#harry potter essay

[sennenrings]

Gryffindor Common Room, 1973

please do not repost my art

[del-stars]

okay, but. imo sirius would not have walked onto the hogwarts express, picked out james potter, and said 'oh good, my parents will hate you.' he's eleven, and he hasn't been sorted into gryffindor yet - he's still very much in his parents' favor at this stage. baby sirius wants to do good and impress them; he's so sheltered that he's never even met someone who didn't uphold their beliefs. james is the first. i really think that being sorted into gryffindor broke baby sirius' heart, because he knows even then that it creates an irreversible divide between him and his mother. he befriends james not out of spite, but because he's james - he's nice, he's welcoming, and he's a kid. carelessly, james kicks his feet up on the bench, eats his food with his fingers, and lets his shirt go untucked. james is sirius' first taste of freedom, his first realisation that he can do things he isn't really supposed to, and still turn out a good person.

walburga comes to despise james potter not just because of his family's reputation, but because of the noticeable effect he has on sirius. it's like someone has taken her son and replaced him with a cheap copy: sirius burps at the dinner table, refuses to dress properly, and has started using foul language. worst of all, he writes to james. he talks of missing james. walburga has been desperate to get sirius back into her arms from the moment he left, because sirius is walburga's entire life, and it's becoming clear that sirius is destined for more. he's learning there is a life for him outside the walls of their house. sirius' existence is the culmination of her life purpose, and she is no longer her favourite person. she hates him for this.

the heartbreaking thing is sirius genuinely doesn't know why. he isn't trying to upset his mother, but he has to make friends, right? the slytherins won't talk to him, his cousins have shunned him, and he spends a lot of time around james. for a little while, he thought the gryffindor thing wouldn't be that big of a deal. parents are supposed to love their children regardless, right? this is where sirius begins to hate his mother, in turn: her love appears to be conditional. he seeks it from others, obsessively, to spite her.

[deswhomst]

My Marauders/Harry Potter unpopular opinion is that outside a few similar experiences, Regulus Black and Draco Malfoy are nothing alike.

[ghostinwinterfell]

sirius really spent 12 years in solitary confinement with nothing but dementors for company, only to be locked up in his abusive childhood home for a year, and then murdered by his own cousin the one time he left it to protect harry.

it’s no wonder that sirius was such a healthier parental figure to harry during goblet of fire. he may have been alone and on the run, he may have been forced to live in a cave and to eat rats, but at least he was free.

[daiziesssart]

a humiliatingly long character analysis of lily evans

Someone sent me an ask that briefly mentioned how misunderstood Lily is, and before I knew it I was typing out this monster. I am. sorry. This is literally just me rambling about her, what I find compelling about her character, and why her character is so often misunderstood.

This is long as hell so I'm putting it under a read more lolol

Part of the reason I like Lily so much (other than my being ginger and projecting onto any redheaded female character I see) is that even though she isn’t explored as much as her other Marauders Era counterparts, we know enough about her to start building the framework for her character. And what I see is a girl who was incredibly interesting, kind, and flawed.

One thing I always think about in regards to Lily is that she was dealt with a pretty unfair hand. As soon as she receives her letter, she’s basically torn between two worlds, both of which have been less than welcome to her. On one hand, we have the muggle world that she’s known all her life, but once she starts integrating into the wizarding world, she likely feels a bit of a disconnect with that world. To twist the knife further, her sister- whom she loved dearly and grew up so close with- starts outwardly resenting her with such unbridled hostility that they likely couldn’t even be in a room alone together without major conflict. 

On the other hand, we have the wizarding world– a world she’s not as familiar with and one she soon learns holds a demographic of people who hate everything she is and would rather see her excommunicated or even dead. And even though finding out you’re a witch/wizard is probably such an exciting and life-changing moment, I can’t help but also take note of the difficulties, especially if you’re the only one in your family with magic. You’re essentially uprooted from the only way of life you’ve known at an already complicated age, and now you have to quickly become acclimated to this new world that you only just found out existed. Not only that, but now you’re suddenly attending a school with classes that are primarily focused on this world of magic (which is still brand new to you), and you have to work extra hard to play catch up in order to do well. Like, that all seems like… a lot for a kid to handle.

And then I remember how young she was when she was thrown into that mess. She was only 11, and kids that age desperately crave any sense of belonging. I mean, that’s something that still holds true for adults, but it’s especially critical for a developing child. So imagine Lily, ages 11-15, struggling to stay afloat in this weird purgatory between these two parts of herself, both of which have been the cause for major and traumatic experiences relating to rejection in her life.

(I say it was the “cause” even though it’s obvious that those things were never her fault at all, but when you’re a young kid navigating the world, the only thing you’re able to process is that the common denominator is you, therefore you’re the one who must shoulder the blame.)

So now we have this tween-teenaged girl who has a dysfunctional relationship with two major parts of identity and probably feels absolutely lost. 

This is why her hesitancy to end her friendship with Snape makes sense to me. Even though by fifth year he’s already well past toeing the line with the dark arts, Lily was willing to overlook some pretty egregious and troubling things in order to maintain the relationship. I kind of interpret that as her way of desperately clinging on to any sense of belonging she has left; her relationship with Petunia has already been poisoned, and now there are people who resent her existence as a witch; if she loses Severus too, what and who else does she have? And what tone does that set for her, if everyone and everything she’s come to hold close to her ends up turning her away?

It’s also important to note that not only is Severus one of her few remaining connections to the muggle world, but he’s also a wizard who grew up in the muggle world; he understands her, and I don’t doubt that he gave her some stability at times when she needed it (her finding out about her being a witch, her having trouble acclimating to the wizarding world, etc).

I see this as being one of her flaws and I can actually appreciate how relatable and realistic it feels. Lily is not a bad person; on the contrary, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to describe her as such. Not to get all clinical and boring, but the interesting thing about (unhealthy) coping mechanisms is that it can actually be really hard to identify them in your own behavior. Unless you’re in therapy and/or are actively psychoanalyzing yourself, you likely don’t even realize how many of your common behaviors are born from self defense mechanisms put in place by your brain after past events.

To me, it makes sense why she avoided actually confronting the idea that Snape was too far gone. We know that she was aware of the path Severus was taking, but it almost seems like she was still convinced that she could save him, and could possibly steer him back in the right direction. It’s only when she becomes the target of his bigotry that she realizes that the Snape who called her a ‘mudblood’ was not the same Severus who was the one who held her hand and introduced her to this new, exciting world.

In a general sense, yes, it is selfish, to only take a stand when something starts affecting you personally. But I also think it’s important to note that it’s unlikely that this was a conscious decision on Lily’s part. In my eyes, it was easier to delude herself into thinking she still had a chance to save him before it was too late when she was able to separate him from his actions (considering, a lot of the time, she was only hearing about them after the fact, rather than seeing them firsthand). But the elusion is shattered once she sees that the Snape she grew up with– her friend, Severus– is, in fact, the same person who’s out there calling other students slurs, dismissing the malicious use of Dark Magic on others as just “a laugh”. There we see a Lily who is actually revealed to have been somewhat aware of Snape’s involvement with the darker side of magic, and genuinely feels pretty ashamed about her inaction.

That moment in SWM is probably somewhat of an epiphany to her. It’s like a dam that’s been broken, and now she’s overwhelmed with the realization of exactly how much she overlooked in order to keep their friendship afloat. And for someone like Lily Evans, someone whom we know is opinionated and unafraid to call others out on their bullshit, that can be hard to swallow and feel pretty mortifying and shameful. And I think this was a huge turning point for her- at that point, she doesn’t have the luxury of avoiding uncomfortable truths anymore and now that she’s getting closer to graduating and being thrown out into the world on the brink of war, this was probably a really sobering discovery.

This is where we don’t have as much info to go off of, and a lot of it is up to interpretation. But we actually have little crumbs to go off of following her graduation and leading up to her death.

One of my favorite little tidbits isn’t in the books, and @seriousbrat's post reminded me about it. Here's the actual entry on Pottermore for anyone who's interested, but I'll summarize: after James and Lily began dating, Lily brings James to meet newly engaged Petunia and Vernon. Everything goes downhill, because Vernon is a smarmy asshole, and James is still pretty immature and can’t help but mess with him (which… fair, I guess). Petunia and Vernon storm out after Petunia letting Lily know that she had no intentions of having her as a bridesmaid, which causes Lily to break down into tears. I mention this because I also think it’s a pretty important aspect of her character; like we’ve seen in her past friendship with Snape, Lily seems more than willing to forgive others most of the time. Petunia is a bit of a complicated character herself, but she was objectively very cruel and unfair to Lily once it became obvious that she was a witch and Petunia was not.

Something that always stands out to me is just how desperate Lily is to earn Petunia’s trust and approval again. Even up until her death, she was more than willing to mend the relationship, were Petunia ever to consider. 

This is a detail about Lily that I feel is misunderstood quite a bit. I’ve seen a lot of instances of her character being reduced to a one-dimensional archetype with little to no complexity. And often, that archetype is “know-it-all, prudish, self righteous bookworm who is also a goody two-shoes with a stick up her ass”. What annoys me is that the reason for this is most definitely the scene in which she blows up at James in SWM for bullying Snape, and hurls quite a few insults at him directly after an extremely devastating and overwhelming situation for her. This frustrates me because we know for a fact that she’s the polar opposite of this archetype I’ve seen her reduced to. 

In actuality, she’s referred to as popular, charming, witty, bright and kind. From flashbacks we also are shown that she’s opinionated, bold, and not afraid to challenge others. With other context, like her interpersonal relationships, we can also see that she’s pretty emotionally driven and wears her heart on her sleeve. 

(I know Remus didn’t mention Lily much in the books, but I really love how he described her in the movies. He tells Harry that the first thing he noticed about him was not his striking resemblance to his father, but his eyes, the same eyes Lily had. He also calls her a “singularly gifted witch” and an “uncommonly kind woman”.

“She had a way of seeing the beauty in others, even and perhaps most especially, when that person could not see it in themselves.”

I know there are mixed feelings on whether or not the films count as canon source material, so take it with a grain of salt, but I personally cannot see a world in which Lily and Remus didn’t become close friends.)

Here we have a direct description of what she was like and who she was, corroborated by recounting of memories of her, and yet for some reason, this feels like the thing that is most commonly lost in translation.

I don’t think I can say why I think that is without mentioning the dreaded M word (misogyny- it’s misogyny), but I also don’t want to get too off topic so I’ll be brief: female characters are typically not given the same grace as male characters. When we have an undeveloped male character, he’s awarded the assumption that despite his lack of depth, there still exists a complex and multifaceted character– it’s merely just potential that hasn’t been tapped into. Whereas when we have underdeveloped female characters, they are taken at face value, meaning that not much exists beyond the little information we have of them. They are not presumed to have a life or a story that exists beyond the surface of what we know like male characters are. That’s why I think characters like Regulus, Evan, or Barty (just to name a few) are more popular than Lily, despite being less developed than she is.

(Before anyone gets defensive, no, I don’t think it’s an individual problem that you alone need to be shamed for. I think it’s the result of a deeper issue regarding misogyny in media as a concept; these are things that we’ve all unknowingly internalized and while it’s not our fault, we still have to do the work to deconstruct those learned prejudices.)

What I find really cool about her character is that despite how much she’s been hurt, she’s also still known as one of the most loving, kind, and considerate characters. There were so many times in her life where the love she received was conditional and ripped away from her– and I think that’s what makes her sacrifice even more poignant. She was able to protect her infant son from an extremely powerful dark wizard, wand-less, knowing that her husband was just murdered in cold blood, just from how much love she felt for Harry. Her love was a force of nature on its own, and I just think that’s such an amazing thing about her. 

I know I’m biased, given that she’s one of my favorite characters, but even upon delving into this, I still just find it so incredibly hard to understand how anyone can actively hate her (not indifference, but actual dislike). In my opinion (again, no one is unbiased, and she is a favorite character of mine, but trust me when I say that I’m trying to be objective as possible when I say this), she’s probably one of the most likable characters of the Marauders Era. I think perhaps a lot of people haven’t given her a chance or really taken the time to learn about her character, but it could be a myriad of other reasons that I’ll never understand. 

There's so much more I could say but this is long enough and I will stop myself

Lily Evans, u will always be famous to me

[lena-thinks-too-much]

Okay, so anyone who says Tim is a Ravenclaw is WRONG. If you think Tim is a Ravenclaw then you don't understand Hogwarts houses outside of "the cool kids, the smart kids, the nice kids, and the mean kids".

Like you mean to tell me Tim "I blackmailed Batman to make me Robin" Drake isn't a Slytherin?

Tim who has more contingencies than Batman and is the only Robin that can LIE to batman?

Tim decides something needs to happen and then makes it happen. Like that isn't the most Slytherin trait ever.

Slytherin's are cunning, resourceful, and ambitious. If you don't think that describes Tim Drake then you clearly haven't read the Red Robin comics.

I mean let's take a look shall we?

He realizes that batman didn't really die, and not a single person in the entire hero community believes him, so what does he do? He decides to find and save batman himself. AND HE SUCCEEDS.

There's the ambition.

Tim fought seven powerful metahuman assassins, whose abilities he did not know of before, while protecting a civilian, AND WON.

Resourcefulness.

And do we really need to talk about how many times Tim faced Ra's in a battle of wits and won?

Cunning.

So yeah, Tim Drake is a Slytherin and if you still don't think so, fight me.

[accio-sriracha]

Sirius: *convinces Remus to read over his transfiguration essay for him*

Remus: *hands it back an hour later*

Sirius:

Remus:

Sirius: Moons this just says 'what the fuck' in red ink at the bottom.

[winn-wynn]

Oliver looking at Percy before looking away at his unfinished essay: lord have mercy, we must stay focused brothers we must stay focused

[vanillesuiker]

As a chemistry student, the fact that potions class (one of the closest thing to chemistry/general lab work in the wizarding world) takes place in the dungeons pisses me off so badly.

Like what do you MEAN they're heating stuff up in a poorly ventilated BASEMENT? That's not... safe? If your friend inhales a dangerous substance, how are you going to get them to fresh air as soon as possible when you are literally underground?

There's also no fume hoods (I really hope this is the correct translation for this, because I dont think acid cabinet is the right one lmfao). Literally look at any laboratory and there's a 95% chance you'll find atleast one fume hood there. We constantly see all sorts of fumes coming from the cauldrons, that can't be safe??

Also why did Percy Weasley have to write a report on standardised cauldrons bottoms?? And everyone was like "oh haha there goes Percy and his useless little report" NO??? That's like... so dangerous and he's right!! It's been said here before but he was right!!! But why did he have to write that. Why was that necessary? Why wasn't it the standard already??

In conclusion, idk how the fuck wizards have a longer lifespan than muggles because they seem to do everything in their power to make it shorter.

[bawbawbridgie]

WE DONT TALK ABOUT THE SCRIPT CHANGES ENOUGH AND I WILL STAND BY THAT. I COULD WRITE A WHOLE ESSAY ON IT AND WHY IT IS SUCH A BIG DEAL BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE PEOPLE DO NOT REALISE HOW DIFFERENT IT IS COMPARED TO THE OG SCRIPT AHHHHHHHH

[fugamalefica]

From Christopher E. Bell's essay 'Riddle Me This: The Moral Disengagement of Lord Voldemort'.

[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.

[eclecticpaperchild]

IMPORTANT!!! PLEASE READ!!!

I am currently writing an essay for a college course about the role of attention in communities and am using fandoms as an example for how attention plays a role in identity.

I need as any people as possible who are okay with what their response possibly be included in my essay respond to this post with the your answers/opinions about at least one or more of the following:

-What is Arcane really about?

-If you consider yourself to be apart of the Arcane Fandom, why do you enjoy Arcane so much?

-What is the purpose of fandom as a whole?

-What aspects make up fandom?

-Is canon important? (Loaded question, I know)

-What is The Silmarillion really about?

-In your experience, do certain themes presented in a any piece of work, including but not limited to tv shows, movies, and written works, effect how likely you are to be a fan of said piece of work? (Basically do you have a “type”)

-What do you personally think about, or is the role of, attention and/or collective direction in fandom?

-Is there anything, either directly or indirectly, related to my essay and/or any questions that I have asked that you would like to mention?

-What is the relationship between fandom and canon?

-If you have ANY questions or concerns please dm me. If you would like to share your input but want to remain completely anonymous in my essay if your response is included, please let me know. If you want anything clarified or have certain conditions as to how your response is allowed to be presented in my essay, please dm me.

This essay is a homework assignment and unless both me and my professor believe what I have written is worthy of publication, I have no intention of publishing it or publicly distributing it in any way.

I will be eternally grateful to anyone who responds and/or reposts. Despite the essay only being a homework assignment, this is something I have always wanted to write about/explore and I swear to be respectful with all of your responses.

This essay is not ment to bash or hate on the Arcane or Silmarillion fandom (which I consider myself to be apart of) or fandom culture in general. My essay is only exploring the topic of attention in communities.

TLDR: I would really appreciate it if people can respond to this post with their answers to my questions because I am currently writing an essay on attention in communities for a college course and I need help.

[harmony867]

I’ve seen too many comments saying that Harmione shippers only ship Harmione because of the movies and although there’s nothing wrong with movie watchers this is a claim used to invalidate Harmione and act like it has no base in canon. So here is an essay first written in 2003 showing the canon roots of Harmione and how Hermione is not only central to the books and Harry’s life. His ultimate ride or die. (This is not my essay I didn’t write it.)

***

Harry + Hermione - Ron.

by Mad Eye Mike

The following essay will illustrate how Harry and Hermione always experience the most crucial and perilous situations together without Ron. It will lay bare how H/Hr always end up sharing an intense emotional encounter—alone—and how that strengthens the bond between them. It will show Ron’s presence being lessened more and more with each passing book, how we’re being weaned off him slowly, why r/Hr aren’t being set-up as a couple and ultimately, how H/Hr are.

Philosopher’s Stone/Sorcerer’s Stone:

The trio’s very first adventure established what was to come in later books. After Ron’s eliminated from the chess match, H/Hr continued forward to the last test—potions. The test itself wasn’t the ‘fail and you get to do it over’ kind either, it had life or death consequences attached—pretty stressful stuff for a couple of eleven year olds. Before being forced to leave Harry, Hermione’s lip trembled, she threw herself onto him, hugged him and finally allowed let her emotional wall come down. Now if the characters had been older, like 18 instead of 11, this would've been a very romantic moment between them. The scene of a girl (near tears) throwing herself onto a boy and embracing him before he sets off to possibly face his death evokes some very powerful imagery. However, if JKR has been setting up r/Hr from the beginning (as some r/hr shippers say), why didn’t she have Hermione stay behind to take care of Ron while Harry moved forward by himself? For the first time, H/Hr are given the spotlight alone, together to face a perilous circumstance.

Note #1—This is the first time Ron was separated from H/Hr but it was cleverly disguised as the classic ‘Heroes Best Friend Sacrifices Himself’ scene. However, take notice of how neither Harry nor Hermione felt the need to check on Ron who sacrificed himself. Harry even had to convince himself Ron was okay because he wasn’t really sure if Ron was dead or not. Literally and symbolically, H/Hr looked back at Ron while they continued forward together.

Note #2—Take a closer look at the pieces each of the trio replaces and play as during the chess game. Ron’s a Knight, Hermione’s a Rook and Harry’s a Bishop.

The Knight (Ron) moves in an ‘L’ shape in any direction. While the Rook and Bishop can move freely around the board (in their respective directions), the Knight is limited to only two square jumps—one forward, one diagonal. This parallels Ron’s place in the trio as he’s also limited in how far his abilities will take him.

The Rook (Hermione) moves horizontally and vertically any number of squares forwards and backwards. Incidentally, this powerful piece is the only one that can perform the ‘Castling’ maneuver—a move that’s sole purpose is to protect the King from harm (Hermione protects Harry).

The Bishop (Harry) moves diagonally any number of squares forward or backwards. By nature of its movements, the Bishop is the perfect companion piece to the Rook. Together they can cover the entire length of the board and all squares.

Now I just want to point out one last piece—The Queen. This is the most powerful piece in the game as it can move horizontally, vertically, diagonally, forwards and backwards any number of squares. The Queen is basically the Rook (Hermione) and Bishop (Harry) combined into one piece. Something else to keep in mind—it was the Queen that took Ron out of the game.

Chamber of Secrets:

This is the book where H/Hr began to intellectually separate themselves from Ron and the start of their ‘mental connection’ where they instinctively know what the other is thinking. Jointly, H/Hr were able to piece together the mystery involving Tom Riddle, the Chamber, the Diary and the Basilisk. Here’s where we first saw Ron wasn’t on the same level as H/Hr and as they continued to figure things out, Ron was more and more baffled as to what was going on. The only thing he did contribute was in remembering he saw Riddle’s name on a trophy. Ron was even left behind with Lockhart when he and Harry reached the Chamber. Couldn’t JKR have involved Ron in a more significant way? It was his sister (Ginny) trapped down there and dying after all. JKR made something perfectly clear with this book and that’s when Hermione isn’t with Harry, he’s going to have to continue on alone in one form or another. In this case, it was in every way.

Note #3—During the last night in the Great Hall, the text (clearly from Harry’s POV) described how Hermione came running towards him screaming “You did it! You solved it!”. Notice how JKR doesn’t have Hermione include Ron by saying something like “You both solved it!”.

Prisoner of Azkaban:

This may be the quintessential H/Hr moment of the series thus far. It contains everything—emotion, fear, friendship and symbolism all rolled into one extended sequence. This was the book (until OotP) where Ron’s lack of importance and presence became most evident. Beginning with Dumbledore telling Hermione ”Three turns should do it”, H/Hr proceed to go on an incredible adventure together which completely dominated the tale from that point on. For the third straight time, JKR completely removed Ron rather than finding a way to involve him. Once again, Ron didn’t get to share in the terrifying and jubilant moments H/Hr experienced together. First H/Hr traveled back in time to save Buckbeat from execution. Then they spent three hours alone together in the woods talking quietly. Then they watch as the situation from earlier when Pettigrew got away played out before them. Then Harry confided in Hermione he thought he saw his father (something Harry was incredibly embarrassed about admitting by the way). Then Harry saved himself, Sirius and Hermione from the Dementors when he finally produced a Patronus. Finally, it was H/Hr who took a ride on a Hippogriff to save Sirius. In the end, after all was said and done, it was Harry and Hermione whom saved the day, once again, without Ron.

Note #4—Did you know the Hippogriff represents love in mythology? Think of the imagery and literary theme that JKR presented by having Harry and Hermione ride on it to save the day. In terms of symbolism, it doesn’t get any more fairy tale and romantic than that.

Note #5—When writing down predictions for his future, Ron jokingly says he will get trampled by a rampaging Hippogriff (crushed by love?).

Goblet of Fire:

When Harry lost Ron’s friendship, the schools support and encountered the negative side of fame for the first time in his life, Hermione stood by him. When the public (and Molly) began targeting Hermione for supposedly playing with Harry and Krum’s hearts, Harry stood by her. It was a curious bit of writing by JKR to make it so when H/Hr finally experienced rumors and innuendo for the first time in their lives, all they had were each other to lean on for emotional support. Ron was still too bitter towards Harry and too busy giving Hermione a hard time about Krum to be an effective friend to either of them. Also noteworthy is how JKR wrote it so H/Hr practiced the summoning charm alone together—the very charm which saved Harry’s life later. As GoF went on, H/Hr grew closer and the gap that already separated them from everyone else was widened. Emotionally, intellectually and magically, Harry and Hermione continued progressing together forward while Ron lagged behind yet again. With all the focus on the Yule Ball and dating, one of the key aspects often overlooked is how JKR yet again divided the trio during a time of stress. While Ron was off losing control of his emotions, JKR proceeded to develop the bond between H/Hr to the point where it became absolute.

Note #6—Ron once again made the prediction of getting trampled by a rampaging Hippogriff.

Note #7—In the time she spent with Krum, Hermione talked about Harry so much that Krum suspected there was more going on between H/Hr than friendship. One of the classic examples of having subconscious feelings for someone is when you talk about them non-stop to other people.

Note #8—No matter how much hate mail she got or taunts she endured, Hermione never denied the rumors she was Harry’s girlfriend.

Note #9—Ron at one point actually asked Hermione if she was brewing love potions. It’s possible even Ron has noticed the H/Hr connection. If not, why else would he asks such a thing?

Order of the Phoenix:

There are three—count ‘em—three separate occasions in OotP where Harry and Hermione go on together without Ron.

A. With Hagrid to see Grawp

B. Leading Umbridge to the Centaurs

C. In the Department of Mysteries

A. In the first instance, JKR had Harry and Hermione go with Hagrid to see Grawp. Now, what’s interesting is how this took place during Ron’s big moment. That was the day Ron helped Griffindor win the Quidditch Cup and it was written to have both Harry and Hermione miss it. I can totally understand why Hagrid went to get Harry, but did Hermione really need to go as well? Especially since it was the perfect opportunity to have her stay behind and watch the guy she’s supposedly in love with play in an important game. If r/Hr are being set-up to be together, why didn’t JKR have Harry go on alone with Hagrid while Hermione stood behind to watch Ron win the cup? That was a perfect opportunity to showcase a r/Hr moment and yet, it didn’t happen. Instead we were given another intense emotional experience for H/Hr to share together while Ron was absent.

Note #10—The text describes a shaking and whimpering Hermione clinging to Harry as he protects her from Grawp’s outstretched hand. Try to picture the image of a terrified Hermione being protected in Harry’s arms. Not very platonic looking is it?

B. In the next example, JKR had Harry, Hermione and Umbridge enter the forest to go look for Dumbledore’s ‘weapon’. What followed was another potentially fatal situation for H/Hr and Ron was nowhere to be found—this time he was bound and gagged on the floor in Umbridge’s office. True he wasn’t the only one as Neville, Ginny and Luna were also left behind, but none of them are as important as Ron are they? Ginny and Luna haven’t been in all five books and Neville has never really been important to the plot until now. Point is, they’re not part of the trio—Ron is. Yet, it’s Harry and Hermione alone who shared another intense emotional experience under not only the threat of Umbridge, but the Centaurs as well. Couldn’t JKR have found a way for Ron to play a part in this? No, it’s written so that he shows up with Ginny, Neville and Luna well after it was all over.

Note #11—When the Centaurs attack Umbridge, Harry grabs Hermione and pulls her down to the ground. JKR could’ve simply written it to have H/Hr duck for cover, but she doesn’t.

C. The Department of Mysteries is the last of the three instances where Harry and Hermione proceeded without Ron. When running away from the DE’s, the six kids split up into two groups of three. Now what’s interesting here is JKR didn’t split the trio away from the new kids, no instead she split up the trio. What’s even more interesting (for you H/G shippers) is that it was the perfect opportunity for Ginny to take center stage and be showcased as Harry’s future partner in crime so to speak, but it didn’t happen. Nor was it written to have r/Hr work together as a finely tuned team. Instead JKR gave us yet another instance where H/Hr worked together or were together in a life-threatening situation. When Ron disappeared, he remained missing in action for quite a while and when he finally reappeared, he had already been rendered useless. Consequently, he almost got himself killed when he released a brain from its tank and was nearly strangled by its thoughts.

Note #12—Wasn’t it rather symbolic that Ron (who is viewed upon as the comic relief of the trio) was incapacitated by some sort of laughing spell and then began fighting with a brain (Hermione?) which began suffocating him? I love Ginny’s line of “Harry, it’ll suffocate him!”—perhaps this is a symbolic text reference to a r/Hr relationship?

Note #13—When everyone first ran from the DE’s, Harry reached back and grabbed for Hermione’s robes to drag her forward. Interesting how it wasn’t written for him to grab for Ginny or to have Ron grab for Hermione. Instinctively, subconsciously, the one Harry reached out to grab and protect was Hermione. There are five other people Harry could’ve grabbed (including his supposed intended Ginny), and yet, JKR had him reach for Hermione.

Conclusion:

Now if this had only happened once or twice in five books then I could easily write it off. In literature however, patterns, themes and symbolism are relevant and with someone like JKR who uses all three, you have to look closely. What is JKR hoping to establish by constantly having H/Hr bond without Ron? Regardless of whether the threat was an emotional or physical one, Harry and Hermione continue to experience and share all these extraordinary moments together. Why is JKR writing it that way?

Now assuming the trio survives their seventh year, don’t you think Ron is going to feel left out? Try to imagine being Ron for a second. Its after you’ve graduated Hogwarts and Voldemort has been defeated. Every wizard and witch in the world is going to want to talk to the people who helped bring him down. Harry will be bigger than a legend, so will Hermione and everyone else who played a part. However, considering it was always H/Hr together (in some form) who defeated Voldemort and his DE’s time and time again, it’ll be H/Hr who’ll be in demand for interviews, discussions, teaching posts, etc. Yes Ron did play a small part in some of these adventures, but at a certain point, he can’t talk anymore because he wasn’t there to share in the full experience with H/Hr.

Now can you imagine Ron dating Hermione and she’s always being asked to do a joint interview with Harry talking about all the times they worked together to triumph over Voldemort? How do you think Ron is going to feel about that? He might mature as he gets older but eventually, this will get to him. No significant other likes to see their partner share in the experience of all these adventures with someone else. Worst of all for Ron, there’s no one to blame. Harry’s not at fault, Hermione’s not at fault and neither is Ron. He just wasn’t there to share in what H/Hr went through and that’s the way it is. I can just see a day in the future where the three of them do an interview with the Daily Prophet and it goes something like this:

Reporter: So, tell us how you first defeated Voldemort’s plan for returning.

Harry: Well, we found out he was after the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Hermione: Yeah, it was hidden at Hogwarts.

Reporter: Rumor has it the stone was well guarded. How did you three get to it?

Harry: Well, we had to pass four test in order to get to the stone.

Reporter: What kind of tests?

Hermione: Herbology, Charms, Transfiguration and Potions.

Harry: If it wasn’t for Hermione, I never would’ve gotten pass the potions test. See, there were only two correct choices. One allowed you to move forward, the other allowed to go back.

Reporter: Only two? So how did you get back Ron?

Ron: Oh, um…I got knocked out in chess game before that.

Reporter: I see. So Harry, tell us about the Chamber in your second year, legend has it you took on a Basilisk all by yourself.

Harry: Well, I never would’ve found it if it weren’t for Hermione. She’s the one who figured out it was traveling through the pipes.

Reporter: Really Miss Granger?

Hermione: Well, I only helped, it was Harry who figured out where the chamber entrance was, took on Riddle solo and saved Ginny.

Reporter: Mr. Weasley, where were you?

Ron: I went with Harry into the chamber but we got separated when the roof caved in so I got stuck behind with Prof Lockhart.

Reporter: I see. Now Harry, tell us about your third year when you took on a heap of Dementors.

Harry: Well, I owe everything to Professor Lupin. He’s the one who taught me how to produce a Patronus.

Reporter: But didn’t you and Miss Granger break wizard law and travel back in time?

Harry: Um, yeah we did. See, Hermione had this Time Turner that Professor McGonagall gave her because she was taking so many classes that year. It allowed us to travel back, save both a Hippogriff named Buckbeat and my late Godfather Sirius Black from execution as well as our past selves.

Reporter: Hermione, you must’ve been one responsible 13 year old to be given a time turner?

Hermione: Well, Professor McGonagall always trusted in me so yeah, I guess.

Reporter: Mr. Weasley, what was it like to travel back in time?

Ron: Oh well, uh…I had my leg broken and was knocked out in the hospital when all this happened so I didn’t get to go.

Reporter: I see. Well Harry, what about the night when Voldemort returned in your forth year. Tell us, how did you escape him and all those DE’s?

Harry: Well it’s like I’ve said many times before, I used the Accio charm to summon the portkey over to me and that’s how I got away.

Reporter: Good thing you paid attention in Charms class huh?

Harry: Actually, it was Hermione who taught me that spell.

Reporter: Is that so Miss Granger?

Hermione: Well yes you see. I originally taught it to Harry so he could get pass the first task in the TWT which involved fire-breathing dragons. He needed a spell that would allow him to summon his Firebolt broomstick.

Reporter: Ah I see, I see. So tell us Ron, what was it like helping teach Harry the summoning spell? Was he a quick learner?

Ron: Actually, at that time Harry and I had a falling out and weren’t speaking to each other so I wouldn’t know.

Reporter: I see. Anyway Harry, the night the world found out Voldemort returned, tell us, how did you and your friends ever escape from Delores Umbridge?

Harry: Well, actually, it was all Hermione’s brilliant plan.

Reporter: Oh really? Tell us Miss Granger, how did you escape from that awful woman?

Hermione: Well I remember she went to use the Cruciatus Curse on Harry and I just couldn’t let that happen, so I lied and told her we were keeping a weapon for Professor Dumbledore hidden in the forest.

Reporter: Why did you say that?

Hermione: Well, earlier we had been in the forest when we discovered the Centaurs no longer wanted humans in there. So I figured if we went deep enough into the woods, they’d drive Umbridge away for us.

Reporter: That was smart. But wait. Why were you in the forbidden forest?

Harry: Hagrid took us there to meet his brother Grawp and that’s when we learned the Centaurs were angry with humans.

Reporter: Interesting. And what was Grawp like Mr. Weasley?

Ron: Um, actually, I was playing in a Quidditch match. I didn’t go with them to met Hagrid’s brother.

Reporter: I see, so it was just you and Hermione alone Harry?

Harry: And Hagrid.

Reporter: Yes of course, and Hagrid. So getting back to that night, did your plan work Miss Granger? Did the Centaurs drive Umbridge away?

Hermione: Oh yes they did, but they almost killed us as well.

Reporter: Heavens! Were you scared?

Hermione: Oh goodness yes! I had no idea what to say.

Reporter: Harry?

Harry: Yeah, I was scared too.

Reporter: And what about you Ron?

Ron: Er…I wasn’t there with them.

Reporter: Oh no? where were you?

Ron: I was back in Umbridge’s office gagged and tied up on the floor.

Reporter: I see. Well, thank you three for your time.

You see what I’m talking about? If JKR stays with this theme of Ron being separated, he’ll never truly be able to share in Harry and Hermione’s experiences. H/Hr will forever be linked—especially if they succeed in taking down Voldemort. Unless JKR makes Ron a big time hero in the next two books (which would be stupid but not totally out of the question considering the whole ‘prefect’ nonsense in OotP), he’s always going to be the third wheel. Now I know what you some of you r/hr shippers are saying “Well, a tricycle has three wheels and that’s what the trio is.” That analogy doesn’t apply to the trio and I’ll explain why. On a tricycle, you usually have one big front wheel (Harry) and two supporting wheels (R/Hr). If any of the wheels break off, the tricycle collapses and ceases to function. In the above examples, when Ron broke off, H/Hr continued just fine. They were still able to peddle forward without the third wheel. What kind of tricycle only needs two wheels? Well the answer isn’t a tricycle at all, it’s a bicycle.

For those of you now saying ”Oh, but I’ve seen three wheeled bicycles.” Yeah, but on those bikes, all the wheels are equally important. That’s not the case with the trio. Though Harry is the star of the books, within them, Hermione is every bit his equal as a character and student. Even JKR has said ‘Harry needs Hermione badly’. Ron is neither the star nor equal as a character, student, in ability, etc. For those of you thinking the trio’s more like a triangle, once again it doesn’t apply. When was the last time you saw a two-sided triangle? You know what a triangle is with on side missing? A right angle.

The fact of the matter is this, in every book, JKR has continued her pattern of turning the trio of H/Hr/R into the couple of H/Hr. When presented with every opportunity to truly show off some great r/Hr or H/G moment, JKR hasn’t taken it. Now ask yourself, why? JKR has said she wants to write her characters realistically. Now in real life, when two people go through an intense emotional experience together, they usually form a bond in some way. It doesn’t necessarily always lead to romance but a bond is formed nonetheless. Just look at all H/Hr have been through. Now look at what H/R have been through. Now look at what r/Hr have been through. Now look at what H/G have been through. Doesn’t even come close does it? JKR has made Harry and Hermione so far ahead of everyone else that at this point, there is no other suitable person for them.

I’m sorry to all other shippers out there, but for true love to happen, a foundation must first be set. Ginny just truly ‘developed’ in book 5—maybe not in your personal view, but in Harry’s eyes and his view is the only one that matters. He’s never noticed Ginny before, he hasn’t gone through anything with her (Chamber doesn’t count as she was knocked out. She wasn’t awake helping him fight the Basilisk or Riddle) and he doesn’t have any type of bond or shared experience with Ginny. OotP confirms this as even after Ginny makes her comment about being possessed, Harry doesn’t go and talk to her about what she experienced or what it was like. Perfect opportunity there for some H/G bonding and it doesn’t occur.

Hermione needs an equal partner and unfortunately, Ron is not that person. In no way shape or form is he on Hermione’s level. Not in maturity, intellect or magical ability. To date Ron would be a step down for Hermione. He snaps at her for no reason (Corresponding with Krum via owl post is a crime?) and his normal attitude towards her is rude (Hermione very clearly says this in OotP). Why would a girl like Hermione—smart, beautiful and strong—want to date Ron? In every way imaginable, she exceeds him and as we see in OotP, the only thing they share is time waiting for Harry. This isn’t meant as Ron bashing, but the hard truth is that JKR has simply not written Ron that way.

Ron represents the normal kid in the trio and everyone acknowledges that. Problem is, JKR has made him so normal, he’s almost unimportant now as OotP demonstrated. Harry and Hermione are compatible. If they were to pair up in a contest against other students, there’s no one their age that can match up against them. Hell, H/Hr have even outsmarted DE’s—much less regular wizards. JKR has written the H/Hr relationship in such a way that realistically, they’ll never be satisfied with anyone else. In every way possible, it’s quite clear that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were literally made for each other

[sunnysaystuff]

tired of dominant fuckboy remus x hysterical submissive sirius!

can you please give me a remus who's short! whose body is WEAK and SMALL because of the constant transformations ravaging it (makes more sense than tall alpha remus...he was turned when he was FOUR. HE WAS FOUR. do you not think that the constant transformations would affect his development. omfg) give me a remus who's SHY because he's never been able to properly make friends because of the constant moving around?? give me a CANONICALLY QUIET shy maybe a bit snarky (he had to have been kinda funny to fit in with the marauders) remus.

give me a sirius who's flamboyant. who's STRONG and ANGRY and UPSET. give me a sirius who CAN SWITCH because he SO COULD??? i think sirius could definitely top? pls stop giving regulus's "uwu i love my family" traits to sirius 'cause sirius hated his family. he despised them. he wasn't constantly in need of a big sexy man to dom him and make him forget or whatever okay. give me a sirius who's PUNK and likes MOTORBIKES and fucking mcr or something. oh my god.

give me a wolfstar that isn't inherently heteronormative (big strong man x shy skirt-wearing bean?? nothing against sirius in a skirt i think it's cool as hell. but not if you reduce him to "o-oh remus🥺!" i think sirius could totally dom remus skirt or no skirt seriously...) and like. a lot of the time fem-presenting sirius is accompanied by alpha remus and his big strong muscles which is. okay :/ can i have skirt wearing sirius and our quiet remus please?

idk i just really miss the top punk sirius x soft remus days

OH AND

WOLFSTAR SHIPPERS. STOP MINIMIZING THE PLATONIC PRONGSFOOT. canonically sirius chose james over remus every time. sorry but it's true. james was literally everything to sirius, more than anyone else. i'm not saying you have to portray it that way, but at the very least have sirius's friendship with james be AS important as his relationship with remus. don't suddenly make remus the only one who gets sirius, the only one he can confide in, the one he always turns to.

when sirius ran, he ran to james. okay?? he ran to james.

"Harry had the distinct impression that Sirius was the only one for whom James would have stopped showing off" -OotP

js sayin...they were special to each other.

miss the old wolfstar times chat

[pangaeaseas]

apparently people are going around calling Lily an enabler to Snape? What? are people really incapable of looking at a female character and going, 'wow, she's human and flawed and three dimensional and doing her best' without coming up with some condemnation because they can only assess whether they like her character on the basis of her position in a rivalry between male characters? ok yeah they totally are come on now.

but like. now I personally am interested in the idea that while Lily was an excellent friend to Snape, she maybe gave him more chances than she should have AND that she may have been a not great friend to Mary Macdonald in the process, but like, that's based on my headcanon not really on actual canonical material (since while Mary Macdonald is basically the only named character besides Snape and then later the other marauders we have any evidence at all was friends with Lily, it's far from conclusive evidence!) and. you know, even in a scenario where she's friends with Mary and thus might well owe her 'not being friends with someone who's friends with someone who attacked me likely for my blood status or politics and doesn't condemn this behavior, writing it off as a laugh', that's not *being an enabler to Snape* that's looking for the best in someone she cares deeply for and neglecting the feelings of a more recent and less close friend in the process, and I tend to think 'caring too much for a few people' is a consistent character flaw of Lily's that makes her interesting, not something to demonize her for. If she was 'enabling' Snape in any meaningful way she wouldn't, you know, be challenging him on the Mary Macdonald incident the way she does, and her friendship isn't meaningfully offering him support in joining the Death Eaters--it's probably a roadblock on his way, as she intended it to be! She's not making excuses for him or helping him in self-destructive behavior (what an enabler does), she just wants to see the best in him and she actually calls out his excuses for the Mary incident! She does make excuses for him to HER FRIENDS at least according to herself when she's calling him out but that's not the same as making excuses for him to HIM, which is what an 'enabler' does. He then shifts the discussion onto James who has nothing to do with anything because he *is* trying to distract her and make excuses for himself since he knows she wouldn't tolerate him flat out acting like a Death Eater! When he does, by calling her a Mudblood, she immediately drops him even though it is painful. It's pretty clear that this incident was what allowed her to see clearly he was going to become (or may even already have been) a Death Eater, and when she has to face that reality, she immediately ends the friendship.