Hermione - Hermione & Ron (no ship) - Molly

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 35997

Catherine in California is a dog person but nevertheless <g> made a valid 
point when she wrote:

>The darn cat even follows her into the boys' room.

Yup; worse than that, she brings him in and puts him on Seamus's bed.  I 
love cats, and I love Hermione, but she's criminally clueless on this issue. 
  Thank you Serenadust for pointing out that she specifically reassured Ron 
that Crookshanks would stay in her room in chapter 4.  One day later she's 
letting him loose in the train compartment and not restraining him when he 
jumps right onto Ron's lap.

Kim the catlover wrote:

>Why doesn't RON create a spell that will keep Crookshanks out of the boys' 
>dormitory?

Blaming the victim!  ("He assaulted you in your own home?  And why did you 
let him in, hm?")

>From one cat lover to another:  what if Ron's pet were a German shepherd?  
Would you think it was Hermione's job to cast a protective spell around her 
room, or would you think it was Ron's job to keep his dog from mauling her 
cat?

Serenadust wrote:

 > >  Her insensitivity to others can
 > >be breathtaking at times. Remember her response to the death of
 > >Lavenders rabbit? She consistently favors being right >over being
kind.

Laura responded:

 > I'm sorry, but I flat-out disagree with this one.  First of all,
Lavender was being a little...well, silly, at this instance, and, if
I do recall, Hermione was trying very hard to approach the topic
delicately, while still point out that perhaps Prof. Trelawney may
not be all-powerful -- which I would like to point out Lavender
*needs* to know.  It's not healthy, the way she and Pavarti view the
old fraud.  Frankly, I see it as dangerous.  That kind of naivety
and susceptibility to cons can only lead to pain and trouble.
Sometimes it is necessary to be insensitive in order to help others
in the long run.

May I suggest some middle ground?

I can't see how Hermione "consistently" favors being right over being kind.  
Divination pushes her buttons, and she has a blind spot about her cat, but 
she is notably kind (e.g. to Neville, Ginny, and Hagrid) and usually very 
tactful.  I think JKR does a great job of showing how stressed-out Hermione 
is by the subtle ways she is out of character in PoA.  Knowing how I am at 
the end of even one 12-hour workday (hint: you don't want to be in the same 
room without a very good Shield Charm), Hermione's impatience, poor 
judgment, and snappiness when she's doing double days every day are to be 
expected.

OTOH, she is right about Lavender's rabbit but exceedingly tactless.

Elsewhere, Boggles suggests that Hermione gets a two out of three on the 
"true, kind, necessary" checklist in this incident.  I'd give her one out of 
three.  It is not necessary to take that particular opportunity to point out 
the illogic in Lavender's credulity about Divination.  But that's a part of 
growing up for us Hermione types:  learning that there are right and wrong 
ways, right and wrong times to say what you believe.  I've almost sorted it 
out at age 33 . . . <g>

Susanne wondered:

>Are there any instances mentioned where Ron and Hermione do
>something together, that's not about helping Harry?

They go to Hogsmeade together, twice, without Harry in PoA, and seem to have 
a very good time.  No ship intended; I do think they are very dear friends, 
just like Harry & Hermione and Harry & Ron.  I wouldn't like the level of 
squabbling myself, but they both seem to be fine with it.

I particularly think of the moment when Ron makes fun of Hermione in the 
same scene as above, re: what she should buy herself for her birthday:  "How 
about a nice book?"  She just says "I don't think so," "composedly."  They 
do get on each other's nerves but their conflicts also have a kind of 
equilibrium that they are generally comfortable with.

Actually, thinking of Hermione's kindness, this is one thing she and Ron 
have in common.  Ron isn't kind in the same touchy-feely way--he wouldn't go 
put his arm around an upset friend, as Hermione does for Ginny in PA 
5--well, he's a boy, you know--but his sensitivity shows in how fiercely he 
defends people who are insulted, attacking Malfoy for calling Hermione a 
Mudblood in CS, throwing a crocodile heart at Malfoy on Harry's behalf in 
PA, and telling a suit of armor to shut up when it laughs at Neville in GF.

Boggles wrote re: halfbloods we know:

>Er, Tom Riddle and Harry for two.

Well, there are two schools of thought on this list about what constitutes a 
"halfblood": the status-of-parents school a halfblood is someone with one 
Muggle, one magical parent) and the sum-total-of-ancestors school (two 
Muggle grandparents make one a halfblood).  Harry's parents were both 
magical, unlike Seamus's and Riddle's.

Re:  Molly:  I agree with the criticisms that she should remember what foods 
and colors Ron dislikes, but when it comes to the money issues, she can't be 
blamed.  If you can't imagine how someone could be too broke to buy her son 
new dress robes or a proper wand . . . well, you're lucky.  I suspect that 
those of us who know what it's like to run out of money two weeks before 
one's next paycheck are more sympathetic to Molly.

Amy Z
who loves this list because it teaches her useful new terms like "goose-shit 
green" <grins at Catlady>

--------------------------------------------------
"Very haunted up here, isn't it?" said Ron,
with the air of one commenting on the weather.
                 -HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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