other movies, is there any point whatsoever in this one, before the Ball, that there was a romantic interest between the two. At any point before the scene in the Great Hall where Hermione says that she already has a date, were there any moments between them that were even portrayed as slightly romantic? No, there is not. Hell, they only say about ten words to each other before that point. Many will argue though, that the audience is already aware of their situation, that we shouldn’t be surprised that Ron asks her out. That may be true, but it simply doesn’t work that way in film. You simply can’t have a scene like that halfway through the film with no establishing shot and expect them to be the romantic pair of the movie. Anything would have worked: a wishful gaze, a moment of teenage awkwardness, anything. ‘Azkaban’ had a few of those shots; primarily the scene outside the Shrieking Shack, the scene where she awkwardly grabs his hand before Harry rides Buckbeak. But there is nothing of the sort in Goblet of Fire. The Yule Ball scene was simply made to create tension and adhere to the novel. Hermione is rightfully indignant that Ron is asking her as a last resort. It’s the same for the novel; she is angry that they haven’t even considered her as a girl before and shocked that she has a date. A side note, it also confuses me that people consider this the defining start of the Ron and Hermione relationship in the books. I see it as an instigator for future tension, but not setting anything in stone. That’s beside the point, though. I might have even considered them a romantic pairing in the movie if they had even one scene where she talks about the fallout of their argument or even mentioned Ron in a romantic way again in the movie. She doesn’t though. It didn’t even seem to affect them in the slightest after the event. The talk between Harry and Hermione in the bridge afterwards would have been an excellent place to bring Ron up, but no, not one word. They only talk about Krum and Harry. The point of the fight was to set up future conflict in later installments in the series because anything could have happened. Remember, ‘Half Blood Prince’ hadn’t been released yet, and Kloves thought that Harry and Hermione would be the future romantic pairing.
Now that that part of the ball has been discussed, we can see how it is significant in the context of Harry and Hermione. Now, let’s talk about Cho ‘Red Herring’ Chang. Harry is into her, that much is obvious. His schoolboy stares and ‘young love’ afflicted demeanor reflects that. It all comes to when he asks her to gowithhimtotheball. Alas, ‘ole Cedric Diggory has beaten him to the punch. Dejected, Harry goes back to the common room and broods. I think that a reason that many people don’t recognize Harry and Hermione as a pairing in the movie is because of something someone behind the scenes did before the movie came out and after ‘Half Blood Prince’ did. Take a look at this picture. There is Hermione comforting him after his rejection by Cho. This is an unreleased deleted scene that was taken away with a specific purpose: to tone down the explicit Harry/Hermione relationship in the movie after knowledge of the final pairings were revealed. I say this because I’ve seen the pictures of the other unreleased deleted scenes of the movie, and the trend I noticed of them: they are mostly scenes with just Harry and Hermione in them. Look here, here, and here. Even this of Dan and Emma practicing dancing together might have been an indication of a dance they might have shared at the Yule Ball. I even think it would have fit in without a problem because of a scene right before it.
I think that if there was one scene I would show that proves that Harry and Hermione are the main romantic pairing is this. Hermione’s Cinderella moment, the moment millions of teenage boys dropped their jaws in shock by, when they realized how beautiful Emma Watson is. Take a look at that scene and if you can tell me with a straight face that it isn’t a romantic one, then I’ll pay you my entire life savings. Let’s start off with when Harry notices Cho for the first time. This is when her role as the red herring of the movie takes its full effect. All throughout, Harry has been pining for her, wanting her to notice him, to no avail. He even gazes at her longingly while she’s with Cedric here. Then, we see Hermione looking down the staircase and the music starts. Listen to the music. The long strings and steady buildup give us a sense of anticipation. Anticipation for what exactly? Well, you would say that it’s to see her in her full glory for the first time, right? But wait, we already see her; we see her hair, her dress, everything. Then what is the music building up for then? Harry. It’s building up for Harry’s reaction to seeing Hermione like that for the first time. His perception of her has changed. Once Parvati says ‘She’s beautiful’ and Harry responds ‘Yeah’ in regards to Cho, the piece has hit its full crescendo and he sees her. All thoughts of Cho are cleared from his mind and focused only on Hermione. If Mike Newell, the director, wanted the focus of the scene to be on how much Hermione has changed, then he would have had the camera go to other characters’ reactions, in particular, Ron. Ron’s remark and reaction are negative. It’s a far cry to Harry’s. The scene on the staircase is a pure romantic moment, unsullied by jealousy or negativity. The focus is on Harry and Hermione only. Notice also, how after this Harry doesn’t regard Cho in a romantic manner for the rest of the movie. There are no more longing stares or wistful gazes because the focus of the romantic plotline for Harry has landed on Hermione.
There is still of course, Viktor Krum. We see that Hermione has had a great time with him and is clearly flushed. That is all on that night. Next though, we have the bridge scene where the two of them discuss the date with him. When Hermione is scolding Harry for not figuring the egg out, he bitterly remarks that Viktor had probably already figured it out. Harry and Hermione’s interactions are not normally marked by jealousy, but in this case, he is testy in regard to Krum. This is different than the book where he really couldn’t give a damn either way. His reactions in the movie are much stronger in the movie when it has to do with Hermione. She responds defensively saying that they don’t talk much at all. This is essentially the denouncement of the Krum/Hermione pairing. And who does she say this all to? Harry. Look at the setting of the scene: a bridge with the two of them side by side laughing and talking with ease with the wind blowing through their hair. This is a textbook romantic scene. It then has Hermione say something that has been her mantra throughout the entire film: ‘I’m scared for you’. And yet again, Harry backs away from her attempts to help him. The final shot of her when Harry walks away is a downward sigh, almost wistful. That may just be me misinterpreting things, but I really think that it makes sense in context.
Their next scene together in the library before the second task doesn’t really add any new information other than reinforcing that Hermione is loyal to Harry to a fault, something we’re already aware of. The scene that I had talked about before but will bring up again is after the task itself. Like I said, it is natural of fiction to have the love interest go to the protagonist after they have accomplished an extraordinary task, which in this case, is the second task. Look at the order of events. Harry arrives on shore, saving Gabrielle and Ron. Fleur kisses him on his cheeks and then does the same with Ron. Ron’s reaction is focused on more so than Harry’s because I believe that Ron’s romantic interest in the movie is Fleur. Whenever she comes into shot, Ron’s reactions to her are the next thing shown. He attempts to ask her to the ball, but fails and is flustered in particular when she kisses him. Also, her last appearance and Ron’s final scene with just him as the focus is her kissing him goodbye as she leaves Hogwarts. I’m stating this obvious romantic pair because of the shot that follows her kissing him after the task. The next shot directly after Ron’s stunned expression is of Hermione coming to Harry. Notice that there is not shot of Hermione and Krum together after he saved her because his purpose in the story is over. He was the other red herring set out to distract from Harry and Hermione. Now, when she comes to him and covers him with the towel, she speaks in a way that is reminiscent of many other love interests. She is overflowing with praise and admiration, being extremely hands on with him. She even kisses his forehead, a level of familiarity not common in many teens. When Harry states that he should be in last place, she mimics Fleur’s accent when saying that she got stopped by the grindelows. Once again, this is a scene that keeps its focus mainly on Harry and Hermione, especially when the results are announced by Dumbledore. The focal point is Hermione’s happiness and joy of his placing.
After this point, the darkest part of the movie sets in. Crouch’s death, Crouch Jr.’s trial, The Third Task, Voldemort, and Moody/Crouch’s reveal. It is the end of the movie and most of the arcs have finished. Finally, we have one last scene which I think doesn’t get enough attention. I stated at the beginning of this essay that Harry and Hermione have an arc that is kept quite subtle. It’s Hermione’s care for him and his pushing away and being unresponsive. Well, this comes to a conclusion as well. In the final scene of the film, as they prepare to go back home, Hermione seems downcast and even a bit mournful, saying ‘Everything’s going to change, isn’t it?’. And for the first time, instead of Hermione comforting Harry, he does so—in his own unique Harry way. That is the end of their