Harry Potter Had A Love Triangle That Didn’t Make The Cut
03 November, 2016


The Harry Potter fandom is a passionate one for sure, and why not? After all, the seven books by J.K. Rowling and the resulting films are truly great, with gripping storylines and characters that have found their way into the hearts and minds of millions. Oftentimes, fandom feeds itself, and many a debate can and has been held over whether or not that’s a good thing. ‘Shipping’ plays a large part of fandom life; where fans focus heavily on a paring that might be canon (such as Harry and Ginny), or might be strongly wished for, such as Draco and Harry. These shipping wars can spawn fan fiction, fan art, fan videos and the like, and people have been known to get very, very heated about their ‘OTP’ (one true pair). This next piece of news will certainly spark a fair few fandom ‘discussions.’

It was the fourth film in the Harry Potter franchise where romance really came to the fore, with the main trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione reaching age 14 and suddenly discovering an interest in the opposite sex. For Hermione, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was the film where she became the object of Viktor Krum’s affections; the strong, brooding Bulgarian student from Durmstrang school who entered the Triwizard Tournament.

The pair attended the Yule Ball together, and many will recall the comical moment that Hermione appeared, a vision in a pink dress, and Harry and Ron finally noticed her as a girl rather than just their annoying friend. Viktor and Hermione enjoyed a brief romance before Hermione found true love with Ron in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but talking on an EW podcast, actor Stanislav Ianevski, who played Krum, revealed that the original plan was for Viktor to return and throw a wrench in the works.

According to Ianevski, David Yates, who directed the final four films in the franchise, had plans for Viktor to return during Deathly Hallows for the wedding of fellow Triwizard competitor Fleur Delacour to Bill Weasley. For Ron, who often felt insecure in his relationship with Hermione, this would have set him on edge, especially when the spark of attraction between Viktor and Hermione was still evident. Here are his comments:

“[Yates] invented a new story that wasn’t in the books, a love triangle between Viktor Krum, Hermione, and Ron, but that was cut out of the film because it obviously didn’t fit with all the horrible things that happen in the last book. We did a new dance scene, I sort of stole [Hermione] from Ron. She remembered our old times, Viktor was acting like a gentleman again, happy to see her, she was happy to see him. Ron was sitting on the side, was jealous, and then Viktor took her to the dance floor.”

Ianevski believes that things could have developed still further between the pair, suggesting that the canon paring could even have wound up as Viktor and Hermione in the end.

“If the story from the seventh [film] that David Yates invented extended itself then maybe they would’ve gotten into a fight with Ron, and Viktor would obviously win and then live happily on forever with Hermione.”

There might well be some out there who will be pleased by this news, and be hurriedly penning the fanfiction about it as you’re reading this, but equally, it’s just wrong in the eyes of many. Surely, if Hermione was going to end up with anyone other than Ron, it would have been Harry. After all, Rowling has previously admitted that to have been her original plan. Certainly, plenty of fans wanted and wished for that to happen, but Hermione and Viktor? Was it only Yates who saw it as more than a brief teenage romance?