The Malfoys WAS: Wizarding kids and their parents

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 183961

> > Magpie:
> > There's no canon to indicate that Hermione's parents are going to 
> > picked off, and if Voldemort was after them Hermione herself 
being 
> > safe at the burrow (not that the burrow is particularly safe if 
> > Voldemort decided to show up) would not protect them.  
> > Hermione stays because she wants to be involved with what's going 
on 
> > with her friends. And her estrangement from her parents is not 
just 
> > physical. She's not telling them things that are going on in her
> life  because they "wouldn't understand." 
> 
> Pippin:
> It's only magic she doesn't talk to them about. They probably don't
> talk to her much about dentistry, either. She does talk to them. 

Magpie:
"Magic" is Hermione's life. I didn't indicate that she never spoke to 
them at all, I said she didn't tell them about this central aspect of 
her life. Having read the books I know how central that is to 
Hermione's life and how central all this magic stuff is to her life. 
She tells them about Harry as a friend, which I've never denied. But 
secretly being on the front lines of the magical war is rather a big 
deal when you're 15 and they're your parents. She's living a secret 
life that her parents aren't.

Regardless, even what you're describing is exactly what's in the 
book, that Hermione's got to protect Harry and the stuff she's doing 
in the story. Her parents are a liability and are taken care of as 
such.

Pippin: 
> Hermione has reason enough to be doubtful of the Order's ability to
> protect people -- and even if she didn't, if  the Grangers went into
> hiding as themselves, they would still have had to give up their 
jobs,
> leave their home, and stop seeing their friends, plus they'd be 
living
> under what amounts to house arrest and in constant fear for a 
daughter
> whom they would be unable to help. I doubt they would enjoy that any
> more than Sirius did. It's not a no-brainer, which is why I don't
> think it's at all obvious that Hermione couldn't have asked for 
their
> consent.

Magpie:
Hermione doubts the Order's ability to protect people but thinks her 
plan is so much better? That's certainly in character for Hermione, 
but not so much because she's shown to be so worried about her 
parents. She has a history of not asking people about stuff like this 
and doesn't say that she and her parents talked about anything and I 
don't at all think it's a "no brainer" that her parents would find 
having their entire identity stolen so that they don't even know who 
they are so much more appealing than having to be under protection. 

Not that any of this is necessary anyway because there is no story 
about the Grangers being in danger. In canon it seems like the only 
point to it is to drum up sympathy for Hermione's "sacrifice" showing 
how hard this war is on her. The Granger's situation is just kind of 
funny--oh, they think they're a random couple with a dream to move to 
Australia! Poor Hermione has to deal with she will never get a chance 
to undo the spell if she dies so they won't mourn her. (But then, 
she'd be dead so it's not like she'd be experiencing that.) 
Hermione's situation is presented as tragic and sacrificial, but they 
themselves become one last Muggle joke. If we are supposed to think 
that her parents agreed to this, it's not important enough to mention 
it. The Grangers' feelings about anything have never been important, 
so why would I think it was important now?

Pippin:
> 
>  Anyway, since she's planning to restore her parents' memories once
> the danger is past, it wouldn't make much sense for her to do 
anything
> that would make them loathe her once they found out about it. 

Magpie:
You're assuming Rowling considers this something they would loathe 
her about anyway, and I wouldn't assume that. If she sees it as 
Hermione making some big sacrifice just the way lots of readers do, 
why think Rowling thought it? The idea that they would be upset about 
it isn't even presented in canon. Ron and Harry don't even think to 
ask about what her parents are dealing with.

The Dursleys, meanwhile, get protected by the Order and do just fine. 
Imo, the Grangers just should have been left out like they usually 
were since their pov isn't being presented anyway. 

-m