#the library was there for me when i was a cripplingly shy teenage girl

[stuckinapril]

libraries were literally created for lonely little girls who would then go on to become lonely fully grown women btw

[narukoibito]

Hello, Would you mind telling us How and When you started to like/ fall for Hinny? And Why? What is the thing that made you like them? Were you in the fandom before 6th book? Did you ship Hinny before HBP? I just love them and curious how others fall for this beautiful couple. I am asking this to all my favorite Hinny writers. I really want to thank you, people, for writing them so wonderfully and for gifting us your amazing works. ❤❤

Wow, thank you so much for your kind words. A few months ago, I hadn’t touched Harry Potter fanfiction or creative writing for years, and it is mind-boggling and extremely humbling to be included in your amazing list. It means so much that someone reads and likes the words I string together for this amazing couple. ❤️

My Harry/Ginny Shipping Book Journey

I started shipping (pining for, really) the two of them starting in CoS. Ginny in CoS is just everything - putting her elbow in the butter dish, blushing furiously, unable to talk around Harry. And then Harry is so kind and has such a soft spot for her. He reacts differently to Colin and other Boy-Who-Lived fans. And he’s attentive to her distress despite all the rumors of him being the Heir of Slytherin, never once blames her for her crush or the diary, and saves her from the chamber. Which by the way, he says when she may be dead, it’s the worst day of his life. Oh Harry! 

I also knew from CoS that Ron and Hermione were endgame. Ron was so affected by her being petrified, much more than Harry. Harry also really struggled whenever he was with Hermione without Ron, and it seemed really obvious to me they would not work romantically.

There was always something about Ginny and how she would stand out in Harry’s POV even before HBP, their secret laughs, her being affected by the dementors, her missing the chance to go to the ball with him, that always kept me hoping that Harry would turn around and see what was right under his oblivious nose.

Then in Ootp, I could just feel in my bones that Harry and Ginny were going to happen. All this new attention to Ginny, her “getting over” Harry, talking around him, dating Michael, putting him in his place (lucky you), the chocolate in the library scene, fighting Umbridge and at the DoM - but the biggest clue to me was the scene on the train when Ginny reveals she has broken up with Michael but is now with Dean. I remember thinking now that’s there for a reason.

[Gap where I rage quit Harry Potter for several years after Ootp because how could JKR kill Sirius?! It broke my heart too much for Harry.]

When I returned to Harry Potter, I was so, so, SO blown away by the fact that my dream ship had come true in HBP! And not only that, but Ginny was everything I had hoped and so, so much more! It sparked my first foray into writing lots of fanfiction for them 10+ years ago as we awaited DH.

Why I Ship Harry/Ginny

Even though in many ways I’m like Hermione (a perfectionist, book lover, always raised my hand in class), I resonated so much more with Ginny. Ginny was who I felt like as a child: cripplingly shy, a younger sister, had mortifying crushes (once on my brother’s friend), and used humor to make my way through life. Then Ginny is who I really wanted to be when I grew up. I deal with some trauma in my past, and I admire the heck out of Ginny who overcomes the trauma with the diary, her embarrassing crush, and her brothers trying telling her she couldn’t play Quidditch, and reveals her hilarious self and her kickass flying and magic skills, makes friendships and catches up after her awful first year, just - so many amazing things! She doesn’t let her past or anyone else define her future. So yeah, of course, Harry falls head over heels for her!

But there’s the other part of the coin on why I ship them more than wish fulfillment for Ginny: how she is Harry’s equal in every way. She understands him like no other. She makes him feel normal, not like a boy with a scar on his forehead and a prophecy to fulfill. He frets about his best friend knowing about his wet dreams! He feels normal, teenage pining, jealousy, and angst. He wants to use his lucky potion not to deal with Draco or Voldemort, but what if this will lead to him getting together with Ginny? Despite hating being talked about or potentially losing Ron, Harry impulsively kisses her in front of everyone! Ginny makes him laugh, makes him happy. She understands when he needs to break up. She’s his last, dying thought. He turns around when he’s supposed to be ending a war by facing Voldemort because omg Bellatrix how dare she try to harm a hair on Ginny’s head. The language he uses to describe her is so poetic, so unlike anything else in his perspective... Ugh, Harry loves her so much!

Ginny gets the boy, and Harry gets the girl. Ahhh, I just can’t with these two.

They’ve been my OTP for as long as I can remember. Events in my life took me away from Harry Potter and fandom until a few months ago, and I’m so happy to be back. I love imagining them in every universe. They are keeping me going through these unique and awful times. I am just happy to be able to bask in their sunlit days once more.