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Top Five Harry Potter Ships That Never Sailed

The Harry Potter fandom has fully embraced shipping culture.
The Harry Potter fandom has fully embraced shipping culture. By Courtesy of Reilly Brown, Wikimedia Commons
By Larissa G. Barth, Contributing Writer

With melodramatic music videos, erotic fanfictions, and witty memes, the Harry Potter fandom has fully embraced shipping culture. Unfortunately, not all these ships have sailed: Here are the top five Harry Potter ships that are not canon.

5. Drapple (Draco & Apple)

Praised by Draco actor Tom Felton for its creativity, this ship is mostly known by fans who are too deeply immersed in the Potter shipping scene. Draco’s fruity love interest first makes an appearance in the movie “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” where his bite out of the juicy green apple looked a tad too sexy to Drapple shippers. In “The Half-Blood Prince,” Draco uses a Vanishing Cabinet as a passage between Hogwarts and a dark magic store. Before the Death Eaters enter Hogwarts this way, the apple becomes Draco’s partner in crime as he tries out the Cabinet with it. When the apple comes back to him, a disturbed Draco finds that someone has taken a bite — one can only hope that he did not say “Avada Kedavra” to the apple’s affair.

4. Harmony (Harry & Hermione)

Could Hermione really have fallen in love with Ron? Harmony shippers think not. Obviously, Harry is much better suited for the beloved heroine ­— mainly because he is not Ron. Unlike Ron, Harry doesn’t leave his friends on their search for horcruxes because he is bored. Luckily, Ron’s exit gave Harmony shippers some cute Harmony scenes — including the duo’s spontaneous dance that definitely appeared more romantic than friendly. They stay on people’s minds: Dumbledore tries playing Cupid for the two, Rita Skeeter wrote an article about “Harry Potter’s Secret Heartache,” and Ron’s jealousy itself conjured a Harmony kissing scene… So just admit your feelings, you two!

3. Snily (Snape & Lily)

“After all this time?” ”Always.” This exchange between Dumbledore and Snape has made it onto tattoos, tote bags, and wall decor. While no other characters have the same patronus, Snape’s undying love for Harry’s Mother Lily is reflected in his doe patronus, which is identical to hers. After Lily’s death, Snape’s guilt inspires his double-agent death eater role through which he tries to protect Harry. Even in his last moments, Snape only wants to think of Lily by looking into Harry’s green eyes that resemble Lily’s. As much as the secret hero of the series deserves a happy ending, if this ship had sailed, the series would have never been born.

2. Grindeldore (Grindelwald & Dumbledore)

After the duo that would have destroyed the series, here comes the couple that would have annihilated the world! In their younger years, Grindelwald and Dumbledore bonded over sweet ideas such as wizard supremacy and world domination. Although J.K. Rowling has confirmed that the two were in a romantic relationship during this time, neither the original books nor the newer spin-offs include this fact. After Dumbledore’s political views took a liberal turn, he defeated Grindelwald in a legendary duel — Or as Grindeldore shippers would say, they let sparks fly!

1. Dramione (Draco & Hermione)

Dramione is the ship that dominates fanfictions. One factor contributing to its popularity is an Emma Watson interview in which she admits to having a crush on Tom Felton during the earlier movies. The popular “bad boy falls for the good girl” trope also lends itself neatly to the troubled Slytherin and the studious heroine. Of course, Draco and Hermione clearly loathe each other, as evidenced by his degrading comments and her well-placed punch in “Prisoner of Azkaban.” Nevertheless, Dramione shippers simply rely on the next trope to solve this minor problem: They are “enemies to lovers!”

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