True love comes in quietly...

[exsequar]

True love comes in quietly, without banners or flashing lights; without force or insanity.
She is the sanity in your world full of madness.
True love is not how grand you are or how simple you are, it's who you are when you're with her - and she loves you not in spite of it, but because of it.
She's the one who stands with you when the rest of the world falls down.
-Thomas Wild-Fontaine

This was the quotation used on the cover for a Harry/Hermione fanmix posted by leonhart_17.

All I can say is: exactly! No, wait, I can say a lot more than that, but that sums it up. This quotation is... SO beautiful, and SO perfect. It completely epitomizes Harry and Hermione to me. See, Harry and Hermione just work together. They're complementary. She's the only person who's always had complete confidence in him and been at his back for everything. That can't even be said about his other best friend, Ron, who completely abandoned him for a while in GoF. But SHE was with him. No matter what. She's the only one who can diffuse his temper. He may exasperate her sometimes, simply because he's a teenage boy, aka the most exasperating creature on earth, especially to a sensible girl like Hermione, but in the end they have a certain harmony - yes, Harmony... I've always thought it was an extremely apt nickname for the ship - that just works. There's no weaponized birds, no revenge snogging - but there is kindess, confidence, respect, and affection. Isn't THAT what a true relationship is about?

I've been thinking about why I love HHr so much, because I treat it very differently from my other ships. I almost never read HHr fic (although I read a great one last week) and yet they're definitely one of my OTPs. I tried to write a story for them, and just... couldn't. For Simon/River, for example, I can just start writing and something will come up. But for HHr, it's not so much about the specific interactions they have, or how their first kiss happens - but it is about that idea that your true love is first and foremost your best friend. I believe in that wholeheartedly, and I really think it's why I haven't ever had a boyfriend. I refuse to just start going out with a guy I barely know. I need that strong foundation there first, or else I won't be able to be intimate in any way, physically or otherwise. I think this might be why I sometimes despair of ever finding anyone, because my standards are SO high. I also have this conflicting thing where I really don't want to spend my whole life with the first guy I date - you only live once, and to only.. okay, let's be honest, kiss and be otherwise intimate with one person in your whole life seems kind of a waste. I obviously don't want one night stands, but I do want multiple relationships before I settle down. However, it doesn't seem like any relationship's going to happen any time soon!

Um. The point of all that was that I want something like Harry and Hermione have, or what I feel they have - a true friendship that can blossom into something more. (I'd mention Sean here, but those of you who know me well enough don't need me to. For those who don't... it's not worth getting into :P)

Comments

[stolentruths.livejournal.com]

Oh I agree with you oh so much on H/Hr. Your true love should be your best friend. Someone you trust with not only your secrets but your life. Someone you're already confortable with.
It's fun having little minor relationships in highschool. But right now...I'd give it all up for something I knew would be forever, someone I truly loved. A Corey and Topanga kind of thing (Boy Meets World).

[redbrickrose.livejournal.com]

We've talked about my HP shipping preferences before, in that I saw Hr/R coming all along and I fell hard for H/D. That said, you are probably exacly right about Harry/Hermione. Now that I'm thinking about it, they do work. They would probably just work. A little too well for me, actually, since I'm all about drama and angst and they would probably have very little of that. (I like H/D because it's a trainwreck that coule never work ever). I tend to read H/Hr as just friends, but I think you're right that one's lover should be one's best friend, and Hermione is the only one that is consistently there for Harry, and Harry is that (semi)reluctant hero (at least he is Chosen by something outside himself), who pitted against the world, who needs that kind of support.

I also have this conflicting thing where I really don't want to spend my whole life with the first guy I date - you only live once,

I feel this exact way sometimes. It's so confusing, because I'm not about to attempt to form a relationship with some random guys, and yet I feel like I'm missing out when I don't. I've had a boyfriend, but not since high school and I'm going into my senior year of college. I definitely have friends who find that a bit weird.

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

I get what you mean about shipping for the conflict, because I sort of sometimes do that.... but actually, usually it's that I can *see* the ship and understand why people do it and maybe I'll squee about it a little bit, but in the end all my OTPs tend to be happy and squishy. I really like relationships that have a lot of "awwwwww" moments in canon. cases in point: River/Simon, Brian/Justin, Harry/Hermione. Actually, I suppose my biggest exception to that would be Anakin/Obi-Wan, which is definitely one of my OTPs, but could you get any more conflicted? Damn. Haha :) But anyway, I get why you ship H/D, but I'm glad you can see where I'm coming from :)

Ahh... I'm kind of wondering if I might end up like that too. A lot of people (and things written about my school) have said that this is not a dating school - people party and hook up, but there is relatively little steady dating going on. Which makes me really, really sad, because I hate partying, and I would really like to meet someone to be with, just me and him. :-/ And I don't find your situation weird, it's quite understandable.

I'm not about to attempt to form a relationship with some random guys, and yet I feel like I'm missing out when I don't.

That's pretty much exactly how I feel, and it's so confusing! Blah.

*hugs* It's nice to know someone's in the same boat, at least.

[redbrickrose.livejournal.com]

*hugs* It is so confusing, and it always feels like there's no one else in the same situation. I just have to keep reminding msyelf that there are other people who feel like I do.

B/J has lots of awww moments in canon, and I have thought at times that they don't completely fit my shipping pattern, but they definitely have enough conflict to keep me interested. ;)