Current mood:	productive
Current music:	Default - Count on Me
Entry tags:	art

[ART] On the Run (H/Hr, The DoM Six)
I bring more art, Harmony-style! Of course, I must warn you that it comes with yet another lengthy discussion of the scene in canon that inspired it.

This particular sketch isn't really detailed like my previous sketches, as I was too tired to fill in the background. Plus, I wanted to focus primarily on the characters in one of my favorite OotP scenes.

On a technical note, the scanner I used wasn't big enough to capture the whole page, so I had to scan two different sections of the sketch and combine the resulting images. I hope the merge turned out ok.



Medium: Mechanical pencil, paper
Software: Photoshop CS

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 35: Beyond the Veil


"RUN!" Harry yelled, and as the shelves swayed precariously and more glass spheres began to pour from above, he seized a handful of Hermione's robes and dragged her forward, one arm over his head as chunks of shelf and shards of glass thundered down upon them.

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As chaos erupts, Harry seizes a handful of Hermione's robes and drags her forward, using only one arm to cover himself. It would have made more sense for Harry to run and cover his own head with both arms, because not only would he be able to run faster; he'd be better insulated from the falling debris.

Obviously, that's not what Rowling wrote.

Here I want to highlight Harry's protective reaction towards Hermione. From an objective standpoint, Harry's protectiveness of Hermione does not make sense because she is the most competent fighter of the group, next to Harry. Moreover, a few seconds ago, the Death Eaters were threatening Ginny, not Hermione. All the kids moved to surround Weasel Girl to shield her, so if nothing else, Harry's protectiveness should have been directed towards Tag-Along Weasley instead of Hermione.

There's no logical basis for Harry wanting to protect Hermione. His reaction isn't based on rational thought at all--Harry is acting on instinct.

In a crisis, people instinctively protect what's most important to them. For example, in a fire, a mother will leap through smoke and flames to rescue her baby. The mother won't care that her hair is singed and her arms are suffering from burns, so long as she gets her baby out of danger. Likewise, in any perceived threat to her ego, image, or delicate sensibilities, Jenny Sue will use any combination of insults, attitude, hex (she knows only one), and physical violence to save herself. Jenny won't care that she's being a mean-spirited b*tch, so long as she gets her way.

Now keep in mind that Rowling writes her books with great care and attention to detail. It's easy to see, then, just how important Hermione is to Harry based on his actions at the Department of Mysteries. During their attempt to escape from the Death Eaters, Harry grabs Hermione and drags her forward with him. He doesn't care about the fact that holding on to Hermione while running would slow both of them down and leave him more vulnerable to falling shelves and shards of glass so long as she is safe with him.

It's nice how Harry's behavior here complements the established pattern of Hermione grabbing on to Harry. ;)

Of course, there's another angle from which we can view this scene: Ron. Let's explore how Rowling portrays Ron in the same situation. In the DoM, when faced with a group of merciless evildoers, does Ron show any sign that he cares about Hermione's well-being? Does he act in any way to protect his supposedly twu wuv?

No, on both counts.

In fact, after Harry grabs Hermione and starts to flee, he sees Ron sprinting ahead without a backward glance.

*points at sketch*

I rest my case.

Who needs ambiguous JKR quotes, when canon gives you clarity, depth, and consistency?


As always, the higher resolution image is in the fanart section of Harmony Forever. Please check that version out for a better view, since the resized Photobucket image shrinks the file too much for my liking. :/

Bonus Art:

Here's a sneak peek of another work-in-progress. I'm posting this because I have no idea when I'll finish it, if at all, and I figured that, by putting it on LJ, I'd feel more obligated to complete it in a timely fashion. XD




Harry's skin isn't anywhere near done, though his hair is more than 90% finished. I'll get to the rest of it eventually...


Cheers!

ETA: The image is now high resolution, and I didn't even do anything. Photobucket is weird.

ETA 2: Because madderbrad insisted..