When did you realise what romantic pairings would be canon?

[MissGryffindor]

Harry/Ginny - It was clear from early on that she liked him, but I think that his opinion of her really started to change in OotP, when the DA started and Ginny became more of a friend than Ron's little sister. I also picked up in OotP that it was Ginny that Harry confided in when he really wanted to figure out a way to speak to Sirius. For me, that was when I started to think it could really happen between them and be more than a one-sided schoolgirl crush thing.

Ron/Hermione - I figured out in GoF that Ron liked Hermione, but I can't remember when I realised that she liked him back. In hindsight, there were hints from very early on.

Bill/Fleur - To me it was pretty obvious that there was an attraction when they met in GoF, and when she was mentioned again as owrking at Gringotts in OotP, I knew they would end up together.

Remus/Tonks - I did not see that coming, but there were hints earlier on that, again, you see in hindsight when re-reading. For example, they took Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys back to Hogwarts in OotP after Christmas together, Tonks turning up randomly at Hogwarts in HBP looking for information on someone in the Order that she obviously cared about deeply.

Severus/Lily - I sort of had an inkling that he maybe once had secretly had a thing for her or something when they were at Hogwarts after the SWM chapter in OotP, but I was shocked when reading DH at the depth and history of the two of them. Looking back, however, it is interesting to read about the Marauders, Lily and Snape's time at school, and pick up on little things like how Lily and Snape's friendship prior to the SWM scene was always talked around and never actually mentioned.

I was glad that Neville and Luna did not end up together - while I can imagine them being life-long friends, I think that it would have been far too clean for all six of the friends that fought at the Ministry and in the battle at the end of HBP together to be paired off like that.

[Caelestis]

I was too young when I read most of the books to ever pick up on that sort of thing.

I only realised that Ron/Hermione was going to happen at the start of DH. Upon re-reading the entire series a few years later I realised just how many glaring hints there were dotted throughout all of the books.

Remus/Tonks never occured to me.

Maybe I'm just really oblivious when it comes to character pairings.

[norsegoddess]

Remus/Tonks surprised me. I was insanely curious though about her behavior in the Half-Blood Prince, though, and I thought it was strange with Harry thinking that she was in love with Sirius. That's kind of when I suspected that something was going on, but I never would have guessed it to be with Remus. xD

Snape having a thing for Lily...I did NOT see this coming. xD

Honestly though, I think that romance in Harry Potter doesn't really start until the 4th book, and I was in the 5th grade when I read that book for the first time, so it didn't really occur to me at first, or I didn't think it was very important to think about at the time. But after reading the 4th book again when I got a little older, it made a lot more sense to assume Ron and Hermione would end up together.

And finally Harry/Ginny I didn't see coming either. The way it was presented to me in the book was kind of random. xD

[asdfasdf17]

Based on the books, I suspected Ron/Hermione since GoF when Ron was so jeolous over Hermione going out with Krum. I know the movies aren't always canon but based on the movies, I suspected the Ron/Hermione pairing in PoA when Hermione grabs Ron's hand in the Buckbeak scene.
As for Harry/Ginny, I honestly didn't suspect a thing until the HBP!
Remus/Tonks were a complete surprise to me too, I hadn't suspected anything until at the end of HBP when Tonks said she liked Remus. And even after that scene, I hadn't thought of them actually getting married! But it was a nice surprise.

[Wimsey]

I remember when I first read the books back in 2000 realizing "oh, there is going to be romance in these books" when Harry's stomach did butterflies in Cho's presence. I do not know when I thought that he'd wind up with Ginny: I do remember thinking that Harry would be involved with Luna for a bit, but that Luna had "I'm going to die for other people" written all over her. Of course, I thought it very possible that Harry would die in the end for a bit: I think that I was a fairly late convert to the "Instant Karma" model.

Ron and Hermione also became obvious in Prisoner. Well, to be more exact, it was obvious to me in Prisoner that Hermione had a thing for Ron and that Ron was oblivious to this. I think the part where Ron & Hermione reconcile because of Buckbeak was the "oh, these two will wind up together, won't they...."


That being written, I did (ultimately) find Rowling's romantic writing to be a bit puerile in the end. Basically, it seemed to be written as if the characters were 3-4 years younger than they were supposed to be.

[Dantedanger]

Hey,

Its been a while since I posted, but this is a pretty interesting question so thought I'd throw my 2c in.

[b]Harry & Ginny [b] - Like you said, when Ginny basically had a personality transplant and became a main character, I guessed that love was in the air. It was utterly cemented when Harry looks for something more fulfilling after Cho, in OOTP. Ginny becoming more interesting + Harry wanting a proper relationship = firm romance.

Ron / Hermione - Well, i highly suspected it in Prisoner Of Azkaban , the book but only 100% in GoF, with the "victor krum incident". However, in the film of PoA, was of course the hand-hold in the scene with buckbeak in the Care of Magical creatures cast.

Lupin / Tonks - Very late on, but only because i cared more about these characters as individual, rather than as a couple. I think it was somewhere in HBP when it came up very obviously, but i do remember bits of OoTP referencing it. Basically I thought it was being hinted at, but initially it felt a bit lame, until Remus became full on in the final book.

Bill / Fleur - goblet of fire, when the line "fleur didnt look like she minded bills long hair one bit" comes in. Bam.

Severus / Lilly Hmm. I'd go with the snene in Occlumency where you first see Lilly shouting about james letting severus down. It seemed then that it was more significant becasue it felt heartfelt - like he meant something to her. Im not sure, but that scene always seemed significant.

Thats it - interested in your thoughts.

D

[lucky charms]

I feel so slow after reading these comments! I didn't expect most of the pairings until they actually happened. I guess there is also the fact that kept an open mind about future pairings in general, because things change and because I don't expect high school relationships to last forever.

Harry / Ginny - I didn't see it coming until the "chest monster" showed up. Even then, I was hoping it was just a phase he would get over, because I didn't like the idea of this pairing (I thought it would make things weird with Ron).

Ron / Hermione - After the Yule Ball in GoF it was very obvious that they had feelings for one another, so I thought it likely (but not certain) that they'd become romantically attached at some point. Actually, I was hoping I was wrong because I didn't think they would make a good couple.

Lupin / Tonks - Totally out of the blue for me. I'd be impressed if anyone had guessed that - we had hardly ever seen them interact before it was revealed!

Bill / Fleur - At the quote mentioned above, I realized that Fleur was attracted to Bill, but I was still a little surprised when they got together. I remember feeling a little let down with Bill, like he could have done better than to choose a girl only for her looks. (My opinion about her has slightly changed since then, so I can accept the pairing now.)

Severus / Lily - I read the theory in What Will Happen in Book 7 and didn't believe it. Even when reading through SWM I was still in disbelief. The thought of Snape being in love with anyone was just odd to me. I always figured he was the type to be more interested in books than romance.

[SusanBones]

Harry/Ginny - I think that the first time I suspected this pairing was when they were riding the train to Hogwarts in the beginning of HBP and it bothered Harry when Ginny went off to sit with Dean.

Lupus/Tonks - came totally out of left field for me. I never saw any clues at all.