Chapter 23: The Yule Ball

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 6901

Hi --


> However (and here's the clincher), "Krum was...accompanied by a pretty
> girl in blue robes Harry didn't know." <snip> And so, in a sudden
> rainstorm of similes, Harry realises that the pretty girl is Hermione:
>
> <snip> She was also smiling -- rather nervously, it was true -- but
> the reduction in the size of her front teeth was more noticeable than
> ever; Harry couldn't understand how he hadn't spotted it before."

I maintain from the above passage that Harry was just as floored by
Hermione's appearance at the Ball as Ron.  <g>

> Serious question, though -- does Hermione's newfound appearance change
> our opinion of her?))

Like Rita, I would have to say that it just makes me a bit jealous.  Not
many of us "nerd girls" can transform into a beautiful swan who will
cause heads to turn, even with gallons of hair potions & 3 hours (or
more) of prep time.  <g>  Seriously .... I don't see that there's
anything to fault Hermione for changing her appearance so dramatically
for that one night -- lots of people do (or try to do) that for special
occasions.  As she told Harry the next day, the changes she made to her
hair would take far more trouble than she was willing to do for
everyday.  Although one does wonder if there couldn't be some 1 minute
charm that could "fix" her unruly hair everyday.  <g>

> Question: While being served at Top Table, Hermione isn't thinking
> about
> SPEW. Do we reconsider our opinion of her and her commitment because
> of
> this?

Nah.  She's preoccupied and probably more than just a little bit
nervous.  It's her first date, she's with a School Champion and she
surely couldn't have failed to miss the sensation she caused with her
appearance and her date.

> He returns to the Gryffindor common room to find Ron and Hermione
> having a major catfight -- Harry thinks Hermione was in the right.
>

I, of course being me, feel compelled to add my own spin on the last
scene of this chapter.  I maintain that since we don't know what
transpired between Ron & Hermione before Harry stepped into the Common
Room, we really can't know the full implications of their argument.  On
the surface, it sounds as though Ron is letting loose with a major
streak of jealousy because she went with Krum and he has unacknowledged
romantic feelings for her.  It sounds, again on the surface, as though
Hermione is saying, "Well, if *you* wanted to go with me to the ball,
you should have asked me first and not as a last resort."  But, it's
quite quite possible that really all Ron *said* was a repeat of what he
said at the Ball, which was the accusation that she was fraternizing
with the enemy by going to the Ball with Krum.  In *that* case,
Hermione's response could be interpreted in another way -- she could
simply be saying "Well, if you'd have rather I didn't go with a student
from another school, perhaps you should have asked me yourself."

A distinction that could mean nothing .... or could mean something.  I
just think JKR rarely writes things that are entirely as they appear to
be on the surface, and this "fight" between Ron & Hermione strikes me as
ripe for mis-interpretation.  <g>

Penny


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