Oh, Kate!!! Darling! As always, I feel terrible for having let so much time pass by without coming by to "see" you. What's even worse is that I'm short on time at the moment. I have a 5 a.m. wake-up call. I just wanted to tell you that I love you, I miss you, I saw OoTP, I haven't purchased DH (and I don't know if I'm going to, at least not anytime soon), and I will get my butt back here as soon as I possibly can to talk more with you about all of these things. *mwah*

So good to hear from you at last! You sound busy...I'm glad to know that you're hanging in there! Don't feel bad at all, hon...just promise me you'll read DH (because contrary to what I'd believed after hearing spoilers, it is an AMAZING book) and report back to me!

Hon, H/Hr is back and better than EVER before (even better than OotP, believe it!), even though sadly not among the canon romantic ships. :-( I'm glad I was prepared for it, my expectations falling incredibly since HBP - it made the blow much easier. But it is not even funny how completely shallow, insignificant, and unimportant the R/Hr and H/G shipping is to the overall plot and message...it doesn't even make a dent and if you ignore the terrible epilogue at the end (fondly called the "crapilogue"), H/Hr fanfic can easily go on with new fuel to the fire.

Everything we love most about our Harmony is present in abundance (after the sad lack in HBP) - DEPTH, unspoken communication, physical contact (and LOTS of it), understanding, loyalty, trust. Oh yes, some of the OBHWF moments make you cringe - forced and contrite as usual, but what we get is so much better. I don't even know if JKR meant to do it (probably not, since she obviously never intended to imply the romantic potential between H/Hr that was evident to so many of us - I don't know if I'll ever understand her in that respect)...all I know is that I'm seriously thanking her for it. Our moments are still the best, even if only meant to be "platonic" by JKR (ha! I swear if I ever saw Ron/Ginny interacting that way, I'd cry incest).

I say we win! Romantic or not (and so many of their scenes still imply romance or validate the foundation for romance), we walk away with the best relationship in the series, the one with far and away the most depth and meaning. Their platonic love is stunning in its beauty, and Hermione is Harry's equal and closest confidante. Can you believe, that even by the end of DH, that Harry has yet to share one meaningful moment with Ginny, confide anything to her, include her in any of his most intense, emotional, important moments in his life? Believe it. Those are all reserved for Hermione (and some with Ron, too). It's laughable - the lurve of his life, still not making any contribution in his journey. Super!Ginny is gone, she does nothing of significance, clearly put back in her place though still the trophy girl for Harry *snort*. And Hermione, the true heroine of the series, is back in all of her glory. About time!

Long story short...you've got to read it. Promise me you will! I'm dying to quote some shippy passages for you, but I don't want to ruin it. And I'm going as far as to say - and you know me, stubborn and die-hard shipper that I am - that the brilliance and excitement of the rest of the story far overshadows any shipping and is worth the read alone. Ignoring shipping altogether, it stands on its own. It's everything else that drew me in, and actually a lot of the time I wasn't even as upset with the OBHWF stuff as I normally would be (until of course the crapilogue, which I shall from now on happily ignore). Love as the power that Voldemort knows not prevails overwhelmingly in the form of platonic love between friends rather than romantic love, so thankfully we don't have to suffer through any "Harry's love for Ginny will conquer Voldemort!" B.S.

Anyway though...it's riveting. You simply must read it. Not only for the squee-worthy Harmony moments in demonstration of their incredible "friendship" (fanfic will have to do for the romance!), but for everything else...trio bond included. Everything minus the shallow shipping (that JKR never got right (which I've deemed to be virtually insignificant as it is) is so well worth it!

Anyway, take your time and keep up with life...but I hope to hear from you again soon! Love you and miss you much!

So, finally, a week later, but I made it! *breathes*

just promise me you'll read DH (because contrary to what I'd believed after hearing spoilers, it is an AMAZING book) and report back to me!

I do plan on reading it...eventually...LOL. I just COMPLETELY forgot about the release day, and unlike HBP, I didn't make a note of it, nor did I clear my schedule up. I want to read it, I just didn't invest myself into all of it this time (the excitement/hoopla) like I did with the last book. Now, before I go any further, I must confess - I spoiled myself. I seriously debated whether or not to do so, considering that, in the back of my mind, I always planned on reading the book for myself. I just couldn't help it. Curiosity got the best of me and I held out as long as I could, but I eventually caved.

Now, that being said, I don't really know too too much. What I got from reading various reviews (only from CIBM) was that our H/Hr did not become canon, Moody, Fred, and Dobby died, and OBHWF came to be. So, as you can see, I still have a lot to discover for myself.

Hon, H/Hr is back and better than EVER before (even better than OotP, believe it!), even though sadly not among the canon romantic ships. :-( I'm glad I was prepared for it, my expectations falling incredibly since HBP - it made the blow much easier. But it is not even funny how completely shallow, insignificant, and unimportant the R/Hr and H/G shipping is to the overall plot and message...it doesn't even make a dent and if you ignore the terrible epilogue at the end (fondly called the "crapilogue"), H/Hr fanfic can easily go on with new fuel to the fire.


Yeah! I heard whispers about that epilogue. I'm quite intrigued. At the very least, is it good for a few laughs?

I don't even know if JKR meant to do it (probably not, since she obviously never intended to imply the romantic potential between H/Hr that was evident to so many of us - I don't know if I'll ever understand her in that respect)...all I know is that I'm seriously thanking her for it. Our moments are still the best, even if only meant to be "platonic" by JKR

For the life of me, I still can't (and won't EVER) understand how she could write for H/Hr the way she did and be so clueless about the type of relationship/bond that she created between them. The first post that I read containing DH spoilers consisted entirely of H/Hr moments. Now, from someone who has yet to read the book, reading about some of those moment...my God...I assumed that they had become canon. I actually wanted to cry!

Here's the link: http://community.livejournal.com/harryhermione/1855503.html

Very first post. I was fooled! But how could I NOT been considering a) I hadn't read the book (*turns red*), and more importantly, b) that scene screams LOVE.

I say we win! Romantic or not (and so many of their scenes still imply romance or validate the foundation for romance), we walk away with the best relationship in the series, the one with far and away the most depth and meaning. Their platonic love is stunning in its beauty, and Hermione is Harry's equal and closest confidante.

*huge grin* We do win, don't we? Here's another awesome post to go along with yours - http://community.livejournal.com/harryhermione/1860419.html

Just like you, babe, I too was prepared with low expectations. I can't lie, though - my heart did sink when I found out that they hadn't become canon. What I felt, however, wasn't as bad as how I felt during/after the HBP reading. Still, I've grown not to care what the other shippers think about my love for H/Hr and all the shipping wars, which I never really got into anyway. We chose to believe in something greater, more special, more meaningful and for that: you win, I win, WE win.

Long story short...you've got to read it. Promise me you will! I'm dying to quote some shippy passages for you, but I don't want to ruin it. And I'm going as far as to say - and you know me, stubborn and die-hard shipper that I am - that the brilliance and excitement of the rest of the story far overshadows any shipping and is worth the read alone. Ignoring shipping altogether, it stands on its own. It's everything else that drew me in, and actually a lot of the time I wasn't even as upset with the OBHWF stuff as I normally would be (until of course the crapilogue, which I shall from now on happily ignore).

I promise...I swear. It'll just be a slow read as I've been working 6 days a week (we're understaffed, though I can't complain because I need to keep saving up money). I might go and purchase a copy tomorrow, but by all means, hon, quote away! I've already told you what I *do* know about DH. Don't worry thinking that you'll ruin it for me. I think about how I first became an HP and H/Hr fanatic - through the films. I went into the books having been "spoiled" by the first 3 films, but it took nothing away from my own reading. Besides, I'd love very much to read your thoughts on everything.

*huge grin* We do win, don't we? Here's another awesome post to go along with yours - http://community.livejournal.com/harryhermione/1860419.html

Wow, thanks so much for linking me to that! Sums it up perfectly. I honestly think we won, and you will too when you read the book! Just focus on all of the beautiful H/Hr and you will see what I saw and feel what I felt. :-)

Just like you, babe, I too was prepared with low expectations. I can't lie, though - my heart did sink when I found out that they hadn't become canon. What I felt, however, wasn't as bad as how I felt during/after the HBP reading. Still, I've grown not to care what the other shippers think about my love for H/Hr and all the shipping wars, which I never really got into anyway. We chose to believe in something greater, more special, more meaningful and for that: you win, I win, WE win.

Amen, babe! I was crushed too when it was confirmed that the online book was real and that it was going to be OBHWF...I let a few tears fall (though not like the complete sob-fest I had after HBP) but then forced myself to read the book because I knew I needed closure to the series no matter the outcome. And I'm SO glad I did, because it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and to my great surprise, she basically DID write H/Hr. She wrote H/Hr in the way that I've loved them from the start...and actually continued to strengthen their bond and deepen their "platonic" love. Even though she thinks she wrote OBHWF, she failed to do so convincingly and it all came across as so contrived, shallow, cold, and emotionless. Completely unbelievable. I guess I should be glad for that, because if she did pull off OBHWF convincingly and make me believe that R/Hr and H/G have deeper and better relationships than H/Hr and truly do love each other, I would have felt defeated. But for whatever reason, H/Hr still came away with the most meaningful, most beautiful, most profound relationship. It can't even really be put into words. All I can do is quote canon...and soon I will do just that!

I promise...I swear. It'll just be a slow read as I've been working 6 days a week (we're understaffed, though I can't complain because I need to keep saving up money). I might go and purchase a copy tomorrow, but by all means, hon, quote away! I've already told you what I *do* know about DH. Don't worry thinking that you'll ruin it for me. I think about how I first became an HP and H/Hr fanatic - through the films. I went into the books having been "spoiled" by the first 3 films, but it took nothing away from my own reading. Besides, I'd love very much to read your thoughts on everything.

Like I said, take your time! I will go ahead and quote for you some of my favorite passages though, as soon as I can! I might even make a separate post in my LJ with all of my favorites. So we can look forward to discussing them when you finish the book! Relax and enjoy the H/Hr goodness...but all the same be prepared to dodge some R/Hr and H/G bullets along the way.

First of all, I don't know if you've seen this or not...but I just thought I would because it makes me laugh every time I see it!

http://i18.tinypic.com/66tngjd.jpg

Anyway, moving on...

I do plan on reading it...eventually...LOL. I just COMPLETELY forgot about the release day, and unlike HBP, I didn't make a note of it, nor did I clear my schedule up. I want to read it, I just didn't invest myself into all of it this time (the excitement/hoopla) like I did with the last book. Now, before I go any further, I must confess - I spoiled myself. I seriously debated whether or not to do so, considering that, in the back of my mind, I always planned on reading the book for myself. I just couldn't help it. Curiosity got the best of me and I held out as long as I could, but I eventually caved.

Now, that being said, I don't really know too too much. What I got from reading various reviews (only from CIBM) was that our H/Hr did not become canon, Moody, Fred, and Dobby died, and OBHWF came to be. So, as you can see, I still have a lot to discover for myself.

Ahhh, I'm like you! I spoiled myself too before the book came out. I told myself I wouldn't this time, but me and spoilers...I just can't stay away! I had to be on top of things. I'm guessing you weren't around for the whole fiasco, but the book actually appeared online in full about a week before the release, and that entire week up to the release we were debating on whether or not the online book was the real deal. As more and more it looked to be true, the only reasons left to doubt it were how crappy the epilogue was and some other plot holes and other mistakes. Like, did you know that Hermione's middle name is no longer Jane? In DH she is called "Hermione JEAN" Granger. Stuff like that. Anyway, there are some plot holes and inconsistencies that I thought would anger me, but I was able to look past them because the rest of the book was so good. I didn't actually read the online book or invest too much time spoiling myself on the whole plot...just knew a few things about it, including the crappy OBHWF ending. So a lot of it was still new to me and it was exciting! I look forward to reading it again soon...and this time I'm going to bookmark all the pages with H/Hr moments and type them up. :p There are a ton!

I hope you get to read it soon...but take your time! Just make sure you get back to me when you're finished, whenever that may be! :-)

Yeah! I heard whispers about that epilogue. I'm quite intrigued. At the very least, is it good for a few laughs?

Oh yes, definitely good for laughs. That's about ALL it's good for, afterall. I was LMAO so hard when I first read the epilogue online and thought it just HAD to be fake. It was so bad it was funny. And then when it came to be true...well, I'm pretty much just ignoring it. I like how the book ends without it, and IMO the doors are completely open for H/Hr without it. So what, H/G and R/Hr appear to be "in love" with each other...but H/Hr still have the deepest, most meaningful relationship that continued to grow in this book (with some great strides) and theirs is the type that would inevitably grow and lead to romantic love and marriage sometime in their 20's...the epilogue and how things end up is just totally unbelievable to me (like, how at the end of DH Harry has yet to move past thinking about Ginny in any way except for her physical features and he ends up MARRIED to her? At least we didn't have to see any confessions of love - that would have been too much for me to handle - I like how it stays shallow all the way until the end!), so the best thing for my sanity is to ignore it and read fanfic for a better ending!

As for the funny things about it...

Hugo Weasley, anyone? (Ron and Hermione's son)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/dflat/Images%20Continued/HugoW.jpg?t=1185761009

And Albus Severus Potter?! That poor, poor kid...

For the life of me, I still can't (and won't EVER) understand how she could write for H/Hr the way she did and be so clueless about the type of relationship/bond that she created between them. The first post that I read containing DH spoilers consisted entirely of H/Hr moments. Now, from someone who has yet to read the book, reading about some of those moment...my God...I assumed that they had become canon. I actually wanted to cry!

Here's the link: http://community.livejournal.com/harryhermione/1855503.html

Very first post. I was fooled! But how could I NOT been considering a) I hadn't read the book (*turns red*), and more importantly, b) that scene screams LOVE.

Oh, I know it..and the sad thing is, she's still at it in DH, giving them far and away the most beautiful moments while attempting to write OBHWF romance (OMG isn't it obvious?! *gag*) - which, by the way, came across as forced and awkward for both couples (especially R/Hr). HOW IN THE HECK can she not see it? Is it because she's had her OBHWF blinders on from the very beginning, knowing where she was going to end up, and refused to open her eyes to the pairing with MORE potential that she had inadvertently written? She may have had to change her path and work a bit harder, but if she would freaking re-read her books (which she admits that she does not do) there's no way she wouldn't have seen H/Hr after OotP and done things differently. At the end of OotP, H/Hr was honestly the only couple that made sense. They had everything in place, from canon moments (with all of their history of growth and development right from the start) to symbolism to alchemy...you name it, everything pointed to H/Hr with R/Hr being a big red herring. But of course, since she doesn't re-read her books there's a great chance that she had no clue what she had done so brilliantly, and kept plowing forward with her contrived, shallow OBHWF agenda, which she (again, apparently without knowing it) did NOT develop sufficiently. In short, she's a terrible romance writer. I'm just glad that despite her pushing of OBHWF, H/Hr STILL came away with the best relationship in the series, romantic or not. Their "platonic" friendship makes R/Hr and H/G look so pathetic and shallow.

If I hadn't spoiled the ending for myself, there were so many times reading through DH I would have thought that it was DEFINITELY going to end with Harmony...even though the R/Hr and H/G crap is going right from the start, we still had the most powerful and convincing moments, like the one you're referring to in that post. Hello? Foreshadowing anyone? Definitely LOVE. Gotta love how Hermione tears up and beams at HARRY as Bill and Fleur are declared "bonded for life" and NOT at her "significant other." Same with Harry. I just love the image of them gazing at each other in that scene. I would have jumped out of my chair in a fit of hysteria if I hadn't spoiled the ending for myself because I would have been so sure that we were going to get H/Hr at the end. And there's more where that came from later in the book when I felt the same way. I'll be posting them shortly!

Ok, you may have seen this one already if you've been looking around, but here is my favorite H/Hr scene from DH (and arguably from the series):

"But they were not living, thought Harry: They were gone. The empty words could not disguise the fact that his parents' mouldering remains lay beneath snow and stone, indifferent, unknowing. And tears came before he could stop them, boiling hot then instantly freezing on his face, and what was the point in wiping them off or pretending? He let them fall, his lips pressed hard together, looking down at the thick snow hiding from his eyes the place where the last of Lily and James lay, bones now, surely, or dust, not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near, his heart still beating, alive because of their sacrifice and close to wishing, at this moment that he was sleeping under the snow with them.

Hermione had taken his hand again and was gripping it tightly. He could not look at her, but returned the pressure, now taking deep, sharp gulps of 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, and every plant in the graveyard was leafless and frozen. 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 parents' grave.

As soon as he stood up he wanted to leave: He did not think he could stand another moment there. 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."

This, right here, is why I love Harry/Hermione. They don't even speak a word, yet communicate flawlessly and there is complete understanding between them. I'd honestly be embarrassed to be an H/G shipper, because none of the H/G "moments" even came close in intimacy, connection, depth, or emotion to this one.

P.S. OotP...tackle-hug, anyone? How about the scene when Harry falls amongst the crowd and Hermione is the ONLY one to notice and is the first at his side, rushing to him in slow-motion? Or how when he's being possessed by Voldemort his eyes rest clearly on Hermione's face and the memory of their hug in CoS that triggers his will to fight back? *sigh* It was nothing compared to OotP canon, to be sure (in fact we saw how the Grawp scene was absolutely butchered!), but I enjoyed what we got!

*gets into fangirl mode*

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE to ALL of those moments! There was a ton of flashback usage in this move. :D I wanted to scream out loud when Harry's first flash was to the H/Hr hug in CoS. During Fred and George's exit, that scene in which she notices Harry on the floor...all of it in slow-mo...EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I also have to mention how much I LOVED that Hermione was there to witness the hug between Sirius and Harry at Grimmauld Place.

Speaking of the Grawp scene - UGH! They had to write Harry as uncaring and oblivious in order to make Ron look good and to have everyone say, "Awww! Look, he's her hero!" Whatever.

I HATED Super!Ginny in the DoM and her "WOAH! Let's all stand and look at her and her amazing wand ability!" moment. I knew they had to insert her in here more, considering that in the next film - gag me - she will have a bigger role, but that was SO wrong. So, so, so, so, so, SO WRONG!

I have mixed feelings about the film. There wasn't enough Sirius! :( And his death? I was like, is that IT? It happened in a flash and at the end of the film, Harry didn't even seem as damaged or broken as he did in the book. They butchered the scene with Harry and Dumbledore. I disliked how the prophecy was revealed, and two of the scenes I was most hoping for weren't included. What I would have given to have seen that H/Hr moment at Grimmauld Place during the Christmas holiday, and, of course, panicked!Harry at the DoM when he sees Hermione on the floor! *deep sigh*

Okay, I'll end my little rant there. The film definitely doesn't hold a candle to the book (my favorite, so far[?]), but overall, I still enjoyed watching it.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE to ALL of those moments! There was a ton of flashback usage in this move. :D I wanted to scream out loud when Harry's first flash was to the H/Hr hug in CoS. During Fred and George's exit, that scene in which she notices Harry on the floor...all of it in slow-mo...EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I also have to mention how much I LOVED that Hermione was there to witness the hug between Sirius and Harry at Grimmauld Place.

Those, along with the hug at the beginning, were my absolute favorite moments! *sigh* Also when Hermione took his hand and saw what Umbridge had done to him, and the scene where she's helping him form the DA. They are such a team! And it was cute when one of the kids was asking about Cedric and Harry got all upset and turned to whisper to Hermione, "Come on Hermione, let's get out of here..." *squee*...I just love how she was his strength and confidence...his "voice." True to canon!

Speaking of the Grawp scene - UGH! They had to write Harry as uncaring and oblivious in order to make Ron look good and to have everyone say, "Awww! Look, he's her hero!" Whatever.

Oh, so you noticed that too? ;-) It angered me a bit. Especially since CANON says otherwise...

***

"Er … all righ’,’ Hagrid whispered back. ‘In fact –’
He stopped suddenly and turned around; Hermione walked right into him and was knocked over backwards. Harry caught her just before she hit the Forest floor."

"This is Hermy, Grawp! An’ she’s gonna be comin’ an’ all! Is’n’ tha’ nice? Eh? Two friends fer yeh ter – GRAWPY, NO!’
Grawp’s hand had shot out of nowhere towards Hermione; Harry seized her and pulled her backwards behind the tree, so that Grawp’s fist scraped the trunk but closed on thin air.
‘BAD BOY, GRAWPY!’ they heard Hagrid yelling, as Hermione clung to Harry behind the tree, shaking and whimpering."

***

So, basically...the movie messed this one up, but of course we know why. They had to push R/Hr, and since the book does not give any development to R/Hr whatsoever, they had to invent stuff to make it believable for the audience when it ends R/Hr. Of course, we know that canon!Harry would do anything to protect Hermione and goes out of his way to do so on a regular basis. We do see a lot more of that in DH, which I LOVED. Love, love, love!

I HATED Super!Ginny in the DoM and her "WOAH! Let's all stand and look at her and her amazing wand ability!" moment. I knew they had to insert her in here more, considering that in the next film - gag me - she will have a bigger role, but that was SO wrong. So, so, so, so, so, SO WRONG!

You're so right about that. I'm glad that at least they didn't have all of this invented H--->G crap going on (it wasn't Ginny that came rushing forward in Harry's mind in the flashback scenes, now was it?), but her displays of "power" were completely annoying to me as well...especially since in the book Ginny couldn't produce a patronus (Hermione was the only one to do so - I love how the movie made it look like it was so easy, anyone could do it) and Parvati was the one who did the big "reducto!" So again, the movie had to go out of its way to show how "powerful" Ginny was (foreshadowing HBP) because the book didn't show any of that. But after reading DH I feel much much better because Ginny does not do ONE THING in DH that demonstrates her supposed "power." Not ONE thing. She sits around and waits for Harry to get back from war. *snicker* Her role as the trophy wife is really quite simple. In fact, you should read this essay - it sums it up brilliantly!

http://www.harmonyforever.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2428

I have mixed feelings about the film. There wasn't enough Sirius! :( And his death? I was like, is that IT? It happened in a flash and at the end of the film, Harry didn't even seem as damaged or broken as he did in the book. They butchered the scene with Harry and Dumbledore. I disliked how the prophecy was revealed, and two of the scenes I was most hoping for weren't included. What I would have given to have seen that H/Hr moment at Grimmauld Place during the Christmas holiday, and, of course, panicked!Harry at the DoM when he sees Hermione on the floor! *deep sigh*

I know, I thought the Sirius death scene was underplayed as well...especially in how fast Harry seemed to get over it. Same with the Dumbledore/Harry scene, which as you said was totally butchered. I understand that they had time constraints, but that was arguably the most important moment in the book and should have been given more screen time. The way the prophecy was revealed in the movie makes it seem like the DOM 6 got to hear it, when in the book it's only Dumbledore and Harry that know its contents. I too would have liked more canon!H/Hr scenes included...especially the Hermione-near-death scene. Apparently someone saw a promo commercial for the movie that included Hermione collapsing in the DoM and Harry yelling "Hermione!", but obviously it was cut. :-( Here's to hoping it shows up in the deleted scenes!

Oh, and did I tell you that it looks like we're going to get some H/Hr kissing in the DH movie?!

Yes, that's right...there's a scene in DH where Ron has these visions of Harry/Hermione embracing and kissing and Hermione taunting him, saying he'll never be as good as Harry and how she loves Harry more than him, etc (oh, poor Won-Won...we finally get a glimpse into his fears; add him to the list of all the others that see H/Hr! LOL)...I won't say the circumstances because it would spoil the whole scene for you, but let's just say that it happens in a very important moment in the book and I don't see how they could not include the scene. I wasn't planning on seeing any more movies because I don't know if I can stomach the R/Hr and H/G on screen, but if this is going to be included in the DH movie (along with other moments in DH) then I may just have to go! There's no way that the R/E and D/B chemistry can even compare to that of D/E...and I'm convinced that their kissing scene, though only in a "vision," will make R/E and D/B look simply laughable and blow them out of the water.