[HPforGrownups] Harry, Hermione & Ron (was: Still stuck on Luna)

[Charlie Moody]

No: HPFGUIDX 74190

On Wednesday, July 30, 2003, at 12:26  AM, apollokiev wrote:

> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, p51263 at a... wrote:
>> I agree with you in reference to seeing Harry and Luna together as
>> a couple, but not Ron and Hermoine as a couple. I read all 5 books
>> and at the beginning the have had some trouble with Ron saying
>> hurting remarks about Hermione but I see them as life time friends
>> like James and Siruis are; this includes Harry in this view. I don't
>> see Harry and Hermione as a couple either, but lifetime friends.
>>
>> Patricia
>
>    I believe that Ron and Hermoine will indeed become a couple. I was
> watching an interview on the Chamber of Secrets DVD, in which Steve
> Knowles (the screenwriter) and JK Rowling were discussing how the
> book was adapted to the screen.
>
> I seem to remember one part of the interview in which she mentions how
> Knowles brought out more of the relationship between Ron and Hermione
> than she did in the book.

NOTE - None of what follows is directed at Patricia or Kiev;  this has 
been
building up....

 From the interview:
"Chris has...foreshadowed what I don't do until the 4th book, which is 
that
you get hints of certain feelings between the three of them 
that...belong
to...a slightly more mature person."

Chris, of course, is the director.  The foreshadowing could be said to
include far more sign of Harry's feelings for Hermione than Ron's.

Kiev:
> The scene I'm referring to is at the very end, after she hugs Harry
> and then there is a moment of awkwardness between her and Ron.

The scene is ambiguous:  another way of reading it is that she couldn't
contain her feelings for Harry, but then she remembered she was being
stared at by everyone (it's a British boarding school, for cryin' out 
loud -
I doubt students go around hugging each other all the time).

In the book, OTOH:
"Harry didn't know whether the best bit was Hermione running toward him,
screaming "You solved it!  You solved it!", or Justin hurrying over...."
(HP+tCoS - p.339 US)

Not a word about Ron & Hermione.

Kiev:
>   As has been mentioned before, there is always the jealously Ron
> feels when Hermione is interested in other guys, and as for their
> constant arguing -- in many examples of literature two people who
> often bicker at each other end up loving each other eventually. It
> also Ron that often is the first to come to Hermoine's defense
> against verbal abuse.

Point by point:
Ron exhibits jealousy of Viktor.  Period.  He exhibits no jealousy 
whatever
of Harry, even though Hermione spends more of GoF w/ Harry than with 
him.

Their constant arguing is nothing like the teasing and 
attention-grabbing
that occurs among teen-agers when there is an attraction involved.  They
are friends, they like and even admire each other, but they are very 
different
people and it's their differences that fuel the bickering, NOT some 
imaginary
mutual attraction.  They squabble like siblings, and her attitude 
toward Ron
is very 'big sister' overall.  In GoF, she's clearly indifferent to his 
post-Yule
sulking & brooding, thinks very little of his emphasis on appearances 
over
substance, and generally not terribly impressed w/ Ron as a male.  In 
OotP,
their shared duties and responsibilities as prefects are a further wedge
between them on a male/female level.  She's irritated by & disapproving 
of
his readiness to shirk those duties and responsibilities, and that would
count heavily against him, even if she WERE considering him as a 
potential
mate.

The myth of Ron being the first to come to Hermione's defense  seems to 
be
movie contamination, based on the Malfoy-mudblood-slugs  incident:

"Harry knew at once that Malfoy had said something really bad because
there was an instant uproar at his words.  Flint had to dive in front 
of Malfoy
to stop Fred and George jumping on him, Alicia shrieked, "How dare 
you!",
and Ron plunged his hand into his robes, pulled out his wand, yelling,
"You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!"  (HP+tCoS - p112 US)

Notice that the Weasleys leapt to her defense almost as one, not just 
Ron -
are we to infer that THE WEASLEYS harbour feelings for Hermione?  Or is 
it
possible that, like members of any large, close-knit family, they are
accustomed to leaping in when 'one of their own' has been threatened
or insulted?

It IS often Ron who's first to defend Hermione...but it's also Harry 
who's
OFTEN first to do so.  If you feel you can demonstrate that Ron does so
MORE often, please do.

Kiev:
>    As for Harry, I believe he will remain alone. Cho Chang was merely
> an infatuation -- never do we see Harry thinking about Cho's other
> qualities other than her beauty, except maybe that she's a decent
> Seeker. His relationship with Cho doesn't go anywhere.

I agree that Cho was/is a first-kiss infatuation ( I  still remember 
the first girl
*I* kissed - I tried to date her once, and it was the worst sort of 
disaster) -
but infatuation & attraction are nothing when it comes to building a
relationship.  She may still show up as real competition for Hermione, 
but
she'd better hurry.  It's quite clear to me that Hermione has already 
set her
sights on Harry - he will have to betray / deeply disappoint / greatly 
offend
her (maybe all three) in order to drive her away.

For his part, Hermione will be the only one on his screens as he grows 
up.
He knows her, likes her, admires her, respects her, trusts her 
absolutely,
and depends on her.  This is the exact opposite of infatuation:  this 
is the
stuff that burrows deep, latches on firmly, and holds people together 
through
thick & thin  It may be that Harry only discovers his true feelings for 
Hermione
when he is forced to contemplate life without her.   If forced to 
choose between
her and Ron, I'm afraid it's 'so long, Ron'.

Luna and Harry?  Not a chance.  She and Ron have a much more similar
sort of vibe, she's much more interested in Ron than in Harry, and so 
far
her interactions w/ Harry have been of a 'female Ron'  sort:  comradely,
companionable, off-hand, very much "guy-style".  MUCH more Ron's type
(at least, he's a sitting duck for her).  In Book 6, I expect to see 
her making
even more effort to catch Ron's attention, in part by simply inserting 
herself
into the group;  I also expect that Luna will have to pass muster w/ 
Hermione
as Ron's big sister.
--
Charlie, whose extremely intelligent 15-year-old daughter spends most of
her time w/ her boyfriend and her best-guy-friend, who is also her 
boyfriend's
best friend (they are both her age).  Sound familiar?