Ron's reactions, was Hermione: Panic attacks

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 38991

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Penny Linsenmayer <pennylin at s...> 
wrote:

>>>>  Deliberate cruelty, just for the sake of cruelty, to a student 
is not something any teacher should engage in, IMHO.  Besides, 
"bring her back to her senses?"  How so?  "Let's see, my teeth 
are hanging down past my chin & continuing to grow ... oh yeah, 
now that I'm calmer, I can see that yes, indeed, my teeth *are* 
hanging down past my chin & continuing to grow.  Yes, I feel 
better about it all now."  No, I think Hermione was quite well 
aware of the reality of the situation.   <<<<  

It wasn't for the sake of cruelty, IMO, it was to get her to stop 
being hysterical. Should a competent wizard wax hysterical over 
a body part swelling out of control? I don't think so and more to 
the point, Arthur Weasley doesn't either.  GoF chapter 4, "Not to 
worry I can sort [this] out!...it's a simple process...it's only an 
Engorgement Charm--at least, I think it is..." 
> 
> Pippin again:
> 
> <<<<<<Ron can think logically  --when playing chess or solving 
the keys 
> puzzle, but he can act in a hurry because he  trusts his intuition. 
> Hermione needs *time* to think everything out. When she has 
to 
> deal with a situation she's not prepared for in advance, she 
> tends to panic -- as with Boggart McGonagall, to give another 
> example.>>>>>>>>

Penny:
> Well, I can't comment on how much logic is involved in chess, 
but more than once, Ron has commented, "Hush up ... give me 
some time to think about this" when he's playing chess.<<<

More than once? I only remember the scene in PS/SS....canon 
please?

Penny:
>>>>  So, I'm not so sure that Ron is any more quick on his feet 
than Hermione.  As for the keys puzzle, all Ron did was examine 
the lock & suggest what shape key they were looking for.  I'm not 
so sure that's logic either; not in my book.  Can you give me 
some other examples where Ron acts quickly and it is actually 
the right action, the right answer, etc.?  I can't think of a single 
instance ... but maybe I'm just not being fair to Ron.  <<<<


The lock is the *only* clue to the keys puzzle. If Quirrel hadn't 
conveniently damaged one of the keys already, it would have 
been vital. Ron doesn't say anything about the shape per se; he 
suggests the material and the style of the key should match the 
lock. Quite logical, IMO. 

I admit Ron's thinking is often distorted by jealousy, as 
Hermione's is by her deference to authority. His suspicions are 
often directed at those he has reason to dislike, and we are 
meant to think there's no more to his occasional right answers 
than a lucky guess.  However, I think he is actually  processing 
information subconsciously, something that Hermione, a 
conscious reasoner and linear thinker,  hasn't learned to 
appreciate. This leads her, and the reader, to discount 
connections that Ron has made subconsciously. An alert reader 
can pick up on the clues along with Ron, if one doesn't fall into 
the trap of thinking that Ron is just being jealous. In fact, very 
often Ron is on the right track and Hermione distracts him.

The following list of times when Ron was on the right track or 
reacted swiftly and correctly in an emergency is off the top of my 
head. LOONS are welcome to find more instances.

CoS -- Ron comes up with the plan to rescue Harry from the 
Dursleys.

 -- "He *says* he's done." Ron is the first to realize that Lockhart 
isn't what he seems. Maybe anybody can make a mistake, as 
Hermione says, but  Lockhart's distinctions (Order of Merlin Third 
Class and Honorary Member of the Dark Arts Defense League), 
aren't very impressive compared to all he's claimed to 
accomplish. ::Pippin smiles, remembering that she actually 
caught this one::

 --"Maybe he killed Myrtle." Why *was* the diary  found in Moaning 
Myrtle's bathroom? A good investigator wouldn't assume it was 
coincidence, especially after the link between the diary and the 
Chamber was revealed.

--Despite being terrified by the spiders, Ron thinks to rescue 
Fang. 

--Ron catches Lockhart's wand and disposes of it  when Harry 
performs Expelliarmus.


PoA --"That cat's got it in for Scabbers." Perfectly true and it ought 
to raise a question. Why, with all the easily available prey in the 
castle, has Crookshanks  fixated on Ron's rat?

GoF -- In the conference with Fake!Moody, Ron's suggestions 
"So he did Disapparate!", "someone could've...pulled him on to a 
broom," while far-fetched, focus  on an anomaly from which 
Moody quickly diverts  attention. Moody's told them Crouch didn't 
appear on the Map, but how could Crouch Sr, in his debilitated 
state, have managed to leave the grounds so quickly?

GoF -- Ron: "we could've tried to get more stuff out of Winky about 
Crouch!"  Winky has *told* us she's keeping secrets, but 
Hermione discounted Ron's interest.


Penny: 
>>>> I think we're losing sight of the reason that 
Crouch-as-Moody suggested that both Harry and Hermione 
would make good Aurors is because their minds "work the right 
way."  He apparently didn't think that Ron's mind works the same 
way, and I don't think it does.  <<<

Agreed. Ron relies more on subconscious reasoning more than 
the other two. He and Hermione compare to Bones and Spock 
from Star Trek. Bones' conclusions are based on observation, 
education and experience just as Spock's are, but Bones feels 
the answer instead of deducing it consciously. They're both good 
scientists. 

I think Ron has more of what it takes to be an Auror, but I'm not 
discounting Hermione as an investigator, far from it. ::Pippin 
swats at fan fic plot bunny about grown-up R/H as investigators  
ala Anne Perry's  Thomas and Charlotte Pitt :: <veg>


An interesting question though: what kind of thinker is Crouch Jr. 
himself? I tend to think he's intutive. He is like an actor 
performing an extended improv--he can't possibly have thought 
out every situation in advance. He has to feel the part. 

Pippin