SHIPS: Ron, Hermione, Harry and conflict.

[babelfisherperson]

No: HPFGUIDX 33029

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Karl Haakonsen" <cityhawk at p...> wrote:
> Thank you Penny. While most people acknowledge that Ron has
> feelings for Hermione, it seemed obvious to me that Hermione has
> feelings for Harry (though it seems that not many people share my
> view on this). If I doubted that Hermione had a crush on Harry,
> rereading GoF erased any doubt in my mind. Not only the kiss at the
> end, but Krum's exasperation at the fact that "all she ever talks
> about is Harry." Her reaction to the Rita Skeeter article about
> herself... she could care less about Skeeter's comments about her
> appearance, or even the implication that she and Harry are a
> couple, but what sets her off is the insinuation that she broke
> Harry's heart. Due to her general level-headedness, she's not about
> to go off giggling and blushing like Ginny... that's way out of
> character for her. But I agree with those who say she's "all girl"
> (with the implication here that her affectational orientation is
> toward boys).... and that nobody would grab her attention besides
> Harry. I can't picture Hermione having a crush on anybody else.
> 
> It is unclear whether Harry can muster feelings for Hermione in the
> near future (other than platonic) because he's presently infatuated
> with Cho. This, to me, is entirely realistic and is a large part of
> the reason why every teenager isn't part of a romantic couple. When
> I was a teenager, my single-mindedness in my crushes blinded me to
> the possibility that another girl might actually like me. My self-
> esteem was dependent on what my one crush-object thought about me
> regardless of whether the entire female population of the school
> dropped hints at me that they were interested (not that they all
> did, but I'm trying to make a point). It also adds a touch of humor
> in that "Love Stinks" kind of way... quoting the J.Geils Band: "You
> love her, but she loves him. And he loves somebody else, you just
> can't win."
>
> It could also be fertile ground for a H/H/R conflict... Harry has
> everything Ron wants, including his girl. It would be in character
> for Harry to be receiving the attentions of Hermione, but not
> really wanting them (or, given Hermione's tendency to be subtle
> about it, without even knowing he's receiving them), while at the
> same time pissing off Ron, because of Ron's tendency to be that
> way. If Ron is really into Hermione, he'd pick up on the energy of
> Hermione's interest in Harry, even if Harry doesn't. For all the
> Hermione fans out there who gag at Hermione stooping to swooning
> over Harry with unrequited advances, I don't see that quite
> happening either... If there's to be a pairing up, I see it being
> H/H, because Hermione will get what she wants in the end. :-)

Actually, I think Harry does return Hermione's interest, he just 
doesn't realize it yet. Look at how completely floored he is when he 
sees her at the Yule Ball. Here's a little excerpt:

"Cedric and Cho were close to Harry too; he looked away from them so 
he wouldn't have to talk to them. His eyes fell instead on the girl 
next to Krum. His jaw dropped.

It was Hermione.

But she didn't look like Hermione at all. She had done something with 
her hair; it was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, and twisted up 
into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes 
made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material, and she was holding 
herself differently, somehow - or maybe it was merely the absence of 
the twenty or so books she usually had slung over her back. She was 
also smiling - rather nervously, it was true - but the reduction in 
the size of her front teeth was more noticeable than ever; Harry 
couldn't understand how he hadn't spotted it before."

As I said last time I posted this little snippet (not in this group, 
of course): Oh yeah. No attraction there. None whatsoever. *rolls 
eyes* Note that he wasn't anywhere near that impressed by Cho, or by 
his own date Parvati, who's also supposed to be a very pretty girl 
(it was either Dean or Seamus, I think, who said Padma was the 
prettiest girl in their year). But he's completely stunned by how 
pretty Hermione is, and can't understand how he failed to notice it 
sooner (here's a hint, Harry: it's because she's your best friend, 
and you hadn't really been thinking of her as a girl before).

Also, Harry spends most of the Ball watching not Cho, but Hermione. 
He glances over at Cho occassionally, but he notices pretty much 
*everything* that Hermione does. He catches the whole "Herm-own-
ninny" exchange, and even notices what she's eating. With Cho he just 
see that, yeah, she's still over there with Cedric. I think that on 
some level Harry already knows that his crush on Cho is just that, 
and that his connection to Hermione is much deeper. He just hasn't 
consciously realized it yet. But I think he will soon. His guilt over 
Cedric's death is probably going to keep him from even thinking about 
pursuing Cho, so where else could he turn next? To Ginny, who he 
seems to think of as an annoying groupie? Or Parvati, who he 
completely ignored at the Ball, and everywhere else he's seen her for 
that matter? Or some random new girl *cough*MarySue*cough*? Of course 
not.

Red XIV