sterron

[sterron]

people don't want to be remainded of their flaws. this is so true.

I've seen your post about Ron's positive/underrated traits, one of them being kindness and how if he was a girl, he would be characterised as a caretaker. However, that trait is overlooked by most of the fandom. Do you think the fact that Ron is a boy has something to do with it (since kindness and being caring are generally considered "feminine" virtues and men with "feminine" traits are either overlooked or looked down upon)? If he was a girl, would his love and devotion be appreciated more?

Its a mix. Mostly they are being ignored bcz people don't remember them. Why? Bcz they watch movies/read out of character fanfics more than they read books.

Ron helps Harry to put his pajama on in COS.

Ron wants to make Hagrid tea when Hagrid is upset bcz that's what his mom does.

Ron forces Hermione to eat a decent meal when she is ignoring her dinner for study.

Ron cuts bacons and puts them on Harry's plate when he is hurting from Umbridge's scar.

Now. People don't remember them. Partly bcz they don't read books. Partly bcz they DON'T want to like him. They focus on what they want to see and exaggerate those ten times. They only remember how much abusive he is to Hermione and how he 'betrayed' Harry.

It's same with Ron and Hermione. Its always 'oH hOw mUcH tHeY fIgHt' but never how many times Ron jumps into her defence, how much times she spends time with Ron without Harry, how Hermione apologises to him, him apologises to her, how Hermione stands up against twins for him, how she kisses on his cheek to distract him from the song Malfoy wrote, how she is absolutely devastated when he isn't with her in DH. (They do focus on that scene though. Very much. Just in a different way. They use it to say he 'abandoned' them) how much happy she is when He isn't with lavender anymore, how many times he consoles her effortlessly, how many times he calls her amazing and brillaint. Etc etc

People don't want to love Ron. Bcz

1. He is red head, poor, comes from a working class family, wears hand me down stuff. West romanticizes/sympathizes with the rich. Not with the poor. There's HEAVY classism in the Harry Potter fandom.

2. Most Men see themselves as Harry. Most Women see themselves as Hermione. And they don't exactly want friends of Harry. They want followers. Who would bindly worship and follow him. They want someone who would worship the ground Hermione walks on. Needless to say Ron doesn't do either of those two things. Lmao

3. Women want to bang whatever character they personally fancy and use Hermione as a SI blank slate. So they cant digest Ron as he 'comes in the way' of their fap material fanfics.

4. Ron doesn't have anyone defending him. Whenever Hermione messes up, Hagrid, Luna, the narrative are there to defend her. Heck even Harry defends her once in HBP. When Harry messes up he has the abused orphan card. Plus narrative support and Hermione. Whenever Ron messes up who is there to defend him? If anything narrative doubles down to bash him.

5. Ron's flaws hit home much harder than Harry or Hermione's. Each and everyone atleast once feels jealousy, envy, insecurities in their life. But if you are white, will you understand Malfoy's racism? Or if you aren't an orphan can you understand Harry being self centred? These are superficial flaws. Ron's are REAL flaws. Peoole don't want to be reminded of their flaws.

Ron gets very much injustice from this fandom. People don't value him. Forget about treating him as 1/3rd of the main characters, they don't even give him the minimum respect. Ron's EVERY positive thing is underrated. Each and every. Not only kindness. His flaws are exaggerated, he is bashed, ridiculed, maligned, annihilated. Fandom Ron is an OC. just like fandom Malfoy is an OC.

If he was a girl he would have got Ginny treatment. Ginny gets maligned for coming in the way of Harry ships. Ron would have been treated the same way.

[sterron]

harry doesn’t get why people don’t like him

[sterron]

[sterron]

guys, you know how harry tends to internalise his emotions more but even then, Hermione could see that in GoF he was missing Ron so much? Imagine how much more obvious Ron was 😭. Like Ron unable to shut up about harry while hanging out with Dean and Seamus like "Harry isn't eating breakfast today even though its all his favourite food hos stupid why sint he eating why isn't Hermione making him eat he's so annoying" and Dean and Seamus just nodding along not really listening because Ron is constantly hiding his worry for harry as complains

Then that night when Harry threw that badge at Ron, Ron was definitely asking "why do you think harry is late, he's probs practicing for the tournament how dare he do it without telling me why isn't he sleeping now he needs to sle-" till Dean threw a pillow at Ron and Seamus told him to just check on Harry himself

[sterron]

Let’s talk about the battle in the Department of Mysteries for a sec. So after the group gets split up, Harry, Hermione and Neville go one way and Ron, Ginny and Luna the other. The next time we see the latter group Ginny’s ankle is busted and Ron’s brain is addled. Luna says that the Death Eaters blew up a planet in the planetarium and hit Ron with some sort of hex.

Let’s take a moment to examine that. If the curse that hit the planet had hit any of the kids, they’d be dead. So the Death Eater probably missed, hit the planet ahead of them, injuring Ginny. But here’s the important part: the one who actually gets hit by the hex? Ron.

Why is this important? Because Ron is consistently described throughout the series as tall. Like, every time Harry sees him after the beginning of summer he’s described as having shot up. Again. On the other hand Ginny is described as “the small one” by Bellatrix Lestrange. But Ron is behind her. I don’t know if you know this but tall people can run really fast. I am not particularly fit but I am tall. And I can pour on the speed when my adrenaline’s up, which I have no doubt was the case for everyone in the Department of Mysteries. But he’s behind her.

Because he did that deliberately. He kept his body between the Death Eaters and the girls. He shielded them from their spells. Because those he cares about are more important to him than his own life.

I don’t know, I just think about this a lot.

[sterron]

REMEMBER WHEN RON WEASLEY STAYED AT SCHOOL FOR CHRISTMAS BECAUSE HE KNEW HARRY DIDNT HAVE ANYWHERE TO GO SO HE STAYED WITH HIM EVEN THOUGH HE LITERALLY ONLY KNEW HARRY FOR 3 MONTHS

REMEMBER WHEN RON WEASLEY TOOK A FLYING CAR WHILE HE WAS 12 AND TOOK IT TO A MUGGLE AREA JUST BECAUSE HARRY DIDNT RESPOND TO HIS LETTERS AND HE KNEW ABOUT THE DURSLEYS

REMEMBER WHEN RON WEASLEY STOOD UP ON HIS BROKEN LEG AND TOLD WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS A DEATH EATER AND MASS MURDERER THAT HE’D HAVE TO KILL HIM BEFORE HE COULD TOUCH HARRY

REMEMBER WHEN RON WEASLEY KNEW ABOUT THE DRAGONS IN TRI WIZARD TOURNAMENT AND GOT HAGRID TO TELL HIM EVEN THOUGH HE WAS REALLY MAD AT HIM BECAUSE HE STILL CARED ABOUT HARRYS SAFETY

REMEMBER HOW RON WAS THE THING HARRY WOULD MISS MOST

REMEMBER HOW RON STAYED QUIET EVERY TIME HARRY YELLED AT HIM AND DIDNT EVEN ARGUE BACK EVEN THOUGH HARRY WAS BEING REALLY MEAN AND UNREASONABLE

REMEMBER HOW RON GOT A LETTER FROM HIS OWN BROTHER TELLING HIM TO NOT TALK TO HARRY AND HE WAS DISGUSTED AND CHOSE HARRY OVER PERCY

REMEMBER HOW RON SUPPORTED HARRY WHEN ALMOST NO ONE ELSE DID

REMEMBER HOW RON TOLD HERMIONE TO LEAVE HARRY ALONE WHEN HE WAS MAD BECAUSE HE UNDERSTOOD HOW HARRY FELT SO HE TOOK EVERY SHIT THING HARRY SAID TO HIM IN SILENCE

REMEMBER HOW RON WENT WITH HARRY TO THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR BECAUSE HARRY HAD AN INKLING SIRIUS WAS IN TROUBLE

REMEMBER HOW RON FOUGHT DEATH EATERS AND HARRY SUGGESTED TAKING THE LIQUID LUCK BECAUSE EVEN HARRY KNEW HOW DANGEROUS THEY WERE AND HOW RISKY THIS WAS OF RON

REMEMBER HOW RON DROPPED OUT OF SCHOOL AFTER GOING FOR 6 YEARS SO HE COULD CAMP OUT IN THE FREEZING COLD TO FIND THE DARKEST OBJECTS IN EXISTENCE

REMEMBER HOW RON PARTICIPATED IN A WAR ALONGSIDE HARRY AND HIS BROTHER DIED AND HE STILL SUPPORTED HARRY

REMEMBER HOW RON WEASLEY IS AN AMAZING FRIEND

SO GO ON, SAY HES A TERRIBLE FRIEND I DARE YOU. RON WEASLEY IS AN IDEAL FRIEND AND HARRY WAS REALLY LUCKY TO HAVE MET HIM.

[sterron]

very accurate summary of GOF

Harry Potter (in GOF): Miss him? I don't MISS Ron!

Also Harry Potter (in GOF): EVERYTHING REMINDS ME OF MY WHEEZY! WHY DOES THIS HURT SO MUCH?! LEAVE ME ALONE, HERMIONE, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!

[sterron]

that's all

Harry: *handing out posters* Have you seen Ron?

Neville: Why? Is he missing?

Harry: No! *breaking into happy tears* I just love him so much and I want everyone to see how beautiful he is!

[sterron]

I think one of the things that is ignored most about the HP series (even within the fandom) is how important Ron is to Harry’s mental state. 

Like, name the darkest parts of the HP series for Harry on a personal level. Most of you probably thought “the time Ron was gone during the Horcrux Hunt”, and maybe “the time Harry and Ron weren’t speaking in GOF”. There’s a reason for that; to Harry, Ron represents hope, friendship and -above all- love (not in a romantic way although I’m certainly not against some Ronarry goodness, but in a deep, platonic way)

Without Ron’s presence, Harry quickly retreats into his own head, and is prone to lashing out at others when he can’t handle things anymore. Ron stabilises Harry in a way few others do. And that’s not to minimise Ginny’s place as Harry’s soul-mate; after the war, I think Harry became less prone to these outbursts when not around Ron. But -within the books themselves- Harry really needs Ron in a way that he doesn’t really need many others. To a certain extent, Harry has a higher opinion of Ron than he does for virtually anyone else in the series; to Harry, Ron is that towering figure of strength, love and support that enables Harry to keep on trying, and never give up. Take that support away, and Harry (within the series, at least) is unable to cope. Ron really is that big of a deal to Harry. 

I feel like Rowling herself didn’t realise just how essential Ron is to Harry’s mental state, because (during the kings cross scene where Harry talks to Dumbledore) Ron isn’t even mentioned. Dumbles mentioned that he hoped Hermione would slow Harry down and keep him calm, but neglects to mention that Ron is far more adept at keeping Harry calm than Hermione is. In fact, during the time where Ron wasn’t around, Harry and Hermione didn’t make any significant gains in their quest for answers. Arguably, Ron accomplished more by leaving and coming back than what Harry and Hermione were doing during his absence. But you wouldn’t think it by Rowling’s framing of it later in the book.   

I dunno. I just feel like the fandom ignores this most of the time. Ron is Harry’s “most important person” for a reason, and it frustrates me that people constantly undervalue this.

[sterron]

Office assistant: Was that Harry Potter I just saw storming into the 'Witch Weekly' offices?

Office manager: Yeah, they voted him number one in their 'hottest wizard alive' edition.

Office assistant: So, he's angry at them because he finds the title embarrassing?

Office manager: Not exactly...

Harry's voice from down the hall: WHY THE F*CK IS RON NOT NUMBER ONE?!-

[sterron]

Lmao I know I am like probably super late to the party and you've probably already moved on from Harry Potter, but I just had to point this scene out YDHDYDJSJS. Remember that scene in OOTP where Ron was reliving the final quidditch match to Harry and Hermione? And at the end of it he was like ruffling his hair, trying to make it look windswept, and Harry (unknowingly!) is grinning at him. It's cuz Ron doing that reminds him of young James. It gets better cuz earlier in that book, Harry's view of his father has been sort of shattered (He was complaining to Remus and Sirius about James ruffling his air and just being his arrogant self! LMAO) But when Harry sees Ron, his best friend, doing the same thing as James, this trait now comes off as endearing to him. And because of that, this helps Harry see his father in a new light—that perhaps James wasn't ALL that nice but he wasn't ALL that bad either.

Sorry but that moment is just really adorable, and I am surprised no one has pointed that out yet. I just really love passages like those where we see how important Ron actually is to Harry.

Yes, I have mostly moved away from HP, but -yeah- I have this discussed this a few times (from @vivithefolle normally) and it is really sweet. Harry loves his wheezy.

Thanks for the message!

[sterron]

So, I’ve been in a rarry mood, these past few days…

[sterron]

harry/ron, haha

Who cooks: They do it together. Always together. Molly has taught them everything she knows and they hate to admit that they love it.Who does the laundry and other chores: Both of them are veeery lazy, but in the end Ron is the one doing most of the things, but he doesn’t really mind.How many children do they have: Even though they have their hands full of nieces and nephews, they later adopt two baby twin girls which they name Lily and Molly (they know it’s cheesy but they don’t care).Who’s more dominate: Ron! He loves to have the power, since he always have felt inferior, and Harry enjoys being taken care of.Favorite nonsexual activity: Everything Quidditch.Their favorite place to be together: The Burrow. It’s always full of Weasleys and they love being surrounded by them. And they never have to do anything, even if Molly and Arthur is starting to get a bit old. The Burrow will never be out of Weasleys again.

Any traditions: Not really, except for spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at the Burrow.Their “song”: Welcome Home, Son - Radical Face What they do for each other on holidays: They don’t really do anything for each other, but they always gather with all the Weasleys and play Quidditch together.Where did they go for their honeymoon: They went to Carribbean and spoiled themselves to the most. They definitely deserved it.Where did they first meet: On Platform 9¾ in 1991.Any pets: They have a dog, very similar to Sirius’s animagus form, which they call Padfoot.What do they fight over: What to watch on TV.Do they go on vacations, if so where: When the twins grew up they went on trips in Europe every year, to Italy, to France (they went to Disneyland. Ron enjoyed it the most).

[sterron]

Those two posts are kinda the powerful things I read on tumblr. (The austenpoppy's one almost changed my life, fr, cause it kinda enabled me to see how my self-insecurities cripple me)

In DH, after being tortured by the Horcrux and reliving all his worse fears and insecurities with Harry seeing (finally) all of that, the first thing Ron said to Harry is: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I left. I know i was a - a -". For me, this is the most evident and heartbreaking demonstration of Ron's sacrifice for Harry and Hermione.

About insecurity, insecurities, and self-esteem (or lack of)

We often either say that Ron is deeply insecure, either that he has some insecurities - as if it were the same thing.

In a way, it is.

But I think we should make a difference between the terms.

Some might roll their eyes at me and gruff, or raise their eyebrows with a smirk. I know, I’m really barmy, aren’t I ?

Here is the definition of insecurity : “uncertainty or anxiety about oneself; lack of confidence.”

The thing is, people can be insecure about a lot of things concerning themselves.

I think that we should distinguish those who are unsure about some things, that I’d call insecurities, and a sense of insecurity running deeper and concerning oneself in general.

Realistically speaking, most people have insecurities. It’s what makes us humans, with our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. They are linked to subjects we would like to avoid, some things we’d rather not think about, memories we would like not to dwell on.

It’s quite different to feel permanently insecure. Because it really undermines your sense of self, your vision of your abilities and of your own worth. It can be crippling. It’s horrible. It can even be dangerous (how many insecure people cut themselves or committed suicide over the years ?)

That’s a difference we find in the Harry Potter series.

I would say that nearly every single well-developped character (well, I don’t know much about Florian Fortescue) in the series has insecurities.

For example :

Harry was very afraid in general of abandonment. Having a family, people who care about him, is rather a big deal at first and he is not used to it. Sometimes, the fear that all of that will disappear - that every bit of happiness he ever got will vanish - reappears. Harry can also doubts his abilities as a leader when he thinks about it too much - people look up to him, and he feels the presure of being the one taking decisions - even if most of the time he subconsciously takes the lead without thinking about it twice.

Hermione has or had insecurities about her appearance. Enough to lead her to modify her teeth magically, at least. She is also a crippled perfectionnist who cannot even fathom the idea of failure. I think she defines herself mostly by her intelligence, and deep down believes that she has to help fixing others’ problems and get them right otherwise they might reject her - because she would reject herself if she were a failure.

Dumbledore had insecurities. Concerning his past, concerning his relationship with Grindelwald, concerning the role he had in his family, concerning his relationship with power.

Even the Weasley twins, I think, could display a behaviour betraying some insecurities from time to time. For example when Ron got appointed as prefect, and Molly fussed over him with exclamations such as ‘A prefect ! That’s everyone in the family !’, they became downright scornful towards Ron, and really indignant (‘What are Fred and I, next-door neighbours ?’). I believe they were afraid of being forgotten, of being only seen as the clowns that no one take seriously, of being rejected because they were not taking the same path as the others. So, they acted as if they did not care at all, as if being a prefect was a disgrace… to push the hurt out of their hearts. But they did care.

And for other characters it run a lot deeper. It affects their self-esteem so much that it prevents them from achieving their potential and it leads them to downplay their feelings, run away from others or even have a self-destructive behaviour. Everything affects them, hurts them, or on the contrary gives them endless and irrepressible joy. They can misunderstand the most obvious behaviours, have self-depreciating tendencies, and take a lot of things personally.

I identify four characters with these characteristics : Remus Lupin, Hagrid, Neville and Ron.

Lupin’s insecurity comes, obviously, from his condition as a werewolf. He is sure - and sadly was proven right a lot of times by the wizarding society - that once people are aware of his situation they will reject him. Because he is a monster. A monster that should have nothing to do with other people. Most of the time composed, it hurts to see so much self-loathing when Remus removes the layers of pretended chillness and confidence (for example the scene in the Shriecking Shack). And it leads him to run away from everything that might make him happy (Tonks, his baby) because he believes he doesn’t deserve them and worst, would spoil them by his mere presence.

Hagrid is a character who always seems extremely baffled when people believe in him or even love him (Dumbledore, the Trio…). He hasn’t got any real confidence and once the joyful giddiness wears off, he is unsure, and it takes one comment to destabilize him and makes him feel low and stupid (Umbridge, Draco Malfoy… and it’s worsened by the fact that Hagrid is one of the most naive characters in the whole series). And from the moment he feels unworthy of the things he has (for example as a teacher), he won’t try for a long time to take up on those things (the classes in third year who became extremely boring after one class). He also has this unhealthy habit of drinking to drown his problems.

Neville is maybe the most obvious character to identify as deeply insecure for the majority of readers, simply because he is the most open about it in the first four books and is identified as having no real self-esteem by the narrative itself. Honestly, as much as I like Augusta Longbottom, it is quite obvious this deep insecurity comes from the way Neville was raised - in comparison of his father. He was expected to be just as talented as his father, and it crippled him - literally. In the first four books, Neville believes he has nothing to do in Gryffindor, and barely anything to do at Hogwarts at all (the second book when he buys gadgets to protect himself from the “Monster” because he is persuaded he is nearly a Squib is heartwrenching). Snape worsened considerably his insecurity. Fortunately, Neville began to find his own path through Herbology classes, and got indulged by Pomona Sprout. For Neville, it was the first step on the way of a normal self-esteem. It gave him enough confidence to try in other subjects. Dumbledore’s Army has really been a blessing, since at the moment Neville got the determination to improve in DADA to revenge his parents, he had an entire group to help him, with much needed patience. I believe that, by the time of the Deathly Hallows, Neville became a leader (he took this responsibility after Harry and Ron left) who was chill, knew what he had to do and didn’t take the time to doubt himself. I am sure that, in the end, he found his path; and this horrible insecurity he had as a child vanished. But it made him an excellent teacher. The best teachers are the ones who know what failure feels like.

Ron… *deep sigh* From the moment you meet him, you know he feels insecure, you know he is afraid of being “the lesser one”, “the useless one”, “the untalented one” - once again notice that this insecurity comes from comparisons. In the first four books, Ron, despite the fact that he is painfully honest and open, which makes him vulnerable, acts as if he doesn’t care. Honestly I believe that on some matters Ron is great to make people forget he is there, but one look at him and you would know how he feels. But, on the contrary of Neville, his insecurity, that people should have helped dealing with, worsened with time. Because no adult really indulged him. Because he became more and more transparent in comparison of his 'bright and shiny’ siblings, of Harry the hero and Hermione the genius. Because he began to believe that his feelings didn’t matter, that his abilities - what abilities ?- didn’t matter, that he didn’t matter. Notice that he became more open about it as well, as if he were stating facts (ex : “I resign, I’m pathetic”). Ron is oversensitive and takes everything personally, especially in OOTP and in HPB. Ron, like Neville, is deeply affected by both praise and critics. Has self-depreciating tendencies. By the time of DH, it was urgent to do something. With the locket… it became too late to ever make it disappear.

Yes. Hear me. Too late.

The locket tortured Ron with his insecurity (follow my tag #torture if you want to learn more about my interpretation, that I will defend to death). Repeated him endlessly that he was worthless, useless, that everything negative he thought about himself were true, that no one cared about him and no one would care if he died (cf The Silver Doe). To the point that he believed in the middle of DH that he was nothing.

To me it looks dangerously like the beforehand of a suicide.

I am baffled that people actually believe that Ron’s lack of self-esteem disappeared with the Silver Doe.

No. This chapter just made Ron confront it rather than brush it to the side. That’s all.

[sterron]

Harry Potter and the Importance of Fatherhood (part 1)

Despite his name being the title of the most popular series ever written, I don’t find that Harry Potter, as a character, is particularly beloved by most fans. I frequently hear criticisms that he is a dull protagonist, and that he becomes unbearably bad-tempered around book five. There is validity to these analyses: Harry is not as colorful as Ron or Hermione, being even less so in the film adaptations, and his moodiness in the latter half of the series is palpable.

I don’t think, however, that it would be fair to describe Harry’s character as static. Harry has an arc, and it is his journey towards self-mastery: the realization that impulse, however heroic, must be disciplined and subjected to reason. This arc comes better into focus upon the consideration of fatherlessness as a primary theme of the series, because the lack of a trustworthy father figure who sets boundaries and enforces consequences materially hinders Harry's ability to self-regulate, with devastating results.

The narrative states this outright in book five when Professor Dumbledore takes responsibility for Sirius's death. The core tragedy isn’t that Harry has lost his godfather, or that Harry is indirectly responsible for the death; it’s that the situation could have been prevented if the adults in Harry's life had cared more about his personal development than his feelings.

Though Professor Snape's evaluation of Harry is distorted by his jealousy and resentment towards Harry’s father, he shows insight in the following two observations:

Harry's success is more due to luck than effort.

Other teachers are too lenient with Harry.

Both patterns are established when Harry pursues Draco Malfoy for stealing Neville’s Rememberall during their first flying lesson in book one. On one hand, we see Harry as heroic: standing up to a bully, and discovering a useful talent that connects him to his school, the wizarding world, and his deceased father. On the other hand, we see that Harry’s actions were reckless*. Harry had no idea that he was good at flying or what Malfoy was planning to do, and the scene could have easily ended with Harry seriously injured, or in bad trouble with the school, if he did not have the favor of fortune, genetics, or a trophy-hungry Professor McGonagall.

*This is one of the reasons why I love Hermione’s line, “What. An. Idiot.” that was added for the film in this scene.

The focus of this analysis is fatherhood, as Harry is not in want of a nurturing mother figure thanks to Mrs. Weasley, but I think McGonagall’s response to Harry’s flight is relevant and significant. Allowing Harry onto the Quidditch team isn’t a problem per se; it’s good that McGonagall encourages a constructive outlet for his talents. I do find fault with her, however, for not asking Harry for an explanation of events. There is no structural reason that this needed to be skipped; whether Harry decided to snitch on Malfoy or not, the overall narrative need not be interrupted. Harry would have had a bit of character development, and McGonagall would have seemed less selfish and irresponsible.

Even if she was not favorable to Harry’s excuses and decided to give him a detention, this hypothetical interaction would still have given Harry an opportunity to self-reflect. Since it did not take place, Harry is never called to be accountable for his own actions or to consider their consequences, and feels free to plow ahead on all his impulses, since all’s well that ends well, and his intentions are good enough.

This is a pattern that continues throughout the year:

Harry sneaks out after curfew to meet Malfoy for a duel, is almost caught by Filch, and then stumbles into the Forbidden Corridor: no consequences, nothing learnt.

Harry jumps on the back of a twelve-foot troll: no consequences, nothing learnt.

Harry sneaks out after curfew to smuggle Hagrid’s dragon away: detention as consequence, but nothing learnt—it’s never acknowledged that Hagrid’s behavior was inappropriate and that it was absolutely not Harry’s responsibility to protect him.

Harry attempts to stop the theft of the Philosopher’s Stone: there are consequences, as Ron and Harry are both hurt, and Harry would have been killed if Dumbledore hadn’t arrived; but never at any moment is Harry made to understand that his effort was reckless and counterproductive, having gotten Quirrell in much closer reach of the Stone than he would have been otherwise.

Harry doesn’t typically face consequences for his rash heroics, and when does, he does not have a parental figure to guide him in learning from the experience. Dumbledore expresses admiration for Harry’s courage, capacity for love, and good intentions, but he does not encourage Harry to exercise caution or discernment in acting on his impulses; nor, by failing to enforce punishments for transgressions, does he encourage Harry to respect his authority.

Though many of Harry’s actions have heroic justifications, not all of them do. He continually sneaks out after curfew without any particularly noble reason, and he has a real problem with controlling his anger starting in book three, when he casts a curse on his Aunt Marge. It is incredible how, shortly following this event, Harry betrays his lack of self-awareness by saying that he doesn’t “go looking for trouble”. The hormonal changes of adolescence do not help Harry’s poor foundation for self-regulation, and his indulgences in mischief and even vengeance steadily accumulate.

By the time we get to book five, when Harry faces the agony and the injustice of a government conspiracy to discredit him, his coping mechanisms are so inadequate that he cannot stop mouthing off at Professor Umbridge even though she literally tortures him during their detentions.

The arc of Harry’s heroic impulsivity culminates in the tragedy of Sirius’s death. Never having been made to think through the consequences of his actions, Harry falls right into Voldemort’s trap and gets Sirius killed, and very likely would have gotten himself and all of his schoolmates killed too if it weren’t for the last-minute arrival of the adults.

Here we return to the point made in the introduction: Harry feels responsible for Sirius’s death, but Dumbledore tells Harry that he, Dumbledore, has a larger share in the blame. When withholding information from Harry out of a desire to spare Harry the emotional burden of the prophecy, Harry is left without a reason to respect or trust Dumbledore’s directives or to temper his own impulses. And though Dumbledore is overly sensitive to Harry’s feelings in this regard, he fails to take into account Harry’s emotional response to his isolation or his escalating conflicts with Professors Snape and Umbridge, and he does not help Harry cope with these stressors. Dumbledore fails Sirius in a similar manner, which he acknowledges as also having contributed to Sirius’s death.

In the next section(s), I will discuss how other characters (Mr. Weasley, Sirius, Hagrid) relate to Harry as father figures, and how (or perhaps, whether) Harry realizes his character arc.

[sterron]

The golden Trio colours:

Hermiones colours are blue and brown:

Earthy and unlimited. She has the depth of the earth, a power that slowly builds overtime until you can no longer ignore her.

Unpredictable like the sea, you can't see her depth. Only she knows what goes on.

Gale Forse winds, tearing apart the walls keeping society from developing.

Knowledge runs deeper then the face of the universe.

But can be as stubborn as the oldest oak tree in the woods. Never changing her morals. Only growing from them and making herself as strong as she can be.

Ron's colours are Orange and red:

Someone who is easily overlooked

Passionate about things he cares about

A blazing fire, keeping those he cares about warm as he burns those who threatened them. A shield to the ones he loves.

A warm hand guiding you through the cold. You can literally feel his absence in your soul.

The world feels cold without him around. Empty. Without his light filling the room. A warmth you don't notice until its gone.

He feels like a fresh breath of air. A sunny day after months of rain.

He won't run through hell for you. He is the fire, he will bring hell to earth if those he treasures are threatened.

Harry's colours are Green and Gold:

Slightly cunning, but has a heart of gold.

Emotionless, straight to the point.

Grassy stained jeans, and smells like the grass.

Blunt, until he loves someone then his words become poetry.

Sarcasm to hide feelings. But when be says how he feels, you better listen because it will fill you with motivation, makes you feel like golden

A soldier with camouflage, and a golden badge. Can easily play the part of different people. It comes naturally to him.

Can think like the enemy. Relate to them. But never corrupted. Never the enemy. His heart stays pure, stays golden, even when there is poison in his head.

[sterron]

CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT HOW RON WEASLEY DESERVES THE WORLD??? EVERYBODY JUST CONSTANTLY TALKS ABOUT THE 2 TIMES THAT HE LEFT IN 7 YEARS AS IF THAT IS HIS ENTIRE PERSONALITY. WHAY ABOUT THE TIMES HE STAYED???

THE FACT THAT RON WEASLEY WAS HARRY'S BEST AND FIRST FRIEND WHO SUPPORTED HIM HIS WHOLE LIFE AND GAVE HIM A FAMILY GOES IGNORED.

THE FACT THAT RON SACRIFICED HIS LIFE TIME AND TIME AGAIN FOR HARRY (AND HIS OTHER FRIENDS AND FAMILY) GOES IGNORED.

THE FACT THAT RON (and later ginny too) WAS THE PERSON WHO MADE HARRY LAUGH AND FORGET HIS TROUBLES AND KEPT HIM SANE ALL THESE YEARS AND HELPED HARRY WITH HIS TRAUMA GOES IGNORED.

THE FACT THAT RON DEFENDED HARRY ALL THE TIME LIKE THE GOOD FRIEND AND AMAZING PERSON HE WAS GOES IGNORED.

THE FACT THAT RON WEASLEY CAME BACK AND OWED UP TO HIS MISTAKES EVERY TIME HE LEFT AND LEARNT FROM MISTAKES GOES IGNORED.

THE FACT THAT RON WOULDN'T HAVE HALF OF HIS PROBLEMS IF HARRY HAD NEVER BEEN IN HIS LIFE, YET RON NEVER LEFT GOES IGNORED.

But no let's talk about how ron left 2 times in 7 years, and one was at the tender age of 14 and the other was in the middle of very difficult times and the second one was not even Ron's fault.

Ron Weasley deserves better.

#Ronweasleydeservesbetter