SHIP: JKR & Ron/Hermione, H/H converging

[Jim Ferer <jferer@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 50073

Pippin:"Eh?  The way I read it, it's Ron who associates the word
"pipes" and the bathroom. Harry's lost in thought remembering the
voice, and Ron has to grab his arm to get his attention. Harry
finishes Ron's sentence as friends often do, but Ron got the idea
first. It's also Ron who thinks of using Parseltongue to activate the
tap, and Ron who deduces that Ginny was taken because she knew
something about the Chamber."

However you see Ron's role in Chamber of Secrets, it points up that
his role in Azkaban and Goblet of Fire is less.  In Prisoner of
Azkaban, Ron is a loyal friend but not present for significant parts
of the action (through no fault of his own; no dispute there) In
Goblet of Fire, Hermione prepares Harry, researching dozens of spells
and hexes, coaching and pushing him relentlessly (which good coaches
do), providing a lot of the underpinning of his success. Ron is even
out of the picture for the First Task by reason of their alienation. 
Most of the time, though, Ron helps as he can, but he is the third of
three.

But a lot of this is beside my point, anyway.  Ron doesn't need
defending as a person.  He's a good kid, and I can't think but well of
a Weasley.  That's the whole point: Ron Weasley is a good kid from a
loving family with great parents; he only suffers by comparison with
Mr. Phenom and Miss Overachiever (thank you, Penny, for the perfect
Hermione label).

So Ron doesn't need defending, nor is it an attack that he and
Hermione aren't suited for a long term relationship, especially
compared to Harry and Hermione.

Penny:"At the present though, I think he [Ron] would need to see
himself as the dominant or more successful party"

Pippin:"If dominant successful women turn Ron off, he wouldn't be
panting after Fleur. He's obviously appreciative of Madame Rosmerta,
who could probably eat him for lunch. And Padma's no doormat."

Somehow I don't think Ron has stopped to considered the power
relationships with respect to Fleur Delacour.  Fleur's veelahood
appeals to him on a much more basic level.  And Mrs.  Robinson, er,
sorry, Madame Rosmerta?  I feel sure his appreciation of her is made
of the same stuff as my crush on Annette Funicello when I was seven. 
(Yes, members, I *am* older than dirt.)  And his brief, very brief,
relationship with Padma didn't go well, although it had nothing to do
with dominance on either side.  Ron was just being a churlish
adolescent male oaf that night, and it shouldn't count against him or
Harry, who wasn't a great date either.


Pippin:"Yes, she knows Harry  and she adores putting her considerable
knowledge and skills at Harry's disposal.  Yes, she knows the real boy
and she likes him. To which I also say: So. What. What is she supposed
to get out of it all? Why does she need *him*? Romantically, I mean.
What encouragement and support has he offered *her*? Except in the
general way of saving her from bad guys, but that's being a hero, and
I'm told that's not what H/H is about"

You're right, it's not about Harry being a hero, it's about them being
on a heroic quest together.  Harry/Hermione is about a partnership of
great intensity over time, a symbiotic duo.  Hermione gets a great
deal out of it all.  I submit to you that her phenomenal growth in
this series is due to what she's been through with Harry; if she
hadn't been his friend, she wouldn't be the person she is today. 
Instead, she might be Percy times ten.  Those two are so close
already, and they both get a lot out of the relationship.

The beauty of a potential Harry/Hermione pairing is that she will
never melt into goo over him.  She doesn't 'adore' him, either, except
perhaps someday, as a feeling arrived at over time, which makes it a
feeling of depth and permanence.  That's why this is *not*, repeat
*not*, The Hero Gets the Girl.  That's when the decorative and
helpless damsel falls into the arms of her rescuer.  Not here!

Without Ron, Harry and Hermione could still be working together the
way they are now. Without Harry, Ron and Hermione would be classmates.

So, I really trashed Ron here, no?  NO.  Like all of us, he's got
baggage, and it happens I think his baggage is the exact wrong baggage
for a strong ambitious young woman like Hermione.  Ron is not
especially ambitious; he wants to lead a decent life as a decent man
like his father has and find comfortable, supportive love for himself
and the kids he'll have someday.  He needs a woman who likes and
expects the same thing, and that's not Hermione.

Harry would not be as ambitious as Hermione either, actually; he
craves normality, which his best friend Ron provides.  He is being
transformed by his experiences.  He will be among the great and will
be raised high for it ("We honor the wise but elevate the brave")
whether he wants it or not. He needs a mate who can handle that.

You can argue that, wounded as he will be if he survives, he will need
comfort, loyalty, practical love and supportive understanding (Ginny,
perhaps) or maybe he needs someone with complete understanding of what
he's been through, who will nevertheless challenge him back to health
(Hermione). 

Ron, Harry, and Hermione will be friends forever, I hope.  I believe
two of them are suited as lifemates.

Jim Ferer, who wishes he knew three of the most interesting characters
in literature