SHIP! H/G indicators of Harry's feelings for Ginny

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 136658

Pat wrote:
"Your (Susan's) post includes reasons to believe Ginny is using Love
Potion Perfume on Harry."

(snip)

"There is the possibility that the perfume Ron gave Hermione was from
the twins - Ron's nonchalant reaction to Hermione's comment goes
better with that than if he went out and bought it from a shop. And
what happened to that perfume?  Is Hermione wearing it?  We didn't
think she would, but we didn't think she'd play Quidditch, either. 
Did she pass it off to Ginny, who recognized what it was from seeing
the twins stock at the Burrow?"

Del replies:
That's an interesting theory. However, I'm not sure that Ginny is
necessarily using the Perfume *on purpose*.

Love Potion Perfume could explain Ginny's "sudden" rise in popularity
among boys. We know that she had to accept Neville's invitation to the
Yule Ball in GoF, because no other 4th-year or above had invited her
yet. So obviously she wasn't *that* popular yet. Then she gets a
boyfriend at the beginning of OoP. And then at the beginning of HBP,
we get that discussion in the Slytherin train compartment about how
Ginny is so popular with boys, and even Blaise, who is hard to please,
apparently is attracted to her.

Could Love Potion Perfume have something to do with that? If so, how
and when did she start using it, and does she do it on purpose?

Pat posited that maybe Ginny got the Love Potion Perfume from
Hermione, the gift Ron gave her for Christmas. It's a tempting idea,
but it doesn't fit the timeline. 

My personal guess is Ginny's birthday, August 11. I read in the
Lexicon that "according to Hermione, Ginny "gave up" on Harry sometime
during her third year." That would be sometime during GoF. We also
know that Hermione told her to try and go after other guys, probably
sometime during GoF too.

Then at the end of GoF/beginning of OoP, Hermione goes to live at 12GP
with the Weasleys. Is it possible that the Twins, with their
Extendable Ears, overheard Ginny and Hermione discussing boys, and
Hermione telling Ginny to go after boys other than Harry? Knowing the
Twins, they might have decided to "help" their little sister, to turn
her into some kind of mild Veela. Maybe they offered her some Love
Perfume for her birthday? Without telling her what it was, of course...

But, some of you will undoubtedly say, the Twins were pretty upset
about the reports that Ginny had half-a-dozen boys pining after her,
in HBP, and they flatly told her that she couldn't buy any of their
Love Potions. I haven't forgotten about that. But I'm wondering if
maybe the Twins felt a little scared of just how well the Love Perfume
seemed to be working. Turning Ginny into a Veela was a fun *idea*, but
the realisation that their baby sister was *actually* going out with
boys might have left them with an unpleasant taste in the mouth (not
that it should, but hey, they *are* big brothers, and she *is* their
baby sister ;-)

Now, of course, I am NOT trying to say that Ginny can't be attractive
and popular on her own. I truly believe she can be. And I also know
that girls have in-built "Love Attractors" that do tend to become much
more prominent during their early-middle teens.

But it could be that the Love Perfume helped a bit. Maybe it simply
gave her the leg up she needed to really bloom, to come into her own.
Some kind of virtuous (pun intended) cycle: boys start noticing Ginny,
so she gets more confident, so they notice her more, etc...

Though of course some could argue that with everything we know about
Potions and mind-controlling spells, even Ginny's personality (well,
*anybody*'s personality) could have been altered by some Potion or
spell. But that would be contrary to JKR saying that Ginny IS the
perfect match for Harry. If Ginny is not herself, she can't be good
for Harry, not yet anyway.

Well, anyway, it's just a theory :-) And not even mine originally :-D
Send the rotten tomatoes to Pat, OK ;-) ?

Del