Rowling's decision to form an attraction between Hermione & Ron rather than Hermione & Harry

[Erica <cymru1ca@yahoo.ca>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49725

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Peter Shea <bebche2 at y...> 
wrote:
> 
>  
>  Penny Linsenmayer <pennylin at s...> wrote: 
> 
> <<IMHO, she's attracted to Harry...Krum is bothered enough by 
Hermione's involvement with Harry to question Harry about their 
relationship (she talks about Harry "all the time" around Krum)>>
> 
> I disagree. Harry is a natural source of conversation between 
Hermione and Krum since Krum and Harry are both Triwizard champions, 
whereas Ron would be hard to work into the conversation.
> 

Perhaps, however, it appears that Viktor and Hermione do talk about 
other things:  

"'He's really nice, you know' she said.  'He's not at all like you'd 
think coming from Durmstrang.  He likes it much better here, he told 
me'" 

Our Hermione is a very inquisitive girl - you'd think she'd 'pump' 
him for information about Durmstrang, Bulgaria, his philospy re 
Elvish Welfare etc. etc.  In all these conversations the one 'boy' 
that keeps on coming up, time and again, (unsolicited by Viktor) is 
Harry.  Not Malfoy (the bane of her existance) not her other best 
friend Ron (with whom, it's assumed, she spends all her time with 
when she/they are not with Harry) but Harry.  


> More importantly, the flashes of resentment Hermione demonstrates 
towards Ron around the time of the Yule Ball is more indicative of 
emotional tension between her and Ron. By comparision, there is 
insufficient evidence of any attraction to Harry by Hermione. > 
> 
> 

I agree that there is emotional tension between Hermione and Ron, 
however,  I'm under the impression that where Ron's feelings were 
due to an 'obvious' attraction to Hermione, her 'flashes of 
resentment' had more to do with the impression given off by Ron 
(albeit inadvertantly) that she was not acceptable Yule Ball consort 
fodder rather than romantic inclinations in his direction.

>Harry is clearly meant to drawn to the still sketchy character of 
Cho Chang. And Hermione, if interested in Harry, would have made use 
of the perception of a relationship between them after the Rita 
>Skeeter article.

In one of her many interviews JKR says that in GoF 'they are in love 
with the wrong people' (paraphrasing).  If we use 'jealousy' as a 
marker for being 'in love' then the pairings in GoF would be Harry--
>Cho, Ron-->Hermione and  Viktor-->Hermione.  Hermione's feelings 
are harder to discern.  She may be attracted to Viktor and her 
comment to Harry:
 "'Oh, no, he's back again, why can't he read on his stupid ship? 
said Hermione irritable as Viktor Krum slouched in ..' <snip> 'Come 
on, Harry, we'll go back to the common room .. his fan club'll be 
here in a moment, twittering away ...'"  is a kind of latent 
jealousy or she may be attracted to Ron and her dislike of 
Fleur/bickering with Ron , as argued by some, is due to jealousy.

I don't think that Hermione not making use of the Skeeter article is 
an indication that she doesn't like Harry, rather that a)she is not, 
characteristically, *that* calculating/conniving (yet?) and b)she 
does not (yet) consciously view Harry in a 'romantic' light.

~Erica