Friendship: A love story without romance

[author_by_night]

I know, it's early, and  I doubt anyone's going to see this, but I just had to say this.

The shipping meme and the pet peeves thread has rekindled an old rant - the disregarding of friendship. Sirius is an annoying pest who always interrupts Lily and James - nothing more. James is a homophobic bigot who doesn't see why Remus and Sirius really love one another. Ron is  a mad abuser that only married Hermione because his parents wanted him to. And Harry is  a Quidditch obsessed doofus everyone's tired of.

No, no, no, no, NO!

What's wrong with Hermione and  Ron being in love - and still loving Harry? What's wrong with Sirius and  James being supportive of the other's relationships? And why does Ron have to be an abuser?

I don't think friends are always automatically better - I've heard of friends being as posessive and manipulative as boyfriends/girlfriends can be. There are times where choosing the guy over a friend *is* the right choice.

However... I think there need to be more stories in general, not just fics and books but movies and songs too, that focus on the power of friendship. There can still be dating - just don't make the friend an annoying third wheel.

The power of friendship, after all, is a true love story.