To still be annoyed that Hermione married Ron?

[ThomasRichard]

I know, the last book came out years ago, but I’m re-reading them now with DS and it’s got me annoyed all over again. He’s a mediocre, sulky man-child, while she’s a brilliantly talented witch. Why would she ever marry him?!

I feel it is a quality mark of great story telling / character building when people argue over what is realistic and what is not from matrimonial perspective in a book about wizards, goblins and dragons.

I am more upset about Harry / Ginny pairing.

Harry's SO is tough to find. I think there just never was someone deserving for him. I don't even know what type of character he'd be into.
I thought that Harry might be so sick of the wizarding world that he married a muggle woman. Very good looking and kind/patient/understanding, but with Aunt Petunia's voice occasionally cutting through when he is late from job or whatever. In parallel a series of flings with witches, he is a celebrity after all.

@meteorgarden can you tell me what fanfic that was? I got VERY interested in one called 'Green girl' which is seeing what would have happened if the brains of the Golden Trio was sorted into Slytherin instead!

She did end up translating The Tales of Beedle the Bard from the original, apparently. And perhaps she thought that the best way of effecting the changes to house elf rights and pro-pureblood laws was to go into politics and do it herself? Who knows. I find that fictional characters don’t often act the way we want them to!!

Woo Hoo! An HP thread. I've just finished re-reading all 7 books, and I'll tell you, what you pick up from the characters at 37 is so different to what you pick up at 20 (first time I read them).

I really don't get the Ron/Hermione relationship. It only makes sense from the level that she likes to seem in charge and the smartest person in the room. I suppose he also had a way of making her think outside the box, as she's a very in the box thinker.

As for Snape. I love Snape. He makes the books. I want the whole damned series to be re-written from Snape's point of view.

I don't understand those who go on about him bullying the students. I think there may be a generation gap thing there, because I had several teachers like that growing up and would never have called it bullying. The strict, sarcastic, ass-holeish ones were generally the ones that got the best results, and had the most (begrudging) respect from students. He particularly reminds me of a teacher I had that everyone called "Peckerhead" because he was such an arsehole. However, I wouldn't be in the career I'm in today if he hadn't pushed me to achieve the grades he knew I could get. I owe him a lot.

The problem with Snape is that we really only see him (with the exception of the beginning of HBP when he does the unbreakable vow with Narcissa) from Harry's point of view, and Harry is a horrible judge of character. Like, really, truly bad.

The thing I noticed particularly with this read through is that Snape is hardest on the students who end up becoming the most targeted by the Death Eaters. And really, he would have known who would have been potential targets in the future. Neville Longbottom had a target on his back five miles wide because of who his parents were. He had to get brave and he had to get talented and he had to do it quick. Being nice and kind (and how weird would a nice and kind Snape have been) didn't really seem to work with Neville, he did best when pushed (as evidenced by the fact that he got an Exceed Expectations in Potions, but only an Acceptable in Transfiguration, perhaps because McGonagall didn't push him hard enough, because as we see later, it certainly had nothing to do with talent).

As for "favoring" Slytherins. In my day favoring meant giving a student higher grades than they deserve so they could stay on the football team, or letting them skip class. Basically not requiring them to learn anything, but float by. Snape definitely does this with Slytherins. But think about it. He's just graduated an entire generation of baby Death Eaters with only a bare minimum understanding of a very important area of expertise. He's basically screwing over Voldemorts future army.

JK wrote the ending well before she had completed the last few books and kept it securely locked away. It shows - it's neither very well-written, nor does it make complete sense, so I usually skip it.

Ron/ Hermione should have been a romance born out of shared trauma, but later on Hermione would have been dissatisfied with having to provide Ron's creature comforts while Ron would still have lived in someone else's shadow. Once the trauma had worn off a bit, both would have realised they're not made for each other and split up among their many arguments. Ron would then have gone off with a Hufflepuff while Hermione would have ended up with a Ravenclaw. She was a bit like McGonagall in that the sorting hat was choosing hard between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor anyway.

Harry and Ginny - I can see that working well, but only with the book characters.

Hogwarts professors are all single like old-style teachers were expected to be. Dumbledore never loved again after Grindelwald. McGonagall lost her husband early on in life. None of the DADA teachers were in relationships and the others were either too old or too weird to really pull. So Neville would likely have ended up single, too - a shame, as he bacame quite a catch from HBP onwards.

Luna would eventually have found someone into research like her, but with a more grounded side to him. The complete outsider from the story might work well.

Interesting that someone mentioned Hermione's parents. As far as I am aware, damage done by magic can never be reversed - it's why Lockheart was confined to St Mungo's forever. So how could she have reversed the spell?

I think Molly ended up even more paranoid about her children after the death of Fred, so she would have been an overbearing nightmare of a MIL.

Draco was disgraced by the time DH ended. He shoud have become a loner and probably quite bitter as his riches and comforts entirely depended on his parents' money. Quite possibly he woukd have ended up a drunk - I always imagined Lucius to go that way, too.

Snape... he was consumed by bitterness. I know Alan Rickman made him into a kind of weird sex symbol, but no - even Rowling said that she never intended for him to go that way; his bitterness just made him a cruel person. Yes, he was tragically in love, but he was also almost stalking Lily throughout their childhood and had no issues allowing James and Harry to be killed for his own greed and desires. He didn't reform, he hated Harry because he hated James and the only thing he cared about were Harry's eyes to allow his obsession with Lily to carry on and fuel his bitterness. A bit of a masochitic move, really - maybe punishment for what he had done. Killing him off was the kindest thing she could have done for him; he would never have been happy with any other woman and if he and Hermione had ever got off together he'd have turned into his wife-abusing father.

Sorry, I am very over-invested. To the point I refuse to read CC - I've only read the bit with the trolley lady and it was enough to put me off the entire play.

We are definitely past the statute of limitations for HP spoilers.

Ha! On almost every movie, book, TV series thread no matter how old, someone will moan about spoilers. I always keep my eyes open for it.

I suppose he also had a way of making her think outside the box, as she's a very in the box thinker.
She's actually the only one from the trio to make right and unorthodox decisions, even under extreme pressure. Lovegoods' house escape, Gringotts escape, stinging Harry's face so he cannot be immediately identified by the hunters, jinxing the DA list, DA's galleon communication system (I remember details well only from the later books).

When did Ron show an ability to think at all?

silvercuckoo True. I was thinking more of her memorization of books. She was certainly cleverer then either Harry or Ron, and really, given both of the boys hormonal angst and tendency to turn into stroppy drama queens, I'm not sure why she stayed friends with them.

I honestly don't see how a Ron/Hermione relationship would last. Now Hermione and one of the twins....hmmm....

Those saying that the trauma would bond them together...I feel trauma like that would initially bring them together but the resulting ptsd would drive them all apart. They would probably end up moving away and at least one or two would develop a drink problem or some other addiction problem. Their future lives would be chaotic, abusive and probably very sad. They'd block their friends from memory because of the horrific flashbacks. If ron and hermione did get together it'd be to both their detriment, a toxic and turbulent relationship where neither can heal properly. Years down the line, Hermione would possibly come out best being level headed, she'd probably sort out some counselling for herself. Somebody would kill themselves, maybe ron or harry, in their 40s/50s.
But I appreciate that is the bleakest of possible outcomes and not really suitable for children.

I think they're a good match actually. He doesn't mind that she outshines him intellectually and admired her for it. He is a calming influence on her who will remind her to eat and sleep when she's mid research and make sure she gets outside sometimes.

They balance each other.

I know a couple who are similar irl - she's driven and he's laid back but not in bad way. Everyone thought they were a bad match but 10 years and 3 kids later they are still happily married.

I’m with you OP - all the way. Totally unrealistic.

Neville ended up marrying Hannah Abbott, actually.
Hermione didn’t “damage” her parents, she modified their memories. As she’s a skilled witch, she wouldn’t have messed up. Lockhart was good at Memory Charms (which is how he could so easily profit off others’ success), but he was using a broken wand, which is why the spell spectacularly backfired.

I did read CC. I regret doing so, it was utter shit.

Why did she have to end up marrying anybody?

toffee this is about what should have happened. Going by precedent, Neville would have ended up single, as teaching at Hogwarts would have made him so. All the teachers are live-in, so none would have been able to keep a family there (unless it got thoroughly modernised).

Lockhart also damaged Harry's arm in that book by accident. It still got reversed. Rowling has never been entirely clear on what constitutes magical damage and what doesn't. So on that one I'm willing to accept Hermione may have been able to regain her parents.

I wonder what happened to the 1996/7 generation of muggle-born witches and wizards, who would have been denied education at Hogwarts that year.

Hermione and Professor Lupin
Hermione and Fleur from Beaux Batons
Hermione as an unmarried single mum

Never got Ron either.

Luna would eventually have found someone into research like her, but with a more grounded side to him. The complete outsider from the story might work well.

According to Pottermore she ended up with a Scamander. Which I can totally see if said Scamander was anything like Newt.

Can’t believe I’m posting on a HP thread, but here we are ...

The thing I found most unbelievable / poorly thought through (!) was that everybody seemed to settle down very early in life. It was all tied up very neatly and done and dusted. In reality (!) Hermoine would have been off to some faraway university, and probably done a fair chunk of travel to ‘find herself’ and pursue her intellectual interests. I can see Ron hitting the backpacking trail too, to figure out what he wants to do with his life.
If they did get together it would be quite some time later, after a significant amount of wild-oat-sowing.

Hermione and Professor Lupin

NO! Hermione needed someone with a backbone!

If anyone is basing the relationships of characters on the films, there's your problem. The films sucked. Not even just from a book to film perspective, they were just atrocious films that no one will admit to because it's harry Potter.

But ron was whiny in the 7th book for a reason. He had the horcrux on a lot of the time. Harry had been starved by the Dursleys, so starvation was nothing new to him. And hermione barely coped, she became irritable according to harry. But with ron, the horcrux was torturing him about harry and hermione, telling him that hermione will leave him for harry, that he's always second best even to his own mother. If you got told for months on end that the person you loved preferred your best friend, that your mum didn't like you and you were also starving, you'd be cranky too.

See, I did see Hermione and Ron, manly because I can see she would want someone to be in 'support' role, rather than competition. She didn't like dealing with Alpha boys. He would constaintly act like he was lucky to have her, whereas many of the others might act like she was lucky to have him.

She needed to be the brightest in the room and agree, she'd want a househusband!

I have thought about starting this thread so many times! He’s such a twunt! Especially when he moons around after Fleur De La Cour all term and expects Hermione to have no date to the formal

That said, I’ve just watched the first movie and he’s pretty good at wizards chess... for a twunt . He also sacrifices himself for harry and the greater good in that one, so not all bad. I really wish JK Rowling had written the ending differently though. I think Harry should have ended up with Cho too (controversial I know). Maybe Hermione could have ended up with Ginny. She’s the best Weasley imo.

He would constaintly act like he was lucky to have her, whereas many of the others might act like she was lucky to have him.

He didn’t though - he thought she was a bit of a loser who couldn’t find a date, while he chased after the hottest witch in all three schools in the triwizard tournament !

Not that I’m overinvested .

I agree Hermione and Ron was a good fit. They both still had a lot of growing up to do post book 7 though.

I disagree that Hermione needed to be the “brightest in the room”. Sure, she worked hard at exams and wanted to do well but she read extensively and was knowledgeable about various topics for knowledge’s sake. She was top of exams but I can’t remember reading that her motivation was to be top.

Which alpha boys didn’t she like being with? Draco is entitled but not smart, his father admonishes him for not doing well in his exams in COS.

She had an enquiring mind that wasn’t just for school hours and I doubt she’d come home and read Witch Weekly in her downtime. Whereas Ron wasn’t remotely bookish or intellectually curious and I think she’d outgrow him.