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One of the biggest obstacles and objections that we H/Hr’s face is that the books are written from Harry’s POV. R/Hr’s are quick to point out that if Harry had feelings about Hermione, wouldn’t we know since it is from his POV? This set me to thinking, and I came up with a theory.
I call this the triangle theory.
JKR will not want her characters involved in a love triangle in the most full and dramatic sense. She has said that this isn’t a story about romance, it’s an adventure (Any good adventure includes romance IMO but that is beside the point) They cannot have an all out war over Hermione, because they need each other, and they need to stick together in order to defeat Voldemort.
On the other hand, she needs to have a good rivalry going on to heighten the mystery of who will end up with whom. As she’s writing from Harry’s POV, it would become completely obvious to the reader who he would end up with if she expanded, or detailed the feelings he has. Or, if not obvious, it would be full of that full-blown love triangle angst that fanfic writers are so in love with, and constitutes any good romance, but is rarely seen in adventures.
In order to avoid that, heighten suspense, keep her readers in the dark, and the shipping wars going full guns, she completely avoids having Harry openly think about these things. Yet, she sets up a triangle of suggestion, and misunderstanding, to promote her mystery.
Yet, the subtext, and clues are there, if you know where to look.
Keeping In mind that this is Harry’s POV, and what he believes, we believe, I came up with the following:
Ron:
I don’t believe that Ron has a crush on Hermione, or likes her in any way romantically speaking. Harry just thinks he does, and is holding himself back from recognizing and acting on his feelings about Hermione out of respect for Ron.
Ron, while at times seems to be acting the jealous boy with a crush, other times really acts more like a protective older brother. He treats Hermione the same as he treats Ginny.
In GOF when he found out that Hermione had a date, he first denied her statement, and then accused her of lying. After that he worked as hard as he could to surprise the truth out of her and find out who she was going with. When he DOES find out, he flies off the handle and though he doesn’t actually threaten Krum, (an older student I might point out), he does destroy his model and make fun of him to Hermione and Harry, saying how he doesn’t like him and how shady he is since he goes to Durmstrang.
In OOP when he finds out Ginny is going out with Michael, (a student older than her, but his same age) he flies off the handle and says he never liked him. Later when he finds out about Dean, his reaction is much the same (which is why I believe we’re not treated to the whole scene as it would be a little redundant).
Ron seems surprised that Hermione is a girl. He seems surprised that she can look pretty. He seems surprised that she can get a date. He seems surprised that she kisses his cheek. He seems surprised that Hermione says ask me first!
His total oblivion to her makes me think Ron sees Hermione as someone he needs to protect like Ginny.
The following is from OOP when she kisses him before the Quidditch match. This is from the US hb pg 404 chapter 19
This scene clearly speaks out that Ron had never thought of Hermione kissing him before. He's confused, and its not about the match. Hermione's kiss brought him back to himself, and then he touched the spot on his cheek and looked confused. His distance and abstraction later can be debated to be between this and the nerves of his first Quidditch game.
It speaks one thing very clearly to me though. If he had been crushing on Hermione, and she finally showed an inkling of interest towards him, with a kiss, he wouldn't have looked confused. He would have been jubilant, more confident, maybe even shown some outward sign of returning her the favor.
His actions here remind me more of when he received the Prefects badge. Something he wasn't ever expecting, and was surprised to receive. He remained silent. He stared at it. Held it out to Harry, as though asking for confirmation. And he remained in this shocked and silent state until Hermione came bursting in and assumed it was Harry that got the badge. Even then he didn't speak until she questioned him of it being true.
When Hermione kissed him, he remained silent. He clearly puzzled it over. He felt his cheek as though checking for confirmation that it had happened. The same behavior for something he clearly wasn't expecting, and was surprised to receive.
If Ron actually looks at Hermione as just a friend, or a sister, someone much like Ginny, his behavior towards Hermione becomes both, a lot more tolerable, and a lot more easily explained.
The petty bickering and fighting is often like you would see between siblings. The way he always seems to enjoy deflating her joy and passions (House Elves, SPEW, her allegiance to teachers, her enjoyment of homework, her work ethic, etc...) with barbed comments, teasing, bullying, and never giving her a break (Firebolt, Scabbers, OWLS, etc...) If he saw her as a romantic interest, this behavior is both dominating and abusive, horrifying really. I cannot see how anyone would think this is cute.
Anyway, at the end of the Yule Ball when Harry walks in on Ron and Hermione fighting...
Well, that's Harry's interpretation. We as readers follow it right along never giving it a second thought, because Harry is our eyes to the story after all. If he said Ron missed the point, it must be true. However, what if it was Hermione and also Harry that missed the point. Whatever the point was, because we don’t actually know what the fight was about. What that mysterious “it” is that Hermione’s asking Ron about.
Harry:
Harry makes a lot of assumptions here, and as we see things through his eyes, we accept these assumptions as fact. Yet, Harry’s assumptions have been proved wrong before. He assumed Quirrell the bad guy in book one, Sirius to be guilty in book three, and a multitude of other things that we as readers were assuming right along with him.
This assumption just happens to cover more than one book though, as it continues from GOF along to OoP as well. Harry is continuing to assume that Ron likes Hermione, and that Hermione likes Ron as well.
Hermione and Harry think alike. They’ve shown this in several ways throughout the time they’ve known each other…realizing clues together, understanding mysteries together, reacting together, galvanizing into action at the same time, and generally thinking the same thing, all plays a part. But Ron clearly doesn’t share this. He doesn’t understand things as soon as they do, he doesn’t catch clues when they do, and he is often caught off guard, or unawares when they react. It stands to reason that Ron doesn’t think like they do.
Therefore, it stands to reason that Ron could be saying one thing, and BOTH Harry and Hermione misinterpret it the same way. They could both be making the mistake of thinking that Ron likes Hermione in a romantic way, rather than just as a friend.
If Ron continues thinking of Hermione in the same vein as Ginny, and Ginny finally convinces him that she isn’t after Harry anymore, or Harry convinces him that he’s not interested in Ginny, we might sit and amusedly watch as Ron pushes Harry to get with Hermione instead.
One line in OoP already suggests this, although its highly open to interpretation. When Ron is telling Ginny to choose someone better next time...
This can be interepreted in the obvious way of Ron hoping Harry and Ginny would go together. It can also be interpreted as Ron hinting to Harry to listen to his advice, and choose someone better (possibly Hermione) than Cho.
Hermione:
Hermione might be thinking that Ron likes her, and since she likes Harry, she discreetly tries to discourage Ron, without coming out one way or another with any declarations, or accusations. I don’t see this as arrogance on her part, but a simple misunderstanding. She believes Ron to be jealous. She is not his sister, like Ginny, so she interprets his jealousy to be a crush. It is a perfectly understandable mistake. She then tells him (or rather shouts in the heat of the argument) that he should ask first next time, a perfect opening to let him expel any feelings. Note that she does not guarantee she would accept any early proposals, or dates from him even if he DID ask her first.
At the same time she is forced to keep herself friendly and reconciled with Ron for Harry’s sake. Ron is his best friend. Hermione does anything she can for Harry, and if she doesn’t even scare away his love interest (Cho), you know she would do anything she could to protect the sanctity of his friendship with Ron.
Harry has not shown any inclination towards declaring his love for her, so she can’t really be sure that he would stand by her side. Therefore the most prudent course of action towards Ron, would be discreetly discouraging his attentions, while preserving and building a closeness to Harry. Ron is totally clueless about the matter, and it aids both Hermione’s interests, and JKR’s statements.
JKR
One thing I’ve come to expect from JKR’s statements is that they’re always ambiguous. She’s almost Slytherin-like in her statements routinely achieving her ends through misdirection. She tells the person asking what they want to hear, but also only what she wants to reveal. She misleads us by telling the truth. She’ll never explain her answers, and she’s always as vague as she can get. In the Barnes and Noble Chat on the 20 October 2000 she was asked the following:
This particular quote has been devastating to the H/Hr ship, because it implies that Hermione is the one with the feelings towards Ron. However, if it is as I suspect, that Hermione is only interpreting Ron’s feelings incorrectly, he could still be clueless, and our Hermione still in love with Harry, no hard feelings all around. The thing that is “going on” is that Hermione is trying to show Ron she doesn’t care for him, that she likes Harry, and Ron is simply oblivious to the whole situation. (it keeps Ron’s blundering and comic relief type persona in character to interpret the canon this way)
One thing that I’ve always been afraid of would be the fights that would ensue if both boys were interested in Hermione. Their feelings might never be reconciled, even if they never had a blow out fight and shouting match to release those pent up frustrations. Both would always feel second best. Harry has felt that way because of his family situation and abuse, and Ron because of his family situation, and average accomplishments, and neither would benefit from being the losing side. Both would have plenty of reason to withdraw and sulk, and LOSE the friendship they have with the others.
In this time of war, where the message, Love will conquer all, is starting to shine through, and they’re being told over and over to stick together, form alliances, and forget their differences, something like this could destroy everything. And this was my main objection to having a love triangle in the story.
A popular “fix-all” for the triangle in fanfics is to kill off either Ron or Harry. I don’t like this solution either, and I’m confident that JKR will not take this route either. It taints the perfect love that we see in H/Hr if Hermione only goes out with Harry because Ron is dead. It slights Hermione’s character to think that she would only go out with Ron if Harry were dead. It just seems wrong all around, and a huge cop-out to take the death route in order to secure the feelings and marriage of the preferred characters.
The love Harry and Hermione share will be strong. Not filled with shoulda woulda couldas, not settling for second best, and not a rebound oh-what-the-hey type relationship. I cringe from those. That is not the beauty of the H/Hr ship.
I am confident that Voldemort will NOT win the war. Therefore, I am confident that the trio will be preserved, and love will conquer all. The name of the book is Harry Potter and [insert preferred title here]…. Therefore Harry will be the one to love.
Ron will continue to add to the humor of the books (especially now that we’ve lost Fred and George) and I see Ginny helping him with the comic relief. The real adventure though, will be shared by our two heroes, and aided by the entire Order, all their friends, and possibly the entire school (maybe minus the Slytherins)
Harry’s POV is mistaken, and that mistake HAS to come to light sooner or later. When it does, both he, we, and Hermione will benefit by the truth, and a loverly, pumpkiny, true blue through and through, romantic love story.
JKR is sneaky, and she’s giving us a love triangle through misinterpretation, while preserving the character’s relationships and friendships via an absent triangle in reality.
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