[HPforGrownups] Re: Defending Ron WAS Re: Hermione

[Erika L.]

No: HPFGUIDX 85516

Mandy wrote:
>Hermione is not 
>afraid to take on her firends and >challenge them when it's important, 
>encourage them when they really need it >and says no when they are 
>wrong.  Hermione is a far better friend >than Ron could ever be to 
>Harry, who is nothing more than a >drinking buddy who agrees with 
>everything Harry wants and does.

Devin replied:

>I like Hermione, too.  But I feel >compelled to shade Ron from the 
>sycophantic (I would even say boorish) >light you paint him in.

 
now me-- Erika:  
I think a lot of the flak Ron gets regarding his friendship with Harry stems the argument in GoF. Harry really needed Ron's support and Ron flaked out on him for about a hundred pages. True, in the face of a thousand plus pages of canon, that's not all that much. However, the fact remains that Ron, for a time anyway, put his own concerns and his petty jealousies before his friendship with Harry. He wasn't a good friend when he did that. Is it understandable for a fourteen year old boy to act so? Probably. But it invites comparison with Hermione who seems to have set herself the task of keeping Harry in one piece-- whether he likes it or not. 

Devon:

>Hermione 
>gives better advice about girls, of >course, but it's often Ron who 
>understands when it's pointless to >pester Harry about something and 
>tells Hermione to let it go (which, to >her credit, she sometimes does 
>take as the proper advice and which >indicates that Hermione herself 
>believes Ron can be right about how to >treat Harry).

 
    Erika:
    I'll grant you that Ron understands some things better, Quidditch, for example, or even Harry's reluctance about Cho, but Hermione's ability to "pester" Harry is sometimes very important to his well-being. Sometimes it's good to have a friend who won't back down no matter the consequences. I heartily agree with Laura's comments.

Laura:

>On the other hand, she's also brave >enough to stand up for what she 
>believes is right, no matter what the >consequences (e.g. Trelawney, 
>Umbridge, Harry's Firebolt).  As a >great man once said, "It takes a 
>great deal of courage to stand up to >our enemies, but just as much to 
>stand up to our friends."  She's a >*good* friend, the kind that tells 
>you what you *need* to hear, rather >than what you *want* to hear.

Erika:
The infamous Firebolt argument is indeed a telling example. Hermione's willing to risk her friendship with Harry in order to try to protect him. She did what she felt was necessary even though she ended up quite miserable as a result. Thus, even a the age of thirteen she's willing to put what's best for Harry before what's best for her. The same is true in GoF and OoP in smaller ways. She's willing to set aside her own studies in order to help Harry prepare for the third task (GoF 528 UK), and, again, in OoP believes that the DA is more important than schoolwork (OoP 291 UK). This represents a fair bit of progress on Hermione's part (Remember book one? "killed -- or worse expelled" (PS 120))-- progress she's made in large part because of her friendship with Harry.

    And Hermione continues being the best friend she can be whether her efforts are appreciated or not. Harry is quite aware of Ron's importance in his life, but he rarely seems conscious of how much he relies on Hermione. He's never been without her aid; even in CoS when she is petrified, the note he finds crumpled in her hand gives him the information he needs to solve the puzzle. The time turner in PoA, Accio in GoF, the interview with Rita Skeeter in OoP- Hermione's help is key to Harry's success.

    Yes, Ron's friendship is important. He's there when it comes down to it, at the Shrieking Shack or the MoM, and he provides moral support for Harry. But Hermione's tendency to "pester" Harry is also rather important and he might be better off if he listened to her pestering once in a while. For example, she thought it was a bad idea for Sirius to accompany Harry to the train station, and it was as the Malfoys ended up recognising him. Also, at the end of OoP she told Harry that the vision about Sirius at the MoM had to be a trap, and look how that turned out...

Just my two knuts

Erika (Wolfraven)


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