[HPforGrownups] Shipping news

[Kathleen Kelly MacMillan]

No: HPFGUIDX 10014

Oh, so much good stuff!  Where to start?
First off, I have totally lost track of who wrote what at this point, so I 
apologize for not attributing these quotes from other posts.

>I think Ebony was suggesting that *if* Ron knew (or Hermione told Ron) that 
her
>feelings were for Harry and *if* Ron knew or suspected that Harry returned 
(or
>*could* return) Hermione's feelings, would Ron not be a big enough person to 
put
>his own feelings for Hermione to the side, considering that he is first &
>foremost friends with them both?  IMO, it is not only acceptable but a show 
that
>a person is a bigger person than to let petty jealousy stand in the way of a
>budding romance & a continued friendship amongst the three of them.

Yes, I buy this, BUT what I can't stand is the idea that Ron somehow doesn't 
"deserve" Hermione.  He shouldn't have to hide his feelings any more than 
Hermione should.  To say that Ron should forget about Hermione and go out with 
Lavender or someone else who likes him is just as bad as saying the Hermione 
should forget about Harry (assuming, of course, that she actually likes Harry, 
which I don't think she does!) and date Ron instead.

>What I find strange is the implication by some people in the past (not you
>Elizabeth) that Hermione's feelings don't count.  It seems as though some 
believe
>that her feelings are irrelevant and what matters is whether or not Ron or 
Harry
>likes her.

Though I'm strongly R/H (did you know that? (:  ), I agree that what matters 
are Hermione's feelings in the matter.  Where I differ most strongly from H/H 
people is that I think she actually does like Ron, and I think there is just 
as much evidence for that as H/H people think there is evidence she likes 
Harry.  I agree that the fact that Ron likes her is not evidence enough to say 
that she likes him.  Nor is the fact that Viktor Krum clearly likes her 
evidence that she has real feelings for him, even if she does have something 
of a relationship with him.  Hermione, like most 14 year old girls, is an 
enigma at the moment.

>>Forcing Harry
>> to spend the rest of his life with anyone is really not very kind to him.  
I
>> most object to the H/H pairing because I consider it a "shotgun wedding" 
for
>> Poor Harry.

Well, that's a new take on the issue!  But I think it goes along with what I 
said earlier about Ron and Hermione.  Saying Harry "should" be with Hermione 
because she "likes" him (which, did I mention, I don't necessarily think she 
does) is just as bad as saying that Hermione should be with Ron just because 
he likes her.

>Unless Harry is a psychic empath or Hermione declares her
>> feelings directly to Harry, we can't really know what Hermione's feelings 
are,
>> nor are they the focus of the story.

Ah, there's the rub.  But, if we *did* know exactly what Ron and Hermione were 
thinking, it would sure take the fun out of the speculation.  The fact is, we 
will never see enough of their relationship (whatever it is now and becomes 
later, friendship or romance) to really know exactly what's going on between 
them, because we see things from Harry's POV and he doesn't see everything.  
Which, IMO, makes it more fun.

>> My ship pet peeve: the odd insistence that any of us are necessarily and
>> unequivocally right in our ship beliefs, regardless of Ms. Rowling's 
statements
>> and/or canon writings.

Those of us with strong preference often say things like "those misguided 
__/__ shippers" and tease each other, but I don't think any of us truly 
believe that our humble opinions outweigh JKR's universe.  As Ebony pointed 
out recently, ship preferences often have nothing to do with the canon, and I 
am sure that those H/H people will still be living in their little fantasy 
world even after JKR has shown that R/H is the way to go  (see?  that was 
teasing! <g>).

Kathy
AKA Elanor Gamgee

P.S. When I made those comments on the PoU list last week, I didn't mean we 
had to start up the shipper discussions again right away, but I sure am glad 
they're back, since I find them so much fun!