H/H SHIP

[cressida_tt]

No: HPFGUIDX 79777

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Deirdre F Woodward" 
<dwoodward at t...> wrote:
> >>>sarah writes a long list of possible ship hints between Harry and
> Hermione
> 
> Deirdre writes:
> That list is long and impressive, but I'm still not convinced 
there's
> anything budding between Harry and Hermione.  I think that more than
> anything, all the instances Sarah mentions are further indications 
of how
> close Harry and Hermione are as friends -- there is no teenage 
ackwardness
> between them as is so common between young people who are 
romantically
> attracted to each other.
> 
> I think that JKR has painted a portrait of wonderful friendship 
between the
> two of them.  I don't believe that either of them thinks of the 
other in a
> romantic fashion *at all*.
> 
> Harry and Hermione love each other, undoubtedly, but as brother and 
sister,
> I think.  And I think that relationship needs to stay that way 
because Harry
> needs Hermione as a friend.  Harry needs Ron as his best buddy, but 
he needs
> Hermione as a friend even more.  She understands what it's like to 
be
> Muggle-raised and to have no idea of the wizarding world.  She 
stands in as
> his source of knowledge -- if he figured everything out on his own, 
it
> wouldn't be nearly as convincing a story.  In fact, he'd be a bit 
of a prat.
> (I really love the British language!  Let's all use prat and git on 
an
> everyday basis!)  Hermione is also the voice of reason and logic for
> Harry -- he turns to her for advice because she's smart and level 
headed and
> has always guided him well, not because of some unrecognized urge 
to make
> out with her.
> 
> And finally, when Katie Couric asked JKR if Harry and Hermione were 
going to
> have a romantic relationship, JKR's face crumpled up and she 
said "Really?
> You think so?  I see Hermione with Ron, not Harry."
> 
> Frankly, I think Harry's likely to hook up with Luna than with 
Hermionie.
> 
> Deirdre
> Eight of Eight

Cressida replies:

Actually I had an amusing moment when I read H/H and thought it meant 
Harry/Hagrid! 

Bravo Deidre, I couldn't agree more with what you have written on 
Harry and Hermione. Hermione is Harry's friend as is Ron although 
each of Harry's friends fulfil subtly different needs for him and 
perhaps this is what people interpret as a romance between Harry and 
Hermione as he treats her in a different way to Ron.

My theory as to Luna is that she is written into the plot as much as 
anything to contrast with Hermione as the two are diametrically 
opposed. Again I see no romance between the two of them but I think 
the real purpose of Luna is to open Harry's eyes to the possibility 
of the absurd and to the benefits of lateral thinking rather than 
Hermione's dogmatic book regurgitation as an answer to all problems.

As for romantic partnership I think that we need to consider the plot 
and it's direction as a whole rather than to keep concentrating and 
tirsomely disecting every nuance. Apart from the fact that as 
personalities Harry and Hermione are kippers and custard rather than 
yin and yang their romance would contribute nothing to the plot. I 
also, if JKR were working up to a romance between Harry and Hermione 
then they wouldn't be spending casual time together in book 5 they 
would be either awkward together and blushing or purposefully not 
being written together so we didn't get the hint.

I note that recently in a poll at a committed H/Hr site that H/Hr
was acknowledged to be the most cliched ship. Whatever your views on 
the matter you have to admit that JKR would try very hard to avoid 
falling in to that most obvious of traps hero gets main female 
character. I sincerely hope that she has something a little more 
surprising up her sleeve than that old chestnut.