Ginny VS Harry

[Schumar1999]

No: HPFGUIDX 135140

ahsonazmat:
 <snip> I am somewhat surprised at JKR for saying Ginny and Harry are
perfect, in either harmony or complementarity. Ginny seems, unlike
many other heroes in the HP series, 2-dimensional: she takes great,
convenient leaps in character development whenever the time calls
for it. Okay, she's good-looking. Okay, she's skilled. But let's see
her commit an act of charity, something nice for someone, without
any positive consequences for her. Let's see her take the first step
towards Fleur. Let's see something of moral fiber. After all, isn't
this quality the reason we fell in love with Harry Potter for in the
first place? It seems to me that Ginny embodies what Harry does not,
and Harry what Ginny does not. This is not a complementarity. It is
a polar dichotomy.


Now Schumar: 
I happen to believe that Ginny is what is right for Harry. I think
she has shown moral fiber and doing nice things for someone in the
way she evidently treats Luna. Since this is Harry's story, we are not
privy to the actual scenes in Ginny's classes or around the students in her
year to see exactly what she does... but it is said more than once that
Luna speaks in (sometimes uncomfortable) truths, and Luna says Ginny is kind.
Now what would the consequences for herself be from That? 
Maybe I'm a sentimental fool... but I think the development of her character
in the background has set this up perfectly. Harry doesn't fall for her for
any one reason, so it's not just because Ginny stands up to and for people 
or because she's talented with hexes or because she's attractive or 
because she's good at quidditch... it's something beneath the surface which,
frankly, happens in a lot of good love stories. As we learn more about
Ginny's independence -- the way she stands up to her brothers and 
doesn't go along quietly with the way her mother attempts to shelter her
(in OotP), we also see her be there for Harry in a way that no one else could.
Wasn't Ginny the one who got Harry out of his funk at Grimmauld Place? 
Wasn't it Ginny who was able to share with Harry something from the 
part of her life that I'm sure she'd most like to forget completely when she
realized that he needed her whether he realized it or not? I admit, I never really
thought about Harry/Ginny until I read OotP, and I now I think that Ginny has 
grown more than any of the other "background" characters, except maybe
Neville (about whom I would have liked have seen more written in HBP).  I have 
said it before, perhaps, but I loved watching Harry's affection for her grow 
from being subconscious to something he wanted to vanquish to something 
he was glad Ron didn't know about. The way Ginny reacted to Harry's breaking
things off just proved to me that she was the right girl for him, because
she knew she had to let him go do what he needed to do. Being Harry's equal in 
love takes a whole different kind of strength than being his equals in
friendship does. To me, It is also a clear sign of Ginny's being right for Harry that
she never questions his time away from her, nor do I think she'll
give up on him now they've discovered mutual requited love.  I, for one, hope 
they can get some comfort from each other at the beginning, and end, of 
book 7. Ron and Hermione, I suppose, are not people that Harry feels 
responsible for in the way you do for someone you have romantic feelings
for, and it seems natural to me that the Trio... the group that has always 
achieved their greatest successes united together, are going to go together
on the journey to Voldemort.  That all being said, I don't see Ginny as a 
complement to Harry, but a complement to what Harry gets from Ron and 
Hermione. Speaking of Hermione, seems that she's always known that
Ginny and Harry belong together, too. She is also a complementary character
because she was clearly doted on and protected by her large family, so had to 
learn on her own how to stand up for herself
 whilst Harry had to 
learn to stand up for himself because of the lack of care he received. So, like 
I said, maybe I'm sentimental... or maybe I secretly wish that things
would have worked out with one of my past crushes, or maybe I just
trust JKR and her reasons for making Ginny the "greatest source of comfort"
for hers and our hero, Harry.

I know a lot of people don't like Ginny's reaction toward Fleur. I still propose
that there might be SOMETHING about Veelas that cause women to react 
with them in an equally strong yet opposite way... where men find themselves
fawning over them and declaring love for no real reason,  and women find 
themselves abhorring the beauties for no tangible reason. That aside, 
it does appear that Fleur acts like a bit of a brat toward Ginny. Ginny knows
it's better to vent her feelings behind Fleur's back than to, say, bat-bogey hex
her. Plus... Bill is (if I'm not mistaken) Ginny's oldest brother. Never 
underestimate the feelings of a younger sister toward the relationship that
will take your oldest (and to you) god-like brother away from the family. 
I was actually pleased to see Molly and Ginny and Fleur all behave so, well,
Normally... as someone fighting to have a place (Fleur) and others frightened
of the change (Ginny and Molly) would. It is Hermione's reaction to Fleur that,
again, make me wonder if either Fleur really is that awful, or if it's the
effect any part Veela would have on a wholly human woman.

Marianne S.