SHIP: Pirate Ginny

[adairfletch]

No: HPFGUIDX 133345

Sienna wrote:
> Guys, I can't say I'm convinced either way but several things 
> just don't add up, and its not just the shipping. Lots of 
> people act out of character and many things don't add up. 
> Things just are not what they seem. Even Hermione and Ron's 
> reaction to hearing the prophecy is entirely off-kilter.

Ok, first I'll just quickly introduce myself: my name is Adair, 
this is my first post in this group, but I have been a frequent lurker for years.  I haven't had time to catch up on all the posts written since one p.m. today (I had two classes), so I'm kind of jumping into this thread, and if I annoy anyone with my overzealous... er, presumptuousness, then feel free to tear my opinion apart.  That said, here I go: I feel that these thoughts, 
or at least, Sienna's in particular (and this is in no way an 
attack, I'm stating an opinion about myself just as much as 
everyone else) are a product of inherent bias.  

Let me explain.  This book, to me, was one of JKR's greater 
achievements in planning.  I in no way felt that things were off 
kilter.  The ships worked, and I thought the prophecy reaction 
was typical.  I always assumed, as Ron's and Hermione's characterization confirmed for me in this book, that they believed Harry would always end up being a sort of "Chosen One." So to them, the prophecy would have been nothing new, just an outward statement of fact.  I think we as readers believe the prophecy to have been a bigger deal than those who grew up with Harry being "The Boy Who Lived."  Rufus kind of brought this home, too - he seems to just accept that the wizarding world does see Harry as "Chosen."  Harry is, after all, the one who defeated Voldemort last time (in a 
manner of speaking).

Sienna wrote:
> And I must say, that I think there are startling similarities 
> between Harry's infatuation with Ginny and Ron's infatuation 
> with Lavendar. Not being able to stop thinking about her, 
> reacting with violent anger at the thought of someone else with 
> her, acting automatically on instinct, the `monster' in his 
> chest. I think there is something more here than just wishful 
> thinking. I really do.

Now as for the ships: I didn't see Ron as infatuated with Lavendar, 
and I thought the Harry/Ginny stuff was great.  Not because I have 
always been an adament Harry/Ginny shipper, on the contrary, if 
anything I supported Ron/Hermione, and those two just got on my 
nerves in this book.  Now, I am twenty-years-old, and Ron and 
Hermione's actions, considering they're now seventeen, were dead 
on.  Because that is exactly how I remember all my high school 
peers acting, including myself I am ashamed to admit.  If we 
didn't act on the impulses, we at least thought them.  I felt Ron 
was just looking for some action in retaliation to Hermione making out with Krum; I read the Time interview with Rowling last night, 
and she pretty much said the same thing.  That Ron realized Harry, and even Hermione, had gotten some, and he hadn't even come close.  But my point is, that I never felt for an instant that Ron 
genuinely liked Lavendar - as far as I could tell, he saw her 
simply as a girl with a mouth.  

Harry/Ginny, however, I am in full support of now.  And for this 
reason only: she made Harry Potter happy.  Unlike with Cho, whom 
we know is a girl Harry was infatuated with, he seems to actually spend real time with Ginny (granted, not much of this was depicted, but I think it can be assumed - I did feel this book was over-edited); he jokes with her, talks to her, they share common 
interests and memories, and they hang out with Ron and Hermione together (something Cho couldn't abide).  I have never been a gigantic shipper, as they are rather superfluous to the plot, but again, Ginny made Harry happy, so she has my vote.

Sienna finished with:
> Otherwise, I would have to accept that Rowling has lost her 
> touch and was unable to deliver realistic romantic scenarios 
> (even if they did have to involve Harry/ Ginny). I think 
> Rowling might have been having a go at ALL the ships in this
> one actually and if this is right, then she is capable of a 
> subtlety that I cannot help but admire.


Back to what I said before, I tried to look at the happenings in 
this book completely objectively (which is impossible, but I 
tried).  My inherent biases have always been pro-Dumbledore, anti-Snape, pro-Ron/Hermione, ambiguous to Harry with anyone, etc.  
This last quote of Sienna's implies she has never been a big fan 
of the idea of Harry/Ginny.  And a lot of the posts I have read 
today left me with a bad taste in my mouth concerning Snape, 
because honestly, I'm with Harry, and am ready to write Severus 
off as a bad job.  I could digress and explain why I feel this 
way, because I have read the opinions to the contrary, and I understand them, I just can't go along with them.  But again, this 
is all my opinion, in relation to my own biases.  My argument is simply this: I feel that anyone who supported Harry with Hermione, 
or at least didn't support him with Ginny, will have felt something was wrong with this book.  The same goes for the events with Snape, Ron/Hermione, etc., ad infinitum.  I giggled when I began to read some of the posts from today, because I expected a lot of the opinions that came up.  I don't necessarily think they're wrong, 
we have one more book to find out, but they are not my opinions, 
and book six agreed with everything I thought might happen (well, except for Ron and Lavendar, which was gross, and Hermione being 
more annoying than usual, which bothers me, because I definitely 
have a Hermione streak when it comes to school), so of course, I loved it.  

But when it comes to some things, like Harry/Hermione, I don't 
know how Rowling will suddenly fit that into one more book, especially since she said in the Cubs interview from a few days 
ago, that she expects book seven to be shorter than Phoenix.  I wonder what else the full Mugglenet interview will reveal.

Just my two cents.  But JKR didn't disappoint me with this book, 
and I hope others enjoyed it, too.

Adair