Hear Me Out

This topic will unleash all sorts of controversy, but I think I can handle the debate. 

I don't think Hermione should have ended up with Ron. 

There, I said it. 

J.K. Rowling traumatized fans everywhere last month when she revealed that a marriage between Hermione and Harry would have been a better bet. This admission was quickly amended that with counseling, Hermione and Ron could be a viable couple. 

When I first read the books I was puzzled at the bread crumbs that built up to Hermione's and Ron's romance. Mind you, I like to pair up characters, but frankly, I never saw her with Harry either. 

Hermione is an intellectual, logical, and methodical. She's an academic star, brilliant to behold, a quenchless seeker of knowledge. She has always been a true friend, and if she ever has any complaints, they are justified. She's friggin' awesome.

Ron is all emotion, constantly getting offended and childishly nursing grudges. He doesn't always prove to be a loyal friend, and his recurring jealousy of Harry's fame despite the fact it was none of his doing and cost him his family is rather tedious. Never mind that embarrassing Lavender Brown ("Won-Won!") debacle just to get back at Hermione and Harry for their own love lives. Worse, he is a middling student.

Hermione is entitled to a spouse with whom she can have stimulating conversation. Ron couldn't stand Hermione's know-it-all-ness initially, if we may recall, and it was only through Harry's efforts and dragging Ron along to save her from the troll that cemented her place in the group. 

What would the two talk about? Ron would probably be in a sulk about something or other ("I got overlooked again at the office") while Hermione attempts to cajole him into a better mood with S.P.E.W. progress, leading to a fight where Ron says that because she is muggle-born she'll never understand, she bellows back that he is a thick-headed unimaginative troll . . . 

But I never saw her with Harry either. I find their closeness to be rather fraternal, devoid of chemistry. 

Who did I see Hermione with? 

Viktor Krum, of course. 

In the book (as opposed to the movie), Viktor was an average-looking chap ("He looked like an overgrown bird of prey") whose accomplishments were not restricted to extreme broom talents. In order to get his name churned out of the Goblet of Fire, he must have been adept in more areas than sports. 

He eschews the giggling fans in favor of the demure smart girl, meaning he is drawn to brains. Despite his public persona, he possesses an endearing shyness which belies his worldliness; it took him many tries before he was able to broach Hermione in conversation. In the library! Her haven! What could be more apt setting for Hermione to be wooed?

As a Quidditch celebrity he had been introduced to many a female, yet he told Hermione that he'd "never felt the same way about anyone else," at which admission Hermione blushes in delight. (As a sidebar, he invites her to Bulgaria, a beautiful travel destination.)

I found a whole dissertation on the matter online, concluding that Viktor detected an attraction in Hermione for Harry (beyond Rita Skeeter's printed lies); I would still posit that the two are like siblings, not boyfriend/girlfriend. 

Hermione is an only child; Harry is an only child. A friendship bordering on the familial is not absurd. Hermione, as any sister would, never misses an opportunity to cheer Harry on, but it does not follow that she did not like Viktor enough "that way." Viktor confronted Harry about a possible history between the two, which Harry finds inconceivable; never, ever does Harry view Hermione in any sort of romantic light. 

Therefore, for me: 

Sigh.