: Ron Sequitors

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 16533

Penny wrote:
 >1. In PoA, Harry was more than half-heartedly trying to make up 
with Hermione. I don't know where >you get half-heartedly out of the 
>language in that scene. He approaches her on his own & quietly >sets 
about trying to make up with her. Ron interrupts that with his loud & 
>mean-spirited comment >about Scabbers.

Kathy wrote:

> Sorry, I still don't buy the idea of Harry's whole-hearted sincerity 
here. As others have pointed out, he willingly participated in giving 
Hermione the cold shoulder, and was only willing to make up with her 
once he got his broomstick back. 

Harry is horrible to Hermione about the Firebolt.  Of all the stupid 
nastinesses flying between members of the Trio in PoA, this is the one 
I find the hardest to forgive.  She is only trying to protect his 
life, and if he would think with some part of his brain not devoted to 
Quidditch for half a second, he would agree that the arrival of an 
extremely expensive, anonymous, potentially deadly gift when a 
murderer is out to get him is mighty suspicious.  I can sympathize 
with his being angry, but not with his giving her the silent treatment 
for weeks.  Ditto on her trying to interfere with his going to 
Hogsmeade (ch 14).  It's Ron, not Harry, who is nasty and unfair in 
response, but Harry just sits back and lets Ron accuse her of trying 
to get Harry expelled.  Sirius Black has just showed up in their dorm 
with a knife--and Hermione's just trying to get Harry expelled?  She 
couldn't perhaps have another motivation for forcing him to stay in 
the castle?

BTW, I found an example of Ron admitting he's wrong:

<Lupin rips into Harry in his excruciatingly quiet way, leaving him 
feeling like crap (he and Ron ought to go apologize to Hermione, who, 
like Lupin, was exasperated that they weren't taking Black 
seriously...but anyway)>

  "It's my fault," said Ron abruptly.  "I persuaded you to go.  
Lupin's right, it was stupid, we shouldn't've done it--" (PoA 14)


> Penny wrote: >Um .... well, we don't know how the hostages were 
chosen. <snip>  I have a very hard >time thinking 
that JKR was sending a direct message that Ron is more important >to 
Harry than Hermione.

Kathy wrote:
> 
> Well, as you probably already know, I strongly disagree on that one. 
I think there is plenty of evidence that Ron would be Harry's 
thing-he-missed-most over Hermione any time. 

Kathy and Jim both leapt to my defense, which makes me feel like a cad 
for saying:  Penny, you're right; I'm convinced; we don't know from 
this that Harry values Ron more than he does Hermione.  (The 
merpeople's song doesn't even say "what you'll miss the most," though 
that's how the student body interprets it--it comes up when people 
tease Hermione for being what Krum would miss most).  Though, like 
Jim, I wouldn't read anything permanent into it if Ron were the most 
important person in Harry's life.  At this moment, after their painful 
period of not talking, it's natural that he is feeling particularly 
attached to Ron.  

Kathy wrote:

> Of course, the question I enjoy pondering is, who would Ron's and 
Hermione's hostages have been? ;)

Oh boy, I'm really going to get kicked off the ship for this:

IMO, Harry would be the hostage for either one of them.

Amy Z

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    "We didn't give it to him because he's a Muggle!"
 said Fred indignantly.
    "No, we gave it to him because he's a great bullying
 git," said George.  "Isn't he, Harry?"
    "Yeah, he is, Mr. Weasley," said Harry earnestly.
                 --Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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