[HPforGrownups] Comforting!Ron, Lying!Harry

[Penny Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 39338

Hi --

I originally said:

Penny wrote:

>Figuring out that Harry might want to play Quidditch was just an 
> >instinctive guess based probably on Ron's desire to let off some steam 
> >in a physical way.  I think we're meant to know that Hermione doesn't 
> >get it; this is underlining that males react to stress differently >than 
>females.  Big surprise.  :--)  Mind you, this doesn't make it any >less 
>what Harry needed at that moment, but I'm not sure I'd term Ron's >action 
>as "comfort" per se.  

Amy Z responded with:

<<<It is really unfair to conclude that Ron just wants to play Quidditch 
himself--what in canon suggests that this is the case?  We know that Harry 
finds Quidditch a great release when he's worried, and presumably Ron knows 
it too.  If it's instinctive, great--he should keep listening to those 
instincts.>>>>

Wait!  Wait!  You misunderstand me.  :--)  I didn't mean to say that Ron *just* wants to play Quidditch himself.  No.  This is not a "Ron is self-centered" argument at all.  What I mean is that because Ron wants to play Quidditch to let off steam, he intuits that Harry would also want to react to the stress in this way.  Ron's right.  That is *exactly* what Harry needed, and Hermione's reaction is actually quite humorous.  I always giggle that she mutters "Boys!" under her breath as she heads off to sleep.  But, I'm not sure Ron's action fits into *my* subjective, nay sexist, definition of "comfort."  That's *all* I wanted to say with that piece.  I rather think I'm with Hermione on this one is all.  Boys!  :--) 

Amy Z goes on to bolster my continuing efforts to convince the HP World that Ron and Hermione are equal best friends in Harry's eyes --

Me: >He sort of lied by omission to them both though, didn't he?>>>

Amy: <<<Yes, more than once.  He doesn't tell them about his wand being linked to 
Voldemort's (in "Weighing of the Wands," GF, it says he's never told 
anyone); he doesn't tell them what the Hat said to him and all his 
subsequent fears that he belongs in Slytherin in CS; he doesn't tell them 
about hearing his mother's voice for quite some time in PA.  Naturally there are lots of things people just happen not to tell their best friends, but 
these are important items, and in each case the text calls our attention to 
the fact that Harry hasn't confided in Ron and Hermione.  I wouldn't call 
any of it *lying*, but it does point up the limits of his trust.

This thread seems to be an echo of the "is one of them a bester friend than 
the other" question from a couple of weeks ago, and no, I can't say that 
Harry's markedly more honest with Ron than with Hermione.  It's not as if he lies to Hermione on a regular basis.>>>>>>

Okay, so I forgot about the Egg.  :--)  Yes, he lied to her once then.  Any evidence that he lied to Ron too?  Hmm... maybe Ron was his usual lackadaisical self & didn't inquire about Harry's efforts with the Egg.  Anyway .... yes, I agree wholeheartedly that he's been no less forthcoming with Hermione than with Ron.  I mean to say: if the only evidence that he cares for Ron more is the off-hand remark about spending more time in the library when Hermione was your best friend ... well.  Harumph.  Sorry, but that just doesn't cut it with me.  

I think I need an acronym for this position, Tabouli.  Are you reading?  No, wait, Tabouli is travelling.  Any other acronym-generators?  So far, all I know is that Amy Z and I are both members of the "Ron and Hermione are Equal Best Friends to Harry" club.  We need an acronym all the same though I say.    

Penny  





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