I don't think Jo's intention was to lead us on. I believe that she knew from he beginning that it would be Ron with Hermione and Harry with Ginny. I think for the first couple of books, when the kids were younger, she left romance out of the books intentionally. It didn't fit the characters or her readership. I was around the same age as the kids when I first read these books, and I never thought there was anything romantic between Harry and Hermione. I think the problems is that older readers look for romance everywhere, because that's what they're used to books. Reading back now I can envision there being something between Harry and Hermione, but I could also say that Hermione has a crush on Hagrid because she's so willing to help him. You can always make something out of nothing. I think that we're reading into it the way we want to, and not necessarily how Jo meant us to.

I'm going to have to agree with the three before me when I say that I don't think there were intentional red herrings in the romance department, particularly in terms of Harry and Hermione. I know we try to stick to book cannon here, but there's a scene in the Half-Blood Prince film adaptation that I feel sums up the relationship between Harry and Hermione. Hermione asks Harry about how he feels when he sees Ginny with Dean in order to commiserate or qualify or justify her feelings when she sees Ron with Lavender. They share this bittersweet and heartbreaking moment that is indicative of a close and trusting friendship.

In terms of Neville and Luna, to add to the thought of Hulk-Harry, even if they did have a relationship, there's no way that readers would know about it. With a few exceptions, readers see everything from Harry's point of view. If the relationship wasn't pertinent to the story that was being told, we didn't see or hear abou it. And that's okay. It's a limitation of the third person limited omniscient perspective. And I honestly believe that the story would have been even more limited from a first person point of view and just overwhelming from a third person omniscient point of view.

This, my fellow Potterheads, is what fanfic is all about.

Hermione and Harry are simply too similar to ever be a couple if they were real people (oh right, they are!), but that doesn't mean I don't ship them! There's just something about this fandom that makes us want to ship people automatically. Perhaps it's because there are so many in-depth characters we identify with, or just because when two people are either best friends or worst enemies, the fandom ships them.

I can't even begin to speculate about JKR's intentions, however, I know that in my experience as a young teen, I feel in and out of "love" with my guy friends all the time. At some point or another, I had a crush and/or special connection with almost all of my male friends at one point or another, but that never developed into an actual romantic relationship. I feel like this is an experience that most of my female friends had as well. Perhaps it was some of this experience of being a teen girl that colored the complexities of the interpersonal relationships.

With JKR nothing is a coincidence, IMO. If there were hints of romance, it was so we could speculate. It's part of the pleasure of a good read. In my experience, I loved Harry and Hermione the best of all the characters, so there was a natural tendency for me to think they would make a good pair. I changed on that. And when I started to notice signs that seemed like a Ron/Hermione pair-up was inevitable, I was dismayed. Not alot because the romance part wasn't that important to me. I simply couldn't understand how a smart cookie like Hermione could fancy a Neanderthal like Ron. But as time went on I grew to see how the final couplings were perfect.

First, the bickerings. I questioned the happiness or success of a relationship that antagonistic. Harry didn't engage in this with Hermione. He didn't need to. As best friends his position of power was never in question, but had they embarked on a relationship, eventually he may have started bickering with her too as she had a natural tendency to be bossy and controlling and a desire to be right. She needed someone to boss around and Harry would never have gone along with that. It was acceptable in a friend, but not a lover. Also Harry needed a partner with a good sense of humor. Even a wicked sense of humor. Hermione...not so much. Ginny on the other hand was funny and smart. She was exceptionally powerful by nature, and they shared a love of Quidditch. Harry and Ginny were both powerful, talented and passionate. And remember he liked that she wasn't weepy.

At the end of the day, I think the pairs were perfect and because of that the platonic friendship between Harry and Hermione was elevated even further. I loved thinking of them as being the closest even if they fancied someone else. Love relationships can be complicated, but the depth of trust, understanding and loyalty between Harry and Hermione is profound and somehow more sublime.

Generally, I do not think Jo left any ships intentionally, perhaps with the exception of Harry/Hermione/Ron. She might have wanted there to be some tension there, but I think an objective reader rather quickly can collect that Ron and Hermione are the future couple if there ever is going to be one. (Which there will! Woho!)

Harry and Hermione are more than friends, for sure, but what they have is nothing romantic. They are both each others missing sibling.

Ron has enough siblings, and perhaps Harry, however included he is in the Weasley family, feels that.

I think Harry more easily can bond with Hermione in this sibling way because they both lack siblings themselves. Not to say Harry is better friends with Hermione than Ron, because they are just as equally good friends - just in different ways.

To answer your specific example from the podcast: From my own experience, it is easier to talk about emotional stuff and physically touch someone you are really good friends with, but only friends with. When you get close to someone you have a crush on, you tend to think about your every move and spoken line. To grab my crush's arm like Hermione does Harry's, at thirteen (even now, I suppose), I would worry about how she would take it, and if you could feel the warmth that goes off inside me etc.

The scene at the end of the CoS movie, where Hermione hugs Harry but shake hands with Ron, I think, is an example of what I mean. Hermione can easily hug Harry, and he her, because they are secure in their feelings towards each other. I don't think that can be said about Hermione and Ron.

"Brought up in a Muggle world the only child to their family, they were to each other the sibling they never had."

I'm even suspicious of relationships which are presented as such. I will go so far as to say there's no real romantic relationship between Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater. For Prefects with free run of the school, the sure are seen conspicuously together a lot. And then to get caught by Percy's own sister? Puh-lease. An obvious set up by two people who just want a little attention.

I think that as you go through life you might experiment with certain relationships to see where things go. Hermione was impressed by Harry ever since she'd read about him before her first year. Harry and Ron were her best and closest friends so she'd be very attached to them and would likely form a romantic relationship with one of them. I think any girl in Hermione's situation would be impressed by Harry and might have thought about him romantically at one point. She, like Ginny did later in the books, turned off, sort of, her feelings for Harry and began to look at Ron in a different way. In short, its definitely possible JKR meant to leave hints at a possible relationship. Everyone has crushes on people and and its where these crushes end up that determine whether there was a serious relationship there or not. I personally felt that while reading the third book especially, that Harry and Hermione might date or something. I think that the lack of Ron on their time-traveling adventure had something to do with that but, as time went on the feelings did mature for Ron and Hermione and didn't for Harry.