SHIP: Problems with the concept of G/H

[slytherin_daughter]

No: HPFGUIDX 35100

First off, let me state some facts, so we can get what my opinion is 
out of the way: I'm a H/G shipper. I ship for a Harry/Ginny romance 
taking place after canon ends. I believe Ginny is a very interesting 
character, and I believe she has a lot of potential to do any number 
of things.

Right, let's get to it, then.

Devin said: 
<<I 
believe Rowling has said Ginny will play a bigger part in OotP, and I 
think this foreshadows her culmination into a driving force in 
Harry's life. Some think it's because Ginny is doomed in OotP. To 
them I say...feh. I really don't think this is possible. Pit her 
against Riddle, show her obvious strength and love...then kill her 
off in Book V. Nope, not a satisfying story arc.>>

Well, maybe not to *you*, it isn't. While I disagree that we've seen 
any obvious strength and love, I do think that killing Ginny off in 
OoTP would be a bit pointless; we've hardly seen any characterization 
for her at all, so doing her in would have about as much impact as 
killing off Cedric did. As of now, Ginny is basically a non-
character. Walking scenery, if you will. I doubt OoTP will be the end 
of her simply for that reason, but I think it's fairly silly to say 
that she'll be spared because of anything that's actually happened in 
canon.

D:
<<Nope, wipe that theory off the 
boards. Riddle's a memory, now not even preserved in a diary or a 
synapse of Ginny's brain.>>

I urge you to phrase these kinds of statements differently. It's 
still a theory, whether or not you agree with it, and you don't sound 
terribly accepting of other people's opinions if this is how you deal 
with thoughts that differ from your own.

Still Devin:
<< Another thing, Cho will be around 
one more year in OotP, and I think it's necessary to show Harry's 
relinquishment of this crush (which probably is slightly hampered by 
his involvement in her recent boyfriend's/love's/good 
friend's/whatever's death) before he can move on the next year into 
any sort of successful romantic relationship. I also think 
Ron's/Hermione's inevitable hook-up is good in that it isolates Harry 
even more in a story about Harry's isolation, his loneliness, his 
solitude. Add it up, and Ginny and Harry are each other's comfort in 
a cruel, Voldemort-terrified world. How this will effect the 
chemistry between HRH is difficult to analyze, but I think Rowling 
can do it with grace.>>

Using the blithe discounting of other ships as proof that yours has 
factual support is a very bad idea. For all any of us know, Harry/Cho 
will be the pairing that JK goes with, despite the awkwardness of 
Cedric's demise. You can't presume to know what will happen to the 
characters in future books. Ditto on Ron & Hermione's "inevitable 
hook-up" leading to Harry and Ginny getting together. Is it just me, 
or does their romantic involvement being the product of loneliness 
and terror just *not* offer warm fuzzies? At any rate, there are 
plenty of scenarios you could use to explain how H/G could work in 
canon – picking one that alienates all other ships is ill advised. 

Heidi:
<<We won't see, "And despite the fact that they 
haven't had a one on one conversation since they left Moaning 
Myrtle's bathroom back in Harry's second year, he married Ginny 
Weasley because he wanted to get a wizarding family very very quickly 
and she was available." But based on canon as it is to date, unless 
JKR does something very expansive with Ginny, that's what such an 
epilogue would need to contain.>>

I think most people tend to forget that we have three books left to 
go. Three entire books. Look at how Hermione was characterized in 
Prisoner of Azkaban – would you say that she was lacking in depth? 
That she wasn't faceted enough to be a substantial character? Age 
aside, I think her characterization was well developed at that point. 
Granted, by book seven, other characters will have a lot more 
explained about them, but I don't think it's fair to say that she'll 
still be a very raw character three books down the line.

Not that Heidi was saying that, but that's a common argument in this 
age-old battle, and I don't think that JKR doing something "very 
expansive" would be all that hard.

Penny:
<<All we know is she has puppy love or 
a crush on him; he, by contrast, has never given her a second 
glance.>>

I'd like to point out, just for the record, that Harry hasn't given 
*anyone* a second glance, save Cho. The other popular candidate for 
Harry's partner is Hermione, and we haven't seen him yearning for her 
affections, either. Not that I'm saying this means anything either 
way, but the fact of the matter is, basically *nothing* is plausible 
for canon romance as of now. His lack of "glances" at Ginny doesn't 
really say anything disparaging about their future relationship.

If I may diverge from replying to other people's views on the 
subject, I have some opinions on the matter. 

IMO, Ginny's character isn't one that is coincidentally there, and I 
don't think that H/G shippers are totally coming out of left field 
with their feelings. I think that she was placed in these certain 
situations to further parts of the plot – not necessarily romantic 
plot, but that's a possibility, too. Since JK has said that Ginny 
will play a larger role in OoTP, I think that means her behavior in 
the previous books was build-up to whatever will happen in book five. 
JK has said that the whole plot of the HP books came to her at once – 
I doubt she'd feebly build up the character of Ginny to simply kill 
her off before she's even really served a purpose, because that's 
just poor planning. 

I don't think Harry will get together with Ginny while they are at 
Hogwarts. I think they are two very different teenagers, with 
different groups of friends, different interests and different lives. 
Anything that could bring them together enough that they could 
actually wind up together would only be something to do with the war. 
Aside from the fact that whatever they were dealing with in relation 
to Voldemort would take away from a relationship, the time they would 
spend together then would hardly be conductive to furthering romance.

However, they might not be such different adults. The war could bring 
them together, they could get to know each other while still in 
canon, and wind up having a relationship after they left school. That 
doesn't mean they get engaged at age seventeen, but instead start to 
get to know each other well enough at that age that a relationship is 
plausible in later years.

Of course, there are countless other scenarios that would be equally 
as plausible. It's really all in the eye of the beholder.


Emily