Not my fault at all. It's not like I sat there and went over the pros and cons in my head of various pairings.

I picked up the books right after OotP was released (glad it was then, spared me the 3 year wait). With each page I turned, it just seemed more natural that Harry and Hermione were made for each other. I mean, intuitively, what could be more perfect than one's romantic interest being the same person who has been your most trusted confidant, your rudder, and most unshakable pillar of support? The idea of R/H didn't even cross my mind until my HP-addled addicted brain sought to find another fix on the internet. You can imagine my surprise at discovering that being a H/Hr shipper put me in the minority of the fandom.

The way HBP turned out, I could not have imagined a shallower or more awkward outcome if I tried. What with the infamous "I love you" and the miscellaneous utter pettiness that dripped from every page of these "relationships," it is genuinely impossible for me to grasp where people find the allure, and how a literary genius such as Rowling could possibly consider this an adequate resolution.

Nope, I can't help it, I really can't. I even tried reading R/H, H/G fics to see if I couldn't be drawn into it, and every time I did it felt about as right as the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. Mindless, petty bickering (not any sort of even remotely rational arguments about any even remotely interesting issues, mind me, but mindless, petty bickering) is a pretty perverse thing to base love on, in my humble opinion. I'd go so far as to say that I don't believe it truly is possible, which is why what happened in HBP rang as hollow as a beachball.

I pin the blame, if you could call it that, for being aboard the HMS Harmony squarely on Rowling, and common sense.

I started reading Harry Potter in the 5th grade. By the time OOTP came out I was starting my freshman year of high school. After reading OOTP I immediately realized that while I could see that the canon was RHR I knew I loved HHR. While many people have tried to talk me out of it (going so far as to call me crazy, and delusional, and other things) I merely pointed out to them what I saw. Ron and Hermione are far to different. One of the laws of attraction is similarity. The only thing Ron and Hermione really have in common is Harry. Ron loves to be the center of attention, and hates doing work. Hermione loves doing work and while she doesn't mind the attention she prefers to be behind the scenes. And I have turned a couple of them.

I see in Harmony what I want from a relationship. I want someone who knows what I feel just by looking at me. Someone with who I can sit and not say anything but they still now whats going on. The person who would do anything for me. The person that would freak out if I was knocked unconcious and not think to check my pulse. Who would protect me from the dangerous things. Thats what Harry and Hermione have. It may have been OBHWF in the end bit if they were real people. Those marriages would end in divorce and through that Harry and hermione would probably find one another.

I turned 18 a few months ago and I've been shipping Harry/Hermione since the tender age of 10. It showed me what true love really is. And I won't rest until I found it.

Awww

I see in Harmony what I want from a relationship. I want someone who knows what I feel just by looking at me. Someone with who I can sit and not say anything but they still now whats going on. The person who would do anything for me. The person that would freak out if I was knocked unconcious and not think to check my pulse. Who would protect me from the dangerous things. Thats what Harry and Hermione have. It may have been OBHWF in the end bit if they were real people. Those marriages would end in divorce and through that Harry and hermione would probably find one another.

I turned 18 a few months ago and I've been shipping Harry/Hermione since the tender age of 10. It showed me what true love really is. And I won't rest until I found it.
=======

perfectly well said..
that is how Harmony's ship mean to me too..

Harry and Hermione is kind of relationship that I 'wanted'

Yes. They're equal and that's what I adore. And now I have a relationship that sounds like that isn't it nice?

I'm twenty and I have been shipping Harry/Hermione since I was ten. It took me until the Yule Ball to start shipping.

I never had a boyfriend until I was eighteen and...well, it didn't work out. I felt like I was Harry in the Harry/Ginny relationship. I was worshiped, but in a bad way. All the guy saw in me was that I was the best woman bowler.

Then I found my Harry last year. And we kind of became boyfriend and girlfriend then we slowly became best friends and lovers. He's my world, he's my everything.

And like Harry, he respects me, he doesn't judge me, and he loves me for me. Even though I live in the U.S and he lives in England , he's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

I got him into Harry Potter last year and we were both disappointed by Deathly Hallows *he's a Harry/Hermione shipper too, I converted him* He said that he couldn't understand why J.K would put Ron/Hermione together when it's not true love. He believes that true love should be the understanding, loving, and caring.

Not bickering and constant put-downs. He was in a Ron/Hermione relationship before he met me and he was the Hermione in the relationship. His ex was constantly putting him down and they bickered constantly.

Then he met me last year and he says he found everything he has been looking for in me.

God, why couldn't J.K see what true love really is?

Nice to hear that.. It's nice to have a H/Hr relationship, isn't it?

BTW, She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named a.k.a. Teh Holey Creator of Harry Potter Realm said that Hermione was based on her younger self, she used to date Rons but end up marrying a Harry...

right..it is not my fault that I am Hermionian.
It is not my fault that Mrs.Jo how she wrote H/hr from all of her bơok, that make me truely believed that they are 'bonded to life'

Yeah I fund that to be very confusing too... But hey, we're the delusional ones remember?

And as t the subject f the thread...


I'ts not my fault... mainly because its not a fault to believe in Harmony....

I started reading HP in 1999.... At the time, being the little boy I was, I really wasn't into the whole "who ends up with who" thing.
I always saw the connection our favorite couple had of course... but it was in the back of my mind. Once I dicovered the internet and the shipping world I realized that I've been shipping Harmony since book one really. In my mind it was a foregone conclusion... Harry and Hermione were meant to be.
Not because the Hero gets the girl. Not because the bookworm gets her prince charming. But because love is something that they always had.

I guess the big question is.... what is love?

Love is putting the person you care about as your top priority. Its caring for them even when it hurts you. Its knowing that no matter what happens, you will be there for that person. Its being completely selfless towards that person. Now you may ask, how does this work in a real relationship? How can one person give up everything for the sake of the other? If the couple really is in love, they will be able to discuss their differences and comprmise. They will be able to argue withut arguing.

I think people get bogged down and misled when they try to narrow down love into brackets. Romantic love, platonic love, sibling love....
Those are all misleading.

Love is love. Pure and simple.

I think I need to clarify something about my shipping preferences...

I never wanted Harmony to happen in the books. The reason being that I feel Harry is not anywhere near mature enough to recognise or deal with that kind of love. Hermione is. Harry isn't. Hermione shows all the signs I mentioned above. Harry shows some. But he is still wrapped up in the notion of being normal. He feels he is an oddity. He feels inherently inadequate in terms of dealing with the world around him. I believe he really needs a couple more years on him to realise that its ok to be different. To be Harry.
I also believe that the only person who sees him as such is Hermione.
Which is why I love her so much:)
Hermione is the only (teenage) character in the books I believe that understands the concept of true love.

That is why I don't like Heron or H/G.
There is no indication in the books that the characters (other than Hermione) developed the emotional maturity necessary for 19 years of love. They have grown a little in that direction, but they are not there.

So in light of my beliefs in regards to the concept of true love, its not my fault that JKR does not recognize it when she writes it. Its a credit to all Harmonians who do that see whats beneath the surface.

This is all of course, my opinion, and as I am a delusional lunatic, you are all free to disregard all I said...

I think I didn't actually choose to be an Harmonian. I believe few of us made this choice rationally. I can speak for myself and say that I've become an Harmonian because even if I recognized there was a chance of RHr happening, the fact they fought so much, and the fact that my own parents fight so often made RHr not appealing to me. I've always believed them getting married would resulkt in a marriage made of arguments, where the kids would often be caught in the middle, and would not know what to do to stop their parents fighting. This is not how I see love. On the other side there was Harry and Hermione. They respected each other, even if they didn't agree they tried to see the other POV, and for example, Harry knew about how much Hermione devoted herself to S.P.E.W., he knew it wasn't being successful nor it would be in the future, and yet he didn't make fun of it like Ron did. They trusted each other deeply, without blinking an eye, in whatever life or death situation they might find themselves in, because they understood each other deeply. That is what I have always imagined true love to be. That is a kind of relationship I'd want for myself.

This is why I'm an Harmonian and will ever be, even if I've seen all the hints for RHr, and even if I can admit some moments between them are romantic. It's their everyday attitude toward each other that keeps me away from that ship. And don't even get me started on H/G...that I didn't really see till HBP and that sudden infatuation Harry had for her.

Oh, by the way, I'm almost 23, not an expert on love I admit, since I'm still young, still I'm entitled my own opinion on it, aren't I?

Y'know I'm what.. 18? and never been kissed. This teenage love thing I've never really gotten. Infact most dating I don't get. So I'm hardly an expert on this love thing.

I was late in choosing my pairing and for a brief period I was Harry/cho because well the book pointed to it. I didn't really think on the pairings, but after that little disaster I guess I just realized how special that bond between Harry and Hermione was. (or maybe I got mature enough to be interested in pairings) I mean I've been all for fighting pairings in shows cause they were amusing, they weren't REAL fights anyway. The fight was normally gone and forgotten within the next ten minutes since it was just banter mostly.
But the way Ron and Hermione fought, that isn't good. I would wince and put the book down when they fought. I didn't like it at all, there was no way in my mind for it to ever work out. They're too oppisate for even the phrase 'oppisates attract'. Quite frankly I'm rather convinced that without Harry those two would never have become friends.

I, in my delusion, like to think that the only reason any would want them to pair up like that is for the one big happy weasley family idea. But, with the way the Weasley's are... No one should have to marry into the family in order to be viewed as family in every way. We've had our big happy weasley family the moment Mrs. Weasley fed Harry the first time he came over!

But back to Harry/Hermione. I can't help that I like the pairing cause.. that's just the kind of thing I'd rather be in if I ever wind up wanting to date someone. I'm a bookworm who really doesn't do anything on how she looks. Helps that I've got brothers and I'm a daddy's girl.. so being femmine hasn't ever been high on my to-do list.. in fact I'm so non-gussied up (and prefer comfortable non tight clothing) that unless I say something particularly girly or am wearing something more form fitting I can get mistaken for a guy. And I'd rather have some one likes me for being my unpolished self rather than some one time image for something like the Yule Ball.

So it's completely not my fault.

I'm a Harmonian, because:
When ANY AUTHOR writes a trio, 2 (two) men and 1 (one) woman, in which none of them are relatives, become close friends, if the woman were to be a pair of them, can not ignore that some people would find another pair that was not what he intended to do. Especially when there aren’t declarations of love among 3. Look, I talk of POSSIBILITY, NOT INTENT.
And the possibility that chose because I felt the most beautiful, perfect and acceptable was H / Hr

I'm a Harmonian, because:
a person graduated in literature can not ignore that a book can only be interpreted in some ways. And the way I have chosen and believed to be the most beautiful, perfect, acceptable was H/Hr

I'm a Harmonian, because:
a person who read Jane Austen’s books, say that Emma has as one of her literary references, can not ignore the existence of the so-called "love friend", in romantic terms. I’m not saying that for having read Emma, had to do a book in this style (H/Hr = Emma/Knightley). But again, can not ignore the existence of the "love friend.
And I believe, and it's that I'd want for myself in real life.

THAT IS WHY I’M A HARMONIAN. A PROUD HARMONIAN

I could care less what people think about my ship. I will always ship H/Hr for the beauty compassion and the loyality of what harry and hermione have together.

Well, haven't posted here on Portkey in ages, but just had to respond to this thread (even though its an oldie)!

I'm way older than most of you here, and I have to say it is so wonderful to know that you young ones have such a mature view of love and it gives me hope for the future generation. I believe that Harmonians have the right idea on what makes for a meaningful relationship.

After all this time, I am finally at peace with everything. Sort of...

I shipped H/Hr from the very beginning of my adventure with HP...that's what I truly believed (and still believe) JKR was writing. Plain and simple, she wrote Harry and Hermione as more than platonic friends and their relationship was built on trust, loyalty and true caring...the perfect foundation for a lasting, true love. As the thread title says, it's not my fault I'm a Harmonian...JKR wrote it and I believed it.

I would have been happy if JKR had not written the epilogue. That ruined it for me. I could have accepted her idea that Harry and Ginny were meant to have a romance (she totally didn't write it, though...) and I could have accepted Ron and Hermione having a romance (again, not written). I would have believed that in the end, neither "romance" lasted into adulthood. I still believe that because I basically ignore the epilogue. It was stupid and didn't fit, at all. I'm wondering if she wrote that at the last minute because I also believe that JKR became a different person because of the tremendous hype and HP worshiping that changed her life. What started as a children's book series that she hoped to make some money at turned into a phenom that I'm sure even she didn't expect. And I honestly believe the fans and the hype made her rush the last two books and I think she lost her vision.

And thus, she became JKR...arrogant, all-knowing, Goddess of the HP universe...and you'd better not disagree with her or imply that you read something different.

Whatever...

It is her story and she can write it anyway she wants...but once a book of fiction is published it becomes something else. The author can intend whatever they want but ultimately the reader takes away from the book what THEY want.

JKR wrote H/Hr. She will never admit it but that's what happened. I have read too many brilliant posts and essays that confirm that fact and I'm not convinced that H/Hr shippers are delusional and every one I ever met online were articulate and intelligent in their belief in H/Hr.

It still hurts and probably always will and I cry for what should have been. JKR can be happy in her success and she will never want for money...good for her. It's just too bad that she will never acknowledge the fans that saw something different and something deeper. We wanted it to be more than it was...sadly, it wasn't.

The only part I truly loved was Snape's story. That, to me, was the most meaningful part of the story. I loved it.

I only wish I could have seen the culmination of the real love story of HP...Harry and Hermione...always.

So, to all my fellow Harmonians...we were right, we really were...believe in it.

I'm not a 'shipper,' but I have an appreciation for sense and compassion. Book Three. It was Book Three that I began to find the two endearing. Not just 'cute' or 'obvious,' but endearing, touching. I though they already began to play off each other very well.

I can't help it. I've TRIED to enjoy Ron and Hermione - like I said, i'm not a 'shipper.' I've got a lot more worries in my (Potter!) world, but I try and try, and it just doesn't happen. It's so miniscule, the two of them together, but it just doesn't happen. I just can't accept it while being happy.

I don't know why.

Eh, I can't help favouring the Two (Harry,Hermione) together.

It just happened.

= )

Now I'm going to get a nice glass of OJ.
Eh, never mind. Milk.

Remember, kiddies.
"Drink milk. OJ will kill you."

The End.
~ GreyWolf

What wonderful things all of you just said! Yes, all of you were completely describing my feelings as a Harmonian! Thanks!

hi...(Sharon)...
I don't know if you remember me. We used to posted alot together at e.w net forum..(well I am still there)..and www.fanforum.com

anyways...I agrêe with everything that you said. We also like to know the 'real love story' of h/hr..and I wish someone else will write it..

It is true that h/hr ship will never sunk..even though Mrs.Jo didn't end up writing these two together as 'married' but they still have that 'special bond' that nobody can have. Which is "true friendship' or they have each other soul.

@greywolf: you are one of most witty and funniest h/hr shipper that I came across. I really enjoy read your comment...

Of course I remember you, Caroline!

It's been extremely hard to keep my spirit up since last summer but I'm still Harmony all the way!

Still working through my issues with JKR, of course.

And I quit going to other forums because I'm simply too tired to argue with OBHWFers anymore...its pointless.

Happily, Portkey is still a great place to be, for the most part!

It's great to read the posts from Harmonians who still know...and chose what is right over what is easy...

Thanks for saying hi, Caroline!

~Sharon~hammergal

you welcome..

I recommanded you to join this site.http://z4.invisionfree.com/Sugar_Covered_Quills/index.php
It is belong to my gơod friend.Gillian, Poison, Natsky and many other harmionian.

you will love it there...

Are you sure?

Well, yeah! It's just I don't care to go to the Dueling Club or to read posts from non-Harmonians. I'm just over it and I just want to enjoy H/Hr, now and for always. I'm done with posters trying to convince me to see the error of my ways! That's what I meant.

And I still love the fanfic!

are you still writing any of your storys

Oh hammergal... I remembered you since I was still a guest in this forum and reading your posts to defend our ship here... Could you go to the Dueling Club now? We need some nerve and sense there...

that we do but since i feel that is getting no where in that area then i might as well leave it.

Well, how is it over there? Cause I'd hate to aggravate my ulcer! jk...
Seriously, it's extremely frustrating especially now, since they obviously think..well, we won and it's hard to argue now. But I'm always willing to defend H/Hr!

And ginnyhater, I still think about writing but my muse went away after HBP! I do have an idea for a story, though...keep an eye out!

~hammergal

i am sorry to hear about your muse here well i hope that you come to writing though.

totally agrêe with you.
It is pointless and useless for those HeRon tried to convince Us that their ship is the best.

too right you are there but they are here just to get mad and make us leave so that way they can have portkey all to them self dose that make any sense.

well we still here...

and we will be here for years to come.

beside I did tried to debate with those HeRon. But they doesn't want to debate with me...

Those mo... I mean Herons, they have canon advantages, yes. So if we want to prove our ship is better or at least show them why we ship H/Hr, we need extra work, I admit that. They came here to debate, not to have fun (of course, a R/Hr shipper at H/Hr site, searching for fun? Honestly...).

And to answer hammergal's question, the Herons are storming to every corner at Debate Room... They brought loads of canon ammunition and fired it everywhere... And I must admit that they did it logically, calmly, and profesionally (which is because, as I said, it's easier for them as they had the canon and the author on their side). If we want to win, we need to do better.

ok here give us some tips please cause so in future i know how to handle them

hheh...you don't get it do you?
WE ARE THE TRUE WINNER.
we don't cared what those Mon..(I meant HeRon said or do) it doesn't matter if they have loads of canon shơoting at Us. We have some more powerful. It is power of ignoring them. It is pointless.

i know what you mean here caroline and yes to some they are that but we have be nice here lol. there is a thread on the debate witch character you hate and why omg can of worms for i dont think they would like me on that thread .

I can't ignore the truth. Never. If we're right and they're wrong, it was supposed to be easy to prove. So why don't we just prove that we're right?

that a great idea how do we do that here maybe give them a taste of there own medicine what i mean making up facts and we are the delusional one here.

And so don't avoid them. Confront them with proper manner. People who were right never afraid to speak the truth. Truth is there, it is just waiting to be proven.

ok then i am willing to try this.

Just want to congratulate Phoenos for the wonderful last post at R/Hr Abusive Thread or more famous as The Dueling Club Fiasco Part I... That thread was closed and will be deleted immediately by the mods (which I believe, was a good thing).

I started reading the HP series back in 2000 when I was 11. I started on GoF because I didn't know the order to the series. As I read through, I thought that Hermione would be great for Harry because of her faith in him and how she was always there for him. Since the age of 11, I've thought Harry and Hermione were great for each other!

[quote name='Rose Potter' post='384617' date='Jan 26 2008, 07:02 AM']
Just want to congratulate Phoenos for the wonderful last post at R/Hr Abusive Thread or more famous as The Dueling Club Fiasco Part I... [quote]
[/quote]

thanks god...for this person.

@viola: hi..yes H/hr are still wonderful..

Hey,

I suppose I'll tell MY story too

I'm 18 now, and I started reading HP after getting the first three books in Christmas of 99, and then GoF on my 11th birthday the following July 8th.

After PS, the seed for H/Hr was planted, though I was 11, so the whole idea of "love" hadn't fully developed yet. CoS and PoA had me more focused on their plots, so I didn't really notice much in the way of H/Hr., though I noticed more in PoA then in CoS.

GoF, on the other hand. Now there was the kick-off point of my shipping. Two scenes stick out in my mind. The Ball, and The Kiss. The Kiss is what truly cemented my belief in H/Hr. I kept thinking "why would she put so much emphasis to it, if it didn't have some kind of meaning to the story as a whole?".

To keep this short, I agree with everything said in the forum. I've never wanted anything to do with "teen love" because it just doesn't last (for the most part).

Myself, I haven't even had my first kiss yet, and I'm not ashamed to say it. I just haven't had the connection yet. I'm excited for it to finally happen, but I'm only 18, I've got my whole life to live yet. I know that I'll meet the right girl when the time is right. In the meantime, I get my romance through H/Hr fics, and romantic comedies. Again, not ashamed that I enjoy a good romance

I gotta go do the chores, but I'll leave you with one last thought:


Crushes come and go, but True Love lasts forever

Best Wishes to All,
Nick

Woah, I just got done catching up reading this whole thread *whew* And I am feeling like an ancient ancestor around here too considering I am the mother of an 18 year old who is in her 2nd year of college *she finished her high school at 16 a year earlier than her age group around here* now getting degrees to make herself a teacher... and my youngest is going to be 7 at the end of February.

Originally I got the first Harry Pottor book for my now teenager when she was back in elementary school and of course being a cautious and good parent, I would read all books before I let my child read them to ensure there would not be anything inappropriate in it. So, as you guessed I became a Harmony shipper by the end of the first book and developed a strong dislike in the disgusting Ronald that just further developed into a loathing as he got older but didn't seem to grow in maturity.

I think it was the end chess scene in both the first book and movie that clenched me as a Harmony shipper. When I read HBP along with my eldest *hence the need to buy 2 books because by the time she was a teen and needed her own copy of the book* We were both shocked and utterly disgusted.

Seriously I became violently ill and threw up because I was so disgusted with the aweful thing. My teen threw the book out of her room and refused to even pick it up and she cried for hours. I could not console her. She screamed at how messed up it was that it was completely illogical and that Ron was a nasty idiot that was not good enough for Hermione. I think she sees alot of herself in the Hermione character and seeing her getting verbally abused by Ron constantly and then making such a huge mistake to choose him over the logical choice of Harry just could not register in her mind or heart.

She is right. All the logical conclusions from the books 1 to 5 do not put Hermione with the dreadful red rodent nor do they even come close to pairing up Harry with red rodent's hardly ever mentioned and insignificant little sister in books 1 to 5. When HeRons bring up the rescue of Ginny in book 2, I just respond that Harry is a hero type and has a saving people thing and would have done the same rescue even for any unknown Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or heck even a Slytherin! Because he is that sort of person.

Harmony just makes more sense. All the clues are there and speak more clearly than the stupid 'anvils' that were forced in whenever the Harry/Hermione stuff really started to pick up against the will of JKR who still managed to solidify the H/Hr ship in my mind despite her attempts to force feed OBWF crap down my throat.

If this sounds a bit ranty, sorry I just read too much of the Herons on the debate board and they were starting to rile me up again with their insistance that the R/Hr 'has to be' because it was in canon therefore it was 'meant to be' crap. This is a H/Hr shipping site and they are only here to argue. I am tired of arguing. There really is no point to arguing. I will never change my views or opinions or interpretations or jump ship no matter what slop was printed and sold as official canon.

A very funny thought just crossed my mind. If arguing and insulting someone is a sign that they are meant to be together... Does that mean each H/Hr shipper needs to go and find a 'true love' in the Heron camp? Merlin thinking by Heron logic that would be the only way for a person to get a 'true love' spouse. Gack! that was a gross joke.

Totally agree with everyone here.

I read the books in 2002 up to GoF. Back then I had no idea what shipping was but loved the stories I decided to look around online for discussion boards and found fanfiction.net
My curiosity impelled me to read a fic (back then there were 20 pages of HP fanfiction on FF.net of which 8 pages were H/Hr) The first fic I read was R/Hr and for some reason, after I finished reading it, it just didn't feel right. So I picked another one and this time it was a simple H/Hr story but it just MADE SENSE.
Everything clicked, the hug from PS, the adventures from PoA, the Yule Ball and the kiss.

I've been a shipper since 2002 and was really active in the Fandom from 2002-2004 and have always thought there were differences between the way R/Hr shippers and H/Hr shippers saw love. I, like many other posters above, did not believe in the love/hate bickering Hollywood kind of love, but rather the chemistry, quiet respect and affection that H/Hr stand for.

I'm now 23 and when I first read the books, I also hadn't been in a real relationship. I wasn't in a rush like many of my other friends and I'm glad many posters also have enough respect for themselves to wait for someone that's worth it. Good things come to those who wait.

I salute all you Harmonians. For I don't care what is written in the Epilogue, for me it will always be Harry and Hermione. I hope you don't give up on them as well as the Harry or Hermione of your life,

To Picollo: I LOVE your signature (Go Chamber of Secrets!), and it's great that you're not ashamed that you haven't had your 'first kiss' - people place way too much importance on relationships in their life.
Good for you! = )

The End.

~GreyWolf

MOD NOTE: merging this into a related thread.
~gal-texter / Pen May2008

Pathetically, I have been moping about the non-H/Hr ending for months. Pathetic because I am an adult, a successful woman who is happily engaged in a wonderful relationship with a terrific guy. So, I started pestering myself about my depression over FICTIONAL characters, for goodness sake! What was I about getting sad over R/Hr and H/G? Then I looked on my wall at a picture of a bushy-haired brunette bookworm looking out from the gothic window of a Czech castle. Leaning out just next to her was a black-haired boy who shimmered with the delight of the afternoon with his best friend, the girl he called every night for advice or help or a shared bit of gossip about the librarian. Suddenly it hit me...I was Hermione and he was Harry. He was the center of my world, and I was his Girl Friday. And then he chose someone else, someone careless and vapid. The parallels between Harry and Hermione and my own friendship were uncanny--everyone thought we were together...even a "Yule Ball-esque" jaw-drop when I tamed my hair and wore a slinky sequined dress.

In my reflection, I had to admit to myself that I wanted Harry to look at this amazing girl who gave everything to him in the way I wanted my friend to look at me. I guess I was looking for vindication of my position that a marriage of true minds and souls should be the ideal. It didn't turn out that way for me, and it didn't turn out that way for H/Hr.

In some way, I understand the position of R/Hr shippers a little better now. Many of them didn't identify with Hermione, so how could they see what I saw as colored by my own experience?

I realize this is not on-topic per se, but I needed the catharsis. Thanks for bearing with me.

Agnes

You know, I totally understand where you are coming from.

I cannot begin to explain why this particular pairing (or nonpairing) affected me so much.

In a sense, JKR wrote Hermione so well that she was the only female character (aside from Luna) with whom readers like me can relate on a deeper level. And I hated to admit it, but I was also Hermione. And I wanted Harry to look at me and see me for who I am and who I can still become.

And, I think we all need the catharsis. Your post helped me acknowledge what I feel and still feel. Thank you.

I know I will move on to other things, but H/Hr will always hold a special place in my heart.

I totally understand you.
The non-H/Hr ending was heart wrenching (not only because I've been an H/Hr shipper since GoF) but because it was just such a shame. The potential for something special and magical was all there, all the beautiful H/Hr moments even in DH!
Although I'm not an orphan and haven't had an evil wizard after me, I do identify a lot with Harry. The lonely childhood and treasuring friendship, courage and loyalty.
I'm just sad he missed out and didn't pick the woman that knew him the best and loved him the most (first hug, first kiss). That kind of love is hard to come by and Ginny pales in comparison to what Hermione has with Harry.
In other ways, I also feel like Hermione settled in her relationship with Ron. I feel like their relationship wouldn't last in real life and they just aren't right for each other. And that is why I hate OBHWF even more, it sounds too perfect but it would never work in my mind.

Personally, I'll never settle and I'm still looking for my Hermione.

Yeah, there will always be that one day where you remember the hp books and get really angry that your ship, which you know was the best ship ever, didn't survive in canon. I've had those random moments. You've sort of gotten over it, but there's a small part of you that's just really sad about it.

Yeah, I've moved on. But Harmony is still alive for me. And I don't care who wants to degrade it. It's almost been a year since and I still don't understand why Harmony wasn't good enough for the author. I still don't understand this craze for h/r and h/g. I will certainly, never understand how Ginny could be Harry's soul mate.

And I probably will never understand.

And I will probably take my confusion to the grave.

Doesn't matter. I know what I know. And that's all that matter's to me.

Harmony rocks.