper character than is obvious. His name, origins, and the way he is written may be an insult to the South Asian community, but despite this, if one looks closely, there is some depth to his character. 

Panju Weasley plays as a metaphor for humor. He is mischievous and has a constant smirk on his face despite his father, Ron, and the others trying hard to wipe it off of him. He also tries to prank people around him and challenges them into doing what Ron sometimes used to do in the real timeline. 

Panju is the essence of all the fun and jovial traits that Ron and George Weasley would have embodied if they were in their original reality. Panju is a fun-loving kid, but the reception to his jokes from Ron and the others is a constant reminder that something went wrong in this universe and that they are so serious and uptight that they couldn’t be themselves.

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