Shippers, Happy Endings & Related Topics

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 7848

Hi all --

I'm catching up on the weekend's mail slowly but surely.

For Mo's theory -- yes, this H/H shipper relates very strongly to
Hermione.  I was never as outgoing, extroverted & assertive as Hermione
but I was Hermione on the inside, that's for sure.

For Kathy -- the first boy who broke my heart was a blue-eyed redhead,
so maybe you have something there.  Maybe that's the *real* underlying
reason why I lean H/H.  :--)

Ebony wrote:

> I rather think the number of R/H fans is growing as more finish up
> GoF, and we as humans like to be "right".
>
Hmmm ..... I'm not so sure that even if R & H date in Book 5 that it can
be assumed that they are "right" & the H/H contingent is "wrong."  We
won't know anything at all until the series is over ... and maybe not
even then, eh?  Personally, I hope it's left ambiguous at the end ("Will
Hermione get back together with Ron (they had a spat & split up in Book
6)?"  "Will Hermione instead declare her true love for Harry?"  "Will
Harry finally see Ginny as a woman?") -- then all the shippers can
happily create fanfic to suit their preference for eternity!  <g>

Cassie wrote:

> Ginny remains woefully undeveloped and uninteresting, which is probably why I just don't see her for
> Harry. And I'm not in love with the argument that Harry should end
> up with Ginny so he'd be part of a big happy family, because that
> pretty much ignores what Ginny (whiney and undeveloped though she may
> be) needs. It smacks of the "consolation prize argument" that a lot
> of people use in saying that Ron should wind up with
> Hermione "because Harry has everything else, fame, glory, Quidditch
> skills, so Ron should get SOMETHING" -- it ignores what would be good
> for Hermione or what she might want and by extension makes Ron sound
> like a loser.
>
I'm with Cassie on this one (as she well knows).  In the case of R/H, I
think the fact that Ron's interest is so over-the-top, you'd have to be
really thick to miss it -- people *assume* that Hermione is likewise
interested.  When I read the books, I think it's much clearer that
Hermione has her cap set on Harry, not Ron.  And, like Cassie, I hate
the "consolation prize" arguments.

> I'm sure this has been said before, but I just don't see where Harry
> winding up with Hermione makes his relationship with the Weasleys
> awkward. Mrs. Weasley adores him *and* she adores Hermione, and the
> only time we've ever seen her react negatively to Hermione is when
> she thought that Hermione was Harry's girlfriend and wasn't treating
> him right! My impression is that she would have been perfectly
> delighted if Hermione and Harry had been going out, and only reacted
> negatively because she was afraid Hermione was doing him wrong (for
> lack of a better phrase.) I can't see Mrs. Weasley turning Harry and
> Hermione away simply because Hermione didn't end up marrying Ron (who
> might not care at that point anyway), and if she did, then I'd be
> pretty disappointed in her.
>
Bravo!  I think that's an excellent point.  Agreed -- Molly wasn't upset
because Hermione had chosen Harry over her son Ron -- she was upset
because she thought Hermione wasn't treating Harry properly.

> Of course if I had my druthers Draco would reform himself and *he'd* end up with
> Hermione, but I know that will never happen. (Runs away from Penny,
> who is looking threatening.)
>
LOL!  Nope -- I'd *far* rather see Hermione end up with Draco than with
Ron.  Cassie's reformed Draco that is.  :--)

Susan wrote:

> After Ron pitches a jealous fit (indicating her interest), she
> suggests that he ask her out first next time. They become oddly
> formal with each other; JKR says something is going on between them.
> It seems fairly conclusive to me, and I continue to be mystified that
> there is all this hoopla about it.
>
Maybe it's just me -- but it seems entirely *too* obvious & pat to me.
Besides, my sister & I had a fight earlier in the year & were "oddly
formal" with each other for several weeks thereafter.  I don't think
that's at all an argument in support of Hermione sharing romantic
feelings for Ron.  In my mind, all the R/H evidence is just mainly
evidence of Ron's obvious crush -- I have yet to see any points made
that suggest clearly that Hermione has any interest in return.  There
are certainly plenty of people who would agree that it sure seems that
Hermione's cap is set on her other best friend!  :--)

HAPPY ENDINGS -- Kimberly, Kelley & others have posited the idea that
JKR will go for a neat & tidy ending, with everything all tied up in a
bow & everyone blissfully happy.  I'm a die-hard romantic -- really I
am.  But, I just don't see this "everyone is happy & paired off
perfectly to make one big happy family" theory squaring very well with
JKR's stated pronouncements that the series will get darker as it
progresses.

I agree that Cedric's death was a bit of a .... what's the word I'm
looking for ... "set-up"?  The pre-release interviews sort of gave us
all the impression that someone *important* would die.  Not that many of
us didn't care about Cedric to some degree by the end of the book, but
he wasn't an important character at *all* prior to GoF.  But, I really
do believe that there will be deaths that will hit us all much more
heavily in the next 3 books.  The tone & where she's headed with this
series according to her interviews just doesn't jive with the "everyone
lives & ends up happy ever after" ending that some are envisioning.  IMO
anyway.

I do *not* subscribe to the "Harry will die at the end of Book 7" school
of thought, but I do think he'll be war-weary & battle-scarred at the
end (I love Dadgrid's fanfic along those lines -- "The Granger
Interview").  Ron & Hermione?  Well .... perhaps it is because *she* is
my favorite character but I do have a hard time believing that JKR will
kill Hermione off.  If she did, as Lori noted to me once, you'd have 2
male main characters left, which you just don't see much.  Of the Trio,
I see Ron as the most likely to die.  But, I'm not convinced that he
will die by any means.

The other main characters are fair game in my mind.  Dumbledore seems an
obvious choice -- the mentor of our hero will die by ... probably Book 6
is my prediction.  Sirius or Lupin seems a prime target.  I hate the
thought but Sirius' death would have a far greater affect on Harry than
the death of Lupin.  Because she's said Hagrid is one of her top
favorite characters, he might very well be the "death that
half-crucifies JKR to write about" as she said in an interview awhile
back.

But, a happy ending with most all the good guys alive & a festive
Christmas at the Burrow with Mr. & Mrs. Harry Potter & Mr. and Mrs. Ron
Weasley?  Sorry -- I just don't buy it.

As I sit here composing this opus, Maya wrote:

> Maybe I'm being naive, but let's not forget that she writed for children, Okay, maybe more adults read it than children, but
> as she often says, and as I heard her say in the interview with her I
> watched yersterday, seh exxentially still aims this for children reading,
> and so when she DOES kill, it won't be dramaticlly. So, no matter how many
> death eaters die - she will not go popping off "Good " carachters one by
> one.
>
I'd be very interested in hearing more about this particular interview
Maya, since it contradicts virtually everything else I've ever heard her
say on the subject.  She's always maintained that she has no target
audience, never intended to write for children & intends to stick fast
to her pledge to not tone down the books for the younger readers (i.e.,
she's got a story to tell & she's planning to tell it regardless of how
many 8 yr old readers she has).

I maintain that we cannot assume that a "childrens'" series will end
happily ever after.  I think JKR is writing fantasy but not fairy tales.

Penny




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