OOP: The Shipping News (spoilers, of course)

[mochajava13]

No: HPFGUIDX 62304

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "sirius_sam1" <ribi305 at m...> 
wrote:
> Long time reader, first time poster, blah blah blah.
> Got the book at midnight, finished it by the next midnight, and 
have 
> been waiting to post ever since, so without further ado (but with 
> some spoiler space)
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> The Ships:
OK, here's my 2 knuts on the various ships:
H/R:
I don't think it's going to happen.  Ron obviously has a thing for 
Hermione.  When Hermione was telling Harry to ask Cho to go on a 
date, Ron asked "What if he doesn't want to ask her?" and looked 
over at Harry "with an unusally shrewd expression on his face." (pg. 
460, US edition)  I think he was talking about Hermione.  It's been 
obvious for the last two books that Ron has a thing for Hermione.  
But, I don't think Hermione returns these feelings at all, if whe 
even knows about them.  Plus, JKR has said that everyone liked the 
wrong person in GoF during one interview.  And in that book, it's 
obvious that Ron has a thinkg for Hermione.  All her interviews when 
she says that there's something going on with R/H, she's always 
answering about a specific book.  Has anyone else noticed that she 
gives answers that are applicable to one book, but not to later 
ones?  I think she is very aware that many (probably the majority) 
of her fans want H/R to happen, and gives cryptic clues to keep them 
happy, and to keep them speculating about what's going to happen.


H/H: I'm biased, because I really want H/H to happen!  Anyway, I 
think Hermione likes Harry, but doesn't know it.  When Hermione 
first sees Harry at Siruis' place, she throws herself on him, and 
they're hugging for quite a long time.  They're hugging the entire 
time Hermione tells Harry about what had been going on while he was 
in Privet Drive (pg. 62, US edition).  And Ron couldn't hear what 
Hermione was saying; he repeats some things she said.  When Ron gets 
the prefect's badge, Hermione is happy when she thinks that Harry 
was made a prefect.  She seems very let down when she finds out that 
Ron was made a prefect instead of Harry.  It could have just been 
surprise that Ron was made a prefect, but that doesn't explain how 
happy she was when she thought Harry was going to be a prefect with 
her.  Hmm...  Anytime Hermione talks to Harry about Cho, she gets 
all business-like.  And she doesn't seem to like Cho all that much.  
When Harry tells them he kissed Cho, Hermione asks if Cho "cornered" 
Harry after the DA meeting (pg. 457, US edition).  My interpretation 
is that Hermione is trying to control her jealousy as best she can, 
and trying to be happy for Harry.  And whenever the trio is talking 
about Harry and Cho, Hermione is wrtiting a letter to Viktor.  A 
very long letter.  I think that's a clue.  We don't know if they're 
dating or not, but she could be writing all these letters to make 
Harry jealous.  (I'd like to think they are, but who knows.)  And 
when she told Harry that he was insensitive towards Cho, she added 
at the end "as an afterthought" that "it might have been a good idea 
to mention how ugly you think I am too." (pg. 572 US edition)  That 
sounds like she wanted to see if Harry thought she was pretty or 
not.  It's something I would have done, especially at that age!  
Just slip in something self-critical, and see how the perosn I like 
responded.  After the gang destroys the prophecies in the dept of 
mysteries, Hermione follows Harry, not Ron.  If she liked Ron, 
wouldn't she have followed him instead of Harry?  It seems to me 
that in a life threatening situation, she'd follow the person she 
most cared about.  And at the end of the book, she joins the group 
of adults to talk to the Dursley's.  JKR makes a point of saying 
that Hermione joined the group, but doesn't do this with Ron.  Why?

Now to Harry's feelings about Hermione:
We know that Harry thinks Hermione is pretty, from the ball in GoF.  
He's crushing on Cho most of this book, so there's no surprise that 
we don't see any feelings towards Hermione through most of this 
book.  But, after he gets over Cho, we do see some telling signs 
that he might be developing some feelings for Hermione.  When 
Hermione gets attacked in the dept of mysteries, Harry goes crazy.  
He panics that Hermione might be dead, and is so relieved that she's 
alive that he feels "light-headed." (pg. 793 US ed.) True, he'd feel 
this with any friend, but he tries to get Hermione out of the 
fighting.  When they are trying to find an exit and escape the death 
eaters, Harry is the first through a door with Ron, and goes back to 
help Neville with Hermione.  He doesn't help Ginny or Luna.  I find 
this quite telling.  

Now for JKR's interviews and such: she keeps giving the impression 
that there's nothing going on with H/H, but she never comes out and 
says nothing is going on.  She tends to answer this question with 
another question (her favorite way to deflect a question she doesn't 
want to answer).  And the time she said they were just plutonic 
friends, this was a question regarding a specific book.  She doesn't 
say that anymore, now she's asking if people think they're suited.  
She loves to say things that are true of one book, but not of later 
books.  The one thing I think points to a H/H pairing, and not a H/R 
one, is who she models her characters after.  Ron is based on one of 
her best friends.  Hermione is herself.  H/R isn't going to happen 
because of that, and because it's too obvious!  And I read in one 
place (I'm not sure where), that Harry was going to go out on a date 
with a fellow Quidditch player, and later re-evaluate his feeling 
for his pal Hermione.  Hmm...  The first part is true (he went on a 
date with Cho), so what's the probability of the second?

H/G: I think Ron wants this to happen, but no one else!  I think he 
doesn't like Ginny dating anyone is because he wants Ginny and Harry 
to hook up.  (He'd get Harry for a brother.)  He's surprised that 
Ginny doesn't like Harry anymore.  And near the end, on the Hogwarts 
express, he tells Ginny to pick someone better next time, and looks 
over at Harry.  (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)  I for one am glad that 
Ginny is over Harry.  We finally get to see the Ginny that her 
brothers know.  In CoS, Ron tells Harry something like it's weird to 
see Ginny so quiet.  And Harry realizes that Ginny is finally 
talking to him.  I'm glad that H/G are finally truly friends, and we 
get to see the potential that Ginny has.  But I'd be so disappointed 
if H/G happens.  I don't think Harry will ever see Ginny das 
anything more than a friend.  I think he'll see her as a little 
sister, especially now that Mrs. Weasley toild Harry that she seems 
him as another son.  We already have one big happy Weasley family; 
Harry's been virtually adopted by the Weasley's.  Harry doesn't need 
to marry into the family, he's already a part of the family.  He is 
treated as part of the family when Mr. W is injured, with X-mas 
presents, and the way Mrs. and Mr. W treat Harry as another son.  I 
think marrying into the family would cheapen this, not strenghten 
it.  Plus, I was very interested in Siruis' family tapestry.  
Remember how he said that nearly all pure-blood wizarding families 
are related?  We know that the Potter family is pure-blood, they 
could possibly be related to the Weasley's.  Who knows?  Maybe 
second cousins or something.  Anyway, I think that JKR has 
eliminated H/G, at least for now.

G/N: Another of my personal favorites.  When Ginny is taken by a 
Slytherin while looking out while H/H try to find Sirius, Neville 
tries to stop it.  OK, that's not really saying much, but I really 
like this pairing!  Both Ginny and Neville finally come into their 
own in OoP.  They're both showing themselves to be pretty powerful, 
and Neville is becoming one bad- at ss.  He's the only one left 
standing with Harry in the stand-off with the death eaters.  And 
McGonagall tells Neville that there is nothing wrong with his magic 
bus self-confidence.  He even does well with potions shen Snape 
isn't around.  I just think they'd go very well together.  We'll 
see...

H/C: I'm glad that Harry's crush on Cho is finally over!  Yeah!  And 
that he got to date her, instead of his crush just going away.  Very 
happy with this conclusion.

Hermione and Krum:  Are they dating?  Or are they just pen-pals?  
Hmm...  But JKR has said that everyone likes the wrong person in 
GoF, so it looks like this won't last.

Ron and Luna:  Luna obviously likes Ronald, as she calls him.  She 
makes a point of telling him good luck before every Quidditch 
match.  She tells him that she wouldn't have minded going to the 
Yule ball with him, and she is constantly humming "Weasley is our 
King" throughout the book.  Ron obviously thinks she's loony.  I 
hope this will happen!   But Ron will have to do a complete 180 to 
actually notice Luna as anything but a weirdo.  Sigh.  I feel this 
is like H/R: one-sided.  But, there has to be a reason that Luna 
went with Harry and co to the dept of mysteries, and that it seems 
like she is becoming part of their group.  I don't think she's going 
to be paired off with Neville, just because they never notice each 
other at all.  And did anyone else notice that she lasted longer 
that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny during the battle with the death 
eaters?  She's pretty powerful.  

Bill/Fleur: Did anyone else notice that Bill is giving Fleur extra 
lessons in her "eenglish"?  Oh, yeah.  Could this be the student 
marriage that we see?  I used to think it was Percy and Penelope, 
but now that Percy has showed what a git he is, I hope Penny dumps 
him ASAP.  

Hagrid/Madame Maxine: I was disappointed that we didn't really hear 
more about this.  Oh, well.

Lupin:  I hope he gets together with someone, if he survives the 
books.  How old is Tonks?  I'd love to see these two pair off.  
Doubtful that it will happen, but a girl can dream.

Ginny and Dean: Are they dating, or has Ginny just told Ron that 
she's going to go after Dean now?  If Ginny doesn't go for Neville, 
Dean's my number two choice for her.


Mochajava