Why I don't think Harry actually likes Ginny
So, I don't like Hinny. I don't buy the relationship between them for multiple reasons. The first of which is that I believe Harry Potter is gay (or at least, not attracted to women).
The rest, I'm going to cover here. Some of the opinions I have are probably not very popular, but I'm saying what I see evidence for.
Disclaimer: No hate to anyone who does ship Hinny, or likes Ginny, I just don't see it.
He doesn't actually think about her until book 6... like, at all
The most important part of this section is actually what Hary doesn't say about Ginny and not what he does, so I don't have quotes. But I literally scoured the books to find scenes Harry described Ginny's appearance. I looked for words like: "pretty", "beautiful", "attractive", or anything else, really any detailed description that would show he is physically attracted to her. I came out with nothing.
He never calls her pretty or attractive in all seven books. And I mentioned in my post here, how Harry can and does describe attractiveness in people (men) he finds attractive.
The other thing he never mentions is what he likes about Ginny. Like, her personality.
He says he likes her, and he's jealous when she's with Dean in HBP (only halfway through the book, but that's for later in this post), but he never mentions what he likes about her. Ginny talks about why she likes Harry plenty, but Harry seems to have no clue why he's dating Ginny. He supposedly likes her, but doesn't name in his head a single thing he likes about her as a person. The things he does think he likes about her are:
She is comfortable to be around, the same way Ron and Hermoine are.
She doesn't weep like Cho.
She's good at Quidditch.
So that's a brilliant basis for a relationship right there. (sarcasm)
“Harry, I’m talking to you, can you hear me?”
“Huh?”
He looked around. Ginny Weasley, looking very windswept, had joined him at the library table where he had been sitting alone. It was late on Sunday evening; Hermione had gone back to Gryffindor Tower to review Ancient Runes; Ron had Quidditch practice.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 655)
Ginny approaches him, but nothing, no response, no care. He didn't even notice she was there. Takes him, like, three minutes to recall she's on the Quidditch team and should be at practice with Ron. And when she does talk to him, he actually doesn't explain the full truth. He never actually tells her the full scope of his problems and feelings.
“Hi,” said Ginny uncertainly. “We recognized Harry’s voice — what are you yelling about?”
“Never you mind,” said Harry roughly.
Ginny raised her eyebrows.
“There’s no need to take that tone with me,” she said coolly. “I was only wondering whether I could help.”
“Well, you can’t,” said Harry shortly.
“You’re being rather rude, you know,” said Luna serenely.
Harry swore and turned away. The very last thing he wanted now was a conversation with Luna Lovegood.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 735)
Later in the same book, Harry is downright rude to Ginny, and he's sure Sirius is being tortured at the moment, so I get it. But, also, the fact he reacts more to Luna telling him he's rude than to Ginny... like, that's telling on which of the two girls' opinions Harry cares more. And it's not Ginny. After Luna calls him out, he actually stops snapping at them. With Ginny, he just continued being snappy and rude to her.
“Michael — but —” said Ron, craning around in his seat to stare at her. “But you were going out with him!”
“Not anymore,” said Ginny resolutely. “He didn’t like Gryffindor beating Ravenclaw at Quidditch and got really sulky, so I ditched him and he ran off to comfort Cho instead.”
She scratched her nose absently with the end of her quill, turned The Quibbler upside down, and began marking her answers. Ron looked highly delighted.
“Well, I always thought he was a bit of an idiot,” he said, prodding his queen forward toward Harry’s quivering castle. “Good for you. Just choose someone — better — next time.”
He cast Harry an oddly furtive look as he said it.
“Well, I’ve chosen Dean Thomas, would you say he’s better?” asked Ginny vaguely.
“WHAT?” shouted Ron, upending the chessboard. Crookshanks went plunging after the pieces and Hedwig and Pigwidgeon twittered and hooted angrily from overhead.
As the train slowed down in the approach to King’s Cross, Harry thought he had never wanted to leave it less. He even wondered fleetingly what would happen if he simply refused to get off, but remained stubbornly sitting there until the first of September, when it would take him back to Hogwarts.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 866)
Some like to say Hinny didn't come out of nowhere, but it did. It's clear that at the end of book 5 Harry doesn't give a shit who Ginny is dating. He's thinking about Sirius, he's mourning, of course, but he is still mourning him in book 6 and it didn't stop his jealous rage towards Dean then.
The fact is, up until like halfway through book 6 there are no signs he is interested in Ginny romanticly.
“Fancy trying to find a compartment?”
“I can’t, Harry, I said I’d meet Dean,” said Ginny brightly. “See
you later.”
“Right,” said Harry. He felt a strange twinge of annoyance as she
walked away, her long red hair dancing behind her; he had become so used to her presence over the summer that he had almost forgotten that Ginny did not hang around with him, Ron, and Hermione while at school. Then he blinked and looked around: He was surrounded by mesmerized girls.
(Half-Blood Prince, page 136)
Two notes here.
Firstly, this is at the beginning of HBP, still no signs from Harry of jealousy. He likes Ginny as a friend and gets used to her presence. That is literally what their relationship is built on. Him being used to her presence. Still, he doesn't care in the slightest who she is dating.
Secondly, what follows this scene is Harry running away from all his adoring fangirls with the help of Neville. Because Harry is not attracted to women and is not interested in any of their attention.
Harry told Ron and Hermione, pulling open the parchment and quickly reading its contents [note from Dumbledore]. “Monday evening!” He felt suddenly light and happy. “Want to join us in Hogsmeade, Ginny?” he asked.
“I’m going with Dean — might see you there,” she replied, waving at them as she left.
(Half-Blood Prince, page 242)
Again, no jealousy. His entire problem with Dean and Ginny dating started really late into book 6 and there was basically no buildup.
Dean was looking embarrassed. He gave Harry a shifty grin that
Harry did not return, as the newborn monster inside him was roaring for Dean’s instant dismissal from the team.
(Half-Blood Prince, page 287)
Now, I wanna talk a little bit about Harry's jealousy towards Dean and how he describes his emotions about Ginny. Ginny is the only character he describes his emotions about in this way. And it's... well, weird to say the least. Definitely off. The first time I read it I had to reread it to make sure I actually read it correctly.
Like, the only times he thinks about his emotions towards Ginny, are in jealousy. He doesn't like when other guys date her, but he never really thinks that he likes her, or what he likes about her. Or anything at all, positive or negative.
And, back to the description being odd, well, I'll get to it later in this post about why I think Harry convinced himself he likes Ginny and why his emotions about her are described the way they are.
Harry looked around; there was Ginny running toward him; she
had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around
him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying
about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her.
...
The creature in his chest roaring in triumph, he grinned down at
Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. A long
walk in the grounds seemed indicated, during which — if they had time — they might discuss the match.
(Half-Blood Prince, pages 533-534)
I want to talk about Harry's feelings regarding Ginny and kissing her, or, well, lack of their off. You know, after a first kiss, with a girl he supposedly likes, I expected something more emotional, more involved. I expect him to actually care.
But no. He doesn't describe the kiss at all actually, or his feelings. There are no butterflies in his stomach, no head spinning, nothing. Just his chest monster feeling triumphant.
This is insane, this is not the reaction to kissing someone you like. Or even feel mildly attracted to. Where are the nerves and excitement? They aren't there.
He had more emotions about his first kiss with Cho. They weren't positive emotions, but these were emotions.
The second thing about their first kiss is how the text pretty clearly insinuates they made out throughout their whole walk. This actually reminds me a lot of Ron and Lavender in book 6:
“Well, think back,” said Harry. “Have you ever let it slip that
you’d like to go out in public with the words ‘My Sweetheart’
round your neck?”
“Well . . . we don’t really talk much,” said Ron. “It’s mainly . . .”
“Snogging,” said Harry.
“Well, yeah,” said Ron.
(Half-Blood Prince, page 338)
They don't really have much of a relationship. They make out, but they don't talk, they don't share anything with each other, they don't really like each other — they barely know each other.
Harry and Ginny are much the same. Ginny is in love with the idea of Harry Potter, and Harry for some reason decideded he likes Ginny even though he can't name a single personality trait she possesses.
“And then what does she think’s going to happen?” Harry muttered. “Someone else might kill off Voldemort while she’s holding us here making vol-auvents?”
He had spoken without thinking, and saw Ginny’s face whiten.
“So it’s true?” She said, “That’s what you’re trying to do?”
“I—not—I was joking,” said Harry evasively.
They stared at each other, and there was something more than shock in Ginny’s expression. Suddenly Harry became aware that this was the first time that he had been alone with her since their stolen hours in secluded corners of the Hogwarts grounds. He was sure she was remembering them too. Both of them jumped as the door opened, and Mr. Weasley, Kingsley, and Bill walked in.
(Deathly Hollows, page 82)
Like, there is quite a bit I want to unpack here.
Firstly, Harry didn't bother telling Ginny that he, Ron, and Hermione were planning on leaving. That they are going to go and stop Voldemort. Well, he didn't tell her about the Horcruxes, or any of his experiences, really. I don't think she knows he cast a Crocio at Bellatrix at the end of fifth year.
Like, Harry does not share his life with Ginny. At all. Her reaction is quite telling.
But also, even after he broke up with her already at the end of HBP. Still, Ginny is constantly trying to drag him back to be with her. She isn't letting Harry break up with her. And, that just really doesn't sit well with me. Harry didn't even consider it until he saw how Ginny was eying him, she's the one who thought they should make out. Harry was trying to stay broken up with her.
Ginny looked up into Harry’s face, took a deep breath, and said, “Happy seventeenth.”
“Yeah. . . thanks.”
She was looking at him steadily; he, however, found it difficult to look back at her; it was like gazing into a brilliant light.
...
He chanced a glance at her. She was not tearful; that was one of the many wonderful things about Ginny, she was rarely weepy. He had sometimes thought that having six brothers must have toughened her up.
(Deathly Hollows, page 103)
Again, after Harry breaks up with her, she tries to drag him back. He doesn't want to look at her. And as romantic as "gazing into a brilliant light" sounds, usually doing that hurts your eyes and is really not something you want to do. Besides, when you really like someone, you want to look at them, you want to stare at their stupid face for as long as they let you.
Harry clearly doesn't.
The other thing to note about this passage is the wonderful thing Harry can name about Ginny, is that she never cries. Yes, amazing reason to date someone, Harry.
However, Ron did not appear on the map, and after a while Harry found himself taking it out simply to stare at Ginny’s name in the girls’ dormitory, wondering whether the intensity with which he gazed at it might break into her sleep, that she would somehow know he was thinking about her, hoping that she was all right.
(Deathly Hollows, page 270)
Even when pulling out the Marauder’s Map to watch her dot Harry's thoughts are just to make sure she's alright, the same reason he watches out for Ron on the map after he leaves them. Hoping to see he's alright. Harry would do it to any friend he felt strongly about, it's not just Ginny. She doesn't get special treatment in his mind.
Ginny Clearly likes him though, quite obsessively so, even as they grow older...
Ginny made it no secret she liked Harry in her first year with the Valentine's Day poem. The thing is, she never really stopped liking him, she didn't move on from that childhood crush. Quite the opposite actually.
“I never really gave up on you,” she said. “Not really. I always hoped. . . . Hermione told me to get on with life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you, because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember? And she thought you might take a bit more notice if I was a bit more — myself.”
“Smart girl, that Hermione,” said Harry, trying to smile. “I just wish I’d asked you sooner. We could’ve had ages . . . months . . . years maybe. . . .”
“But you’ve been too busy saving the Wizarding world,” said Ginny, half laughing. “Well . . . I can’t say I’m surprised. I knew this would happen in the end. I knew you wouldn’t be happy unless you were hunting Voldemort. Maybe that’s why I like you so much.”
(Half-Blood Prince, page 647)
Ginny says at the top of this quote something I already talked about, but I'll say it again. She never gave up on Harry, she thinks them ending up together is fate. And she dated other guys throughout her fourth and fifth year to get Harry to notice her.
That is so gross, I don't even know where to start. I mean, she used a bunch of random guys, who all liked her, only to get Harry. She didn't care about their feelings, or these guys as real human beings, just that they could help her get Harry. And that is awful and one of the reasons I dislike Ginny.
The second part I bolded is Ginny explaining again, that she knew she and Harry were fated — this isn't romantic, this is terrifying and paints all her previous relationships in a really bad light.
She also mentions there she likes Harry, and that she likes that he's this saviour who needs to hunt down Voldemort. Now, first, she is clearly in love with the idea of the Boy-Who-Lived, and not Harry himself, because what she likes about him is his nobility and savior complex. Not just here, but in general.
While Harry definitely is heroic, he is also cunning, and clever, has some serious anger management issues, and isn't as noble as Ginny likes to paint him as. I feel like, here, when she says what she likes about him, she doesn't really know him. Harry doesn't want to hunt down Voldemort, he feels it's his responsibility. He would've been happy to be able to live his life without them being threatened constantly.
His 'saving people thing' is because he considers endangering himself less bad than endangering someone else. That's his low self-esteem talking, not his thirst for adventure. That and his (honestly correct) conclusion that he can't count on the adults or other people to do what needs to be done. Also, his sense of responsibility due to the prophecy, which he didn't really tell Ginny about in full. the prophecy and Dumbledore made him feel Voldemort is his problem to solve. It's not that he's happy about it. Ginny is in love with an ideal, not with the actual Harry Potter.
(I'll get to Harry's words here later)
Ginny caught Harry’s eye and looked away quickly, grinning.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 848)
And when going back to Harry's fifth year, even then (while she technically has a boyfriend) she is trying to get Harry's attention and is flirting with him. Not that Harry notices it's flirting because he doesn't think of Ginny in that way.
But Ron held up a hand to silence her.
“She was really cut up when you ended it—”
“So was I. You know why I stopped it, and it wasn’t because I wanted to.”
“Yeah, but you go snogging her now and she’s just going to get her hopes up again—”
“She’s not an idiot, she knows it can’t happen, she’s not expecting us to—to end up married, or—”
(Deathly Hollows, page 104)
I mentioned it above, but Ginny is the one who dragged Harry to make out with her, it wasn't Harry who initiated it. She does this after Harry broke up with her, which... well... yeah. I mean, at least Harry was willing, right?
And Harry says she isn't thinking about marriage, but Ginny definitely is. Remember, she thinks they are fated to end up together.
Now, as to why Harry is dating her and thinks he likes her...
I think she might have used a love potion...
Now, I know, I know, honestly, this is a theory I doubted for a long time. I mean, there's no way.
But I'm rereading the books right now, and ehh... I think whoever came up with this might have been onto something. It's kind of creepy actually.
Mrs. Weasley was telling Hermione and Ginny about a love potion she’d made as a young girl. All three of them were rather giggly.
(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 70)
Love potions are a thing in the Wizarding World. They are legal to sell and use with no consequences. They are banned at Hogwarts, but we saw it doesn't mean much considering Romilda Vane snuck quite a bit in...
What I show in the above quote is how witches like Molly Weasly see love potions as a legitimate thing to giggle about. As if it isn't a horrifying rape drug that takes away someone's autonomy! Love potions aren't something to giggle about. And they're definitely not something to giggle about with two young girls...
But this is to explain, how to Ginny, who thinks she and Harry are meant to end up together, using a love potion would seem completely legitimate. It's a little, funny nudge, but it's not bad. Her mother used it, and so many other girls did too. Because it isn't treated as the horrifying thing it is. She grew up thinking of it as a legitimate measure to take if a boy you like doesn't notice you. A measure that she wouldn't be even punished for if it was found out.
Now, this is a long quote, but this is the one that made me even consider this theory as a possibility:
She hoisted a box wrapped in brown paper onto the table; it had clearly been unwrapped and carelessly rewrapped, and there was a scribbled note across it in red ink, reading inspected and passed by the hogwarts high inquisitor.
“It’s Easter eggs from Mum,” said Ginny. “There’s one for you. . . . There you go. . . .”
She handed him a handsome chocolate egg decorated with small, iced Snitches and, according to the packaging, containing a bag of Fizzing Whizbees. Harry looked at it for a moment, then, to his horror, felt a hard lump rise in his throat.
“Are you okay, Harry?” asked Ginny quietly.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Harry gruffly. The lump in his throat was painful. He did not understand why an Easter egg should have made him feel like this.
“You seem really down lately,” Ginny persisted. “You know, I’m sure if you just talked to Cho . . .”
“It’s not Cho I want to talk to,” said Harry brusquely.
“Who is it, then?” asked Ginny.
“I . . .”
He glanced around to make quite sure that nobody was listening; Madam Pince was several shelves away, stamping out a pile of books for a frantic-looking Hannah Abbott.
“I wish I could talk to Sirius,” he muttered. “But I know I can’t.”
More to give himself something to do than because he really wanted any, Harry unwrapped his Easter egg, broke off a large bit, and put it into his mouth.
“Well,” said Ginny slowly, helping herself to a bit of egg too, “if you really want to talk to Sirius, I expect we could think of a way to do it. . . .”
“Come on,” said Harry hopelessly. “With Umbridge policing the fires and reading all our mail?”
“The thing about growing up with Fred and George,” said Ginny thoughtfully, “is that you sort of start thinking anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.”
Harry looked at her. Perhaps it was the effect of the chocolate — Lupin had always advised eating some after encounters with dementors — or simply because he had finally spoken aloud the wish that had been burning inside him for a week, but he felt a bit more hopeful. . . .
(Order of the Pheonix, page 655)
Now, Harry, first, gets really weird about the Easter Egg. Why an Easter Egg would cause a lump in his throat, I have no idea. Maybe it smelled weird?
He didn't really want to eat the chocolate, he felt bad about it, which is again, very strange phrasing. especially as I think Harry's instincts are pretty decent, especially when it comes to potential danger. Ginny isn't mentioned eating from his chocolate, she's implied to be eating a different chocolate egg.
But the final section I bolded is the one I really want to talk about.
Harry didn't even notice Ginny approach him. Throughout this scene, he doesn't describe anything about her or his emotions for her. Then, he looks at her and feels more hopeful in a way he hasn't before, and he blames it on the chocolate. That's so incredibly strange.
So I read that, then read it again, and started thinking a love potion might be a possibility.
It'll explain why Harry thinks he likes Ginny and wants to make out with her, without once mentioning he finds her attractive, or that he even likes her personality. It'll also explain the weird way Harry describes his emotions for Ginny, his chest monster, that is. I mean, I believe Harry is gay, what do you think happens when you give a guy who literally can't find you attractive a love potion so he'd like you? He reacts weirdly. His like of you is off and unnatural and disconnected because he isn't affecting him the way it should.
Even when Ron was dosed with the love potion he could name things the potion made him like about Romilda:
“I love her,” repeated Ron breathlessly. “Have you seen her hair, it’s all black and shiny and silky . . . and her eyes? Her big dark eyes? And her —”
(Half-Blood Prince, page 392)
It's not like Ron could say what he liked about Romilda's personality though, he just knew he needed to be with her and she was perfect. This is frighteningly similar to how Harry thinks of Ginny.
Harry watches for Ginny on the map while traveling in Deathly Hollows. He's constantly drawn to her, but he doesn't have any actual feelings towards her. He wants to marry her but has no clue what her personality is like. He just thinks Ginny is great without knowing why.
Near the window was an array of violently pink products around
which a cluster of excited girls was giggling enthusiastically. Hermione and Ginny both hung back, looking wary.
“There you go,” said Fred proudly. “Best range of love potions
you’ll find anywhere.”
Ginny raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Do they work?” she asked.
“Certainly they work, for up to twenty-four hours at a time depending on the weight of the boy in question —”
(Half-Blood Prince, page 120)
Now, after the above scene in book 5 which I believe is the first time Ginny tries to dose Harry with a love potion, Harry still isn't dating Ginny, as we all know. What do we see Ginny do early in book 6, the book in which they get together? Try to buy a love potion from Fred and George.
And more importantly, she asks them: "Do they work?"
Why would Ginny ask that if she hadn't already failed with a love potion before?
I think, Harry's not being attracted to women, does affect how love potions effect him and the dosages he will need to be fed. And Ginny clearly isn't giving up on Harry. She said so herself — they were fated.
“Hang on,” said a voice close by Harry’s left ear and he caught a
sudden waft of that flowery smell he had picked up in Slughorn’s
dungeon. He looked around and saw that Ginny had joined them.
“Did I hear right? You’ve been taking orders from something someone wrote in a book, Harry?”
(Half-Blood Prince, page 192)
One of the only things Harry comments about in regarding Ginny is her smell. He only mentions it from year 6 and onwards.
Now, I know JKR intended it to imply Harry smelled Ginny in amortentia and that he's in love with her. The thing is, it could just as easily be read as a smell he associates with Ginny and the Burrow because she dosed him with a love potion already. So he is used to smelling amortentia around Ginny and the Burrow, not because he's in love with her, but because the potion is there.
“There’s the silver lining I’ve been looking for,” she whispered, and then she was kissing him as she had never kissed him before, and Harry was kissing her back, and it was blissful oblivion better than firewhisky; she was the only real thing in the world, Ginny, the feel of her, one hand at her back and one in her long, sweet-smelling hair—
(Deathly Hollows, page 103)
When she kisses him after he broke up with her and she's trying to get him back, he mentions the smell of her hair again. How the smell is actually affecting him.
With all the evidence towards Harry not liking women, and the fact he doesn't even find Ginny attractive, I just have a hard time believing this. How can he go from coldly not caring about her in one scene to going into blissful oblivion from the smell of her hair?
Unless there is some variant of a love potion he is getting dosed with.
(I don't think this is a very popular opinion, but there is just so much that's weird about Hinny, that I can't find any other way to explain it in canon)
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Can you talk about your thoughts on hinny? I have no problem with people shipping it but to me personally it just doesn't work. It feels like Rowling tried too hard or maybe just wasn't good at writing romance and messed it up. Maybe it was too rushed? The ship doesn't work for me but I'd love to hear your views.
Okay, sorry it took a while to answer this, I actually have a lot of thoughts and I have posts on some of them that I hope to get out soon-ish. I also wanted to go back to the books to make sure I'm not talking out of my ass. But I don't like Hinny, never did. And my reasons are kinda divided into three categories.
Disclaimer: I don't have anything against anyone who ships hinny, it's just really not my thing and I don't see it working with the way I see their characters.
And that's like the core of it. I just don't see Harry and Ginny as compatible on a character level. That and their relationship never really read as believable to me in the books.
The 3 categories I mentioned are:
Harry's character
Firstly, I think Harry is gay. Not bi, but gay. I think he was never actually attracted to a woman and I have a whole post to prove it. So, because that's how I read his character, I just can't really see him with any girl.
(Now, I don't think JKR intended for Harry to come off as gay, but he did)
Secondly, he never thought about Ginny, like, up until book 6, and even during large portions of book 6, he just isn't thinking about Ginny as a potential romantic interest. And when he does think about Ginny in the final two books it never reads like he really likes her. It reads like they decided they are dating, but I don't think Harry knows why he supposedly likes her. He just decided he does, but doesn't know why. It was kind of the same with Cho, where he said he had a crush on her and was nervous around her, but if you asked Harry what he likes about her, his answer would be: "Ehh...."
Like, Harry doesn't really seem to know why he's dating Ginny, and neither do I. It's just how it's written.
2. Ginny's character
So, this is again my opinion, but I don't like Ginny. I just don't like her character. I wish her off the page whenever she talks.
And, when it comes to shipping, for me, I need to find both the characters involved interesting and fun for me to explore to ship them together and care about the pairing. As I don't like Ginny and don't really care for her, I can't really ship her with anyone, not really. It's not even like I hate her (not the way I hate Dumbledore), I just find a lot of her actions and behavior iffy and she annoys me more often than not.
I'm not going to list everything I don't like about Ginny (some of it appears in the rest of this post). But her treatment of Fluer, for example, really soured her character to me. Like, sure, Ginny's young, but, she's 15, and by that point, I think she should take responsibility for being awful to Fluer who was nothing but nice to all of them. Envy is not a good look for Ginny.
3. How they are portrayed together
Like I mentioned in the Harry section, their romance just never really felt there to me. The descriptions were off and left me feeling annoyed at their scenes together more than anything else.
Again, I'm writing a more comprehensive post about it, but the gist of it is that Harry's thoughts about Ginny in books 6 and 7 are weirdly detached for a supposed crush at best or outright uncomfortable for me to read at worst.
Now, we know Harry can describe characters he finds attractive in greater detail. There is none of that detail with Ginny. He only mentioned her hair color and that her hair is long and smells nice. Like, he doesn't talk about her eye color, her facial structure, eye shape (like he does sometimes with characters he does find attractive) — nothing. He doesn't even call her pretty once! At least he referred to Cho Chang as pretty twice in the series.
In the books there is never a scene (not even one) that convinces me they should be together. Like, they have no chemistry. They kinda remind me of Ron and Lavender tbh. They make out and are present in the same space often, but they never talk. Not really. I don't think Ginny actually knows Harry all that well because he never honestly talks to her about anything real. They don't really have chemistry or a relationship, they're just together. At least, that's how I always saw them.
And yes, Harry has his jealousy moments (that are portrayed so weirdly I always narrow my eyes at them to make sure they were actually there, but that's a whole other post about Harry's chest monster of jealousy), but he still doesn't really explain what he finds in Ginny. He doesn't mention she's attractive or pretty at any point, nor does he mention anything he particularly likes about her personality (except that she doesn't weep like Cho and is good at Quidditch. Neither of which are particularly good basis for a relationship).
Like, Ginny mentions why she likes Harry and that she does multiple times. Harry by contrast, just feels so incredibly uninvolved in his own relationship, to me.
Also, personally, I just find the setup of their relationship iffy. Like Ginny outright says she never gave up on Hary and always knew they'd end up together. It means, that since she was 11 (or earlier), she was crushing on Harry, never gave up on her crush, and considered them ending up together fate. She dated other guys to make Harry jealous and pay attention to her, and that's just really gross. I don't like her long obsessive crush on Harry or her treatment of the other guys she dated on her way to get Harry.
Proof of that, for those wondering:
“I never really gave up on you,” she [Ginny] said. “Not really. I always hoped. . . . Hermione told me to get on with life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you, because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember? And she thought you might take a bit more notice if I was a bit more — myself.”
(Half-Blood Prince, page 647)
She literally said she dated other guys so Harry would take notice of her. That just grosses me out.
So, no, I don't like Hinny (or Ginny).
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Unpopular opinion
Disclaimer= no hate to anyone who thinks otherwise, you do you
Am I the only one who really didn't like the possession discussion scene between harry and ginny in the order of the phoenix? Lyk ik that scene is revered by hinny fans, but to me, it just shows their stupidity and a lack of understanding of each other's emotions and character. Let me explain
First off, I hate how its supposed to tell us that 'ginny can get harry to snap out of his brooding'. I hate that its framed as brooding at all, considering Harry's having a spiral after receiving no help after such a traumatic incident. Harry has every right to 'brood' in this scene.
Harry’s temper rose to the surface like a snake rearing from long grass. He was exhausted, he was confused beyond measure, he had experienced terror, relief, then terror again in the last twelve hours, and still Dumbledore did not want to talk to him!
… he was so tired… he was scared to sleep… yet he did not know how long he could fight it… Dumbledore had told him to stay… that must mean he was allowed to sleep… but he was scared… what if it
happened again?
He didn't come up with the possession theory on his own, he literally heard one of the most experienced and senior most aurors of his time put it forward , plus received some sort of conformation from Dumbledore for it
“I reckon he sent it as a lookout,” growled Moody, “cause he’s not had any luck so far, has he? No, I reckon he’s trying to get a clearer picture of what he’s facing and if Arthur hadn’t been there the beast would’ve had a lot more time to look around. So, Potter says he saw it all happen?”
“Yes,” said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded rather uneasy. “You know, Dumbledore seems almost to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this.”
“Yeah, well,” said Moody, “there’s something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that.”
“Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when I spoke to him this morning,” whispered Mrs Weasley.
“Course he’s worried,” growled Moody. “The boy’s seeing things from inside You-Know-Who’s snake. Obviously, Potter doesn’t realize what that means, but if You-Know-Who’s possessing
him — ”
Also we literally have proof that harry was being possessed
It happened in a fraction of a second: in the infinitesimal pause before Dumbledore said “three”, Harry looked up at him - they were very close together - and Dumbledore’s clear blue gaze moved from the Portkey to Harry’s face.
At once, Harry’s scar burned white-hot, as though the old wound had burst open again - and unbidden, unwanted, but terrifyingly strong, there rose within Harry a hatred so powerful he felt,
for that instant, he would like nothing better than to strike - to bite - to sink his fangs into the man before him —
Secondly, most of Harry's assumptions when he's supposed to be 'brooding' turn out to be correct. He theorizes that he could be the weapon Voldy's after. While that isn't completely true, Dumbledore confirms this in the end. He also believes that he might be being possessed, which is also confirmed by Dumbledore:
“You see,” Dumbledore continued, “I believed it could not be long before Voldemort attempted to force his way into your mind, to manipulate and misdirect your thoughts, and I was not eager
to give him more incentives to do so. I was sure that if he realized that our relationship was - or had ever been - closer than that of headmaster and pupil, he would seize his chance to use you as
a means to spy on me. I feared the uses to which he would put you, the possibility that he might try and possess you. Harry, I believe I was right to think that Voldemort would have made use of
you in such a way. On those rare occasions when we had close contact, I thought I saw a shadow of him stir behind your eyes… ”
Harry remembered the feeling that a dormant snake had risen in him, ready to strike, in those moments when he and Dumbledore had made eye-contact.
He believes that he's putting the rest of them in an unsafe position, which is confirmed by the whole fiasco with Sirius and the department of mystries. Granted its not really his fault the way he thinks it is, but it does inadvertently lead to Sirius' death( putting the blame on voldy here, not harry ofc).
Which makes the conclusion they come to pretty stupid. We're told in the 1st book that Quirrel was possessed by voldemort, and he didn't have blank spaces in his memory, he seemed very conscious of what was going on and even leaned into it. Which basically proves that there are forms of possession in this world that don't always involve having blank spaces in your memory. Why is Harry so easily convinced then?? HE EVEN THINKS OF QUIRREL WHEN HE'S ASSESSING HIS POSITION IN THIS THEORY
Harry remembered how the snakelike face of Voldemort had once forced itself out of the back of Professor Quirrell’s head and ran his hand over the back of his own, wondering what it would feel like if Voldemort burst out of his skull.
Don't believe me? It's proven by harry's possession as well, he's very aware that voldemort is using him
Blinded and dying, every part of him screaming for release, Harry felt the creature use him again…
Let the pain stop, thought Harry… let him kill us… end it, Dumbledore… death is nothing compared to this…
This clearly proves that the scene was written to mislead the readers so that the necessary shock value is obtained when harry has to take occlumency lessons and throughout the rest of the book. Heck, even 13 y/o me was frustrated reading this, I just went 'oh come on, u lot live in this world, u should be smarter than this!!'. Makes harry and ginny's first meaningful interaction lose value when 90% of it is contradicted imo.
Now, coming to harry and ginny themselves. Harry literally has to be reminded of the biggest incident in ginny's life. What is supposedly a hinny scene requires hermione to be the one to actually bring harry out of his confinement and get him speaking to the rest of them (no, i don't ship harry and hermione). Ginny is inconsiderate as well. She doesn't care to ask about harry's conclusions( which are much smarter than hers btw), she calls him stupid and dismisses his totally valid concerns. In fairness, we don't know how much she knows about quirrel, but it really undermines the importance of the scene when her 'help' is eventually contradicted by the plot itself. If rowling really wanted to sell this as a hinny scene, she should have had harry and ginny have an emotional and mature conversation about what it actually feels like to have voldemort in their heads, about the various complexities and insecurities surrounding it, and probably shed a little light on how ginny overcame this. There should have been a mutual understanding of each other's struggles, and a resultant bonding because no one else can truly understand what they've been through. Instead we have ginny dismissing harry, calling him stupid, stating the experience of being possessed in an utterly factual manner and harry reaching a dumbass conclusion despite being much smarter in the scenes earlier. So much could have been done with harry and ginny's connection, yet we ended up getting a scene that was written for the sole purpose of giving future shock value that lacks any form of bonding or understanding from either of them.
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