RHR and friendship, wasRe: [HPforGrownups] Re: RE:SHIP: Problems with the concept of G/H

[brewpub44]

No: HPFGUIDX 35358

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Susanne <siskiou at e...> wrote:
> 
> 
[talking about Ron & Harry]
> 
> I wonder if Harry would have made friends with whoever was
> sitting with him on the train ride to Hogwarts, assuming
> they had been reasonably friendly.
> 
> Why wasn't anyone else joining them, anyhow?
> And why didn't Ron sit with his Fred and George, though they
> probably didn't want their younger brother with them.
> 
> 
> They never seem to hang out much with other boys, except the
> time in GoF, where Ron sits with other kids and mentions
> being with his brothers Fred and George.
> 
> He gets on well enough with other kids, but doesn't seem to
> initiate much contact or go past friendly exchanges.
> 
> Is he just happy with the relationships he has now?

Hi there. I think there are a couple of factors at work here. 

One: Ron comes from a crowded house, lots of people around, and being 
at the bottom of the family food chain (being the youngest except for 
a 'cutesy' younger sister), he probably has had enough of crowds. 
Plus, no one in his family is really his age, so it is reasonable to 
assume he would gravitate to someone who was.

Two: if I remember my youth correctly, when starting a new school I 
tended to become friends with the first kid who said 'boo' to me. 
Later you'd drift & find others if those first kids rubbed you the 
wrong way, but if it worked, it worked.

Three: Harry has had very few social skills prior to Hogwarts. Being 
locked in a closet is not conducive to being an outgoing person. And 
even though Hogwarts makes him happy, it's hard to change gears and 
become socially popular.

A Barkeep in Diagon Alley