Okay, I know this has already been discussed plenty of times on here, but this has been on my mind for a while now, and I thought that just putting it out there and sharing my thoughts might help.
So, just to give you some background, I was introduced to Harry Potter pretty late. I mean, I knew there was something called Harry Potter and that it had something to do with magic, but for some reason, I kept avoiding it. Eventually, in 2020, with COVID going on and not much to do while sitting at home, I finally convinced myself to watch the films.
And boy, was I hooked! I watched the entire series in a four-day marathon, and then started another marathon the very next day.
Now, mind you, I hadn't read the books at that point, so the movies were my first introduction to the world of Harry Potter. And, well, Dan and Emma had such insane chemistry in the films that I instantly started shipping them. So, naturally, I was pretty disappointed and, frankly, shocked when Hermione ended up with Ron and Harry ended up with Ginny.
Naturally, I went deeper into the fandom to see what people thought about the relationships. And, as you can probably guess, almost everyone in the main HP fandom was like, "Ah, go and read the books" or "Average movie watcher." So that's exactly what I did. I borrowed the books from a friend and started reading them with an open mind.
And while I do agree that the books provide more buildup for Ron and Hermione's relationship, as well as Harry and Ginny's, something about both pairings still felt wrong to me. I just couldn't wrap my head around why Ron and Hermione would fall for each other, or why Harry would fall for Ginny. Even in the books, Harry and Ginny's relationship felt like it came out of nowhere.
And here's the funniest part: as I was reading the books, the one thing I couldn't help but notice was the ABSURD amount of effort JKR seemed to put into making sure Harry and Hermione didn't fall for each other. It was almost as if, between the lines, I could feel the story naturally gravitating towards them ending up together, only for JKR to constantly steer it in the opposite direction.
And by "an absurd amount of effort," I also mean the sheer number of free passes Ron seems to get throughout the series.
He abandons Harry during the Triwizard Tournament, and all Harry seems to think about is how much he misses Ron's company. Then, when Ron finally comes back, he's welcomed with open arms, with virtually no consequences for his actions. The same thing happens in Deathly Hallows.
But when Hermione tells McGonagall about the Firebolt, suddenly both boys turn against her and ignore her for months. Granted, Ron is primarily responsible for this, but Harry doesn't exactly go out of his way to reach out to her either.
Or take the second book, for instance. Harry helps Dobby gain his freedom despite Dobby having repeatedly put him in danger, even though Dobby's intentions were ultimately noble. Yet, when Hermione starts SPEW in Goblet of Fire, Harry shows practically no interest in supporting her. I remember reading that and thinking, Come onnnnnn!
And don't even get me started on the Yule Ball. It genuinely never crosses Harry's mind to ask Hermione to go with him. I mean, she was the only person who stood by him during the first task, even when his so-called best mate accused him of cheating and abandoned him out of jealousy. Hermione believed in him, supported him, and helped him prepare for the task. And yet, asking her to the ball doesn't even occur to him?
Then there's Hermione's behaviour in Half-Blood Prince, which, to me, feels completely out of character when it comes to believing Harry's suspicions about Malfoy. In Chamber of Secrets, she was the one who helped brew the Polyjuice Potion, a highly complex and illegal potion, just to investigate whether Malfoy was the Heir of Slytherin. And they didn't even have any conclusive proof that he was responsible for unleashing the monster! Yet, in the sixth book, she has so much trouble believing Harry when he suspects Malfoy of being a Death Eater.
I mean, I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.
Ultimately, I just feel that if JKR had allowed the story to develop more organically, rather than forcing the pairings she had already decided on, Harry and Hermione would have ended up together. I mean, there's a reason so many people, even in the books felt that there was something more between them. Viktor Krum noticed it, Rita Skeeter certainly tried to make something of it (although we can probably ignore her), and even Ron thought so too (as evidenced by the vision the Horcrux shows him).
And honestly, I think allowing Harry and Hermione to end up together could have given us not only one of the best fictional romances but also a richer, more compelling story overall.
Think about it: Harry would have spent more of his time with Hermione instead of spending nearly all his free time playing Wizard's Chess, playing Exploding Snap with Ron, or playing Quidditch. He would have had more opportunities to learn about magic, develop his skills, and become a more knowledgeable and competent wizard. Perhaps he wouldn't have been quite so unprepared in so many of his encounters with Voldemort, either.
Of course, I'm not suggesting that being with Hermione would magically solve all of Harry's problems, but I do wonder whether it would have made him a more capable wizard and reduced his reliance on the plot armour that seems to save him at the last possible moment whenever he's up against the most feared Dark wizard of all time.
I just feel that we could have gotten a far richer story had the narrative been allowed to unfold more naturally. And perhaps that's one of the reasons why I haven't revisited either the books or the movies since. I still vividly remember the feeling I was left with after finishing the films and, eventually, the books. I was equally happy and sad, happy to have discovered such a beautiful, immersive world that I had grown so attached to, yet sad to think about all the missed potential, all the possibilities that could have made the story even more compelling. It's a strange feeling, really, to fall in love with a story and its characters, only to be left wondering what could have been.
Anyway, these are just some thoughts I've had on my mind for a long time, and I figured that putting them out there might help. I'm curious to know if anyone else feels the same way, especially those who've read the books and still believe that Harry and Hermione would have made more sense together.
