Why do people pair Hermione and Harry together?

I agree with your views wholeheartedly; I've been Team Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione from the start. I think what causes people to ship Harry/Hermione is that they have an extremely close friendship. To me their friendship is more on the lines of sibling love, but I can see how others would perceive it as romantic. Hermione and Ron are constantly bickering throughout the series, and it seems that whenever Harry and Ron fight, Hermione takes Harry's side. Harry and Hermione have quite a bit in common: they were both raised by Muggles, they were both only children, etc. Harry and Hermione rarely argue, and when they do, it's usually just about Harry's safety. But again, I agree with you: the attraction between Ron and Hermione was obvious from the beginning.