Ron and Hermione in Deathly Hallows

[bookworm857158367]

No: HPFGUIDX 172463

Ron and Hermione made me believe they were in love in this book, 
even more than Harry and Ginny or Tonks and Lupin. Ron has grown up 
enough to know what he wants and needs. It was fun to see him 
putting the tips he got from the book on how to charm witches to 
profitable use with Hermione. If not for the locket giving rise to 
his insecurities, I don't think he would have left. The scenes where 
he battles Riddle's insinuations and finally triumphs over them 
shows as much bravery as anything in the book. Even more touching 
was the scene where he begged Bellatrix to take him instead when she 
began to torture Hermione and when he went crazy trying to get out 
of the dungeon when he heard Hermione screaming. 

Hermione's tears when he left and her rage when he returned were 
both realistic, as was the way Ron handled them. He's familiar with 
strong women who nag the ones they love and enjoy a good debate. He 
was handling her exactly the way his father probably handles his 
mother after one of her rages. He'll let Hermione know when he's had 
enough, but most of the time he'll give as good as he gets and be 
both amused and turned on by their battles. Harry's instinct was to 
put a Shield Charm between them, but he probably should have left 
them to work it out on their own. They would have had more fun 
fighting it out and then making up. Harry hates conflict; Ron and 
Hermione thrive on it. How appropriate it was that Hermione finally 
kissed Ron when he expressed concern for the house elves.

I was thrilled with the people these two characters have grown into 
and really enjoyed getting a glimpse of what their family life is 
like. Hermione probably knows darned well that Ron Confunded the 
driver's license examiner, but she's letting it slide. They must be 
living in a Muggle community. Maybe Ron's a Muggle liaison for the 
Ministry of Magic like his dad. Hermione has probably written a 
couple of history of magic books in between lobbying for better 
treatment of goblins and house elves. It's nice to think of them 
with their Rosie and Hugo. I picture Rosie with bushy red hair and a 
ton of freckles. She'll never wear braces because Hermione will have 
fixed her buck teeth magically. She'll probably fall for Scorpius 
Malfoy (I bet he'll turn out to be the family black sheep and will 
end up in Gryffindor.) The nice thing about the epilogue is that 
there's still room for speculation.