The Trio and the nature of love

[msl at fc.net]

No: HPFGUIDX 10985

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Jim Ferer" <jferer at y...> wrote:
> 
> Well, yes, but that's often because these companions are the same 
> gender. There's been plenty enough war marriages when the biology 
> was right.

It's not really a good comparison, though, because war marriages don't
generally occur between fellow combatants (and it's not uncommon for
war romances and marriages to wither once the war's over and
everybody's blood cools).

I guess my point is that just because two guys manage to get along
swimmingly in a foxhole doesn't imply that they would make great
friends or neighbors or officemates in peacetime...a lot of the things
that seem important in civilian, domestic life in determining friends
and companions get submerged in excpetional circumstances such as war
(and high school).  There's no guarantee that bonds which form under
one circumstance will be able to grow beyond that circumstance.
 
> I agree, but the Trio's relationship began before the Second
> Voldemort War, which has only just begun, and so has roots beyond
> the conflict.

I think I disagree with this on textual grounds.  IMO the Second
Voldemort War began when Harry got to Hogwarts in his first year; or
even better, when Voldemort seduced Prof. Quirrell.  The point here
being that Harry and his companions have been in some kind of danger
on and off pretty much ever since they got to school.  Wherever Harry
goes, something awful happens (kind of like on "Murder She Wrote") so
I don't think we can say that these otherwise ordinary kids have had a
chance to form friendships under ordinary circumstances.
 
> Marvin:"The buddies will likely get together to reminisce as years 
> go 
> by, but  they aren't likely to spend the rest of their lives
seeking 
> one another out.  I think that once the "war" ends, if everybody 
> survives, our trio will find themselves gradually turning into very 
> different people, as we all do, becoming more unique and more 
> ourselves. "
> 
> That could happen. Again, though, they have a history before the 
> War, and a bond deeper than the war; but will the war experience
> blot that out?

I don't think that growing up will blot out the trio's affection for
one another at all; it's just that when people grow older they often
find themselves with new priorities.  The bonds the kids form when
studying or fighting Voldemort may not apply when the start looking
for someone with whom to live and raise children, assuming they want
that sort of thing at all.  A person is one human being at 18, often a
very different one at 25, yet a more different one at 30, and
sometimes by 40 has become nearly unrecognizable.  

I don't object to the possibility of the shipper pairings that people
throw around; I just think that even when all 7 books are finished,
assuming that JKR hasn't settled these matters definitively, we still
won't have enough information to guess who will marry or live with
whom.  It seems to me that trying to guess who an 18-year old (heck,
14-year old!) person will be at thirty--which is what most shipping
pretty much amounts to, as far as I can see--is a little bit like
trying to guess who will be president in 12 or 16 years.  It's a
fairly pointless exercise. (*Unless* it just happens to give you lots
of jollies, so why not?)  :-)

> "Periscope down!  Awooga!  Dive, Uboat Noship, dive!"
> 
> The lonely noshippers grab stanchions and pipes as the vessel
shakes 
> like a dog's toy under a merciless barrage of the dreaded H/H depth 
> charges.."Vill der H/H destroyers nefer be zatisfied?" cries a 
> frightened young sailor. "How can ve expect mercy from zem?" his 
> companion replied. "Zay sent dat poor innocent Chinny to zat SS 
> unterfuehrer Draco. Zay vill stop at nuzink, I tell you, nuzink!!"

"Shut up Johannsen!  You're not on the SS Pettigrew anymore, so get a
grip on yourself!  Cruise ships don't carry depth charges; it's just
that those people are so addled and defensive that they're throwing
their kegs overboard trying to hit us.  All we have to do is shadow
the H/H and we'll have an eternal supply of beer, so cheer up."
"Yes sir, sorry sir."
"That's better.  Now light my bong and get me my guitar, it's time for
this submarine to surface."

Marvin