Quidditch, Ginny's good qualities and more (inc. ships; Lupin/Snape treatment of Hermione)

[columbiatexan]

No: HPFGUIDX 37517

Fred, George and Angelina for certain have another year at 
Hogwarts; they were all 6th years in GoF.  Also, the lexicon 
clearly states that Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet were both 6th 
years, so that's where I sourced all my information--I'm 
assuming this was in Book I, which is back at home so I can't 
look it up myself.  In any case, I personally am rooting for Ron... 
it'd be nice to see him get some glory that doesn't involve 
S.A.C.R.I.F.I.C.E.  

For me it doesn't involve "ickle Ronniekins" so much "getting 
glory" as being provided the opportunity to shine/excel much as 
Harry and Hermione have already been provided in spades 
throught the first four books.  I really, really don't want this to be 
headed in the direction of Ron getting increasingly jealous as 
his two best friends continue to outstrip him while he remains 
"average ol' Ron," and finally turning to the Dark side and 
betraying Harry in the process.  If any betrayal is to occur, I think it 
would be completely accidental or that Ron would be tricked into 
it, and that he'd fix the situation in the end somehow.  So far, 
Ron's proven himself to be far too noble, I think it'd be well out of 
character for him to turn evil.  I mean, this is the same kid who at 
the age of 11 sacrificed himself (he didn't know he wouldn't die) 
to save Harry and Hermione, and who has not acted on his 
jealousy for 4 years of being around Harry (and that I think was 
triggered out of some sense of hurt that Harry hadn't let him in 
on how he confounded the cup).   And we've all seen how fierce 
a defender Ron is, for his family, for Harry, and for Hermione.  
Anyone says a bad word about any of 'em, and Ron is ready to 
kill them.  

Christine, a hearty welcome to the group from a fellow novice!  I 
just wanted to say for the record that I am not anti-Ginny.  I think 
her character provides some interesting possibilities, though 
she's not been very well developed so far.  There's ample room 
for more character development for young Ginny Weasley, 
considering there' about another 2000 pages to go (I'm going off 
of Rowling's comments that the next 2 books would be almost 
as long as Book 4, but not quite, and that Book 7 would be 
almost encylcopedic b/c it'd be her goodbye to all the characters 
and this world she's writing about).  In fact, in the 4 books up to 
now, if I had to make a bet based on *only the information and 
no speculation from any hints or interpretation of that 
information* that we've been given, I'd say the most likely 
romantic pairings are Ron and Hermione and Harry and Ginny, 
just because it'd be a smile-inducing ending and, more 
importantly, those are the only relationships between relatively 
major characters in the books in which we've seen any romantic 
interest on the part of at least one party towards the other (Ron is 
definitely possessive of Hermione around Viktor, and Ginny likes 
Harry, and there is indication that Hermione returns Ron's 
feelings towards her to some extent).  It's not what I want to 
happen, but it's the most likely so far, it seems to be the direction 
Rowling is directing us in, and I'm not convinced that we should 
automatically disregard Rowling directing us in certain 
directions because it's always going to be a red herring or b/c 
something is too cliched.  After all, Voldemort rising again after 
everyone thought him vanquished, now when has that NOT 
happened in a story like this before?  My hopes are based on 
what my individual interpretation is of the characters' 
personalities. 

But... Rowling has definitely created some ambiguity on 
Hermione's feelings (wow, a teenaged girl who doesn't know 
what she wants, geez, I've never run into one of THOSE before!), 
and she remains one of the major wild cards here.  I will be very 
disappointed if Rowling doesn't address the potential for conflict 
within the Trio; the final outcome, yeah I am rooting for one over 
the other, but I'm more interested in how the plot develops.  Ron 
going after Hermione with Harry helping him out or acting as a 
bemused bystander is too saccharine sweet for my taste, and 
the vice versa happening with Harry and Ginny is likewise too 
saccharine.  And I will be really disappointed if Ginny ends up 
resembling Lily Potter, and Harry just notices it one day and falls 
madly in love with her--someone on this list was quoted in the 
HPfGU FAQ deal as saying that the romantic pairings need to 
"raise the stakes" with regards to the plot--Rowling isn't just 
going to pair people off for romance's sake.  I've read a couple of 
the fan fiction, and without a doubt, in my opinion, the worst are 
the ones where Hermione and one of the boys are "destined to 
be together" and the other boy helps them get together with the 
help of his girlfriend--they're so nausea-inducing, I feel like I've 
just choked down 5 of those gigantic chocolate chip muffins.  
One is good, but 5 will make you sick.    

Ginny still has the potential to get to know Harry for himself, and 
vice versa.  Christine, i should have had the vice versa in my last 
post, and I respectfully disagree that it voids what I was saying.   
The two of them really need the opportunity to get to know each 
other as people rather than the roles they've assigned to each 
other, which, perhaps Ron and Hermione getting together will 
isolate Harry sufficiently to seek friendship (and more?) with 
Ginny.  However, again, is it just me or is that too saccharine 
sweet compared to the tone so far of the books, and our certain 
knowledge that they're only going to get darker?  Rowling keeps 
saying she wants to relate to the readers (especially the 
children) how the real world operates, and not just present them 
with some candy-coated version of it where everything turns out 
all right, because everything does NOT turn out all right in the 
real world.  I see one great opportunity here; it's just too contrary 
to real life for Ginny to finally get the attentions of her hero, the 
guy she's put up on a pedestal for all these years, and for them 
to live happily ever after.  Then again, there's another 2000 
pages for a whole ton of stuff to happen--nothing's impossible.  
But more than anything, Ginny's a kid who seems to be 
overshadowed and overprotected by her entire family, and she 
really needs to get out from under that.  it'll be interesting to see 
how she tries to make a name for herself, so she's not just Bill, 
Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and Ron's little sister at Hogwarts.  
It won't merely be through Quidditch or good academic work, 
that's "been done."  And with academics, i don't think anyone's 
going to hold a candle to Hermione in these 7 books--her latent 
natural talent and ability, combined with her passion for learning 
and her remarkable intellect, she's got an advantage that won't 
easily be caught up with.  Y'know, somewhat off topic, but I'm 
willing to bet if you came to Columbia or many other colleges for 
that matter and polled the students, Hermione would rank high 
on the list of favorite characters, because many of them identify 
strongly with her passion for learning... myself included.  Uh oh, I 
just said I identified with a girl... please don't whip out your Freud 
books on me :)  I identify with Ron's sarcastic wit and temper 
and Harry on many levels as well *wipes sweat from brow*

There is, of course, one thing we've all been ignoring in all of 
these shipping conversations--that everyone could end up 
alone.  Isn't anyon interested at all in the fact that most of the 
adult wizards and witches we've come into contact with so far 
are single?  Think about it... all the Hogwarts professors... 
Cornelius Fudge (as far as we know)... Bertha Jorkins... 
Remus... Sirius (OK, so he's been in prison for the past 13 
years, that might have SOMETHING to do with it :P)... maybe 
marriage and romance isn't too common in this world, or at least 
not as common as it is in our world, which would be consistent 
enough with the theory that was floating around here back when 
we were discussing the ethics of Sirius executing Wormtail in 
the Srikeing Shack that this culture is more of a warrior culture.  
People don't generally have time for love and marriage when 
they're off protecting their very way of life, and in constant threat of 
being Avada-Kedavra'd.  

In short, while I am hoping for a Harry-Hermione pairing, I will 
not be disappointed if that does not happen PROVIDED THAT 
Rowling does address this issue with the respect and 
complexity it deserves.  Ron and Hermione and Harry and Ginny 
being paired off automatically, with no interference save from 
extraneous, "expendable" characters we know are no threat to 
begin with is cheap and disappointing and does nothing to 
"raise the stakes."  Those couples ending up together after 
stake-raising, after pain, after sufferin', after mature reflection 
and thought and discussion the matter will not keep me being 
happy with the books--my primary concern is advancement of 
the plot.

And btw, is anyone besides me curious on why Lupin didn't let 
Hermione tackle the boggart either in Book 3 until the very end?  
I mean, it's not like her "greatest fear" during the final exam was 
that terrible, so was this just an accidental oversight on his part?  
Or did he feel Hermione had already earned her 5 pts for 
Gryffindor with her correct answer?  I don't know, maybe I'm 
getting into the danger of overanalyzing things, but that has 
always struck me as really curious.  Oh, and in continuation of 
this whole generational parallels thing, when hermione starts 
questioning Black post-Pettigrew's revealing, the narration 
observes, "Black umped at being addressed like this and stared 
at Hermione as though he had never seen anything quite like 
her."  I imagine the look on his face to be a squinty-eyed one, in 
which case was it like he'd never seen anything quite like her, or 
that her manner and inquisitiveness reminded him of someone 
from his past?  A stretch I know.  a really bad one at that :)

OK, almost done with this extremely long post--anyone 
wondering why Snape seems to single out Hermione so much 
as the target for his anger?  She seems to be second only to 
Harry as a target for his venom; if you'll notice, Ron only gets into 
trouble when he mouths off specifically to Snape (which, 
admittedly, is quite often :P).  I mean, Snape seems like the kind 
of professor who would like a know-it-all student like Hermione, 
especially since she continues to be respectful and thoughtful 
towards him, despite his extreme rudeness and cruelty towards 
her.  She alone among the trio worries when they knock Snape 
out in the Shrieking shack and she alone of the trio is unwilling 
to automatically suspect Snape in SS.  Perhaps more Gryffindor-
Slytherin rivalry?  that could be it, he could be ticked off that 
Hermione is outshining his students in his OWN class, but why 
so much resentment towards her?  I dunno, it's just something 
I've picked up on in rereadings, and I'm very curious on how it's 
going to turn out, because he seems to be excessively cruel 
towards her for no reason (the best example of this is after Harry 
and Draco's duel in Potions, when their curses rebound off of 
each other and Hermione's front teeth are enlarged, and Snape 
makes some comment on how he doesn't notice a difference 
despite the fact that they've grown down to her chest).  I mean, 
that's just evil!  So what's going on here--she continues to be 
respectful to him and even defend him to the boys, and yet he 
goes out of his way to pick on her.  Why?

OK, back to the orgo... just thought I'd treat myself by outletting 
some thoughts.

rohit (columbiatexan)