‘Harry Potter’ stars Rupert Grint and Afshan Azad delight fans with rekindled connection

Fans on social media couldn’t keep their excitement at bay at the sight of the two actors side by side in a new photo

Nearly twenty years ago, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire wowed fans for the first time in theatres. Now, with the child actors now adults living out their own separate lives, Rupert Grint and Afshan Azad, who played Ron Weasley and his spurned dance partner, Padma Patil, respectively, delighted fans earlier this week by reconnecting and putting up a reunion photo on Instagram.

Sharing a photo of herself with Grint today along with a throwback photo of their characters standing side by side awkwardly at the Yule Ball, Azad captioned, “Padma & Ron reunited after 20+ years. Oh how parenthood has changed us all.” Referring playfully to how Ron, who held a secret candle for Hermione (Emma Watson) and ended up abandoning Padma at the Yule Ball, Azad added, “PS He’s still not asked me to dance.” 

Predictably, Azad’s post sent die-hard Harry Potter fans into a stream of nostalgia-fuelled euphoria, with the comments section rapidly filling up with puns and wholesome comments.

“If he hasn’t asked by now, it will probably never happen. Maybe try one of the Durmstrang boys,” quipped one commenter, referring to the Bulgarian wizarding school featured in Goblet.

“Come on Ron!” urged another fan. “Time for you to be a better date and ask her to the dance floor!”

Yet another delighted fan, overcome with emotion, penned, “This made me tear up – so proud of who both of you have become, and thank you for all the magic you gave us when we were kids.”

Having come a long way from playing the awkward teenage wizard who fumbled his way through his first ball, Grint became a father for the first time in 2020. He has been in a long-term relationship with actor Georgia Groome since 2011, although he strives to keep his personal life under wraps. The couple share one daughter. Meanwhile, according to India Today, Azad married Nabil Kazi in 2018. The couple have one daughter, and Azad is currently expecting their second child.

The Harry Potter franchise may have begun in the early 2000s, but the cast members have kept the friendship alive and remained in touch. In 2022, Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and many others in the cast reunited to celebrate 20 years since the first Potter film hit theatres.