Harmione Essay: the most underrated H/Hr hug
The Harry Potter movies did a great job at showing one part of book Harmione - they share lots of hugs. But this seemed to shift the attention from book Harmione hugs to movie Harmione hugs. And the situation is worse than youād think. Many Harmione fans not only underrate some book hugs, but most donāt even know the existence of them. Iām going to be discussing the most underrated hug shared between Harry and Hermione. The one that happens in HBP after Dumbledoreās death. Hereās the hug Iām talking about:
They [Harry and Ginny] had reached the hospital wing. Pushing open the doors, Harry saw Neville lying, apparently asleep, in a bed near the door. Ron, Hermione, Luna, Tonks, and Lupin were gathered around another bed near the far end of the ward. At the sound of the doors opening, they all looked up. Hermione ran to Harry and hugged him; Lupin moved forward too, looking anxious.Ā
In this scene, Harry had just seen Dumbledoreās dead body and Ginny was taking him to the hospital wing on McGonagallās orders. Right as Harry stepped in, he looked around, everyone started looking at him and Hermione jumped in his arms and hugged him.Ā
At first glance, this may seem like a regular H/Hr moment, just another one of their hugs. It may seem like nothing special, we donāt get a unique description of the hug like we did in OotP, for example, when Hermione āthrew herself into a hug that nearly knocked him flat.ā So you may think itās not s big deal at all.
But it is.
We have quite a few things to keep in mind while analyzing this hug, one of them being the phrasing. As I said, this hug doesnāt get a unique description but thereās still one thing to note:
At the sound of the doors opening, they all looked up. Hermione ran to Harry and hugged him; Lupin moved forward too, looking anxious.
Hermione didnāt just wrap her arms around him, she ran to him. She was probably standing at the other side of the room but as she heard theĀ āsound of the doors openingā, she immediately saw Harry and ran up to him just to hug him! Itās such a sweet moment.
Thatās not all though. It isnāt only cute, itās also deep and emotional. To understand this, weāll just have to take a look at the context of this hug, which gives it most of its depth and beauty.Ā
Hereās a rather long (sorry!) scene for some context:
Dumbledore turned back to look out of the fiery window; the sun was now a ruby red glare along the horizon. Harry walked quickly from the office and down the spiral staircase. His mind was oddly clear all of a sudden. He knew what to do.
Ron and Hermione were sitting together in the common room when he came back. āWhat does he want?ā Hermione said at once. āHarry, are you okay?ā she added anxiously.
āIām fine,ā said Harry shortly, racing past them. He dashed up the stairs and into his dormitory, where he flung open his trunk and pulled out the Marauderās Map and a pair of balled-up socks. Then he sped back down the stairs and into the common room, skidding to a halt where Ron and Hermione sat, looking stunned.
āIāve got to be quick,ā Harry panted. āDumbledore thinks Iām getting my Invisibility Cloak. Listen. . . .ā
Quickly he told them where he was going and why. He did not pause either for Hermioneās gasps of horror or for Ronās hasty questions; they could work out the finer details for themselves later.
ā. . . so you see what this means?ā Harry finished at a gallop. āDumbledore wonāt be here tonight, so Malfoyās going to have another clear shot at whatever heās up to. No, listen to me!ā he hissed angrily, as both Ron and Hermione showed every sign of interrupting. āI know it was Malfoy celebrating in the Room of Requirement. Here āā He shoved the Marauderās Map into Hermioneās hands. āYouāve got to watch him and youāve got to watch Snape too. Use anyone else who you can rustle up from the D.A., Hermione, those contact Galleons will still work, right? Dumbledore says heās put extra protection in the school, but if Snapeās involved, heāll know what Dumbledoreās protection is, and how to avoid it ā but he wonāt be expecting you lot to be on the watch, will he?ā
āHarry āā began Hermione, her eyes huge with fear.
āI havenāt got time to argue,ā said Harry curtly. āTake this as well āā
He thrust the socks into Ronās hands.
āThanks,ā said Ron. āEr ā why do I need socks?ā
āYou need whatās wrapped in them, itās the Felix Felicis. Share it between yourselves and Ginny too. Say good-bye to her for me. Iād better go, Dumbledoreās waiting āā
āNo!ā said Hermione, as Ron unwrapped the tiny little bottle of golden potion, looking awestruck. āWe donāt want it, you take it, who knows what youāre going to be facing?ā
āIāll be fine, Iāll be with Dumbledore,ā said Harry. āI want to know you lot are okay. . . . Donāt look like that, Hermione, Iāll see you later. . . .ā
And he was off, hurrying back through the portrait hole and toward the entrance hall.
So Iāve highlighted the parts to pay the most attention to.
Basically, Harry rushes into the common room after meeting Dumbledore, Hermione asks him what has happened and she notices that Harry looks worried and is in a rush. She asks him what has happened and sheās anxious because sheās already worried just by seeing the look on his face. Harry answersĀ āshortlyā and runs to get the marauders map and Felix Felicis to give them to Hermione and Ron. He explains everything to them quickly, leaving out the details, and tells them what to do with the map and to take the Felix Felicis because heās sure that Draco has achieved something which means no good. And now heās off to this dangerous mission out of Hogwarts with Dumbledore where his life could possibly be put in danger! Just imagine how Ron and Hermione feel right now. Their best friend is taking a huge risk and is taking part in fighting the dark arts and he might not even return. Theyāre both lookingĀ āstunnedā and Hermione is gasping out of horror!Ā Thatās right. Her worries and fears are sky-high. And now, after this short explanation, while Harry isĀ āracingā,Ā āspeedingā andĀ ādashingā to do everything in time and heās going so fast that heās running out of breath,Ā āpantingā, heās just going to leave without saying proper goodbyes. The fact that this is all happening in such a rush is extremely important and meaningful because Hermione doesnāt even get to say a proper goodbye, sheās so scared and worried that her eyes areĀ āhuge with fearā, she doesnāt know whatās going to happen to Harry, whether sheās even going to see him ever again, sheās ready to reject the liquid luck so Harry can be safe, sheās trying to convince him to take the liquid luck, even after Harry says heāll be fine with Dumbledore. Sheās giving him the look of disapproval but before she can say another word and say a proper goodbye, heās off again, hurrying to meet Dumbledore and his own possible death.
Just imagine how Hermione is feeling right now. And if that isnāt bad enough, Harryās prediction actually comes true and death eaters start attacking! Ron, Hermione and Ginny barely survive the attack just by luck, literally. And now, when itās all over and Hermioneās standing in a room in the hospital wing, desperately waiting for news along with the whole Order, Harry comes in. And she completely loses it. She runs to him and hugs him. Now do you understand the emotion in this scene? Both of them nearly died, she was probably going crazy thinking what couldāve happened to him, Harry was thinking and worrying about her too (āHow long had they been away? Had Ron, Hermione, and Ginnyās luck run out by now?ā ā Would he be responsible, again, for the death of a friend?ā) and now they finally see each other and Hermione is probably feeling lightheaded knowing that heās safe (compare to the DoM scene in OotP) and she hugs him. She just canāt do otherwise. And all of the unsaidĀ āIām so glad youāre safeā andĀ āIāve been so worried about youās are all expressed through a beautiful and emotional embrace.
Now we know how deep this scene truly is. And imagine how beautiful this scene would be on screen. So much lost potential.Ā
It brings a smile on my face imagining a worried Hermione running all the way across the room and flinging her arms tightly around Harry, hugging him and both of them looking so deeply relieved. Then quickly breaking apart as Lupin approachesĀ āanxiouslyā and asks what Hermione doesnāt have the courage to ask.Ā
The continuation of this scene is also nice. Itās Lupin who asks how Harry is, while Hermione stays silent but still stays next to Harry.
Nobody answered. Harry looked over Hermioneās shoulder and saw an unrecognizable face lying on Billās pillow, so badly slashed and ripped that he looked grotesque.
This shows they are still standing near each other.Ā
AndĀ later everyone else seems interested in the conversation about Dumbledoreās death and Snapeās betrayal but Hermione doesnāt say a word. Like sheās still petrified from everything thatās happened and now this happened too.Ā
Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth and Ron groaned.
[...]
Almost against his will he glanced from Ron to Hermione, both of whom looked devastated.
She looksĀ ādevastatedā and doesnāt say a single word until Harry directly asks her, it almost reminds me of the scene at the hospital when Ron was poisoned.
āSo if Ron was watching the Room of Requirement with Ginny and Neville,ā said Harry, turning to Hermione, āwere you ā ?āĀ
āOutside Snapeās office, yes,ā whispered Hermione, her eyes sparkling with tears, āwith Luna. We hung around for ages outside it and nothing happened. . . . We didnāt know what was going on upstairs, Ron had taken the map. . . . It was nearly midnight when Professor Flitwick came sprinting down into the dungeons. He was shouting about Death Eaters in the castle, I donāt think he really registered that Luna and I were there at all, he just burst his way into Snapeās office and we heard him saying that Snape had to go back with him and help and then we heard a loud thump and Snape came hurtling out of his room and he saw us and ā and āāĀ
The rest is irrelevant. I just thought Iād mention that Hermione is whispering and sheās almost crying, on top of all of the battles and duels she went through and all the worries and fears she had before seeing Harry alive, now sheās shocked from the news of Dumbledore. This girl is so strong.Ā
I know I wrote a little more than I shouldāve but I just really love this moment. Their care for each other, their worries and their fears, thatās what strengthens their bond. They have the most emotional relationship out of everyone in the series. This hug was truly beautiful and much, much more than just a hug.Ā
And to end this essay, I thought Iād give you something about hugs (they happen over 5 times between H/Hr in the books) in general:
āWe love to feel loved, and we love to feel good. Hugs satisfy both needs. When you touch someone affectionately, sit or stand close to them, gaze into their eyes, or wrap them in a big bear hug, our body responds on all levels: emotionally, cognitively, and physiologically.
Oxytocin ā the human love drug ā is also released when we hug. This hormone reduces blood pressure and stress hormones. According to Medical News Today, oxytocinĀ ācontributes to relaxation, trust, and psychological stability.ā Over time, it makes us feel bonded with another person.
Oxytocin provides feelings of pleasure, contentment, happiness, and even euphoria. These feels feel great ā and theyāre good for you.ā
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