I didn't see the epilogue as them accepting status quo initially, especially as Harry's actually fairly defensive of Slytherin in a way he wouldn't have been before, but there was the joke about Ron tricking a Muggle driving instructor into passing him (I love Ron, but could've done without that*)
I really have to re-read DH - you see, I have only ever read it once and just like you, that was an all-nighter on a Friday, so it must have been about three in the morning by the time I reached the epilogue. Anyway, you are right - the Harry we see talking to Al is a lot more accepting of Slytherin than his younger self ever was. As for Ron: yes, it must be that awkward mixing of styles we keep stumbling across in our discussions. And I have just realised something else: this difference in style actually gave fanfic writers in fandom an advantage over canon while it went on: you see, JKR always had to keep in mind that kids younger than her protagonists might read the latter books and so had elements in it meant for older children. Now, as I remember fandom then (and I think this is true of fanfic-writing fandom still (tumblr notwithstanding), the number of *children* (as opposed to younger teenagers - and no, the two are not synonymous, tumblr) we have in fandom is pretty small. So fan writers could pick one of the two style strands and stick to it, without having to worry about a very heterogeneous audience.
Still, that passage seemed oddly regressive for Ron and I really don't like the idea of thirty-seven year-old Ron being just the same as seventeen-year-old Ron. In my ideal headcanon, I would have liked the books to do more with Ron the strategist and use that to build his self-confidence over the course of the books (an arc similar to Neville's, in short). As it was, Ron so often seemed to be nothing but Harry's loyal friend (which is important, especially for people with backgrounds like Harry's) and not much else - something the films apparently picked up on and made worse.
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I really have to re-read DH - you see, I have only ever read it once and just like you, that was an all-nighter on a Friday, so it must have been about three in the morning by the time I reached the epilogue. Anyway, you are right - the Harry we see talking to Al is a lot more accepting of Slytherin than his younger self ever was. As for Ron: yes, it must be that awkward mixing of styles we keep stumbling across in our discussions. And I have just realised something else: this difference in style actually gave fanfic writers in fandom an advantage over canon while it went on: you see, JKR always had to keep in mind that kids younger than her protagonists might read the latter books and so had elements in it meant for older children. Now, as I remember fandom then (and I think this is true of fanfic-writing fandom still (tumblr notwithstanding), the number of *children* (as opposed to younger teenagers - and no, the two are not synonymous, tumblr) we have in fandom is pretty small. So fan writers could pick one of the two style strands and stick to it, without having to worry about a very heterogeneous audience.
Still, that passage seemed oddly regressive for Ron and I really don't like the idea of thirty-seven year-old Ron being just the same as seventeen-year-old Ron. In my ideal headcanon, I would have liked the books to do more with Ron the strategist and use that to build his self-confidence over the course of the books (an arc similar to Neville's, in short). As it was, Ron so often seemed to be nothing but Harry's loyal friend (which is important, especially for people with backgrounds like Harry's) and not much else - something the films apparently picked up on and made worse.