Hermione (was Re: Harry's Friends)

[Nicole L.]

No: HPFGUIDX 43800

Amanda said:

> 
> I agree. Hermione's lack of outside friendship at
> Hogwarts almost seems to be 
> serving as a facet of her personality - like she's
> so bossy and know-it-all 
> that very few students can stand her. The few main
> relationships we get to 
> see that involve Hermione are the trio, Hagrid, the
> Weasleys and strangely, 
> Draco. Her role in the Harry/Ron/Hermione dynamic is
> clearly defined, of 
> course. Hagrid obviously adores her, but it's much
> the same way he adores Ron 
> and Harry. The Weasley boys don't seem to
> participate in anything much with 
> her, and Mr. Weasley is mainly interested in talking
> to her as her parents 
> are Muggles and she's a hive of Muggle-related info.
> 

First of all, welcome to the group!  Now, for
Hermione.  I do think that her bossiness and
know-it-all attitude probably contribute to her
friendlessness at the beginning of the series (I am
hesitant to generalize about the rest of the series
because it seems to me that she is developing other
friendships in later books, i.e. Ginny, the
Ravenclaws, Krum, etc.).  I also think that Hermione
is very, very shy and is probably lacking in
self-confidence.  It seems to me that she acts like
she does because she is trying to draw attention to
herself, to prove to others that she is worthy of
getting to know.  I mean, how intimidating would it be
to be in her shoes, growing up as a Muggle and not
knowing anything at all about the wizarding world.  I
think she started out with a huge inferiority complex
which I believe is decreasing over time as she is
coming into her own as both a person and a witch.  I
think that her vigilance with regards to S.P.E.W. is a
clear indication of her self-realization and her
comfort with who she is as a person.  14 is a very
tender age and one at which conformity is often
important.  At this point, though, Hermione has enough
confidence in herself to champion the elves ad
nauseum, making many of her classmates eager to avoid
her.  She believes she is in the right and it is this
belief in herself that gives her the courage to follow
her heart and to become actively involved in something
that runs the risk of making her very unpopular.  It
certainly seems that her views place her firmly in the
minority among witches and wizards. 

I also respectfully beg to differ with your assessment
of Hagrid's feelings toward Hermione.  I think that
Hagrid knows Hermione much better than Harry and Ron
do.  When she is being ostracized by Ron and Harry, it
is Hagrid who tells them that she is very hurt by it. 
He sees Harry and Ron as being in the wrong and he's
siding with Hermione.  It's also Hermione who devotes
the most time and care to helping Hagrid with his
Buckbeak defense, even though she is already stretched
to the breaking point due to her studies.  I think
that Hagrid sees the person she is on the inside, not
just the bookworm persona that Harry and Ron see from
her.  Hagrid has come to understand her true worth
much sooner than Ron and Harry have.  In fact, as much
as I believe Hagrid loves Harry, I could make a case
for Hermione being his favorite of the Trio. 

> 
> Then there's Ginny and Mrs. Weasley - in GoF, we see
> them giggling over a 
> love potion and at the Quidditch World Cup Ginny is
> never too far behind 
> Hermione, but that could be because they are the
> only females and are sharing 
> a tent. I think that her relationship with Ginny
> will strengthen in the next 
> three books, but that said, it is very much a
> friendship and bond that is far 
> from solid. And Mrs. Weasley, although she
> apologises, almost turns against 
> her in GoF when Rita Skeeter writes her newsarticle
> about Hermione dumping 
> Harry, prompting a feeling from me that Mrs.
> Weasley, when it comes to 
> Hermione, is very much in the same boat as Hagrid -
> that without her son and 
> Harry as buffers, there probably wouldn't be much
> there.
> 

I see what you're saying about Mrs. Weasley but I
think my views on the matter differ from yours (or
perhaps I misunderstood your posting).  Mrs. Weasley
is extremely protective of Harry, pretty much as
protective as a biological mother would be about their
own offspring.  I think that she likes Hermione but I
don't think that she feels as strong a sense of
protectiveness toward Hermione.  After all, Hermione
doesn't have the same need of her that Harry does; she
already has two parents who seem to care very much
about her.  Therefor, I don't think it's that she
needs Ron and Harry to serve as a buffer.  I chalk her
reaction to Hermione up to her overprotectiveness
where Harry is concerned.  This overprotectiveness
blinds her so much that she takes everything she knows
about Hermione and sets it aside in favor of buying
into Rita Skeeter's lies.

As for Ginny and Hermione, I agree with you there.  I
think that those two will become very close,
especially if Ron and Hermione do become romantically
attached.  Ginny must be dying for female
companionship and I think that initially she and
Hermione become friends because they are both girls
but I think that their friendship will grow and deepen
into something more significant than that.  While
Hermione is close to Ron and Harry, I have always seen
her as something of a third wheel in the relationship.
 If I had to name Harry's best friend, I would say
without hesitation that it is Ron.  I think that Ginny
and Hermione will become best friends as well, with
the result that, although Ron and Harry will still be
close to them, they will be somewhat out of the loop
that will exist between the two girls.

>  Then there's Draco - where to begin? Shippers would
> argue that their dynamic 
> is based on a mutual attraction, while non-shippers
> would say that he's just 
> a racist pushed into ideals by his dastardly father.
> It would be hard to 
> argue that their encounters weren't interesting -
> what with name-calling and 
> slapping and threats - but its hardly substantial.
> Still, it's the closest 
> she has to an outside relationship, romantic or not!

Okay, I am *not* a Draco/Hermione shipper.  There are
many reasons for this, which I will not go into here
because I think that's a separate post.  Suffice it to
say that I think they are two fundamentally different
people and I do not see how a relationship between
them could possibly exist.  To me, their relationship
is clear: antagonist versus protagonist.  I'm not
saying that a relationships between them is out of the
realm of possibilities, just that I see it as being
about as unlikely as a neo-Nazi and a Jewish girl
falling in love.  I think Draco would have to undergo
some *major* changes before I would even see a
Draco/Hermione ship as being possible.  I would also
argue that this is not the closest thing she has to an
outside relationship.  What about the aforementioned
Ravenclaws?  What about Krum?

> 
> Okay, okay I think I have a point - for a girl who
> seems so knowledgeble and 
> confident in her studies, Hermione seems to be
> extremely shy and unassured. 
> With that said, I think GoF was without a doubt the
> Age of Hermione, with the 
> realisation that a boy (Krum) might find her
> attractive, Ron may have a thing 
> for her (which ever way you look at it) and, of
> course, the infamous kiss on 
> the last page. Maybe she is realising that there are
> people outside of Ron 
> and Harry (in shape of Ginny and even Krum) and that
> she is an important part 
> in Ron and Harry's lives, regardless of their
> constant snipes at each other 
> or fights. Hermione, I think, in the next books will
> grow out of her shyness 
> and really step forth as a force at Hogwarts. JKR
> can't keep painting this 
> picture of a feisty, saucy bookworm who is both
> emotionally and socially 
> stunted - it just doesn't work.

I definitely think that Hermione is undergoing some
fundamental changes, with the result that Harry and
Ron are starting to look at her with new eyes.  In the
beginning, I think Ron and Harry had a one dimensional
view of Hermione: she was a really smart Muggle girl
whose intelligence proved useful to them in certain
situations.  I don't mean to say that I think Harry
and Ron were taking advantage of her because I don't
think that.  However, I think that Harry views Ron at
a much more personal level than he does Hermione. 
There is a lot of information about Ron's family but
all we really know about Hermione's is that her
parents are Muggle dentists.  Harry also knows a lot
about Ron's likes, dislikes, hopes, dreams, etc. than
he does about Hermione's.  I think that Ron and Harry
are now coming to realize that Hermione is an
individual with her own complex feelings and that she
does not always hold the same opinions as them.  I
think that she is really surprising them in a lot of
ways.  It's almost like she has become this new,
unknown person to them.  They can't believe how pretty
she is, that she would have a date with an
international Quidditch star, that she cares so
passionately for house elves.  I'm really enjoying
watching Hermione develop into something other than a
reference book to Harry and Ron.

> 
> I hope that made sense. What does everyone think? 

I enjoyed your post.  :)  Thanks for helping me to
reflect on one of my favorite parts of the series--the
development of Hermione.  

~Nicole, who would like to thank her fellow
Legolas-admirer, Lilac, for dedicating a FILK to her. 
I'm flattered!  :)

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