H/H and why it's just wrong

[cassandraclaire73 at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 2240

That's the thing that annoys me: if I read one more H/H fanfic where 
Ron says  some variation of "I knew you guys always liked each other, 
I'm so happy for  you, I'm glad I got over that little crush in our 
fourth year", I am going to   scream!  We all know that even if Ron 
did get over his crush, he would still   be jealous of anyone else
who 
went out with Hermione.  And even if he and   Hermione dated and then 
broke up, I don't see him being the kind of guy who 
  would let go really easily.  And if Harry were the one who came 
next...well,  let's just say that defecting-to-the-dark-side theory 
would come in about  here.

              I think that PoU is one of the very few H/H romances I 
have read that even  deals with Ron's feelings at all, and I think
the 
way Lori handles it is very  plausible.  Even if Ron did die, it
would 
still take both Harry and Hermione,    but especially Harry, a long 
time to deal with that baggage.  This  lack-of-dealing-with-Ron was
my 
one complaint about "Draco Dormiens" too, but   from the hints she
has 
dropped in the early chapters of "Draco Sinister", it looks like 
Cassandra Claire will deal with this somehow.

Ah, you picked up on that? *grins* Nobody else did...I agree that Ron 
often gets shunted aside in fanfic by people racing to pair up Harry 
and Hermione; I'm certainly guilty of that, too. (Although my
original 
intention was to pair up Hermione and Draco, but that just didn't
work 
out.) I think it can work, however, without having to make Ron either 
dead or terminally evil as a result. The main problem with a Harry/
Hermione relationship vis-a-vis Ron, in my opinion (and it's just my 
opinion) is not his jealousy over Hermione per se, but his resentment 
over being suddenly a third wheel. He already has issues about being 
in Harry's shadow, as we all know, and being part of this very strong 
trio of friends is a large part of his identity. If he felt shut out 
by Harry and Hermione, I can certainly see that being the end of
their 
joint friendship. IMHO,  what Ron needs is something that will make 
him stand out, as Harry's standout Quidditch skills and general fame 
do for him, and Hermione intelligence does for her. If Ron had an 
arena in which he could excel, I think the whole Harry/Hermione
pairup 
(which I don't think will happen in the books, anyway) would be less 
of a threat to him. I suppose he might still be jealous, but not 
jealous enough to turn to the Dark Side or jump off Gryffindor Tower. 
(Heck, I can't even remember the name of the guy I had a crush on
when 
I was fourteen. These things do pass quickly.)