doctor who memenine scenes [8/9] ”Paris, 2010 AD. And this is the mighty Musée D’Orsay, home to
many of the greatest paintings in history.”
I’m crying
Did anyone watch this without crying?
I’m crying from the gifs. I’ve never gotten into dr who as a series. I just was like ‘I don’t even know where to start…. I’m confused…’
The Doctor visited Van Gogh in his own timeline. Then he brought Vincent to the modern day to show him how much his paintings mean to people. I watched the episode multiple times, and I cry everytime. Watch the clip on YouTube; there won’t be a dry eye in the house.
I feel like if Luna x Ron had happened, no one would be ok with them breaking up. She’s a precious bean- I suppose it could have worked as Luna would be able to just say ‘I think you and Hermione belong together’ in her oh so Luna way, but that’d be harder to pull off. The thing is, there just isn’t a lot of page time to be directed towards a nuanced sweet relationship for the supporting cast. Like, Harry doesn’t even get ALL that much screen time for romance, and he’s te protagonist.
I feel that Lavender actually very much DID fit the “show Ron openly that you appreciate him and enjoy being around him.” She was rooting for him, smiling at him etc. But it just wasn’t written well enough when it comes to that lesson. It could have- with just a few lines- and a few less ‘nightmare girlfriend’ moments. She could have just been a fun girlfriend, nothing wrong, only she wasn’t Hermione. Her supportive moments for him were vastly overshadowed by her silliness, which wasn’t fair to the character of Lavender and definitely made it so there was no lesson learned at all from it for Hermione.
I disagree that there needed to be a build-up over the span of multiple books for Ron’s relationship in book 6, though. Hermione had no such buildup for Krum. Nor did Ginny for Dean or Michael. Did Lav’s crush on Ron come from nowhere? Yup. Crushes do that sometimes. You get back from summer and suddenly, you notice someone you didn’t before. In highschool especially you see a lot of flash in the pan relationships that came out of nowhere- that’s teenagers for you. Not every relationship is going to be a beautiful slow burn. I feel it had enough buildup for a throw-away.
JKR wanted Ron to have a disposable relationship- something that very much happens when you’re young- and though I didn’t like how Lavender got sillified in it, I think her choosing Lavender was a good choice. I wish it had been written differently- not by much, actually- just parts of it.
Fair enough, @hillnerd. I do agree with you on the whole ‘Lavender was framed in a negative light’ thing, and she was in the vein of ‘be open about your affections’. I think, like you said, it’s about the framing. JK Rowling wanted Ron to have a disposable girlfriend that could be discarded without the audience feeling too sorry for her. If she was too nice, the audience would be less inclined to want Ron to end up with Hermione. I mean, you know how much I love Romione, so obviously I would still want that to happen.
Yeah, I think the break-up would be a hard-thing to right. Too harsh, and it would affect the audiences’ perceptions of the characters. But too light, and it would give the relationship less weight within the narrative.
When I say that it could have been built up better, I wasn’t envisioning lots of cut-backs to it. Just little moments like Harry’s crush on Cho was given in POA and the early parts of GOF. Like a
“Luna waved at Ron, and Ron returned the gesture a little baffled. Harry saw a slight blush appear on Luna’s cheeks as she smiled over at Ron.”
I know, right! That would have made so much sense, character-wise! I mean, I like Lavender, but JK Rowling framed it as ‘Lavender is the silly girl who steals Ron from Hermione’, which is baffling considering how little more-than-just-platonic appreciation Hermione actually showed Ron up to that point.
If Luna’s crush on Ron had been given more page-time, it would have made far more sense relationship-wise. The Lavender thing just kinda comes out of nowhere in HBP; in the previous books, Lavender paid Ron no real attention, but all of a sudden she’s fancying him and then BOOM they’re snogging after the Quidditch match. It was designed by JK Rowling as a way of making Hermione step up her game, but it feels incredibly forced in it’s execution.
Luna’s crush on Ron, by contrast, could have been built up slowly and steadily over the course of both OOTP and HBP. It would have been far easier to believe, and would have also given their relationship real weight. The Ron x Lavender relationship is more ‘they snog’ rather than ‘they enjoy being around each-other and care about each-other’.
Not only that, but JK Rowling basically had to go out of her way to make Lavender seem irritating. She turned a previously-respected background character into a ‘you shouldn’t be this girl’ metaphor. Which is very messed up, considering that Lavender is one of the few examples we see in the series of teenage girls engaging in hobbies and interests considered traditionally-feminine. Hermione is set parallel to Lavender with her not-considered-traditionally-feminine interests and attributes.
Instead of being a ‘you need to show Ron that you actually like him more often’ lesson for Hermione, the Lavender-debacle is seen as ‘that girly-girl is mean because she stole your crush off you’. Heck, I’d wager that if Lavender hadn’t been obvious to Ron about her affections, Hermione might never have made any kind of move.
Whereas, if JK Rowling had developed Luna and Ron’s relationship steadily over OOTP and HBP, it would have shown Hermione that Ron was insecure about his self-worth and needed some appreciation shown to him before he would ever consider trying for romance with Hermione.
It really could have worked. Luna is Hermione’s polar opposite, and therefore her way of showing her affection for Ron would be the opposite too. Hermione’s method is ‘don’t give any indication that you fancy Ron except in emotional outbursts of jealousy and anger’. Luna’s method, by contrast, is ‘show Ron openly that you appreciate him and enjoy being around him’. And Ron clearly appreciated Luna, even if he wasn’t attracted to her. It would have been good for both characters; Luna would have had someone who appreciated her, and likewise for Ron. Even if Romione is endgame (and my OTP), I think JK Rowling should have given Ron at least one positive romantic experience pre-Hermione (that wasn’t lambasted in the narrative).
I think Hermione took Ron for granted quite a lot. She never really considered that he would try and find romance with someone apart from her. She could ignore him, belittle him, and insult him all she wanted, but the second he looked at another girl for appreciating him, she’d get angry at him.
I think a Luna x Ron relationship would have made Hermione realise that she needed to actively pursue Ron and show that she appreciated him for who he was. It’s a shame it didn’t happen, because I feel it would have genuinely been better for both Ron, Hermione and Luna in terms of character development.
“Ron was still staring over at Luna, a confused smile on his face. He hurriedly turned round to Hermione, looking a little ashamed with himself.”
Also, Hermione’s reaction would have been priceless…
But I’m just clutching at straws here. Would have been cute, though. Romione is my OTP, but I can see Luna and Ron having a really sweet relationship. And Ron could have had a pre-Hermione romance (that was portrayed positively in the narrative), like both Hermione (with Krum) and Harry (with Cho) were given before they ended up with their respective partners.
And why the conditions when they camped had a worse effect on Ron.
I must preface this by saying I’m about to talk a bit about generalized cis people’s bodies in survival conditions, and medical stuff. This is contextualizing what happened if we were to apply what we know of the real-world conditions they were under, and how that affected them all, but especially, Ron.
THE EFFECT OF THEIR SURVIVAL CONDITIONS ON THE BODY
The conditions they are living in are survival conditions, and they are pretty dang rough.
Weatherwise, it is getting colder, and would be terribly chilly at night. They each take a shift sitting in that weather at night. At least I’m assuming hydration isn’t as much of an issue, due to aguamenti. Food-wise, however, they are starving. They are getting starvation level of calories on and off again. Like, mushrooms? That’s like 4 calories for one mushroom. A grown adult need 2000+/- calories. You think they were eating 500 mushrooms in a day? Nope. Their bodies are starving those days. Many nights they only have a ‘berries and stale biscuits’. They are able to steal eggs and bread at times, but the issue of them not having food is a constant.
When you’re in survival conditions, muscle mass, body type and fat on your body can really be a big factor in your ability to weather starvation conditions of low calories, inadequate shelter, and possible dehydration.
The taller and more muscled you are, the more fuel you need to keep going and maintain your muscle mass. Women have a higher fat to muscle ratio, and fat is great for helping in these conditions. Your body can feed off the fat and not start breaking down your muscles to survive.
Then the inclimate weather takes a toll on a person’s general condition. The cold that plagues them makes their body have to work even harder to do things. You’re expelling extra calories with every shiver- calories you NEED to reserve for gathering firewood, finding food, maintaining your muscles, having the energy to think.
So Hermione, an unathletic woman of average height (to see my break down of heights see this post), would have a higher amount of body fat to survive off of. She wouldn’t require as many calories to have her muscle mass stay at the same level. She also is prone to not eating much when she’s doing things. There’s a reason Ron (and even one time Harry in PoA) are reminding her to eat. This makes her pretty prepared to not eat much, and still be relatively ok.
Harry is somewhat tall at this point, and wiry (athletic and thin) but is more acclimated to starvation conditions due to is upbringing, and almost half a foot shorter than Ron.
Then there’s Ron. He’s VERY tall, athletic, and thin. That is a terrible combo for surviving in the wild with starving conditions.
And then he’s gravely injured.
RON’S SPLINCHING INJURY
Looking at this injury- it’s very severe, and I think a lot of people overlook it when taking in what injury Ron has gone through when he was splinched. Part of his body was instantaneously amputated with no aesthetic at all. He is bleeding profusely so that ‘blood drenched the whole of Ron’s left side.’ And that’s just seconds after landing in the forrest. It’s ugly, there are many arterial veins there- and then he bleeds so much that in only a minute or so he’s unconcious from blood loss.
That isn’t just a little flesh wound. Ron’s body has gone into shock.
Let’s look at how his injury and symptoms are described:
in the few moments it took for Ron to give a low groan and harry to start crawling toward him, he realize that this was not the forbidden forest
blood drenched the whole of ron’s left side and his face stood out, grayish-white
His face drained of what little color it had left
ron, whose eyes were now half-closed, strips of white eyeball all that were visible between his lids. “he’s fainted” said hermione
Ron groaned and opned his eyes. he was still gray and his face glistened with sweat
ron still looked pale and clammy. he had made no attempt to sit up and it looked as though he was too weak to do so.
ron attempted to sit up and turned a nasty shade of green
Looks very much like the symptoms for hypovolemic shock to me.
There are 4 stages of hypovolemic shock, with 4 being the worst. He’s either stage 2 or 3
By Stage 2, the blood loss increases to up to 30 percent. The patient may experience increased heart and breathing rates. Their blood pressure may still be within normal range. The diastolic reading, or bottom number, of their blood pressure reading may be raised, however. The patient may begin sweating and feel more anxious and restless.
By stage 3, the person with hypovolemic shock will have had 30 to 40 percent blood loss. The top number or systolic reading of their blood pressure will be 100 or lower. They will have a significantly increased heart rate and abnormally rapid breathing.
The patient will begin to experience mental distress, including anxiety and agitation. Their skin will be pale and cold, and they will begin sweating.
It’s up to you whether he is mild or severe- but he shows some symptoms of severe for certain. Hermione is thankfully able to staunch his bleeding with the dittany. But his aftercare from then on isn’t really what’s best for blood loss. They prop him up on pillows when he should have his legs propped up. He isn’t getting a blood transfusion. There is no pain medication/potions to manage his injury. Like… He’s lucky Hermione packed dittany, otherwise he would have bled out and died. He also is lucky he didn’t get a complication from it worse than he did.
So without a blood transfusion, without any medicine – his body has gone through a HUGE ordeal. He needs food and rest to get his strength back. He gets a negligible amount of both for however long he is with Hermione and Harry*. (2 months? Almost 3?).
He then does not take time to heal at all. He’s doing the exact same tasks as the other two within a few days, it seems, as Ron is described as helping Harry with spells to get rid of divetts from the tent the very next morning, and is walking about with a sling.
Harry is described as “hungry and a little light-headed” the night Ron was splinched. Imagine how Ron was feeling having lost so much blood?
IN CONCLUSION
Physiologically alone, Ron is at a great disadvantage the moment they are camping, just from his height build and their general camping conditions.
Add in his devastating injury, and he’s at an even greater disadvantage.
Add on top of that the horcrux targeted him specifically, and how his family is in great danger, it’s no wonder he experienced a worse amount of duress when they were camping.
Anyone who gives Ron flack about it needs to sit and give it a think.
this is so amazing and thorough and I’m tagging anyone who hates on ron for leaving during DH in this post from now on
Spread it, and suck on it, Ron-bashers!
Thank you Hilly for your very thorough research! ♥
@hillnerd is on point in regards to Ron’s severe splinching. Reading the description of the injury, he is in level 4 hypervolemic shock. 40% blood loss is on the threshold of dying, regardless of whether it’s on the floor in the Forest of Dean or in St. Mungo’s.
Dittany sealed the wounds but it did nothing to replace he significant blood volumes required for suck a normally healthy lad. (I’m going to go with 5L of blood total, for a round number.)
40% of 5L is 2L of blood.
(Below is very long, medically in-depth, and might be boring as f*.
That sounds like a
great idea! I like Auror!Ron too but it would have been nice to see him doing
something that showed that he understood he didn’t need to go the same path as
Harry all the time.
Hope you like this! I
went with the Confectionery Maker!Ron idea, as I feel it fits him really well.
It had been two years
since the war. The wizarding community in the United Kingdom was finally
settling into peace and calm. It was the new millennium, and it seemed an
opportune time for reinvention. At least, those were the words that Hermione
had used.
‘You really should
consider careers advice, Ron.’ The bushy-haired witch was stretched out on
their bed, a large careers leaflet in her hands. Ron was sat on the edge of the
mattress as he polished his shoes; a habit he had fallen into after going to so
many Ministry functions with Hermione. ‘It’s open to all Hogwarts alumni.’
‘Unlike you, I never
actually graduated Hogwarts, ‘Mione. Remember?’
‘So, that letter from
Professor McGonagall last week was just confirming that, was it?’
Ron chuckled. His
girlfriend knew him too well.
‘Okay; fine. She was
suggesting that I consider accepting her recommendation for an honorary
diploma. Happy?’
Hermione reached out
and tenderly traced a line down Ron’s back with her finger, a mischievous smile
forming on her lips.
‘Very.’
Ron’s mouth stretched
into a smile.
‘‘Mione, we have to go
to that party at the Auror Office in half an hour.’
‘It starts in half an hour-’Hermione chewed
her bottom lip and played with a strand of her bushy hair ‘-We can be… Fashionably
late, if you want-’
‘MR WEASLEY!’
Ron was brought out of
this highly enjoyable memory by the
sharp, sobering voice of Minerva McGonagall.
Struggling to recompose
his face (which was probably a deep red colour), Ron entered McGonagall’s
office and sat down in the chair stood before the desk. He had been stood
outside the office for well over ten minutes, but had been so wrapped up in his
thoughts that he hadn’t noticed his former teacher repeatedly calling his name.
‘Now, Mr Weasley, as
you’ve finally decided to come when
called,’ Professor McGonagall said, eyeing Ron with exasperation over her
spectacles. ‘I suggest we begin the careers advice session.’
No matter how old Ron
got, whenever McGonagall spoke to him, he always felt like he did at the age of
fifteen; uncomfortable, nervous and worried that he’d messed up his
Transfiguration essay. He imagined that most people felt like this with their
former teachers, but McGonagall was especially strict compared to most.
‘Er, yeah,’ he mumbled,
rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. ‘I mean, I know that I don’t
have much to go on-’
‘Mr Weasley, do not
sell yourself so short,’ interrupted McGonagall. ‘If I remember correctly, you
received seven O.W.Ls during your days at Hogwarts. Or is my memory failing
me?’
‘Well, yes. I did get
seven.’ Ron said, feeling uncomfortable as he always did when people praised him.
‘But I never really excelled in any of them. Not like Harry or Hermione-’
‘And I was under the
impression I was giving career advice to Ron
Weasley, not Mr Potter or Miss Granger. You have seven O.W.Ls, a perfectly
good amount of qualifications, not to mention your various extra-curricular
activities.’
‘You mean Quidditch?’
McGonagall rolled her
eyes. She had the air of someone running out of patience.
‘Not just Quidditch, Weasley. Although, you
certainly proved your mettle in that respect. No; I mean all the things you’ve
done.’
Ron sat puzzled.
McGonagall sighed.
‘Mr Weasley, did it escape your notice that you were
instrumental in saving the wizarding world from Lord Voldemort?’
‘Oh,’ said Ron. ‘That.’
‘Yes, that.’ Professor McGonagall said. ‘You
have repeatedly shown yourself to be brave, heroic, as well as having an
immensely intelligent strategic mind. As such, you have many different career
options open to you. You are currently interning at the Auror office; is that
correct?’
Ron nodded. He did
enjoy working with the Aurors, but he never felt like it was really for him. Of
course, he had wanted to become an Auror whilst at school, but, after all that
had happened during the second war, he didn’t feel like the profession suited
him. Not to mention…
‘Well, it’s what Harry
wanted to do, and I could hardly not go with him.’
McGonagall raised an
eyebrow.
‘Mr Weasley, are you
seriously trying to tell me that you are in the Auror office just because you
thought you would be abandoning Mr
Potter if you chose something different as a career?’
Ron squirmed in his
seat.
‘Well,’ he mumbled, not
looking the professor in the eye. ‘Not in quite the way you said it, but…
yeah.’
McGonagall sighed. She
seemed to deflate slightly in her seat.
‘I had known for a long
time that you felt overlooked compared to Potter, but I never realised it was
that bad.’
Ron looked down at his
feet; he wasn’t used to seeing the usually stoic McGonagall like this.
‘Ronald,’ McGonagall
said, making Ron even more uncomfortable; he had never heard her call him by
his first name before. ‘I assure you; you won’t be abandoning Potter if you
want a different career to him.’
‘But what career would
I be suited for?’ Ron muttered, feeling very self-conscious. ‘I’m hardly a
genius like Hermione, am I?’
‘I don’t remember Miss Granger defeating my giant chess
set at the age of twelve.’
Before Ron could
answer, Professor McGonagall had summoned several different career pamphlets
from a nearby drawer.
‘SO, YOU WANT A CAREER
IN WRITING?’ screamed one pamphlet. ‘WANT TO MAKE A SPLASH IN BAKING?’ bellowed
another.
‘Professor, I don’t
think any of these will-’
‘Weasley,’ said
McGonagall, as if she hadn’t heard him. ‘Your core strengths are strategy and perseverance.
You might not always have the raw natural talent of some of your peers, but you
work harder than anyone else if you really want something. I would therefore
recommend a career based on something you love doing.’
‘But writing and baking-?’
‘You enjoy them both,
do you not?’
‘How did you-?’
‘Miss Granger seems has
a higher respect for you than you have about yourself.’
Ron tried not to grin.
Merlin, he loved that bushy-haired know-it-all…
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Five years seemed to
have passed in the blink of an eye. Ron was cooking breakfast while Hermione
read The Daily Prophet, sipping her
morning coffee.
‘There’s another review
of those new Wheezes products in here.’
‘Oh, not this again,
‘Mione…’
‘People like them,
Ron!’ Hermione exclaimed, climbing out of her chair and wrapping her arms
around Ron’s waist; making goose-bumps erupt up the redhead’s back. ‘I’m
surprised no-one ever thought before about making confectionery to help people
with mental health issues…’
Ron didn’t know why
no-one hadn’t thought of it either. It had been so obvious to him when he had
started at WWW; a lot of people needed support and help, and why shouldn’t they
have confectionery to help do that? From PTSD brought on by the second
wizarding war, to anxiety and depression, Wheezes now had a range of products
to help people. And, of course, Ron had made sure to keep the prices as low as
possible. He knew what it felt like to not afford things he needed, and he had
no wish to inflict that on other people in the same position.
‘What did the review
say, by the way?’ he asked, trying to keep his heart-rate normal as Hermione’s
soft hands tenderly squeezed his lower chest.
‘Ten out of ten, five
gold stars, etc., etc.,’ Hermione said, nuzzling into his back. ‘Which,
considering who is making the sweets, doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.’
‘Very funny, love.’
‘I’m serious!’ Hermione
said, smiling up at him. ‘Those sweets are a great idea, and they’re helping so
many people! You really should be proud of your achievements more!’
‘I’m just making sweets
for a joke shop.’
‘And making a lot of
people very happy. Just like you make me happy.’
‘’Mione, I can’t cook
if you keep flirting with me.’
Hermione giggled,
causing Ron’s ears to go red.
‘Well, I’m not stopping
anytime soon, Ron.’ The bushy-haired witch grinned, a roughish look forming on
her mouth. ‘Unless you try and make me stop.’
Ron raised an eyebrow,
before dropping the now-cooked scrambled eggs onto two plates nearby.
‘Hermione Granger, is
that an invitation?’
Ron felt Hermione’s
arms loosen around his waist, and he turned round to look at her. She was
leaning against the breakfast table, a mischevious twinkle in her eye.
‘Yes, Mr Candy-man. Yes it is….’
I may have gotten a
little distracted by the domestic Romione flirtations, but I hope you like this
nonetheless @ronandhappiness!
Congratulations! You have been sorted into Ravenclaw, the house of intelligence, curiosity, individualism, and wit. You are amongst other Ravenclaws, such as: Cho Chang, and Luna Lovegood.
Congratulations! You have been sorted into Hufflepuff, the house of loyalty, hard working, acceptance, and fairness. You are amongst other Hufflepuffs such as: Tonks and Cedric Diggory
I have shipped Drarry since day one. Hinny just feels too forced and fake and kinda rushed for it to be real to me. Also Harry was 10 times more passionate with Draco. I can’t ship Harry with anyone else but Draco. Any other shipping feels wrong.
Also I do truly believe Godric and Salazar had a relationship.
Very much DISagree about Drarry- but boy oh boy
I Goooootta disagree about Harry and Ginny REAL HARD, y’all.
I highly disagree on Hinny being ‘forced fake and rushed’– no no no, friends.
Still, hey, speaking of Draco- even HE calls Gin Harry’s girlfriend in book 2.
“Leave him alone, he didn’t want all that!” said Ginny. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Malfoy.
“Potter, you’ve got yourself a girlfriend!” drawled Malfoy.
😉 I kid, I kid! But, hey-
How’s that for romantic foreshadowing? 🙂
Seriously, though. Hinny was lead up to for 5 books, son! 🙂 In no way is that rushed.
Harry and Ginn’s love story is basically one of bad timing, where themes, foreshadowing, language and characterization have been used to slowly establish Ginny as special in Harry’s life, and forge the foundation on which their relationship is built in book 6.
I have receipts. 😀
Book 1 – first girl he meets
she’s the first weasley kid/first nice kid he even hears speak actually, there’s this brief description of him watching her I find very poetic:
The train began to move. Harry saw the boys’ mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed; then she fell back and waved. Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner.
Book 2- giant book of foreshadowing
So, this book ties Ginny and Harry thematically, establishes certain patterns with them, ties Gin to the main themes of the books very inextricably, ties her to Harry in a way no other character is tied, and also establishes her as a future love interest for Harry.
In NO way am I saying Harry had romantic notions about her at this point in the series (heck no! He’s just 12!)- but rather from a writing perspective, things were put in place to establish future H/G goodness.
From the get go, she is described, again, in somewhat cute/‘poetic’ language
At that moment there was a diversion in the form of a small, red-headed figure in a long nightdress, who appeared in the kitchen, gave a small squeal, and ran out again.
Harry just caught sight of a pair of bright brown eyes staring at him before it closed with a snap.
Ginny seemed very prone to knocking things over whenever Harry entered a room. She dived under the table to retrieve the bowl and emerged with her face glowing like the setting sun.
“Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?” Harry asked Ginny. She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and put her elbow in the butter dish. Fortunately no one saw this except Harry’
So she’s this adorable little winsome gal who Harry (established as pretty effing rude about most girls/women he describe), is giving language I’d love to have written about me even now, as a full-grown married woman.
So, of course we start off book 2 with Ginny being a shy little sister, who has a a crush on her brother best friend/is enamored with the boy hero. Even though she could have been written as burdensome or annoying to Harry- he never once feels that way about her (even when tackled by that cupid dwarf with her singing valentine.)
To the contrary, he’s always quite sweet with her, giving her his books, notices when she’s out of sorts, pulls out his wand to expeliarmus Draco when he’s taunting Ginny by holding her diary (which mirrors Ron’s going after Draco when Draco was calling Hermione mudblood), and then he freaking saves her.
The language when he saves her, again, has emotional resonance than he had for almost anyone else in the series for the first few books NOT ROMANTIC- just establishes a theme of how Harry considers her and has a softspot for her(seriously, read this, then go back and read his underwhelming reaction to Ron possibly being severely injured in PS/SS with the chess match… like… for reals):
He couldn’t not go, not now they had found the entrance to the Chamber, not if there was even the faintest, slimmest, wildest chance that Ginny might be alive.
And between the feet [of the statue’s robes], facedown, lay a small, black-robed figure with flaming-red hair.
“Ginny!” Harry muttered, sprinting to her and dropping to his knees. “Ginny — don’t be dead — please don’t be dead —” He flung his wand aside, grabbed Ginny’s shoulders, and turned her over. Her face was white as marble, and as cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she wasn’t Petrified. But then she must be —
“Ginny, please wake up,” Harry muttered desperately, shaking her. Ginny’s head lolled hopelessly from side to side.’
Also, in this book, though it’s quick little bits here and there, they establish also how Harry and Gin instinctively ‘get’ one another, despite their lack of interaction- like when she defends Harry to Draco with ‘he didn’t want all that’- or when he keep Ron from prying after he saves Gin
“I’ll explain when we get out of here,” said Harry with a sideways glance at Ginny, who was crying harder than ever.
“But —”
“Later,” Harry said shortly. He didn’t think it was a good idea to tell Ron yet who’d been opening the Chamber, not in front of Ginny,
This is how they work later in the series- they just get each other’s motivations/needs- hints of it established – as hey, some people just get one another- even when they are platonic childhood friends.
So on top of all the above, she’s connected to him in that she knows horcruxes and Tom Riddle basically better than anyone, really. (I was sort of bummed they didn’t use this more later, though DAMN is she doesn’t sass Harry out of yelling in book 5 over it :D). She introduces one of the most important things in the series- needing to know Voldemort, Voldemort’s soul imprints, and how to defeat horcuxes.
Only four characters have ever had the mental influence of a horcrux, that we know of- Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione. Of them all, only Harry and Ginny ever really got perspective on Riddle/Voldemort- vs Ron and Herm were influenced, not sharing back and forth. This makes Ginny stand out thematically from any other character in the series- that she shares this connection with Harry.
Harry saves her in probably the most traditionally romantic/fantasy driven/fairy tale way- literally the hero saves a damsel in distress from a giant reptile with a sword- but Rowling subverts this by having them literally have no romance build from there for another 4 books- because they are kids.
So yeah- she’s established early on, writing-wise, as a future flame for him, and tied them very closely.
Book 3 – briefest of shared moments
Ginny is barely present in this book, but despite her crush making her rather mute in front of him- they have a share moment of humor (which seems to be a big connection for the two of them- the two always catching each other’s eye and smirking at eachother later in the series.)
“Ah, there’s Penelope!” said Percy, smoothing his hair and going pink again. Ginny caught Harry’s eye, and they both turned away to hide their laughter as Percy strode over to a girl with long, curly hair, walking with his chest thrown out so that she couldn’t miss his shiny badge.
Both are deeply affected by dementors (along with Nev, though his is just mentioned as being pale along with Gin) on the train.
Ginny, who was huddled in her corner looking nearly as bad as Harry felt, gave a small sob; Hermione went over and put a comforting arm around her. “But didn’t any of you — fall off your seats?” said Harry awkwardly. “No,” said Ron, looking anxiously at Harry again. “Ginny was shaking like mad, though… .”
And she gives him another card when he’s in the hospital (which he keeps, even though he hard to literally keep it under a fruit bowl so it won’t sing anymore- he’s dispationately thrown out Hagrid’s rock cakes and Ron and Hermione’s gifts he actually enjoyed before- so here he is, still having a tender (but platonic) spot for Ginny.)
Book 4- character establishment and missed opportunities
So, again, Ginny isn’t around much in this book. She still blushes around him a little, but is able to smile and talk with him much more easily, especially about the twins’ joke shop endeavors, and definitely has a lot more of her sass come out (fleetingly saw a couple of times of it in book 3).
She’s still not included in any of the trio’s antics (not even being told about Sirius’s innocence)- and they mainly establish that she has a great sense of humor like her brothers, laughing a lot at things Harry and Ron do (while Hermione can’t bring herself to laugh, b/c it’s hermione), and being compassionate as per usual to people and animals alike (as in book 3).
Anyways, the main thing that stands out in this book- is the missed opportunity for all the main characters to go out with their future romantic partner/s.
Ron and Hermione don’t go to the ball.
Harry and Ginny don’t go to the ball.
Harry and Cho don’t go to the ball.
It’s a big missed moment for them all, really. 😛
So yeah- we all are very aware of all that yule ball, who is going out with who drama-
Anyways, another moment I like is Weasleys are always his escape – and she’s a part of that. :
Fred, George, and Ginny came to sit next to [Ron and Harry] too, and Harry was having such a good time he felt almost as though he were back at the Burrow; he had forgotten to worry about that evening’s task, and not until Hermione turned up, halfway through lunch, did he remember that she had had a brainwave about Rita Skeeter.
Book 5 – Establishing the foundation through interactions, themes and language.
So, this is where we get to see full-out Ginny. No longer is it just hints at her sass, pieces of her compassion, tiny shared moments between her and Harry- oooh no. This book is where we finally have Ginny’s full glory out and about, and it’s awesome. She is ballsy, she is cool, and lord help me, I love her so much. JKR establishes a very very firm foundation for a romantic relationship between them to blossom in this book.
From the get go, Ginny is on point.
So a quick exploration of how awesome Ginny is:
The door opened and a long mane of red hair appeared. “Oh hello, Harry!” said Ron’s younger sister, Ginny, brightly. “I thought I heard your voice.”
This is after he was screaming, and had just been teased by the twins for it. Again that poetic language is used for her, and she’s now part of his gang- and intimate along with Ron and Hermione (or as close as anyone can get) with his plans and life.
Like, I could go on forever about how cool Gin in this book, but I’ve literally written pages at this point. Suffice it to say- she kicks arse – like, she’s hangin with the twin and being cool in Grimmauld place, she’s kicking butt at quidditch, she’s flying into Smith when he’s an arse, she’s known for her bat bogey hex.
“Yeah, size is no guarantee of power,” said George. “Look at Ginny.” “What d’you mean?” said Harry. “You’ve never been on the receiving end of one of her Bat-Bogey Hexes, have you?”
And she’s compassionate too, as she’s kind to Luna and Neville a whole bunch in this book
“I’m nobody,” said Neville hurriedly. “No you’re not,” said Ginny sharply. “Neville Longbottom — Luna Lovegood.”
She and Harry share grins and laughs throughout the book
Well, hello there!” [Lockhart] said. “I expect you’d like my autograph, would you?” “Hasn’t changed much, has he?” Harry muttered to Ginny, who grinned.
So yeah, Ginny is amazing, so it’s not really a surprise that the next book, when Harry is no longer crushing on Cho, he takes notice.
The main points of connection between Harry and Gin are a few times in this book he relies on her to help him emotionally, or she just steps up to do it- at times she does it better than any other pier of his, including Ron and Hermione.
First moment where she really helps Harry out is on the Hogwarts Express:
The train was gathering still more speed, so that the houses outside the window flashed past and they swayed where they stood. “Shall we go and find a compartment, then?” Harry asked Ron and Hermione. Ron and Hermione exchanged looks.
“Er,” said Ron.
“We’re — well — Ron and I are supposed to go into the prefect carriage,” Hermione said awkwardly. Ron wasn’t looking at Harry; he seemed to have become intensely interested in the fingernails on his left hand.
“Oh,” said Harry. “Right. Fine.”
“I don’t think we’ll have to stay there all journey,” said Hermione quickly. “Our letters said we just get instructions from the Head Boy and Girl and then patrol the corridors from time to time.”
“Fine,” said Harry again. “Well, I-I might see you later, then.”
“Yeah, definitely,” said Ron, casting a shifty, anxious look at Harry. “It’s a pain having to go down there, I’d rather — but we have to — I mean, I’m not enjoying it, I’m not Percy,” he finished defiantly.
“I know you’re not,” said Harry and he grinned. But as Hermione and Ron dragged their trunks, Crookshanks, and a caged Pigwidgeon off toward the engine end of the train, Harry felt an odd sense of loss. He had never traveled on the Hogwarts Express without Ron.
“Come on,” Ginny told him, “if we get a move on we’ll be able to save them places.”
So back to school they go, and poor Harry is all alone and a bit lost as to what to do with himself when Ron and Hermione leave him for prefect stuff. Ginny immediately takes charge and is super sweet, finding him a compartment, hanging with him and Neville and Luna. I’d like to point out, she didn’t HAVE to help him out at all. She has her own friends in her year (who hail her over the second they’re in the great hall) and a boyfriend- she’s just being awesome.
She then comforts him about Cho for a sec (as she gets the whole trying to look cool
Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned. He would have liked Cho to discover him sitting with a group of very cool people laughing their heads off at a joke he had just told; he would not have chosen to be sitting with Neville and Loony Lovegood, clutching a toad and dripping in Stinksap.
“Never mind,” said Ginny bracingly. “Look, we can get rid of all this easily.” She pulled out her wand. “Scourgify!” The Stinksap vanished.
Ginny, unlike the other young ladies in Harry’s life, has the ability to bring calm to the storm at times with pointed humor. Like the first DA meeting, when Luna and Hermione break into a fight that derails the whole thing:
“Yes, he’s got an army of heliopaths,” said Luna solemnly.
“No, he hasn’t,” snapped Hermione.
“Yes, he has,” said Luna.
“What are heliopaths?” asked Neville, looking blank.
“They’re spirits of fire,” said Luna, her protuberant eyes widening so that she looked madder than ever. “Great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of —”
“They don’t exist, Neville,” said Hermione tartly. “Oh yes they do!” said Luna angrily.
“I’m sorry, but where’s the proof of that?” snapped Hermione.
“There are plenty of eyewitness accounts, just because you’re so narrow-minded you need to have everything shoved under your nose before you —”
“Hem, hem,” said Ginny in such a good imitation of Professor Umbridge that several people looked around in alarm and then laughed. “Weren’t we trying to decide how often we’re going to meet and get Defense lessons?”
Ginny is able to calm him where no one else can when he’s afraid after he’s had the dream with Mr Weasley- not only de-escalating him, but also cheering him up, while standing up to him full on and able to snap him out of it and make him listen:
[Hermione] sat down next to Ginny, and the two girls and Ron looked up at Harry. “How’re you feeling?” asked Hermione.
“Fine,” said Harry stiffly. “Oh, don’t lie, Harry,” she said impatiently.
“Ron and Ginny say you’ve been hiding from everyone since you got back from St. Mungo’s.”
“They do, do they?” said Harry, glaring at Ron and Ginny. Ron looked down at his feet but Ginny seemed quite unabashed. “Well, you have!” she said. “And you won’t look at any of us!”
“It’s you lot who won’t look at me!” said Harry angrily.
“Maybe you’re taking it in turns to look and keep missing each other,” suggested Hermione, the corners of her mouth twitching. “Very funny,” snapped Harry, turning away.
“Oh, stop feeling all misunderstood,” said Hermione sharply. “Look, the others have told me what you overheard last night on the Extendable Ears —”
“Yeah?” growled Harry, his hands deep in his pockets as he watched the snow now falling thickly outside. “All been talking about me, have you? Well, I’m getting used to it… .”
“We wanted to talk to you, Harry,” said Ginny, “but as you’ve been hiding ever since we got back —”
“I didn’t want anyone to talk to me,” said Harry, who was feeling more and more nettled.
“Well, that was a bit stupid of you,” said Ginny angrily, “seeing as you don’t know anyone but me who’s been possessed by You-KnowWho, and I can tell you how it feels.” Harry remained quite still as the impact of these words hit him. Then he turned on the spot to face her.
“I forgot,” he said.
“Lucky you,” said Ginny coolly.
“I’m sorry,” Harry said, and he meant it.
“So … so do you think I’m being possessed, then?”
“Well, can you remember everything you’ve been doing?” Ginny asked. “Are there big blank periods where you don’t know what you’ve been up to?” Harry racked his brains. “No,” he said.
“Then You-Know-Who hasn’t ever possessed you,” said Ginny simply. “When he did it to me, I couldn’t remember what I’d been doing for hours at a time. I’d find myself somewhere and not know how I got there.”
Harry hardly dared believe her, yet his heart was lightening almost in spite of himself.
[Herm and Harry give input on how he was in bed the whole time and no one apparated into hogwarts]. I’m not the weapon after all, thought Harry. His heart swelled with happiness and relief, and he felt like joining in as they heard Sirius tramping past their door toward Buckbeak’s room, singing “God Rest Ye Merry, Hippogriffs” at the top of his voice.
So yeah- Ginny was able to bring him peace of mind in a way LITERALLY NO ONE ELSE COULD.
She goes on to bolster him about his quidditch ban (and is the only person to really do so, it seems) and then again shows her ability to ‘get’ him:
“Good catch,” Harry told Ginny back in the common room, where the atmosphere closely resembled that of a particularly dismal funeral.
“I was lucky,” she shrugged. “It wasn’t a very fast Snitch and Summerby’s got a cold, he sneezed and closed his eyes at exactly the wrong moment. Anyway, once you’re back on the team —”
“Ginny, I’ve got a lifelong ban.”
“You’re banned as long as Umbridge is in the school,” Ginny corrected him. “There’s a difference. Anyway, once you’re back, I think I’ll try out for Chaser. Angelina and Alicia are both leaving next year and I prefer goal-scoring to Seeking anyway.”
Harry looked over at Ron, who was hunched in a corner, staring at his knees, a bottle of butterbeer clutched in his hand. “Angelina still won’t let him resign,” Ginny said, as though reading Harry’s mind.
Then she inspires hope in him, yet again:
“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… .
So on top of ALL THAT- there are literary themes tying Ginny and Cho together. His current flame is somehow always getting cocurrently talked about or written about with Ginny flitting around in there. Ginny and Cho’s lives mirror each other, or they are inexplicably linked in scenes. We see scenes where they intersect, Ginny and Cho are in competetition (note, Ginny always wins), and their love lives seem to twist into one another’s. Coincidence?! I think not! 😀
“Ginny used to fancy Harry, but she gave up on him months ago. Not that she doesn’t like you, of course,” she added kindly to Harry while she examined a long black-and-gold quill. Harry, whose head was still full of Cho’s parting wave, did not find this subject quite as interesting as Ron, who was positively quivering with indignation, but it did bring something home to him that until now he had not really registered.
“So that’s why she talks now?” he asked Hermione. “She never used to talk in front of me.”
“Exactly,” said Hermione. [hermione shops]
Ron still breathing down her neck. “Ron,” she said severely as she turned and trod on his feet, “this is exactly why Ginny hasn’t told you she’s seeing Michael, she knew you’d take it badly. So don’t harp on about it, for heaven’s sake.”
“What d’you mean, who’s taking anything badly? I’m not going to harp on about anything …”
Ron continued to chunter under his breath all the way down the street. Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry and then said in an undertone, while Ron was muttering imprecations about Michael Corner, “And talking about Michael and Ginny … what about Cho and you?”
Somewhat to Harry’s disappointment, it was Ginny who managed to find Cho Chang and her friend first
“The Defense Association?” said Cho. “The D.A. for short, so nobody knows what we’re talking about?”
“Yeah, the D.A.’s good,” said Ginny. “Only let’s make it stand for Dumbledore’s Army because that’s the Ministry’s worst fear, isn’t it?” There was a good deal of appreciative murmuring and laughter at this.
“All in favor of the D.A.?” said Hermione bossily, kneeling up on her cushion to count. “That’s a majority — motion passed!”
Harry glimpsed Ron and Ginny skimming over the stands and felt a horrible pang that he was not up there with them… . “You really miss it, don’t you?” said Cho.
“Yeah,” said Ron slowly, savoring the words, “we won. Did you see the look on Chang’s face when Ginny got the Snitch right out from under her nose?”
“I suppose she cried, did she?” said Harry bitterly.
“Well, yeah — more out of temper than anything, though …”
Harry looked around. Cho was passing, accompanied by Marietta Edgecombe, who was wearing a balaclava. His and Cho’s eyes met for a moment. Cho blushed and kept walking. Harry looked back down at the chessboard just in time to see one of his pawns chased off its square by Ron’s knight.
“What’s — er — going on with you and her anyway?” Ron asked quietly.
“Nothing,” said Harry truthfully.
“I — er — heard she’s going out with someone else now,” said Hermione tentatively. Harry was surprised to find that this information did not hurt at all. Wanting to impress Cho seemed to belong to a past that was no longer quite connected with him. [paragraph about Sirius’s death]
“You’re well out of it, mate,” said Ron forcefully. “I mean, she’s quite good-looking and all that, but you want someone a bit more cheerful.”
“She’s probably cheerful enough with someone else,” said Harry, shrugging.
“Who’s she with now anyway?” Ron asked Hermione, but it was Ginny who answered.
“Michael Corner,” she said. “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.” […]
“Well, I always thought he was a bit of an idiot,” [Ron] 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,
SO THERE YA GO- ALL THAT BUILD UP- 🙂 was it fast and out of nowhere? no way! Reread and see it right there in the books, mates!
Like, you can not like their ship- but there is no denying the buildup.
ohhhhh boy there’s a lot so i hope you’re ready. this article is a great starting point for what makes r0wling problematic, but i’ll list out the main things:
there is probably more, but that’s a good starting point, i think. i’ve never been a fan of r0wling, so i may not be the most in-the-know about every shitty thing she’s done (i know she’s also dabbled in questionable politics, but i’m not as certain about that as i am the above). i can’t say whether or not she’s apologized for all of the above, so if anyone knows anything else, feel free to add on!
I get all of them- except for why the metaphor for AIDs is an issue? It was ALWAYS obviously a metaphor for that?
Like, the stigma, the contagiousness, how people treated people- Like, it was obviously a metaphor for that already- why would that be an issue when JKR confirmed it?
@hillnerd I think it was to do with the characterisation of Fenrir Greyback as someone who preyed on young children (something that gay men were often accused of in Britain during the twentieth century). It’s a problematic characterisation in that respect. Also, the idea that Werewolves are ‘monsters’ and a danger to people around them.
Headcanonsandmore 