[HPforGrownups] Re: Cho; It's time to defend Ginny! (some SHIP)

[Star Opal]

No: HPFGUIDX 52384

Jim said:
><<<<Some of those with kinder intent say Cho will never overcome her grief 
>over Cedric and her association of Harry with it enough to get involved 
>with Harry.  This theory denies the fact Cho is fifteen or sixteen and 
>ought to have the resilience that goes with that age.>>>>>>>>>

Penny then said:
>If it was merely a matter of Cho's first boyfriend having died tragically, 
>then, yes, I would agree with you.  I think she will certainly overcome her 
>grief and move on with her life.  But, because her boyfriend died in 
>circumstances that involve Harry, I just don't see her being able to move 
>past that barrier, assuming that Harry would want to move beyond that 
>barrier.  I think the real barrier to Harry/Cho would be Harry though.  
>It's a double-whammy, see.  It's not just Cho needing to overcome grief 
>over Cedric's death.  It's Cedric dying in circumstances that Harry feels 
>incredible guilt over.  Yes, Cho will work through her grief, and Harry 
>will eventually come to terms with his guilt (we hope!).  But, I still say 
>that there will always be a wall there that would prevent a romance between 
>those 2 people.>>

For me this is the only real, hard evidence reason for H/C not to work (as 
opposed to individual reader opinion of Cho). Especially for Harry, remember 
he held it against Cedric for taking Cho to the Yule Ball. Harry will have a 
more Cho related guilt over Cedric's death along with not saving him. Harry 
had an irrational anger (hatred is too strong a word) towards Cedric, and 
now it can never be resolved, its like having a petty issue with someone and 
then they suddenly die and it eats at you. So now every time he looks at Cho 
he'll think of this unresolved, undeserved (how could Cedric have known 
about Harry's feelings for Cho?) issue with Cedric. How could he get past 
that?

Plus I'm not too sure that Cho has ever thought of Harry *in that way*. 
There's one part that jumps out at me:

"It was Cedric Diggory. Harry could see Cho waiting for him in the entrance 
hall below.
<SNIP>
He grinned at Harry again and hurried back down the stairs to Cho." - GoF ch 
23 pg 431-432 US paperback

Notice the LACK of Cho details in that scene. She doesn't blush, isn't 
avoiding eye contact, not uncomfortable because of Harry at all. Even after 
she knows Harry likes her enough to ask her out. She's just waiting for her 
date. So, in my opinion, Harry's crush is unrequited.

Penny again
>Shifting to Ginny:
<SNIP>
>About like she did!  I have no quarrel with the depiction of her at the 
>Burrow.  I think though that the fact that she's been "talking about him 
>all summer," when she can have only laid eyes on him no more than twice and 
>had, as best we know, *no* interaction with him, is indicative that she has 
>a celebrity-related crush at that stage.>>

Ah but she would have _heard_ about him!

"'I think I know who that's from,' said Ron turning a bit pink and pointing 
to a very lumpy parcel. 'My mum. I told her you didn't expect any presents 
and ...'" PS/SS ch 12 pg 200 US paperback

So Ron was obviously writing home and his writing included Harry. I can just 
see Molly reading his letter aloud to Arthur and Ginny. "How horrible for 
that poor Potter boy! He seemed so nice at the train station. Isn't that 
just terrible Ginny! I think I'll make him a sweater for Christmas. I know, 
green, to go with his eyes. He has such lovely green eyes, did you notice 
Ginny?" Pardon my bad attempt at FF ^^; The point is, I suspect that Ginny 
would have heard quite a bit about Harry via Ron and his letters.

Jim said:
><<<I frankly get impatient with those who criticize characters for acting
>their age.  As Jenny says, Ginny's ten years old when she forms her
>first crush on Harry, and acts like it. We don't see much of her, but
>she's always kind and loyal when we do.>>>>>>>

Then Penny said:
>Well, one of my points has always been that Ginny *isn't* acting her age in 
>much of the canon descriptions of her!  Yes, her crush is an accurate 
>depiction of a crush for a girl her age (but, again, it's just a *crush* 
>...... it's not based on anything really, which makes the whole "it's 
>*obvious* that Harry will pair up with Ginny thing very annoying to me).
>
>But, if you compare Ginny to members of the Trio in the previous book, 
>you'll find Ginny's characterization to be really off.  Well, maybe let's 
>compare oranges to oranges and not compare Ginny to Harry or Ron.  Let's 
>just compare Ginny's behavior and dialogue in CoS with Hermione in PS/SS.  
>Or, compare PoA Ginny with CoS Hermione.  In each case, Ginny appears to me 
>to have been characterized as drastically younger than she is 
>chronologically speaking.  This is glaringly true with PS/SS, where I would 
>never have imagined that she would be 10 yrs old!  This isn't Ginny's 
>"fault" per se; I just find Rowling's characterization of her to be very 
>odd really.>>

But that's still not a good comparison, IMO. Ginny is youngest, and only 
girl, of seven children. In a magical family. With a father who works in the 
MoM and a (seemingly) stay at home mother. While I don't doubt that she is 
smart, I don't see her putting as much emphasis in books as Hermione.

Hermione, OTOH, is an only child, raised as a muggle. Her parents are two 
dentists. And she is a hard core book worm. She's also very serious and 
mature *for her age*. So they are both female, both witches, and (during the 
timelines you cite) the same age. But they are still VERY different.

Star Opal
Who isn't into SHIPping debates, but these points just caught her eye.

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