The Hog's Head

Ginny is not afraid to tell Harry he's being an arse. Everyone else, at some point or the other, is in awe of Harry. They won't point out how his behavior affects others, but Ginny has absolutely no qualms about telling him off. I love that! She will yield to him, on occasion, but she always has good reasons. When she wants her way, she'll get her way... youngest child and only daughter FTW!

I think their most important conversations have been about Moldie. Ginny reminds him that he was not the only one touched by darkness, that he's not alone in his passion to destroy Moldie. It's why Ginny can connect with him, and why she can let him go. Offpage, I think they were much more 'teenager-y,' and had more fun. Harry does think of the HBP time as "out of someone else's life."

In what way does Ginny challenge Harry? Does she just sit back and let him do whatever he wants?
She challenges him mainly by being the person who stands up to him the most.  The "Lucky You" scene is not the only example, but it's the best.  And NO, she does not sit back and let him do whatever he wants.  She says no to him more consistently than anyone.  She went to the MoM even though Harry didn't want her there.  She kept her date with Neville to the Yule Ball when there was a possibility she could have gone with Harry.  She sits with Dean on the train in HBP after Harry asks her about sitting together.

When did you first start to think that Harry/Ginny was a romantic possibility?
Right from the beginning - sister of hero's best friend who just happens to be only a year younger?  Total no-brainer.

What made you start actively shipping them?
The mountains of canon evidence made it pretty clear that was where the books were headed, but I started actively shipping and loving the pairing from reading After The End.

What do you think of the arguments that Harry and Ginny bring out the worst in each other?
That those sour grapes must taste very, very, very good, because some folks are still chewing on them more than two years later.

Oh, and

Aaah my goodness, I can't believe I was only just notified of the re-opening of GT!! Well here I am, migrated from FAP (thank god) and here to stay.

When did you first start to think that Harry/Ginny was a romantic possibility?

Call me dumb, but I didn't notice it till after OotP. This is going to sound really harsh, but I didn't like the "Ginny's unrequited crush on Harry" storyline till then - I found it a little annoying. Then I saw how truly AWESOME she was in OotP, and how she was the only one to shut him up in the "Lucky You" scene and thought "they're perfect for each other!!!"
It quickly became my OTP

What made you start actively shipping them?

When Harry broke up with Cho. I immediately put down the book and prayed that he would find Ginny.

In what way does Ginny challenge Harry? Does she just sit back and let him do whatever he wants?

Of course she doesn't just let him do whatever he wants. One thing that really irritates me is the idea that she is just a yes-woman, or "snog-doll" because she let him name their kids after his parents. Pur-lease. 
We see Ginny stand up to Harry on countless occasions *points to Sandy'sexplanations.
But I think she challenges him in more ways than simply standing up to him. Her fiery temper and mischievious sense of humour keep him constantly on his toes.

What do you think of the arguments that Harry and Ginny bring out the worst in each other?

Total crock of ****
Seriously, we see Ginny always makes Harry feel betternot worse (unlike other females in the series)

And some more fodder;

What, for you, is the best part of shipping H/G?

~Hammy

I'm going to be mushy here, but seriously? It's all the friends I've met through the ship. When I first entered the fandom, H/G shippers were a definite minority and, well, other ships tended to dismiss us. So we tended to band together.

What, for you, is the best part of shipping H/G?

I agree that all the friends I've made is the best part.  The second best part is just seeing what I've believed all along come to fruition over the years.  That my interpretation was, in fact, where Jo was going with the shipping.  And that we got a happily ever after! 

A big AMEN to all of this. Yes, I'm happy we were right, I'm happy Harry/Ginny got their happily ever after, but the thing that makes this all worthwhile is the friends I've made online.

What, for you, is the best part of shipping H/G?
To continue the theme the absoulte best part is the friends I've made as a result of the ship.  In a way some of the "enemies" are fun as well, because I like reading the Gordian Knots they tie in their efforts to deny H/G.

Being canon rocks as well!

Wordy McWord! I'm grateful shipping H/G brought me to GT.net, which brought me to writing fanfic... a great, fun hobby that definitely improved my writing! So all in all, if ever I become a world-famous author, it'll be in part thanks to H/G 

What do you hope for re: The Kiss in Movie!HBP? How would you film it if you were the director?

I just hope it's like the book. I want it to be post-Quidditch victory (Quidditch is supposedly in the movie, so I'm hopeful), and I want Ginny to run at him, and Harry, lost in the moment, to suddenly kiss her. Just like the book. I've heard it said before that the kiss was written for the big screen and I have to agree, it really was. It doesn't need to be changed at all. Throw in Rupert's reaction and it'll be funny, too.

What do you think of the arguments that Harry and Ginny bring out the worst in each other?

I have to say... how, where, what? I don't remember anywhere in the text where they bring out the worst in each other. Ginny has a temper, yes, but that's who she is. It has nothing to do with Harry. Ron and Hermione have tempers too, but is that Harry's fault as well?

As for Harry, again, where in the text does Ginny bring out the worst in him? He did Unforgivables, right, and people have bashed him to high heaven for this. But was Ginny telling him to do that, egging him on? No? Okay then. They do things of their own accord; they don't "bring out" the worst in each other. They bring out the best in each other, as can be seen by how happy the relationship makes the both of them.

Well, I answered some of this over in FAP, but I'll just play the cut/paste game:

*What is the most enjoyable thing about H/G?
Most enjoyable?  There's so many things.  My evil side would like to say the justification in laughing at all the anti-H/Gers  , but that's a poor reflection on the ship.  I guess I'm just a sucker for a happy ending, which is what H/G is to me. 

*Did you like the Epilogue in terms of H/G? Did you feel it advanced anything we already had or just reinforced it?
Well, a lot of the anti-H/G sentiment springs from the lack of development of the romance in the series, and to be honest, they have a point. We get some moments, but that's about it. We can see that Harry's developing stronger feelings for Ginny throughout DH, but is it love? We don't know...until the Epilogue. I don't think Harry or Ginny would marry unless they had found love...they just don't strike me as the kind of people that would have a loveless marriage. So in that sense, it advanced it.

It also killed all of the fanon ships involving Harry or Ginny. I gave a mad cackle of glee when I first read it, and I would have high-fived JKR if she was there at that moment. 

*What are some H/G scenes you would have liked to have seen in the books?
Maybe a little more development, but not much. I would have liked a little more direct interaction in the summer of HBP, if only to have something a little more concrete than the onset of Amortentia pheromones. Perhaps a bit more direct interaction after the Trio returns to Hogwarts in DH as well. Interestingly though, I'm perfectly content that 'I love you' happened off-stage.

*What are your all-time favourites?
Oh, the standard ones: the early years of amused glances  , the Yule Ball date issue , 'Lucky You' , chocolate in the library , the chest monster(we need an appropriate smiley for that), the Kiss  , the happy hour by the lake , the Birthday Kiss , the dot on the Marauder's Map  , the fact that Harry was derailed from going after Voldie in the final battle when he saw Ginny was in danger from Bellatrix  , and of course, the Epilogue .

*Do you view H/G as simply a fluffy couple or something more?
As written?  Certainly higher on the fluff than the angst, but since it isn't developed in depth in the books, it is open to many interpretations, and I love them all.

*What H/G scenes do you want to see in the movie versions of HBP and DH?
I seriously doubt Dean will be an issue in HBP, so none of that.  I'd love to see some kind of image flash of an indistinct Ginny (as in, unrecognizable, except for maybe a flash of red hair) when Harry smells Amortentia.  The Quidditch of book 6, and of course the kiss.  If we could get a better hint of the 'happy hour' or the time spent together in general, I'd love it (it'd blunt the arguments of the nay-sayers a bit, I think).  The break-up also has to be done.

As for DH, meeting up again after the 7 Potters, the birthday kiss, the bridesmaid dress.  I think the two I'll be seriously disappointed if they aren't there is Harry watching Ginny's dot on the Marauder's Map and his image of her before he gets 'killed'.  Both of those scenes really conveyed the depth of feeling to me.

When did you first start to think that Harry/Ginny was a romantic possibility?
Second read-through of PS through GoF (I picked up on the series after GoF came out).  I realized that Cho wasn't truly Harry's love, so I realized I hadn't read carefully or else there was a new character waiting to be reintroduced.  My second read-through, I was like "oh duh!  It's Ginny."  Hermione never once entered my thoughts--she was going to be Ron!  It was so obvious! 

What made you start actively shipping them?
See above.  When something makes sense, it makes sense.

What do you hope for re: The Kiss in Movie!HBP?  How would you film it if you were the director?
Something along the lines of Seviet/Marta's artwork of the same thing (minus the Jim McGuffin thing, though that was hysterical).  I thought that sequence was brilliant.

What do you think of the arguments that Harry and Ginny bring out the worst in each other?
Heh heh heh.  No really, I do laugh at the thought. 

Whenever someone makes that assertion, I take great delight in shredding them, especially if they ship Harry or Ginny with someone else, because I can almost always give better arguments of that nature against their ship (Harry/Hermione is especially fertile in that respect)  .

What are some of your favourite H/G friendship moments?
The standards: eye-catches, Chocolate in the library.  Basically, read Red Monster's essay, it really says it all.

In what way does Ginny challenge Harry? Does she just sit back and let him do whatever he wants?
Besides the 'lucky you' scene in OotP?  She doesn't, really, not in the books.  But it's not because she's a doormat; she either agrees with Harry's decision on her own, or understands she has no choice (Harry breaking up with her, or being sent away from the battle by her mother--though in the latter instance, she gave Harry a bit of a betrayed look).  I think the 'lucky you' scene was sufficient proof that when Harry was clearly being a prat, she would set him straight.  Harry wasn't a prat when he broke up with her, and he wasn't a prat when he didn't gainsay Molly.

What sort of meaningful conversations have they had during canon? What did they talk about off page during their breif relationship in book six? What did they talk about immediately after the war was over?

This is all conjecture, of course, but based on what I saw of them...

During their relationship, probably safe topics at first; I don't disagree with some H/G critics that hormones drove the couple, especially at the beginning.  Deeper issues would have eluded them for the most part--Harry is still too tightly wound, and Ginny might be too.  However, Harry does describe her as his greatest source of comfort, so that would suggest to me that they discussed deeper issues to some level.

Two themes would have dominated their discussions following the war: Fred's death and Harry's life.  Everything he had to hold back would come up, a bit at a time, a flood of info here and there.  Meanwhile, Harry would be there for Ginny, sharing in her grief for Fred's loss.

What, for you, is the best part of shipping H/G?
I could go with something sentimental and say the people (I do like you all, don't worry!), or something meaningful about love...but for me, it's being right.  It's being able to look at that atrocity of an icon "Fight illiteracy, kill a H/G shipper" and say "now who's friggin' illiterate, huh?"  A bit petty, but that icon really pissed me off.   

(Just fixed a borked tag -- Ashwinder)

(heh, thanks...I fixed one of my own typo's, and changed a profanity that got changed to something even more ridiculous! -- Daksian)

The HMS Orange Crush has torpedoed the H/C ship after OOTP, the HMS Pumpkin Pie always had weak albiet stubborn fleet, but our ship won. A victory fanfare is in order.