OotP Thoughts Pt. 1 - Xmas Presents at Grimmauld Place
Was lucky enough to get a copy of OotP in mp3 form and listen to it while I'm at the gym. Had a few thoughts about two scenes in particular..
When Harry and the Weasleys stay at Grimmauld Place over Xmas, I was struck by the gifts that each of the Trio gives each other. They tend to reveal maturity levels and values. Harry who highly values his first true friends gives enjoyable and appropriate gifts, Hermione who usually gives thoughtful gifts goes for practical this time, and Ron makes a mini breakthrough in maturity :o)
Harry gives Ron: a broomstick compass, an appropriately thoughtful gift to highlight Ron's pride in his new broomstick.
Ron gives Harry: a box of Every Flavor Beans, a seemingly standard gift, but given how Ron's emotions revolve heavily around food it's probably as thoughtful as he can manage < : )
Hermione gives Both: Homework Planners :-p I can forgive her this because she has their best interests at heart since it is their OWL year which they take for granted, and in the past she has given thoughtful gifts, so I do not see this merely as foisting her own interests on the boys.
Harry gives Hermione: A Numerology Theory book. This is most definitely a thoughtful gift because Harry knows she will enjoy it and is not merely teasing her as Ron does before she decides to buy Crookshanks. There is a question of just how thoughtful it is, i.e. how mature is Harry. The way he brushes off important information in conversations with almost as much regularity as Ron makes it unlikely that he remembered Hermione mentioning the title in passing, so it's unlikely he got a particular book she wanted unless she'd been obviously hinting about it which seems out of character for her. It's more likely that he chose a book at random and it's a bit of a joke that he happened to get one Hermione really wanted... It is possible that he particularly selected an arithmancy book because he knows it's her favorite subject, but even that's not immediatley apparent because Numerology sounds like a Divination subject? The reason I get all into this is because in some ways the uniqueness of the gift could be read as potential for romance development between H/Hr, but I don't think that's the case. I just think it reveals how deeply Harry cares about his friends.
Ron gives Hermione: A bottle of ('unusual' smelling) cologne. The kid obviously has no taste, but he has attempted to acknowledge the fact that Hermione is indeed a girl and that he might possibly feel different toward her than Harry. It's an awful scent, and not a particularly intuitive gift for someone like Hermione, but it is a sort of clumsy attempt at a romantic gift of sorts merely because it's something he would not get for Harry.
When Harry and the Weasleys stay at Grimmauld Place over Xmas, I was struck by the gifts that each of the Trio gives each other. They tend to reveal maturity levels and values. Harry who highly values his first true friends gives enjoyable and appropriate gifts, Hermione who usually gives thoughtful gifts goes for practical this time, and Ron makes a mini breakthrough in maturity :o)
Harry gives Ron: a broomstick compass, an appropriately thoughtful gift to highlight Ron's pride in his new broomstick.
Ron gives Harry: a box of Every Flavor Beans, a seemingly standard gift, but given how Ron's emotions revolve heavily around food it's probably as thoughtful as he can manage < : )
Hermione gives Both: Homework Planners :-p I can forgive her this because she has their best interests at heart since it is their OWL year which they take for granted, and in the past she has given thoughtful gifts, so I do not see this merely as foisting her own interests on the boys.
Harry gives Hermione: A Numerology Theory book. This is most definitely a thoughtful gift because Harry knows she will enjoy it and is not merely teasing her as Ron does before she decides to buy Crookshanks. There is a question of just how thoughtful it is, i.e. how mature is Harry. The way he brushes off important information in conversations with almost as much regularity as Ron makes it unlikely that he remembered Hermione mentioning the title in passing, so it's unlikely he got a particular book she wanted unless she'd been obviously hinting about it which seems out of character for her. It's more likely that he chose a book at random and it's a bit of a joke that he happened to get one Hermione really wanted... It is possible that he particularly selected an arithmancy book because he knows it's her favorite subject, but even that's not immediatley apparent because Numerology sounds like a Divination subject? The reason I get all into this is because in some ways the uniqueness of the gift could be read as potential for romance development between H/Hr, but I don't think that's the case. I just think it reveals how deeply Harry cares about his friends.
Ron gives Hermione: A bottle of ('unusual' smelling) cologne. The kid obviously has no taste, but he has attempted to acknowledge the fact that Hermione is indeed a girl and that he might possibly feel different toward her than Harry. It's an awful scent, and not a particularly intuitive gift for someone like Hermione, but it is a sort of clumsy attempt at a romantic gift of sorts merely because it's something he would not get for Harry.