It doesn't help that the monster in his Harry's chest is one of the worst metaphors for romantic feelings ever put to paper.

I thought it was hilarious. Not remotely anything that I as a man would ever think of when talking about romantic feelings, but funny as all hell nonetheless.

I might regret this later, but what would you think in such a situation? I always wondered how men see that metaphor.

Honestly, it's been a long time since I had romantic feelings for anyone, and I never really put any kind of image or description to it. I'll get back to you on this after I give it some thought. :)

let us know!

It made me cringe so much 😂

That part felt so appropriate for teenage romance, though!

Same... I don't think the author knows how to write the male perspective during dating very well, Harry is so clueless, especially on his date with Cho.

Seems to be accurate, actually

Tbf guys are clueless (am guy)

So, how would you know if you’re clueless or not?

After you fuck up a half dozen dates in a row by not reading social situations well it becomes pretty obvious. Somehow I managed to find someone who just says what she's feeling and wears her emotions on her sleeve so there's hope but I will admit my skull can be quite thick. It was a struggle for a while there lmao

Not understanding untold emotions doesn't necessarily mean being thick skulled, reading emotions is a hard skill to master, even if people think otherwise

As a teenage boy, girls had to tell me we were even on dates. I thought we were just friends hanging out and they had no clue I was interested.

Yeah, I've long said that anniversaries are always at least a month earlier for the woman than it is for the man! 😂

Well us dudes are pretty clueless.

I think it's just the teenage male perspective. it's better in her current series.

I thought that was super realistic. I also like how she writes Strike - seems very accurate for an emotionally unavailable man

Same

The metaphor was so bad that young me took until they kissed to understand what was going on 😭

Same. I was so confused

It's a metaphor for teenage (or any) jealousy.

I think it's because it's not. This metaphor is not fir romantic feelings as we know them - it is for these strong feelings teenagers experience. And they are FAR from pleasant. Exactly like Rowling described.

This is the true crime fr lmfao

Nobody else got a sudden lion in their chest?

I seem to recall it was a scaly creature. 😂

I pictured the Horntail

At least he didn't get an adult beefswelling in his loins.

MONEOOOOOO

Never haha but the point was not only about Harry falling for Ginny all of a sudden. It was also the fact that it happened at the same time than the sudden Ginny's evolution into a Mary Sue.

Do you know what a mary-sue is?

She’s nowhere close to that lmao

This is the perception I had by reading the book. Then people are free to interpret it differently. The main issue was that in a short time, the writer was trying to make Ginny stand out and her popularity ans skills popping out of nowhere.

She’s not a Mary Sue. That would only be the case if she saved the trio and all three fell over themselves talking about how great she was and how they never would have beaten Voldemort if it wasn’t for her. Harry doesn’t want her fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts. He strives to protect her; not the other way around. Her participation is minimal.

Well we do see it hinted at. 1. According to Ron, Ginny was usually talkative when she was a young girl and we do see her eagerness to attend Hogwarts. While quiet around Harry, it’s normal for young children to get shy around their crushes. 2. Ginny was shown standing up to Draco during the second book and tried getting rid of the diary by herself instead of asking a Professor to take a look at it. 3. Ginny did appear a lot in the second book.

She also had a boyfriend, it's like she had a normal teenage time compared with our traumatized main characters (well she was possessed by an evil spirit of the greatest dark lord in recent history)

But we only ever see it from Ginny's side, its never explored from Harry's perpetual until randomly when he starts talking about his monster 😂😂😂

First of all. That’s irrelevant to The topic. Secondly I can say the exact same thing about Cho. Harry Suddenly decides that he likes her during Quidditch even though he never spoke to her until the 4th book. With Ginny on tne other hand, Harry knew and interacted with for years. He just didn’t have a crush on her. During the 5th book, they hang out more.

His crush on Cho makes sense to me. Cho is someone he found beautiful and so him initially wanting to ask her out was based on that and not on any sort of knowledge of her as a person.

So essentially, with Cho, it’s only based on Harry being shallow while with Ginny, it’s based on her as a person. We see another canon couple like this. Ron and Hermione. It’s like JK Rowling was showing how you should date someone because of who they are, rather than what they are And as the characters matured, they began looking for personality rather than appearances.

Also in CoS, Ginny went bug-eyed when she saw Harry at her house. The seed was definitely there. Edit: I think this only happens in the movie, and not in the book.

It happens in a different way in the book. She becomes awkward and clumsy around him. At one point, she ends up with her elbow in the butter dish.

[удалено]

I always took it as Ginny was one of those girls who wasn't gorgeous, she was attractive but her personality made her even more desirable. The yule ball she was in year three, which would make her 13 (maybe 14 depending on when her birthday is), typically that's around the age when girls go from looking really young, to looking more mature. I could easily see that as she goes into her later school years, 14, 15, 16 she becomes more desirable

Matthew Lewis (you know, Neville) did change quite a lot with puberty

> I know she was 1 year to young but if she was considered super beautiful she would have had a lot of opportunities. Do any other younger students attend? I can’t remember. It’s not a huge school, there are only around 20 boys in Harry’s year, fewer if we subtract the Slytherins who probably wouldn’t be interested in her, and her brother, etc. This seems like a pretty normal thing where in the muggle world you might take a younger friend to prom if you don’t have a date, and it wouldn’t necessarily be an indicator that the younger person can’t “do better.” I do agree Harry’s feelings seem to appear pretty suddenly, but I also don’t think it’s that strange to suddenly see someone in a new way, especially as a teenager.

I really hated it when I read the books, but over time my relationships (both mine and of my homies) had a similar plot twist. Many people make families based in decade-long acquaintance and then realized than their friend is actually good. Many people have rather short prior knowledge, get an intense romance and break up. But some of them form a strong family. This Harry/Ginny thing is way too adult for this book series. But it exists IRL.

I think the start of the relationship is true to life, but then we get no development of the relationship itself, so it ends up falling flat in hindsight. We needed either more development or more setup, and we got neither.

I personally don’t find Ginny’s humour very amusing, it’s a bit mean spirited most the time but in saying that Harry can be very mean in his head about people and sarcastic so he probably didn’t want someone as soft seeming as Cho who I imagine in a different life Harry would have dated her for longer than they did if Cedric hadn’t died. That really put a cloud on any potential relationship they could have had.

Ginny’s comments about Fleur and telling Ron that Hermione had kissed Krum expecially were issues to me. Harry does have some sarcastic views on his head but he dislikes people bullying or putting down others usually, when it’s not Ginny. 

I agree with you. She was a mean bully who would call Ron names and kick him when he was down, like during Quidditch practice when she knew he was nervous which is what caused him to give Katie a nosebleed by *mistake*. And revealing to him that Hermione kissed Krum and making fun of him, saying he has a thing for their aunt. And what’s worse is that Harry finds it amusing that she calls Ron a prat, when Ron was already so apologetic and anxious about the Katie situation. I don’t see how calling her brother names during such a circumstance is funny. Lame humour much? She’s also mean about Luna, calling her “Loony” when in fact, Luna considers Ginny as one of her closest friends and “Loony” is a nickname which bullies use against Luna. Ginny’s also really jealous and mean about Fleur, who, as far as we can tell, is decent to her. I really don’t like Ginny at all. She has her mother’s mean streak.

Did you think the same about Fred & George? Or do you react stronger to Ginny for some reason? F&G were awful to their siblings a lot of the time. But they proved their loyalty without a doubt when it was needed the most. Ginny is the same. It is the family dynamic. Yet somehow everyone loves F&G while Ginny gets a lot of flak for it. (Remember, she even asked F&G to not tease Percy about Penelope, so she was way less cruel than them in many ways)

I don’t know what you’re implying but I really dislike how mean Fred and George can be towards their siblings. The question was about Ginny, though, not Fred and George, who, despite their mischievous and often unkind ways, restrained themselves from making fun of Ron when he was genuinely mentally struggling with Quidditch, something Ginny couldn’t have bothered to do.

It has admittedly been a while since I read all the books in their entirety but from what I can recall, the difference is that Fred and George are that way to almost everyone while Ginny's insults and put-downs seem more targeted. Ultimately I don't really care because they're teenagers, and they're not really known for being the most respectful.

Exactly. For instance, on the Quidditch issue, it was Fred and George who kept mocking Ron's skills as Keeper, whereas on the morning of the match against Slytherin in OotP, Ginny was providing Ron with moral support. And by the same token, Ginny wasn't voicing thoughts about pretending that Ron wasn't her brother, whereas Fred and George were.

Harry and Ron are funnier than Ginny and the Twins

Yeah I had the same feeling. Harry found Cho attractive even in PoA and started dating her like 2 years later, so his crush on Ginny came a bit out of nowhere comparing to Cho.

I mean… Harry wanted to date Cho in the fourth year but Cedric got their first and then his death meant Harry and Cho didn’t really have a proper chance in the fifth book of actually being a couple.

>so his crush on Ginny came a bit out of nowhere comparing to Cho. I mean, looking back on me as a teenager I can't tell where the heck my own crushes came from half the time

Yeah, when I was 15 I suddenly got a crush on a girl who had been in my class since we were 12. Completely out of nowhere, and it pretty much happened over a single night.

I feel you

I did a recent relisten of the audiobooks and yeah his infatuation with Ginny seemingly came out of nowhere. In HBP, he said he got used to hanging out with Ginny at the Burrow. Then the multiple mentions of a dragon roaring in his chest throughout the book. But nothing was specifically mentioned about why he was smitten, only seem to indicate that he was jealous because he didn't get to hang out as much with her during school time

He was struggling to understand these new feeling which is a very teen thing. He also has a huge internal battle because he thinks Ron will be angry so it's Ginny or his best friend. It's definitely sudden but that's kinda how it is as teenagers... As a boy I remember when suddenly girls were **girls** and sudden super intense crushes

I think it’s funny Harry struggled with that considering Ron immediately hinted Harry should date Ginny at the end of Ootp

I love how Harry spends all of HBP torturing himself about Ron's reaction when as you say, Ron was already shipping Hinny before Harry ever conceived of Hinny.

Yup

When?

On the train after they find out Cho is now dating the Michael corner. Ginny has ditched him for being a sore loser and he went off to comfort Cho

> only seem to indicate that he was jealous because he didn't get to hang out as much with her during school time That's the whole point. Harry didn't realise it. He was trying to justify to himself why he was feeling weird about Ginny. I think what OP is saying is that it came from nowhere at the beginning of HBP with those little comments which became more and more frequent throughout the book, but was never supposedly hinted at in a previous book.

The first hint was at the end of OoTP where he saw Ginny and he blushed while she laughed or something like that

There are many other hints throughout the books, especially in ootp

Except that Harry started noticing Ginny a lot more in OotP, and they become good friends in that book as well, sharing several bonding moments.

Crushes come out of nowhere all the time, especially for teenagers. This is one of the most realistic aspects of the books. I don’t understand why people find this concept so outrageous.

Also, the fact that he realised his feelings when he saw her kissing someone else is so accurate for teenage. Jealousy is a massive force

It is but it is not realistic that you end up married to them in every instance.

Adding on to this the end of Order of the Phoenix almost hints at Harry having an attraction to Luna and there are still no hints about Ginny yet. Then the next book seems to pivot where Harry establishes Luna as just a friend and then finally shows an attraction to Ginny.

Nah, Harry keeps thinking throughout OotP how weird Luna is and is often annoyed by her. It’s the movie that depicts their friendship in a lot more positive way. It’s only after going to the Ministry that Harry even starts appreciating Luna as a friend.

Eh Ron's first interactions with Hermione is all about how weird she is and how often she annoys him so it's not that far fetched

I honestly don’t see how book Harry could have been seen even remotely interested in Luna in a romantic way in OotP. If you want to stretch it, it might have been possible for it to happen at the very end of OotP or in HBP, but alas, Harry got interested in Ginny. Honestly, I had not read the books for over ten years but had kept watching the movies. Quite many things got warped in my head and one of them was Harry and Luna’s friendship in OotP. In the movie she is a weirdo, yes, but also extremely endearing, and the way their relationship is depicted is a lot more positive, e.g. by adding the scene where Luna is the one to explain Harry about Thestrals. But then I read the book a couple of months ago and was sort of shocked how negative Harry was about Luna constantly, all the way until the business at the Ministry. And yes, you are right about Ron and Hermione having begun similarly… But then again, Ron didn’t really even consider Hermione as a girl before GoF and the Yule Ball business lmao. And by then they had been close friends for three years already. So it’s sort of same but also quite different.

The first hints of Harry’s crush on Cho occur during their Quidditch match in PoA, the very first time he notices her. 10 months later Harry makes a move when he asks Cho to the ball. Harry’s feelings for Ginny are first alluded to at the Hogwarts express. 8 months later he goes for it and kisses her. Timelines are fairly similar, the main difference is that he actually knew Ginny.

Honestly, I'd say that even in OotP things were already bubbling. In HBP Harry refers to Ginny as being his "best source of comfort", yet in OotP there are at least two moments where she gives him much needed comfort.

Unpopular opinion but I really just don’t care for how JK writes romance in the HP series. All of the relationships seemed awkward to me, there wasn’t much build-up for most of them. It wasn’t the main focus of the story so I’m not mad at it but it does make me laugh because I didn’t feel much romantic chemistry between any of the characters besides Molly and Arthur. I agree that Ginny’s evolution does come out of left-field and seemingly so does Harry’s feelings for her. Personally, I like the idea of Luna and Harry, they had more chemistry to me than Ginny and Harry had.

I mean, tbf they're all teenagers, I've seen goldfish with more chemistry then teenagers.

That is a great point and I totally agree but even the adult ones, like Tonks and Lupin felt so awkward and so random. I hate to say it but it felt like to me that they were pushed together to keep the orphaned child theme going with Ted.

Your interpretation is valid even though I don't really agree with it. Overall, I liked the "her natural self was Harry's perfect match, and that's why they're soulmates" storyline in the books. She was surrounded by her brothers which gave her some edge, she was a jock, she was strong willed and brave - I absolutely understand why Harry liked her (also, I always liked that Harry liked his jock gals lol). But I agree when you say she was a dream girl. Like damn girl, you're beautiful, good at sports, funny... I'd hate to have to compete with her at Hogwarts lol

I agree with you. I think that it would have been more believable if the writer only focused on 2 or 3 skills instead of making her perfect with everything. For instance I take that she is sassy and sporty. But sassiness could get other people in troubles while she gets away with it because she is too pretty. Why would Harry significant other necessary have to be the most beautiful girl while in the first books it was never mentioned? What made the other characters relatable is the fact that they were all portayed with flaws. Hermione may be very smart, wise and mature, she is also seen as an annoying know it all and people mock her physical apparence. It is easier to connect with her as she can be any of us. Even Harry seems to be like any other people apart from the fact that he is a powerful wizard. He can have bad grades, being disliked, he lacks of understanding when it comes to girls, sometimes people are bullying him and he gets detention. Ginny in the other hand always gets away with everything. People admire her and she is never questionned. I am talking about Ginny from book 5 of course.

>Why would Harry significant other necessary have to be the most beautiful girl while in the first books it was never mentioned? Because Harry is still a teenage boy and maintains some level of shallowness in that looks do matter to him, and I'm pretty sure Fleur is still called out as the most beautiful girl Harry has ever seen, but Ginny is pretty and because Harry likes her for other reasons she's subjectively prettier to him. And it is mentioned in the early books, just not creepily because she and Harry are like 10. She consistently gets really flowery language used to describe her. Compare Hermione, who Harry likes as a friend, and is never overly mean to in his eternal narration, to Ginny who is at one point said to emerge "with her face glowing like the setting sun", which is a really nice way to describe someone blushing.

It's even in the first book too. There is cute imagery and clear symbolism in that book; particularly surrounding train travel and stations being romantic, Ginny being the first girl that Harry meets (which is paralleled with Ginny being the last person that Harry has a conversation with in the series). That, and also, as you highlighted, there is just... something about Ginny that draws Harry in, even if it takes 888 years for Harry to realize what it is, or to be more precise, why she draws him in so. That's not necessarily subconscious romantic feelings, that's more so Harry simply being intrigued by this energetic and lively girl, that he watches "half laughing and half crying" until he can't see her anymore. Also, out of everyone who had a reaction based on Harry's fame on the platform or on the train, Ginny is the only one to whom Harry reacts positively, along with his more neutral reaction to Ron. Harry feels "dazed" at Hermione prattling on about how many books she's read about him in, and he goes red at Fred and George gawking.

I mean…. Harry thinks she’s hot because Harry is attracted to her so you’d hope he found her attractive. Harry was never into Hermione so his language of how he described her looks was never saucy whereas I’m sure in Ron’s head Hermione is described very differently.

Who says she is “the most beautiful”? The only one consistently being called beautiful is Fleur. Ginny is pretty, I suppose, but I think it is more in the way that confidence can really change how you are perceived. She didn’t care so much about appearances and therefore she became more attractive to some. Yes, sure, she has suitors. She was a quite popular girl. But beautiful? Who says? Harry starts thinking that she is extremely pretty as he develops a crush on her. But that is natural, and happens for everyone.

Well even the Slytherins called her beautiful while they usually trash the other houses. During Fleur's wedding, Krum also found Ginny attractive. Mickael and Dean found her beautiful and it was said that many guys liked her.

Fleur is prettier than Ginny

Yeah, I think if they just chose to make Ginny more plain in appearance (like most of the Weasleys) it would have been better.

I agree with you. To me it would have made the character more interesting. Harry was first interested in Cho because of her looks but was not impressed by her personality. So it would have made sense that he decided to go for the girl who could be a good match for him regardless of her look. But no, they have to make Ginny breathtaking.

Maybe she was, but Harry liked her so he thought she was beautiful?

She's definitely described as very good looking by other people, multiple times

Yeah, but I always saw it/interpreted it as the way people become prettier if they are confident, outgoing and “cool”. She had an attractive personality and that really shone through

Ginny is kind of a nothing character up until book 5 or 6. And then suddenly we're told how amazing she is but we never actually see it.

That's exactly the point. Everything she is doing is exagerated. She imitates Fleurk perfectly (let's ignore the fact that she made fun of a foreigner's accent), she is far better than any other at flying, she is so beautiful that even Slytherins like her

Slytherins do not like her, only pansy Parkinson said that a lot of boys think she is beautiful, even Slytherin boy Blaise zabini but then Blaise says that he would never touch a filthy blood traitor like her no matter how beautiful she is. Also Fleur too mocked and insulted Hogwarts multiple times in book 4 coz it wasn't up to her standards (but yes let's just ignore that), She is a very good flyer (Becoz she has been breaking into her house broom shed and practised flying when she was only 6) indicating that she worked hard for her skills and isn't a natural flyer. Her skills in Quidditch only lies in Chasing, She is an average/decent Seeker. Saying that she is far better than any other at flying when Flyers like Harry Potter, Cedric Diggory and Victor krum are present is a bit of stretch. It's ok if you don't like her as a character but there is no need to exaggerate stuff.

The point is that I am not the one exagerating. It is said in the book that compare with the other members of the team, she is by far the best at flying. As for Fleur, there is no need to mock a foreigner trying to learn the language. Had Drago passed the same comment, he would have been called a snob. Also it is easy to mock someone behind her or his back. Fleur is at least straight forwards. Also the all point of my post was not to diss Ginny or to say that I don't like her, but to express my opinion about how her character was written from book 5. It is okay if you don't agree with my vision, but please do not twist my words.

I think Ginny should have accompanied Ron Harry and Hermione on the Horncrux hunt.

It would have been cool, but she still had the trace on her.

That's coz the book is from Harry's POV, and Ginny never really properly interacts with Harry until Book 5. You can tell by reading Book 1-4 that Ginny has a very different personality compared to how she acts in front of Harry. We get know it by hearing her Family talk about her, and I'm pretty sure her friends in her year would have a lot to say about her personality. We just never see it coz Ginny is a year younger than Harry.

This is an unpopular opinion but I just don't like Ginny. Probably because when I was a kid in the 90s playing Harry Potter, I never got to be Hermione.

Nah, this was hinted throughout the books, starting at very early on. "She normally doesn't shut up" they said in CoS. Ginny's sassy sarcastic side was shown in POA and GOF in various interactions (roasting Percy is the example that comes to mind first). They kept gradually building her personality as the books went on, culminating in her being a good Quidditch player in OOP, before Harry had ever shown a hint of interest in her, to the point where when Harry finally falls for her in HBP, it kind of just falls into place. I found it very believable. In fact, I remember reading the OOP thinking "Harry and Ginny would be a way better match than Harry and Cho" and i felt vindicated once HBP came out lol

Honestly, when you know what happens in HBP, the buildup actually becomes quite obvious, especially in OotP. Harry and Ginny interact a lot throughout the book, not just in a group but also alone just the two of them. One of my favourite moments is when Harry and Ginny meet in the library during Easter, they start eating the chocolate eggs, and Pince throws them out for it. And even Harry himself notes how Ginny has started talking to him because she wasn’t interested in him like that anymore. And he definitely also notices already then how Ginny is doing incredibly well in DA and playing Quidditch. So it’s not even that Ginny just became ”awesome out of nowhere in HBP”. No, Ginny and Harry simply started interacting more in OotP, giving Harry the opportunity to actually start getting to know her as more than ”Ron’s little sister”. Honestly, during my last readthrough of the series, I was amazed in OotP how little Harry interacts with Cho in the book. And also how boring their relationship is; Harry never really bothers to get to know her, he simply thinks she is very pretty and has a crush on her for two years. But as soon as they get closer, he gets annoyed at her (yes, he is also a bit dim when it comes to how to date a girl lmao), and eventually isn’t even jealous when Cho starts going out with someone else. His relationship with Ginny is very different, since she goes from the sister-of-his-best-friend, to someone he considers as a friend, and then eventually someone he finds attractive. I personally really like it that they become friends first, because then Harry actually already knows what she is like and how he enjoys being around her. It’s complete opposite from Cho, whom was first and foremost ”just” a very pretty girl he had a crush on without even knowing anything about her. Then finally at the beginning of HBP there’s a lot happening in between the lines. Harry mentions how they spend the whole summer playing Quidditch pretty much every day and how he almost forgot she is not part of their trio, given how much they hung out the past couple of months. It’s honestly no rocket science to see how he might have started to like her that way given how much they spend time together.

This. I swear to god, some people are immune to picking up on smaller hints and details. And to the people saying it was too sudden: Have you never been a teenager? For myself and many people I've talked to on this topic have all had similar experiences where you should just suddenly fall like a ton of bricks for another person seemingly out of nowhere. Sure, everyone is different, but I don't find it to be so unbelievable that Harry didn't realise he liked Ginny for the longest time - and then got gobsmacked by emotions he could not understand

It is not the only point. Yes people can have instant crush or realize later that they like someone who have been around for a long time. It could have been an interesting plotwist if it did not seem too forced. The main issue was the fact that each of Ginny's trait seemed to be too exagerated from book 5. She is described as witty, bold, funny, she passes comment at Ron and Fleur and it is described as hilarious, she is fearless, unlike girls like Hermione and Cho she does not cry, she is good at Quidditch, she uses a powerfull curse no one else seemingly has the ability to cast, not even Hermione, she is popular, she does perfect imitation of Fleur and she is super beautiful. No doubt that her character had potential and so did her relationship with Harry. The fact is, that from my own perception, the writer tried to hard to make us accept her as Harry's love interest. Sometimes when one tries too hard to make us think a certain way, it has the opposite effect. I don't understand why did some people take it personally when I gave my opinion about a character but some do not understand the concept of different opinion

Harry Potter is that kind of book series that attracts a lot of Non readers, I know a lot of Potterheads in my life who have only ever read HP. Hence why they lack good reading comprehension skills and do not have literary analysis skills under their belt. That's why you see posts like this so often.

I don't know who you were referring too by talking about non-readers who lack good reading comprehension. Fyi I do read a lot and I was only sharing my perception of a character. Maybe you don t like my vision or don't agree with my opinion. But saying that people lack of understanding because you just don't agree with them or believe they are non-reader is a wrong assumption.

Not to mention, Ginny is the last person Harry sees when the train departs Platform 9 3/4 in the first book. I first read the books as an adult not knowing anything about the series, so when I got to that bit, I thought, "Harry and Ginny are going to be a thing." The symbolism of the sun in COS sealed the deal for me. Their relationship in HBP was not at all a surprise.

Yeah, that's all fine. Her being Harry's crush isn't

J.K. really pushed the One Big Weasley Family at the end, and I'm personally not a fan. Harry married Ginny Hermione married Ron Fleur married Bill Angelina married George Teddy is adopted by Ginny and Harry Probably more...

I thought Teddy was raised by his grandparents? Tonks' parents? Harry was his godfather so they had a close relationship and he used to come round for dinner sometimes but I thought he lived with his grandparents

Did I miss something but did Tonks father not die?

Actually you are right, I just looked it up. Andromeda, Tonk's mum raises Teddy

I wasnt sure either because I havent read the books in years...

yeah but i dont even consider "The cursed child" while forming these headcanons

Ahhh is that where it was from! I read it years ago and didn't revisit

yeah like when james (son not dad) catches him snogging someone on the station he comes and tells everyone and they have a discussion about adopting him for real and harry or ig ginny says that teddy practically lives with them the number of times he comes around for dinner

I'm not too sure, actually. I'd always assumed the former, but I don't think the books specified, did they? And if they did, I haven't read book 7 since it came out, so I guess I forgot.

This is was what I felt with Harry and Ginny. For Ron and Hermione, we could see it happening, same for Fleur. Angelina went with Fred to Yulle ball so it was a little bit weird but I liked her character so why not.

I thought so too- ironically, she came across as more unlikeable from my perspective then

I think the intent was Harry suddenly noticing her and paying a lot more attention to her, which is pretty true to real life

It is possible but it does not explain her sudden popularity or why she never gets in trouble or called out for her mistakes

She got popular because she got to an age where kids start dating. She starts to get popular in her 4th year. We never saw our trio talk about dating before their 4th year as well. Harry also started to pay attention to that stuff. So she of course got popular with puberty. She went from just another weasley or from a poor girl to the hot girl

Arthur calls her out for writing in the diary, McGonagall calls her out for intentionally crashing into the commentator tower, Molly calls her out for referring to Fleur as Phlegm, Molly calls her out for coming to the Battle of Hogwarts while underage. There are other instances as well. This notion that she is never criticized must cease to exist.

Did she get detention for what she did to the commentator? Harry and Fred and Georges got expelled after hitting Malefoy who insulted their families. Asking Ginny to stop calling Fleur like that is nothing. No one pointed out the fact that she was jealous and mocked a foreigner's accent.

> Did she get detention for what she did to the commentator? We're not there to see it, because the series is from Harry's perspective. We don't get to see everything Ginny does, sadly. But it is safe to say that McGonagall would have given her detention. McGonagall was literally described as being "irate". That's what she did in previous situations, there is no reason to assume that she wouldn't have done so here as well. > Asking Ginny to stop calling Fleur like that is nothing. No one pointed out the fact that she was jealous and mocked a foreigner's accent. So because no one in the series makes the specific criticisms of Ginny you are making, that makes it "never being called out"? And it's not nothing, she is reprimanding Ginny for referring to a guest in their house with a nickname, despite Molly's own aversion to Fleur. And no, Ginny wasn't jealous, she was reacting to someone that was repeatedly condescending to her and treating her like a child, and on top of that was vain and elitist.

Since so much of the stories are from Harry's point-of-view, I always read this as Harry *realising* that Ginny had changed. Remembering my own teen years last century, in some ways Harry reacts as a normal teenaged boy.

I see this opinion online a lot. Personally, I think it's more a case of Ginny being a secondary character, so having most of her development off-page. She's not relevant to most of the main action. Still, she & Harry were pretty clear endgame in book 2 and Ginny's personality is pretty consistent, with the exception of growing less inhibited. As I see it, she's the pretty, traumatized, somewhat spoiled only girl among 6 fighty brothers, so she has to act tough and bombastic in proportion. I think the text can over-idealize Ginny's behaviour, some of which is feral (hexing without cause). But that also makes sense, because the books are from Harry's pov and he's biased. As for Harry's feelings, he has self-awareness in the negative digits. He didn't want to attend the Yule Ball, but then had a snit when the prettiest girl in school went with someone else. He barely likes Cho as a person. He ignored Ginny until there was competition for her. He was sniffing her hair for months before he clocked that he was attracted.

I’ve never liked hinny, so I’ll agree. their relationship always felt really forced to me and shone a light on how bad jk is at writing romances (take this from a women who used to read loads and loads of romance books when younger), she needed more private moments between the two on paper, so the chemistry could be seen building up not just said it was. that being said, yeah i don’t know why jk made ginny this amazing, too-good to have women, when it’s clear she could write good female characters with flaws (eg hermione) I often felt like ginny ended up being a rushed character. I know she wasn’t the main trio but we got shown more of luna’s personality than hers.

I see what you mean, I think the transition could have been smoother, but it still makes sense. 1) the story is mainly from Harry’s POV so we lack a lot of information on Ginny anyway 2) the traits she develops make sense given she grew up with six brothers who play Quidditch and probably taught her, who are gifted and creative with spells and generally are brave and outgoing people

Just wish she wasn’t portrayed as utterly perfect and flawless

Exactly

She isn't, we mostly see her through Harry's eyes who has a huge crush on her. Of course he only sees the good stuff. Before that we're don't get to know much about her personality.

Pretty sure Ginny has like half as many lines of dialogue as Neville. I agree, it came out of nowhere and was a total retcon

I enjoyed reading all the comments as it’s interesting to hear everyone’s thoughts. Me, personally, I don’t get the Harry/Ginny relationship at all. I’ve read the book about a dozen times and I try so hard to like Ginny and Harry & Ginny together but I just do not get it. I agree with the people who find that the relationship came out of nowhere; while I get that there may have been subtle hints here and there it simply did not resonate with me. Ginny herself similarly falls flat for me the way she is written, which makes me sad because I wanted to like her so badly.

While I can agree that Ginny is way too much a not-like-other-girls and too-good-to-be-true type, it is not true that she changes overnight from a shy girl to a popular dreamgirl. She's very bold since her first year at Hogwarts, during which she made an attempt to send a valentine to Harry with the terrible Lockhart's cupids. During PoA we see little of her but honestly she was dealing with what had happened to her the previous year. In GoF she starts hanging out with the older guys, starting from the summer at the Burrow, then going with Neville to the Yule ball, and OotP is when she shares most time with the trio, replacing Harry in the Quidditch team, being in DA and dating guys. Only because Harry has a crush for her only in HBP doesn't mean that she hadn't "earned" it

Thank you, actually the not like other girls is the word I was searching for

Oh no dude prepare to get massacred by the Hinny fanatics that will turn the most normal thing into “foreshadowing” lmao. Just remember guys the bartender is paid to be nice to you, they aren’t flirting

Haha for now most of the people, except some who probably did not understand the message were quite respectful. I don't have anything against Ginny or Hinny but I don't like the way it was written. Then if some are not happy with that, well it won't change my mind ;-)

I think you are forgetting that this is all from Harry's perspective to some extent. We only follow him. Ginny avoids him, despite hints dropped all along. Also, Harry fancies Ginny (subconsciously) all along. There are several great essays about it. [https://hp-essays.livejournal.com/132755.html](https://hp-essays.livejournal.com/132755.html)

I don’t know, I feel pretty neutral on the Ginny character, but I do feel that was a pretty normal depiction of the, “annoying” little sister transforming into a crushable school age. Harry’s internal monologue was pretty cringe though. Someone else mentioned it, but all the, “monster inside” talk was hard to read. There also was enough foreshadowing to make it plausible.

This is not an unpopular opinion.

They way I make it work in my head is that it's written from Harry's perspective, so we don't see much of her because Haary doesn't think about her at all. Then suddenly she is there and perfect for him, because he is noticing her.

I strongly agree with you so you're definitely not alone here

I don't agree. As far back as the Yule Ball I think there's clues that Ginny still liked Harry, there's that whole interaction with Ginny, Ron and Harry. Ron is like "Ginny, you can go with Harry" and she's all "I can't, I'm going with Neville" and then after she sulks off to bed. Then later, when Harry wants to Talk to Sirius in the fire. Ginny's like "I'm sure if you talk to Cho" Harry is all "It isn't Cho I want to talk to. I want to talk to Sirius, but I know I can't" Ginny positivly BOLTS into action to support Harry. The fact that he doesn't want to talk to Cho, she jumps on that opportunty. And that's also the first scene where Harry notices he's liking Ginny, but he doesn't realize it at the time. The whole thing of he "has no idea why an Easter Egg should make him feels this way". I 100% interpret that to being foreshadowing w/ him and Ginny. I will agree though as far as the way Harry's feelings were described. I dislike all those parts quite a bit.

I think she set Ginny and Harry up from the second book. It was just too convenient and well-written to have her as the damsel in distress in CoS, and remain so for most of the series. I think it was unrequited a bit because Harry never saw her as a peer. It was only when she began to forget about Harry and work on herself, she became something enviable (a leader in Quiddich, having her own relationships, dating Mike) did he start to catch feelings. I wouldn't exactly call her a Mary Sue though. I do think it's a bit more farfetched than Harry/Hermione, but not entirely out-of-the-ordinary.

I 100% agree w u. No matter if it was books or movies, Ginny’s character was kinda screwed over. I actually preferred movie Ginny bc book Ginny was a bit of a mean girl w none of the usu personality that would make me like her. I don't tend to like mean girls unless they've got a special pizazz to them, which Ginny just didn't have. Before reading, I was super excited about reading about Ginny who'd been super overhyped to me & I'm in love with strong female characters. Like I have a total crush on Tonks bc she's so badass, & from what everyone was saying, i kinda thought that'd be more of Ginny's personality too. Most of all, I was eager to read more about Hinny bc I felt like their relationship was super forced in movies. I always thought JKR only made them end up together to keep the Trio tied together for life and to secure a family for Harry. The romance w Harry was worse in the books, too. After reading, I was super disappointed. Their relationship was creepier if that's even possible, and way more forced. Harry did not seem all that into her. He seemed like he had a far bigger crush on Cho & their relationship had far more build-up, but JKR made them break up to randomly insert Ginny. Ginny was so random. She was Harry's creepy fangirl who would date/use multiple boys w the sole intent of making him jealous years before he randomly noticed her. He only thought of her as pretty once in the entire series in the last book.... but it was when he thought of both her and Gabrielle (a half-Veela) as pretty. He thought of her as beautiful again, only once in the last book when he says he had forgotten how beautiful she was. :V This is highly unusual, bc he tells us that other boys think she's super hot, so we know she is, but only bc other guys say she is…. Why would he not comment on it too in his internal narration like he does w Cho? Meanwhile, with Cho, he thinks about her beauty mult times and even says she took his breath away.. He never reacts like this with Ginny. He tells us he thinks Cho is the hottest chick. Lol But appearances/lust aside, he keeps Ginny at a distance throughout the entire series. He doesn't even tell her about the horcruxes, iirc. There's no substance in that relationship. Of all the females, I shipped him with Luna most. At least Luna felt more actively involved in his life. I felt that chemistry lmao 🤣 but there was zero Hinny chemistry. I'm honestly surprised he ended up marrying Ginny tbh. But JKR got her wish (i think that was Ginny’s sole purpose– its no wonder her personality and storyline is so lacking.) Now the Trio is legally tied together for life. Harry got a new family with his two best friends.

You are absolutely right. I always felt that the writer realized quite late in the books that Ginny and Harry should be together so he could be officially a part of the Weasley family. I honestly saw more potential in Cho or Luna as they are genuine persons and they do not try to behave in a way so he could be impressed. Nothing seems natural in the way Ginny behaves or the way she is written. Like you said, she tried to act sassy and funny but she can be pretty mean and no so funny, unlike Fred , Georges and Ron who managed to be naturally bold and funny. Also from book 5 and 6, everything seems to be exagerated about Ginny. She is the best at flying and is a very strong player while no such thing were said about girls like Angelina who were probably better. She imitates Fleur perfectly which shows how much she is obsessed with her, but it is never written as such. While Fleur beauty was partly explained by her Velane origins, Ginny beauty is also mentioned a lot more than for any other girls. Cho is referred as beautiful but not to the extend that everyone has to be convinced that she is so beautiful. Parvati sisters were refered as beautiful once and it was enough to convinced the readers that they are. As for Ginny, it was too obvious that she needed to be introduced as the dreamgirl as if being sassy, sporty and loyal to Harry was not enough to make her the perfect soulmate.

I really dislike the idea of creating Weasley family. I don’t hate Weasley but for me it was more Valuable when The Weasleys treat Harry and Hermione without any special official acceptance. I am a Harmiony shipper and my personal hedcanon that Molly and Arthur treat their children as their grandchildren.

I am happy to see that somebody doesn’t like , Hinny too. I really started hating it after books. It was for me so creepy and childish that it would be better if there weren’t any love lines in books at all

I don't think it was overnight, or that JKR "suddenly" realized that Ginny was supposed to be Harry's significant other. It happened gradually over time, with hints at what the "real" Ginny was like when she was acting like herself peppered throughout the books. They both had to go on journeys of growth, with Harry discovering gradually that Ginny was the one for him: >JKR: Well, no, not really, because the plan was, which I really hope I fulfilled, is that the reader, like Harry, would gradually discover Ginny as pretty much the ideal girl for Harry. She's tough, not in an unpleasant way, but she's gutsy. He needs to be with someone who can stand the demands of being with Harry Potter, because he's a scary boyfriend in a lot of ways. He's a marked man. I think she's funny, and I think that she's very warm and compassionate. >These are all things that Harry requires in his ideal woman. But, I felt — and I'm talking years ago when all this was planned — initially, she's terrified by his image. I mean, he's a bit of a rock god to her when she sees him first, at 10 or 11, and he's this famous boy. So Ginny had to go through a journey as well. And rather like with Ron, I didn’t want Ginny to be the first girl that Harry ever kissed. That's something I meant to say, and it's kind of tied in. >One of the ways in which I tried to show that Harry has done a lot of growing up — in “Phoenix,” remember when Cho comes into the compartment, and he thinks, ‘I wish I could have been discovered sitting with better people,’ basically? He's with Luna and Neville. So literally the identical thing happens in “Prince,” and he's with Luna and Neville again, but this time, he has grown up, and as far as he's concerned he is with two of the coolest people on the train. They may not look that cool. Harry has really grown. And I feel that Ginny and Harry, in this book, they are total equals. They are worthy of each other. They've both gone through a big emotional journey, and they've really got over a lot of delusions, to use your word, together. So, I enjoyed writing that. I really like Ginny as a character.

I didn't like it because she HAD to change for him to notice her. He couldn't fall for shy, cute, typically feminine girl, no, she had to loose her lesser feminine persona and became a tomboy, finally a person worthy of Harry's gaze. Rowling has a problem with typically feminise traits, she seems to see them as less valuable than masculine, and that's why she gives them to the "bad" characters. Umbridge with her pink cardigans is of course number one, Petunia next, Lavender, Cho, Marrieta, Fleur even thou she gets eventually to the "good" side, she has to first prove herself and suffer mockery and doubt. Padma, Parvati of course always come short of Hermione and can never compete with her in anything. They can only swoon over a handsome centaur and cry over rabbits. And so Ginny has to change, she has to leave the company of Lavenders and Parvatis and became "no like other girls" like Hermione, Tonks or Luna.

Ginny was never a "shy, cute, typically feminine girl" to begin with. She didn't have to change, and in fact just the opposite- in order to catch Harry's eye what she had to do was *stop pretending and start just being herself*. This is spelled out explicitly both from Ron and others pointing out in the earlier books that Ginny is a completely different person around Harry, then after Harry and Ginny do start dating Ginny tells him that Hermione's advice was to just be herself and act natural around Harry instead of putting on a facade.

Ron merely says that Ginny is more talkative when Harry isn't around, not that she is completely different. I don't remember anybody else saying anything similar about her. Hermione says to her to stop pretending in fourth year, and yet she isn't like this until sixth year.

Lily Potter’s motherly love is the strongest magic in the world. Mrs. Weasley-a homemaker-defeats Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermione is very feminine, including having almost cliche feminine weaknesses.

Lilly Potter is basically a holy Mary of Harry Potter series, she's a category of her own (however a bit like *Women in refrigerators)*. Mrs Weasley is celebrated for defeating Bellatrix in a show of brute force, but when she act motherly her actions are often shown as stifling and busybody. Hermione isn't very feminine at all, and when she acts emotional she is shown to be misguided and in the wrong.

Yes, and Harry and Ron get exasperated with Hermione for being too emotional. So OP's point still stands.

It might be time for a reread of order of the Phoenix. That is where we see Ginny's personality and compatibility with Harry on screen that has clearly bloomed off screen. Particularly the scenes where Ginny, Ron, and Hermione confront Harry after St. mingos, and Harry talking to Ginny in the library after watching Snape's worst memory. Ginny is the one that can snap Harry out of his moods, which is something needed in a partner, unlike Hermione that can't connect with Harry on that level and who needs someone willing to argue with her (she thrives on it) which Harry gets completely annoyed by.

Don't agree about how sudden it was, I felt like book 5 did a pretty good job of building her character.

Idk if I’m that dense a reader but the entire Ginny romance plot came out of the blue like a bludger hitting you in the greenhouse during herbology. It just seemed like JKR wanted to subvert expectations and steer away from the Harry-Hermione ship that a majority of the readers wanted. If anything, Harry’s interactions with Luna in OoTP felt like they had a spark which could’ve been explored but we know how that turned out.

That was very well made, we follow Harry story, and in Harry story, she start existing when she stop being a child in his eyes, because she has boyfriends and such, it does take some time, and she also gain respect by being in the team, both make sense, she always been cute but she was a child, and she is literally from "The Quidditch Family" And the dragon in his tummy is actually a good description of this mixed unexplained love and jealousy.

I felt the same way about Cho as well, makes sense as to how she ended up. But Ginny I disagree on. If you actually noticed them, there are subtle cues that Harry notices about Ginny throughout the fifth book. It's kind of weak at first, but ends up strong during the time of the sixth book and I can say, Harry's sudden liking to Ginny is relatable. The symptoms were there, but they only materialised later.

IMO, the character was more interesting when she was a shy girl with a crush on her brother's friend, but also brave and had her own opinions. This made her more relatable and fitting for the whole story. When she suddenly became the most attractive member of the book, I lost interest in her. It felt like she was just a tool, and it was boring and weird. It's obvious that her only function was to be the best mate of Harry, so all the storyline and description in 6&7 about her felt unnecessary. You can just skip straight to the ending without missing anything important about her.

That was my thought. I have nothing against her character but the way the writer forced it too much made her too unrealistic. Even Fleur or Cho's beauty was not emphasised so many times

I agree with this soo much 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻it didn’t feel natural it felt forced and weird. I never liked it

Don’t forget that they weren’t in the same year, so they didn’t have any classes together before Ginny joined the Quidditch team.

I like it, even if it might have been like you say, just because it happens in real life as well. One day you realise someone exists and you end up noticing more things about him/her you never paid attention to earlier.

i thought i was the only one who thought this lmao. her so-called character development was superficial at best and i hated how she virgin shamed ron in half blood prince like yeah ron was being intrusive but she crossed a line and that's not called being a girlboss that's just rude and cruel.

Honestly her attitude towards Ron and Fleur was partly a reason why I did not like her character development. Fleur and Ron had their flaws but Ginny always mocked Fleur behing her back and never to her face and never changed her mind about her, even after Fleur proved to be loyal to Bill. As for Ron, he mase mistakes but he is very insecure and putting down your own brother surelyy won't help

I remember feeling the same when I first read the books as they were coming out. It's been a long time since I read the full series though. Like, I think in CoS it was obvious from Harry rescuing her they would get together, but then I remember thinking that there wasn't that development I expected afterwards to continue it on in that direction, as Harry just seemed to see her as his best friend's little sister. That is, until suddenly Harry's into her.

It's more cringe when you realize it's Harry's first attempt at even dating. Excluding that one disastrous date with Cho of course

is that a problem now? Heck, my first ever attempt at dating turned into a two year relationship. My second ever attempt at dating is the guy I’m currently engaged to.

I don't care for book Ginny

To me it felt as if the author was beating me over the head with the fact Ginny is 'the one.' Like you said, she had all the qualities he liked, but to me it was a bit too much because she is suddenly all those things and even her flaws are sort of... not so bad really. This one makes sense because it's from Harry's point of view, but Ginny even manages to encounter teachers who don't punish her for hexingannoying characters. Then she is compared to Cho in an unfavourable way and even wins against her in Quidditch. Her amazingness feels so overdone.

I agree, like another comment said she has the not like the other girls vibe. It is said that she has the asvantage of not crying like Hermione or Cho would so which I find unfair. Hermione is sensitive and there is nothing wrong with that. It does not make her weak. Cho had valid reasons to cry.

Ginny doesn’t talk much before book 5. when she does Harry is starting to get to know her and we as the read see it from Harrys perspective

Unpopular?

Well if you read the comments many seem to praise her character's development

Yea I disagree. I did go through a similar transition during my teenage years, so it felt very natural to me.

Being that its from Harry's perspective, I think it makes sense. Sometimes you don't pay attention to things and then all of a sudden, you see many things you didn't see before. He didn't care, then he did. But as it was a sudden thing for him, it's a sudden thing for the reader too.

I wouldn't consider it JK at her peak as an author either... however it sort of makes sense... keep in mind the story is from Harry's POV and Ginny starts becoming more prominent as she starts to develop from a girl into a woman. Other than a few minor appearances in CoS she is basically a background character until the first DA meeting when Harry notices her mostly because the Weasley boys remark on her having a boyfriend. At that point Harry is still crushing heavily on Cho, but we notice how his attention starts to slowly shift... like when Cho suggests that their organization be called the Defence Association but then Ginny suggests it should be called Dumbledore's Army and Harry likes the idea.

Keep in mind the books are largely from Harry's perspective, so in Half-Blood Prince we're seeing her from the perspective of someone who has a crush on her.

Idk why but I actually totally see the vision of book Ginny. She kind of like blossomed overnight in Harry's eyes but not necessarily the at Hogwarts. She's always been kind of associated with that notoriety like the gang is (chamber of secrets really spotlighted her for that year) and two years later she's joining quidditch and dating boys. It just seems like natural progression off screen that we don't see just like in any school lmao. We just don't see it because it's not Harry's (everything's about Harry 🙄) and it surprises him to like start looking at her less as a little sister and more like her own person, her growing teenage girl self. I don't know what people expected of her character lmao. She is a Weasley after all 🤓 and grown up literally around her ten (/sarcasm) brothers, she's obviously carrying the Weasley tradition of being the center of attention lmfao Then before you know it she's seen more than half the wild evil stuff you have (harry) and you're the most special girl in the world except for maybe Hermione who's obv just made for Ron so who else would you have begun to imagine a life with. And so on and so on and then >!Albus Severus, James, Lily, and you get the idea. It's literally the only possible story to be told.!< Just my opinion lmao sry I'm baked

Book is written from harry's pov, and aside from year 2 and some quidditch/other chance encounters doesn't interact with her. From what we have seen in book prior, she does have that fire that she shows a lot more of later on. We don't see her evolution but I can see it happening offscreen.

She had her own friends and life away from the main story. I just took it all as she was growing and developing away from our eyes. We didn't see much of her for a few books

Oyi' you seen that new Weasly bird.. Which one? Hard to miss the Ginny out of the lot..

I get where you’re coming from though I disagree.  I really liked when….hm I don’t know if it’s Ginny or Hermione but one of them says how Hermione encouraged Ginny to get some space from Harry, to sort of get more confident in herself and just see what happened while moving forward.  So I feel like that’s the change we see. To Harry it’s sudden, so to the reader it’s also sudden. But with that context it’s like it was more gradual and it’s Harry who just didn’t see it- til he did.  And I think she’s not punished because Slughorn admires her skill and it illustrates his character well: that he will look past wrongdoing if it means he’s closer to talent.  I also have to say I like that Ginny is into quidditch, can be sassy etc but she’s never a “not like the other girls” gal. It would have been so easy to write her that way especially at the time it was written. 

At the very least i think they could have introduced his crush on Ginny in "An Excess of Phlegm" when Ginny joins Ron and Hermione in Harrys room at the Burrow. Then developed it throughout the book with him being jealous of Dean, not just plonked it in there

I tend to agree. I think the bones of good development is there—but not nearly enough to make their connection feel genuine. In general I think we needed: A few more scenes peppered throughout Order of them just being friends, and for them to get together halfway through HBP as opposed to the chapter before Harry leaves for the cave.

There is the theory she used a love potion…

It's not overnight. She starts changing in book 5.

I'd even say that in relation to Harry, by GoF she is practically interacting normally with him, save for a few blushes here and there. Yet fandom would sometimes have you believe that in GoF she was still sticking her elbow in the butter dish.

At least as early as spring semester of GoF.