[HPforGrownups] Re: Hermione's Choice (SHIP)

[Penny Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 37746

Hi --

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Penny Linsenmayer <pennylin at s...> wrote:
> As best I recall, Ron only oogles Fleur specifically (and, like 
> Harry, the veela in general at the Quidditch World Cup, although 
> in the case of the QWC, Hermione pulls *Harry* down to his chair & 
> seems exasperated with *him* & not *Ron*).  

Barb argued:

<<<<No, she's pretty exasperated with both of them.  Seems she's 
starting to see what it'll be like to be best friends with two 
teenage boys once the hormones have kicked in.  In Chapter 8, "The 
Quidditch World Cup" we get the following:

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ron, meanwhile, was absentmindedly shredding the shamrocks on his 
hat.  Mr. Weasley, smiling slightly [and seeming unaffected by the 
Veela, perhaps not being as hormonal as Ron and Harry], leaned over 
to Ron and tugged the hat out of his hands.

"You'll be wanting that," he said, "once Ireland have had their say."

"Huh?" said Ron, staring openmouthed at the veela, who had now lined 
up along one side of the field.

Hermione made a loud tutting noise.  She reached up and pulled Harry 
back into his seat.  "*Honestly!*" she said.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

I believe Hermione's tutting and "Honestly!" is meant for both 
boys.  There's no indication that these things were only aimed at 
Harry, only that he was the one who needed to be pulled back at that 
point.>>>>>>>>>

Ehhhhhhhh.... *maybe.*  Amanda did a very detailed analysis of the most likely seating arrangement at the QWC :

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/2365

It would seem that Hermione is on the end closest in proximity to Harry but Ron is on the other side of Harry, if Amanda is to be believed.  It's *possible* that Hermione overheard Arthur's commentary from 3 seats away despite the crowd noise of the event.  But, I'll stick with the equally-reasonable (IMO) construction that Hermione was reacting to Harry & hadn't particularly noticed Ron at that juncture.  I don't think it's clear-cut either way though.   

I said:

> As for Fleur though, Hermione despises Fleur from the very second 
> she sees her, and this is *way* before Ron has *any* reaction to 
> Fleur.  If you re-read the scene where the Beauxbatons students 
> arrive at Hogwarts, you'll see what I mean.  Hermione takes an 
> instantaneous dislike to her that is completely & totally 
> unrelated to Ron's subsequent reaction to Fleur in the dining 
> hall.  So, I think Hermione just dislikes Fleur in a general sense 
> in any case and her friend Ron's reaction to Fleur just puts the 
> icing on the cake so to speak.  

Barb argued:

<<<<I don't know why you think this.  When the students first arrive, it 
says simply, "They were shivering, which was unsurprising, given 
that their robes seemed to be made of fine silk, and none of them 
were wearing cloaks.  A few had wrapped scarves and shawls around 
their heads."  There's absolutely nothing about Hermione spotting 
Fleur and taking an instant dislike to her, nor Ron noticing her 
either.>>>>>>>>

Okay, you're really stretching to discredit my argument here I think.  <g>  What I *meant* was that when Hermione first notices Fleur, she has a reaction of dislike (more on that later).  I was *not* arguing that the instant the Beauxbatons students disembarked, Hermione spotted Fleur & disliked her.  We can only gauge her reaction from the moment that she sees her, and in that instance, you've noted the following:

Perhaps when you say Hermione took an instant dislike to Fleur, you 
are thinking about this passage:

-------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the Beauxbatons girls still clutching a muffler around her 
head gave what was unmistakably a derisive laugh. [in response to 
Dumbledore]

"No one's making you stay!" Hermione whispered, bristling at her.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a reaction to the girl's lack of respect to Dumbledore, 
nothing more.  And it isn't "from the very second she sees her.">>>>>>

Er...why is *not* from the second she sees her?  There's no textual indication that Hermione had focused on Fleur prior to that moment.  It might or might not be the first second that Hermione had really focused on Fleur as an individual.  And despite the *reason* for her dislike, it's still an initial reaction of dislike *that is not related to Ron or Ron's reaction to Fleur.* 

Barb then said:

<<<<When Ginny informs her that both Harry and Ron have been turned down 
by girls they'd asked to the ball, Hermione doesn't know for certain 
that the girls are Cho and Fleur, but her reaction to Ron is the 
fiery one:

"All the good-looking ones taken, Ron?" said Hermione loftily 
[perhaps including herself here, since she is in fact 
taken], "Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she?  
Well, I'm sure you'll find someone *somewhere* who'll have you."

OUCH!  Somehow, though, she doesn't feel the need to needle Harry, 
and she WAS just nagging him previously about working on the egg, so 
it's not like she's walking on eggshells around him or anything.>>>>>>

Amy already made my counter-argument here (thanks, Amy!).  Clearly you have to look at the context of the remarks, and it's very clear that *Ron* is the one who made the remark that pissed Hermione off a bit earlier (re: finding the best-looking girl who'd have him), not Harry.  So, it's pretty clear to me why Ron bears the brunt of her sarcasm (I just love that scene).  But, like Amy, I'd have to say: why get tetchy with Harry?  He's not made chauvinistic remarks.  Ron has.

Penny


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