SHIP: Overflowing opinions (long)

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 97299

SHIPping debates come and go, and I didn't set out to start a new
cycle, but it's as good a time as any.

SHIPping is really kinda indefensible.  What in the world are we doing
debating the romantic futures of fictional teenagers?  It's nuts. 
Discussing the characters and their development is a good thing,
though, and with these characters it easily leads to a debate of how
they pair off.  Besides, it's fun once in a while.

WHERE DO H/H SHIPPERS GET THEIR OPINION?

Not from clues in the text.  The textual clues mostly go the R/H way,
or the Hermione/Viktor way.  My H/H opinion comes from watching the
various characters interact as they grow.  We've watched Hermione and
Harry work closely together, we've seen Hermione's apparent
understanding of Harry grow, some of us believe we've seen their
characters meshing.

TEXT CLUES and, WHAT WOULD YOU THINK IF THEY WERE YOUR FRIENDS?

H/H 'ers have two nice clues, which are as open to interpretation as
any other snippets of text: Harry notices Hermione strongly at the
Yule Ball and Harry's "but you're not ugly!" remark, which is not big
by itself but confirms to my mind that  he's noticed her.

R/H'ers have more clues, but they're not that strong, either.  The
Yule Ball argument; Ron's obvious attraction; and they spend time
together.  We see little in return from Hermione – she still writes to
Viktor, after all.  IMO, that hurts R/H more than H/H because Ron is
supposed to be the incumbent here.

As Melanie said, "I think he has feelings for her because in all
honesty he is the first girl that, to our knowledge, he has ever even
gotten to know. Lots of boys fall for the first girl they get to know.
We know that he has feelings for her, but we DON'T know if Hermione
has feelings for Ron. We don't know that at all actually."

If I was the Trio's friend I think I'd feel the way Melanie does.

HARRY AND GINNY: THE TIME HAS PAST?

It could be past.  Melanie thinks so: "Ginny and Harry won't happen.
It's over, Ginny had a girlish crush on Harry but really they don't
even know each other all that well. And I can't see them taking the
time to get to know each other either, or at least in that way. Ginny
will be like Harry's sister which is how it probably should be in the
end."
Maybe, but we actually don't know how well they know each other – she
might know him better than we realize, and is the fact they have a lot
to earn about each other a barrier? About "not taking the time" to
know each other, that could be a valid point, with the War about to rage.

GINNY AND NEVILLE?

A definite possibility. Neville, the modest, self-effacing hero, has
her respect and esteem.  She went to the Ball with him and respects
him.  Neville is going to be emerging from his shell, I think and
hope; everybody now knows he's got the heart of a lion and always has,
and he may start going after what he wants in life more.  I'm sure
that includes Ginny.  

Franzi and Melanie hope for it. Franzi said, "For Ginny, I hope she
ends up with Neville, who has a huge crush on her. He asked her out to
the Yule Ball and the only reason Neville ends up in Umbridge's office
in OoP is because he tried to stop Draco and Co from taking Ginny. I
thought that was very sweet!
That's why I hope when she realizes how Neville feels
about her she reciprocate his feelings."

It would be really nice to see the nice guy win for once, especially
one as deserving as Neville.

HARRY AND LUNA?

You will never hear a bad thing about Luna pass through these fingers.
 I have a huge soft spot for eccentrics, and Luna's a lovable one.  I
can't see her competing at this stage with the amazing shared
experience and shared thoughts that Harry and Hermione have.  How
about Luna and Ron?  She's interested.

HARRY AND HERMIONE REALLY ARE WELL SUITED

Del said, "Harry and Ginny are converging too. And Hermione and Ron
might be converging too through their arguments. And Hermione and
Viktor must be converging too, or they would have stopped writing to
each other by now."

We see no sign of that.  Many years ago I was converging with a young
lady in the mail right up until she told me she was diverging.  We
don't see Hermione and Ron working together towards common goals
beyond helping Harry, and it doesnt look to me as though their
arguments bring them closer.  Are there any signs that Hermione is
that in tun with Ron?

Who has demonstrated that she knows how to handle the notoriety and
pressure Harry's had to live with? Hermione.  Who's helped him deal
with it? Hermione.

Del also said,  quoting me,"They've changed each other and are more
complete together than  apart."

Del then answered, "The same could be said of Ron and Hermione of
course. Moreover, pretty much anyone is more complete with someone
else than alone. And friends often change each other after a while,
without it meaning anything romantically."

There's a special sense of completion that's at the heart of love for
a couple.  Many people are less with someone else than alone,
depending on the "someone else."

RON AND HERMIONE AREN'T THAT WELL SUITED

What has Ron and Hermione got going for them? Shared experience and
proximity.  The center of and reason for the shared experience is
Harry Potter.

No argument Ron is attracted to Hermione now, but is she what he
really wants in life? (they're 15/16, remember) I see him as an adult
as much like his dad.  He wants a nice family and a wife who loves him
to come home to, have his kids, and be his companion.  That's great
when it's in line with both partners' expectations.  He will not find
happiness with a high-intensity, supercharged intellectually driven
person like Hermione Granger.  He already is rattled by her intensity
sometimes, and it's not going to ease up.  At bottom, Ron's our
example of an ordinary, solid friend. Neither Harry nor Hermione will
ever be ordinary.

Both need an extraordinary partner.

Jim Ferer