JKR & Ron/Hermione, H/H converging

[Jim Ferer <jferer@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49777

Susanne:"You mean, if Harry developed romantic feelings for 
Hermione,  Ron would immediately be completely "out of the running"? 
Even if Hermione has more than friendly feelings for Ron,  which I 
see as very possible after reading GoF?"

I need to explain myself.  I should have said Ron "hasn't got a 
chance, *long-term,* if that happens."  Harry would not try to win 
Hermione away from Ron, and I agree with you she does have feelings 
for Ron now.

Answering that is repeating the entire R/H vs.  H/H argument.  I 
stated the anti R/H case back in Message 48708, "Why Ron is wrong for 
Hermione," and I still believe it.  

I see these trends bringing Harry and Hermione closer together:

As the War heats up, Harry and Hermione will work more closely 
together.  She is moved by intense concern for him and the world at 
large.  They are united in a critical undertaking, and, as the saying 
goes, "nothing propinks like propinquity."

Ron will continue to be Harry's friend, and will help him as best he 
can.  As Hermione and Ron become more an item, Ron may become jealous 
of all the time Hermione spends with Harry.  This could become a 
source of tension between Ron and Hermione, overlaid by Ron feeling 
he isn't of equal footing in the Trio.

Harry has noticed Hermione for the first time.  When I read the Yule 
Ball passage in Chapter 23 I was surprised I hadn't been more 
impressed.  There were sparks there. This is seen through Harry's 
eyes, and JKR tells us it's something he never noticed before, and I 
say he won't forget it.

Susanne, in message 48723:"Emotionally, Hermione has a lot to learn.
She doesn't always have a good concept about other people's
feelings and how to make them feel better, instead of worse." 

That was true once but history now, IMO.  No one else has grown more 
in this series than Hermione has, not even Harry.  The know-it-all 
little busybody is gone, driven out by a mission, leaving a rapidly 
maturing young woman with compassion and moral courage (physical 
bravery under construction).

She doesn't belittle the deaths of schoolmates' pets, but shows 
compassion to Neville; she still believes rules are important, but 
she breaks them for a reason if need be; she now recognizes the value 
of life outside academics, giving up the Time-Turner so she can have 
a normal schedule.  She still has things to learn, but she's learning 
them. Finding a higher purpose has done that for her, and at the 
center of the struggle we all find - Harry.

Susanne, 48723 again:"And Harry doesn't show much appreciation for 
Hermione's help."

I believe Harry does appreciate everything Hermione does for him, and 
the understanding is past the verbal level.  He doesn't need to say 
anything, and Hermione doesn't need to hear it.  They're past that. 
		 

To me, it comes down to maturity.  Hermione is remarkably mature (in 
the best sense) for a fourteen/fifteen year old, and Harry's 
experiences are changing him, too, while Ron is more of a normal 
fourteen/fifteen year old boy.  There's nothing wrong with that, but 
it pushes Harry and Hermione closer together.

Jim Ferer, who was somewhere below Neville's maturity at that age