Courtly love in Potterverse WAS: What triggered ancient magic

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 187152

Carol earlier:
>  But I'm pretty sure that Hermione's otter Patronus represents Ron (weasel/otter/mustelid family) and his Jack Russell terrier represents Hermione.
> 
> Potioncat:
> I was going to jump in and agree with all the part that I snipped, (and still agree with) but Pippin has since restated the opinion which also makes perfect sense to me. Also agree with the otter Patronus representing Ron.
> 
> But I am curious, why do you think the Jack Russell represents Hermione? I could understand his Patronus form representing Hermione, but I thought the Jack Russell had more in common with Fred and George.

Carol responds:

I can't see Fred or George representing Ron's idea of happiness. If my theory that the Patronus often symbolizes a loved person, Ron's could, I suppose, represent his mother, but more likely, it would be Harry or Hermione. And since hers apparently represents him (his best, most playful side), I think his would represent her just out of fairness and parallelism--not to mention that he loved her long time before he realized it, and her intellect got him out of trouble as far back as SS/PS when she figured out how to deal with the Devil's Snare.

At any rate, here's a description of Jack Russell terrier characteristics that I think fits Hermione pretty well:

"The Jack Russell is a happy, bold, energetic dog; they are extremely loyal, intelligent and assertive. Their greatest attribute is their working ability, closely followed by their excellent qualities as a companion."

Now, granted, some of these traits are more applicable than others (for example, she's not notably happy though only really unhappy when Ron is acting jealous or obnoxious), but I don't think we can question her intelligence or her loyalty, and she's certainly assertive when she's seeking revenge! She works hard and she's an excellent companion, as she shows especially in DH. Which means that, like Sirius Black, she has certain traits of man's best friend--and JKR's favorite dog breed in particular. (Thank goodness, unlike Sirius, she doesn't have a barklike laugh!)

Of course, just as the otter is JKR's favorite animal, the Jack Russell terrier is her favorite dog, so there may be no more to it than that! :-)

Carol, thinking that Snape's Patronus must always have been Doe!Lily rather than mutating into her as Tonks's original Patronus mutated into Werewolf!Lupin (Moony)