OOP movie SPOILER

[justcarol67]

Carol earlier:
> > And I'm hoping that it {Ginny's Phoenix Patronus] will never be
book canonical.
> > It just makes no sense--unless it really does symbolize Fawkes's
role in her rescue, and even then, Fawkes helped to rescue Harry, who
rescued Ginny, so the Patronus should reflect Harry, not Dumbledore,
and a Phoenix just doesn't do that, in my view.
> 
Susanne responded:
> But we've known that Ginny has a special role and JKR has let on
that we can expect a lot from her.
> 
> I just don't see why Ginny couldn't be powerful in her own right and
her patronus doesn't have to have anything to do with her rescue or Harry.
> 
> HP is Harry's story, but the supporting characters have their own
lives and backgrounds.
> 
> Am I sensing a strong aversion toward Ginny? Maybe that's why it
seems like an insult that she might have such a "prestigious" patronus?
                   
>
Carol:
Not an aversion to Ginny, just a sense that her Patronus should relate
to Harry, her "spirit guardian," not to Dumbledore. (See upthread for
my understanding of what a Patronus represents.) Also, DD has a
Phoenix Patronus as of OoP, so Ginny should have some other Patronus,
something distinctive (like Ron's Jack Russell Terrier). But in all
honesty, I also hope that DD's Phoenix Patronus is transferred to
Snape in OoP as an indication of his true loyalties. If Ginny has a
Phoenix Patronus, then Snape's having one, too, would be rather
pointless and its significance lost to the reader and to Harry.

My sense is that a character's Patronus has nothing to do with his or
her power (though the ability to cast one in the presence of a real
Dementor would), only with his or her emotions and loyalties. Prestige
has nothing to do with it. (Harry's Patronus reflects James's
personality, not Harry himself.) If Voldemort can cast a Patronus, and
possibly his discovery that he's a wizard would qualify as a happy
enough memory for the purposes of the spell, his spirit guardian is
likely to be Nagini (IMO). (I've argued elsewhere that she's his
surrogate mother, but that's a topic for another list.)

Carol, who isn't arguing that Ginny isn't powerful, only that a
Phoenix Patronus isn't appropriate for her (IMO) because she has no
special relationship with DD and is not associated with immortality AFAWK