You know what just occurred to me? Harry and Hermione are the incomplete halves of one whole. They complement and compensate for one another in every way possible! Which makes them beyond perfect for one another and also explains why there's so much more real chemistry between them than the "anvils" of R/Hr.

Don't worry, I'll explain...

Look at it like this: Hermione is good at just about everything, right? I mean, everything that involved brainwork and school. But the one thing she's not as good in (she's still good, though!) is Defence Against the Dark Arts. And, coincidentally, DADA is what Harry is best at, and he's not so good at the other stuff. Meaning, of course, that Harry needs Hermione for everything else (JKR has said this herself) and Hermione needs Harry for DADA (she says so herself in OotP).

Then we've got their other talents. Harry excels at Quidditch, while Hermione is miserable at it. Here we have them compensating for each other's weaknesses. Harry = physically capable; Hermione = dependent on Harry physically. Similarly, as far as research and spell-mastering goes, Harry needs Hermione. Hermione = book goddess; Harry = dependent on Hermione to save his butt with special spells (think of GoF!)

However, Herons have argued that Harry and Hermione share no interests. This is quite wrong, because in spite of compensating for each other's weaknesses, they also have a solid foundation of shared interests and humour. They often make each other laugh (this is most evident in OOtP and HBP) and it's not the way Ron makes them laugh (his way his more obvious). They often pick up on things no one else notices (Malfoy's "dogging"). And, in addition, they do have a lot of shared interests that would bolster their companionship and make sure that it isn't just dependence that keeps them together.

Hermione's SPEW, for example. While Harry doesn't take to it much, it has to be noticed that he is the only one (apart from her) who really cares about the house-elves. Noticeably, throughout Ootp and HBP, he begins to sympathise more and more with SPEW (his response to Hokey's arrest in HBP). Harry has also proven that he can talk to Hermione about deeper stuff, like relationships. They understand one another. The only "understanding" barrier is Quidditch, but even then, Hermione has never shown anything but support of Harry while on the pitch!

Both Hermione and Harry have also been told they would make good Aurors, and while Hermione's never shown an active interest in it, it's interesting that they share those qualities and that this would imply that she would understand a great deal of it if Harry had such a job (think of their domestic life... "how many Dark wizards did you round up today, dear?" "Oh, the usual" "I know, I understand... oh, Harry, you're hurt! I got some Murtlap tentactles together and you can ease the pain while you tell me about your day!").

It just seems to me, more than more with each re-read of the books, that Harry and Hermione complement each other, compensate for each other's weaknesses, need and respect each other, and seem to almost be two bodies sharing bits of the same soul. No other character in the series shares this with either or them. How can anyone deny it?

As for romance, well, I believe it's going to happen, and the above is just one of the many reasons why. Harry and Hermione's growing, gradually-more-romantic bond is subtle, but that's really what makes it so special and so much more real, isn't it?

I say...nothing out of place here...it's the usual Harmonian brilliance

Well of course H/Hr are two halves of a whole. That's the alchemy in HP. Alchemical stories that are romances like HP have a male/female working together and complimenting eah other throughout the entire story.

For all those who wanted Alchemy theories explained using non-esoteric symbology and references from the books, Padfoot_Lives has done a respectable job of it. This Yin/Yang theory of Harry and Hermione is exactly what is being implied by the Sulphur/Philosophical Mercury merge that the alchemy talks concern. It's important in looking at these "complimentary moments" to remember that Ron is a catalyst for the two, and interactions between Hermione and Ron are learning experiences for Harry.

Wonderful mini essay. You bring up things that I’ve thought about before. Harry and Hermione complement each other whereas Ron and Hermione seem to clash, sexual tension? Maybe, but more likely they just don’t get along very well.

One thing I'd like to ask. Heron's say that Harry and Hermione don't share interests, however I'd like to argue; what to Ron and Hermione share an interests in, other than Harry? Because yes there is a shared worry about him(Harry), the war, and Voldemort.
Perhaps it's just my HHR bias (Or bad memory) but I've seen no shared interest other than those I’ve already said.
Dose anyone know of they share?

Quidditch? Nope.
Studying? Nope.
Reading? Not on the same level..
Same 'background' pre-Hogwarts? Nope.
Similar aspirations? Nope.
Similar habits? Nope.
Similar hobbies? Nope.

Bickering? Yeah.
Fighting? Oh yeah.
Friends with Harry? Another yup.

Ron and Hermione are already horrible friends. If it takes NDE's or major plot points to keep the boat afloat, you have some issues that will only further manifest the deeper you delve into the relationship pond.

That's why I have a hard time trying to understand how the Herons see Ron as a reincarnation of James. All we have is Harry's near-sighted view of Ron showing some of James's mannerisms like rumpling his hair or defending a muggle-born girl. Other than that,James had to do something spectacular to win Lily's heart. Another thing,all we have is the one argument that we saw of L/J arguing. Outside of that one isolated incident,what other evidence do we have that they were a constant bickering couple that turned into a loving married couple? Unless Ron does a complete 180 and turns into James in DH,I'm still not convinced that he and Hermione will be like Harry's parents. There are too many contradictions by Snape,Sirius,and other characters throughout the story that have told Harry time and again that he is so much like James. So that's one more mark against how much R/Hr do not have in common as compared to what H/Hr already have and will grow even closer.

James and Ron are very different person and beside a loving family that is purblood not much in common.
James is the first and only son of the elders Mr and Mrs Potter the only heir the one that would carry their names in the next generation. From this point of view James is more Malfoy then. He is more Malfoy by bullying Snape and having fun of pranking anyone who caught his fancy. James is also and corrected me if I m wrong the leader of the Maurauder in IMO.

Ron is the sixth boy in a family of seventh children and he even not the youngest child there because that Ginny.
Ron has a severe lack of self-confidence, jealousy and others tendencies and he is a follower not a leader. He is more like Remus or Pettigrew for that part.
But James matured, he overcome his pride and get his head defleated like Sirius told Harry in the fifth book.
He did the right thing: saving Snape instead of the bad one and was able to win first the attention of Lily.
So Ron if he is going to survive this war at all, would resurface as a strong and self-confident man who perhaps would have learnt that fame and honor are not everything in life, but friendship, bravery and love is.
Harry is James son and is taking the place among its band of Neomaurauder: Harry is James, Sirius is Hermione and Remus/Pettigrew is Ron.
Harry is clearly the leader and Hermione is on the same level as Harry, the reason why they understand each other perfectly, Ron is Remus/Pettigrew the loyal follower and freind.
My two and half knuts there

Sorry, but I don't agree with this. What possible similarity do you see between Sirius and Hermione? I would have pegged Ron as the Sirius equivalent, and Hermione as the Lupin equivalent.

Another example of how H/Hr add up would be thier OWL scores in OotP. Don't have my book in front of me, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Hermione gets all O's except for DADA- the O that harry got.

Oooh... Awesome post Padfoot, and I agree with you wholeheartedly!

Your essay reminds me of why the Trio work so well together. Have you ever been asked the question "Which would you rather have - beauty, brains, or brawn?" I see Harry possessing the brawn, Hermione the brains, and erm, Ron the beauty. All three complement each other's strengths and compensate for each other's weaknesses, making the Trio stronger together than apart.

I've always felt Harry and Hermione are the two sides of the same coin. And you can blame JKR for it if you want, because Harry and Hermione are basically JKR. JKR has said that Harry is her. She has also said that Hermione is the version of herself when she was young.

Of course, Harry and Hermione are complementary. They are basically the same person - JKR.

Nice essay.
It's the same agrument when Herons say opposites attract. Yes, opposites do attract. But what they don't realize is that Hermione and Ron aren’t opposite. Hermione is disciplined and has brains. The opposite of discipline is impulsive and opposite of brains is brawn. Does that sound like Ron? No, because that's Harry.

Thanks, you guys! I knew people would appreciate that post... how can we not? Stuff like that is just staring us in the face and Herons just don't seem to get it. (Don't even get me started on the Chocos, at least Herons have a real reason and devotion to their ship and don't ship it just to get people out of the way!)

McFly: Yeah, I know! Those OWL scores are part of the whole DADA-versus everything else strength/weakness that Harry/Hermione share. Thanks for mentioning it; I completely forgot to put that in!

You know, I remember reading that bit for the first time and thinking, "Oh my god, can she possibly make it more obvious that she's matching up Harry and Hermione?".

We didn't even see Ron's scores, did we? Harry just noticed that he didn't have any O's.

There is so much of this H/Hr "two halves of a whole" symbology in OotP, I often wonder if JKR was concerned that she overdid H/Hr too soon in this book, and so had to dramatically tone it down and deter us in HBP... because OotP was ludicrously in favour of our 'ship, more than any of the other books IMO. Sometimes I truly believe that she's just desperate for people to not prematurely realise that it's H/Hr, and shows this desperation through measures taken both in the books and her interview responses.

Anyway I'll stop before I go any more

Padfoot Lives, great essay, it highlights exactly why Harry and Hermione work as a couple.

Just a minor off topic thought, this whole "opposites attract" thing bugs me a little. Scientifically speaking, opposites do attract. Magnetic north is pulled towards magnetic south and so forth, but IMO I don't really think this makes a good metaphor for a relationship. Firstly, its a solely physical pull, noting intimate or emotional about it, and secondly, since when has science had anything to do with love, generally.

Harry and Hermione work because although they are two quite different people, they are very similar in other respects. For example, they are both very kind and loyal, they are both exceptionally gifted magically and they even think alike often.

Some differences in a relationship works, as long as they completement each other, as your marvellous essay shows, but Ron and Hermione just clash too much as a couple to work, compared to the beautiful Harmony of H/Hr. (And besides, magnets can be broken apart if one applies the proper force )

Basically, I do agree with you that Harry and Hermione's differences complement each other perfectly, as opposed to R/Hr's differences which clash and cause tension and conflict.

Thats all from me , keep up the good work all.

The reader.