On the Potter Fandom

This article is the inspiration for and is quoted within this post.

"If you tell people on the street that you prefer Hermione with Harry, they look at you strangely and say, “Don’t you know she ends up with Ron at the end?” And if you tell people on the internet that you like Harry and Hermione, get ready for a storm of indignation, wrath and ridicule, the likes of which you have never seen before. Harry/Hermione fans are reviled on the internet. I’m not kidding—I once had someone accuse me of supporting incest (which…if I say that someone is like my sister THAT DOES NOT MAKE THEM MY SISTER...)"

I could practically write a dissertation on why I grew up believing in Harry & Hermione, and someday I probably will. Actually, I have written quite lengthy arguments before--on the FictionAlley.org, a very renowned Harry Potter fansite of its day where the ship (relationship pairing) debates raged on and the fans proudly sailed. The nature of the fandom has changed drastically since I became a fan at age 11. It used to be that you could support Harry & Hermione and that was all fine and well because anything goes. In the "old days" it was openly acknowledged that the tide could move in either direction and fans were free to ship as they liked. Then after Book 6, when the ships became pretty set in stone, the fandom became more volatile and suddenly it was as thought you had Avada Kedavra-ed someone's kitten if you claimed you still, yes still, believed that Harry and Hermione were better for each other. Suddenly opinions that were long held made you enemy #1. The thing I don't think anyone will ever understand is that at age 11 I read the first three Harry Potter books and I saw a deep connection between Harry and Hermione that meant love to me. It was what I envied and would love to emmulate; not the bitter and cruel way Ron could treat Hermione.

I can accept that what I want didn't happen. But it doesn't mean I ever have to stop believing that a love between Harry and Hermione could've been possible or that it's what I would've preferred. It may not have been the obvious thing, but it's what I saw underneath the surface when I looked past the pretense of the Ron/Hermione spats and romantic tension. I will never understand how people expected a large portion of the fandom to just shut up and change their minds the day after Ron and Hermione became book fact. It's not fair to expect someone to just stop feeling what they feel because it didn't happen, especially not after 7 years of vested interest. It's like a break-up: If you liked a guy and saw a future but then he ended it, would you feel nothing the next day? Even if everyone said there were signs all along and you missed them? Would you just accept that what you'd believed wasn't "right" and move on, never looking back? That's not how human emotions work.

"But the beauty of being spat upon by the collective Harry Potter fandom is that you learn…not to give a crap! You learn that the people and things you love won’t always be popular, but you can still love them anyway. And you learn not to judge other people for the things that they love."

I'm sorry that people still feel angry at me when I say that I will sail HMS Pumpkin Pie (it's a fandom thing, guys) for life, but can't we live and let live? I am not pretending that they end up together in the books, I am not actually delusional, but I do wish they had ended up together. And that's ok. You still win, right? No harm, no foul.

"Just because a relationship didn’t end in happily ever after doesn’t mean that it wasn’t meaningful and true. As Dumbledore says to Harry, “Of course it is happening inside your head…but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

And next time you want to tell me I'm totally off-base or insult my ability to read properly (all things that have happened), just remember, even Ms. Rowling herself admits that us Harry & Hermione fans aren't pulling ideas out of thin air:

"Now the fact is that Hermione shares moments with Harry that Ron will never be able to participate in. He walked out. She shared something very intense with Harry…So I think it could have gone that way." -JK Rowling

One of my favorite scenes between Harry and Hermione is in The Deathly Hallows. It's the tender, emotional, quiet scene when the two of them visit Harry's parents graves:

"Hermione had taken his hand again and was gripping it tightly. He could not look at her, but he returned the pressure, now taking deep, sharp gulps of the night air, trying to steady himself, trying to regain control. He should have brought something to give them, and he had not thought of it [...] But Hermione raised her wand, moved it in a circle through the air, and a wreath of Christmas roses blossomed before them. Harry caught it and laid it on his parent' grave.
[...]
He put his arm around Hermione's shoulders, and she put hers around his waist, and they turned in silence and walked away through the snow, past Dumbledore's mother and sister, back toward the dark church and the out-of-sight kissing gate." -Deathly Hallows, pg 329.

This, among a multitude of reasons, is why I love them and always will. As Jill Slattery says in her article, I understand the firm argument that their relationship is meaningful, but only a friendship, not love. Sure, that's true for how the books ended. But while some people prefer the type of love that comes from passionate spats turned passionate love, others do prefer the intense love built from a solid friendship. I don't think we were wrong to see the potential for friendship to grow into romance between Harry and Hermione, even if it went unrealized.

I'm sorry if this makes you angry. I would be happy to agree to disagree with you and I am happy to hear your thoughts in the comments. But if you feel an urge to yell at me? Take it elsewhere. Because trust me, after 10 years in the fandom, I've heard it all. And if you're feeling mature and inclined, I urge you to read the article I've linked to. I think it puts forward my feelings and the reason some of us ship Harry & Hermione very very well. Better than this blog post, that's for sure.

...And seriously, in the end, how is Harry and Hermione actually worse than Harry and The Giant Squid? Or Hermione and Snape? Because yes, folks, those are actual ships supported on Harry Potter forums. My hand to God. (More popular but subversive ships include: Draco & Hermione, Draco & Ginny, Harry & Luna, etc.)

*Some Potter fandom lingo from the old days, just for fun:
Ship: Derived from relationship. On the forums, each couple had a ship name and so fans were said to "sail a ship." For example, Ron & Hermione are The Good Ship, Harry and Hermione are HMS Pumpkin Pie, Harry and Ginny are HMS Orange Crush, and so on. They are silly names, but they all have history's behind them and most ships have their own vernacular and inside-jokes/codes. Ship also becomes a verb when supporting a couple. IE: I ship H/Hr.
Initial/Initial: In Harry Potter fandom ships are called by their forum name, or initial/initial. Hermione is always Hr, Ron is R, Harry is H, etc. So you might ship R/Hr, H/Hr, H/G, N/L ...5 points to the house of your choice if you get that last one.
OTP: One True Pairing; the ship you love the most and believe to be the "right choice." Not exclusive to Potter. H/Hr is my Potter OTP, while Peeta/Katniss is my Hunger Games OTP. Do you follow?
OBHWF: One Big Happy Weasley Family. Those who supported R/Hr and H/G often did so because of the idea of how wonderful it would be if Harry and Hermione could be brought into the Weasley family. While I think this is indeed nice, I hardly think it's a reason to marry someone.

That's all for now. Wow, I really revealed my not-so-hidden dork side today, didn't I? Let's just say, if you spoke to me about Harry Potter between ages 11-15, you probably would've only understood every 6th word given the lingo we used, as exemplified above.

For a twist, here is some further reading that supports Ron as a romantic hero...also well-written with intelligent points to make. See? I can admit to two points of view! :)