[HPforGrownups] SHIP: "A Little Romance"

[Laura Ingalls Huntley]

No: HPFGUIDX 127823

mfterman:
> Harry/Hermione strikes me as one of those situations where they say "I
> like that boy, and I like that girl, wouldn't it be nice if they got
> together as a couple?" without actually thinking of whether they would
> actually work it out.

Trust me, we've worked it out.  ^_~

> Often people identify with one of the characters
> and want them to end up with the other major character who they like
> and so they push it as well.

Yeah, and H/Hr's have all sorts of dismissive explanations for SHIPping 
R/Hr, as well.  Generally, I find that there are few cut-and-dried 
explanations for why anyone prefers a certain SHIP.  Personally, I 
suspect it all has to do with one's personality and what one expects a 
good relationship to be like.

> We'll see. I tend to think it's going to be Ginny because of events in
> OotP. Ginny is the one person who has on two separate occasions pulled
> Harry out of a very dark mood indeed.

And Hermione never supports Harry when he's depressed?  I'm not saying 
that Hermione gets sole credit for helping Harry emotionally, by any 
means, but I don't think *any* of the other characters should get more 
credit than her and Ron.  Luna gets extra props for helping him out in 
what was probably the *worst* mood he's ever had, when no one else 
could (although Ron wouldn't let Hermione even *try*).

> She even got him to apologize
> for his bad behavior one of the times. She's very good at dealing with
> Harry in a dark mood and she understands him better than anyone else,
> due to her own experiences with Riddle's diary.

Actually, Ginny -- along with EVERYONE else at Grimmauld Place, 
including Ron -- just let Harry stew alone for days thinking that he 
was crazy and possibly evil.  It's *Hermione* who, not moments after 
arriving (there's still snow in her hair), marches up to where he's 
hiding and convinces him to come talk to his friends.

Also, I'd just like to point out, Ginny's "experiences" are nothing at 
all like Harry's, and her description of possession (at least the way 
the mature Voldemort does it) is Dead Wrong.  I suspect the only reason 
Hermione let her get away with this glaring error is the fact that it 
was an error that nevertheless "proved" to Harry that he was not being 
possessed.

Additionally, if you go back and reread the relevant chapters, it's 
pretty obvious that Hermione's not exactly being truthful about the 
reason she came back (piffle, oh, I don't really like skiing) -- I 
think someone (probably Ron) wrote a letter explaining the situation 
and asking her to come help.

> Luna is a dark horse, but I think she's been more introduced to be
> something of an oracle and comic relief, as well as a foil for 
> Hermione.

Luna and Hermione are much like two sides of the same coin.  I enjoy 
both characters very a lot, and hope that they will learn to enjoy and 
learn from each other in the next two books. ^_^

Laura