Anatomy of a Rift (Part 1 of 2) LONG

[Shauna <wind3213@hotmail.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52525

Naama said:

> Well, similar circumstances would be where Harry is lying to 
someone 
> who has earned his trust in order to cover up a breach of that 
trust. 
> Harry has never done that, and Ron knows it. 

I reply:

Ah, so a non-Harry example would be what Remus Lupin does 
in PoA - lie to Dumbledore about how Sirius Black is getting into 
Hogwarts in order to cover up the fact that he became an 
animagi.  No, I can't say that Harry *has* done anything that bad.  
But you must admit that given Harry's tendency to break rules, 
he'd be much more likely to believe, say, Hermione, in a similar 
situation, than Harry.  Of course, that isn't saying much.  



Naama said:
 
> You make a good point that there are people who are inclined 
to 
> assume the worst. However, I don't think that Ron is that type of 
> person. About Scabber. He didn't "assume" that Scabbers was 
dead in 
> PoA, he came to the most reasonble conclusion that he could, 
based on 
> the evidence he found. Harry was just as convinced as he was 
that 
> Crookshanks had killed him. Other than that, my impression of 
Ron is 
> that he is basically a cheerful, optimistic person. He's not 
morbid, 
> he hasn't shown any tendency to cherish imagined insults. Of 
the 
> three, he has always seemed to me the most light hearted and 
easy 
> going. So I still think that it would be very odd for him to 
> disbelieve Harry in order, so to speak, to feel slighted. 

I reply:

I only have a copy of GoF, and there's no way that I have time to 
flip through 500 pages right now, so someone else is going to 
have to help me out here.  But, here is my feeble attempt at 
proving that Ron can be pessimistic.  

p.114 (The Quidditch World Cup)  After Krum captures the snitch, 
thus losing the game for Bulgaria, Ron bellows, "He ended it 
when Ireland were a hundred and sixty points ahead, the idiot!"  
While Ron is not privy to Seeker-to-Seeker empathy like Harry is, 
he's a demonstrably clever boy with good strategic skills, as well 
as a lifetime of studying Quidditch.  He could have easily come 
up with Harry's answer "he knew they were never going to catch 
up" on his own.  So why didn't he?  If he's so optomistic, why 
didn't he strain to find a solution that would give credit to a 
quidditch star he reveres?


Naama said:

> But surely Ron would have heard more than enough from 
Hermione about 
> alternate explanations? We know that Hermione was very very 
worried 
> about Harry. 

I reply:

Not before the damage was done.  As others have pointed out, 
Ron probably spent his time being bombarded by others asking 
questions like, "How did Harry do it?  You're his best friend, you 
should know!"  Hermione was probably still mulling the question 
around in her head - after all, she does tend to keep quiet about 
her ideas until she's sure of them.  Remember, she wasn't in the 
Gryffindor common room during the party - she was probably in 
the library searching for answers, or in her room thinking.  
Otherwise, why wouldn't she attempt to comfort Harry?   She 
probably only offered a weak, "You know, he said he didn't do it."  
So after Ron's worst suspicions and feelings of betrayal were 
reinforced, he spent his time alone in the dorm room.  Then, 
Harry appeared to confirm his suspicions by partying in the 
common room and wearing his banner, and when Ron asked 
him for an alternative explanation, Ron didn't offer any.  Ron 
wouldn't have been exposed to even the *idea* that Harry was 
endangered by being entered into the tournament until later on 
the next day - after the damage was done, and he and Harry had 
retreated to nurse their wounded pride.

Naama wrote:

> But  ... if Ron is really so desirous of being a champion 
wouldn't it 
> make him particularly susceptible to jealousy when Harry gets 
it? Try 
> to put yourself in his shoes: would your deep, gut emotional 
reaction 
> be betrayal - or envy? 

I reply:

Oh, I have no problem with Ron feeling jealous, so long as it's 
not the motivating factor for his actions.  I completely accept that 
the answer might be a mix of our two theories.  After all, Ron's 
had reason to be jealous before.  I think perhaps the mix of 
jealousy along with the hurt of betrayal pushed him over the 
edge.


Naama said:

> Maybe I'm relying here on my own experience. People I know 
really 
> well I can simply see their emotions written on their face (I'm 
> talking major moods, not every thought and sensation of 
course). 
> Although Harry is certainly self-contained, Ron always seems 
to get 
> him pretty well. Harry's shock and dismay and later his anger 
at Ron, 
> his stress and misery should have been fairly easy for Ron to 
spot. 

Well, that is a valid point.  But Harry is, I believe, an especially 
good actor.  Also, Ron is a 14 year old boy.  While he knows 
Harry very well, his ability to detect emotions may not be as fine 
tuned as yours.  Lastly, Ron would have been glad to see a 
certain amount of unhappiness in Harry.  It would make him feel 
vindicated - "Ha!  You thought you could do things without me, 
but you're giving it a shot now and look how happy you are!"  
Plus, if Harry is miserable without Ron, Ron is just as miserable 
without him.  It might affect his perceptions.

~ Shauna