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Random Ruminations on Ron Weasley
Um, Ron’s been on my mind a lot lately. Because of my mad love for Rupert and how he pops up on my dashboard every five minutes and also because I’ve been reading loads of fic and watching DH1 over and over. And I’m basically exploding with love for the boy. I don’t even know. I have all these ~feelings~ about him and they aren’t organized or deep and there probably isn’t anything there other people haven’t seen and said a thousand times, but I thought I’d share them for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ohwaluvusbab and redsilverchains and mollivanders, who love him, too. RON STAN FOR LIFE.
Also, this is all out of my head because the last time I read the books? Was when they came out. So it's possible I got some canon confused here? Just as a caveat.
· As much as I am absolutely thrilled that my boy survived to marry Hermione and have, as Emma Watson likes to say, “those beautiful redheaded babies” (OMG I LOVE THAT GIRL SUCH A SHIPPER), I think it would have been beyond fitting if he’d died to save Harry in some way. Like, that would have been the natural extension of his character I think. I just saw someone call him “a big ball of loyalty and freckles” and it made me flailflailflail because YES.
· The more I think about how many awesome Ron moments were STOLEN from him by the ridiculous movie makers and given (usually) to Hermione, who is plenty awesome enough on her own and doesn’t need Ron’s characterization to help her, THE ANGRIER I GET. HULKSMASH. STAB STAB STAB. This is the boy who stood up on a broken leg and told ~infamous murderer~ Sirius Black that he would have to kill him to get to Harry. This is the boy who went completely mental when Hermione was being tortured and screamed and screamed for her. Favorite moments. Not in the movies. Kloves, I am not happy with you.
· Is Ron the only other character in the books besides Harry with an actual arc? I sometimes think so.
· Perfectness: Ron being the one most affected by the Horcrux. This is a boy who is made up of insecurities. Harry, poor boy, never once doubts that he is ~important~ and honestly that’s part of his burden. But Ron’s is different. Ron always sees himself as the youngest Weasley boy, as Harry Potter’s best friend, as someone who’s not particularly good at anything except chess and that only counted the once (“I’ll be a knight.” OH MY BOY YES YOU WILL ALWAYS). He always thinks he’s overshadowed and no one particularly important. He mostly sees himself in relationships to other people (which is usually a female trait, interestingly enough). His view of himself is completely at odds with who he really is: funny and smart and loyal and a really damn good friend. And yet he doesn’t possess any particularly shining skills (like Harry, who is good at SO MANY THINGS so very young—uh, Quidditch in 1st Year? And Hermione’s brains, of course) and so he’s never going to see himself as special. There’s this fascinating tension between the way he seems himself (as nothing special) and what his actions prove (he’s in the thick of danger, right there alongside Harry since day one, and he could walk away at any time, and it doesn’t even occur to him to do so until the Horcrux, which, more about that anon). He doesn’t see that he’s funny like the twins but knows how to be serious or that he might not be as smart as Bill or Percy but that what smarts he does have are focused on things that are so much more important than anything that they could do. That tension is where he lives and where his arc is and why he’s the second most well-drawn character in the books (we don’t get inside Hermione’s head nearly enough, which is a shame).
· And I think he’s aware of his feelings for Hermione for a lot longer than he let on. But his thought process is, “She’s so brilliant, and she’ll never see me like that. Why would she when I’m standing next to Harry? Or to one of my brothers? Or anyone at all.”
· Slughorn’s special little club seems designed to play on his insecurities. I almost feel like that plotline is there more for Ron than for Harry. Because that man collects talented, special people. And he collects Harry and Hermione and even Ginny. But he can’t remember Ron’s name. What does that say to him? POOR BOY. *huggles him*
· So it also makes perfect sense that when Lavender starts pursuing him, he gives in. Ginny’s comment about Hermione snogging Krum was just confirmation for him that he’s never going to be a star Quidditch player like Krum. He’s not special. Hermione won’t give him the time of day. And yet here’s this girl and she’s pretty and she wants him. And he’s, what? Sixteen years old? Yeah, that goes to his head. Perfectly in character.
· Also perfectly in character that he starts to want out pretty quickly and yet can’t seem to break up with her. He’s not a bad guy at all, and the physical isn’t enough to keep him invested. But who isn’t terrified of rejecting someone? I know I would be.
· But back to the Horcrux. Harry knows he has to keep going on. His mission is always going to be important. He can’t walk away from it because he’s literally the only one who can stop Voldemort and also the Death Eaters are always going to be pursuing him. And Hermione, I think, knows perfectly well that the boys would be at sea without her (seriously, I giggled helplessly in the movie when Ron said that they wouldn’t last two days without Hermione because seriously, they wouldn’t last two minutes. The books should have been about her. All I’m saying. :D) and she has much less to lose—she’s taken care of her parents, who are as safe as they can possibly be, and she has the only two other really meaningful people in her life with her (she must have some other relationships besides Harry and Ron, but I sure don’t know what they are). But Ron. Insecurities. Plus, all that family he could lose. A family of very, very brave ultimate Gryffindors who aren’t going to be sitting on the sidelines. Between those two things, the Horcrux can claw its way inside him so easily because he’s so very raw. OH MY BOY.
· And so he reaches a breaking point. Despair. I’ve been there. Clinical depression definitely hits you with that sort of thing. Thankfully, I haven’t been there very long or often, but I’ve been there. [I could easily read the Horcrux as a sort of metaphor for clinical depression since it’s something that isn’t your fault and affects you profoundly and you have to carry it around and it manipulates your emotions no matter what your rational mind is telling you, etc. But no rabbit trails for me.] And he just wants a break from that despair just for one minute just one single minute, and so he takes it.
· And instantly regrets it.
· Not even five minutes later. Out of the influence of the Horcrux and with a moment to cool down (or…emerge from what had been drowning him, taking a deep breath), he instantly wants to go back. And can’t. OH MY HEART.
· The time he spends away from Harry and Hermione must be a sort of purgatory for him. It would confirm to him that he isn’t worth anything, if he’d leave his friends behind. I would give my right arm for a really, really well-written fic that explored what he was doing during that time, because I can’t even imagine his emotional state. His one moment of weakness and it seems to steal everything from him. It’s so, so significant to me that he doesn’t go back to the Burrow. He’s been worrying about his family, missing that emotional comfort of home and security, and yet when he has a chance to retreat back to that place, he doesn’t go there. He’s in a bit of a holding pattern while he’s waiting to get back to the place where he belongs.
· And the lights lead him. Dumbledore’s gift. Dumbledore and I have our ~issues~ but he did right by my boy. Perfect.
· AND THEN THERE’S THE HORCRUX DESTRUCTION SCENE. SERIOUSLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE SCENES IN ALL OF HARRY POTTER AND I CAN’T TALK ABOUT IT LIKE A RATIONAL PERSON I MUST MERELY FLAIL AT ITS PERFECT. Because it’s everything. It’s Rons’ entire arc RIGHT THERE. Every. Single. Insecurity that has plagued him for however long slaps him right in the face. His every fear about his unworthiness coming out to torture him.
· AND HE FIGHTS BACK. AND WINS. MY BOY.
· And then all that’s left is to fight the epic battle and get the girl, but honestly Ron’s battle is fought already. He’s hit his moment of truth. (Stupid JKR! NOT GIVING HERMIONE A SIMILAR ARC. Why is that girl so lacking in an arc when Harry and Ron’s are so great. NONSENSE.)
· Again, I think it would have made loads of sense for him to sacrifice himself for Harry. I think the reason that didn’t happen was that it’s a children’s series, more or less. Because that would have worked.
· The prologue is crap. We all know it. (THE NAMES. THE NAMES. HARRY POTTER, WHAT ARE YOU DOING AND WHY IS GINNY LETTING YOU?) Also crap: JKR’s thoughts about what happens to everybody after the books. Um, Neville and Luna, okay? Should have happened if Luna wasn’t with Harry. And Neville should be DADA professor at Hogwarts, the greatest there ever was. I refuse to believe that didn’t happen. And most importantly, Ron definitely doesn’t start working at the joke shop are you kidding me? Boy goes on to be an Auror. Of course he does. If it’s not in the books, Jo, it’s not canon and you should keep your mouth closed. I love you, but SERIOUSLY.
· But Hermione. Reason I ship it is that she sees him. That tension I mentioned up there isn’t existent for her. She sees who he really is, past all of his baggage. Harry does, too, but the boys are straight. But Trio shippers make total sense to me because they all just know each other so well and go together so well and I love the relationships between all three of them. But I ship Ron with Hermione. Part of her brilliance is that she can see Ron, even when he’s standing beside Harry. It’s not just their we-argue-because-we-can’t-admit-we’re-attracted-to-each-other relationship that makes me ship them. That’s never enough. There’s also a much deeper understanding there. And that core of being best friends. That’s a really good foundation for a relationship.
· Ways the movies failed, part 2: didn’t set up the romance enough. DH1 is lovely and for the most part does right by them, but it does sort of seem to come out of nowhere other than mutual jealousy in earlier movies. It needed more of a foundation. Maybe INCLUDING RON’S BEST SCENES could have helped this, I don’t know.
· And in closing, a quote from JKR: “Ron is the most immature of the three main characters, but in part seven he grows up. He was never strong footed, people see him mostly as Harry's friend; his mother had actually wanted a girl and in the last book he finally has to acknowledge his weaknesses. But it's exactly that which makes Ron a man.”
ohwaluvusbab and redsilverchains and mollivanders, who love him, too. RON STAN FOR LIFE. Also, this is all out of my head because the last time I read the books? Was when they came out. So it's possible I got some canon confused here? Just as a caveat.
· As much as I am absolutely thrilled that my boy survived to marry Hermione and have, as Emma Watson likes to say, “those beautiful redheaded babies” (OMG I LOVE THAT GIRL SUCH A SHIPPER), I think it would have been beyond fitting if he’d died to save Harry in some way. Like, that would have been the natural extension of his character I think. I just saw someone call him “a big ball of loyalty and freckles” and it made me flailflailflail because YES.
· The more I think about how many awesome Ron moments were STOLEN from him by the ridiculous movie makers and given (usually) to Hermione, who is plenty awesome enough on her own and doesn’t need Ron’s characterization to help her, THE ANGRIER I GET. HULKSMASH. STAB STAB STAB. This is the boy who stood up on a broken leg and told ~infamous murderer~ Sirius Black that he would have to kill him to get to Harry. This is the boy who went completely mental when Hermione was being tortured and screamed and screamed for her. Favorite moments. Not in the movies. Kloves, I am not happy with you.
· Is Ron the only other character in the books besides Harry with an actual arc? I sometimes think so.
· Perfectness: Ron being the one most affected by the Horcrux. This is a boy who is made up of insecurities. Harry, poor boy, never once doubts that he is ~important~ and honestly that’s part of his burden. But Ron’s is different. Ron always sees himself as the youngest Weasley boy, as Harry Potter’s best friend, as someone who’s not particularly good at anything except chess and that only counted the once (“I’ll be a knight.” OH MY BOY YES YOU WILL ALWAYS). He always thinks he’s overshadowed and no one particularly important. He mostly sees himself in relationships to other people (which is usually a female trait, interestingly enough). His view of himself is completely at odds with who he really is: funny and smart and loyal and a really damn good friend. And yet he doesn’t possess any particularly shining skills (like Harry, who is good at SO MANY THINGS so very young—uh, Quidditch in 1st Year? And Hermione’s brains, of course) and so he’s never going to see himself as special. There’s this fascinating tension between the way he seems himself (as nothing special) and what his actions prove (he’s in the thick of danger, right there alongside Harry since day one, and he could walk away at any time, and it doesn’t even occur to him to do so until the Horcrux, which, more about that anon). He doesn’t see that he’s funny like the twins but knows how to be serious or that he might not be as smart as Bill or Percy but that what smarts he does have are focused on things that are so much more important than anything that they could do. That tension is where he lives and where his arc is and why he’s the second most well-drawn character in the books (we don’t get inside Hermione’s head nearly enough, which is a shame).
· And I think he’s aware of his feelings for Hermione for a lot longer than he let on. But his thought process is, “She’s so brilliant, and she’ll never see me like that. Why would she when I’m standing next to Harry? Or to one of my brothers? Or anyone at all.”
· Slughorn’s special little club seems designed to play on his insecurities. I almost feel like that plotline is there more for Ron than for Harry. Because that man collects talented, special people. And he collects Harry and Hermione and even Ginny. But he can’t remember Ron’s name. What does that say to him? POOR BOY. *huggles him*
· So it also makes perfect sense that when Lavender starts pursuing him, he gives in. Ginny’s comment about Hermione snogging Krum was just confirmation for him that he’s never going to be a star Quidditch player like Krum. He’s not special. Hermione won’t give him the time of day. And yet here’s this girl and she’s pretty and she wants him. And he’s, what? Sixteen years old? Yeah, that goes to his head. Perfectly in character.
· Also perfectly in character that he starts to want out pretty quickly and yet can’t seem to break up with her. He’s not a bad guy at all, and the physical isn’t enough to keep him invested. But who isn’t terrified of rejecting someone? I know I would be.
· But back to the Horcrux. Harry knows he has to keep going on. His mission is always going to be important. He can’t walk away from it because he’s literally the only one who can stop Voldemort and also the Death Eaters are always going to be pursuing him. And Hermione, I think, knows perfectly well that the boys would be at sea without her (seriously, I giggled helplessly in the movie when Ron said that they wouldn’t last two days without Hermione because seriously, they wouldn’t last two minutes. The books should have been about her. All I’m saying. :D) and she has much less to lose—she’s taken care of her parents, who are as safe as they can possibly be, and she has the only two other really meaningful people in her life with her (she must have some other relationships besides Harry and Ron, but I sure don’t know what they are). But Ron. Insecurities. Plus, all that family he could lose. A family of very, very brave ultimate Gryffindors who aren’t going to be sitting on the sidelines. Between those two things, the Horcrux can claw its way inside him so easily because he’s so very raw. OH MY BOY.
· And so he reaches a breaking point. Despair. I’ve been there. Clinical depression definitely hits you with that sort of thing. Thankfully, I haven’t been there very long or often, but I’ve been there. [I could easily read the Horcrux as a sort of metaphor for clinical depression since it’s something that isn’t your fault and affects you profoundly and you have to carry it around and it manipulates your emotions no matter what your rational mind is telling you, etc. But no rabbit trails for me.] And he just wants a break from that despair just for one minute just one single minute, and so he takes it.
· And instantly regrets it.
· Not even five minutes later. Out of the influence of the Horcrux and with a moment to cool down (or…emerge from what had been drowning him, taking a deep breath), he instantly wants to go back. And can’t. OH MY HEART.
· The time he spends away from Harry and Hermione must be a sort of purgatory for him. It would confirm to him that he isn’t worth anything, if he’d leave his friends behind. I would give my right arm for a really, really well-written fic that explored what he was doing during that time, because I can’t even imagine his emotional state. His one moment of weakness and it seems to steal everything from him. It’s so, so significant to me that he doesn’t go back to the Burrow. He’s been worrying about his family, missing that emotional comfort of home and security, and yet when he has a chance to retreat back to that place, he doesn’t go there. He’s in a bit of a holding pattern while he’s waiting to get back to the place where he belongs.
· And the lights lead him. Dumbledore’s gift. Dumbledore and I have our ~issues~ but he did right by my boy. Perfect.
· AND THEN THERE’S THE HORCRUX DESTRUCTION SCENE. SERIOUSLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE SCENES IN ALL OF HARRY POTTER AND I CAN’T TALK ABOUT IT LIKE A RATIONAL PERSON I MUST MERELY FLAIL AT ITS PERFECT. Because it’s everything. It’s Rons’ entire arc RIGHT THERE. Every. Single. Insecurity that has plagued him for however long slaps him right in the face. His every fear about his unworthiness coming out to torture him.
· AND HE FIGHTS BACK. AND WINS. MY BOY.
· And then all that’s left is to fight the epic battle and get the girl, but honestly Ron’s battle is fought already. He’s hit his moment of truth. (Stupid JKR! NOT GIVING HERMIONE A SIMILAR ARC. Why is that girl so lacking in an arc when Harry and Ron’s are so great. NONSENSE.)
· Again, I think it would have made loads of sense for him to sacrifice himself for Harry. I think the reason that didn’t happen was that it’s a children’s series, more or less. Because that would have worked.
· The prologue is crap. We all know it. (THE NAMES. THE NAMES. HARRY POTTER, WHAT ARE YOU DOING AND WHY IS GINNY LETTING YOU?) Also crap: JKR’s thoughts about what happens to everybody after the books. Um, Neville and Luna, okay? Should have happened if Luna wasn’t with Harry. And Neville should be DADA professor at Hogwarts, the greatest there ever was. I refuse to believe that didn’t happen. And most importantly, Ron definitely doesn’t start working at the joke shop are you kidding me? Boy goes on to be an Auror. Of course he does. If it’s not in the books, Jo, it’s not canon and you should keep your mouth closed. I love you, but SERIOUSLY.
· But Hermione. Reason I ship it is that she sees him. That tension I mentioned up there isn’t existent for her. She sees who he really is, past all of his baggage. Harry does, too, but the boys are straight. But Trio shippers make total sense to me because they all just know each other so well and go together so well and I love the relationships between all three of them. But I ship Ron with Hermione. Part of her brilliance is that she can see Ron, even when he’s standing beside Harry. It’s not just their we-argue-because-we-can’t-admit-we’re-attracted-to-each-other relationship that makes me ship them. That’s never enough. There’s also a much deeper understanding there. And that core of being best friends. That’s a really good foundation for a relationship.
· Ways the movies failed, part 2: didn’t set up the romance enough. DH1 is lovely and for the most part does right by them, but it does sort of seem to come out of nowhere other than mutual jealousy in earlier movies. It needed more of a foundation. Maybe INCLUDING RON’S BEST SCENES could have helped this, I don’t know.
· And in closing, a quote from JKR: “Ron is the most immature of the three main characters, but in part seven he grows up. He was never strong footed, people see him mostly as Harry's friend; his mother had actually wanted a girl and in the last book he finally has to acknowledge his weaknesses. But it's exactly that which makes Ron a man.”
MY RESPONSE PART ONE
OMG I LOVE THAT GIRL SUCH A SHIPPER
HAHAHA IKR. (More on that in a bit.)
The more I think about how many awesome Ron moments were STOLEN from him by the ridiculous movie makers and given (usually) to Hermione, who is plenty awesome enough on her own and doesn’t need Ron’s characterization to help her, THE ANGRIER I GET.
I think I've figured out why this happens in the movies. I think that Ron is the character the filmmakers figure the audience will love no matter what - unlike Harry and Hermione, who are less likable and relatable - which means Ron gets the worst of the story-condensation? I don't actually buy that Kloves and co. hate Ron's guts.
Is Ron the only other character in the books besides Harry with an actual arc? I sometimes think so.
HAHAHA. Possibly.
Perfectness: Ron being the one most affected by the Horcrux.
YES. OH MAN. That is the moment. Favorite character right there. Obviously I always loved him, but when that happened, it was like, I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER AND EVER. brb shaking and crying
He mostly sees himself in relationships to other people (which is usually a female trait, interestingly enough).
YES!!! Which is actually another reason why the R/Hr dynamic appeals to me.
There’s this fascinating tension between the way he seems himself (as nothing special) and what his actions prove (he’s in the thick of danger, right there alongside Harry since day one, and he could walk away at any time, and it doesn’t even occur to him to do so until the Horcrux, which, more about that anon).
YESYESYESYESYESYES. It just kills me. He's done these things NOBODY ELSE IN THE WORLD has. He's sacrificed himself on the chess board, gone down with Harry into the Chamber of Secrets to save his sister, battled Death Eaters as an underage teenager, the list goes on. And he still thinks he is worthless. It is actually amazing.
And I think he’s aware of his feelings for Hermione for a lot longer than he let on.
I love the ambiguity of all this in the books due to the Harry POV. Would you say he was aware of his feelings around Yule Ball time? I'm never quite sure about that.
Re: MY RESPONSE PART ONE
I think that Ron is the character the filmmakers figure the audience will love no matter what - unlike Harry and Hermione, who are less likable and relatable - which means Ron gets the worst of the story-condensation? I don't actually buy that Kloves and co. hate Ron's guts.
I don't think they hate him, and honestly, it might not even be conscious. Nonetheless, it makes me sadface.
Would you say he was aware of his feelings around Yule Ball time? I'm never quite sure about that.
I actually don't know, because, as you say, Harry's POV. Possibly? I'm certain he knows it by HBP. Certain. But it could have been even earlier. We will never know!
MY RESPONSE PART TWO HAHAHA QUALITY STANNING HERE
Oh yeah. Ron traps himself in a cycle of repeated negative thought patterns. It makes complete sense.
I could easily read the Horcrux as a sort of metaphor for clinical depression since it’s something that isn’t your fault and affects you profoundly and you have to carry it around and it manipulates your emotions no matter what your rational mind is telling you, etc.
HELLO. DO YOU LIVE IN MY BRAIN???
Stupid JKR! NOT GIVING HERMIONE A SIMILAR ARC. Why is that girl so lacking in an arc when Harry and Ron’s are so great. NONSENSE
Yep. Hence why I can't love Hermione-the-character as unabashedly as my boys. I mean, speaking from within the story, I love her just as much, but then you get to analyzing the text and Hermione's character is just not as awesome as it should be. I can more or less see what the arc is supposed to be though. It definitely revolves around that tension between rules/order/rationality and friendship/love/bravery, i.e. what she thinks she should want v.s. what she really wants.
Which is actually why I think her finally choosing Ron was absolutely necessary for her character. Ron is the last guy (besides like, a Death Eater) that Hermione would choose to fall in love with. (Emma W. agrees.) If Hermione is order, Ron is chaos. Ron comes in, smashes all her neat patterns and designs into a million pieces, knocks her off her straight-edged balancing beam, knocks down her perfectly rendered walls without even trying, and doesn't care. From that first term when she makes him miserable about getting Wingardium Leviosa wrong, and then he makes her cry her eyes out in the girls' bathroom and then nearly get killed by a troll, and then he saves her - by using the same spell. That was the moment. That was it. Forever and ever amen.
Okay now I have to go out, BUT I WILL BE BACK FOR MORE FANGIRLING LATER.
Re: MY RESPONSE PART TWO HAHAHA QUALITY STANNING HERE
QUITE POSSIBLY?
I mean, speaking from within the story, I love her just as much, but then you get to analyzing the text and Hermione's character is just not as awesome as it should be. I can more or less see what the arc is supposed to be though. It definitely revolves around that tension between rules/order/rationality and friendship/love/bravery, i.e. what she thinks she should want v.s. what she really wants.
True. It really does baffle me, because all of the necessary set-up is there...and then it never really follows through? She really could have been so much more.
Which is actually why I think her finally choosing Ron was absolutely necessary for her character. Ron is the last guy (besides like, a Death Eater) that Hermione would choose to fall in love with. (Emma W. agrees.) If Hermione is order, Ron is chaos. Ron comes in, smashes all her neat patterns and designs into a million pieces, knocks her off her straight-edged balancing beam, knocks down her perfectly rendered walls without even trying, and doesn't care. From that first term when she makes him miserable about getting Wingardium Leviosa wrong, and then he makes her cry her eyes out in the girls' bathroom and then nearly get killed by a troll, and then he saves her - by using the same spell. That was the moment. That was it. Forever and ever amen.
OH OH OH OH OH I LOVE YOU. THIS IS MY FAVORITE COMMENT EVER. DONE.
MORE FANGIRLING ALWAYS. SERIOUSLY--ANY. TIME.
Re: MY RESPONSE PART TWO HAHAHA QUALITY STANNING HERE
In summary: I am a ridiculous shipper. Someone shut me up.
Re: MY RESPONSE PART TWO HAHAHA QUALITY STANNING HERE
Re: MY RESPONSE PART TWO HAHAHA QUALITY STANNING HERE
They are sort of difficult to... articulate? I think most shippers ship them on a gut level, like 'hey, I get that.' But we don't ever see their relationship from either character's point of view. It's complete show-not-tell. It's different from, say, Harry and Ron's friendship, which is pretty much what you see on the tin. Ron-and-Hermione sort of exist somewhere just off the page. And now I'm just rambling and possibly not making sense, but this has been the best conversation ever, so. No regrets.
*jumps in*
I would say he wasn't aware of his feeling in book four but was in book five.
Re: *jumps in*
Re: MY RESPONSE PART ONE
A friend of mine has a theory that Kloves & Co. actually LOVE Ron, except the Ron in their heads is actually more like early-books Neville: sweetly bumbling and adorably clueless. Not the passionate, fiery, incredibly witty boy we all know and love.
Re: MY RESPONSE PART ONE
One thing regarding Ron/Hermione
Re: One thing regarding Ron/Hermione
Exactly. He's pretty much the opposite of a Nice Guy in that sense (and it's one of the ways he doesn't fit the typical Normal Guy role, thankfully).
Ron deliberately learns (he reads a book!) what good bf behavior is and then gives her compliments and gifts.
Ha! I know some people hate that, but I think it makes so much sense that Ron seeks out the answers in a book. It's Hermione. Her natural habitat is the library. Where else is he going to look? And it says something about how interested he is that he deliberately seeks out reading material. For this kid, that's commitment.
Re: One thing regarding Ron/Hermione
Exactly!
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I KNOW HIS FACES HIS FACES PERFECT!
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Anyway, brilliant post of course. I love Ron. I had to take a break part way through Deathly Hallows because I was suddenly sure he was going to die and I couldn't handle it.
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Thanks! I had lots of fun writing it because I love him, too!
I don't know if I ever would have recovered if he actually had died even if it would make perfect sense. I just would have been crushed.
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Another Ron moment that absolutely kills me in DH is right after Fred dies, when Percy is so in denial about it and clinging to poor Fred's body, while Ron, the youngest brother, is the one telling his older brother to snap out of it and trying to take control to get them to safety. *sniff* *sniff* WAAAAAAAHHH.
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also
THE NAMES. THE NAMES. HARRY POTTER, WHAT ARE YOU DOING AND WHY IS GINNY LETTING YOU?) Also crap: JKR’s thoughts about what happens to everybody after the books. Um, Neville and Luna, okay? Should have happened if Luna wasn’t with Harry. And Neville should be DADA professor at Hogwarts, the greatest there ever was. I refuse to believe that didn’t happen. And most importantly, Ron definitely doesn’t start working at the joke shop are you kidding me? Boy goes on to be an Auror. Of course he does. If it’s not in the books, Jo, it’s not canon and you should keep your mouth closed. I love you, but SERIOUSLY.
lol omg so much truths tho.
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Ron and Hermione (both individually and as a unit) are the point of the books for me. They're my favourites and Ron's my most most most favourite, forever. What they have with Harry is maybe the only fictional friendship I believe in totally. (I used to believe in Ten-Donna, but look how that ended.)
I love your thoughts on his self-definition via relationships, on the importance of Hermione seeing him. I am not of the eloquence right now (long long day), so all I can say is
a. yessssssss
b. thank you
c. please write us a million pages about how Ron is superior to Xander in every way.
Also, yesyesyes to the purgatory and its culmination in the best, best, best scene of the book, with the lake and then the sword. (Also, the first lake scene, the Second Task, which made me ship Harry/Ron always (but with including Hermione, because what is Ron without Hermione? Still awesome but very sad so Hermione there must also be), because can you imagine the significance of RON being what someone misses the MOST? It's maybe the first time he got to think of himself in a superlative. Which, so, so awesome. I wish canon had showed us a bit more of Ron's feelings about that.)
Just, basically? Squee
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plus I have all these new Hr/R icons I have to use over and over
Happy Christmas!
comment part one
so I haven't quite finished Book 7 yet but I can give you my theories based on what I've reread. I kind of already thought this but do you remember in Book 3 when Ron says he'll do the research for Buckbeak's appeal and Hermione tackles him with a hug? He gets all red and pats her awkwardly on the back until she lets go. To me, that screams 13 year old confusion about having new feelings for one of your best friends. He definitely had a crush on her by Book 4, whether or not he admitted it to himself.
I'm firmly on the Movies Hate Ron Wagon. I hear rational arguments and explanations and then it all goes out the window when I see trailers like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6vXOZbzBYY
You know, I do ship Harry/Ron/Hermione a bit (I've written one fic for them at least) but I more just love them as the trio, friends or more. Whichever. More than anything, I love Ron and Ron/Hermione. Harry's a different sort of character for me - I really like him but then there's the way he starts acting in Book 5 (and in a more subdued way, in Books 6 and 7). There's a reason for his behavior and I don't know if he could have acted much differently, under the circumstances, but he slowly loses his charm.
Book 3 though. LOVE OF MY LIFE. Ron standing up on his BROKEN LEG and telling Sirius Black, legendary murderer, he'll have to get through him if he wants Harry. WHILE WANDLESS. I think the movies forgot that part but I could be wrong - I rarely rewatch them. I think it was
HORCRUX DESTRUCTION. God, the Ron stuff in Deathly Hallows is what really makes me cry. Sob. Actually, at the end of Book 6, I was holding it together through Harry's manpain during Dumbledore's funeral, but then Rowling wrote one sentence about Ron holding Hermione while she cried into his shoulder and I lost it.
...'scuse me, I need a minute.
[minute]
comment part two
Back to the Horcruxes though, I like that you point out Ron doesn't go back to his family. I think he might have for a bit - maybe not? - but he doesn't stay long. What does he do? Wracked with guilt and despair over letting one second separate him from being there for the people he cares the most about in the world, he goes looking for trouble. He goes after the Snatchers.
The boy is an "average" wizard like Harry and he goes after the people kidnapping Muggle-borns. I mean, his love for Hermione and his sense of justice are unstoppable. I don't think I'm reading into that at all - I think they're quite related actually. While I don't see Ron as an Auror per se, I've always saw him related to law in one way or another. Did you ever read After the End? If you haven't, just Google it and SugarQuill and read read read. It was written before Book 5 came out and casts Ron as a lawyer (trained by Sirius - MY BOYS) and I think that reflects well on how he went digging through old hippogriff appeal cases when he knew it was the right thing to do. I would love to see Ron fic where he's off catching Snatchers though - if it happens or you write it, let me know :)
Nice catch on the Slug Club there. I find his behavior with Lavender perfectly natural - as is Hermione's behavior, which isn't ~saintly or ~villainous either - but the point is he learns from it. And he's embarrassed about it - he wants to end it but he doesn't want to be an ass to the girl. And Book 6 is mostly about the Ron/Lavender/Hermione triangle and Harry's lessons with Dumbledore. It actually amused me how so much of Harry's story related to people bringing him notes from Slughorn and Dumbledore. Anyway.
I'm so happy to see the Ron love in this corner of the internet &hearts Totally unashamed of the length of this comment.
Re: comment part two
1. I could as soon let Ron die as Mal. Fight to the end. I see what you're saying.
2. Epilogue FAIL. If it ain't in the books, it ain't canon. *Peeves raspberry*
3. Luna should have ended up with anyone but Dean Thomas. UGH.
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· The more I think about how many awesome Ron moments were STOLEN from him by the ridiculous movie makers and given (usually) to Hermione, who is plenty awesome enough on her own and doesn’t need Ron’s characterization to help her, THE ANGRIER I GET. HULKSMASH. STAB STAB STAB. This is the boy who stood up on a broken leg and told ~infamous murderer~ Sirius Black that he would have to kill him to get to Harry. This is the boy who went completely mental when Hermione was being tortured and screamed and screamed for her. Favorite moments. Not in the movies. Kloves, I am not happy with you.
Oh yes. This this this.
*loves*
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It's this that is at the heart of my love for them. They see each other. They see and they know how to reach in deep and connect.
I always love characters who choose to be heroic without being directed to do so. Harry is the Chosen One. Being chosen comes with a certain responsibility to act. But Ron chooses. And I think because he chooses to be all that he is, Hermione can't help but choose him to be hers. He thinks he pales next to Harry, but he shines so brightly to Hermione; he's the most vivid creature in her world. So she loves him. Oh, my shipper heart!
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Thank you for writing such a lovely post. It's always nice to see Ron get the kudos he deserves for being such a wonderful, courageous guy/friend. <3
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He is just one of those characters where...I see bashing (which is everywhere *sadface*)and I'm all BACK BUTTON STAT. Does that mean I'm irrational in my Ron-love? Whatever, I just love him. :p