SHIP: The Yule Brawl--The Problem With Reading R/H in GoF

Mon Jan 20 19:36:16 UTC 2003

No: HPFGUIDX 50185

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Ebony 
<selah_1977 at y...>" <selah_1977 at y...> wrote:

<apologies for the long quote, but I *did* snip 
everything I'm not responding to!>

> Okay, this is the part that my shipmates and I 
> just adore.  Brace yourselves.

Okay, I'm braced.  Fair warning: I'm not really a 
rabid shipper - I would suppose I lean R/H, but 
when I read (past tense) fanfic (I don't anymore), 
I quite enjoyed many of the major H/H...  In any 
case, I'm using personal experience as 
qualification for the following arguments... not 
ship preference.

> When Ron utters the famous "Hermione, Neville's 
> right--you are a girl..." line... in which he 
> cites NEVILLE as an authority... the same 
> character that Ron disparages just a few 
> paragraphs up and throughout the scene

> 
> 
Hermione doesn't blush or flinch at all!
> 
> If she does like Ron, I find it very strange 
> that she doesn't quail under Ron's very 
> appraising look, followed by a grin.  Don't you?

I would agree with this for the most part.  If I 
were Hermione in this instance and *did* like Ron, 
I would probably be blushing/stammering/whatever 
would make it obvious I was uncomfortable.  

> Then... look at this sequence:
> 
> ******************
> "Hermione, Neville's right--you are a girl."
> 
> "Oh, well spotted," she said acidly.
> 
> "Well, you can come with one of us."
> 
> "No, I can't," snapped Hermione.
> ******************
> 
> Ha!  She's *still* got an attitude with him here. 
> It's all very "Ron, you are an idiot" IMO.  I 
> just don't get any "I like you" vibes on her part.  
> (We have seen Hermione in "like" mode before with 
> Lockhart
 refer to CoS.  Yes, I know that was 
> merely a crush and Ron is True Love, but still.  
> *grin*)

I agree, she's still got an attitude here.  And I 
can totally agree with the attitude - Ron's just a 
big ol' clod here.

> But then... notice the shift after Ron's next 
> statement.
> 
> "Oh, come on," he said impatiently, "we need 
> partners, we're going to look really stupid if we 
> haven't got any, everyone else has..." 
> 
> "I can't come with you," said Hermione, *now 
> blushing*...
> 
> Uh-oh.  
> 
> Okay.  Why does she only blush then
 and not 
> along with the "Well spotted" comment?  And Ron's 
> very thorough appraisal?  Why the 180 degree 
> turnaround?
> 
> Has the H/H reading faltered?  Has the HMS Pumpkin 
> Pie ship sprung a leak?  
> 
> *evil grin*
> 
> Well, no.

Okay, here's where my arguments are going to start...

> Let's look at that statement again.
> 
> "Oh come on," he said impatiently, "*we* need 
> partners, *we're* going to look really stupid if 
> *we* haven't got any, everyone else has . . ."
> 
> Oh, this is *too* rich.
> 
> When Ron says, "Well, you can come with one of us,"
> Hermione's cross for an obvious reason
 Ron's just 
> insulted her!  But when Ron pleads (impatiently, 
> might I add), he re-emphasizes the "we" *three 
> times*

> 
> You see, my shipmates and I speculate that it occurs 
> to Hermione that Harry is included in those "we" 
> statements.  Because Ron says we, Harry is implied 
> as well.  And after all, Harry is Hermione's focus 
> for large portions of the first four books that 
> cannot be ignored
 and Harry is the one who *needs* 
> a partner for the ball.  Ron, being a fourth year, 
> *can go alone*.  But Harry can't
 he is required to 
> find a partner.  I am certain that Hermione is aware 
> of this.
> 
> And she *blushes*.  
> 
> Squee!
> 
> Gotta love it.
> 

I just can't agree with this.  Does this make me a 
no-shipper? ;)  I'm not going to delve into Hermione's 
feelings here... but this is how I read it.  Hermione 
isn't blushing because she puts Harry in Ron's "we" 
statements.  I think Hermione is blushing simply 
because Krum, the most popular kid at Hogwarts at the 
moment - the boy the girls are fawning over, the boys 
are asking for autographs, and is an international 
quidditch star asked *her*.  Okay, that didn't quite 
come out like I wanted.  I don't mean that she's in 
luuuuurve with Krum, either... 

Argh!

What I mean is that Hermione has a date already.  
Said date is the same person she (at the beginning 
of the school year) mildly insulted here (GoF, ch19):

"Hermione often complained about Krum being there -- 
not that he ever botherd them -- but because groups 
of giggling girls often turned up to spy on him from 
behind bookshelves, and Hermione found the noise 
distracting.

'He's not even good-looking!' she muttered angrily, 
glaring at Krum's sharp profile.  'They only like 
him because he's famous!  They wouldn't look twice 
at him if he couldn't do that Wonky-Faint thing --'"

Now *she's* the one with a date with him.  Perhaps 
she doesn't want to be seen as one of these 
"giggling girls".  Perhaps she feels bad about what 
she said before.  I think she's blushing because she 
thinks that Harry and Ron will tease her if she 
tells them who her date is (and this is why she 
doesn't tell them until the actual ball).

This, of course, doesn't preclude her fancying one 
of the boys.  In fact, it could still support 
*either* boy as the object of her affection.  I'm 
just arguing the motives for the blush, here.

JenP, no-shipper and momentary delurker.