Ron & 2nd Task

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 16480

Hi --

Great post from Amy Z (I agree with most everything you said but ....)
--

Amy Z wrote:

> And then there's the 2nd task, by which JKR tells us in no uncertain
> terms that Ron is the most important person in Harry's life.

Um .... well, we don't know how the hostages were chosen.  We don't know
that Hermione wasn't already Krum's hostage when it came time to decide
who Harry's hostage should be.  I really think it was ultimately a plot
device to be sure that 3 people that Harry cares about were hostages; I
have a very hard time thinking that JKR was sending a direct message
that Ron is more important to Harry than Hermione.

I disagree quite strongly that this hostage situation makes Hermione 2nd
in Harry's heart.  I think it's a bad idea to go down the road of
wondering which of his 2 best friends is the most important to him.
They both have important strengths that they bring to him ... so I
always go with the position that they are both equally important to
Harry.  He's 14, so his male best friend is important to him in ways
that Hermione can't fill (she can't talk about Quidditch like Ron can
and he finds it less fun to be spending so much time in the library).
By the same token, Hermione has been more loyal to Harry IMO and she
fills a role that Ron can't (she's the brainiac who finds all the
spells/curses that he *needs* to use in the 3rd Task (and ultimately
help keep him alive) for example).  They're both quite important to him,
and I sure wouldn't want to engage in a debate of which one is more
important.

> Lisa, all I can say is a big "me too!" to your "Ron's stubbornness"
> post.

I liked it very much too!!

Penny


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