Dallas Theory - Shipping

[kate885]

No: HPFGUIDX 133349

(Long time lurker lured out from under a rock by all the nifty HBP 
theories)

I do 'ship both H/G and R/Hr, but that's not why I'm
responding- it's just that I feel that the "It's a Love
Potion Thing" Theory makes little sense.

Neil wrote:
(snipped lots)
>I think the potion is much more powerful than Slughorn realizes and
>that from this point on, all three will be affected, but only if 
>they come in contact with one of the scents they smelled.

Kate now:
Considering that Slughorn seems to be more than a dab hand at potion-
making, the first point seems a bit far-fetched. Haven't all the 
potions we've seen in HP so far needed to be drunk or applied to
the skin to experience their effects? And, as far as the smell goes, 
considering that each smells differently to each person, depending 
on their own previously formed preferences, the last point makes no 
sense at all. Did Harry not enjoy the smell of wood before he 
smelled the potion, or Hermione fresh-cut grass? The potion seems to 
have no effect whatsoever on the preferences of the one smelling it; 
the preference is already there.

Neil wrote:
>We as readers are accustomed to potions that wear off quickly. To
>accept this theory you must be willing to accept that this potion
>lasts months perhaps forever if not canceled out.

Kate now:
Sorry, nope. Slughorn may be, well, rather impressed with class and 
influence, but he's not an idiot unqualified for his position,
and in order for this theory to work, he would have to be 
exceptionally thick.

Neil wrote:
>The first example of Hermione greatly out of character is when she
>helps Ron to make the Quidditch. Hermione does not cheat and would
>probably feel Ron better off with the extra study time.

Kate now:
Actually, Hermione helped Ron and Harry out quite a bit in previous 
books; in fact, she completely re-worked one of Ron and Harry's 
Astronomy essays in OotP, a profound departure from her normal 
nagging, after Ron receives the "Harry is a Crazy, Attention-Seeking 
Git" letter from Percy:

"Hermione was looking at Ron with an odd look on her face.
'Oh, give them here,' she said abruptly.
'What?' said Ron.
'Give them to me, I'll look through them and correct them,' she 
said."
Chapter 14, OotP (page 268, British paperback ed.)

While I agree that the Confundus charm was unusual behavior for 
Hermione, so was the example I just cited. Hermione has a bit of a 
soft spot for Ron. Saying that she was acting 'out of character' is 
a bit strong, IMHO. Her behavior is just as easily explained by her 
obvious crush on Ron, as well as her age. Sometimes a crush is just 
a crush.

Neil wrote:
>Now over night Harry gets the hots for Ginny and Ron, who supposedly
>loves Hermione, starts kissing sessions with Lavender Brown. I don't
>know what either smells like at the present time, but I'm sure at
>some point Harry refers to Ginny smelling like flowers at the 
>Burrow.

Kate now:
Harry's reaction to Ginny can most easily explained by the fact
that he is now a sixteen year-old boy. Ron's behavior makes perfect 
sense in a sixteen year-old boy fashion as well, as he was quite 
upset by Ginny's revelation regarding Hermione's kiss with Krum. 
Jealousy, thy name is Ron (and Hermione!). And regarding the last 
bit, I believe that Harry noticing that the smell from the Burrow 
that he found so enticing was Ginny's smell was just a subconscious 
clue that he found her appealing, as I believe that the potion's 
action was simply to smell like things the smeller already found 
attractive.


Neil wrote:
>If this was all love potion than ships remain as they were in book
>5. Nothing gained, nothing lost. H/G most certainly isn't ruled
>out; actually if it is to happen, it will now seem more believeable.
>The big point to me is that if they were under the influence of a
>potion then the shipping was not written poorly, but instead, 
>exactly as it should have been. Also, we have a reason why are 
>characters were at times acting out of character. The trio was all 
>under the influence of the potion.

Kate now:
I don't see the way the 'ships (R/Hr and H/G) were portrayed in
HBP to be poorly written at all, nor did the characters seem "out of 
character" to me. Actually, I found them to be quite realistic, 
almost painfully so. Haven't many of us (especially in our teenage 
years) had relationships that began much the same way, suddenly 
realizing what was under our noses, like Harry, or flailing toward a 
lover by using our jealousy like a weapon, like poor Hermione and 
Won-Won?

I honestly feel that the use of the love-potions in HBP was comic-
relief, instead of fodder for conspiracy theories. I really feel 
that if JKR used the Dallas theory it would be more clichéd than
the way the romance is currently portrayed, and not nearly as 
emotionally honest

~~Kate (mnkmurphy885)