#thegirlwhowrites642HPmeta

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Do you think petunia dursley deserve redemption?

Now a days many people say she was manipulated by Vernon or James insulted her( she saw james in harry) and they try to excuse her actions because she was woman.

After the war Petunia will divorce Vernon and harry will forgive her. They even say Petunia secretly always cared about Harry.

Please share your thoughts(only if you have time/want to ofcourse)

Thank you

I think young Petunia is a character it's easy to feel compassion for.

I can't really blame her for not wanting Lily around or not wanting anything to do with magic.

As a child, she is quite close to her younger sister and she has to witness that younger sister all of a sudden going on an adventure without her because her sister has magic and Petunia doesn't.

I dare anyone to not feel resentful and envious in that situation.

And the fact that she is the older sister makes it worse because when Lily goes to Hogwarts they are still in that age where the younger sibling tends to admire and still wants to follow the older and out of the blue that dynamic radically changes.

When in DH we find out that Petunia sent a letter to Dumbledore asking to go to Hogwarts, my heart absolutely breaks for her every single time I re-read it.

And then when Lily enters the wizarding world, Petunia is left to her normal life, which is probably not that great. The Evanses aren't poor but they are definitely not rich. And she is still very much a girl in the 70s, not as bad as the 30s but not as good as today. All of this is to say that she is not left in a situation of privilege and luxury and therefore has nothing to complain about.

Petunia is also left to deal with lying to protect Lily's secret, probably having to say something about how she was sent to some special school for very talented kids, therefore having to make herself appear as the stupid sister. And so everyone would be super curious about this brilliant sister of Petunia, forcing her to live in Lily's shadow even outside of the house and with Lily in Scotland. It's also implied that Lily is the beautiful sister, which I'm sure doesn't help Petunia's resentment. It writes itself a scene from a summer in 1976, where Petunia's friends are eager to meet/see again her beautiful brilliant sister, and Petunia dies of envy.

It's true that Lily enters a world in which as a muggle-born she is subjected to discrimination but I doubt Petunia knew much about it:

Even though Petunia was raised alongside a witch, she is remarkably ignorant about magic. - from Vernon and Petunia Dursley by JK Rowling

Then Lily ends up marrying James Potter, rich, athletic, and good-looking. While Petunia marries Vernon. Tell me you wouldn't hate Lily even more. Lily marrying a wizard so soon after Hogwarts also adds to the separation of the two sisters into two different worlds. Other factors are the war in the wizarding world and the death of their parents.

And speaking of the devil, Petunia seems also resentful towards her parents for showing, according to her, a preference for Lily:

I was the only one who saw her for what she was -- a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!" She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years. -Chapter 4, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowing

If you notice, Harry doesn't know anything about Mr and Mrs Evans, one thing is him not knowing about the Potters but if Harry doesn't know anything about the Evans grandparents, it means Dudley doesn't either, it means Petunia doesn't talk about them, doesn't have photos of them. Frankly, seeing the relationship between the two sisters, the Envases mustn't have been geniuses at the whole parenting thing.

And for all of this, again, I can't blame her for hating magic, especially when you consider that the first and one of the only experiences with wizards she has is Snape [how hilarious it is that those two know each other?], someone that hates muggles and literally made a tree branch fall on her. Then there's the sister that seems to live to outshine her and Dumbledore who tells her she is not special (not in those terms obviously, he is quite kind actually, but how is a young girl going to perceive that letter if not like that?). By the time she meets James, she already hates magic too deeply.

This Petunia is someone that makes you wish life had been a little kinder to her, and maybe then she could have been better.

But the Petunia since she takes Harry in? She is a monster. What she does to Harry should have put her in jail, and there's no indication that it's Vernon who forces her to behave like that. Like there's no indication that Vernon and Petunia don't love each other. If anything, the fact that Vernon agrees to have Harry in the house despite hating him seems a testament to how much he loves Petunia.

Harry does seem to hate Vernon in particular but the more fitting explanation seems to be that Vernon is a man and therefore more intimidating.

As wrong as it would have been, I could have even forgiven Petunia if she had just been a little colder towards Harry and shown a preference for Dudley. She is substantially forced to take this boy into her house, a boy who has a genocidal maniac after him and therefore potentially puts in danger her, her husband and her son, and she is also forced to see the dynamic that brought so much pain to her repeat again. Dudley is Petunia, and Harry is Lily. Dudley is a muggle, and Harry is a wizard. It's pretty reasonable for her to hate the idea that one day her son will feel like she did. Maybe she was even planning to not have more than one child just to avoid that. Petunia hates Harry because she sees Lily in him, not James. James canonically never insulted Petunia, the only reasons Petunia has for hating him are that he is a wizard and Lily's husband. At best she may have reason to not find him particularly likeable:

The first meeting between Lily, her boyfriend James Potter, and the engaged couple, went badly, and the relationship nose-dived from there. James was amused by Vernon, and made the mistake of showing it. Vernon tried to patronise James, asking what car he drove. James described his racing broom. Vernon supposed out loud that wizards had to live on unemployment benefit. James explained about Gringotts, and the fortune his parents had saved there, in solid gold. Vernon could not tell whether he was being made fun of or not, and grew angry. The evening ended with Vernon and Petunia storming out of the restaurant, while Lily burst into tears and James (a little ashamed of himself) promised to make things up with Vernon at the earliest opportunity. This never happened. Petunia did not want Lily as a bridesmaid, because she was tired of being overshadowed; Lily was hurt. Vernon refused to speak to James at the reception, but described him, within James’ earshot, as ‘some kind of amateur magician’. -from Vernon and Petunia Dursley by JK Rowling 

But what Petunia does to Harry goes way beyond anything that could have been excused. And of course, we are also forced to re-read a younger Petunia through that lens, you don't become someone that could do that to a child out of the blue. Was there really ever a time in which she could have been saved?

As for redemption, the personality that is presented to us is not remotely complex enough to consider a redemption arc. Nothing that could be considered in-character. Among the established core traits of her character, there are being envious, and full of hatred.

But even if Petunia decided to become a better person for who knows what spiritual awakening, I don't see why that should become Harry's problem. Each person may have a right to become a better one but that doesn't mean they stop being the person who did the bad things. Even if Petunia became a saint who volunteers in children's hospitals, she would still be the woman who abused Harry, mentally and physically, throughout the first two decades of his life.

I do think that Harry would probably make some sort of attempt to hear her out if that were the case (as much as I also think Ginny would absolutely hate the idea and refuse to let him go alone) because Harry is too compassionate for his own good, and shows more than once to have a problem when it comes to setting boundaries in favour of his own emotional comfort. But I also think it would cause him a great deal of pain and distress and they would never be able to be more than just civil to each other.

In light of that, but also as a general statement in regards to this morbid obsession a lot of people seem to have for redemption arcs, I'd like to say that there's no acceptable reason for the redemption of the abuser to become the punishment of the abused.

[I would advise reading the piece written by Rowling on Vernon and Petunia, there it's made very clear that they love each other]

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Some people says hinny in cos was similar to Orpheus or some even compare them to spiderman. What are other literally significance we can see in whole hinny love story?

Please share your thoughts

Harry and Ginny: three famous love stories before theirs

I still hold the ridiculous hope that one day I'll be able to write a deep full analysis of Harry and Ginny's soulmate dynamic and callbacks to other popular love stories are a part of that analysis. But because you asked so nicely, I want to discuss a bit the two examples you brought up and I'll tell you about another that is one of my favourites.

Orpheus and Eurydice (Greek mythology)

The whole matter of the Chamber of Secrets parallels Orpheus and Eurydice's story, Harry is Orpheus and Ginny is Eurydice.

It is assumed or strongly suspected that Ginny is dead, and Harry goes after her anyway and finds her in a state between life and death. Eurydice dies but Orpheus still pines and searches for his wife, and the existence of the possibility of bringing her back substantially puts her in a position between life and death.

Harry through parseltongue, a particular talent of his, is able to access the Chamber (which is underground). Orpheus through music, a particular talent of his, is able to access the underworld.

Through their journey, both Harry and Orpheus are obliged to leave behind their companions.

Lockhart in the journey loses his memory, a reference to the Lethe in the underworld, the river of forgetfulness.

Art is an important element to remain alive and get out: Fawkes's song (and tears) for Harry, his music for Orpheus.

There's also the element of not looking in order to succeed in saving the girl, Harry can't look into the basilisk's eyes, and Orpheus can't look back at Eurydice.

Tom is an evil version of Hades. Ginny is also both a representation of Eurydice and, in a way, Hades's wife, Persephone.

The obvious difference is that Harry actually saves Ginny.

Peter and MJ, The Amazing Spider-Man (1963 - ongoing)

If we talk about the cinematic versions of Peter and MJ we find a parallel with Harry and Ginny in the break-up scene.

At the end of the first movie of Spider-Man starring Tobey Maguire, Peter refuses MJ, recreating the classic scene of the hero lying to the love of their life about their feelings in order to keep them safe. To protect them they push them away. And the scene happens at a funeral. Now, Harry does break up with Ginny at a funeral for very similar reasons. But the very important contrast is that Harry is extremely honest with Ginny, he doesn't lie about his feelings for her. It's a reference and yet a subversion of the trope (a thing JKR often does with them -> The meaning of Ginny's name).

But let's talk about comicbooks Peter and MJ.

MJ is a character that is talked about in the first issues of The Amazing Spider-Man comics as the "nice girl" who is the niece of the neighbour (a friend of Aunt May). Aunt May keeps trying to set Peter and MJ up but the fact that MJ keeps being described as a "nice girl" makes Peter believe she'll turn out to be ugly, so he avoids meeting her. In issue #25 she appears for the first time but is hidden behind a plant. It's only in issue #42 (November 1966) that we really meet her for the first time. She appears in Peter's doorway making arguably the most iconic entrance in the history of storytelling:

And so it is, that Peter discoveres how MJ is actually a fun, brilliant, extremely good-looking redhead.

Does this remind you of the appearance of anyone else in another doorway?

The door opened and a long mane of red hair appeared. “Oh hello, Harry!” said Ron’s younger sister, Ginny, brightly. “I thought I heard your voice.” -Chapter 4, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling

Until this point of the story, Ginny has been Ron's shy younger sister. We keep being reminded of her, she is constantly associated with Harry's love life, we know that she is supposed to be in a way that we are not allowed to see, we see her but not clearly, like she is hidden, and then she makes this outstanding appearance. She is confident, speaks directly to Harry and makes a funny clever joke about Harry shouting like a maniac. She grabs all the attention and defeats any negative expectations. OotP is in many ways Ginny's debut.

Personally, I think this is the most interesting parallel, but there are some others that I think are worthy of being mentioned.

MJ is in competition with another love interest, Gwen, but she always ends up being the winner, in the sense that she always comes off as the more charming, brilliant, show-stopping one. The one Peter always ends up having more chemistry with (fan fact: this happened in spite of the original plan of the writers).

In OotP, there's a subplot of constant confrontation between Ginny and Cho, and Ginny always ends up being the winner. Not only in absolute terms of her personality but specifically in terms of her ability to connect with Harry (this on the other hand was very much done on purpose).

A turning point in Peter and MJ's relationship is a harsh conversation where Peter is completely distraught over Gwen's death but MJ refuses to make him indulge in his self-pity:

While the subject at hand is different, it is a scene that holds similarities to the lucky you scene in Harry and Ginny's story. Harry is all rattled about the possibility of being possessed and he is throwing himself a bit of a (understandable) pity party. Ginny is the one that doesn't back down from the challenge of confronting Harry about it, regardless of how horrible that "I forgot" is, and she is there for him. That is a turning point in their relationship because Harry sees Ginny in her entirety for the first time.

'All been talking about me, have you? Well, I'm getting used to it.' 'We wanted to talk to you, Harry,' said Ginny, 'but as you've been hiding ever since we got back — ' 'I didn't want anyone to talk to me,' said Harry, who was feeling more and more nettled. 'Well, that was a bit stupid of you,' said Ginny angrily, 'seeing as you don't know anyone but me who's been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels.' Harry remained quite still as the impact of these words hit him. Then he wheeled round. 'I forgot,' he said. 'Lucky you,' said Ginny coolly. 'I'm sorry,' Harry said, and he meant it. 'So... so, do you think I'm being possessed, then?' 'Well, can you remember everything you've been doing?' Ginny asked. 'Are there big blank periods where you don't know what you've been up to?' -Chapter 23, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling

Another thing that MJ and Ginny have in common is a very clear identity and storyline that makes them independent from their love interests despite said love interests being the main characters. They also both acquire fame due to their jobs despite coming from a poor family and they both have traumatic pasts (even if for different reasons). They are also both the youngest in their family.

Peter and Harry are both obviously the main characters with special abilities and they are both orphans who lose a surrogate parental figure. Peter though, gets a much better childhood than Harry.

Laurie and Amy, Little Women (1868-69)

What if I told you that Harry and Ginny have a lot in common with a couple of characters from the work of Louisa May Alcott settled in the Massachusetts of the 19th century?

Laurie is a rich lonely orphan that meets a poor loving family with many children (the Marches). He gets really close to them, and he grows up with them. He is specifically best friends with one of those kids (Jo) with which he has a very tumultuous kind of dynamic and he ends up developing romantic feelings for her. Amy is the youngest of the March family and always seems to hold a soft spot for Laurie. Laurie even saves Amy's life at a certain point, partially helped by Jo. Despite a few years of age difference, Laurie and Amy always get along really well, and they even flirt frequently once they are a bit older. But between his feelings for Jo and his age difference with Amy, for years it's not possible for Laurie to develop proper romantic feelings for the youngest March.

The parallels with Harry and Ginny seem quite obvious. Harry is a rich orphan who befriends a poor loving family with many kids that treat him like one of their own. He is specifically best friends with one of the kids, Ron. Ginny is the youngest of the Weasley family and has feelings for Harry from the start. At one point in the story, Harry saves Ginny and for part of that rescue, he has Ron by his side. Once he grows up a bit, Harry develops feelings for a girl (Cho) with which he has a very short tumultuous relationship. It needs to be clarified though, that while Laurie's feelings for Jo are quite intense, Harry simply has a hallway crush on Cho. Regardless, there's a Jo in Harry's story and she is represented by a fusion of Ron and Cho. And, as it is for Laurie, it takes years for Harry to acquire full proper romantic feelings for Ginny, despite the fact that there was always a certain tenderness between them. What keeps Harry from developing proper romantic feelings for Ginny in this case is not really the age difference but the general lack of time spent together, due to Ginny's paralyzing romantic feelings mixed with Harry's complex life (even if not being in the same year at school doesn't help). Cho also serves as a distraction for a while.

But let's go back to Little Women and talk about when everything changed between Laurie and Amy. Laurie's marriage proposal to Jo gets rejected, which leads him into a spiral of despair and very debatable coping mechanisms that he puts into action all around Europe. But in his travels in Europe, he meets again Amy, now a grown woman, mature, beautiful and commanding, and with a man ready to propose to her. Laurie and Amy spend a lot of time together, they have fun, and they share common values and interests, but more importantly, Amy is the one able to shake Laurie out of his spiral of despair and self-pity. Laurie inevitably develops romantic feelings for Amy, but wonders about his moral integrity because Amy made it so easy for him to forget the hurt Jo caused him. Ultimately, Laurie puts his life together and realises that he was destined for Amy, that he would have eventually fallen for her anyway, that they are inevitable. Laurie and Amy marry and he officially becomes part of the March family.

Again, the parallels with Harry and Ginny are evident. It is when Harry is full of rage and sadness that he meets the real Ginny, a Ginny who has matured, has a boyfriend, is fun, shares interests and values with Harry, and seems the only one really able to shake him out of his misery. She affirms herself as a source of comfort and optimism in Harry's life and the more time they spend together the more Harry's feelings grow. Throughout the entirety of the proper explicit development of Harry's romantic feelings, Ginny is taken, let it be OotP or HBP, which doesn't help matters. And when Harry finally realises his feelings, like Laurie, he is faced with a moral dilemma: Ginny is Ron's younger sister. And while Ron is simply Harry's best friend, it is nonetheless a dilemma of loyalty, like it was for Laurie. Harry, in spite of his best efforts, eventually accepts that he can't escape Ginny or his feelings for her. He has no doubts about him and Ginny, he is confident about them as a couple, and he knows that it is what was always meant to happen:

'I just wish I’d asked you sooner. We could’ve had ages… months… years maybe…’ 'But you’ve been too busy saving the wizarding world,’ said Ginny, half-laughing. -Chapter 30, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, JK Rowling

Harry and Ginny eventually get married and Harry officially becomes part of the Weasley family.

Other analyses

It seemed to me that the question was oriented on stories that Harry and Ginny reference in their dynamic and so this was my answer. Other analyses of mine though that explore Harry and Ginny from a literary point of view and that you might find interesting are:

Harry and Ginny, two main characters

Harry is still looking at Ginny

Ginny and Voldemort's yew wands

The meaning of Ginny's name

Ginny destroying a Horcrux?

[thegirlwhowrites642]

What are your thoughts on Ginny's relationship with her each brothers? (You can share your headcanons too)

(I know you are busy please answer this question when you have a free time no urgency here, your metas are worth the wait)

First of all, thank you <3

Now, let's get to the ask.

(Also, I found some very cool gifs so I gave an artistic twist to this analysis)

Bill starts to go to Hogwarts, and is therefore away from home nine months a year, not even a month after Ginny's birth. In a way, you could say that, just as Charlie, Bill is more of a glorified cousin than a sibling to Ginny.

Nevertheless, Ginny seems quite attached to him, and by the time she is fifteen, she has a realistic view of her brother.

In GoF, she defends his long hair against their mother, and she laughs at his antics with Charlie. In HBP, we all know how judgmental she is of Fleur because she doesn't think she really loves her brother, just like Molly, she is quite protective of him. Yet she is the only one that seems to understand clearly why Bill is attracted to the veela. Ron, a bit superficially, is simply focusing on Fleur's beauty, Molly views Bill as a down-to-earth guy and so thinks Fleur is not for him, but Ginny understands that Bill likes a bit of glamour in his life.

Also, Bill and Ginny are the two "cool" (and conventionally good-looking) siblings. I don't mean it as in my personal opinion, but for how they behave and are generally perceived by others. This is certainly a type of connection in their attitudes that makes it logical for Ginny to admire Bill. Yet, Ginny is already someone that keeps a lot of things to herself, and with what little time Bill spent at home since she was born, I have a hard time believing Bill would be someone Ginny confides in.

For my headcanons, I always imagined Ginny as Victore's godmother. A bit because I like the idea of Ginny and Fleur eventually becoming close, maybe Fleur taking the role of older sister Tonks seemed to have for her, but also because I simply liked the symmetry of Ginny being Victore's godmother while Harry was Teddy's godfather.

Also, I've always thought that despite being the oldest, he was pretty chill about Ginny dating. He just gives off those vibes, I don't really have anything to sustain it. It's just that he is in that spot where he's at home enough to not be too traumatized by Ginny growing up, but he's not around enough to have the fact that Ginny is dating constantly in front of him.

We don't really have any relevant interactions between Ginny and Charlie. Honestly, Charlie always seemed to me like a character that originally was meant to do more (the whole thing with the dragon in PS) but then just became a character JKR was forced to maintain despite having nothing for him to do.

Just like Bill, he is a bit of a glorified cousin more than a brother to Ginny. The difference between Bill and Charlie though is that Bill has a sense of responsibility towards his family that Charlie clearly doesn't have.

Ginny probably admired how unapologetic Charlie is about following his passion. She had to keep Quidditch hidden for so many years, and she probably hoped she would be able to confess her passion one day. Ginny, though, is also very family oriented, so it's not surprising that she seems to look up to Bill and not really to Charlie.

What may connect Ginny and Charlie is the fact that Ginny is an animals-lover and Charlie clearly loves dragons. It may be a direction Charlie pushed Ginny in when she was little.

I do headcanon that out of all the brothers it was Charlie the one that contributed the most to Ginny's admiration for the Boy Who Lived. He seems the one who would enjoy coming up with stories about a little hero defeating dragons and going on crazy adventures.

This one is really interesting.

Percy is Ginny's real older brother. I've talked before about how Percy is fundamentally the one with all the responsibility of the older brother but none of the glory, this happens due to his age gap of four years with Charlie.

Percy is the brother who notices there's something weird with Ginny during CoS, and at the start of PoA, we see them arriving at the station together. He definitely shows the typical approach of a significantly older brother who is used to taking care of his little sister.

Ginny, who in spirit out of all her brothers resembles the twins the most, finds Percy a bit... funny? Like when there's that scene with Penelope and Ginny shares a look with Harry, laughing together at her brother's behaviour. But, once again just like the twins, she also takes Percy's betrayal very strongly as we see from what happens at Christmas in '96. This is very telling of her personality for sure but also of how much Ginny cares about Percy. As much as they make fun of Percy, the twins are the closest in age to him and care a lot about him. Fred is the first to forgive Percy when he comes back.

This affection for her brother can be seen all the way back to the end of CoS, when Ginny asks the twins to not tease Percy after she revealed he has a girlfriend.

Ginny is not really someone who harbours resentment, especially towards the people she loves, so I have no doubt she didn't have any problem forgiving Percy after the war.

From the early books, I would have said that if there was a brother Ginny would go to for advice, it would have been Percy. But Percy does lose a lot of essential years of Ginny's life. He leaves home when she's a young teen and comes back to find a young woman. And I don't know if that's a gap that can ever be fully fixed. Harry does avoid Percy in the Epilogue, so I doubt he was often at the Potters.

Ginny's spiritual guides.

While she has far more compassion and general common sense than the twins, Ginny does resemble them a lot. We even know that when she's angry she sets her jaw in a way that highlights her physical resemblance to them.

She likes jokes like them and she uses her strong sense of humour to lighten up people just like the twins do. She also admires their determination.

Fred and George kind of take her under their wing in a way, but this is a vision created more by Ginny being younger than she actually ever acting as their helper. If you think about when she goes to them to solve Harry's problem with Sirius, it can be seen as them being her helpers. In short, there's simply more of a partnership. She definitely seems to spend a good amount of time with them. At Bill and Fleur's wedding, she even dances with their friend Lee, the implication being that they're quite familiar.

The twins are no better than Ron when it comes to Ginny dating. They do respect her strength far more than the rest of her family, though. They bring her with them at the Battle (even if I doubt there was any room for argument there) and they are the ones that tell Harry in OotP how powerful she is.

I've always imagined that after the war, it was Ginny the one who made George take the first step toward healing. After George, she was probably the one that missed Fred the most, if you can even compare that type of hurt anyway. Books in hand I would have said that Ginny became the closest sibling to George but Ron ended up working at the shop, so it was probably him eventually.

I'm really attached to Ron and Ginny's dynamic, probably because I have a brother close in age, and I think it should've had more space in the books. Honestly, someone can just give me the seven books from Ginny's pov?

With the obvious exception of the twins, Ron and Ginny are the closest Weasley siblings in age. And while Ginny is very attached to the twins, when it was only the four of them at home, it's pretty easy to imagine that Ron and Ginny ended up teaming up against the twins. Then they also spent two years alone at home. I'm pretty sure I've talked before about how Ginny going to Hogwarts and realising her brother had other friends and didn't want her around probably contributed to the insecurities that made her so vulnerable to the diary. Not that I'm saying it's Ron's fault, crazy Horcruxes aside, it's a pretty normal situation. [I'd like to specify that this is simply a deduction based on how these things work in real life]

Nevertheless, Ron is very attached to Ginny. While it's only Percy that acknowledges Ginny's weird behaviour in CoS, it's Ron that goes to save her (admittedly helped by the circumstances). We all know how protective he is of her when she starts dating and even when it comes to Harry, who is definitely Ron's chosen partner for Ginny, Ron doesn't let him get away with potentially hurting his sister. When Ron gets angry at Harry and Ginny's kiss in DH, he's not simply acting like an overprotective caveman, he's genuinely concerned for Ginny's feelings and he seems the only one in the family aware of what Ginny has gone through in the previous weeks. In the tent, when Ron and Harry have the fight, Ron throws to Harry's face that he doesn't care about Ginny. If I can give my personal interpretation, I've always thought that was mainly because, while Ron is happy with whatever keeps Ginny even a little safer, he feels deep down that if he had been in Harry's position he wouldn't have broken up with his girlfriend if he really loved her.

Ginny, while fully embodying her role as the annoying little sister (as she should), cares a lot about Ron. It's Ginny who is there for Ron when he embarrasses himself in front of Fleur. And I would argue that her making fun of Ron is actually a way to show affection (she imitates Harry too). We know that the twins' jabs at Ron don't help his self-esteem, but Ginny's ones are completely different because she is the younger one, the "power dynamic" allows Ginny to behave like that, it is expected of her. This is like: stuff you understand only if you have siblings.

Ron and Ginny seem to kind of lose each other a bit during the first books and then become close again during OotP, maybe helped by playing Quidditch together, which is actually a pretty normal progression for siblings close in age, but it might also have to do with Ginny simply being around Harry more and therefore him seeing more of Ron and Ginny together. By the end of OotP, Ron is praising his sister's hexing skills, which considering Ron's self-esteem issues is very valuable coming from him, and by suggesting that she should date Harry, he is pretty much inviting her into his group of friends, showing a lot of growth since PoA when he shoved her away.

When they fight with each other they absolutely go for the kill, there are no boundaries. And again, it's completely normal because they are siblings very close in age. Ginny and Ron's relationship is maybe the most unapologetically realistic one in the entirety of the books.

During the series, Ginny is definitely the sibling Ron is closer to. And they definitely remain close during the rest of their lives. Ginny marries Ron's best friend, Ginny is close with Hermione, and Ron is James' godfather. But Ron goes to work with George so he eventually probably becomes closer to him.

For my headcanons, well... it's actually quite supported by canon, but Ginny is canonically excellent at doing impressions, and when they are at Malfoy Manor, a super underpressure Ron imitates Wormtail's voice, so I like to imagine that there's a story there about some childhood game.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

You said that you were deep in the Marauders fandom until a few years ago. So, what are your thoughts on Lily and Snape's friendship? Do you believe it was toxic?

I believe it was as we see him being possesive, controlling, and sighing in relief when Lily calls James an arrogant toerag, as if as long as she "hated" James, everything was fine.

Sorry for the long ask, but I'd love to read your thoughts on if and how Snape's friendship influenced Lily in certain ways.

Don't apologize, I love this question, this is the type of topic I could go on about for fifteen hours.

Who is Severus Snape?

Snape is a half-blood who grows up mainly in the muggle world judging by where he lives and in a poor part of his town. His economic condition seems to strongly define his younger years in which he goes around dressing poorly and is ashamed of it. His parents constantly fight making his home an unhealthy environment for a child to grow up in. His father, a muggle, who seems to be the more abusive figure of the home, doesn't like magic but his mother comes from most likely a pure-blood family (Harry does this assumption in HBP and it's never disproven, the intent of the narrative, therefore, seems to be making the reader understand that she was a pureblood). We know that already as a child Severus shows a strong dislike for muggles, probably encouraged by a dislike for his father, and instead, he uplifts his magical bloodline (Half-Blood Prince).

He's bright, skilled particularly in potions, occlumensy, and the dark arts.

The more he grows up and the more he associates himself with the dark-arts, future death eaters, and goes around using the racial slur "mudblood". He'll eventually become a deatheater very close to Voldemort.

Who is Lily Evans?

Lily Evans is a muggle-born who grows up in a moderately decent economic condition. She's loved by her parents and by her sister too, at least until Hogwarts and magic come in between the two of them. She's exceptionally kind but also fierce and cheeky on occasion.

We don't know much about the people she surrounds herself with but we know she has a group of friends and is popular with the boys (via JK Rowling).

She most likely was a prefect, and she becomes Head Girl. Loved by Professor Slughorn for her talent in potions, she also has an inclination toward Charms.

She'll eventually become close with the Marauders, join the Order of the Phoenix, marry James Potter and have a son, Harry (don't know if you remember him, that kid with the glasses).

Their friendship

Severus and Lily become friends before going to Hogwarts. Snape comes from a bad family situation while Lily comes from a loving home. Severus knows everything about magic and Lily needs him to discover that she is a witch. This creates a dynamic where they both depend on the other. It is not surprising that Snape, who comes from a loveless home, quickly develops romantic feelings for the beautiful and exceptionally kind Lily. But because of Severus' dislike for muggles, he doesn't want anything to do with a very important person in Lily's life, her sister Petunia (not that Petunia's personality helps):

"You're... you're a witch," whispered Snape. She looked affronted. "That's not a very nice thing to say to somebody!" She turned, nose in the air, and marched off toward her sister. "No!" said Snape. He was highly colored now, and Harry wondered why he did not take off the ridiculously large coat, unless it was because he did not want to reveal the smock beneath it. He flapped after the girls, looking ludicrously batlike, like his older self. The sisters considered him, united in disapproval, both holding on to one of the swing poles, as though it was the safe place in tag. "You are," said Snape to Lily. "You are a witch. I've been watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong with that. My mum's one, and I'm a wizard." Petunia's laugh was like cold water. "Wizard!" she shrieked, her courage returned now that she had recovered from the shock of his unexpected appearance. "I know who you are. You're that Snape boy! They live down Spinner's End by the river," she told Lily, and it was evident from her tone that she considered the address a poor recommendation. "Why have you been spying on us?" "Haven't been spying," said Snape, hot and uncomfortable and dirty-haired in the bright sunlight. "Wouldn't spy on you, anyway," he added spitefully, "you're a Muggle." Though Petunia evidently did not understand the word, she could hardly mistake the tone. -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

Obviously, Petunia here is far from kind and her attitude certainly foreshadows her future personality, but I'd like to remind everyone that here she's a child confronting a creepy boy who has been spying on her and her younger sister and called her sister a "witch", and if you do not have the context, it does sound like an insult.

Snape, on the other hand, is the one who is trying to be likable, and do a good impression on Lily, yet it does not occur to him that being kind to her sister should be part of his plan to succeed. He doesn't take into consideration that Petunia is someone Lily cares about and he should be kind to her. In his eyes, she is "just a muggle". We see this behavior repeat several times, making it therefore consistent in his approach to gain a role in Lily's life:

"Tuney!" said Lily, surprise and welcome in her voice, but Snape had jumped to his feet. "Who's spying now?" he shouted. "What d'you want?" Petunia was breathless, alarmed at being caught. Harry could see her struggling for something hurtful to say. "What is that you're wearing, anyway?" she said, pointing at Snape's chest. "Your mum's blouse?" There was a crack. A branch over Petunia's head had fallen. Lily screamed. The branch caught Petunia on the shoulder, and she staggered backward and burst into tears. "Tuney!" But Petunia was running away. Lily rounded on Snape. "Did you make that happen?" "No." He looked both defiant and scared. "You did!" She was backing away from him. "You did! You hurt her!" "No-- no, I didn't!" But the lie did not convince Lily. After one last burning look, she ran from the little thicket, off after her sister, and Snape looked miserable and confused... -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

There's surprise in Lily's voice when she sees her sister but also welcome, she wants her around. Snape, on the other hand, wants her nowhere in sight. And at the first unkind comment, he reacts in an extremely aggressive way. That kind of comment is not unlikely for young kids in an argument and yet Snape lets a branch fall on Petunia due to it. Even if you want to argue that it was accidental magic, we know how it works thanks to Harry. Harry's most violent response was the one with Aunt Marge and I think we can all agree that the situations were quite different, even only for the fact that in that case it was an adult verbally abusing a child. Yet, even there, Harry was not as violent. Therefore we can conclude that the gesture of letting the branch fall on Petunia is telling of Snape's personality, not only for his need to have Lily all to himself even if someone Lily loves gets hurt emotionally and physically in the process but also for his tendency to resort to violence at the first sight of trouble.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore." "So what?" She threw him a look of deep dislike. "So she's my sister!" "She's only a--" He caught himself quickly; Lily, too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed, did not hear him. -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

Again, Severus doesn't understand why Lily would care for her sister because to him she is just a muggle. He doesn't seem capable to grasp that her sister's inability to perform magic isn't relevant for Lily or that for someone, in general, having their sister hate them might be hurtful. He is unable to empathize with Lily. Even with him not liking Petunia and considering muggles worthless, you would expect him to at least understand that one would care about their sister.

And even years later, when they are not friends anymore, when he's an adult claiming to feel despite it all an everlasting love for Lily, he still does not care about the people she loves. His focus is exclusively on her. He does not bother to question what she might want, what might be important to her.

"You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son, he is going to hunt her down-- kill them all--" "If she means so much to you," said Dumbledore, "surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?" "I have-- I have asked him--" "You disgust me," said Dumbledore, and Harry had never heard so much contempt in his voice. Snape seemed to shrink a little, "You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child? They can die, as long as you have what you want?" Snape said nothing, but merely looked up at Dumbledore. "Hide them all, then," he croaked. "Keep her-- them-- safe. Please." -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

There's a strong element of selfishness in the way Snape loves Lily. It's always about him, about what he cares. He does not bother to consider what it is that makes Lily happy, that makes her life worth living, he only considers what matters to him: Lily. He also cares about alleviating his sense of guilt. He is fighting for a terroristic group that wants to kill people like her, if her safety really mattered to him, then he would fight against them. He takes action only when he is directly responsible for her highlighted position in Voldermort's list of killings to do.

It lives in Severus a refusal to accept that his allegiance with Voldemort and the death eaters is directly in contrast with his proclaimed love for Lily. He is no different than those racists who make an exception for their POC friends. Snape is an extremely intelligent person, yet his hate for muggles and muggleborns tops his logic:

"I was. I would have done. I never meant to call you Mudblood, it just--" "Slipped out?" There was no pity in Lily's voice. "It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends-- you see, you don't even deny it! You don't even deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?" He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking. "I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine." "No-- listen, I didn't mean--" "-- to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?" -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

He illudes himself to be right, that there's nothing wrong with his ideas, that there's no contrast between him being a death eater and his friendship with Lily. And Lily, who as we said is known for her kindness, and probably views Severus as her only connection to home, for years keeps ignoring the obvious signs of what direction his path in life will take:

"...thought we were supposed to be friends?" Snape was saying, "Best friends?" "We are, Sev, but I don't like some of the people you're hanging round with! I'm sorry, but I detest Avery and Mulciber! Mulciber! What do you see in him, Sev, he's creepy! D'you know what he tried to do to Mary Macdonald the other day?" Lily had reached a pillar and leaned against it, looking up into the thin, sallow face. "That was nothing," said Snape. "It was a laugh, that's all--" "It was Dark Magic, and if you think that's funny--" "What about the stuff Potter and his mates get up to?" demanded Snape. His color rose again as he said it, unable, it seemed, to hold in his resentment. "What's Potter got to do with anything?" said Lily. -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

Again, like when he was little and Petunia insulted him, he doesn't seem to be able to discern that there are different levels of aggressiveness. Petunia insulted him so he is justified in making a branch fall on her. James is immature finding funny hexing people so it's fine for him and his friends to use dark magic. He has the same response when he fights with James by the lake, where he responds to some admittedly quite mean spells with dark magic.

Probably what's most interesting about these episodes, though, is that he tries to justify his level of violence by comparing it to a lower level of violence used by people Lily cares about (yes, James included, even at this point) and acts like those levels of aggressiveness are actually higher than his. It seems he needs to say that he is not simply just like them, but that they are worse. Despite the fact that he knows deep down that he is wrong, otherwise he wouldn't have this need. He constantly feels insecure in the position he has in her life and the solution that he finds is trying to convince Lily to cut out everybody else, starting with her sister. Once Snape realises Lily's growing feelings for James, he becomes the new enemy in Severus' game. James is clearly a terrible example to bring up, he doesn't do dark magic, and he saved his life. If he wanted to stick with the Marauders, it would have made ten times more sense to bring up Sirius, who actually tried to kill him, instead of James. But Snape has no reason to feel threatened by Sirius, Lily holds no feelings for him. James, on the other hand, is an all-different matter. Lily herself has no idea why he is bringing up James.

"I know your theory," said Lily, and she sounded cold. "Why are you so obsessed with them anyway? Why do you care what they're doing at night?" "I'm just trying to show you they're not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are." The intensity of his gaze made her blush. "They don't use Dark Magic, though." She dropped her voice. "And you're being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the other night. You went sneaking down that tunnel by the Whomping Willow, and James Potter saved you from whatever's down there-" Snape's whole face contorted and he spluttered, "Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends' too! You're not going to-- I won't let you--" "Let me? Let me?" Lily's bright green eyes were slits. Snape backtracked at once. "I didn't mean-- I just don't want to see you made a fool of-- He fancies you, James Potter fancies you!" The words seemed wrenched from him against his will. "And he's not... everyone thinks... big Quidditch hero--" Snape's bitterness and dislike were rendering him incoherent, and Lily's eyebrows were traveling farther and farther up her forehead. "I know James Potter's an arrogant toerag," she said, cutting across Snape. "I don't need you to tell me that. But Mulciber's and Avery's idea of humor is just evil. Evil, Sev. I don't understand how you can be friends with them." Harry doubted that Snape had even heard her strictures on Mulciber and Avery. The moment she had insulted James Potter, his whole body had relaxed, and as they walked away there was a new spring in Snape's step... -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

[Oh, look, Lily not addressing the fact that James fancies her, I wonder why. Like mother, like son.]

He couldn't care less about the criticisms of his friendships, the only thing he cares about is that she still thinks that James is an arrogant toerag. He doesn't understand that the reason why he's losing Lily is himself. It goes beyond romantic jealousy, we saw this similar attitude of wanting Lily all to himself even when the other person was her sister. He seems to believe that the only way for Lily to care about him, it's him being the only important person in her life (we know she had other friends but they mustn't have been that important if we don't know their names). I have no doubt that he didn't comprehend for a long time that the reason why he lost Lily was not James but himself. Sure, Lily would've married James anyway, but if Snape had opened his eyes and really listened to her, his best friend, and her worries, then he would've had a much happier life. I do think that at a certain point, he kind of understood this:

"The-- the prophecy... the prediction... Trelawney..." "Ah, yes," said Dumbledore. "How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?" "Everything-- everything I heard!" said Snape. "That is why-- it is for that reason-- he thinks it means Lily Evans!"

"Meaning?" "I have spied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter's son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter--" -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

There are sixteen years, more or less, between these two moments. In the first, he calls her Lily Evans, even if she's already married, in the other, he calls her Lily Potter.

That said, he doesn't completely lose his obsessive streak when it comes to Lily:

And next, Snape was kneeling in Sirius's old bedroom. Tears were dripping from the end of his hooked nose as he read the old letter from Lily. The second page carried only a few words: could ever have been friends with Gellert Grindelwald. I think her mind's going, personally! Lots of love, Lily Snape took the page bearing Lily's signature, and her love, and tucked it inside his robes. Then he ripped in two the photograph he was also holding, so that he kept the part from which Lily laughed, throwing the portion showing James and Harry back onto the floor, under the chest of drawers... -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

If it can be conceded me a personal comment, this is one of the creepiest things I've ever read. Especially as a woman, this type of behavior, from a man, in particular, makes my skin crawl.

Taking away Lily in a photo where she was smiling at her husband and son, ripping off her signature and the love for her friend, eliminating the context of her behavior, taking possession, against her will, of her happiness directed at the people she loved, a list of people Snape had not been part of for a very long time... it's just disturbing.

Was Lily and Severus' friendship toxic?

Well, at this point the answer seems clear. Yes, their friendship was toxic.

I'm sure they also had fun together. They were both bright people and loved potions, Lily was beloved by many, and if you pay attention Snape did have a pretty enticing sense of humor.

But Lily clang to Severus as the only person who could connect her to the other half of her life, first the magical one then the muggle one, and refused to see the real him, for far too long.

Severus didn't grow up in the best of family situations and he never had Harry's natural goodness of heart. He was obsessive, possessive, vengeful, and prone to violence. He wanted incompatible things, Lily's love, and revenge against the muggle world that had wronged him.

He also never had a healthy vision of what love is. True love is selfless, true love is wanting the other person to be happy regardless of what it means for you. True love is Harry who breaks up with his greatest source of comfort, that knows that her future will have happiness and marriage and babies and that, by leaving her, he probably won't be there to live it with her. But if what he does means that Ginny can have all that, then it's a sacrifice worth doing.

.

“If you’re looking for the word that means caring about someone beyond all rationality and wanting them to have everything they want, no matter how much it destroys you, it's love.”

-Ted Mosby, How I Met Your Mother, season 9, episode 17

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Which couple marry first hinny or romoine in your opinion? Please do share.

Can I just say that I love that "please do share"? It makes me feel important.

OK, now, about the ask...

Short answer: Harry and Ginny

There are several circumstantial reasons but there's one in particular that I believe to be the essential point and weirdly enough I've never seen anyone bring it up. So, without further ado, let's start with the long answer:

The circumstantial reasons are these (to understand some of the following points it's necessary to remember that we are working on a pretty small window of years. James Sirius was born in 2004 and the first year after the war Ginny and Hermione were at Hogwarts):

Harry and Ginny have basically a whole year over Ron and Hermione. While they were technically broken up for several months, they were emotionally together. When they got back together, the romantic dynamic was not something new that they explored for the first time. And even the first time around they fell into it extremely easily. We also see that after nearly a year apart, they are still perfectly in tune with Harry who needs one single look to make Ginny calm down. Ron and Hermione get together in an extremely complicated time and, while having feelings for each other for years, they are also both people with a tendency to overthink, so there might be some awkwardness at the start (obviously it would be much easier to make a correct assumption on this if we ever saw how they interact alone).

Ginny and Hermione go back to Hogwarts. While for sure not easy for Harry and Ginny, we already know that they dealt with a year apart in the worst possible conditions, they also display a secure attachment style. Ron and Hermione are far from used to being apart, their romantic relationship is newer, and they do not display a secure attachment style (even if I like to believe that they eventually gained some of that maturity), so it's pretty easy to imagine how that year of long-distance relationship was far more difficult to manage for them.

Marriage is not something far away from Harry's mind. In DH we have him imagining Ginny in a wedding dress, addressing her as his family, then there's the whole death sequence with the comparison between the family he'll have in death and the one he can have living. Ginny's declarations between the end of HBP and the start of DH all point to an everlasting love that she is comfortable labeling as such out loud. All of this while Ron and Hermione are still playing the "you love me, you love me not" game.

Harry and Ginny had Teddy to set them already in a domestic mood. If a Teddy of age spends four dinners a week with the Potters, imagine how much time he spent with them as a child. Not that children and marriage need to be necessarily connected but they are undeniably on the same line of thinking, especially for two people who want both marriage and babies and have a romantic streak. Ginny is far more explicitly romantic than Harry, but I think we can all agree that Harry "her blush is like the setting sun" Potter is a closeted romantic.

Hermione is not exactly someone that I would call family-oriented seeing how little time she spends with her parents. She obviously is enough to get married and have children but what we know about her character suggests that they wouldn't be a short-term priority for her.

In the most likely correct assumption that Hermione's parents weren't too happy about being shipped off to Australia without their consent and that Hermione cared about healing her relationship with them, it would be reasonable for Hermione to find it necessary to keep the family dynamic stable for some years. Especially considering that, despite it all, she still goes back for her last year at Hogwarts separating herself from them once again.

Harry and Ginny started having children sooner. Obviously, it's pure statistic here.

I think that Ron and Hermione dancing around each other for a million years proves quite clearly that Harry and Ginny are far more impulsive people.

Also: I've seen some people say that Ginny would want to wait a while to get married to affirm her independence or something like that but when exactly did Ginny Weasley, who took the surname Potter and decided for a career change to have more time with her children, ever gave you the impression that she would take such decisions on how others might or might not perceive her? Or that Harry's fame is something she struggles with and wants to avoid like the plague? Doesn't it sound a lot more like Ginny saying "I'm gonna destroy all your arses on the Quidditch pitch and I'm going to do it with whatever surname I prefer"? Plus, I might add that it didn't take much time for Ginny to become famous in her own right. According to Rowling, Ginny was a celebrated Quidditch player. Considering that she played for only four/five years but also simply how the careers of great athletes work, if she weren't a first-string player when she entered the team (but she most likely was) then she became one during her first year playing.

Now these were all points that suggest that Harry and Ginny would marry sooner but there is one very specific reason that I think gives us pretty much certainty on the answer:

Marriage is not just about how much you love each other. There's a very strong economic component to it.

Harry and Ginny are, to put it very plainly, rich. Harry has both the Potter and Black fortunes and, even if I highly doubt they lived there after they got married, he has already a house at Grimmauld Place. Ginny is a celebrated professional Quidditch player who plays in an elitist team. In short, she instantly made a lot of money. Add to this that between being a great player, and conventionally good-looking, she probably sold an insane amount of merch. Yeah, Ginny was loaded even without Harry's money.

Ron and Hermione have normal jobs. Hermione having two parents that are dentists was definitely from a family who was comfortable money-wise but there's no indication of her being a trust-found baby. Ron was an Auror for two years (it's not clear if it's meant as the three years of training plus two years or just two years) and then he went to work with George. Now, if it was only two years, training included: while we know that the twins could afford things they would've never dreamed to afford before, it's always in comparison to what the Weasleys could afford. At the end of the day, they are still two young men who have to provide only for themselves and live in the little apartment above their shop. This is to say that, while the business is successful, they are not rich (the shop was also probably closed for a while). Now, for the life of me, I can't imagine Ron Weasley, who throughout the series is so sensitive towards money, being ok with marriage without being 100% sure of having the economic safety to afford a house and to provide an economically comfortable life for eventual children. Also, even with less money apprehension, Hermione probably had an entire plan with goals to reach before taking every important life step. If there's something that Ron, the chess master, and Hermione, the organization obsessed, have in common is that they think things through a lot, which is what brings them to occasionally overthink.

This said, I still think that Ron and Hermione married before James Sirius was born, I don't think they married a lot of years after Harry and Ginny. Rose is after all just two years younger than James. Even if the idea of Ron and Hermione dealing with an unplanned out-of-wedlock baby is hilarious.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Both Ginny and Voldemort has yew wand. What is the significance of this? Or it was just coincidence?

Please share your thoughts

I love this question so much.

This is my most recent ask but the moment I read it my brain went into overdrive and I next thing I knew I was researching yew trees.

.

I highly doubt it is a coincidence because while we know the wood of Voldemort's wand from PS, we only found out Ginny's in 2016, when Rowling was already well aware of people's assumption that every detail in the series had meaning. Plus, Rowling wrote herself on Pottermore, which is now Wizarding World but in my head will always be Pottermore, the meaning of the wood of the wands. And, actually, I think we should start from there, so here is what she wrote (as Ollivander) about yew wands:

Yew wands are among the rarer kinds, and their ideal matches are likewise unusual, and occasionally notorious. The wand of yew is reputed to endow its possessor with the power of life and death, which might, of course, be said of all wands; and yet yew retains a particularly dark and fearsome reputation in the spheres of duelling and all curses. However, it is untrue to say (as those unlearned in wandlore often do) that those who use yew wands are more likely to be attracted to the Dark Arts than another. The witch or wizard best suited to a yew wand might equally prove a fierce protector of others. Wands hewn from these most long-lived trees have been found in the possession of heroes quite as often as of villains. Where wizards have been buried with wands of yew, the wand generally sprouts into a tree guarding the dead owner’s grave. What is certain, in my experience, is that the yew wand never chooses either a mediocre or a timid owner. -> source

[Can we take a moment to think about the imagery of a beautiful tree emerging from Ginny's grave once her time comes? Especially considering that she was born and raised in the countryside.]

I think we can all agree that neither good old Tom nor Ginny can be considered average people and are both notorious. Tom is, well, Voldemort, and Ginny is a war hero, wizarding royalty according to Rita Skeeter, a celebrated Quidditch player and the most authoritative voice in wizarding sport in Britain considering that she became editor of the sports section of the Daily Prophet, the most read newspaper in the British wizarding world.

The yew wands seem to have owners who are particularly skilled in duelling and dark magic. In Tom's case [I love calling him Tom] is quite obvious what we are talking about, but Ginny too is a gifted duellist and her signature move is indeed a hex that she casts with such mastery that Slughorn invited her in his very exclusive club after seeing her casting it once. Obviously, being able to master a dark branch of magic doesn't necessarily mean being evil. As we have just read, yew wands have been just as much of villains as of heroes. What particularly interests me is that reference to the possessor of this type of wand who chooses the path of light being proven a fierce protector of others. I've talked on more than one occasion at this point of Ginny's arc as a protector of others (here and here), and apparently, her wand fits quite nicely in that narrative too.

So in short we know that this kind of wand goes to people who can't be considered average or timid, and are skilled in duelling and are generally naturally powerful. Clearly, it matches both Tom and Ginny but let's go into the specifics of why these are the only two characters that we know have a yaw wand.

If you have guessed it, clap yourself on the back, it's symbolism time!

As we have read in JKR's piece, the owner of the wand is said to have the power of life and death, this comes from the folklore around yew trees:

Yew trees were used as symbols of immortality, but also seen as omens of doom. For many centuries it was the custom for yew branches to be carried on Palm Sunday and at funerals. -> source

Drooping branches of old yew trees can root and form new trunks where they touch the ground. Thus the yew came to symbolise death and resurrection in Celtic culture. [...] The themes of death and resurrection continued into the Christian era. People buried yew shoots with the deceased, and used boughs of yew as ‘Palms’ in church at Easter. -> source

Tom and Ginny in the story, and therefore in Harry's life, are representations of diametrically opposite things. Tom is death, destruction of any future, and despair. Ginny is life, creation of a future, and hope.

Such opposite concepts and yet their power comes from the same source: yew, which in fact represents both. Because life and death do come from the same source. After all, can you die if you can't live? And can you really live if you can't die?

And so Ginny and Tom are often connected in the series and always put in plot points that bring up the themes of life and death.

In CoS, Tom is the bringer of death, the drainer of life, and Ginny constantly fights against him in the name of living, of light, and when all hope seems lost, she survives. And because she was on the verge of death, in a way it can be considered a rebirth Ginny's one, a resurrection, a second chance at life. And even more interestingly, what was leading Ginny to death was an object Tom had created due to his obsession with eternity. Yet it's when part of Voldemort's soul gets destroyed, dies, that Ginny "resurrects".

In OotP, the "lucky you" scene has the obvious interpretation of Ginny being connected just as much as Harry is to Voldemort's darkness. But it also puts us in front of the reality that on one side we have Tom's darkness and evil, and on the other, we have Ginny's strength and will to live to such a powerful degree that it becomes easy to forget she was connected to that darkness. It becomes easy to forget that life is so linked to death.

HBP is a whole book based on a binary structure that brings a juxtaposition between darkness and light. If on one side we have Harry diving into the dark story of Tom Riddle and his many terrible acts, and on the other, we have the beauty and the light and joy of Harry discovering his love for Ginny.

At the end of the book, Voldemort and Ginny are linked again in the break-up scene. Harry starts his journey to kill Voldemort, takes his first step towards death, leaving behind Ginny, life and love.

In DH, when Harry and Ginny kiss, Ginny is reminding Harry that there's life waiting for him after the darkness of a path that seems destined to end up in death. When Harry thinks, not long after that, about marrying Ginny, there's once again the contrast between Voldemort on one side, and on the other Ginny marrying, a representation of future and life. Obviously, the whole thing is quite depressing because Harry thinks he won't marry her, and that his destiny is in death.

And then there's Harry's death scene. Voldemort is once again the perpetrator of death, but Harry's last thought is of Ginny, of life, of the future, of what he would be leaving behind by dying.

Ginny and Tom in Harry's story are the opposite of one another, isn't it therefore quite fitting that their power comes from the same wood? Just like Voldemort and Harry, two enemies, having wands with the same core.

So, while the characteristics of the owners of yew wands fit perfectly Voldemort and our dear Ginevra, I think this authorial choice has more to do with their symbolic roles in the series.

Because of their symbolic link to life and death, yew trees are often found in graveyards.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Hi , I hope you are doing well. I just want to ask, you have mentioned in one of your post Ginny's name symbolic for hinny being soulmates. please elaborate on that bit.

Thank u

Let's clarify something, I've never said this. I want it to be put on record.

[Also, thank you, I hope you are well, too]

What I did say is that soulmates dynamics usually rely heavily on symbolism. Because soulmates are not a proven real thing, unless they exist explicitly in the worldbuilding of the story, the author uses symbolism to communicate with the reader that yes, they are very conscious of what they are writing, it's written on purpose, those characters are meant for each other. Symbolism is also the literary translation of fate and destiny, obviously essential elements when talking about soulmates. Clearly, the whole symbolic level of narration means nothing in terms of the soulmates storyline if the dynamic of the couple doesn't support it (Harry and Ginny's one does).

Now, one of the many symbolic elements in Harry and Ginny's story is Ginny's name.

Let's see why.

Ginny's full name is Ginevra, an Italian name that comes from the ancient Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. Ginevra means bright spirit, or even bright elf (if someone is in the mood to write a LotR hinny AU).

Ginny throughout the series is often associated with light and warmth, both on a direct level and on a more metaphorical one, and in the last book, she is even directly described as a brilliant light. She Harry's light, she is life itself.

Therefore Ginny's name fits perfectly into the whole symbolic system around her character, a character who is actually one of the main columns of the symbolic system of the entire saga.

It doesn't end here, though.

Ginevra is the Italian version of the name Guinevere.

Guinevere happens to be the wife of King Arthur. The Arthur hero of the legend, like our Harry.

But here is when it gets interesting.

Guinevere is also pretty famous for having cheated on Arthur, this is the complete opposite of Ginny who has been devoted to Harry since before they even met in a way. Ginny has always loved Harry, even when she really didn't want to, and will always love him.

Does this mean that calling Harry's future wife Ginevra was a poor choice?

No.

Referencing a famous story, using it as a trope if you will, but then changing the ending is something that Rowling does on more than one occasion and various times specifically with Harry and Ginny.

Ginny running after the train and Harry looking at her in PS is reminiscing of many love stories, but instead of being a painful goodbye with a promise of a reunion, it's a hello. It's the first time they meet.

Harry saving Ginny from the Chamber is a situation built in a way that strongly references Orpheus and Eurydice but Harry, unlike Orpheus, manages to actually save Ginny.

In the break-up scene between Harry and Ginny, you can see the usual pattern of the hero breaking up with the love of their life because they consider themselves too dangerous, but usually what happens is that the hero lies about their own feelings in order to make sure the love interest stays away, a White Fang situation if you will. A type of scene that is reminiscent of the ending of the highly successful first Spider-Man movie (that came out only three years before HBP and might have easily influenced JKR) where Peter refuses MJ, and at a funeral of all moments. But with Harry and Ginny, Rowling once again adds her own twist. Harry doesn't lie to Ginny, he is extremely honest about his reasons and emotions, and even the things he can't tell her are things that Ginny already knows even if not in detail (that he's going after Voldemort).

In conclusion, Ginevra is definitely a name chosen very carefully. You can like it or not, but Harry and Ginny's story is one of the most clearly meticulously crafted dynamics of the series.

Fun fact: the Italian version of the name is also associated with the juniper (ginepro in Italian). The juniper in many cultures - from the ancient Greek to the Celtic one - is linked to magic and protection (Ginny is a powerful witch, and one of her arcs is her being a protector of others). Particularly in Mesopotamian mythology, it was the plant of the goddess Ištar, goddess of sex and war, who could bring death and destruction but also love and fertility (Ginny's character is basically a delicate balancing act between harshness and sweetness). To add to this, her animal was the lion (Ginny is a leo).

[thegirlwhowrites642]

your thoughts on post-war, in relationship hinny fights? how they dealt with it, etc?

What we are going to see in this post: -> How they deal with conflict in canon -> My conclusions for their post-war life

How do Harry and Ginny handle conflict?

I think we should start with the fact that Harry and Ginny do not fight a lot. In all the moments in which we see them fighting, it is always about/during important life and death kind of situations. This is coherent with one of the main themes of their relationship which is this deep natural understanding that they have of one another. But let's see in detail how this prevents them from fighting and which other elements contribute to that.

While they are characters with some respectable tempers, they seem to be calmed down by each other thanks to something that goes beyond words:

“I didn’t ask — I didn’t want — Voldemort killed my parents!” Harry spluttered. “I got famous because he murdered my family but couldn’t kill me! Who wants to be famous for that? Don’t they think I’d rather it’d never —” “We know, Harry,” said Ginny earnestly. -Chapter 9, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling

Ginny here needs a simple sentence to calm Harry. Not only does she know what to say, but her success is probably also due to that "earnestly". Because Harry understands Ginny really well, even when angry he catches her sincerity and he deeply values it. Harry and Ginny in general are always very honest with each other, it's something that it's easy to imagine that they crave with the both of them having the experience of being manipulated. Just look at the break-up scene: Harry does not invent excuses to separate from her. He tells her clearly how things are. They are never afraid of exposing themselves to the other, again, see the break-up scene but also the kiss in DH. They are not afraid to be vulnerable with each other, and this shields them from arguments due to miscommunication.

But let's go back to them calming each other:

"Mom's right, Ginny," said Bill gently. "You can't do this. Everyone underage will have to leave, it's only right." "I can't go home!" Ginny shouted, angry tears sparkling in her eyes. "My whole family's here, I can't stand waiting there alone and not knowing and—" Her eyes met Harry's for the first time. She looked at him beseechingly, but he shook his head and she turned away bitterly. "Fine," she said, staring at the entrance to the tunnel back to the Hog's Head. "I'll say goodbye now, then, and—" -Chapter 30, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

Here we can see Harry doing for Ginny what Ginny did in OotP for him. At this point, they do not even need sentences anymore, just a single look (and here they have not seen each other for nearly a year).

But there's not just their ability to calm one another when they are already angry, there's also the fact that they know how to handle each other's tempers when they're only barely showing. This is thanks to their shared sense of humor. The same sense of humor that is quite an essential part of their personalities.

"Panicked," Ginny said angrily, landing next to Demelza and examining her fat lip. "You prat, Ron, look at the state of her!" "I can fix that," said Harry, landing beside the two girls, pointing his wand at Demelzas mouth, and saying "Episkey." "And Ginny, don't call Ron a prat, you're not the Captain of this team—" "Well, you seemed too busy to call him a prat and I thought someone should—" Harry forced himself not to laugh. -Chapter 14, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, JK Rowling

Any kind of annoyance that Harry might have had disappears at Ginny's joke. In all honesty, they are very bad at being annoyed with each other. Harry does the same thing for Ginny at the end of the same book:

". . . so eet ees lucky 'e is marrying me," said Fleur happily, plumping up Bill's pillows, "because ze British overcook their meat, I 'ave always said this. " "I suppose I'm just going to have to accept that he really is going to marry her," sighed Ginny later that evening, as she, Harry, Ron and Hermione sat beside the open window of the Gryffindor common room, looking out over the twilit grounds. "She's not that bad," said Harry. "Ugly, though," he added hastily, as Ginny raised her eyebrows, and she let out a reluctant giggle. "Well, I suppose if Mum can stand it, I can. " -Chapter 30, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, JK Rowling

I don't think it's very easy to be annoyed at someone when you understand them as well as Harry and Ginny understand each other, especially when you are not the kind of people who make drama just for the hell of it.

Even when they are fully annoyed at the other, they let go very quickly:

'Oh, look!' said Ginny, as they drew nearer, pointing at the very heart of the bell jar. Drifting along in the sparkling current inside was a tiny, jewel-bright egg. As it rose in the jar, it cracked open and a hummingbird emerged, which was carried to the very top of the jar, but as it fell on the draught its feathers became bedraggled and damp again, and by the time it had been borne back to the bottom of the jar it had been enclosed once more in its egg. 'Keep going!' said Harry sharply, because Ginny showed signs of wanting to stop and watch the egg's progress back into a bird. 'You dawdled enough by that old arch!' she said crossly, but followed him past the bell jar to the only door behind it. -Chapter 34, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling

Harry and Ginny are not vengeful people. They are not the kind to keep petty fights going on. Even Harry's hatred for Malfoy never leads him to plot revenge against him and all his actions against him are a consequence of Malfoy's actions. This is very similar to the way Ginny uses her Bat-Bogey Hex, it's always out of necessity or a moment of blind temper, and there's never a malicious plot behind it.

We see this also in the famous "Lucky you" scene:

'All been talking about me, have you? Well, I'm getting used to it.' 'We wanted to talk to you, Harry,' said Ginny, 'but as you've been hiding ever since we got back — ' 'I didn't want anyone to talk to me,' said Harry, who was feeling more and more nettled. 'Well, that was a bit stupid of you,' said Ginny angrily, 'seeing as you don't know anyone but me who's been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels.' Harry remained quite still as the impact of these words hit him. Then he wheeled round. 'I forgot,' he said. 'Lucky you,' said Ginny coolly. 'I'm sorry,' Harry said, and he meant it. 'So... so, do you think I'm being possessed, then?' 'Well, can you remember everything you've been doing?' Ginny asked. 'Are there big blank periods where you don't know what you've been up to?' -Chapter 23, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling

Ginny here is very quick to forgive Harry and it has to do with the fact that, as I said, she is not someone who harbors resentment, but in a way, we also circle back to maybe the fundamental column of their relationship: they understand each other perfectly. Ginny doesn't need a five hours long speech about how sorry Harry is. It's specified if you look at the text, how Harry means that "I'm sorry" and, not only does Ginny know that, but Harry knows that she knows and has accepted his apology because he's comfortable enough to then ask his question.

This scene also brings us to another major point of how they argue with each other: respect. The way Harry and Ginny argue with each other is different from the way they argue with other people.

'WELL, I EXPECT HE'D SAY SOMETHING DIFFERENT IF HE KNEW WHAT I'D JUST—' The classroom door opened. Harry, Ron and Hermione whipped around. Ginny walked in, looking curious, closely followed by Luna, who as usual looked as though she had drifted in accidentally. 'Hi,' said Ginny uncertainly. 'We recognised Harry's voice. What are you yelling about?' 'Never you mind,' said Harry roughly. Ginny raised her eyebrows. 'There's no need to take that tone with me,' she said coolly, 'I was only wondering whether I could help.' 'Well, you can't,' said Harry shortly. 'You're being rather rude, you know,' said Luna serenely. Harry swore and turned away. The very last thing he wanted now was a conversation with Luna Lovegood. -Chapter 32, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling

Harry is yelling in full caps lock at Ron and Hermione, there wouldn't have been anything weird if he continued on the same line with who interrupted him in such an emotionally charged moment but the person who interrupts is not just someone, it's Ginny. So while he doesn't want her there, she is still worthy not only of his time but of his respect. He goes back to a reasonable tone. This scene creates a hierarchy between the characters. Ginny's worthy of Harry's time and respect, Ron and Hermione of his time, Luna of neither.

The scene also shows how Harry and Ginny go straight to the point: she says she wants to help him, he says that she can't, they do not dance around it and they are able to take each other's honesty. When Ginny says "There's no need to take that tone with me", Harry takes it. When Luna says "You're being rather rude, you know", he turns away. Luna may be right or wrong, but Harry doesn't care.

This clipped tone and snarkiness they use in that scene returns again:

'OK, fine, it's your choice,' he said curtly, 'but unless we can find more Thestrals you're not going to be able—' 'Oh, more of them will come,' said Ginny confidently, who like Ron was squinting in quite the wrong direction, apparently under the impression that she was looking at the horses. 'What makes you think that?' 'Because, in case you hadn't noticed, you and Hermione are both covered in blood,' she said coolly, 'and we know Hagrid lures Thestrals with raw meat. That's probably why these two turned up in the first place.' -Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling

Ginny here would very much love to strangle Harry but she channels that with smartass comments and then she lets it go. This is very different from how we see Ginny fight with her family. Harry doesn't want her involved. When other people do that she kicks, and explodes in rage, but not with Harry. As much as she disagrees with him, there's a level of respect for Harry that stops her from behaving as she does with others.

As we all know, they are both unafraid of each other's tempers, in contrast with how other characters react to them:

'They do, do they?' said Harry, glaring at Ron and Ginny. Ron looked down at his feet but Ginny seemed quite unabashed. 'Well, you have!' she said. 'And you won't look at any of us!' 'It's you lot who won't look at me!' said Harry angrily. -Chapter 23, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling

But at the same time, they do not provoke in the other that kind of anger that is meant to dominate the other. Because that is not what they want to do. They just want to tell their side of the story but they also do it in a way that shows that they are listening to what the other is saying.

The fact that Harry listens to what Ginny has to say is something that we see again when she's concerned about the potions book:

"Hang on," said a voice close by Harry's left ear and he caught a sudden waft of that flowery smell he had picked up in Slughorn's dungeon. He looked around and saw that Ginny had joined them. "Did I hear right? You've been taking orders from something someone wrote in a book, Harry?" She looked alarmed and angry. Harry knew what was on her mind at once. "It's nothing," he said reassuringly, lowering his voice. "It's not like, you know, Riddle's diary. It's just an old textbook someone's scribbled on." "But you're doing what it says?" "I just tried a few of the tips written in the margins, honestly, Ginny, there's nothing funny—" -Chapter 9, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, JK Rowling

Just half a minute before this, Harry was deeply annoyed by Hermione asking about the book but Ginny's concerns are immediately valid to Harry. There's also the addiction that Ginny's concerns are concerns that Harry values as reasonable to have, they have the same value system. Once Harry reassures her, she never brings it up again. She exposes her concerns but accepts his explanations and respects his choices. She trusts him, she doesn't try to parent him. They are on the same level, neither believes/wants to have the high ground.

Conclusions for their post-war life

Harry and Ginny as teenagers show a level of maturity in their fights with each other that I would argue a lot of couples married for a decade don't have. And they can only improve.

So let's try to paint a picture of how this aspect of their adult lives is.

Harry and Ginny fight rarely and about matters they consider very important.

The goal of their fights is to present their side of the story while listening to the other and once they calm down they decide if it's something they can let go or if they need to work out a solution.

They shout rarely, they tend to use more of a clipped and snarky tone. Because they know each other so well they can stab each other like no one else can, but they also apologize quickly and mean it, and that is enough for the other. Harry and Ginny are exactly the kind of couple who naturally respects the "do not go to bed angry".

As for what their fights may be about... they have a secure attachment style so dramatic displays of jealousy are not their problem. Married couples usually fight about three things: in-laws, money, and children. In-laws and money are not a problem with them. I may see some discussions on how to raise the children when it comes to safety, Ginny growing up with six brothers is probably a "they can handle themselves" kind of mother, while I see Harry being a bit overprotective. That overprotectiveness could also be shown directly towards Ginny. Harry respects Ginny's strength but when it's a life-threatening situation, his priority is her being safe and considering that they lead public lives this theme could come back. Harry also probably adds a couple of enemies to his list being an Auror, and such an important one. Ginny obviously wouldn't like being sheltered. While she would understand where it comes from, she wouldn't take it. I think in general if one of them decided to keep something from the other out of protectiveness, the other wouldn't like it at all because their usual default dynamic is honesty.

In short: very few fights, handled with respect and not dragged out, can hurt each other like no one else can but are also quick to apologize and forgive.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

I saw a Tumblr post that says Ginny should destroy a horcrux. What's your thoughts on this? And if you agree which horcrux Ginny should had destroyed?

While I understand the sentiment behind that statement, I have to disagree, but let's see why.

In the first place, I would argue that Ginny might not have destroyed a Horcrux but she certainly defeated one, in the most contorted, darkest, complex way. Let's also not forget that if it hadn't been for Harry finding the diary, Ginny wouldn't have ended up in the Chamber. She was eleven and strong enough to win a mental war against Voldemort.

The only comparable show of mental strength regarding the destruction of a Horcrux is Harry walking to his death, but technically Harry was not a Horcrux. It's a different thing, I'm not going to count him in the Horcruxes.

Anyway, which Horcruxes were destroyed when Ginny was around?

The diadem, the snake, and the cup.

Ginny going to the Chamber with Harry to destroy the cup could've been interesting but very hard to justify narratively. And honestly, it was Ron and Hermione's thing, it was needed for showing Ron's strategic thinking, Hermione complimenting him, and their habit of discussing things alone and then bringing them to Harry that was kind of lacking for a while in DH.

For Nagini, the fundamental premise of Harry telling Neville about the snake is that Harry is not that emotionally attached to him. Plus, if Harry had tried to pull that stunt with Ginny, she would have understood what he was going to do in half a second. Also, the idea that Ginny, finding out that Harry is dead, would worry about a snake is a bit absurd.

This leaves us with the diadem. Ginny is around the Room of Requirements when it gets destroyed, the story could have been arranged for her to destroy it. But what emotional value it would've had for her? None. She didn't know what Horcruxes were. Sure, she would've found out after but it's not really the same thing. It wouldn't have brought her character development and growth.

And more importantly, Ginny has her own story. Making her just one of Harry's many helpers would've defeated the point of her being Harry's equal.

It's true that her relationship with darkness starts with a Horcrux but it's not the point, it's not the focus of Ginny Weasley's story. She doesn't even find out about Horcruxes until after the war.

I personally find so much value in the fact that her story doesn't need Harry's to gain legitimacy.

Ginny Weasley's story is one about shining brighter than the shadow other people put you in because they consider you too little, too young, and God forbid, a girl. Coming out of the shadow is the theme of her character, just as much a her association with light.

Ginny's story is the one of a girl who because she was ignored ended up a victim of unimaginable horrors and then grew up to be a defender of the mistreated. First with her friends, then with the entirety of Hogwarts during DH. And while I'm pretty sure that Ginny wasn't the official leader of the DA, the narrative, before giving Neville his moment to shine, and I'm not trying to take that away from him, makes quite sure to point out that the "frontman" (or frontwoman, I guess?) is Ginny. Something easily deductible by the personalities of Ginny, Neville, and Luna anyway. Harry continues to receive information about what happens to Ginny from Phineas Nigellius, it's only Harry who deduces that Neville and Luna are probably working with her.

“We’ve got a couple of questions to ask you— about the sword of Gryffindor.” “Ah,” said Phineas Nigellus, now turning his head this way and that in an effort to catch sight of Harry, “yes. That silly girl acted most unwisely there— ”

“Professor Black,” said Hermione, “couldn’t you just tell us, please, when was the last time the sword was taken out of its case? Before Ginny took it out, I mean?” -Chapter 15, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

However, he did let drop certain snippets. Snape seemed to be facing a constant, low level of mutiny from a hard core of students. Ginny had been banned from going into Hogsmeade. Snape had reinstated Umbridge’s old decree forbidding gatherings of three or more students or any unofficial student societies. From all of these things, Harry deduced that Ginny, and probably Neville and Luna along with her, had been doing their best to continue Dumbledore’s Army. This scant news made Harry want to see Ginny so badly it felt like a stomachache; but it also made him think of Ron again, and of Dumbledore, and of Hogwarts itself, which he missed nearly as much as his ex-girlfriend. -Chapter 16, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

But whatever Ginny has accomplished in those months is diminished by her being away for the last month. Protected, put in a corner, once again for who she is. And so once again, right before the Battle, she finds herself having to fight in order to be able to fight, which said like this sounds ridiculous.

She's, for one last time, put in the shadow, and for one last time forced to prove that she can get out of it, that she's brighter than the dark corner she is forced into.

And we see her again being the one that takes care of the forgotten, when just after her brother's death, she is on the Hogwarts grounds, caring after a half-dying girl.

It's this whole story that travels alongside Harry's one, and yet constantly connects with it. If Harry's story is more of a war of the flesh, starting and ending with a physical mark, Ginny's story is more of a war of the mind.

When there's the fight between the six for going to the Department of Mysteries, the fight between the three who are always involved and the three who want to be, everybody gets a word in, yet the one that matches Harry in being scornful and angry is Ginny. It's Ginny Harry's match on the other side.

Their stories are like parallel streets yet always in connection. This can be seen also in the fields in which they display their charisma and leadership abilities.

We see Ginny in the DA being able to call people's attention to herself with confidence and being able to bring people to her side, she's a charismatic person:

“Hem, hem,” said Ginny in such a good imitation of Professor Umbridge that several people looked around in alarm and then laughed. “Weren’t we trying to decide how often we’re going to meet and get Defense lessons?” -Chapter 16, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling

“Yeah, the D.A.’s good,” said Ginny. “Only let’s make it stand for Dumbledore’s Army because that’s the Ministry’s worst fear, isn’t it?” There was a good deal of appreciative murmuring and laughter at this. -Chapter 18, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling

Yet when it comes to DADA, it's Harry who truly shines, it's his territory. Ginny is a good duelist and, as the Bat-Bogey Hex lets us know, she knows how to handle the dark arts, but she is not Harry.

The opposite happens with Quidditch. Harry is the captain and he's good at it, he's a great seeker. But the life and soul of the team is Ginny (Harry's words not mine). She is the one who trains herself for years, can play more positions and clearly commands attention more than anyone else on the pitch.

They understand each other and have common interests while both having their own thing. They match each other without stepping on each other's shoes.

The enemy in Ginny's story is Voldemort too in the general sense of the war, but the ultimate enemy that brought the darkness Ginny fought against in DH and was consistent with the structure of her arc is the Carrows. In fact, Ginny is not associated for the first time with the Carrows in DH but in HBP. In the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, she's duelling against Amycus.

This was a very verbose way of saying that, thank God, Ginny didn't destroy an Hocrux because her story is not at the service of Harry's one, but it's her own.

.

If there's something I would've wanted to happen in the Battle, it would've been Ginny defeating one or both of the Carrows. I understand why it's not in the book, JKR probably didn't want to make Ginny a killer and also for us to see that, Harry should've been there but Harry couldn't see Ginny fighting or he wouldn't have been able to focus on anything else. He probably would've gotten a heart attack in the process too. But it would be something interesting to see if they'll ever do a tv series on the books. She doesn't necessarily need to defeat them by killing them herself.

.

If you're interested in the concept of Ginny's own parallel story, you might also want to give a look at this

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Remember when Harry had those 🔞 dreams about Ginny in his 6th year? do you believe Ginny had smiliar dreams about Harry? if you do when do you think happened more often?

Hahahaha, ok, I'm gonna answer.

Well, I'd say statistically everybody has them about people they are strongly attracted to, especially when deep feelings like in this case are involved. Ginny is a creative person so she probably dreams quite a bit. I'd imagine they started when she was around thirteen, again, statistic supposition.

I think the fundamental difference between Ginny and Harry is that Ginny's feelings for Harry are something she's used to co-existing with. Reading HBP, you have the impression that Harry dreams of her every night and it's because Harry had all these growing feelings for Ginny that he kept ignoring for years, and then boom! They explode in his face when he's already drowning in them and he can't think of anything else. Ginny, on the other hand, is used to having feelings for Harry and suppressing them. I'd imagine that when she was in other relationships she had them on a frequency that still allowed her to live in denial, you know like "well, he's attractive, whatever, it was just a dream, it's not like it means anything". We already see some strong hints that one of the reasons for the growing tension with Dean was her feelings for Harry, maybe she started dreaming frequently about Harry again and that piled onto the rest, but this is something we could know for sure only with her pov. Harry may have had it bad that year but poor Ginny, living in denial mustn't have been easy.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Many people criticized Harry because of his behavior in Order of the Phoenix. Do you consider it was understandable his behavior and why people don't understand his actions?

This ask is very recent and I have a bunch of old ones to answer but today I'm in a bad mood and I need to rant, I'll also give you the more analytic answer but let me rant for a bit ok?

OotP is my favorite book of the saga and Harry is absolutely amazing there, he is so angry and he has every right to be! He was even far too nice, he should have stepped on one of the tables of the Great Hall and shouted at everybody to just fuck the hell off. This book could've been titled Harry Potter and the year everybody decided to gaslight him (besides Ginny, because she is amazing, and they are perfect for each other my two adorable dorks). Anyway, Harry had every right to act like he did! And not to overshare, but I'm quite familiar with trauma linked to witnessing death so, trust me, Harry handled it majestically.

*goes to punch a wall*

*clears her throat*

So, you were asking if Harry's behavior in OotP was appropriate or too much? Well, let's paint, very calmly, a picture of what Harry has been through up until this point in his life, and let's find our conclusions.

Harry becomes an orphan at fifteen months, he then starts living with his blood relatives that, for a reason unknown to him, hate him. So he spends every single day for ten years living in an abusive household. When he turns eleven someone tells him that his life is going to drastically change. Turns out, he is a wizard! He gets introduced to all this new magical world, he has a bunch of money, but something is still weird about him. Apparently, he is famous and the reason why is linked to his parents' death and him doing something he has no recollection of. Then his second year arrives and he finds out that there's something even weirder about him. It's not anymore about some mysterious thing that he did in the past, he's singled out for his abilities and the link he has with Voldemort. And he finds out for the first time that there are things that are his responsibility not because he takes that responsibility upon himself like the previous year, but because he's the only one who can do certain things. Also, by this point, he was forced by circumstances to kill a teacher and to witness a girl he really cares about (for unspecified reasons) being five seconds away from death. In all of this, he keeps being forced to go back to his abusive relatives.

In his third year he finds out that a crazy assassin is after him and again, for something he doesn't even remember doing, he gets singled out from his peers and punished for this condition of never fitting in, never being like the others, all for motivations out of his control. He finds out that the crazy assassin is actually his godfather and that he betrayed his parents. Giving Harry, who has an incredible craving for official positive bonds, another shitty family member. But wait! The man was innocent all along! Well, that's great right? They'll live together now, he will finally have a proper family, right? Nope.

By his fourth year, one would think that he had enough troubles. The Durselys are finally backing off under the menace of Sirius, Sirius is away from the country sure but safe and free and he writes to Harry. Ok, maybe there's no Quidditch but he'll be entertained by the tournament, won't he? And of course, that's when he gets put against his will in the mortal tournament. All in all, he manages quite well, by the third task he's in the game so, of course, it turns out that it was all a plot to kill him. The teacher that he had trusted all year is actually a death eater and Cedric dies and it's indirectly Harry's fault. Add to that Harry was never Cedric's biggest fan, between being competition for the tournament and Cho's boyfriend. I'm sure that didn't add any sense of guilt. Let's not forget that he nearly gets killed by Voldemort and that the other guy trying to do him in was his parents' best friend. Someone who was supposed to love Harry, that probably held him in his arms just a few hours after he was born, someone who probably bought onesies that Harry wore and toys he played with. As we see in DH, Harry doesn't like to acknowledge Peter's existence, and for good reasons. Not only he betrayed his parents, he betrayed Harry.

The fifth year comes and Harry is hated by half the wizarding world for no good reason, they try to expel him with some plot, it's his fault that Sirius had to suffer coming back to Britain, dangerous for both Sirius' mental and physical health, and there's a crazy professor who tortures him. He also has normal fifteen-year-old problems. Now you would think that by this point someone would tell him what is going on. It's clear to Harry that he's not normal, that he is at the center of all these troubles, it's undeniable at this point that in one way or another Harry is special. But Dumbledore refuses to talk to him, the other adults keep treating him like he is just another teenager while for years they forced him in and out of situations exactly because he wasn't normal, and even Sirius with all his love for Harry, has so many personal problems that he ends up making Harry believe that he is the one who needs taking care of. Ron and Hermione, poor things, try to be there for him but they don't really understand. And if it isn't the perfect summary of how shitty Harry's life is that he needs to end up in all this trouble to find out that the person who truly understands him is Ginny, I don't know what is.

OotP is a book whose main point I'd say is that all the people, but especially the adults, who should be there for Harry, in one way or another aren't. Harry understands to be special before anyone else is ready to admit it, to listen to him, to acknowledge what he has gone through. This is why the easter eggs scene is so important, and now it seems like I'm trying to make this about hinny but I'm not. That scene is important because Ginny just seats there and listens to Harry. For one fucking time in his life there's someone who is not telling him what to do or not to do, how to feel or not to feel, she listens to him, and then she offers a solution to what he said his problem is.

If you notice, Harry is a lot calmer in HBP despite the fact that Sirius died, because Dumbledore has finally told him the truth and he lets him in. People stop treating him like he's a crazy attention-seeking narcissist or a reckless teenager and acknowledge things for how they are: Harry is not normal. He would very much love to be but it doesn't change the fact that he isn't and ignoring this fact doesn't make it any less true.

So yeah, I'm sorry if I think Harry had every right to be an angry little shit after years of just internalizing all this trauma.

...

Right.

You also asked me why people don't understand his actions.

Well, the options are two: they don't know how to read which is very popular these days or they are lucky enough to have no idea of how people respond to major life-altering traumas and don't care to find out.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Your favorite hinny scene and why?

This may sound weird but I think it's the break-up scene.

It's just that I think it is the perfect summary of how amazing they are, how it could only really be Ginny for Harry and no one else.

She met Harry's gaze with the same hard, blazing look that he had seen when she had hugged him after winning the Quidditch Cup in his absence, and he knew that at that moment they understood each other perfectly, and that when he told her what he was going to do now, she would not say 'Be careful', or 'Don't do it', but accept his decision, because she would not have expected anything less of him.

Notice how not only Ginny knows what's coming but Harry already knows how she will react to what he's going to say. They both know each other like the back of their hands.

And so he steeled himself to say what he had known he must say ever since Dumbledore had died.

I'm sorry, can we talk about the fact that he left this thing until the very last moment because he couldn't bear doing it sooner?

'Ginny, listen...' he said very quietly, as the buzz of conversation grew louder around them and people began to get to their feet. 'I can't be involved with you any more. We've got to stop seeing each other. We can't be together.'

She said, with an oddly twisted smile, 'It's for some stupid, noble reason, isn't it?'

Of course, it's Ginny that gives us probably the best summary ever of Harry's personality. I love that line so much.

'It's been like... like something out of someone else's life, these last few weeks with you,' said Harry. 'But I can't... we can't... I've got things to do alone now.'

Ginny may not be crying but I am. For the love of God. "Something out of someone else's life". Harry let me give you a hug, please.

And then of course we have Harry who starts stammering because it's too painful and he doesn't even know how to say it again.

She did not cry, she simply looked at him, 'Voldemort uses people his enemies are close to. He's already used you as bait once, and that was just because you're my best friend's sister. Think how much danger you'll be in if we keep this up. He'll know, he'll find out. He'll try and get to me through you.'

Notice how the diary is brought back? The one thing that between CoS and OotP Harry never wanted to bring up? Because if we go back to CoS we can all remember how horrified Harry was about what had happened to Ginny. And in OotP, when the "lucky you" scene already happened, Harry still recalls the Chamber as that time he saved Ginny from a basilisk. And when he doesn't want her to go to the Ministry there's this contrast between his refusal and the fact that he admitted himself that she was good in the DA. And it all comes down to this sense of protectiveness that he always had towards her and was reflected in his refusal to bring to the front of his mind the diary. We see Harry in HBP not pushing this thing into the depths of his mind anymore but accepting instead Ginny's trauma. But now, exactly because he doesn't forget anymore, in his need to protect her, he can't help using what happened to increase his fears.

'What if I don't care?' said Ginny fiercely.

Stubborn idiot number one.

'I care,' said Harry. 'How do you think I'd feel if this was your funeral... and it was my fault ...'

And stubborn idiot number two.

A match made in heaven.

Also, Harry thinking about Ginny's funeral and how he wouldn't bear it. Because I wasn't already crying enough.

She looked away from him, over the lake.

The fact that Miss CEO of the blazing look can't look him in the eyes says a lot about her emotional state. The emotional resilience of this girl honestly. Of the both of them.

'I never really gave up on you,' she said. 'Not really. I always hoped... Hermione told me to get on with life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you, because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember? And she thought you might take a bit more notice if I was a bit more - myself.'

And finally we have the behind the scenes of what was going on with Ginny.

But despite it all, she never gave up on him. How could she? They are soulmates! Ok, I'm fine, I swear. No, but seriously, this is such an important line because it adds to the sense of inevitability of Harry and Ginny. Their love goes beyond logic and it surely goes beyond convenience.

'Smart girl, that Hermione,' said Harry, trying to smile. 'I just wish I'd asked you sooner. We could've had ages... months... years maybe...'

And here Harry brings it up. The boy has clearly done some self-reflection, he had seven months of pining to occupy after all, and has realised that his feelings for Ginny were already old news when he acknowledged them.

'But you've been too busy saving the wizarding world,' said Ginny, half-laughing.

And Ginny explains to us what the author did to keep them apart for so many years: distract Harry. It's literally explained by the characters, I don't know how people don't get this.

'Well... I can't say I'm surprised. I knew this would happen in the end. I knew you wouldn't be happy unless you were hunting Voldemort. Maybe that's why I like you so much.'

This. This part is so important. There's only one other person besides Ginny who acknowledges this very important thing, Dumbledore. Harry doesn't do what he does because he is the Chosen One, he is the Chosen One because he's Harry. And it's a very inconvenient thing because Harry won't stop worrying about evil once Voldemort is defeated, it was clear by his actions in the first book. Being on the front lines, even if to a minor degree, will always be part of Harry's life, and the fact that it's one of the reasons why Ginny loves him shows why their relationship was always destined to end in marriage. Harry is not an easy person to be with, therefore his life partner needs to be someone quite unique, one might say... a soulmate.

Harry could not bear to hear these things, nor did he think his resolution would hold if he remained sitting beside her.

My poor sweet angel. He knows that if he stays near her this will be the shortest break-up in history, as it will be proven in DH, and he can't allow that.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Do you ever think Ginny ever feel insecure about trio's friendship?

Ok, I'm assuming this question is mainly about Harry but I guess it could be a bit about Ron too.

As a general answer: No.

But let's go into detail:

I think the answer to this question slightly changes depending on what moment in Ginny's life we are talking about.

There is going to be some speculation in the earlier years obviously.

1st year: I think that she feels the loss of Ron. Ron is not only the brother closer in age to Ginny, Ron and Ginny are the closest Weasleys in age (besides the twins obviously). They spent a couple of years alone when the twins went to school and even before then, considering how close the twins are, surely Ginny and Ron ended up teaming up. So seeing Ron in this close-knit friendship she seems to have no access to (her feelings for Harry don't help) probably contributes to all the insecurities that lead her to pour her heart into the diary.

She probably also wishes she could talk to Harry like Ron and Hermione seem to do.

I imagine she feels small, ignored, not enough.

2nd year: Honestly, she has more important things to worry about. Here though there is a bit of a shift in her relationship with the trio, because in the summer before her second year she gets to know Hermione, so the barrier with the trio starts breaking.

3rd year: Ginny here is still going strong with her feelings for Harry so maybe she occasionally hopes Harry would seek her out like he does with Ron and Hermione? I don't know, ok that she has feelings for Harry but she has her own life. The only thing that comes to my mind is that Ginny, despite being very popular, doesn't seem to have ride or die friends like the trio are, so maybe she wishes she had them. In that sense, she might feel insecure about herself in comparison with the trio.

In this book, she starts to speak in front of Harry more freely, so honestly, if there's someone at this point she feels insecure about that's probably Cho Chang. She also most likely has a good dose of frustration towards herself for not being able to get over Harry. This directly leads her to take the leap with Michael.

4th year: This Ginny has pretty much given up on Harry and has a boyfriend, she is close with Hermione, Ron is her brother, and she starts becoming friends with Harry (finally!), so no insecurities here.

I believe, in the moment, she might be quite frustrated with the whole "Lucky you" business. Maybe some old sentiment of feeling ignored by Harry would come back, maybe even a bitter "If I had been Ron or Hermione he would have remembered", but not born out of insecurity, just annoyance.

OotP is very peculiar as a book in terms of Harry and Ginny. It goes up and down like a rollercoaster. Some moments they are like the best of friends and then they are fighting and Ginny seems to need to shout at Harry to remind him that she is there for him. I think that might frustrate Ginny. Like having the impression that they are finally close after the easter eggs scene and then Harry not wanting her to go to the Ministry (there's a good dose of protectiveness on Harry's part there but Ginny, or Harry for that matter, doesn't know it yet). But still, this is exclusively about her relationship with Harry, Ron and Hermione have nothing to do with it, and it's frustration, not insecurity. She can't feel insecure because I think she's not expecting anything more from him than what he gives her. But she is frustrated with his inconsistency.

5th year: If there's someone insecure this year it's definitely not Ginny. She is 100% friends with Harry. They spend all summer attached to the hip. It's even a recurring theme in HBP Harry choosing Ginny over Ron.

Harry says that he and Ginny spend all summer playing Quidditch, making fun of Bill and Fleur, and teasing Ron. The fact that teasing Ron is one of their main activities shows how Harry in the end sides with Ginny, he chooses her as his teammate. These two idiots during that summer basically become the non-platonic version of Fred and George. To Ron's great joy, I'm sure.

During the infamous Ginny-Ron fight, Harry, as much as he tries to be, is not a neutral pacifying third party, he defends Ginny. When honestly we all know that once the wands are out the one who would actually need protection is Ron.

The kiss is the culmination. Harry feels guilty about Ron in the days leading to the match but he can't help being around Ginny. Harry adores Ron, but Ginny is in a league of her own in his heart. And the kiss is Harry's final jump. Obviously, he cares about Ron's reaction, but the deed is done. There's no turning back.

All of this is to say that Ginny has no reason to feel insecure about Harry's friendship with Ron. I'm not even going to bring Hermione up because only someone with Ron's giant self-esteem issues would ever feel threatened by that relationship.

JKR also made quite sure to point out once again how effortlessly Ginny fits in with the trio.

One might argue that even though we know that she has no reason to feel insecure that doesn't necessarily mean she isn't. But that would be forgetting who we are talking about.

Ginny and Harry have a secure attachment style. Do you remember when Ginny tried to advise Harry about Cho? Exactly. Harry wasn't even afraid Ginny would refuse him in HBP. It was not arrogance, it's just that he gets her. The only times they openly show jealousy is when they know they want to be together but they are forced to be apart. This is also why I always find it absurd when people write of Harry and Ginny keeping their relationship a secret right after the war. These two? They wouldn't last more than two days before blurting it out.

Now, there's a thing Ginny could feel insecure about in regards to the trio that I haven't yet brought up. She doesn't have access to what goes on in Dumbledore's lessons.

I think it's very easy to project insecurity or jealousy on Ginny in this situation because that's how pretty much every one of us would feel in her place. How all the other characters would feel in her place. But Harry Potter didn't marry us or any other character and there's a reason for that. The level of understanding, blind trust, and unconditional love Ginny has for Harry is something that I could never even imagine feeling but she proves quite clearly that she does. Would she feel annoyed that she doesn't know? Sure. Would she feel insecure? No.

6th year: For all the reasons previously stated, no insecurities regarding the trio as a group. I think she would be absolutely terrified of not knowing where they are, especially Harry.

Post-war: As I said in one of my recent posts, the Chosen One story might end with Ron and Hermione, but Harry's story ends with him talking with and looking at Ginny.

After the war, it is not acceptable anymore for Ginny to not know certain things. But Ginny and Harry do balance out the scale by telling each other everything. I consider this not the only but the main reason why Harry doesn't run up to Ginny and kisses her at the end of the Battle and instead says they need to talk. He knows that the time to speak to her has come and if that's not the first thing he does it will seem like he has no intention of ever doing it. But it's a too exhausting process to engage in before a nap.

Honestly, Harry, Harry Potter of all people, saying he wants to have an emotional and difficult conversation with her for hours, days, maybe years, is probably the biggest declaration of love he could ever come up with.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

From Book 1(or From book they were introduced) to 7 -changes following characters(some are minor) goes through(characters arc) :-

Harry ,Ginny,Ron,Hermione,Remus , Tonks, Percy, Fleur, lavender

I remember reading this ask and being like "is this a challenge?". I could write books on some of these characters and on others there's very little to tell.

But you know what? As Barney Stinson would say:

Challenged accepted.

I'll need to be very synthetic which is not something I'm good at.

Lavender Brown

Lavender does not sustain any relevant change through the story, she's always painted as very girly and in contrast to Hermione. It's not surprising seeing that she's not a particularly relevant character. The only change we see is that at the start of OotP she doesn't believe Harry but then she's at the first meeting of the DA. She is not stupid or a coward but it's not a revelation of her character, she's always been a clear Gryffindor.

Fleur Delacour

Fleur doesn't really change, we just see new sides of her. In GoF, Harry finds her unlikable, and only when he saves Gabrielle, she warms up to Harry and we discover that she's not that bad. In HBP the Weasley women go through the same thing, with the addiction that seeing that she will be a new member of the family and they have to live with her, her unlikability is far heavier on them. One change that I guess we could see is when in DH before the Battle, when Percy comes back, she's the one that tries to break the tension by asking about Teddy to Remus. This shows an ability to read the room, and as basic as it is, it does seem to be an improvement for her. Most of the rude things she says to the Weasleys in HBP seem to not come from hatred but an inability to have any type of social filter. In an analysis of her character, we could see how this may be linked to her being part Veela.

Percy Weasley

Percy is always presented as an ambitious and smart character who is very academically driven. This does not change. I do not personally recall and have not found any declaration of loyalty towards Dumbledore in the early books (but please correct me if I'm wrong) so him taking the parts of the Ministry is not a change for him. There's on the other hand an interesting change in his relationship with Arthur.

Percy feels a connection with his father for his job at the Ministry and even seems to share Arthur's biggest interest. In the second book, he tells Harry that the optional subjects he should choose are divination and muggle studies. Percy has actually taken all the optional classes because we know he got 12 owls, so these are the ones he really likes and values more (I find it really interesting that the other is divination personally). Now, this is important because when Percy gets away from his family, he mainly rows with Arthur and shows resentment towards him. This seems to be a change due to Percy working at the Ministry for a year and having to deal with having "Weasley" as a surname but of course, we'll never know for sure. He could've bottled up those feelings against his father for years.

Percy needs the Battle of Hogwarts to come back to his family. As every Gryffindor he has braveness but also a lot of pride and stubbornness. By this point, he has no problem addressing his excessive ambition and his wrong behavior toward his family.

Nymphadora Tonks

Tonks is another of those characters that we don't really see changing, we just see different sides of her. If in OotP she's vibrant, funny, and energetic, in HBP she's depressed because of the whole Remus matter. I've seen people during the years say that the way she acted in HBP was out of character and my question is: based on what? How can you say that when we didn't know anything about her intimate emotional sphere? Between the scene in the infirmary and the one written by JKR outside the books, her attitude towards Remus doesn't seem to change. She's extremely sad but she doesn't sulk in silence. In DH she seems to return to her OotP-self which is coherent with her being now married to Remus. We don't know how she reacted to Remus going away, just that eventually they patch it up.

Remus Lupin

Remus is the incarnation of self-hatred. We see it from his very first appearance in PoA, just think about how he stays away from Harry for years and he keeps that attitude even when he becomes his professor. This is a central part of his character, something he constantly battles with and he seems to have a real improvement with the birth of his son. Remus is incredibly happy, he seems to finally start to see himself as worthy of love. Personally, I've always interpreted Remus making Harry Teddy's godfather as a sign of gratefulness for setting him back on the right path.

I've always found Remus's death very fitting because it made sense for me that at the end of the story all the Marauders died but that death is also an enormous tragedy for Remus' character because he's killed when he has finally started accepting himself and had in front of him years of happiness. It kind of cuts his arc right in the middle.

We could talk about the "marauders era" but I feel like I'd be going too much into speculation. What we can say is that surely Halloween of '81 caused a regression in his self-esteem, despite that, I think it's important to remember that it's suggested that Remus always had a sense of gratefulness towards the Marauders (specifically James) on a level that indicates a sense of feeling undeserving of their support.

Hermione Granger

Hermione is not a character that changes a lot, actually. Especially if you consider how much page space she has. But nonetheless, let's dive into what we have.

Managing stressful situations -> In PS we see Hermione not being able to act straight under pressure, in CoS she is not really involved in any action but she seems to be able to handle herself in PoA. Though PoA is also the book in which she goes completely out of control about the optional subjects. The narrative seems to imply that Hermione made a crazy choice taking them all, but we know that both Bill and Percy did it which means it's possible. This implies that Hermione didn't know how to deal with the pressure that all that work required, maybe because some of the subjects were difficult for her, like divination? We'll never know. From GoF, this trait of her seems to disappear.

Social skills -> We meet Hermione as someone with very poor social skills and who has a hard time making friends. I do not consider her becoming friends with Ron and Harry a sign of improvement because the event has very little to do with her social skills. I think in this aspect her friendship with Ginny, and to a minor degree, Neville and Luna, is far more significant. They are born in a more natural way even if still in forced circumstances, like all the time she spends at the Burrow. By the end of OotP, she even learns to not attack Luna on her beliefs. I do not consider the advices she gives Ginny (about Harry) and Harry (about Cho) improvement because I do not think she ever had a problem understanding situations as a third party, she doesn't know how to act when she's directly involved.

Family -> Hermione progressively distances herself from her parents spending constantly more time with the Weasleys to the point that one wonders where she would have spent Christmas of 1996 if she hadn't fought with Ron. It's not clear what are her motivations and feelings about it. In OotP we know that she cares about them knowing she became a prefect because at least they know what that means. The apex is her wiping away their memories of her but we know she eventually restores them. She's accepted by the Weasleys as family but through Ron, instead of that unconditional way in which Harry is a Weasley. If and how much she feels grateful for the Weasleys is not clear.

Ron -> I don't think her view of Ron changes much frankly, she was always more susceptible to his behavior. She seems to officially develop romantic feelings for him during CoS because, by the start of PoA, she obviously likes him. She always seemed pretty aware of her feelings but not open to making the first move. In HBP she invites Ron to the Christmas party which is surely an improvement but she remains very vague and in fact, we all know what happens. She does kiss Ron first but considering that they are three minutes away from a very likely death I don't think it can be considered character development. She also shows repeatedly that she's aware of Ron's insecurities but doesn't really act accordingly with the exception of her complimenting Ron about his idea of the fangs before the battle, could they have possibly talked about what happened with the locket? I suppose the real end of the arc, even if we jump from a first kiss to marriage, is her marrying Ron and having children with him.

House-elves -> The information we know about what she does after the books suggest that she eventually learns how to properly deal with the house-elves matter. While her feelings about the issue in the books are correct, her way of dealing with them is deeply wrong.

Ron Weasley

Ron is a character that consistently messes up and consistently improves himself afterward. From the start, we are made very aware of Ron's insecurities and his need to prove himself.

Insecurities regarding Harry -> From the first book we are made aware that Ron's aspiration is having glory, and success, in short: what Harry has. These feelings arrive at a peak in GoF when Harry becomes one of the champions, Ron eventually understands his error and apologies. Since then he really tries his best to suppress his insecurities about Harry and besides a comment about height in HBP, he needs a Horcrux to bring them up again. The destruction of the locket is symbolically Ron finally completely getting over this insecurity. It's made quite obvious by the story, especially when Harry says that he just knows it must be Ron who destroys the Horcrux.

Insecurities regarding his siblings -> He feels the weight of being the sixth son and the confrontation with Ginny who is the only girl, he constantly feels overshadowed and like he's not enough. The twins seem to be the main source of his insecurities, as suggested by Hermione. Like the ones about Harry, these too find a moment of resolution with the destruction of the Horcrux. The final push in the direction of understanding that he's not the least loved could probably be attributed to what Bill does for him during the period he is separated from his best friends during the seventh book. But we can already see significant growth by the end of OotP where he becomes very open to the idea of Ginny being included in his group of friends. By this point, he has won the Quidditch Cup and the twins are not around anymore. It's interesting to notice how he will end up working alongside George for life, unfortunately, though, the factor of Fred being dead can't be ignored.

Hermione -> Already in the first book, we see an arc with these two. Ron goes from being mean to Hermione to becoming her best friend. During the second year, he already manifests romantic feelings toward her. But as PoA makes it clear, he has absolutely no grasp on what he feels for her, for that we need to wait for the Yule Ball, and even there there's still a solid level of denial. By the fifth book though, Ron's attitude suggests that he has become aware of his feelings. In the sixth, I do not think that Ron doesn't know what Hermione feels for him. Hermione's attitude is far too explicit. I think he doesn't believe to be enough for her, as his reaction to Hermione kissing Krum suggests. If she was actually with the famous Victor Krum then the moment they get together she'll realize that he's not enough, right? This is reinforced by the whole Felix felicis mess. His relationship with Lavender seems to bring a new level of maturity to Ron as we see blatantly at the start of DH. Ron here also repairs his error of not inviting Hermione to the Yule Ball. Yet we know that he won't be completely rid of his insecurities until he comes back and destroys the Horcrux. After we'll also have the first moment in which Ron openly acknowledges his feelings for Hermione with Harry with a quote that I absolutely love: "All's fair in love and war, and this is a bit of both" (and then he married her and they had babies).

Career choice -> Ron stopping to be an Auror, a lifelong dream due to his need of proving himself, suggest an ability to finally overcome all those insecurities that he had, despite the fact that he will inevitably remain in part a person inclined to develop insecurities, he does a great job on himself.

Prejudices -> Ron is a character that grows up in the wizarding world and as a pureblood, despite the Weasleys being quite accepting and progressive we see him retain some prejudices, specifically against werewolves and half-giants. But because he's Ron, he soon overcomes his bias. While he never treated them badly, we also see him becoming sensible to the enslavement of the house-elves.

Luna -> Ron also becomes consistently more friendly with Luna. If in HBP he still calls her "Loony", in DH he shows a strong affection for the girl, highlighting Ron's great improvement in terms of maturity after the Lavender situation.

Ginny Weasley

Ginny is a pretty easy character to follow through the story, because of the role she covers in Harry's life her presence is usually well defined.

Confidence -> We are first introduced to Ginny in the form of a young girl with a strong personality, a need to not be left behind by her brothers, and a strong fascination for the famous legendary Harry Potter. Already from the scene where she runs after the train, we see the definition of her personality, both strong and sweet: she half laughs and half cries. Ginny's big expectations for Hogwarts are completely destroyed in this second book. We discover her as someone who has some strong insecurities regarding Harry and has a hard time fitting in. These insecurities that she could have probably easily gotten over considering her previous attitude are instead increased by Riddle's diary. This is a very different Ginny from the one we'll discover in OotP where she's outgoing, popular, and confident, the Ginny we'll keep seeing for the rest of the story. In between, we had PoA where she faded into the background, and GoF where she was already a lot more outgoing, her main insecurity remaining Harry, this is the year where she finally decides to get over him and starts dating Micheal. [for more about Ginny's insecurities check this post]. It's also interesting to note that during the progression of the books she becomes less and less open to being shoved aside because she is the girl or the youngest, her disagreement is consistently more and more strong. Becoming the mother of a youngest sibling who is a girl offers her the opportunity of ending that cycle.

Trauma -> At the tender age of eleven, Ginny goes through an enormous life-changing trauma that many readers during the years have described as "mind-rape". We see frequent glimpses of how this negatively affects her during the second book. By the end of CoS Ginny seems to be feeling pretty well as for the very start of PoA (the trip to Egypt probably helped). She has a regression that leads her to fade into the background due to the dementor incident, this and her being a lot more out-going in GoF suggests that her second year was the one dedicated to resolving the major part of her trauma. She goes back to being herself but with the inevitable changes of someone who lived through something so dark. She becomes quite guarded with her own feelings and has strong responses to people not respecting her boundaries.

Harry -> Ginny grew up hearing stories about the famous Harry Potter, and soon her fascination with this boy develops into full romantic feelings, probably a combination of Ron's stories and actually meeting Harry. It's important to notice how her feelings are never dismissed as a crush, she's said to have always been "quite taken" with Harry (GoF). And Harry is canonically the person who understands her perfectly so we have this on good authority. Ginny is overwhelmed by her feelings for him which make her uncharacteristically shy. Her insecurities when it comes to Harry contribute to her being subjected to Riddle. By the end of CoS, she seems more comfortable around her future husband. But PoA reminds us that she still has feelings for him and is still shy about it, even if she has a moment of boldness with the singing card. GoF is what changes everything, the combination of Harry's crush on Cho and Hermione's advice brings her to try to live a little and start looking at other fish in the sea, even if we know that deep down she never really gave up on Harry. During her fourth year, finally able to act like herself in front of him, she becomes quite an essential part of Harry's life. In the summer of '96, they officially become close friends, and during HBP we see glimpses of Ginny becoming increasingly worse at hiding her feelings for Harry while dating Dean. By the time of the break-up at Dumbledore's funeral, we know for sure that she's in love with him (that "I like you so much" is the worst disguised I love you in the history of time). DH reminds us that, in case someone had forgotten, Ginny has come a long way from the shy little girl, and clarifies with Harry that she's going to wait for him. And she did, ladies and gentlemen, she did.

Defender of the marginalized (Neville and Luna) -> In GoF she's embarrassed about going to the Ball with Neville, in OotP she defends him. At the start of OotP she calls Luna "Loony" (not with ill intention but it shows she has not taken the time to get to know her) by the end of the book they are friendly and in HBP she outright defends her from bullies. [for an insight into her relationship with Neville and Luna, read this post] This theme has a continuation with what she does at Hogwarts during the war.

Fleur -> In HBP she has an arc in her relationship with Fleur who she detests. At the end of the book, she begrudgingly accepts the girl in her family. [a clear nod to Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" if you want my opinion]

Quidditch -> She goes from training herself for years in secret to entering the house team as a second option in a position she doesn't prefer, to becoming the life and soul of the team and finally, she becomes a professional player and then a sports journalist. The theme of "coming out of the shadow" is very dominant in her character.

Writing -> Through the series, Ginny manifests an interest in creative writing. An activity strongly linked with her biggest trauma but we see a complete reappropriation of this passion when she becomes a journalist. While maybe due to her fading into the background in PoA, it's still interesting to note that the year dedicated to her emotional recovery is also the only one where in the book there are no elements that associate her with creative writing.

Harry Potter

I'm writing the summary of the summary of the summary of the summary for Harry because I could write seven other books on him.

Family -> Harry lives with a constant need of having a family as we see in the first book very explicitly. At the start of the series we see Harry hating the Dursleys (mainly Vernon) but still having some sort of need to connect with them, they are technically his family, after all. It ends when Sirius arrives in the picture and Harry completely takes him in as a parental figure, relying on Sirius' official role as his godfather. How Harry reacts to the argument between Sirius and Molly in OotP shows how the Weasleys are like family to him, but Sirius is family. With Sirius' death, the role of Harry's family falls exclusively on Ginny as made explicit in DH [for a bit of an insight on this, read this post]. Harry concludes his story as a husband and a father, finally achieving his heart's greatest desire.

Ron and Hermione -> Harry is never particularly confrontational with them, not surprising considering how he grew up. He avoids calling out Ron and he takes Hermione's nagging internalizing his annoyance towards her and fundamentally ignoring her. In the fifth book, he has a lot of understandable pent-up rage and he takes it out on them. Probably because they stick with him through that, in HBP he feels a bit more comfortable at occasionally criticizing Ron and manifesting verbally his annoyance towards Hermione. Nothing spectacular, mind you, but still, there's a bit of a change. Through the books, Harry also becomes progressively more aware of Ron's insecurities but he finally really grasps how deep they are rooted only with the destruction of the locket.

Ginny -> Harry's journey with his feeling for Ginny is more of a finding out something that was always there instead of about acquiring it. Since the first book Harry has a certain pull toward Ginny. In PS, PoA, and GoF is quite subtle, in CoS is honestly kind of thrown in the reader's face, it's very obvious even if Harry has no idea about it. But it's only in OotP that Harry's subconscious is finally given a full justification for this attraction he has for Ginny because she finally shows herself to him completely. By the time Harry kisses Cho, it's becoming quite difficult for Harry too to keep ignoring how superficial his feelings for the Ravenclaw girl are, and not coincidentally right after, it starts to become impossible to ignore Ginny in the book. Harry is reminded of their connection with darkness, she establishes herself as Harry's source of optimism, and the growing feelings that Harry has for her are nearly revealed to him in the easter eggs scene. At the end of the book, Harry's protectiveness toward her comes back all the way from CoS. Through HBP Harry's feelings for Ginny become constantly more impossible to ignore until the big revelation. Harry has a denial phase, a very long pining phase and then he finally kisses her. Their relationship is blissful oblivion (;D) and it's made quite clear that it's far from a casual teenage romance. Then there's the break-up, which funnily enough shows how much Harry loves her, and in DH, he associates more than once Ginny with marriage and family. His fight with Ron in the tent forces Harry to think about how uncertain he left things with Ginny and of the possibility of her being in danger. Before the final battle, Harry is open to losing Ginny's trust if that means her being alive. As we all know she is his last thought before dying and so it's not surprising then that Harry's story ends with him married to Ginny with kids.

Touch -> Harry is clearly someone that is not exactly comfortable with physical affection, clearly due to his upbringing. The first person he hugs in the series is Ginny in HBP. Touch is a strong component of their relationship and Harry seems to become a little more open to touch with other people too thanks to Ginny. In DH he hugs Mrs. Weasley and Ron and he doesn't feel uncomfortable when Hermione takes his hand in front of his parents' grave (admittedly he had more pressing matters at that moment than feeling uncomfortable but still). If we look at Harry's last thoughts of Ginny before dying there's once again touch ("[...]and the feel of her lips on his—"). Emotional conversations though seem to remain something he's comfortable only with Ginny and I suspect that to remain true for a very long time.

Being the hero -> While for us it's always obvious that Harry is the hero of the story, we're reading books named after him, in the story it goes a tad differently. PS establishes Harry has a natural hero, fighting evil is part of who he is, a concept remarked by Dumbledore and Ginny (his mentor and his soulmate, not exactly two random people). When he arrives in the wizarding world, Harry has this old fame and there are hints of him not being an average wizard, but it's only in CoS that Harry starts seeing that there's something out of the ordinary about him. Harry grows progressively more aware of his own role in the story and also of his own nature, GoF besides being the book that changes everything in the tone of the story and officially creates the need for conclusion in the HarryVSVoldemort situation, is also the book in which Harry starts thinking about being an Auror. OotP is the book in which he knows that he's not normal, status accentuated by his PTSD and survivor guilt, but everybody keeps telling him that he has to act like he is. When he finally learns about the prophecy in a way there's a sense of calm that settles in him, at least it all finally makes sense. And in HBP he is finally let into the big scheme, he works with Dumbledore. The sixth book is the best written one of the series because it's the more structured. Harry Potter lives both as Harry and the Chosen One with a constant back and forth between these two realities. The Harry one is strongly linked to Ginny, in fact, the break-up is symbolic of the Chosen One burying Harry deep down. In DH the Chosen One keeps being dominant over Harry and all the moments in which he allows himself to think of Ginny are the moments in which despite the Chosen One best efforts he can't hide Harry underwater. The death (where non coincidentally Ginny is brought up again) is in some way the actual death of the Chosen One. His mission is completed, the one that comes back is a Harry who actively chooses the take upon himself the mantel of the hero. It's Harry Potter that kills Voldemort, not the Chosen One. That chapter of his life officially closes with Ron and Hermione who in a way are also saying goodbye to the Chosen One and to their roles as his helpers. Harry saying that he needs to talk to Ginny is an indicator of this new Harry who is finally whole, merging the different parts of him, he's grown into himself, let's not forget that this is a coming-of-age story before anything else. This new Harry is the one we fully see in the Epilogue, aware of his identity as a hero but also free to finally make his own choices.

Dumbledore -> Harry for the first four books is very trusting of Dumbledore, but as for a lot of other sub-plots, then everything changes. OotP is the book in which Harry starts seeing that maybe Dumbledore is human after all and in fact, during HBP he is open to the possibility of Dumbledore being wrong. Harry is devastated by Dumbledore's death who was both his mentor and a grandfather sort of figure. His last protection is taken away and he has to step into the real world. Through DH Harry discovers another side of Dumbledore and that, added to his frustration and depression, leads him to become quite frustrated with Dumbledore who, at the end of the book, it turns out, had one last card hidden from Harry. Then there's a final reconciliation in the metaphysical King's Cross where Dumbledore owns up to his mistakes and Harry, in typical Harry's fashion, forgives him.

James and Lily -> since the very beginning of the story Harry craves the idea of meeting his parents. He particularly looks up to James and hopes to be like him, he finds pride in the idea. This is true until Snape's worst memory where feels a bit like a fool for all the years he looked up to his father. He also has a first real approach to Lily and he likes how she behaved in that situation. At the end of OotP, we see Harry reconciliation with his father, accepting that after all, it's part of being a human being flawed, yet from then Harry looks more at his mother like we can easily see when he talks to his parents and Sirius and Remus before walking to his death.

Neville and Luna -> Harry sometimes is a teenager like everybody else and so he looks down on people like Neville and Luna who are kind of the losers of the situation. But thanks to the two of them going to the Ministry with him he learns better, after all, he values courage above everything else and he grows to really respect them. This is underlined by the contrast in his feelings about riding the train with them in OotP and HBP.

.

Note: Before someone starts with the "But you didn't talk about this and that!": it's a synthesis.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Harry has a height complex? I’m so confused about this. Okay, so I read the books long time ago and then I watched the movies. I was convinced he was a short but then my friends said it was wrong and people only thought that because of Daniel Radcliffe’s height. I decided to reread the series during Covid and my interpretation was that he’s tall. Not as tall as Ron but average height 5’11 - 6’2. He’s at James height during DH but do wizards stop growing at 17? Or do they stop growing between 18-20? I know he was underfed at the Dursley’s but once he started Hogwarts he spent 10 months eating properly and spent a maximum of one month with them when he was there for the summer. I have 4 brothers (I know poor me) and they were shorter than my female cousins who were the same age as then until they hit the age of 13-14 and then they grew over 6’0. My uncle adopted my cousin when he was 15 and he was fairly short but then grew really tall. My question is: how tall is Harry James Potter?

Can I just say that I adore you? There's just something about how you wrote this that is absolutely adorable.

Don't fear, you are right, Harry is tall. And, from context clues, we can deduce he is somewhere between 180cm - 184cm (I refuse to use the imperial system).

Harry is short in the first four books.

He has a growth spurt in the summer before fifth year and then another in the summer before the sixth. Honestly, I think 15% of OotP!Harry's grumpiness can be attributed to growth pains.

By the end of the books, he is as tall as James who is described as tall.

I said that he has a height complex because, besides the fact that he pays a ridiculous amount of attention to how taller than him people are, he also says stuff like this:

As he said it, a vivid picture formed in Harry’s mind of Ginny in a white dress, marrying a tall, faceless, and unpleasant stranger. -Chapter 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling

There's annoyance in Harry at the idea that this man would be tall, like it's something that would make him better than Harry. And it's kind of hilarious obviously because Harry is tall too.

Considering that Harry spent the first fourteen years of his life being short, it's pretty normal. It's a bit like those people who were fat as children and then got skinny and keep having the fear of getting fat for the rest of their life.

If you want you could even use as proof of this the fact that Harry's preferred type of girl is significantly shorter than him, but I wouldn't because Harry is generally attracted to typically feminine aesthetic traits (like the long silky hair).

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Sorry to bother you with this but the ship game you were doing got me thinking about the HP ships and it reminded me why I dislike Krum as a character.

I didn't pick up on it during my first few read throughs as I was still young, but it hit me when I re-read the books when I was a bit older and it has to do with his relationship with Hermione and what he says about Ginny in DH.

His age gap with Hermione wasn't too big but the fact that he was legally an adult and she was a minor didn't sit well with me especially when it's revealed he asks her to visit him in Bulgaria over summer, which sounds like an adult luring a minor.

It wasn't until DH that it hit me when he points out Ginny who he says is "very pretty" she's 15 and he's in his early 20s but it's this line "what is the point of being an international quidditch player if all the good looking girls are taken" that drove it home for me. It reminded me of all those famous celebrities that seemed like good people only for people to come forward with stories of how they were taken advantage of by the celebrity. They would use their fame and the power imbalance to get what they want.

I know that this is probably not what was intended with the character of Krum but it's something I can't stop seeing when I read about him and is why I dislike his character.

Yeah, I don't particularly enjoy Krum's character, though I think DH made him a worse person than he was originally.

One of the reasons why the appropriateness of age gaps, with certain objective limitations, can be up for debate is that we establish what's right and wrong depending on the maturity and life experiences we expect at a certain age.

But, for example, here in Italy we finish high school at 19, in other places you are already in college, most likely away from home. That does make a bit of a difference, no?

Krum is 18 when he goes to the Yule Ball with 15-years-old Hermione, which is not ideal, but it's definitely not the tragedy some people make it out to be. The fact that Krum is an international Quidditch star seems to make the situation worse. That must bring him a lot of life experience, right? I don't think so. Hermione, who he barely knows, is the thing he would miss the most, he mustn't have had many friends. And it makes sense, he needs to balance being a professional athlete with still being a student (also, he definitely doesn't seem to have a charming and charismatic personality to help him out). The Krum we get to know in GoF is a social inept. A fumbling fawn who has just stepped out into the real world. Just think about that conversation he has with Harry about Hermione.

Is the invite to Bulgaria bad? Hermione would be nearly sixteen. If Krum and Hermione were in a relationship for the entirety of GoF since the Yule Ball, I don't see a problem with it more than I'd see a problem with that relationship frankly. Unfortunately, we know substantially nothing about it. I mean, casting the ages aside for a second, from what we know, it seems that it's Hermione the one who is stringing him along, to be honest.

But what about DH!Krum?

Now Krum is 21, he is not a student anymore, he probably had time to get around a bit more.

Ginny is ten days away from being sixteen at the wedding so I think we can make the executive decision of saying that she is 16. A dressed up sixteen-years-old can easily look a year or even two older, especially from a distance. Also, let's not pretend you can actually tell the difference between a sixteen and a seventeen years old. Seventeen is when you come of age in the wizarding world. At eighteen you start working and being financially independent. So, do I think Krum looking at Ginny and finding her attractive is creepy? No. Krum is still a pretty young guy and he doesn't seem to know Ginny considering how he asks about her to Harry, or maybe he doesn't recognize her, the last time he could have seen her she was 13 and there are a lot of redheads at the wedding.

But. But. Hermione and Ginny together start to create a sort of pattern. If this was a real-life court case, it would be extremely easy to defend him, two girls a few years younger definitely don't make an actual pattern, but this is a book, and it seems the author doesn't want us to think anything nice about Krum.

Until this though, I still consider him kind of redeemable, nothing he does is that bad. But then there's that line about him being a famous Quidditch player and pretty girls that really sinks his character. Because any angle of legitimate doubt comes crashing down. We maybe don't have enough to sustain that he creeps on younger girls but we definitely have enough to say he became a bit of a piece of shit.