Fleur kisses Ron?-Re Semicolon debate

[Kimberly]

No: HPFGUIDX 15368

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., heidi.h.tandy.c92 at a... wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., catherine at c... wrote:
> 
> > 
> > In the English version it says:-
> > "Fleur bent down, kissed Harry twice on each cheek (he felt his 
> face 
> > burn....), then said to Ron, "And you, too - you 'elped-"
> > Fleur swooped down on him, too, and kissed him.  Hermione looked 
> > simply furious..."
> > 
> > JKR only says Hermione looks furious after Fleur has kissed Ron.  
I 
> > think that this is a prime example of JKR dropping hints.  
> Otherwise 
> > she should have put the Hermione bit in before Ron was mentioned.  
> > And, if you think about it, what is more natural than Fleur to 
> react 
> > by giving Harry a kiss after she thinks that he has saved her 
> > sister's life?  
> 
> Then what could be more natural than FLeur, who after all is French, 
> and therefore may be more prone to kissing as a thank you than the 
> more reserved Brits are, kissing Ron because he helped? FLeur 
doesn't 
> know that Ron did nothing until they got up to the surface - and 
> neither, at that moment, does Hermione.
> Plus, going back to the fail-safe Harry's Perspective theory, when 
> he's being smooched by Fleur, he's more conscious of his face 
> burning and the surprise he's feeling, and also possibly affected by 
> her Veelaness, her being so physically close and all, whereas when 
> Ron gets his Fleur-kisses, Harry's more conscious of the others 
> around him, including Hermione. If it said, "Hermione's mouth 
> twisted into a frown" then you could easily percieve it as a 
> reaction to Ron, because that would suggest that she hadn't been 
> frowning before, but in the text (I'm not talking subtext here) 
> there is nothing to suggest that she didn't look furious the whole 
> time Fleur was around.

All of this makes me wonder all the more...

Why *does* Hermione hate Fleur so much?  She generally gives people 
the benefit of the doubt.  Even Snape, before there was any indication 
that he was anything but horrible.  But with Fleur she just seems to 
detest her from the very beginning.  I don't think she's ever done 
that with anyone else.  So is it only jealousy, or is there something 
else?