Anatomy of a Rift/Misdirection

[dicentra63 <dicentra@xmission.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52296

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "abigailnus <abigailnus at y...>"
<abigailnus at y...> wrote: 
 
"The most popular and easily noticable Misdirection is Evil!Snape (in
fact there are two Evil!Snape misdirections - the first is contained
entirely in PS, where Snape keeps us from noticing Quirrel).  Many
posters have pointed out that when he is unaware that Harry can
observe him, Snape behaves with greater decency (relatively speaking),
but until the very end of GoF, Harry never considers this (it might be
argued that the Misdirection regarding Snape has already been partly
paid off in the revelation that Snape is a reformed DE and on
Dumbledore's team). 

"Another widely acknowledged Misdirection is MagicallyWeak!Neville.
Elkins and others have pointed out that though Harry believes, and
encourages the reader to believe, that Neville is a poor wizard, the
text actually shows us a Neville with a great deal of magical ability
but without the ability to control it.  There are several theories on
a possible payoff to this Misdirection, and it is used in support of
many Memory Charm theories.

"The one thing that all these Misdirections have in common is a Bangy
payoff (either already witnessed in the books or presumed in the
various theories that presuppose the existence of a Misdirection). 
So, if JKR is using Misdirection to keep us from seeing Betrayed!Ron,
where's the Bang?"



For that matter, where are the other two Bangs?  Even though
Evil!Snape has been revealed as misdirection vis à vis Quirrellmort,
the second Snape, Moral!Snape is just barely revealing himself to
Harry.  He's only just now considering that Snape is more than a
nasty, vindictive person.  Moral!Snape was revealed clearly in the
Pensive scenes, but even without GoF one could still begin to divine
his existence, even though he remained well hidden.  (Frankly, when I
joined the group a year ago, my perception of Snape was the same as
Harry's -- he's a nasty, vindictive git. If HPfGU weren't lousy with
Snapeologists, I'd never know Moral!Snape even existed.)

Harry *still* hasn't twigged to Powerful!Neville yet.  And were it not
for "Still Life with Memory Charm," (36772) *I* wouldn't have seen
him, either.  That Betrayed!Ron is new to HPfGU is a fluke, in my
opinion.  The evidence for his existence is not so hard to find: after
all, Ron *reveals* himself as Betrayed!Ron from the beginning.  

I can't shake the feeling that we readers were supposed to pick up on
the nature of the misunderstanding -- that we were *shown*
Betrayed!Ron first so that when Hermione came along with Jealous!Ron,
we'd see it for what it was -- a mistake. (Many people have told me
offlist that Jealous!Ron never really sat right with them, but they
couldn't put their fingers on why.)  The whole Rift episode might have
been a study in misunderstandings that we readers were meant to
perceive even though Harry doesn't.  

After all, Harry doesn't realize what an awful date he was at the Yule
Ball, and he might not for years.  I don't think that Harry's
cluelessness in that regard will have any thematic or plot
ramifications except maybe to serve as a measuring stick to show how
much he grows (hoping, of course, that he does).  This spat with Ron
might be the same thing -- we readers see what's happening, Harry
doesn't, but later on when he and Ron or he and somebody else have a
fight, he'll handle it better, and The Rift will show how far he's come.

For that matter, look at the fight between Ron and Hermione in POA and
how they handle that.  Ron and Harry pretty much go their merry way
while Hermione goes to Hagrid and cries her eyes out.  *They're* not
so bothered by the fact that she's upset -- they're almost relieved to
have her meddling self out of their hair.  It takes Hagrid to spell it
out to them before they realize that their actions are hurtful and
that they need to make amends.  

It's not out of character for boys at 13 to behave that way; it's also
not out of character for 14-year-olds to deal with a misunderstanding
by not dealing with it.  I trust that next time Harry finds himself at
odds with someone, he'll deal with it differently.  He probably won't
consciously refer back to his past experiences, but we readers
certainly will, and we'll appreciate Harry's additional maturity.

This would mean that Betrayed!Ron wasn't supposed to be hidden as well
as he appears to have been.  We were supposed to see it, but for some
reason, we didn't.  (Rather than confess that we've all been
dunderheads, I'll go ahead and blame JKR's deadline for preventing her
from tweaking that part well enough.  Either that, or she flat-out
misfired.  She's entitled to a few of those. :D)

So, as far as Trio conflicts go we've had Ron vs. Hermione with Harry
siding with Ron, and Ron vs. Harry with Hermione sticking by Harry,
which means we're up for Harry vs. the other two in some way.  Yikes.
 How well would Harry survive if even Ron and Hermione abandon him? 
It has to happen, at least for awhile, if he's going to stand on his
own two feet.

************

Changing gears slightly, back to the question of whether Ron is even a
smidge jealous of Harry, Melissa said:

"I can think of one occassion in POA where there is the slightest hint
of jealousy/envy. After the Trio meet up in Diagon Alley, Harry makes
a comment wondering why he wasn't expelled for inflating Marge and Ron
replies (paraphrasing): 'Probably because its you' and then 'I'd hate
to see what they'd do to be for blowing up an Aunt. Mind you they'd
have to dig me up first because Mum would kill me.'"

I've got the book handy, so here's the actual scene:

===
"Did you *really* blow up your aunt, Harry?" said Hermione in a very
serious voice.

"I didn't mean to," said Harry, while Ron roared with laughter. "I
just -- lost control."

"It's not funny, Ron," said Hermione, sharply.  "Honestly, I'm amazed
Harry wasn't expelled."

"So am I," admitted Harry. "Forget expelled, I thought I was going to
be arrested." He looked at Ron. "Your dad doesn't know why Fudge let
me off, does he?"

"Probably because it's you, isn't it?" shrugged Ron, still chuckling.
 "Famous Harry Potter and all that.  I'd hate to see what the
Ministry'd do to *me* if I blew up an aunt. Mind you, they'd have to
dig me up first, because Mum would've killed me. Anyway..."
===

If Ron were jealous of Harry, he might use those words to express it,
but he would deliver them in a bitter tone of voice.  Or at least a
gloomy one.  But as we can see, he's laughing and shrugging it off,
which is more in keeping with BaskingInHarry'sGlory!Ron than
ResentingHarry'sGlory!Ron.  

As for his remark about what they'd do to him, it sounds more like
another of Ron's jokes.  It's a very Weasley thing to say, IMO.  I
could see the twins saying the same kind of thing.

--Dicentra, who has been asking non-HPfGU HP fans if they think Ron is
jealous and has discovered that half say no