Hermione and the Grangers (some OOP)

[Scott]

No: HPFGUIDX 66060

I wasn't sure whether I was going to post this, and I'm not sure 
whether anyone agrees/disagrees or even cares, but I am interested 
to hear your thoughts...

(NB: I suppose you could say there are spoilers in this post, 
although very mild indeed, and if you're worried let my ramblings 
about years 1-4 be Spoiler Space enough. I also should confess that 
I haven't kept up with all the messages on this list since OOP's 
release, has anyone?, and if the issue has been brought up since 
then I'm SO sorry to repeat it.)

I do know that many people have theorized about how muggle-borns get 
their Hogwarts letters (and take them seriously), or are taken to 
Diagon Alley for the first time, or how they are able to adjust. I, 
however, am curious as to how a muggle family, specifically the 
Grangers, deals with such issues beyond the initial shock and what 
affect that has on their relationship. In the RAH interview last 
week Jo basically said that we wouldn't be learning much more about 
Hermione's parents. "Well we've seen them briefly but they're 
dentists so they're not that interesting."

Oh but Jo they *are* interesting! (And not least of all because they 
ALMOST NEVER see their daughter.) In PS/SS Hermione goes home for 
Christmas and at the beginning of CoS Mr and Mrs Granger accompany 
her to Diagon Alley where we see them "standing nervously..." in 
Gringotts bank. So Hermione sees them this first year as much as one 
would expect a boarding school child to see his/her parents, and 
they obviously know *something* about the Wizarding World even if 
they are nonplussed at the site of a Goblins' bank.

Yet as Hermione becomes more and more a part of the WW she appears 
to drift further apart from her parents. In CoS she stays over for 
Christmas holidays, albeit because of the polyjuice potion. It feels 
to me as though the Grangers don't even seem to know their daughter 
that well; they do know *what* she's doing but they've never seen 
her *perform* magic, have they? I got the feeling, esp. after 
reading OOP that the Granger trip to France was a way for both Hermy 
and her parents to find something over which they could connect. The 
idea going something along the lines of --

MR GRANGER: We should do something with Hermione this 
summer...something that we'd ALL enjoy.
MRS GRANGER: Well she always did want to go to France.

But of course once that was before she knew she was a witch, and 
once they got there it was all wizarding History for Hermione. I 
might be wrong of course and her parents may truly be fascinated by 
the Wizarding community and its history, but it might also feel 
really well...foreign (it is after all) and at least a bit 
foreboding. 

We can assume that after this lovely family outing (feeling closer 
than ever) they...they...they drop Herimone and her Hogwarts things 
at the Leaky Cauldron?? Then Hermione once again stays over for 
Christmas break, and when Harry gets to the Burrow in GoF Hermione's 
already there (when did she arrive?). She attends the QWC and stays 
at the Burrow until time to go to school...then of course she stays 
over at Hogwarts-- for the Yule Ball.

When Harry gets to Grimmauld Place it is implied that Hermione has 
been there for a good amount of time if not ALL summer. (I'm not 
sure exactly when Harry arrives, although it is after Harry's b-day) 
So either she's seen her parents for a VERY short amount of time, or 
she hasn't seen them at all since she left for the Burrow and the 
QWC over a year previously!!!

I don't suppose that I considered this in any great detail, but when 
Hermione hears about being a prefect and asks Harry if she can use 
Hedwig, when she tells him "They'll be really pleased-- I mean 
*prefect* is something they can understand."(Emphasis JKR's) ...well 
it struck me that there might be some sadness and even bitterness in 
her voice. After all, for all her accomplishments how much can her 
parents really appreciate? Prefect yes, but top marks in 
Transfiguration or Charms? Did any one else read this line this way, 
or am I simply way too speculative? On another note this is the 
first time I noticed Hermione corresponding with her parents at all. 
I know she can't use muggle post, and she doesn't have an owl, but 
she could've used a school one. Have I missed something?

We do know that Hermione's parents are disappointed that she didn't 
go skiing with them over Christmas, but *she* doesn't seem to care 
all that much. Harry and Ron and the whole Weasley clan are her 
friends (and wizards to boot), but I just find it kind of sad if 
being a witch has made Hermione feel that separate from her family.

Overall I can't decide if it feels like Hermione is at fault here or 
if her parents are. I suppose there's always the alternative that 
*no one* is at fault, but I still feel a subtext of "strained parent 
child relationship" whenever the Grangers are mentioned.

I don't pretend to know much about the psyche of a typical British 
Boarding school child, but I find it odd that they never seem to get 
homesick (especially Hermione and other muggle-borns and esp. during 
the first year or two). I know Harry isn't going to miss the 
Dursley's but for someone like Hermione, coming from what one hopes 
is a loving and supportive household and going into a whole new 
world (literally), this can't be that easy. And at eleven? I don't 
think I would've felt comfortable departing from my family at this 
age; can anyone who lived in a boarding school speak of their own 
experiences?

Cheers,
Scott