Chicks Bumbling Sidekicks.

Recently, J.K. Rowling spoke about Harry Potter, because what else would she talk about, and announced that she regretted getting together series hero/token ginger Ron Weasley and series heroine/resident know-it-all Hermione Granger. This announcement which stunned the Harry Potter world, despite the fact that the last book came out 7 years ago, and the last movie came out three Paranormal Activities ago. (I used to measure time in Saws, but sadly the Jigsaw Killer retired. Or died several movies ago. I can’t follow the plot, like everyone else, I tuned in for the last five minutes.)

Naturally the world was stunned. They were just SO CUTE together. At least in our minds. And Rupert Grint and Emma Watson weren’t to hard on the eyes, either.

I’ve discussed author intent before, particularly with you Hobbit haters that don’t understand that more Martin Freeman is never a bad thing, especially so he can become famous enough to carry even more Hitchhiker’s Guide movies. But this is a bit unique, as it was a major part of the books, and while not obvious became sort of an organic part of the book series as time went on. I find it hard to believe that Hermione would end up with someone as reckless as the titular Harry Potter, and not someone she could feel superior to, like Ron.

That’s neither here nor there. J.K. (mind if I call her J.K? We’re both writers after all. She’s written a series of 7 books that changed the way people thought of young adult literature and made literally more money than the queen of England, spawned an 8 movie series, countless merchandise, and a theme park. I write a blog that’s seen by literally dozens of people a month. We’re practically colleagues.) ahem, Ms. Rowling has the right to regret whatever she wants. She can even go back and change some things if she really wants, and suffer the ire of fans. She wouldn’t be the first. The most famous, of course, is George Lucas and his constant tweaking of Star Wars, because if something is a classic we need to add in more explody lasers, droids, and Greedo shooting... nope. I refuse to finish that sentence.

Then there’s the granddaddy of all edits, J.R.R. Tolkien, who decided that the happy little magic ring that the happy little hobbit picked up on his happy little journey was actually a harbinger of doom and actually going to destroy the lives of whomever it touched. He actually started re-writing it before just deciding that happy story was the influence of the corrupting ring.

Don’t get me started on Stephen “Dark Tower” King. 

But knowing this, going back to the story, does that change anything for us? Does it change for us now knowing that the author dislikes part of the story that quite frankly, all of us like? Other twists were mentioned in the last book (Spoilers for a book that came out back before Jared Padelecki had only long-ish hair on Supernatural.) such as Snape being THE good guy in the book, Dumbledore using a cursed magic wand, and a little piece of Voldemort being with Harry the whole time. Also, J.K.’s... Ms. Rowling’s other revelation that Dumbledore preferred the company of men. (Which, when looking back, was kind of obvious.) Do these things change how you feel about the book series?

For me, it doesn’t. (The twist things do a little bit. I like Snape more than I did before, but I never thought he was truly evil. ) Ms. Rowling can discuss whatever she wants, but at the end of the day she wrote Ron and Hermione hooking up and making even more little Weasley’s running around, because we need more of those. (Sarcastic Eye Roll. It was like a plot device at the end... they need help, let’s find ANOTHER Weasley!) I suppose she could have ended up with no one, or even her wizard-college crush that she ultimately left Ron for after she realized that the fun and excitement that drove them together while they were hunting trolls or cursed rings or whatever wouldn’t last. (Unless they had more adventures at Hockwarts, which is wizard college they all went to that I just made up. J.K. - call me.) 

But the ended up together. Nothing  - including author’s regret - can change that. 

Besides, I was happy to see that Hermione ended up with the real hero of the Harry Potter series: Ron Weasley. 

What’s that you say? Sidekick you say? Stop asking questions on a blog and get to the point, you say?

Sorry, got a bit carried away.

Ron Weasley was the hero of the Harry Potter series. Fact: in the first book, Harry wouldn’t have passed the chess game if not for Ron. Fact: Ron provided a place for Harry to stay when things got rough. Fact: Ron was Harry’s guide to the wizarding world. Remember, Harry knew exactly two things about wizards before he became one: Jack and squat, and Ron, who could have taken advantage of this famous, wealthy, naive kid, didn’t. Harry would have been killed repeatedly if Ron hadn’t taken that spell repeatedly. And in the last book, who was drowning and who jumped in to save him? Yeah. that’s what I thought.

So, raise a glass. And re-read your Harry Potter books with the firm notion that it doesn’t matter who regrets hooking up with whom, your favorite couple: Hermione and Ron. The writer can regret whatever she wants, at the end of the day, this couple got together. And we get to enjoy it for what it was. Until we get Harry Potter: The Special Edition, in which Nevill is replaced by a robot.

Now to get started on Harry Potter and the Admissions Officer.

This Post Contains Mild Cleavage

Yesterday, I spoke about how I felt that Banned Books week is about access to books—all books, be it a classic or a current book. All students should get the option and open access to read whatever they want, and we shouldn't create a shaming environment where they’re too scared to come talk to us about issues in a book. (Hmm. It took me 800 words to say that yesterday.)

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                However, there’s another issue behind all of this: what about the books that are taught in the classroom? At this point we aren't talking about access. We’re talking about “you will read this for a grade.” How does the ever expanding world of free access and not banning ideas work in this case?

                I wish I had an answer. I personally hold true to what I just said and reiterate here: Students should have access to books, we should teach them not be afraid of discussing issues, and sheltering children rarely works. My personal favorite story is the R rating on the movie Bully because of “bad language… said by kids who couldn't see the movie now because it was rated R! But these are two different cases. In one, I’m picking up a book and saying, “I would like to read this.” In the other, I’m handing a book to a student and saying, “read this. Then you get a grade.”

                I can remember way back to high school (way back in “the day”) there were two books a teacher asked me to read that fell into the “controversial” category. “The Natural” (again because of a dreaded sex scene) and “Huckleberry Finn” (because no one understands what “satire” is.) No one really complained, and the teacher addressed what was controversial about them beforehand, and asked us to keep an open mind.

                And maybe that’s the answer. Look, there are some books I just won’t pick up unless someone tells me, and that includes the “Harry Potter” series. The point of getting an education is to expand your mind, and sometimes mind expanding is uncomfortable.  Most of the time I sit down to write these posts with a clear point in mind. Today I knew I wanted to discuss a sort of counterpoint to what I’d just written – free access – with the idea that sometimes it’s not a choice. I do feel that teachers, sometimes, have to make you read something that is controversial. I think teachers have to keep in mind the maturity level of the class, and what they can handle… but I feel that the point of an education is to see what is out there.

                And in reality, we live in a world where some people don’t want you to see a Harry Potter movie because one of the characters shows “mild cleavage.” (Hint: It’s not Ron.) Something will offend anyone, all the time. As educators, we have to ensure that we can defend using those materials. I already know the complaints I’m going to get when I want to use “The Fault in Our Stars” or “Matched.” But I also know that I can defend it. I know that anything controversial is outweighed by the wonderfulness of the stories themselves.

                Wow. I’m enjoying getting my opinions out there on Banned Books Week, but this is getting heavier than I thought. I might have to lighten the mood a bit.