This page is not affiliated in any way with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., Scholastic, Bloomsbury, or any other entity that has something to do with Harry Potter.
If you would like to visit their official pages, please go to the links page and find the link you would enjoy. Also, no money or profit is intended or made from these pages. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling and are her property. No infringement is intended. Pages are for entertainment purposes only.
Shipping
That was always a thing I stayed away from for good reason.
I was afraid of what might be in the water and didn't want to get my feet wet if and when I should choose a ship, either by getting on or off the ship, or by being pushed and pulled by other ship-mates and shippers and heaven forbid the "pirates" out there that love to blast and raid the ships around them.
Also, I have a fear of sharks.
And JKR has the total power to sink any ship at any time without warning, sending those poor shippers straight into shark infested waters with no hope of return, or salvation. It is a false hope to think the other ships would pull these unfortunate souls to safety. Far from it, there is an almost Malfoy-like glee pasted onto their faces as they watch the sharks devour the hopes and dreams of their rivals until not a trace is left on the sparkling water, and the bay returns to it's peaceful dreamlike serenity.
Why should I dedicate myself to a ship, only to fear it would be blasted out from under me? I enjoy the series as is, and fully recognize JKR's awesome powers and give her free reign in her universe (as if my opinion mattered to her, but still)
So, why do I find myself suddenly planted feet firmly on the deck of a ship (and one that has a lot of iron aimed at it at that)?
A very good question. I didn't even realize it, but I was slowly being pulled by several things towards a particular ship the whole time. Now, don't get me wrong, I wasn't wearing a Raspberry life-preserver and floating around the bay ever so unconcernedly.
I was actively staying as far from the docks as I could!
But ever so subtly I was starting to choose and even defend a ship.
I never denied having a ship, I just didn't realize I had one!
I didn't realize it that is...until my sister came to visit.
I was looking at some fan art.
I look a lot and most of the shipping ones too....(never thinking about them as anything but works of art, I was looking at the artistry, not neccessarily the subject matter)
Anyway, we came across a H/Hr pairing. And she protested that R/Hr was so much more obvious, so why did these people even bother?
That rankled me.....deeply.
And then I was confused.
I couldn't respond.
There was no warning for me.
One minute I'm in the middle of the "real-world" having a happy time discussing HP (my fav subject) with my beloved family member, and the next minute I found myself on a ship in the midst of a battle mode. People around me were inevitably turning about and pulling ropes and levers and aiming a huge cannon right at my sister!
After a startled moment where I gathered my wits about me, I quickly threw an invisibility cloak over both my sister and I, and kept her silent until the shippers around us quieted down after many confused shouts of "where'd she go?" and "I know someone was here bashing our ship! Look! There's a small dent in the wood here!"
Slowly the T-bay in all it's glorious, sun-sparkled water faded from my view, and I was once again sitting in the "real-world" with my sister.
She moved quickly on to a different subject, but I was left pondering what I'd just seen in the back of my mind. I was on a ship! I was definately on a ship! And slowly, even as slowly as the poison of a snake seeps through your veins, things sunk in to me. (Sunk probably being a poor choice of words for someone finding themselves on a ship)
I had been slowly defending this ship to myself and others for quite a while, albeit in a subtle and somewhat indifferent way. Canon was slowly pointing me towards this ship. All the people I met in T-bay were influencing me ever so slightly in different ways, but nevertheless my destination was set. And, I found I'd been hoping for a ship, but remained unconvinced of things for different reasons.
So...the next question is why this ship?
Well.....the first thing was quite honestly, I felt/and do feel extremely attached to Harry. I want the best for him, and only the best will do. Someone that is WORTHY of him and his affections. Someone who will understand him enough to support him and comfort him even in unspoken ways. Someone who can help him both emotionally, and in life. Someone to help him carry his enormous burden. Someone he can be with forever...we're talking long-term commitment, something he needs in his life. Who in canon could take this role?
Well, the girls in canon are as follows:
Parvati Patil : Harry went to the Yule ball with her, and they seemed to get along all right until he didn't want to dance anymore and stopped paying a lot of attention to her. I can't really blame her, but at the same time she was being a tad bit superficial with him in the first place. She's portrayed as giggly and sometimes leans a litte towards catty. She's also said to be one of the best looking girls in their year. That's nice for her, but she also highly admires Trelawny. This would lead me to believe that she is a little more shallow than what Harry needs. She never plays a big role in the books, so we don't really know her, but I cross her off the list because of the behaviors she displays towards Hagrid and her impatience that shines through specifically at the Yule Ball.
Lavender Brown : She is much the same as Parvati, and as they're best friends I'd tend to say the same things about her. I cross her off since she shows the same behaviors of shallowness and cattiness that Parvati does.
Cho Chang : Well, Harry's only crush thus far. Why deny him what he thinks he likes? Because....she's too perfect. And perfect people are dangerous. Harry hasn't ever seen Cho in her bad moments until OOP and then he quite firmly and quietly puts her behind him. Not that she was evil there, but her behavior was somewhat deplorable when you find out that she only wanted to use Harry to try and come to terms with Cedric. But maybe I'm being too harsh on her. She might very well have just been confused, since she did seem to like Harry beforehand as well as Cedric. I feel very sorry for her, but I knew in the back of my mind even in POA that it was never going to happen with her. I didn't really dislike her, but I was never enthusiastic about her, and especially not after she started dating Cedric. But then, I never really liked Cedric all that much either.
Ginny Weasley : I have NEVER liked this ship. For many reasons. One is that I think Ginny is the typical little sister here. And if Harry were to start dating her, it would only cause problems between him and Ron. Ron has already proven to be jealous of Harry, and overprotective of Ginny. If they (G/H) had ANY kind of an argument at all (and everyone does, it's inevitable) this would totally blow up their friendship. And even if they didn't argue, Ron and Harry's friendship would be over as they know it. It is impossible to be close to siblings when one is your friend and the other you're dating. Feelings get hurt. Loyalties get confused. Your confidences are broken. For Harry and Ginny to get together, Ron would have to die. Or they would have to argue and end up estranged for life.
Another reason is that I just don't think that Ginny loves Harry enough. Sure, she crushes on him, but it's an unhealthy hero-worship type thing. She doesn't know him enough to love him. Could they get closer? Not with Ron around. So I think that she might be better off with someone else.
Another thing is that Harry desperately needs the whole Weasley family to surrogate his home life. If he were to suddenly start being a "boyfriend" type persona instead of a "brother/son" type, it would change the dynamics of the relationship he has (especially with Molly, remember Ginny is the ONLY girl) and he needs that relationship too much to lose over adolescent emotions.
I rather see her going with Neville. He is going to come into his own someday, and be a better and more confident wizard. Then he will be a force to be reckoned with. I can easily see her coaxing it out of him, and he coaxing it out of her, and they being a powerful pair. Besides they went to the Yule Ball together, and Neville deserves a nice girl. Ginny is tending to go for older guys, so I think they might happen.
Fleur Delacour : Laughing.....you're serious? She's too old for Harry. Let's face it she calls him a little boy. No, if anyone, I think Fleur is interested in Bill Weasley. Besides Harry has already shown to be unaffected by her Veela charms. And she has quite a temper.
Pansy Parkinson : Snort....yeah right. She's not a nice person, and I'll leave it at that. Besides, she has Draco written all over her.
Eloise Midgeon : Well, maybe if we knew something about her other than that she's really nice and has loads of acne. She's too much of an unknown.
That leaves two other potentials and I remain undecided on one of them.
Luna Lovegood : She has to be one of my favorite characters in the series apart from Harry, and I didn't think that would happen. Harry is so far ahead of everyone in my favorites list that it's laughable. But he IS being approached by Luna! She shows enormous potential. But she seems more interested in Ron. (Believe it or not.) I'm opposed to this pairing mostly because I really like Luna, and I don't really care for Ron and his treatment of others.
However, despite her somewhat indifferent infatuation with Ron, there was that tender moment at the end of OOP where Harry was feeling for her because of people taking her things, and they shared a deep level of understanding about death, she was the only one he didn't mind talking to about Sirius. That is a major thing. It shows trust, and confidence and mutual understanding.
Plus she's really a strong individual. She's not afraid of, or influenced by other people. She's not bitter about her treatment, nor cowed by the taunting she recieves. She's not afraid to be herself, and believe what she wants to despite what others say. She doesn't retort or respond in anger, nor does she let others hurt her. She might seem spacey, but I think she's on a deeper level than most people. She sees things that are truly there and important in life, even if she is quick to believe in everything. Harry needs a girl like this to help him develop these traits and who understands what he's been through. However, the reason I'm unsure about this particular pairing and why I haven't jumped onto this ship is that she really is still unknown. As much as we know her. I wouldn't want them to get together unless it were going to stick. And we don't know for sure where her inclinations lie. There's enormous potential here for her to go either way, but I hope we see her get more page-time and at the very least develop a good and deep friendship with Harry.
And my new SHIP
Hermione Granger : It's so right in so many ways. She's been there for Harry from the very beginning (despite all the things that Ron could do to chase her off) Harry and she cared about each other from the start. He was the one who talked Ron into saving her, and she's been saving him right back ever since. There seems to be a sort of mutual attraction there that goes deeper than adolescent crushes and puppy love games. It's a deeper kind of love. One that lasts the test of time. This is why I don't believe we will ever see a dating H/Hr in school, but that they'll get together later for marraige. Hermione will be there for Harry just as she always has been. She's tuned in to him. She knows what he's thinking and how he's feeling almost as soon as he does. She always wants what's best for him. She's always trying to help him, even if it means putting herself in danger. (What's that you say? Ron does too?....Um...only to a point. A lot of the time he is tagging along after the fact. Harry is the initiator. Hermione is the brains. Ron has the potential to do both, but time and time again he passes the buck for them to pick up, and then just tags along, even when it involves his own sister! Most of the time he is in his own world, and totally clueless to what the other two are picking up. I'm not saying that's bad, but it's obvious Hermione is more intune with Harry than Ron is by a long shot) She is willing to risk most anything, even her deepest fears, for Harry. The wrath of teachers, the threat of expulsion, the terrors of the dark forest, the punishment of authority, injury, death, and even his anger, no questions asked. She always has his best interest at heart in her actions. When she disagrees with him on important issues, she tries to sway his mind with thought out arguments, and she's loath to bring up subjects she knows might chafe him. She tries to help him achieve his goals whatever they might be, including understanding another girl, whom he clearly liked. She respects him, and his abilities, and his wishes and dreams in life. Respect that goes deeper than her wants and needs. Respect that goes so far as to help him achieve whatever he sets his sights on, even when it goes against what she would like.
BUT, and this is the most important thing : Harry returns that respect. He returns those intuitive and gentle feelings. He will not point out where Hermione is going wrong unless it's an important issue.(Think Dobby and S.P.E.W. and all those knitted hats) He refuses to say anything against her, and defends her to others who attack her (including Cho, Malfoy, Snape, and Ron) even if it is detrimental to those other relationships, or his own well-being. He understands her moods even if he does nothing outright to comfort her as much as she does him. Let's face it, he does have to be pretty focused on himself to get through the challenges facing him during school.
JKR has described them as platonic friends. And that's all they need to be.....for now. They have a future. Not to snog, and shag, and move on. But to spend eternally with each other in mutual love and understanding. A beautiful example of the closest thing to true love that is seen yet in HP (I used to think that James and Lily were true love, but the latest OOP portrayal of James' behavior has made me step back and wonder just what the truth was. I can't quite trust Snape's version of one event.)
I always get a sense of rightness and of happiness when I think of H/Hr together.
Now that I had planted my feet firmly on wood and began swaying in time with the gentle rhythym of the bay, I found it necessary to defend myself, and my mates, against certain arguments.
The most vehement people responding to me were R/Hr shippers.
I never had anything against R/Hr. In fact I rather thought it was a little obvious as well,...until GOF that is. Then, I saw some MAJOR relationship problems between them. Did I think they might still get together? Sure....but it wouldn't last. They can't even have one simple conversation together without all that argument starting. Ron is simply too immature to have a lasting relationship with someone as serious as Hermione.
Now, Ron will most likely mature into a more delightful and good person. And were he to do so, and then crush on Hermione, they might have a chance.
But the facts are that he likes her NOW. and now, he is NOT that mature person that he needs to be. Their arguments are almost violent now. Throw in the emotions of dating, and they'll explode.
BUT, and this is the more important factor, Hermione and Harry have a very special friendship and a very special bond. Ron is now jealous of that, and were they to get together (R/Hr) that closeness she shares with Harry would have to stop in order to keep Ron from resenting and coming to despise that. It would bring mistrust between him and Harry, and he's already shown that he can't handle that and would leave the friendship estranged. Harry needs Ron, and he needs Hermione. But whereas Hermione knows and respects the bond that he and Ron share, Ron is already jealous and practically intolerant of the bond they share.
Beyond that, I have yet to see anyone point out how they are right for each other the way that I can see H/Hr are. All the canons this ship loads are full of "love-hate bickering" aka Arguing and "you pull the pigtails of the one you love" type things. That is not what we're debating here. No one doubts that Ron has the crush on Hermione. The thing is....are they right for each other?
I have never felt that same rightness and good overall fuzziness for R/Hr as I have for H/Hr It's not that he doesn't deserve her. Why wouldn't he? It's not that he couldn't get her. Again, why wouldn't he be able to? It's that they SHOULDN'T be together. They're not suited for each other. I want them to both end up happy. I don't see that happening with each other.
Some of the arguments for R/Hr mostly have to do with Ron deserving Hr and winning over Harry for a change. Is this really the criteria you want to help you win your spouse? Your eternal partner and true love? It's all about winning out over your best friend?! That is one of the worst arguments for R/Hr I've ever heard! It has nothing to do with their relationship.
Another big argument for R/Hr is that opposites attract and they are definately opposites. Well, just because they do attract, doesn't mean they're meaningful or lasting. Let's take a look at the factors. Ron is irresponsible and Hermione calls him on it. One way that she is his opposite, and one of the major factors in their bickering. Sort of a bossy relationship there isn't it? What happens when he really gets tired of her telling him what to do, or she gets totally sick of him slacking off responsiblity all the time. If they slide in on the scale a little during their maturing, then they aren't opposites anymore, and the whole theory is moot. In fact, I have yet to see any more examples than this and their different temparments as proof that they're opposite. And being opposites doesn't always mean peace. That factor starts some of the biggest fights around, as the parties can never quite see eye to eye about things.
I see Ron getting a really pretty and nice girl after he's matured a little and quit being so self conscious about his wealth, or lack of it, and gained a little more self esteem. He's on his way now, having won the quidditch cup for Gryffindor, and I think he'll really come out all right in the end.
H/G shippers are the next biggest protesters, though admittedly they're mostly the same audience as the R/Hr shippers since these ships often go hand in hand.
They argue that the only reason Harry isn't interested in Ginny is that she's overlooked, or underdeveloped as a character. JKR has said she will become a more prolific character in the books, and a stronger female role. They argue then that Ginny will devlop more into a strong and caring individual worthy of Harry's attentions. Well, see my above answer to Ginny Weasley, and you'll see that her undeveloped character wasn't my major concern over this ship. Although, I'll have to admit this is the only ship I really enjoy aiming cannons at and would love to see go down in gruesome flames. I DON'T like this pairing.
H/Lu shippers are next in line to complain to me. Well, mostly because like the above R/Hr ship going with H/G the H/Hr shippers have taken up R/Lu as their partner ship.
Hmmm....how to respond to them? They don't really have a solid bases in canon yet, and as I am standing with one toe on this ship as well, I really don't have a platform to argue from with them. However, let me just say that canon shows a rightness with H/Hr that Luna doesn't yet share. I really wouldn't cry buckets if they end up together, but I might if R/Lu do. (Depends on how he develops I guess, and how he treats her, not looking so good right now)
That said, I'm not sure if I'm glad I found a ship to be on. I might have been better off to stay completely in denial (a nice little stream off the bay that many people can hide in and the current isn't too strong most of the time, though once or twice a year, a flood runs through that sweeps some of us off to the bay where we end up on ships if only to save our own lives. Remember the bay is full of sharks!)
| Back | Next Essay |