I’m quite sure I’ve written something about this before but I couldn’t seem to find it.

For some reason, my facebook newsfeed has been flooded with Harry Potter memes, lately. Too much quarantine time has thus allowed me to reprocess/remember things.

I was such a huge Harry Potter fan back then. I guess things mellowed down when I went to College and got involved with the V. But nevertheless, it has greatly shaped my late elementary and entire High School years. You could say that I grew up with Harry. And a huge chunk of those years were spent burning my eyes with the computer screen as I pored over hundreds of fanfiction and online forums defending why Harry should eventually end up with Hermione. I went to an all-girls’ school in High School and so contact with the opposite sex was a minimum. And so, for the most part, my standards for anything remotely romantic has been hugely shaped by this huge fandom.

We’ve always believed that Harry should have ended up with Hermione. And that she’s always been the right person for him. This is all regardless of the best friend-turned-lovers trope. She just was the best girl for him.

For the seven years the books have depicted that they’ve known each other, she has been hugely instrumental in helping Harry get by. You remove her from the equation and Harry dies. Literally. I can’t say the same for Ron, though (but Ron’s an entirely different story and might warrant a separate post hahaha). We know that JKR used Hermione as a tool to catalyze the exposition of the wizarding world, using her as a voice that could introduce foreign wizarding concepts to Harry, seeing that she grew up in the muggle world, like him.

Not only that, Hermione has literally stuck with Harry all throughout his struggles (except for that one time in Half Blood Prince where she went full psycho. But even that episode was heavily criticized for being out of character for her). She was there when no one believed in him (Goblet of Fire) and even during those times when he’s being insufferable (Order of the Phoenix and HBP). She called him out when he’s being an idiot (Prisoner of Azkaban) at the expense of being shunned by Ron and Harry. She’s there even if Harry chooses Ron over her.

I could go on and on about why she’s an absolute better choice for Harry than Ginny but I might develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from writing too long hahaha. Nevertheless, Harry’s shown his merits, despite his antics. There are times when he’s been a jerk to Hermione but to be honest, Ron’s just worse. At least Harry sticks up for Hermione when she’s in distress (most of the time), would eventually watch over her.

And who wouldn’t forget the “I’d go with you,” scene in Deathly Hallows?! Honestly, Ginny’s break-up scene just faded in comparison to that.

Admittedly, I’ve grown quite attached to Hermione. She’s my all-time favorite Harry Potter character. She’s just an embodiment of a strong female presence in the books. Not only is she the brightest witch of her age, she’s just extremely driven and hardworking. She started off being nosy and grade conscious, but eventually coming around to becoming one of the most compassionate and selfless characters around. Growing up, she just resonated with me. She was such a role model that I strove hard to be like her.

Hence my desire for her to get the best that she can out of life. JKR seriously shortchanged her when she was given Ron. I always felt that she’s been dealt with the shortest end of the stick after all that she’s gone through for the past seven years.

I’ve always thought that Hermione deserved someone who would be supportive of her conquests. Someone who understood her drive, her thirst for knowledge, and desire for career advancement. she needed someone who would respect her passions, no matter how trivial they may appear to be. And that person most definitely isn’t Ron. Harry’s the closest that could give that to her. He simply understood her, in spite of himself.

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So yeah, there’s a lot of archetypes out there for love and relationships. But honestly, deep down, this might be the reason why I’ve got these ridiculous notions about love. I guess this is the closest illustration to what I pictured I might find in the future. It’s not as simple as best friend-turned-lovers. I figured that deep down, I’d find my own Harry and that we’d form a dynamic almost the same as theirs. Hopefully, in the future, I’d find someone who’d respect my plans in life and would be supportive of my choices. And likewise, I’d find someone who’d appreciate my support. 🙂