Ginny Weasley

Apparently, I’m on a Harry Potter roll lately…

One thing about writing Harry Potter fanfiction, at least for me, is spending so much time going over things in the books (the only true canon; the movies are secondary canon; everything else is tertiary – all my opinion

, of course, spelled out here just so people know where I’m coming from) to either get things right or choose exactly how to diverge from canon.

It amuses me greatly that people complain about descriptions (and other things; mostly descriptions) that are taken *directly* from the books. I never bother to correct them, but I chuckle a lot at their expense.

While writing “Child of Iron, Goblet of Fire,” I’ve been spending a fair amount of time going through GoF, obviously, but I’ve also thought about Ron and Ginny Weasley a lot, too.

Now, I’m not a huge fan of either of the characters, and I find JKR’s decision to pair Harry with Ginny baffling at best. Why would he *ever* want to share his life with someone who’d been possessed by his mortal enemy? I realize it wasn’t entirely her fault – the diary was enchanted, after all – but she was raised in the magical world; she should’ve known better, especially if her father did tell her more than once not to trust anything if she couldn’t see where it kept its brain. Still – the fact is, she was possessed by Voldemort for *months* and I don’t get how Harry could ever see her romantically as a result.

But that brought me back to the first introduction of Ginny in PS/SS (depending on which side of the Pond you’re on), and how that affected how I saw her even before CoS. Let me quote directly from the book (allowable under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law) her introduction, from chapter six, page 92:

“Now, what’s the platform number?” said the boys’ mother.

“Nine and three quarters!” piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand. “Mum, can’t I go…”

“You’re not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet.”

Taking these on first read (as we all had to do, at one point or another), I had the impression that Ginny is about five or six: she’s described as “small” in Harry’s point of view, and since Harry himself is small for his age, she must be even smaller – i.e., younger. Five or six is also when many children are starting to learn their numbers, when they want to do everything their elder siblings do, and when a parent might be asking whether the child remembered where they were going.

She later asks if she can “go on the train and see him” (page 97) – not meet him

, not talk to him, just *see* him – and (page 98) runs after the train, trying to keep up, both of which reinforced my impression of someone several years younger than Harry.

And then, the next book, she’s attending Hogwarts.

I, and a lot of other readers, had to readjust my impression of her from “quite young” to “very immature.” For me, it was a hard transition, and I think that colored my impression of her for a long time – still does, in fact.

Let me be clear that I don’t hate the character, the way some people do. I just don’t think she was presented as being *right* for Harry in any meaningful way. From her introduction as a very immature ten-year-old fangirl through her possession by the diary, through the end of the series, there’s nothing to show why she complements Harry in a way that would lead to a lasting relationship.

That, of course, raises other questions about the romantic relationships presented in the books, but right now, I need to get back to “Child of Iron, Goblet of Fire.”