Chapter Ten - Luna Lovegood

[merrymelody]

* His parents wove in and out of his dreams, never speaking; Mrs Weasley sobbed over Kreachers dead body, watched by Ron and Hermione who were wearing crowns, and yet again Harry found himself walking down a corridor ending in a locked door.

Another dream of Harry's. I love how easy they are to interpret - Harry's subconscious is fairly simple, no?

* ...Fred and George had bewitched their trunks to fly downstairs to save the bother of carrying them, with the result that they had hurtled straight into Ginny and knocked her down two flights of stairs into the hall; Mrs Black and Mrs Weasley were both screaming at the top of their voices. '- COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS -'
'- FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS -'

Interesting assocatiation there - Mrs. Black and Mrs. Weasley. Both mothers who are easily disappointed in their children, for one.
Molly does seem to be the broadest of the Weasleys in terms of flaws. (Excepting of course, the Eeeevil Percy!)
And of course, Ginny never complains and requires little medical attention (considering that knocking someone down two flights of stairs could easily kill them) Know why? Cause she's cool.

* 'But now Mad Eye's complaining that we can't leave unless Sturgis Podmore's here, otherwise the guard will be one short.'
'Guard?' said Harry. 'We have to go to King's Cross with a guard?'
'You have to go to King's Cross with a guard,' Hermione corrected him.

I'm not sure whether telling Harry he's been singled out is a smart tactic or not - on one hand, it could lead to poor me tantrums about being treated differently (I'm not even clear whether Harry is taken separately to Kings Cross or not - Ron and Hermione aren't mentioned on the journey, but it seems separating them from the group is a risky tactic for their safety as much as anyone's and pointlessly timewasting anyway.) but on the other, the idea that he's being taken seriously and afforded special consideration could mollify him. It's really 50/50 at this point, what with the insane mood swings.
Also, it seems odd for Hermione to refer to Moody as "Mad Eye" - I assume she'd use the more formal surname.

* 'Why?' said Harry irritably. 'I thought Voldemort was supposed to be lying low, or are you telling me he's going to jump out from behind a dustbin to try and do me in?'
'I don't know, it's just what Mad-Eye says,' said Hermione distractedly, looking at her watch, 'but if we don't leave soon we're definitely going to miss the train ...'
'WILL YOU LOT GET DOWN HERE NOW, PLEASE!' Mrs Weasley bellowed and Hermione jumped as though scalded and hurried out of the room.
Harry seized Hedwig, stuffed her unceremoniously into her cage, and set off downstairs after Hermione, dragging his trunk.

So all Harry wants is acknowledgment of the danger he faces by being TBWL, but when security is improved he's 'irrita(ted)' (this reminds me of PoA and the whole sneaking out debacle)? Shut up, Harry.

Also, Hermione's intimidated by Mrs. Weasley here, I guess.
She's probably not used to shouting, what with being an only child, who apparently get treated like mini-adults; (I wouldn't know, I'm an eldest child and we SUFFER LIEK NO OTHER ;) Hermione's strong point has never seemed to be relating to other females (until of course, the later "revelations" of her empathy with Cho and Ginny) and she and Molly have already had one run in, plus the glaring over Kreacher earlier.

Harry and Hedwig crack me up, because for all the upset when she's harmed, they seem to have the most passive-aggressive relationship in the books! (Also, if there was a Death Pool including her, I'd put money on it.)

* ...'If only Arthur could have got us cars from the Ministry again...but Fudge won't let him borrow so much as an empty ink bottle these days...how Muggles can stand travelling without magic'

More rants about Muggles from Molly, continuing a theme set in PS, and that's present throughout this book (her horror at Arthur's stitches, for example)
And of course, OH NOES TEH GRAVY TRAIN has ended regards freebies from Fudge - nasty Minister! Special favours should always be extended to prominent pureblood families. Except the ones we don't like.

* Mrs Weasley pursed her lips in an almost Aunt Petunia-ish way.

Petunia/Molly parallels confirmed! Who da man? *dances smugly*

* It took them twenty minutes to reach King's Cross on foot and nothing more eventful happened during that time than Sirius scaring a couple of cats for Harry's entertainment.

Heh, Harry's entertained by frightened animals?! Whatever gets your rocks off, man.

* 'Well, look after yourselves,' said Lupin, shaking hands all round. He reached Harry last and gave him a clap on the shoulder. 'You too. Harry. Be careful.'
'Yeah, keep your head down and your eyes peeled,' said Moody, shaking Harry's hand too. 'And don't forget, all of you - careful what you put in writing. If in doubt, don't put it in a letter at all.'
'It's been great meeting all of you,' said Tonks, hugging Hermione and Ginny, 'We'll see you soon, I expect.'

The physical contact here is interesting. Girls hug only other girls, manly men shake hands, Harry's status as Teh Most Important is confirmed by a "clap" by Lupin.

* Mrs Weasley shoved Harry away towards the train door, hissing, 'For heaven's sake, act more like a dog, Sirius!'

Much as I agree with Molly on this point, although not perhaps her motive, which appears to be 'OMG Dumbledore sez so!11' rather than 'It's an idiotic risk'; mentioning audibly that this suspicious dog is in fact not a dog at all, and is called 'Sirius' is really stupid.

* 'Yeah, definitely,' said Ron, casting a shifty, anxious look at Harry. 'It's a pain having to go down there, I'd rather - but we have to - I mean, I'm not enjoying it, I'm not Percy,' he finished defiantly.

Ron appears to have picked up on the idea that Cool Guys aren't prefects and that he should feel guilty over any advantages he has over Harry. (The opposite obviously does not apply!)

* Harry could not help noticing that a lot of people stared back at him with great interest and that several of them nudged their neighbours and pointed him out. After he had met this behaviour in five consecutive carriages he remembered that the Daily Prophet had been telling its readers all summer what a lying show-off he was. He wondered dully whether the people now staring and whispering believed the stories.

Don't people stare at him every time? I mean, he's TBWL, Quidditch star, now Triwizard Champion...
I love that Harry cares desperately what these people, whose names he doesn't even seem to know, think about him (I'm sure they have long, complex opinions on Harry. Probably can't sleep at night for wondering about him!) considering that he seems completely unconcerned about them as individuals.
Like, sure I didn't know who Zacharias Smith was until fifth year but he just better think I'm cool and trustworthy anyway!!11

* In the very last carriage they met Neville Longbottom, Harry's fellow fifth year Gryffindor, his round face shining with the effort of pulling his trunk along and maintaining a one-handed grip on his struggling toad, Trevor.

That toad is constantly trying to escape.
no_remorse once wondered whether pre-PoA Trevor was intended to be Peter Pettigrew rather than Scabbers, and while it's a moot point now, it does seem significant. And it's not just antipathy towards Neville (who doesn't feel that? ;) - it doesn't appear to like Harry any better.

* 'What are you talking about?' said Ginny, who had squeezed past Neville to peer into the compartment behind him. There's room in this one, there's only Loony Lovegood in here -'
Neville mumbled something about not wanting to disturb anyone.
'Don't be silly,' said Ginny, laughing, 'she's all right.'
She slid the door open and pulled her trunk inside. Harry and Neville followed.
'Hi, Luna,' said Ginny, 'is it OK if we take these seats?'

Love that Ginny calls Luna 'Loony' behind her back, but greets her politely to her face.

The name is interesting - associations with Lupin, both with her first name (Luna meaning 'moon') and her nickname (like Loony Moony!)

* 'I'm nobody,' said Neville hurriedly.
'No you're not,' said Ginny sharply. 'Neville Longbottom - Luna Lovegood. Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw.'
'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure,' said Luna in a singsong voice.
She raised her upside-down magazine high enough to hide her face and fell silent. Harry and Neville looked at each other with their eyebrows raised. Ginny suppressed a giggle.

See how cool Ginny is? She appreciates poor loser Neville!
Sure, she spent her date with him scoring with Michael Corner; and she was 'miserable' at having to go with him in the first place, but condescension is the closest thing to friendship that anyone offers Neville, it seems.
More giggly!Ginny, who's also amused by Drunk!Mundungus and the word 'git'.

* In reply:

"Neville tells us he LOST the Rememberall that was the cause of so much fuss first year. I guess you could suggest some mean bully (Malfoy) stole it from him, but I think he really did lose it, which I like because it reflects less heroically on Neville and Harry. Neville is careless with presents people went to a lot of trouble to get for him and Harry's big heroics were pointless in the long run. It was Harry's fight on his own behalf, not Neville's. In fact, it's kind of funny that at 15 that's still the main memory Harry has of Neville so it's all he can come up with to guess at Neville's present."

God, I hate that scene so much, remembering it!
I remember watching the film with a friend, and noting how it's so obviously a pissing contest between Harry and Draco there, and Neville doesn't come into it - notice there's no scene of Harry returning it (or Neville being visited in the hospital wing afterwards. Or in the hospital after he fights Crabbe and Goyle on Harry and Ron's behalf?)
And yes, Harry's memory is fairly selective, again - his recollection of his friends as absent during most of his adventures; the part later about what a wimp Malfoy was in the forest four years earlier, as opposed to standing stock still in fear which is much kewlier!11; and four years of a dorm with someone and all he knows is: Neville likes plants and has a bad memory.

* Harry knew that Neville's favourite subject was Herbology but for the life of him he could not see what he would want with this stunted little plant.

Isn't there some rule about pronouns broken here? Too many "he's".
Heh, I love Harry's attempt at understanding others interests - "Does it do anything?"
I guess it's the equivalent of Neville saying 'I know Harry's favourite activity is Quidditch, but for the life of me, I can't see what he would want with this tiny yellow ball!'

* Ginny, who had flung her arms up in front of her face just in time, merely looked as though she was wearing a slimy green hat, but Harry, whose hands had been busy preventing Trevor's escape, received a faceful.

Ginny's reflexes are quicker than the youngest seeker in a century? She's like Movie!Hermione, in a way.
Also, "Harry...received a faceful" made me laugh for about five minutes straight. Shut up, I'm twelve.

* Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned. He would have liked Cho to discover him sitting with a group of very cool people laughing their heads off at a joke he had just told; he would not have chosen to be sitting with Neville and Loony Lovegood, clutching a toad and dripping in Stinksap.

And yet ironically it's Neville, Luna and Ginny who help save the day in the end, not Cho. I think we've all learned something about judging people, haven't we class? *after school special music plays*
Notice that Ginny isn't included in Harry's shame? Because Ginny is cool.
Also, to quote Magpie, because my chapters are never complete until I've scammed off some of hers ;)

"Harry is more upset over being seen with Luna and Neville than even being covered in Stinksap because he would rather be with Cool People and he knows these kids aren't it. Please shut up all the people who think Harry's is either a) a big nerd/outcast or b) doesn't notice these things or c) prefers outcasts."

* 'Never mind,' said Ginny bracingly. 'Look, we can easily get rid of all this.'
She pulled out her wand. 'Scourgify!'
The Stinksap vanished.

Ginny, you're so cool!

* Harry, Ginny and Neville had finished their pumpkin pasties and were busy swapping Chocolate Frog Cards...

Heh, is it me, or is there something a little pathetic about 14-15 year olds swapping trading cards? It's the equivalent of being a teenaged Pokemon enthusiast!

* 'Well, there are two fifth-year prefects from each house,' said Hermione, looking thoroughly disgruntled as she took her seat.

As Magpie noted, it does seem that Hermione is irritated there are any other prefects at all - God damn, why can't Gryffindors be sole bosses?
Although even Ron gets the lectures on proper prefectorial behaviour - I'm now imagining Hermione!Utopia:

Dumbledore: Why, I bet you wish it was just the two of you!
Hermione: Or less.

Must we have this silly equality thing? Surely the Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs aren't half as suitable for the role as Ms. Granger?
She seems to assuming that being prefect is like being Head Girl.
It's interesting, because one of the key qualities needed in authoritative positions, I would think, would be the ability to work with different people: fellow prefects, junior students, teachers.
So while Hermione has this Mary Sue-esque ability to intuit everyone around her's emotions and innermost thoughts; she's still the snotty kid from PS who can't help but feel superior to everyone around her; at the same time. Odd.

* 'And guess who's a Slytherin prefect?' said Ron, still with his eyes closed.
'Malfoy,' replied Harry at once, certain his worst fear would be confirmed.

Hahahaha! Is it Harry's 'worst fear' because he's a huge drama queen or because Draco has something that he doesn't - OH NOES!!!1?
Also, my interest in the HP books as a concept perks up considerably here.
Perhaps I should make a graph.
Hagrid's Tale: NEEDLE CRASHES. The Lion Versus the Serpent: NEEDLE RISES.

* 'And that complete cow Pansy Parkinson,' said Hermione viciously. 'How she got to be a prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll ...'

'Viciously' is a very negative word to use, and fits into mistful's theory that only other females can truly affect the girls in these books - Hermione is unmoved by Malfoy's taunts unlike Harry or Ron; but she loathes Pansy, despite Pansy being much less threatening and cruel.
Perhaps it was the 'ugly' remarks in GoF - everyone's sexual ego is their biggest sensitivity apparently (alright, I read that in a magazine. SHUT UP!!11 ;)

* 'I can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle for something.'
'You're not supposed to abuse your position, Ron!' said Hermione sharply.

A repeated issue with Hermione - living up to the prefect role.
To quote abaddon (who's actual reference was to an incident later in the book, but which I feel applies here):

"Interestingly, (Hermione objects not) because it is wrong, it is because of the expectations and image of his - and their - position...
Women (in JKR's books) obey the strictures that men set up to the letter without understanding the implied spirit behind the strictures."

* 'Yeah, right, because Malfoy won't abuse it at all,' said Ron sarcastically.
'So you're going to descend to his level?'
'No, I'm just going to make sure I get his mates before he gets mine.'

Hermione has lots of faith that she and her friends are far above Malfoy's "level", considering what they get up to.

Crabbe and Goyle seem to waver in both the fandoms' and the characters' perceptions of their relationship with Malfoy - in PS, they're presented as little more than 'bodyguards'; in CoS they're Malfoy's "best mates" to whom he'll confide "anything"; they're constantly referred to as even more loathsome than him (he 'depart(s)', they 'lumber') but now in the Trio's eyes, they're his friends. Later, part of his 'court'. Oh teh drama!

* 'For heaven's sake, Ron -'
'I’ll make Goyle do lines, it'll kill him, he hates writing,' said Ron happily. He lowered his voice to Goyle's low grunt and, screwing up his face in a look of pained concentration, mimed writing in midair. 'I...must...not...look...like... a...baboon's...backside.'

It seems Ron has a personal dislike of Crabbe and Goyle
As Magpie put it::

"I'm not sure why. Did Goyle struggle too much when Ron knocked him out and stole his clothes? Not grunt loudly enough when Ron threw a firecracker in his caldron?"

There's more emphasis on Goyle being the stupider, uglier, meaner one. (Ron makes another comment at the end about how pleased his mum will be at her son being hexed, since he looks so much better. And presumably cos Evil People don't/won't care about their children's health)

* Everyone laughed, but nobody laughed harder than Luna Lovegood.

There's a lot of laughing in unison for the gang both in this book and others. Which I presume is completely different from the Slytherins 'shrieking with laughter' or 'sniggering stupidly' at Draco's jokes.

Luna's reaction here seems odd - not just that it's more intense than anyone else's, but because as far as we know, she's never met Goyle and has no idea who he is (aside from "Malfoy's mate", another person she's presumably never met) or what he looks like. Interesting contrast with her reaction to Harry's "witty" insult later on. Perhaps she just prefers Ron?

* How Far Will Fudge Go to Gain Gringotts?

More mentions of the Goblin-Wizard divide. Looks like it may have significance in the next two books.

* Corruption in the Quidditch League: How the Tornados are Taking Control

Interesting that the 'corrupt' team is not the Slytherin-esque win at all costs Falcons but the team with the superstar ultra-talented seeker, according to Quidditch Through the Ages.

* ...an article on ancient runes which at least explained why Luna had been reading The Quibbler upside-down. According to the magazine, if you turned the runes on their heads they revealed a spell to make your enemy's ears turn into kumquats.

Luna's all consuming interest is cursing her enemies? She'll fit right in with the DA!
I wonder who those enemies are. Later on, she proves to be loyal to both her own house, despite her housemates stealing her possessions; and Gryffindor over Slytherin (what an innovative idea! I guess that's how we know she's a goodie!)

'Of course not,' said Hermione scathingly, before Harry could answer. ‘The Quibbler's rubbish, everyone knows that.'
'Excuse me,' said Luna; her voice had suddenly lost its dreamy quality. 'My father's the editor.'
‘I - oh,' said Hermione, looking embarrassed. 'Well...it's got some interesting...I mean, it's quite..."
'I'll have it back, thank you,' said Luna coldly, and leaning forwards she snatched it out of Harry's hands.

Luna loses her dreamy voice when she tells Hermione off, which makes it seem more affected.

And yet another occurence of the family loyalty theme - Daaaaddy owns the naaational paper, don't you know? (It's such a Draco-esque poor little rich girl thing to say, I can't help 'hearing' it as a drawl!) So don't criticise it, even if your criticism's valid.
Of course, since we've never seen Hermione with a copy of The Quibbler, it could just be snobbishness.

* 'She didn't enjoy it very much,' Luna informed him. 'She doesn't think you treated her very well, because you wouldn't dance with her. I don't think I'd have minded,' she added thoughtfully, 'I don't like dancing very much.'
She retreated behind The Quibbler again. Ron stared at the cover with his mouth hanging open for a few seconds, then looked around at Ginny for some kind of explanation, but Ginny had stuffed her knuckles in her mouth to stop herself giggling.

I'd have much more respect for Ginny if she laughed openly then this childish attempt at concealing it, which just seems two-faced.

Also, I hate dancing, and it's nice to see a fictional female character who also doesn't. Which is the nearest to a compliment I've made throughout this whole readthrough, I think! ;)

* Harry looked around; he had expected this, but that did not make the sight of Draco Malfoy smirking at him from between his cronies Crabbe and Goyle any more enjoyable.

You know you like it, Harry.
But seriously, love that Harry is completely aware of this yearly meeting-on-the-train tradition. It's like an incredibly twisted anniversary! ;)

* 'What?' he said aggressively, before Malfoy could open his mouth.
'Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention,' drawled Malfoy, whose sleek blond hair and pointed chin were just like his fathers.

The Slytherins seem quite jaunty and friendly for people last seen unconcious at the hands of these people. IITS.

This part seems to reinforce the idea that people only feel what Harry thinks they should - Harry views the hexing as unimportant (there's no mention from him, as well as the Slytherins, which is odd - no threats to hex them twice as bad if they don't get out?) hence the Slytherins do.
Harry views being a (male) prefect as uncool, hence Ron does.
Harry views any scant attention to Neville as being kind, hence Neville does. (I really have little sympathy for Neville, who instead of being offended at condescension like a normal person, seems to lap it up like some needy dog. Shut up, Neville!)

* 'You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments.'
'Yeah,' said Harry, 'but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone.'
Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville laughed.

Interesting that Luna's silent here.
And of course, fanon!Neville hates jokes at anyone's expense, whereas Canon!Neville is less saintly (presumably he remembers the illfated remembrall still) and keen to be one of the gang.

Notice how they all laugh instantly in unison.
It appears Witty!Harry with his trademark Black!Humour is as fanonical as OscarWilde!Draco - a lot of the time they miss their mark ('Potty and the Weasel' versus 'git', 'wide mouthed tree frog' versus 'Warrington's aim's so pathetic I'd be more worried if he was aiming for the person next to me,') it's just that their friends laugh anyway.
Of course, Crabbe, Goyle, Ron and Hermione have never been shown to have excellent senses of humour themselves...
And of course, there's the impression that JKR finds Harry and co.'s retorts to be stunningly humorous, in that Malfoy and Pansy's more puerile attempts are greeted with scorn, whereas Harry's silence his enemies, wiping "the smirk(s) off (their) face(s)"; in which case she's sadly deluding herself.
There's a similiar contrast when Umbridge later makes jokes at her students expense (the Inquisitorial Squad's laughter is described as 'sycophant(ic)'); but Hagrid threatening to turn Malfoy into a ferret is genuinely funny, and something all the Gryffindors 'roar' over.

* Malfoy's lip curled. 'Tell me, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley, Potter?' he asked.
'Shut up, Malfoy,' said Hermione sharply.

Wow, burn on Ron here from Hermione! And of course, since Hermione is usually the one reminding the boys that a reaction is exactly what Malfoy wants, she's really wasting her time here.

* 'I seem to have touched a nerve,' said Malfoy, smirking. 'Well, just watch yourself, Potter, because I'll be dogging your footsteps in case you step out of line.'
'Get out!' said Hermione, standing up.

Harry gave up on the witty insults quickly, didn't he? And Hermione's not much help - shut up, get out? She sounds like Kevin The Teenager.

* Sniggering, Malfoy gave Harry a last malicious look and departed, with Crabbe and Goyle lumbering along in his wake.

Clearly Hermione is no distraction from the real target here.

* Hermione slammed the compartment door behind them and turned to look at Harry, who knew at once that she, like him, had registered what Malfoy had said and been just as unnerved by it.
...
Hermione had been right...Sirius should not have come. What if Mr Malfoy had noticed the black dog and told Draco? What if he had deduced that the Weasleys, Lupin, Tonks and Moody knew where Sirius was hiding? Or had Malfoy's use of the word 'dogging' been a coincidence?

Was it? I can't remember. If it's a coincidence, it's a rather large one.
Certainly if it wasn't, Draco has once again proved he cares more about pissing off Potter than his father's interests - if he did tell Draco, I doubt it was with the proviso that he mentions it to Potter as soon as possible.
And it appears that post-PoA, Draco's aware of Sirius' animagus form and true allegiances. Of course, it's never clear how much Draco's knows or whether this is new information.

* ‘I’ll carry that owl, if you like,' said Luna to Harry, reaching out for Pigwidgeon.

More Luna/Ron signs? I wouldn't care, except I support both Ron/Hermione and Ron/Luna as preventions of Harry/Hermione and Harry/Luna.

If we all work together, Harry!het is a disease which can be stopped in our lifetime.

* Harry squinted through the darkness for a glimpse of Hagrid; he had to be here, Harry had been relying on it - seeing Hagrid again was one of the things he'd been looking forward to most.

What? Is this another OMG DUMBLEDORE MY BESTEST EVER FRIEND OF ALL MY FRIENDS situation? Harry's mentioned Hagrid about once this book, along with the Herbology greenhouses (and we've seen how little Harry cares about Herbology!) for crying out loud (that's less than the Malfoy mentions! *smirks* ;) and now we're getting 'He's gotta be there, he's just gotta!'

* A short distance away, Draco Malfoy, followed by a small gang of cronies including Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson, was pushing some timid-looking second-years out of the way so that he and his friends could get a coach to themselves. Seconds later, Hermione emerged panting from the crowd.
'Malfoy was being absolutely foul to a first-year back there. I swear I'm going to report him, he's only had his badge three minutes and he's using it to bully people worse than ever...'

Another reassertion of what an awful bully that Malfoy is - why, the whole school knows it!
Considering that Hermione expressed no problem with the twins hissing children five years younger than them (that's not being "beastly" to "first years"! Or if it is, it's only because they're eleven year old Nazis! Or something) hexing younger students from behind until they're unconscious, participating with said hexing herself, kidnapping, blackmail, hitting and poisoning; I find myself unimpressed with her assessment of what constitutes 'bullying' and a 'bully'.

* He could see the batwinged horses reflected in her wide silvery eyes.

Luna is a pureblood (presumably) with blonde hair and silvery eyes? Run, Harry, she's Evil! ;)

* 'I’ll be quite glad if he has,' said Luna, 'he isn't a very good teacher, is he?'
'Yes, he is!' said Harry, Ron and Ginny angrily.
Harry glared at Hermione. She cleared her throat and quickly said, 'Er ...yes ... he's very good.'
'Well, we in Ravenclaw think he's a bit of a joke,' said Luna, unfazed.
'You've got a rubbish sense of humour then,' Ron snapped.

Bwahaha! Love Hermione's reaction, and I even warmed to Luna marginally here.
Interesting that both girls are presented as wise, Hermione intellectually and emotionally and Luna on a more spiritual level; and neither think much of Hagrid.
And of course Ginny angrily defends Hagrid, who she's met in canon once, three years ago. Know why she likes him? Because Ginny's cool.

Two points I forgot to mention in my original post were that

* I had high hopes for Ron's opinion of Hagrid: pre-OotP I got the impression he'd lost sympathy for Hagrid the quickest.
Ron's the one who got bit by Norbert in PS (and a serious enough bite that he was hospitalised), Ron's the one who has that really great bit in CoS about Hagrid's not being innocent because of hatching Aragog, and Ron's the one who's absent throughout most of the Hagrid-heavy adventures: Buckbeak and Grawp.
So, there was me thinking that for someone who trails behind Hermione and Harry in most aspects, he's lost the childish adulation of Hagrid quicker than either.
Oh well.

* It appears that of all the children-parents we're introduced to, only Malfoy's and Harry's resemblence to their father's is emphasised. Interesting.