[HPforGrownups] SHIP: Harry/?Cho, /Hr, and Luna or all? in OOP

[Erika L.]

No: HPFGUIDX 69227

Tj wrote:
Hello, I just finished reading OOP, for the seond time last night. I
have read alot of posts regarding Harry/Ginny, Harry/Cho, Harry/Luna,
and I have to say: "The only one Harry has any feeling for is Cho."

 <snip>

I got the impression that after he got over the numbness
of his godfathers death ... Harry is gonna be back on the Cho
bandwagon again.

Then Elle replied:
I agree with your first impression that the Cho/Harry 
crush is basically over.  It had been winding down since Valentine's 
day anyway (his stomach was only doing a "lurch" at the mention of 
her name at the Quiddich match instead of a "backflip.")

Me-- Erika (Wolfraven):
    I tend to agree that the H/C ship is over. I think Elle is on the right track here in pointing to the difference in Harry's reaction at the end of the book as compared to the beginning, particularly in terms of his stomach's doing flip flops. That's the exact reaction we see the first time Harry sets eyes on Cho in PoA: "he felt a slight jolt in t he region of his stomach" (192 Canadian ed). In OoP it's the same thing but, as Elle points out, his stomach goes from doing back-flips in the first half of the book, to giving  "an unpleasant lurch" ( Canadian 504) after Valentine's day, to "a feeble lurch" accompanied by a "_slight_ twinge of jealousy" (603- emphasis added) after the fight about Marietta, to neither jealousy nor anything else at the end of the book. I think this is a pretty clear indication that Harry's infatuation with Cho has run its course. Also, Cho's absence from the showdown at the end of the book I think suggests that she will only play a limited role in the future.

Tj also noted: 
The only one Harry has any feeling for is Cho.
<snip>
I have never noticed Harry carring if Hermione or Ginny are upset. He never pats them on the back. <snip>

Me- Erika (Wolfraven)
    I beg to differ. I think part of the problem is that Harry is inherently private, even reserved, and as readers we often aren't privy to his thoughts and emotions. But we can certainly say something based on his _actions_.  Harry is very protective of Hermione. When they encounter Grawp Harry pulls her out of the way when Grawp reaches for her. The second time, Grawp again reaches towards Hermione  and "Devoid of a wand, Harry braced himself  to punch, kick, bite or whatever else it took as the hand swooped toward him" (668).

    His reaction at the Ministry of Magic is even more telling. When they knock over the shelves and run for it, Harry "seized a handful or Hermione's robes and dragged her forwards" (694) During the struggle, when one of the DEs tries to AK Hermione, Harry tackles him (696). And, most significantly, when Hermione is injured in the fight Harry slips precariously close to panic "A whine of panic inside his head was preventing him thinking properly" (699) And then, when Neville finds Hermione's pulse, thus confirming that she is alive, "Such a powerful wave of relief swept through Harry that for a moment he felt light-headed" (700). If that's not an example of Harry feeling something then I don't know what is.

    When it comes down to it, Harry is careful to keep Hermione close at hand. I think that implies some sort of feeling on his part. Maybe he doesn't show much feeling through a great deal of  the year, but that makes his reaction in the thick of things all the more telling.

Just my two knuts
Erika (Wolfraven)

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