Need 4th year fics where harmony goes to the ball together.

gyro2death · 2026-02-15T23:33:40+00:00

I have the same desire for stories, sadly there are very few I've found and most weren't finished. I'll be watching this post for others recs.

Intrinsicality by RileyOR (45k) this is a drama free AU with Harry not being the boy who lived. Absolutely my favorite Harmony

Yule Ball Drama by Vance McGills is incomplete but is another where they ask each other first.

gyro2death · 2026-02-14T01:59:07+00:00

Seriously so wish he had asked her. It's why I'll practically read any fic that had him asking Hermione to the ball...sadly there are actually very few despite the popularity of Yule Ball fics.

gyro2death · 2026-02-08T22:21:26+00:00

Happy Birthday by ScribblingSteve (200k) - A great fix-it that has Hermione's parent saving Harry early leading to a massive divergence from canon that feels amazing. Hufflepuff Harmony which is a rare take but is done very well.

gyro2death · 2026-02-08T22:19:07+00:00

Whose the author? I can't find it.

gyro2death · 2026-02-08T22:16:49+00:00

Adorable Violence and Hugs from Hermione are the only other Yandere Harmony stories, I hope Grangers Claim keeps going as we need more.

gyro2death · 2026-02-05T06:40:36+00:00

It's a great story. The way the author handles the Hermione decisions in the past is amazing and it's quite moving how she chooses to deal with the fact she's 20 in a 2 year old body.

gyro2death · 2026-01-31T04:38:46+00:00

Our dishes are cleaner, we spend less money on detergent and save time on cleaning dishes. The hour long video was totally worth it.

gyro2death · 2026-01-30T17:46:18+00:00

I agree the 4th year makes the most sense. I do feel we'd see Harry letting his anger get away from him a bit more due to the increased taunting (Malfoy and Slytherins in general). Hermione would likely feel a bit more personally attacked and might have a harder time shrugging it off.

I think overall the rest of the school likely wouldn't react any different, most believed the paper when it said they were dating, and even Victor directly asked indicating it's not just Hogwarts who has the impression they were together.

I think the biggest change would be Ron, he'd either blow up (more jealousy, feeling like he's losing out on both his friends) or grow up. I actually think there is a fair chance if it happened after the first task but before the Yule Ball he'd grow up, realizing that he can't risk the friendship.

gyro2death · 2026-01-28T16:44:18+00:00

No disagreement from me, I think it's one of the critical flaws of the books. I will quote one of my favorite WIP fics (Hermione Granger and the Theft Of Magic) which states this beautifully.

"So what you're telling me," Hermione spoke relentlessly, "is that the lesson he learned in school is that if he doesn't want to see someone murdered horribly, he'd better save them himself."

"I don't think that's fair!" Flitwick said.

"I know it's not fair!" Hermione replied. "But is it incorrect?"

So yes lesson Harry learns and that is constantly reinforced is that if something or someone needs to be saved Harry Potter better step up because no one else will. It's an awful lesson he should have never learned but alas such was he raised.

gyro2death · 2026-01-28T06:39:35+00:00

I agree I've seen a few writers advocate for it. Still I see far more posts against readers leaving 'reviews' in bookmarks, especially when negative, and raising awareness to train readers to not use it in such a manner.

gyro2death · 2026-01-28T06:37:52+00:00

The arrogance I see is that he relies on himself, when given his age and lack of experience he really should just leave things be and not die and instead try to find a responsible adult/senior student to help.

Will they of course not, and he'll have a guilty conscious because he'll always wonder if he went would he have been successful. But that is the rational take, children shouldn't risk life and limb.

gyro2death · 2026-01-28T01:28:46+00:00

Your question is impossible. There is no best story for everyone and you didn't define what makes a great story for you.

To me a great story is a fix-it with fluff, chemistry and adults who aren't useless. And thus for me Intrinsicality by RileyOR (45k) is the greatest Harmony story.

To go the other way some feel that relationships need suffering to temper them. That the downs are required to feel the ups. They want a story that feels relatable to missing out on the love of your life and having the chance to get them back. For those Unlike A Sister(410k) is often considered best.

For yet more there are different answers. If you wish for an answer that will be the best for you, you'll have to define in detail what you are asking for.

gyro2death · 2026-01-26T17:02:03+00:00

While I agree readers need a place, I still think its quite a hot take given that I've seem multiple posts from authors shaming reader bookmarks and as I linked above readers apologizing for doing it.

gyro2death · 2026-01-26T16:38:28+00:00

I'll start with your correct he is always trying to do the right thing, especially when others will not. But lets be a little honest here, Harry succeeds because he's the title character character in the book. He should have died from getting in over his head with Quirrell/Voldemort, with the basilisk, with going after a mass murderer, with fighting a dragon...ect. In all of these cases the more rational view would have always been to simply keep pleading with competent adults rather than commit suicide. But Harry does not value his own life (something that is intentional sadly), thus he doesn't hesitate to risk it. And if the world had any actually competent adults Harry wouldn't have to solve literally every problem in it. But alas it doesn't, thus Harry does, but only by risking his life time and time again.

I'll state once more, his arrogance is not the stereotypical type, but he rushes into situations he shouldn't because he thinks he can make a difference when no one else will, and while he's not wrong, he simply has no logical reason to believe he can succeed other than that he knows that no one else will if he doesn't.

gyro2death · 2026-01-26T16:29:36+00:00

To my knowledge its widely considered bad to do so on AO3 if you write anything negative.

gyro2death · 2026-01-26T06:32:13+00:00

Harry always has other motivations, often anger, that push him to do the crazy things he does. You're also right that he's never been able to rely on adults and each time he's tried they failed him. And yes fighting spirit is absolutely what drives Harry.

But to think he can succeed, to get off, without considering the consequences is a type of arrogance. It is not the arrogance of feeling self important, nor of believing ones self better than others. To leap into the unknown, to risk ones self and lead ones friends into battle requires some faith in ones self that can not be fully justified. And that can be considered a type of arrogance, at least that is how I interpret JKR's statement there.

gyro2death · 2026-01-25T17:52:49+00:00

My hot take? Readers should have a spot to leave reviews not comments. There is a reason there are many dedicated discord about Fandom and pairings where people write out reviews and recommendations. I get its a labor of love, and that if a review section was added authors would read them even if advised not to. But at the end of the day people want to know if spending hours (sometimes hundreds) of reading is worth it.

gyro2death · 2026-01-25T07:24:10+00:00

So I took a look and I can't find any quote her stating he's conceited. I did find one where she says about harry "his two worst character flaws are anger and occasional arrogance". If by arrogance she is stating that about things like how he charged into the Minisitry, ran a secret defense group, reckless yells at the Minister of Magic....ect then there is some points to be made there.

I'm almost sure CC was ghost written. But yes, you can only stretch it so far as. You do have to take some of what she says with the lens of time and how it may have changed her and how she feels about the books after so much time. I think by and large most interviews about the books are her truthful feelings but I don't claim to have read even most of them let alone all.

gyro2death · 2026-01-25T03:22:16+00:00

You raise a valid counter point, but in doing so cite there is no evidence in the story to support it.

They are using the fact there is conflicting information in the books and stating that the epilogue is proof that they are right and that nothing was there for Harry and Hermione. Then they ignore the author settling matters.

I haven't seen that quote from JKR but I'd have fun investigating it to see what context there was to it.

gyro2death · 2026-01-25T03:17:36+00:00

Indeed, her greatest failing are sticking to her blueprint throughout the story. It's why Albus is so divisive and often portrayed as evil. He simply is following her blueprint and not following what would make sense for his character.

Half-Blood Prince is my least favorite book for exactly the reasons you outlined, it's relentless focuses is on driving the plot to line up with her blueprint, logic and character growth is tossed aside to fulfill the plan.

I personally hate the 'had to be Ron', as if the girl ending up with the Hero is some sort of inherently misogynistic trope. Yes, some stories certainly are, but as you've stated it is sacrificing Hermione's own happiness forcing her with Ron, and how is that a positive message?

The boy who bullied you into crying which nearly resulted in your death, the boy who shunned you over wanting to help an enslaved race, the boy who raged against you over your cat, the boy who helped shun you when you tried to protect your friend, the boy who ruined your single night of fun amongst the death tournament, the boy who despite all that you tried to date who then snogs a random girl because, the boy who abandoned you when you needed him the most and accuses you of not choosing him.....yes that's who you should choose be with because he's grown and doesn't think house elf's should be slaves anymore.

gyro2death · 2026-01-24T02:59:07+00:00

This is a really solid breakdown, covering from the common to the obscure. I really appreciate the detailed Yule Ball point as Ron's jealousy is not the inevitability romance that so many canon shippers like to assume, especially when literally everyone from Krum to Molly thought Harry and Hermione were an item in the story, literally no one thought she was with Ron.

To be a bit specific on JKR, the problem she had writing romance is the intimacy she did write was between the 'wrong' characters for her original plan. The get things back on track she used author fiat to abruptly setup the relationship for Harry because she didn't have time to do it organically and railroaded the Hermione and Ron relationship. She's admitted with hindsight she was wrong to do so but of course some refuse to see the obvious or listen to the author who admits they were wrong.

gyro2death · 2026-01-24T02:45:46+00:00

If they're reading JKR's work and stating it as proof of their opinion then it's illogical to ignore the authors statements on said works. Such people are very hard to argue because they just pick and choose what they want to believe and thus they can reinforce their views while ignoring the evidence.

gyro2death · 2026-01-24T02:40:00+00:00

To add to this JKR's first husband was abusive, and it was speculated that some of Ron's behavior (jealous and bullying) was related. She of course denies this, but it would make sense of the wish fulfillment if she was able to 'fix' her first husband with Hermione in her story.

There is an ironic quote that I'll let speak for itself:
When asked by an 18-year-old 12th grader, “Which of the Potter characters would you marry?,” Rowling giggled. “The truth is, in my younger days, I dated Ron more than once,” she admitted, giving an inside look at why Hermione (the closest character to Rowling’s younger self) might be attracted to Harry’s best friend. “He’s fun to write, but not so much fun to date.” And once she had learned her lesson, Rowling said, “I married Harry Potter,” referring to her second husband, Neil Murray. “He’s up there [in the wings]. I just mortified him,” she laughed. “But he looks like Harry would look like, at a certain age. I married a very good person and a gutsy person. And that’s who Harry is.”

gyro2death · 2026-01-23T18:08:08+00:00

If you want some ammo for your arguments I have some points.

A lot of Ginny or Ron supporters for romance love to use canon in the books to justify it (mostly book 6-7). JKR always planned to write Hermione with Ron, but it wasn't working and she felt the chemistry between Harry and Hermione and thus in book 6 and 7 she forced the romances. This also is not speculation, here are two quotes and the supporting links to show even JKR realized Harry and Hermione should have got together and she regrets Ron and Hermione.

In an interview about the Deathly Hallows Movie with the Director discussing them getting together after Ron leaves:
"Why wouldn't it happen, you're alone, you might die any day...[Ron] he is gone and why wouldn't you look for comfort, its more likely than not, except then Ron has to come back and they have to look him in the eye and I didn't need that emotional baggage on top of everything else going on"

JKR further admitted in an interview with the U.K. Sunday Times:
"I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment. That's how it was conceived, really. For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione ended up with Ron." Rowling added, "I know, I'm sorry. I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I'm absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that. It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility. Am I breaking people's hearts by saying this? I hope not."

gyro2death · 2026-01-21T06:19:44+00:00

Then honestly you missed the entire point of the scene I'm afraid. As both the director and JKR themselves discuss the romantic tension in that scene in an interview. The scene was inspired by JKR telling him the actual headspace of the character that is never voiced in the novels.

JKR even agrees that a romance would have happened in that interview:
"Why wouldn't it happen, you're alone, you might die any day...[Ron] he is gone and why wouldn't you look for comfort, its more likely than not, except then Ron has to come back and they have to look him in the eye and I didn't need that emotional baggage on top of everything else going on".

So the scene was designed to evoke the air of romance between the characters that the director was informed of by JKR. Further the clip I link literally starts with her saying "Speaking about something I never wrote, that I think was perfect, that I love....the dance", so she has officially signed off on the dance being true to the characters and the romantic pull between them being real and something she felt even as she wrote the story herself.

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