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Fanon >> Essays
Shipping Harry
By RinoaI'm not going to bother saying why I wrote this essay. Maybe for the benefit of letting H/Hrs and H/Cers know that H/Gers will not be pushed around by you no more, not with the release of OoTP. I'm going to make it as short and to-the-point as possible, because I know half of you only skim this anyway. 1. What's In A Ship? Before discovering the wonders of online fandom, I was hardly a shipper. In fact, I was a practical reader of the book, and the only ship I felt was coming into boom was Ron/Hermione. Fandom, however, fed me with both shipping nonsense and makesense, so gradually I began to start going into shipping wars and debates. The ship I instantly connected with, much to my surprise, was Harry/Ginny. 2. Fluff? What Fluff? Harry/Ginny is often considered the fluff ship of Harry Potter fandom, the ship of sentimental wishfuls, the ship of unrequited love and helplessness, the ship of neverending heart-flutter and longing. At least, this is the way H/G has been perceived Pre-OoTP, because Ginny was portrayed by Harry in the first four books as blushing and shy with her elbow in the butter dish. How sweet the H/G ship is, with sweet, timid Ginny and and big, handsome, BRAVE Harry. What a shock it must be, then, when OoTP-Ginny stamped the fluff out of the ship and hurled it out the door. Pre-OoTP Ginny and Post-OoTP Ginny are almost two different people. Most readers fail to understand how she "changed" from shy and timid to loud and proud spitfire. This is where the H/Gers and Ginny-defenders triumph, because Ginny, in our opinions, has never changed. She's always been a spitfire, a girl holding her own, brave and admirable with wonderful sentiments. Have you read the first four books without prejudice that Ginny's a pathetic loser with a crush on The-Boy-Who-Lived, you'd see that Ginny never changed; only Harry's point of view did. Ginny, having "gotten over" Harry in OoTP, finally speaks before him and displays MORE of her vibrant personality. In fact, proving to be less fangirl and more friend to Harry than anything else, Ginny proves throughout OoTP as the one and only female peer whom Harry doesn't lose his temper with. He swore because Luna annoyed him, he was pissed because Hermione said he's got a hero complex, he lost it when Cho cried. But before he loses his temper with Ginny, she cuts him off successfully, as such: Harry: I don't want anyone to talk to me. Ginny: Well that was stupid of you...seeing as you don't know anyone but me who's been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels. Harry: (after a moment, of which the impact of her words hit him) I forgot. Ginny: Lucky you. Harry: I'm sorry. (And he meant it) This proves that in a situation whereby Hermione, Luna and even Ron fails to calm him down, Ginny does it brilliantly. She seems to understand where he's coming from, and even manages to get a sincere apology from him--something not easy to do with such an angry!Harry. In fact, with such firey personality from Ginny and equally hot-headed Harry, I'll be going on a limb here and saying the actual genre of H/G does not belong to fluff, but flangst. Think about it. Post-OoTP Ginny and Harry with all their experiences with Tom Riddle, as well as the absence of cutesy sweetness in their interaction... flangst. Talking about problems in the library, over chocolate and feeling better after that... flangst. H/G = fluff? Surely you jest. 3. No Fluff? Oh, The Horror! The actual fluff ship of the Harry Potter series ironically belongs to the ship which happens to claim they aren't--Harry/Hermione. Most H/Hr stories (in general) make Ginny out to be this OIC-fangirl with no brains and morals whatsoever, and Ron, being the obstacle H/Hr 'nobly' face to get their relationship to a higher level, is often the evil guy who switches sides to help Voldy overcome the LOVE that is H/Hr. Either that, or he's thrown into some IC!girl or Lavender Brown (and trust me, soon Luna), which is scarcely an improvement. H/Hr often depicts OIC!Hermione as well, because tell me, in the laws of JKR and canon, there is NO WAY IC!Hermione and IC!Harry to get together. Their personality clash is simply too great. Harry often finds himself submitting to Hermione's demands, and isn't as good as Ron is this aspect: telling Hermione to PLEASE shut it and leave him be. Hermione, as great as her intentions are, often represses Harry and more often than not makes him do as she says, and although Hermione's way is often the right way, it isn't the ONLY way. Harry has no means of accepting Hermione's mollycoddling, and often defies her behind her back. A good basis for a relationship? No. Where Hermione makes Harry listen to her and causes a loss in temper as a result, Ginny makes Harry listen to her and has him UNDERSTAND as a result. Which way is more effective? You be the judge. 4. Nargles. I really kind of sympathise with Cho Chang. She's grieving for Cedric, and the only way she knows how to share her pain to get into a relationship. Harry/Cho didn't work simply because Harry prefers to keep emotion underwraps, whereas Cho wears her heart on a sleeve. Cho is beautiful, Cho is perfect, but her only weakness happens to be Harry's greatest drawback. H/C might have worked if she wasn't so emotional, but she is, and Harry can't take emotional girls. This is where Hermione loses out, too--she's too passionate, too adamant about causes she feels are important to her. Both burst into tears at the most unlikely times, and this outburst of emotion is exactly what Harry is terrified of. Ginny, while passionate, is cool and is likely not to freak Harry out by crying. Pre-OoTP Ginny is probably liable to get hurt by angry!Harry, post-OoTP Ginny is not. Which makes it all work. The lack of crying, but the overflowing of understanding. 5. The Importance Of Laughter. Tell me in one shot how many times you can remember Hermione making Harry laugh. Go on. On the top of your head. Don't bother searching the books, you're unlikely to find it. The same goes for Cho. The probabe reason why Harry ISN'T compatible with Cho or Hermione is because they just don't make him laugh. Hermione often takes Harry too seriously, which results in Harry feeling like a poor joker: "I was joking, Hermione," Harry said wearily. (GoF, Ch 26) It's not a turn-on for a guy, trust me. Unlike Harry, Ron does succeed in making Hermione laugh more often than not. Amidst the arguing, Hermione adores Ron for the pure reason he makes her smile and relax a bit. There IS one scene Hermione smiles at Harry: "Close enough," she said, catching Harry's eye and grinning. (GoF) Don't mind me, now, but if this is the best evidence of a 'private laugh' a H/Hr shipper can give me thoughout the entire five-book series, then you must be losing your touch. Not that I can blame you, considering there isn't any canon for it. Can I laugh? I think I will. Now Ginny. Off the top of your head. Does she make him laugh? I know the answer for most of you is "HE GOT OFF! HE GOT OFF!" almost immediately. And in PoA and OoTP, Ginny 'catches Harry's eye' and looks away, grinning. In PoA especially: "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. (PoA) Ginny is the only girl I remember throughout the entire series sharing a (real) private laugh with Harry (of which Harry laughing as well mentioned). Is that a remarkable achievement where the great Harry Potter is concerned? Yes. Only that both Harry and Ginny probably don't know it. Yet. Anyone would agree that laughter is essential for a relationship to work. And if Ron makes strict and bossy Hermione laugh, and Ginny makes angry and angsty Harry laugh, then we must be shipping something right. 6. Ginny Hate. Whoah-why? Because Ginny reminds you of the 'pathetic' adolescent you were. Because Ginny reminds you of the first crush of which you were rejected from. Because Ginny reminds you of the awkward teen you were, smitten for the most popular boy in class. Because Ginny makes you remember the public humiliation you went through when you sent that guy a love letter. Because Ginny reminds you that you were bullied and helpless. Because like Ginny, you were once growing up. But like Ginny-in-the-years-to-come, you will have it better one day. Like Harry's heart, for example. Ginny has a shocking number of fans and haters for the same reason: she reminds us of ourselves. Protest now, but think about it. You know I'm right. 7. Kwote. JKR does not lie in her interviews. H/Hrs often accuse her of throwing us off, and they're right, but not where they accuse JKR of lying. It's not funny, my friends, to accuse a genius of her intentions. - JKR stated there is tension between Ron and Hermione. - JKR stated Harry and Hermione will not have a date. [Ever] - JKR stated that Harry and Hermione are strictly platonic. - JKR never stated Harry will not end up with Ginny, even when blatantly asked. - JKR stated Ginny is languishing in love with Harry. Yeah, I know, she's a liar, right? Like I always say, denial of canon is one thing, but denial of the author's existence is another. H/Hrs, I love you, but it's time to wake up and smell the butterbeer. 8. Love Triangles, Oh My! I hate the idea of love triangles. I hate the idea even more in a series like Harry Potter. Yeah, because Harry's fighting for his life so he has time to fight it out with Ron over who gets Hermione, right? Let me make it clear. IC! Harry will even LET Ron have Hermione EVEN IF he liked her. Simply because he has no time for silly love triangles. His life is much more worth it. JKR will not write a love triangle, not Cho/Harry/Ginny, not Ron/Hermione/Harry. The reasons is simple: THIS IS A CHILDREN'S BOOK. It's not a stupid Sweet Valley novel. The theme of the books is friendship, not sex. If I hear one more H/R/H love triangle theory I will throw OoTP at you. Looking from an author's point of view, a love triangle is not only a ridiculous idea, it's impossible. To all H/R/H love triangle fanfics, you're think way too much into shipping. Think of the books as the books, please. 9. Note. I've come to an end of my essay. I did try to make it as interesting and snip-snap as possible, only long enough to get my point acorss. I hope you people understand where I'm coming from because I do mean every word I say. H/G and R/Hr are canon ships. Amen. That's the end of the discussion. If you wish to pose questions, do email me: scarletpatil@hotmail.com. |
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