H/G - What's Life Without a Little Romance?

[blaqlives]

Discussion of the Madam Puddifoot's editorial What's Life Without a Little Romance by Kelli Kearney.

[amy_gamgee]

Just wanted to say what a great job the author did on this essay! Many new clues were brought to my attention (and I thought I had found all the h/g clues!) I was especially intrigued by the romantic images JK Rowling created with H/G's first meeting at King's Cross, and of course the "damsel in distress" climax in Chamber of Secrets. The editor's note regarding Ron's chess move (queen to quivering castle) was brillant! To me, that is JKR at her best... subtle and clever. That's just the thing most of us would skim right over.

Anyway, thanks for such a well written article! It makes me look forward to book 6 & book 7 even more (if that's possible!) I expect to see great things from Ginny... and hopefully Harry will be right beside her.

[Albusdaughter]

An excellent article! Fingers crossed for more developments on this front in Half-Blood Prince!

One extra snippet of 'evidence' I thought of was in the Department of Mysteries in Chapter 35 Beyond the Veil in OotP
'Very well, take the smallest one', she [Bellatrix Lestrange] ordered the Death Eaters beside her. 'Let him watch while we torture the little girl, I'll do it.'
Harry felt the others close in around Ginny. He stepped sideways so that he was right in front of her, the prophecy held up to his chest.
'You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us', he told Bellatrix.

More heroic protection of Ginny by Harry - who wouldn't love him!

[Lieke]

I loved this editorial. One of the best that I read so far. I always have been a H/G shipper and this gave me even more reason to it.

Add another reason: Ginny lookes so much like Harry's mother Lily. Red hair and pretty. Even their names have the same sound. I think it's obvious!

[purple_pillow]

wow, not only was that an awesome editorial, it was incredibly long, but in the best way possible. That train connection was great, proving even more to me that harry and ginny should get together.

does anyone have any other outstanding editorials for h/g shippers to read and to convince everyone else that we're on the right track? haha

[snuggle the muggle]

Yeah, actually. There is an essay on the Lexicon . . . here's the link:

http://www.hp-lexicon.org/essays/essay-harry-ginny.html

and then there is the best article I've ever read about why Harry and Hermione are never going to happen: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/essays/essay-hh-suited.html

These are both really excellent essays and I think they form a very convincing argument. Of course, I wrote the editor of the Lexicon to have it passed on to the author how much I enjoyed the Hermione article. I also mentioned in passing that I thought every H/Hr shipper should be forced to read this so they stop being so dense. Probably shouldn't have said that. I got a very polite note back saying that she actually ships Harry/Hermione and that she can look at all these exact same arguments and see exactly the opposite result. (That was very embarrassing!!!) So, I had to bite my tongue and apologize because my fondest dream is to someday have an essay published on the Lexicon. Hopefully, she won't hold that against me if I ever get it written.

[Lieke]

thanx! Please add as many as possible, my fellow H/G shippers!

[purple_pillow]

i've read the harry and ginny article, it's really awesome, made me want to read books six and seven just so i could yell, haha! we were right! thanks for the other one, it should prove to be an interesting read, i'm sure. lexicon has really well written editorials, not that mugglenet doesn't, i've just read mostly all of them and it's nice to read something new when you're mulling about.

[Miss ERB]

So when we see Harry react with annoyance and avoidance to Ron’s and Hermione’s frequent spats, when we see him say that he doesn’t know what he wants to happen between Cho and him, except that he couldn’t stand any more rows (OP603/684), it has to make us question whether Hermione is the right romantic partner for Harry. Some people like arguing, and some people don’t. Hermione does. Harry doesn’t


ha I like this line..it really does make sense. I do not think Harry and Hermione will end up together but honestly I know this is cocky to say before I finish reading the series but I'm practucally 100% sure that they wont.

I think Ginny seems much more suited to him than Hermione..Ginny ends arguments..she stays calm and doest go on and on about something like hermione. Ginny pretty much says her opion and thats it. Harry obviously HATES arguing so the less the better.

[WeasleyIsOurKing]

Loved, loved, loved this editorial. The author has said everything that I've always wanted to say but never knew how.

One of the best examples of Harry and Ginny's sheer suitability is the fact that she has the uncanny ability to either cool him down and shut him up, or get him to open up his feelings to her without any nagging or prodding. The author does a good job of emphasizing this.

[jopotter]

Love this article! Also wanna add in sumn I found earlier:

JK: (The train's whistle blows.) Oh no, is that us? (The train pulls slowly out of the station as Rowling waves exuberantly to a long line of fans. An elderly woman waves and wipes a mock tear from her cheek. A young girl runs along with the train, waving with all her might.) Oh God, this is heartbreaking, isn't it? This is like a long torture. It's always the little freckly girls, 'cause I was a little freckly girl. They warm my heart.

hem,hem

[kronos2785]

Ginny ends arguments..she stays calm and doest go on and on about something like hermione

Are you refering to wher she and Luna barge in on Harry, Ron and Hermione in the classroom, because, she doesn't stop the argument, Harry, tells her to mind her own bussiness, the argument was already being wound up before she came in. Plus she being a bit self centred in that scene, as she was at Christmas time when Hermione finally pulled Harry out of Buckbeaks room.
The Weaselys aren't good for Harry, they just allow him to do his own thing, even if it is detrimental to his mental wellbeing. The children do this because they grew up with the embelished stories of the "Great Harry Potter", the boy who lived.

Every child in our world will know his name!

As such, they are more of a danger to Harry than Voldemort himself. They don't try and pull him out of his funks, Christmas, they leave him in the room, after Sirius' death, Ron shushes Hermione any time she tries to broach the subject. Harry needs to be forced to do what is good for him, that's what Hermione does.
If Ginny where to be Harry's significant other, do you think she'd put up with Hermione always butting into Harry's life, even if it is for the best?

[jopotter]

The Weaselys aren't good for Harry, they just allow him to do his own thing, even if it is detrimental to his mental wellbeing. The children do this because they grew up with the embelished stories of the "Great Harry Potter", the boy who lived.

The Weasleys aren't good for Harry? Who rescued him from the Dursleys in book 2? Who mothers him? Who makes him laugh and cheers him up? Who does Harry consider his 'most favourite family in the world'? Simply put, who gives Harry the love and care he clearly did not get from the Dursleys?

As such, they are more of a danger to Harry than Voldemort himself. They don't try and pull him out of his funks, Christmas, they leave him in the room, after Sirius' death, Ron shushes Hermione any time she tries to broach the subject. Harry needs to be forced to do what is good for him, that's what Hermione does.

They don't try to pull him out of his funks? Um, didn't Ginny make Harry realise that he wasn't possessed by Voldermort? Didn't Ginny also help him talk to Sirius? Fred and George as well. Harry NEEDED to talk to Sirius. Hermione was totally against letting Harry talk to Sirius. It was dangerous but Ginny recognized Harry's need to speak to Sirius. Sure it was dangerous, but Harry deals with dangerous things all the time. Hermione didn't realise how badly Harry wanted to talk to Sirius. She only knew it was dangerous and was flat out against it.
How do you know talking about Sirius was good for Harry? Maybe Harry had to let it sink in properly first, just like when Cedric died. Maybe he didn't want to talk abt Sirius with Ron and Hermione. He talked abt it with Luna remember?

[JordanL]

You know, one of the things I've often wondered is about that line in the first book, every child in the Wizarding World will grow up hearing his name... it makes me wonder if anyone has an untainted and un idealized opinion of him...

Very well written article, even if I thought there were some real idiosyncrisies in there. Good job.

[kronos2785]

Yes Ginny made him realise that she was the only other person he knew that had been possessed. But surely she could have shouted it at him through the door, if that's what she thought was wrong.
What I'm saying is that the Weasely's have lived with the stories of Harry Potter, as such they will still think of him as a hero, and a hero that does no worng, a hero who knows what's best for himself. That's the way Ginny and Ron, and to an extent the rest of the Weasely family see him.

Ginny just told the problem to Fred and George, and they did the rest. Ginny just took Harry's word that he needed to talk to Sirius, she didn't show any consideration to whether it was worth the risk, or if it could be put off until they next saw him. This is a classic example of a follower.
Now, Hermione knew that it was an immeadiate threat to their saftey, so, she was the voice of reason. Ron just kept telling her thatHarry could make up his own mind, another follower. Ron was willing to just go along with what ever Harry decided to do. Hermione wasn't, remember, she's all for breaking school rules for a legitimate excuse, but can you seriously call wanting to speak to Sirius a legitimate excuse?

Now about Sirius' death. Harry didn't know what he wanted to do, that's canon. Now once he'd talked to Luna, he felt a bit better, so obviously, Harry needed to talk to someone. Ron stopped that from happening with Hermione. We know Hermione, she's not going to let it drop until Harry's talked it all out. Now why didn't JKR want Harry to talk to Hermione at the end of the book, (back literary techniques here!) because it would have opened up an enitre new can of worms, same as Harry not seeing the Thestrals at the end of GoF.

And again we see Ron just leaving Harry to his own devices by not letting Hermione talk to him at all, not even start, or to find out from the horses mouth, so to speak. If Harry had said to Hermione I don't want to talk about, she more than likely would have waited a while longer, but Hermione knew tht Harry needed to talk about it. But because Ron just wanted to leave him be, let him sort it out on his own, not wanting to believe the hero was weak, he stopped Hermione from talking to Harry

Now, I'm not saying that the Weasely's are evil, I'm saying that they are more damaging to Harry, mentally, than Voldemort is because they see him as a hero who knows best. And they will not be able to break out of this cycle, certainly Ginny won't be able to, and as such she will never be able to have a relationship with Harry that isn't some kind of hero worship.



With regards to the editorial:

These scenes are simply adorable. Little Ginny has a crush. An 11-year-old, school girl crush.

This is not your normal school girl crush. Ginny didn't even notice Harry until she found out that he was the Harry Potter only then did she want to get on the train and see him. This is hero worship at its peak.

And might I point out, what has been pointed out before, Ginny has never once thanked Harry for saving her life. There have been many places where it could have happened. With all the stories she would have been told about the Harry potter, she's assumed that she doesn't have to thank him, it's his job as a hero.

[jopotter]

It's true that when people first meet Harry they become star (or hero) struck. But the Weasleys, especially Ron are over that. They know him for quite some time now as a person and don't walk on egg shells around him. Ron's way is not confrontrational like Hermione but he has his own ways of handling Harry. That's why sometimes Harry confides in Ron and not Hermione. The point I'm making here is both Ron and Hermione deal with Harry differently. Hermione nags ad pushes whereas Ron is laid back, slow and steady. It's a good balance. Too much of either is not good for Harry.

Hermione didn't know abt Harry since she was a child but she too was 'hero struck':

"Harry Potter," said Harry.
"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course- I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.
"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found everything if it was me," said Hermione. (106, SS)

Originally Posted by kronos2785

If Harry had said to Hermione I don't want to talk about, she more than likely would have waited a while longer, but Hermione knew tht Harry needed to talk about it. But because Ron just wanted to leave him be, let him sort it out on his own, not wanting to believe the hero was weak, he stopped Hermione from talking to Harry

But Harry didn't want to talk about Sirius' death. Even Hagrid tried to talk about Sirius with Harry and Harry refused to talk about it. Hermione prodded him to talk abt it when he wasn't ready. Ron on the other hand intuitively knew that Harry wasn't ready to talk about it yet so he shushed her. Harry didn't have to say "I don't want to talk about it".
Harry didn't wanna talk about Sirius and Ron knew it even without Harry saying it.

[JordanL]

Oh, I wasn't saying that Hermione wasn't Hero Struck. On the contrary, I was saying that poor Harry doesn't really have anyone whose first impression of him was made by himself, and that is a rather important detail.

But the Weasleys, especially Ron are over that.

I think that nearly everyone who knows him is over that, however their subconcious preconceptions probably still linger.

[IceKat55]

Originally Posted by kronos2785

With regards to the editorial:

Quote:
These scenes are simply adorable. Little Ginny has a crush. An 11-year-old, school girl crush.

This is not your normal school girl crush. Ginny didn't even notice Harry until she found out that he was the Harry Potter only then did she want to get on the train and see him. This is hero worship at its peak.

And might I point out, what has been pointed out before, Ginny has never once thanked Harry for saving her life. There have been many places where it could have happened. With all the stories she would have been told about the Harry potter, she's assumed that she doesn't have to thank him, it's his job as a hero.

I agree that Ginny's crush began because she recognized him as the 'Famous Harry Potter', but as has been pointed out, everyone he knows first recognized him as such. However, I think that her crush became full-blown because of Harry himself - - not so much of the 'fame thing'. She sent him the singing card, wrote poems about the color of his eyes, and how 'divine' she thinks he is. It's a harmless, typical little-girlish crush.

It's true that Ginny has never thanked Harry for saving her in the Chamber - - but I disagree that she just 'assumes' that she doesn't have to thank him. I thought that Ginny made it clear at the beginning of PoA that she was terribly embarrassed by what had happened the previous year with Tom Riddle & the Chamber, and the fact that she allowed herself to be so vulnerable, and people got hurt because of her. Throw in the fact that it was Harry (her crush) that saved her? Yes, that's a painfully embarrassing subject for Miss Ginny, I would expect.

There are still 2 books to go, and Rowling has brought Ginny more to the forefront. We'll hopefully get a chance to see Ginny & Harry interacting even more, and a more in-depth and personal conversation between them, regarding their links to Voldemort, may happen. She may yet get another chance to thank him...and this time, she'll take it.

ETA: thanks (all!!) for reading my essay!

[purple_pillow]

Kronos2785 wrote:
What I'm saying is that the Weasely's have lived with the stories of Harry Potter, as such they will still think of him as a hero, and a hero that does no worng, a hero who knows what's best for himself. That's the way Ginny and Ron, and to an extent the rest of the Weasely family see him.

I have to disagree with that, if Ron thought that Harry could 'do no wrong" then he would have never been angry at him over GoF. He would have thought, -harry would never do something to make me feel horrible, he's that awesome hero who almost defeated You-Know-Who. He can't do anything wong- by your definition, Ron would accept Harry's name coming out of the Goblet of Fire, he would have never stopped talking to him, he would have never tried to ignore him and feel betrayed because by your defination of Ron and all the other Weasleys, he would accpet it, he would be a follower, not a rebellious leader, and he would have still been fiends with Harry in the begining of GoF.

i strongly believe that the Weasleys are one of the quickly disapearing people that are good for harry. They are his adopted family. they give him what he can't obtain from only one person, and that he surely can't obtain from the dursleys. Ron may be submissive, buts that's only in his nature, and even he isn't thick enough to believe in "wonder boy Potter who can do nothing wrong".

[Lplus]

Good editorial there. A couple of thoughts :-

'she gave up on him months ago' - Gave up what? Fancying or waiting?

How does Hermione know?
One can only assume that Ginny told her - they being confidantes - so Hermione is most probably quoting what Ginny told her.

Did Ginny tell Hermione the whole truth, or what she wanted Hermione to think?
That depends on whether Ginny has a hidden agenda.


Remember Ginny's comment about living with Fred and George leading her to thinking 'anything is possible if you have enough nerve'