Ron/Hermione from the viewpoint of a 14 yr. old

[AliciaSpinnet at hotmail.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 13748

*delurks momentarily*

After viewing the whole ship/to crash the ship situation, I've been 
struck to toss my not-so-random opinions on this subject onto the 
dock.  Just for the record, I'm a fervent-- almost rabid-- 
Harry/Hermione shipper, and hell nor high water will ever change 
that.  Even if Harry/Draco does result in cute mental imagery.  ("You 
know, Potter, the only reason I'm sleeping with you is because your 
coloring compliments my skin tone, so don't flatter yourself.")  
Ahem.  Anyway.  On with the post.

>About the Ron/Hermione brawl, as a 14 year old myself I think 
>Hermione WAS egging Ron into asking her out.  

I wouldn't call it a "brawl", would you?  Brings to mind overfed 
participants in the WWF, and I don't think Hermione nor Ron would 
take very kindly to being compared to such lifeforms.  *eg*

Speaking as someone (not saying the age... if you don't know already, 
guess *g*) who can say "been there, done that, lived to tell about 
it, wrote the fanfic based on it, complained to the world about it" 
on this situation, I must disagree.  Although that particular excerpt 
from the book serves well to illustrate the reasoning behind Ron 
having feelings for Hermione, it does absolutely nothing to further 
the theory of Hermione liking Ron at all.  I believe that Hermione 
acted as any member of the Sisterhood would in such a situation: when 
faced with something she found to be degrading and irrational, she 
vociferously attacked the offender.  In this case, the "degrading and 
irrational" situation was that of Ron, someone who purports himself 
to be a dear friend, taking her for granted in the cruelest way 
possible.  He didn't ask her to the Ball in the first place; and for 
some warped reason, he percieved this to be *her* fault, almost.  Or 
at least, that is the way it came out.  He blatantly accused her of 
something that wasn't her fault; as she stated, if he wished to go to 
the Ball with her, he should have asked first.  Not Hermione's fault 
in the least, and Ron was a jackalope for even daring to take his 
frustration out on her.  

I also don't believe this reaction would have been limited solely to 
Ron; if Harry, Dean, Seamus, or any other male had been in his place 
and taken his actions, Hermione would have chided them in a similar 
manner.  So, this in no way supports the idea that Hermione 
was "egging" Ron into asking her out.  All it serves to show is that 
she's a girl after my own heart-- one that doesn't take any guff!


>A statement like "Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone 
>else does, and not as a last resort!" from a teen is an act of 
>frustration because of total crush-ness.  Most people my age 
>certainly wouldn't say that to their best friend if it didn't mean 
>something.  

I agree on the count of total frustration; however, I must disagree 
on the count of "total crush-ness".  Once again, going back to my 
earlier explanation: it was frustration at the *situation*, of Ron 
being so pigheaded as to blame it solely on her.  

Although the age-group awkwardness must be taken into consideration, 
remember that Harry and Ron *are* her best friends, and *are* male.  
Hermione is most certainly *not* uncomfortable with the male species, 
and there would be no reason for her to have any qualms about 
blasting Ron's head off into oblivion for treating her in that 
manner.  Although some girls, the ones who have acquaintances that 
are primarily female, might say this out of some sort of romantic 
interest, I highly doubt that Hermione would.  One of the reasons 
that I identify so much with Hermione is that we're in similar 
situations: the Brains of the class, with boys for best friends.  In 
most scenes of the book, the actions she takes are the ones I would 
take, also.  And I can see myself lambasting any one of my friends 
for daring to accuse me of something that was their fault, not 
because I have a romantic interest in them, but because they're 
idiots.  There *is* room for interpretation, but overall, I'd have to 
disagree.  Hermione isn't the type of girl to say that in a manner 
indicative of feelings any more than those of a platonic nature.    

>IMHO Hermione *is* telling Ron, "You should have asked me first and 
>if you don't next time I'll learn a new unforgivable curse to use on 
>you!".  

I agree with this, in a different sense.  *g*  I'd like to take this 
as, "If you wanted to go so badly with me, you should have asked 
first; and if you dare to blame this all on me next time, you'll be 
so sorry that you'll go groveling to Draco Malfoy for sympathy."

>And plus, why would Ron tear apart his little Krum "action figure" 
(arm found under bed...forgot which chapter...) if he wasn't 
>jealous?  Fraternizing with the "enemy" couldn't have been why
> Ron was angry, because he got Krum's autograph in the end.

Unfortunately, I must acquiesce on the point of Ron having an 
interest in Hermione.  I don't like it, but it's fact, just like the 
fact that George W. Bush is now President.  I don't like either fact, 
but I'm stuck with it.  (And I only have to wait four years on 
both!)  But, this does nothing to say that Hermione will reciprocate 
his feelings.  Hermione liked Professor Lockhart, that was definitely 
obvious, but you didn't see him putting himself in a Mary Kay 
Letourneau position just because she liked him, did you?  (If you 
did, tell me; I think I missed that passage in that case.)  The point 
is, just because someone feels something for someone doesn't 
necessarily mean that the object of the lavished affections feels the 
same, at all. 

>There are lots of other facts that point to a Ron/Hermione romance, 
>and I think it's coming up in canon.

For the sake of saving my fast-sinking shipmates and I, could you 
enlighten me?  Perhaps it comes about from my refusal to read 
anything into R/H and adamance in dissecting the events that could be 
interpreted as H/H, but I really don't see them as being very 
obvious.  On the contrary, I see the current situation as standing: 
Ron likes Hermione, Hermione likes Harry, Harry likes Cho/no one at 
this moment.

Poor things.

Sinking back into lurkdom, 

Alicia/Sue Spinnet, Second-Mate on the SS H/H, Cptn. of the SS D/G