SHIP Krum's Role (was SHIP Luna.)

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 106117

Halli:"I'm not trying to kill anyones visions of a "happy ending" or
anything, but somehow I don't see these books as romantic as some of
you... I'm not entirely sure that everyone is going to pair off in the
end and get married or whatever... I mean, this is more of a subplot
than anything isn't it? Why such a big deal? I'm sure that the stories
will be just as good if theres no sappy "I just realized! I love you
Harry!" "Wow! /I/ just realized I love Luna!" "Oh how perfect that we
all have someone to love now that VM is defeated!..."

Actually, you make more sense than most of us, but what fun would it
be to argue about their future angst?  The potential romantic pairings
are insights into how we see the characters.  They're all so real to
us we want to see them all happy, as we would our friends.  How the
heck else can we go on about the nascent love lives of fictional
people?  In other words, Halli, in the words of David Byrne and the
Talking Heads, stop making sense.

To me, Rowling's greatest creations are the characters she's given us,
including maybe the most fully realized children in literature in a
long time.  I want to understand each one of them as best I can, get
under their skins and into their minds and hearts.  

Another thing that makes romance such a hot topic here is that the
books are so much about love. It's always been there, between the
characters and flowing (or conspicuously not flowing) from adults. 
When most kids here the word "love" they only think about romance, but
they're reading about several kinds of love here.  I've talked to my
daughters about the bonds between the characters, especially now that
Dumbledore brought love out into the open at the end of OoP.  I've
also talked about Harry's emerging bond towards all the people around
him, the ones who are beginning to follow him.

Why do you make sense? As far as Harry goes, if he survives – and I
think he will – he's going to be damaged goods for at least a while. 
He's going to be beat to hell before it's done, he will have seen
people he loves die, and he will not be in the mood for wooing for a
while at least.  The other main characters will also have been through
a lot (again, the ones who live though it at all).  Love and long term
relationships are very tough after experiences like that.

But that's in the future, and in the meantime we debate romance.
Besides, like I said at the top, we enjoy it.

Jim Ferer