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

[serenadust]

No: HPFGUIDX 37522

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "columbiatexan" <columbiatexan at y...> 


> 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.  

I agree that Ron is a much more noble character than he is given 
credit for and that betrayal of Harry is OOC for him.  He's handled 
his feelings of jealousy and pain over his being overlooked superbly 
for a boy his age.  The fight with Harry in GoF has as much to do 
with his hurt over believing that Harry didn't confide his plans to 
him as they do with his feeling of jealously (as you rightly point 
out).  I also believe that he learned a great deal from that 
experience and that his loyalty to Harry is stronger now than ever.
 

Columbiatexan wrote: 
  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.  

Why will you be so disappointed?  From the books so far, my 
impression is that any romantic relationship angle is more for 
character development, rather than furthering the plot.  IMO Rowling 
does not need to use any romantic rivalries to stir up conflict, 
when the entire WW is about to come apart at the seams as Voldemort 
begins his rise to power. Anyway, there's plenty of conflict within 
the trio already.  Why must it be the romantic kind?

Columbiatexan again:

> 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.    
> 

That fanfic will get you in trouble every time<g>.  Seriously, I 
disagree that romantic pairings are going to be Rowings device 
to "raise the stakes".  In fact, if that were to happen, I think 
that it would detract from the main thrust of the story (ie personal 
choices, the resulting consequences, good vs evil, etc ).  I believe 
that she has begun to introduce the romantic feelings in the 
characters because they are an unavoidable part of teenage life, but 
that they are not going to be a major part of the story.  These kids 
are going to have a *lot* more important stuff to worry them than 
who *gets* the hero.  The ships are probably going to be there to 
provide a bit of lightness and humor in the midst of the coming 
darkness, more than anything else (IMHO, of course).

   
Columbiatexan again:
 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.  

Oh dear.  I know Hermione is very impressive and that lots of 
academically inclined people identify greatly with her, but I have 
always thought that Rowling is trying to point out that intellect 
and talent can only take you so far. I'm beginning to hope that JKR 
will have Hemione fall on her face in a big way, to reinforce that 
point.  There's an unhealthy level (IMO) of Hermione-worship going 
on here; it's just not good for her.  You don't want her to develop 
humongous bis-head syndrome, do you <vbg>?
 
Columbiatexan:

> 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.  

This is just my point.  These books are never going to be the teen 
romance novels the shipping warriors seem to want them to be.


Columbiatexan:

> > 
> 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 
>  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?
> 

Because she *will* not be ignored. She knows from repeated bitter 
experience that he will attack and humiliate her any time she raises 
her hand or speaks out of turn, and yet she cannot seem to stop 
herself.  Snape goes out of his way to target anyone who is close to 
Harry; that's the primary reason for his horrible behavior to his 
best friends.  Ron ususally has enough sense to stay out of his way, 
but Hermione keeps trying to prove to him what a great student she 
is and seems to want to win his approval.  She's got a real blind 
spot there.  Snape just hates anyone who is close to Harry.
  
Really good post, I wish I had time to respond to more of your 
points but I'm getting really tired, now.

Jo Serenadust