ships, Ron, etc.

[Kelley]

No: HPFGUIDX 11651

Actually, to clarify, the post Cassie is replying to here was 
Kathy's.  (Too much 'K' confusion around here, eh? <g>)  I went 
through and changed the 'Kelleys' to 'Kathys', and added a few 
thoughts of my own... 
____________________________________________________________
> Kathy: Just curious, where do you see this unfair criticism being 
dished out by the R/H crowd?  (SNIP)Anyway, the point is, R/H-ers 
tend to be very  protective of Ron.  He's our guy.  Anyone is, of 
course, free to say whatever they want about any of the characters.  
Just don't expect us to like it or agree with you. <> In the 
meantime, I won't go  aboard the SS H/H and start telling you how 
boring I find Harry.  Bottom line is, if you're happy  on your ship, 
no one's forcing you to visit other ones.  But if do go  visiting, be 
nice and follow local custom.:)
>
> Cassie: 
> But I don't actually think Penny would mind if you did come aboard 
> the H/H and announce Harry was boring. It's your business if you 
find Harry boring (although suffering through a series of books about 
him, from his POV, must be tedious for you.) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Here's me:
Hmm, I find Harry a bit dull as an individual character, myself.  
He's a good guy, noble, cares about his friends, is brave, etc., but 
he just doesn't seem to have much of a personality, IMO .  There's 
something of a void there, to me.  And, even though the series is 
from his POV, we are seeing what's interesting in the other 
characters, plus the whole story that his dull little self is 
immersed in... ;o]

> > Cassie said:
> > >I see no H/G in the books (i.e., indications that Harry has 
feeling for Ginny 
> >Kathy: 
> >And I see no evidence that he likes Hermione, but that doesn't 
stop people  from believing in H/H either.
>Cassie: 
> And I see no evidence that Hermione likes Ron, but that doesn't 
stop people from believing in R/H.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Me:  Hey, you guys, shhhh!  All you're doing is strengthening FITD.  
Don't do ~that~...
 
> Kathy: That said, I must say with reluctance that I think it far 
more likely (and it  pains me greatly to say this) that Ron will not 
make it to the end of Book 7  alive.  We have already seen a few 
instances where he willingly "sacrificed"  himself for Harry, and I 
suspect there's some foreshadowing there.  (And also  very poignantly 
in the fact that Ron was the thing Harry would miss the most.)  
> 
> Cassie:
> <g> I wonder if this death-prediction thing is an indicator of who 
> our favorite characters are? Well, of course it is. I worry all the 
> time that something will happen to Harry, that he will die in the 
end of Book 7, wheras I remain convinced that Ron will survive, 
probably because I wouldn't mind as much if he didn't. <eg> (As much, 
people.  I didn't say I wouldn't mind at all. I don't hate Ron, he's 
just maybe 8th on my list, that's all.)<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Me again:  I've worried about both characters.  I am more concerned 
about Ron, but only because I would really be stunned if JKR 'kills 
off' Harry, the main character.  She knows how kids love these books 
and Harry; she has to realize how heartbroken kids would be if 
the 'hero' died after this long, difficult battle with evil.  What 
sort of message would -that- be?  "See kids, this is how bad evil 
really is, so don't try to fight it; you'll just die anyway..."  Not 
to mention, "You kids with really unhappy lives like Harry's--well 
don't be too sad; he had some good times, didn't he?  You might have 
some, too!"

My thoughts about Ron going bad:  I agree with Kathy's points about 
Ron's love for his friends.  Just for that, I don't believe he would 
betray Harry.  I do worry this though:  Ron is not good at resisting 
Imperius.  (Already see where I'm going? <g>)  What if he's 
controlled to betray, and it's under the guise of him doing it for 
power, glory, and riches?  Could be convincing enough that H and H et 
al believe it, at least for a while.  They would think he'd really 
gone over, because his 'reasons' would be things he's said many times 
he'd like to have (money, what he saw in Erised, etc.).  Eventually, 
Herm or Harry would remember how bad Ron is at fighting Imperius, and 
realize that is what's going on.  All the factors in this theory are 
things we've already been introduced to...  Thoughts here?

Kelley