Relationships

[lunamk03]

No: HPFGUIDX 132390

Luna here:

And what has Jo told us about romantic relationships?

We can divide Jo's quotes in before and after she realized that H/H
and R/H tribes existed and that they were very scary indeed. Some of
their members have even threatened to stop reading the books if their
respective ships sink! Kind of scary, isn't it? ;-) So no wonder why
she stopped giving straight forward answers as she used to before,
when she was inocent and carefree... She also enjoys the discussions!

Now, let's have a look at her quotes. You will see that her answers
are very coherent and that they follow, invariably, the same line... 

I am including only those quotes that refer directly to shipping
matters or where she was directly asked about the shippy aspects of
the books. The quotes appear in chronological order.
Now, here we go:

Quote 1:
Transcript of National Press Club author's luncheon, NPR Radio,
October 20, 1999: J.K. Rowlingquestion22: Nah ... don't like that
one.[2] Oh I like this one: "Do Harry and Hermione have a date?"
JKR: No! They're, they're very platonic friends. But I won't answer
for anyone else, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. ()

Quote 2
Davies, Frank. "Joanne Kathleen Rowling, creator of the Harry Potter,"
Sunday Gazette-Mail (Charleston, SC), 14 November 1999:
In a scene befitting a rock star or sports hero, Rowling was besieged
by young fans at the Press Club, part of a two-week U.S. tour. She
signed more than 400 books, and displayed an impish humor and
no-nonsense style in answering questions from children and their
parents: (...)
On whether Harry and his friend Hermione will have a date when they
get older: "No, but I won't answer for anyone else - nudge, nudge,
wink, wink."

Comment: She already stated the nature of Harry and hermione's
friendship. They are **very** platonic friends.

Quote 3
20 October, 2000 On Friday, October 20th, Barnes & Noble.com and Yahoo! 
  ...sammyohyeah asks: Is it just me, or was something going on
between Ron and Hermione during the last half of GOF? I love your
books, btw, and two of them...
  ...jkrowling_bn: yes, something's 'going on'... jkrowling_bn: but
Ron doesn't realise it yet...

Comment: Now that she already stated the platonic nature of Harry and
Hermione's friendship, she does confirm that something is going on
between Ron and Hermione. This detail is important because when asked
about whom Hermione loves, she said that the answer was in GOF (see
quote 6 ), and we know that something was indeed going on between her
and Ron in GOF, JKR confirmed it...

Quote 4
Online chat transcript, Scholastic.com, 3 February 2000
Is Harry Potter ever going to fall in love with Hermione or is he
going to fall in love with Ginny Weasley?
Jo: In Book IV Harry does decide he likes a girl, but it's not
Hermione or Ginny. However, he's only 14, so there's plenty of time
for him to change his mind. ;-) 

Comment: This is Ginny time! As she already stated that Harry and
Hermione are just very platonic friends and that Ron and Hermione have
something going on, it is safe to infere that he will be changing his
mind about Ginny. 


Quote 5
>From a BBC chat with JK Rowling, March 12, 2001)
Q: Does Hermione like Ron as more than a friend?
A: The answer to that is in Goblet of Fire! –

Comment: see quote 3's comment

Quote 6
Couric, Katie. Interview with J.K. Rowling. Dateline NBC, 20 June 2003
Couric: "Any snogging with Hermione?"
Rowling: (slight frown) "Hermione and Harry! Do you think so?"
Couric: "No I'm kidding. 
Rowling: "Ron and Hermione, I would say, have more potential (or did
she say "tension") there" (A/N: I know this is a crucial sentence, but
I had some trouble understanding her here— she mumbles the sentence a
little. This is my best interpretation! Either way, R/H shippers
around the world are grinning!)

Comment: here she is confirming that Ron and Hermione's tension in the
book has actually a romantic nature, also she is implying the platonic
nature of Harry and Hermione's friendship as they are not the ones
with potential to kissing.   

Quote 7
Interview with Steve Kloves and J.K. Rowling, February 2003.
Lizo: In this movie we've seen the kids develop from the first film,
can you tell us about the relationship between Harry, Ron, and
Hermione and how that is developing film by film?
JKR: Well I think it is developing in the films as it does in the
books, which is to say that they are, they're much stronger together
than apart. They're much more aware, in the second film, of their
particular strengths. So they're more effective, the children are able
to do more complex things, for example the Polyjuice Potion. And also
Chris in the second film has kind of foreshadowed what I don't do
until the fourth book, which is that you get hints of certain feelings
between the three of them, that belong to a sort of slightly more
mature person.

Comment: the key word here is CHRIS, now what is Chris exactly
foreshadowing in CS's film. Let's ask him:

Quote 8
(On being asked whether the handshake at the end of the CoS movie was
foreshadowing events to come with Ron and Hermione)
"It is foreshadowing, yeah. I just love the idea that the two of them,
that there's an impending crush. And it's such a real thing for kids
at that age. For instance, I asked Emma to hug Dan, and she said, 'No
way,' and that was the day she was the most nervous being on the set.
She was like, 'I am not going to hug him, no I'm not.' And I said,
'You've been petrified, this is one of your best friends, if not your
best friend, you have to hug him,' I said, 'but you won't hug Ron,
because that's where the tension is." -- From Q&A session with Chris
Columbus at the CoS press junket
In Chamber of Secrets, the romance between Hermione and Ron begins to
blossom — but just slightly. The set itself was more randy, and
hormones sometimes raged among the large cast of pubescent actors and
extras. Columbus says, "The problem I had in the Great Hall on one of
the days was, a lot of notes were being passed back and forth — he
likes her, she likes him. Finally, I said, 'Guys, this is not a
romance school.'" -- From a TIME Europe interview with Chris Columbus

Comment:
Yes, in GOF we see Ron and Hermione's tension get to a peak, and we
also see Harry having a crush on Cho, but we don't see Harry
developing more than platonic feelings for Hermione or the other way
around...

Extra quotes:

Red Nose Day Chat, BBC Online, March 12, 2001 Transcription courtesy
of The Harry Potter Galleries. How do you choose the names for your
books? JKR: W...
  ...Will Harry ever notice the long-suffering Ginny Weasley? JKR:
You'll see... poor Ginny, eh?..

Does Hermione love Ron or Harry?
I can't believe that some of you haven't worked this one out yet, but
I'm not going to answer because that would spoil the arguments, which
I enjoy.

Comment: After all the "clues" she has given to us in her interviews,
I just wonder exactly the same...

JK Rowling's World Book Day Chat, March 4, 2004
renata: What happened between Hermione and Viktor krum during the summer?
JK Rowling replies -> Ron would like to know that, too.

Comment: As of March 2004, Ron and Hermione are very much a couple in
Jo's head!

Conclusion:
We can argue all we want about what can we imply from the books... The
thing is that each one of us has interpreted the books in so many
different ways that it is nearly impossible to state a general truth
about what is canon and what is not...
This is also the beauty of this website, we can get to see and debate
other people's interpretation.
On the other hand, if we have the author actually telling us what is
going on in the books and giving us more than hints about the matter,
I think we should hear and read what she has said about the matter.... 

Luna