SHIP: The Problem with Reading R/H in GOF

[stickbook41 <stix4141@hotmail.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51607

I agree that Hermione is mortified about the prospect that someone 
might be in like/love with her (or visa versa).  That coin has 
another side.  She has worked very hard her entire Hogwarts career 
(thus far) to carve out her own identity--she is Bookworm #1, 
Cleverest Witch in her Year, etc.

To introduce the element of romance would throw her completely off-
track.  Like Divination, it's not something that can be absorbed from 
a book.  Not only that, but special attention to/from boys would put 
her in a position to be grouped with giggly girls like Lavender and 
Parvati, peers with whom she really doesn't have much in common, 
other than a dorm.  Not that she has a whole lot in common with Harry 
and Ron either, but (speaking from personal tomboy experience) 
perhaps she seeks friendships with males because they're typically 
not gigglers.  She takes herself far more seriously than she takes 
her female classmates.

That said, I find myself a R/H shipper because I find the idea of H/H 
so much less likely.  First of all, the romantic tension JKR gave us 
a taste of in GoF is wonderfully entertaining, if nothing else.  
Hermione and Ron have a classic Princess Leia/Han Solo dynamic going 
on.  Ron is ready to knock her off her high horse, but Harry would 
just assume leave it alone.  Hermione *needs* to get knocked off, and 
to some degree she knows this--otherwise she probably would have 
stopped cultivating her friendship with H & R three books ago.  Being 
already a master of her studies, it's the only way she can truly come 
of age.

Secondly.  One thing I haven't seen mentioned in the great Ship 
debate is the amount of one-on-one time who spends with who.  Ron and 
Harry have a tight bond because they're together in several classes 
in which Hermione is not.  Conversely, Harry has extracurricular 
activities which don't include Ron, like Quidditch practice.  I 
assumed then that this is all time that Ron and Hermione have to 
spend one-on-one, cultivating their own tight bond.  There simply 
isn't more than a few brief instances where the same could be said 
for Harry and Hermione.

This situation benefits Ron more than the other two.  He is never 
without one of his best friends (which is *so* important in 
adolescence), and perhaps this was one of the reasons he felt so 
threatened by Hermione's date with Krum.  If Ron's own idol wasn't 
good enought for her, how could Harry be?  Being aware of Ron's 
issue, Harry isn't likely to intentionally hurt his friend by 
pursuing anything with Hermione (in whom he's shown no interest 
anyway).

So, to summarize: Even if you don't read R/H in the canon, H/H makes 
far less sense.

I love this group!

-stickbook