Unlikeable Hermione wasRe: Chapter 18: Dumbledore's Army

[Meredith]

No: HPFGUIDX 99351


> Amy:
> Proposition: Hermione, by fretting about the restlessness and
> recklessness that will in fact do Sirius in, is shaping up into an
> insufferable know-it-all and JKR had better bring her down a peg or
> two or we'll really hate her (Hermione, not JKR) before the series
> is over. Discuss.
> 
Adi:
>  I think so. By far, Hermione is least likeable in this novel. 
Come 
> to think of it, even Ron is. When I first read it I thought, JKR 
was 
> making an attempt to focus attention solely on Harry. In fact, 
Harry 
> for the first time outshines the other two in the attention-
grabbing 
> quotient. Whereas the other two and the other characters as well, 
> constantly manage to take the shine away from Harry in the 
previous 
> novels, I find Harry and only him grabbing attention in this one. 

<snip> 


Luckie:
Oh, how quickly we forget how truly annoying Hermione was in SS/PS - 
mostly as a cover, I believe, for her insecurities and lack of 
friends. But back to my point - how often have we known Hermione to 
be wrong? OK, significantly wrong? Everyone was wrong about Snape in 
SS/PS, but in CoS Hermione figured out the Basilisk and the pipes. 
In PoA she knew Lupin was a werewolf when no one else did. And she 
WAS correct that Sirius and Harry's rashness would lead to danger. 
Harry does have a helping-people-thing. If you were consistently 
right for 5 years and your two best friends simply rolled their eyes 
and ignored you advice, I don't think you'd become more timid in you 
suggestions.




Adi again:
But it's only Harry who is so manly and heroic and the 
> other youngsters look, well, somewhat sheepish beside him whereas 
> they all looked equal before. I suspect this will become the norm 
in 
> the next two novels. Because Harry is destined for something very 
big 
> he has to grow in stature to achieve that. And unless Hermione and 
> Ron can share a significant responsibilty in that destiny, not 
just 
> help him in the sidelines, they risk to be overshadowed by Harry.

Luckie:
But they've ALWAYS been overshadowed by Harry. Harry always has to 
do things alone. In SS/PS, he had to go on alone. In CoS, he had to 
leave Ron behind. In PoA, he produced the Patronus without Hermione. 
In GoF, he was utterly alone. In OotP he was basically alone when he 
was occupied by Voldy - fighting a mental as well as physical war 
with the Dark Lord. Harry is the boy who lived, Ron has always been 
the 6th weasley kid, and Hermione is a m*dblood with good grades. 
Yes, we've seen Ron's jealousy in GoF, but Hermione knows Harry 
can't help who he is and knows that being overshadowed come with the 
territory. Besides, she's the one who helps the boy-who-lived pass 
history of magic.

Shippers should also have a field day with this. Is Hermione 
becoming "more annoying" because she is MORE worried about Harry 
than she has been, or *should* be? Hey, it appears that hormones 
have gotten the best of Harry, so why not PMSing!Hermione and 
hormoneridden!Ron as well? If anything annoyed me about Hermione in 
OotP and GoF (and that's a big if) it's her tendency to be a little 
more mother hen-like fussy, a la Molly Weasley, not know-it-all 
bossy. We've always known Hermione was a know-it-all, and she's been 
called on it before (by Snape, mostly). But her bravery and 
friendship far exceeds that. Besides, there are worse faults - 
actually, we know lots of people with worse faults, don't we?


~ Luckie, who's a devil's advocate, not a H/Hr shipper.