Just Another Book About Harry Potter Ships

Romione (Ron/Hermione)

SHIP NAMES: Romione, Ronmione, Heron, Ron/Hermione, R/Hr, RW/HG, The Good Ship

THOUGHTS: I love this ship! It used to be one of my OTPs, but I've been trying to narrow down my OTPs for each fandom to only ONE pairing, so it is no longer. Still, it was my first-ever Harry Potter ship and has been a favorite of mine ever since I first read the books (I knew they would end up together from book one!), so here are some of my reasons why I love Romione:

1.) Ron and Hermione are very different people, but their differences balance each other out. Hermione is a workaholic and often a stickler for doing things the "right" way, while Ron is laid-back and unafraid of breaking the rules. He helps her lighten up, while she encourages him to work harder. Additionally, she challenges his implicit biases, while he challenges her when she starts to act too bossy or too much of a know-it-all. Ron and Hermione balance each other out in a way that no one else does.

2.) The two of them are more than capable of keeping up with each other. Anyone who says that Ron isn't intellectually stimulating enough for Hermione hasn't read the books very carefully! (And don't even get me started on how the movies completely ruined Ron's character and gave most of his best or most witty lines to Hermione, while minimizing Hermione's flaws.) Ron is clever and a master at chess, while Hermione is booksmart and good at logic problems. When one of them loses their head in a time of stress, the other is there to remind them that they can do it. Plus, Hermione enjoys a good argument and is an extremely argumentative character in general, and Ron is the only character who will gladly go toe-to-toe with her whenever and wherever. They are more than a match for one another, so they'll always have things to discuss, and there will never be a dull moment between them!

3.) Ron and Hermione rile each other up in ways that nobody else can. They have this in common with Harry and Draco, even if it's a different dynamic. I know that people complain that Ron and Hermione argue too much, but most of the time, their bickering is banter. The only "real" arguments they had were when Ron thought Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, which is an understandable thing to be upset about, just as Hermione's defensiveness is also understandable; when they were too stubborn to admit that they liked each other, which was when they were angsty teens (I certainly did super embarrassing and immature stuff as a teen that doesn't reflect on who I am now and that I don't want held against my current self); and when Ron was overcome by the locket Horcrux, and remember, he immediately regretted leaving, and as soon as he came back, he saved Harry's life! Harry would've drowned without him! People forget that last part, probably because it doesn't fit into their "Ron sucks" worldview. The rest of the bickering between Ron and Hermione is banter. Remember when Harry snapped at them to stop arguing and they both looked completely shocked, like they didn't know what he was talking about? It's because they didn't consider it to be arguing, at least not in a negative way. So their bickering/banter is one of the things that is appealing about their relationship to me, not something that detracts from it. Hermione Granger loves to argue, and Ronald Weasley is unafraid to meet her halfway!

4.) They will defend each other to the ends of the Earth. Any time Hermione was picked on, Ron was the first one to stand up for her. He belched up slugs, fought giant spiders even though he's arachnophobic, and offered himself up to be tortured in place of her. Hermione showed similar feelings even if it showed in different ways, from being incredibly affected when he sacrificed himself in the giant chess game first year, to turning down summer vacation with Krum to spend it with Ron between fourth and fifth year, to staying by his hospital bedside in sixth year after he was poisoned (even though they had been fighting!), to defending Ron to Harry when the boys weren't speaking during their fourth year. Both are distressed when the other is hurt or upset. They are truly dedicated to each other.

5.) They have flaws, but they are not insurmountable. I think most non-shipper complaints about Romione boil down to thinking that their relationship is toxic or that they have "too many problems" to stay together. I personally disagree, though I can see where this opinion comes from, and I respect it. Ron and Hermione have problems, but they are not insurmountable. I wouldn't necessarily consider them "toxic," either, although once again, I get why people feel this way (and people have gotten very heated in the comments about it, ha!)

See, even though Ron and Hermione have many flaws, they've learned and grown throughout the series together, and that developing maturity would follow them into adulthood. There's growth here: they've made mistakes, but they've also learned from them. And so what if they might need marriage counseling, according to an interview with JKR? There is nothing to be ashamed of if they need (or choose) to go to therapy, either individually or together. I've been going to a therapist for years, and I can confidently say that it has had many positive effects on me and on my life. Plus, if they choose to go to therapy together, it shows that they care enough about their relationship to want to fix it. (JKR also said, "maybe [Hermione] and Ron will be alright with a bit of counseling, you know... They'll probably be fine" in the same 2014 interview, but anti-shippers don't quote that bit. Also, why TF are we still listening to JKR's post-publication comments, anyway, when she's proven herself to be ignorant, transphobic, and unable or unwilling to admit that she's wrong, even when her ignorance is damaging an already marginalized group of people?)

6.) The flaws in Ron and Hermione's relationship make it all the more real and believable, rather than an unattainable fairytale. This directly connects to the point above and is basically an extension of it. Romione feels real because of their well-developed, complex personalities and how their relationship grows over the series into something wonderful but not exact. It's messy and imperfect. That's how it works in real life, so their development has always felt and seemed believable to me. Even after everything, even after their arguments and all the traumatic things they go through together because of the building wizarding war, they still find each other and miss each other and desire to be with each other, flaws and all, which I think is beautiful. Who doesn't want to find someone who will accept their flaws and whose flaws they can accept, too?

7.) They are clearly meant to be. JKR developed this relationship far more than any other, and it shows. From the very first book, I knew they would end up together. It's obvious how much Ron and Hermione care about each other. They finish each other's sentences, communicate merely by looking at each other, and almost always talk to Harry as a team. When Hermione is upset, she reaches for Ron, not anyone else. Whatever JKR thinks of them now, many years out from publication (and with many other questionable, ignorant, and even downright hateful comments now on her record), her books are so full of examples of Romione that it would take me forever to list them all here. It has always been "Ron and Hermione," and it always will be. After all, you can't spell Hermione without Ron. ;)

P.S. For what it's worth, I think JKR made mistakes when developing Ron and Hermione as a couple, and she definitely could have done better. One of the things that irritates me the most is that JKR took every opportunity in the last few books to shat on Ron and make him look stupid, lazy, and overall terrible in ways that are OOC compared to the earlier books, which show Ron to be loyal, funny, a good strategist, and overall a caring friend. (I read a very good analysis once that argued that JKR's in-book depiction of Ron steadily became worse as the movies came out and started to influence her perception of him. I'll have to find a link for y'all to read it, because it honestly convinced me! Ron is done SO dirty in the movies!) I also get frustrated that JKR chose to drive Ron and Hermione apart SO. MANY. TIMES. Once or twice would've sufficed. And that Epilogue! Dear god, that freaking Epilogue! Don't even get me started on how terrible it was — "EWE: Epilogue What Epilogue" is a popular tag on AO3 for a reason. (And then The-Play-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named...oof. That's all I gotta say.) #JusticeForRomione, amiright? (Or at the very least #JusticeForRon, even if you don't ship Romione. All this Ron hate is really sucky and I just want my boy to be given a fair chance, flaws and all!)

RATING: 9/10: fantastic, almost OTP level.

FANDOM RANK (AS OF JUNE 2022): #5

Thoughts? Let me know down below!

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