How Fandom Ruined Hermione Granger
Harry Potter captured the attention of an entire generation of young men and women, and remains one of the most popular franchises ever. Even kids today, 20+ years after the first book came out, know who Harry, Hermione, and Ron are. I was in my teens when the first book came out and I, like most people my age, was instantly fascinated.
That fascination didn't die off as I grew older. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I still enjoy Harry Potter to this day. I no longer think it's the height of fiction, but I still think it's a great story.
After the series ended, I (like many others) sought out fanfiction to fill the void, and explore alternate ways things could have gone. Harry Potter and Castle were my introduction to fanfic, and started a decade - long near obsession with fan made content.
I love Harry Potter fanfiction. There is so much great content out there. I've probably read many millions of words created by fans. I've written a lot of content myself (no, I'm not sharing it with you guys). HP fanfic filled the void when original fiction could no longer hold my attention.
One of the great things about fanfiction, is that fans can explore relationships and events that didn't happen in canon. I happen to be a Harry and Hermione shipper. For those not in the know, a shipper is simply someone who thinks two characters should get together. I've already written my thoughts on straight dudes liking romance, so if you're thinking about burning me, go read that.
Harry/Hermione didn't happen in canon, but fanfiction was there to fill the void. For years, I entrenched myself in the Harry Potter fandom, at one point running a group for nearly 5,000 fellow Harmony (the ship name for Harry/Hermione) shippers. Hard core, right? 🤣
Fandom Ruined It All
The problem is, I can no longer read much in the way of Harmony content. I just don't like Hermione's character much anymore, and it's all the fandom's fault.
People worship Emma Watson. I don't blame them, really. She's a strong, independent, highly attractive and successful woman. This adoration – hero worship, really – has always transferred over to the fictional character of Hermione Granger.
The issue for me is, fandom has made Hermione too perfect. And anyone who even considered writing Hermione with flaws was a sexist, racist or some other horrid type of person. It has made most content featuring Hermione (Harmony and otherwise) almost unreadable for those of us who enjoy reading characters that seem real. Okay, real with magic, but real. Relatable, I guess, is another word.
With the apotheosis of Hermione Granger (I really should have used this as the title for this article), fandom decided that the Harry Potter the character was dispensible. Harry was no longer the main character for most writers of fanfiction, and was, in fact, usually delegated to a submissive role in their stories. Better yet, there has always been a fascination with Draco Malfoy, Death Eater, that writers in fandom can't seem to shake.
I've never really understood the interest in Draco, but then I'm not a woman. People find Tom Felton attractive, so he too has been raised up to be someone the fandom finds very interesting. They also like to pair Draco with Hermione. Now, I don't ship shame. You can like what you want to like. What bugs me is that Harry Potter has been shoved to the side. Worse, people don't seem to like Harry, the character, anymore and have somehow found Draco Malfoy to be a better character.
The fandom is overrun with Dramione supporters who can't seem to stand Harry Potter. You know, the guy whose name is on the covers.
The End of Hermione
The outcome for me has been that I can't read hardly any story about Hermione anymore. She's unlikable. Even if the story portrays her in a positive light, all I can think about is how the fandom sees her, and the story is usually ruined.
Even longtime favorite fics of mine have suffered because I'm no longer interested in reading about Hermione Granger. And that makes me sad.
Maybe, what this is, is me just growing out of the Harry Potter fandom. I am 40 years old now. This is a young person's fandom, even if the stories themselves originated from content from my teens. Perhaps, I'm just too old for it now. And that's okay. People grow, even if in my case it was a bit delayed.
It doesn't reduce the sadness I feel. Harry Potter fanfiction got me through some really tough times in my life. I made a ton of online friends in that fandom, and I'll cherish those friendships forever. But my time as a Harmony shipper is over. I have found some other stuff that I enjoy, and that's taken the place of what used to be my go-to reads.
I still dabble in some HP stuff, but not nearly as much as before. And, I've completely left the community of Harmony shippers. The discord servers and Facebook groups have no interest for me anymore. I think it's the community that I will miss the most. It's fun reading stuff with people who enjoy the same types of things you do. It adds to the experience, and I'm sad to see that go.
I know this probably isn't all that interesting to many of you out there. Even now, fanfiction is pretty niche, and this is fanfiction of an ancient franchise. But I wanted to talk about this, and I'm glad I did.
This is a part of 30 in 30.
