TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Harry Potter

Go To

A general thread for discussion of the Harry Potter books. Any new books set in the same world are also on-topic.

Games, films and other adaptations may be more appropriate for other threads if they're being discussed in isolation.

The HBO tv series has its own thread.

Mod Notes:

  • Media threads are primarily for fans of the works they cover. Not everyone will like everything, of course, and that's especially true in a franchise like Harry Potter. It's fine to say a particular story within the franchise doesn't work for you, or to talk about why it doesn't work for you. But please try not to dwell on the negativity for too long. Complaints shouldn't take up too much space on a thread that's intended for fans.
  • This is a thread to talk about Harry Potter and the content of the stories, not a place to talk about J. K. Rowling's more controversial views. If there's something newsworthy where Rowling's activities become relevant (e.g. it affects her relationship to new Potter works and adaptations), that's fair enough. Otherwise it's all been said already and we don't need to repeat it.

    Original text of OP 

there doesn't seem to be a general HP topic...

Edited by Mrph1 on May 27th 2025 at 9:17:24 AM

FurikoMaru Reverse the Curse from The Arrogant Wasteland Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: He makes me feel like I have a heart
Reverse the Curse
#601: Sep 30th 2010 at 1:58:43 PM

That part in Prisoner Of Azkaban, where Ron tells Ginny to take a hike so they can discuss Black? That would've been the perfect time to set it up; Harry tells Ron no, she's seen/done/heard worse than this, she can stay if she wants to, Ginny gives him a look of gratitude, and she's made into a periphery-friend - not part of the main three, but almost as important.

She can still date other guys and everything, but in a timeline where that happened Harry would have spent more time around her and might have an actual reason for being bothered by her dating beyond the chest-monster's say-so.

A True Lady's Quest - A Jojo is You!
Leradny Since: Jan, 2001
#602: Sep 30th 2010 at 6:20:37 PM

I shipped Harry/Luna near end of Book 5. That was sweet and adorable.

Me Too!. I acknowledge the canon pairings but Harry and Luna have the nicest dynamics in the books and they don't have the Like Brother and Sister argument against them.

edited 30th Sep '10 6:20:52 PM by Leradny

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#603: Sep 30th 2010 at 7:25:47 PM

Luna was, unfortunately, the dangerous option. The most interesting option, in my opinion, but it was never going to happen. Quirky, weird, or otherwise completely-off-their-rocker girls like Luna never seem to find love with The Hero.

There's a standard for normalcy with romantic interests, I think. They can be weird, but not TOO weird. Quirky, but not TOO quirky. A little bit loopy from time to time is fine, but balls-to-the-wall crazy gets to die alone, or with another minor character who also happens to be crazy.

Harry/Luna is fun, and I really like it. But, unfortunately, it could never happen within the confines of the story. Luna gets a lot of strong moments with Harry, most noticeably getting him to open up and talk about Sirius's death when no one else, not even Ron and Hermione, could budge him. She's the only non-Gryffindor to travel with him to the Ministry at the end of Order of the Phoenix. But it could never happen. She's just too weird; too risky to hook The Hero up with. No matter how interesting her relationship to him is, she's balls-to-the-wall crazy, and that unfortunately means she can never get The Hero.

Of course, I could be completely off my rocker, but that's how I see it. I ship Harry/Luna completely, but I don't think I've ever seen a girl like Luna ever get the guy in the end.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Taelor Don't Forget To Smile from The Paths of Spite Since: Jul, 2009
Don't Forget To Smile
#604: Sep 30th 2010 at 8:34:15 PM

Quirky, weird, or otherwise completely-off-their-rocker girls like Luna never seem to find love with The Hero.
This is one of the reasons I love Bakemonogatari.

The Philosopher-King Paradox
Maridee from surfside Since: Nov, 2009 Relationship Status: Dating Catwoman
#605: Sep 30th 2010 at 8:58:35 PM

Well, that's a depressing post, Tobias.

Eh, the guys who can be scared off by a little quirkiness aren't worth the effort anyways.

ophelia, you're breaking my heart
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#606: Sep 30th 2010 at 9:20:47 PM

Yeah. <.< I was kind of half-bitching and half-lamenting. Feel free to ignore me.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#607: Sep 30th 2010 at 9:29:01 PM

I got the feeling one of the reasons behind creating Luna was having a character who could have moments like that with anyone Rowling wanted her too, though. While none of her other scenes like the one with Harry that she has with other characters are as prominent as that one, she does have them.

She's the only other character besides Lupin who was designed to be easy to talk to and give (intended to be surprisingly in her case) good advice.

She may have underestimated how easily shippers jump onto moments between characters, however.

edited 30th Sep '10 9:30:18 PM by KnownUnknown

Drakyndra Her with the hat from Somewhere Since: Jan, 2001
Her with the hat
#608: Oct 1st 2010 at 1:38:28 AM

Luna's sort of an intuitive counterpoint to Hermione's academic knowledge (and we saw how those two tended to rub one another the wrong way). There is value in what both of them say and believe, but I think you kind of need some of each for balance.

As a romantic interest, I think Luna needed to get used to having friends before she could cope with the whole romance deal. If she'd been introduced in one of the first couple of books, there might have been time, but as things were...

Harry was also set up as wanting something like a normal family. I think however well he got on well with Luna as a person, she'd be a bit too far out for Harry's sense of normal, basically. Even when they are friends, he does tend to have the occasional "What the Hell?" moments around her.

The owner of this account is temporarily unavailable. Please leave your number and call again later.
vifetoile Since: Jan, 2001
#609: Oct 1st 2010 at 6:18:37 PM

^ Agreed. It's like this Harry Potter tarot that I've been following - though it updates very rarely, it's quite good. In that, Hermione is the Hieorophant - representative of hierarchy, tradition, regulated education. And though Hermione's not afraid to make waves, she's definitely more comfortable in an ordered structure than out of it.

But Luna is the High Priestess, which is perfect - the High Priestess is all about the intuition, secrecy, and wisdom as opposed to knowledge. She's also connected with the Moon card (appropriate), which is (in one aspect) about coping with the darker periods of life.

mermaidgirl45 Since: Jul, 2010
#610: Oct 4th 2010 at 3:35:21 PM

I love Luna. Like many, I shall complain about how I wish I could've read more scenes with her. Also the actress, Evanna Lynch, was brillaint for her part.

Did anyone else feel that Ginny didn't get enough character development, especially with the relationship with Harry?

Iaculus Pronounced YAK-you-luss from England Since: May, 2010
Pronounced YAK-you-luss
#611: Oct 4th 2010 at 3:43:51 PM

Only half the Internet, mermaid.

What's precedent ever done for us?
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#612: Oct 4th 2010 at 4:27:30 PM

The other half thought she got too much and should've stayed in the background. tongue

edited 4th Oct '10 4:27:37 PM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#613: Oct 5th 2010 at 8:53:58 AM

^^^ Luna's actress was one of the best casting choices in the whole series. Up there with the first Dumbledore, Hagrid and Lupin.

And, ironically, Ginny's actress is one of the worst. Granted, she's better in Half Blood Prince, but in Chamber Of Secrets she had no personality.

You should see the conversation we had not a page or two ago about how Ginny was handled - I think she got good character development, but that her relationship with Harry needed a bit more presence that wasn't directly before it happened.

edited 5th Oct '10 8:57:52 AM by KnownUnknown

A_H_R Resistance is Futile from Crevice of your Mind Since: Feb, 2010
Resistance is Futile
#614: Oct 5th 2010 at 11:51:56 AM

Yep. But I think that would have happened if Harry went with Hermione, Ron, Draco, Luna, Snape, Susan, Pansy, Seamus, Voldemort or celibacy.

New User Handle
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#615: Oct 5th 2010 at 12:01:12 PM

Yes, but several of the above characters have an established history with Harry already. Hermione especially.

Ginny was mostly a background character who happened to be Ron's sister and occasionally did something interesting before HBP promoted her to Harry's girlfriend, and even after that she was mostly a background character who happened to be Harry's girlfriend.

edited 5th Oct '10 12:01:55 PM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#616: Oct 5th 2010 at 12:13:40 PM

Thing is, I've never been able to see any of Harry's scenes with Hermione as being romantic. At all (though she plays the "supportive friend" a lot). He's had more romantic tension with Ron of all people - and I can even see where the Harry/Luna bit comes from, because even just that one scene at the end of Order Of The Phoenix can be interpreted more romantically than any of his interactions with any girls besides Cho, though, as I said, it's not necessarily the case.

But Hermione? She's never had a scene that shows her as anything more than a good friend, and it never gets past platonic.

I've always figured people jumped on the idea of Hermione being perfect for Harry because The Hero Gets The Girl, and she's the only girl who's a big part in his life until fifth year.

edited 5th Oct '10 12:17:22 PM by KnownUnknown

A_H_R Resistance is Futile from Crevice of your Mind Since: Feb, 2010
Resistance is Futile
#617: Oct 5th 2010 at 1:21:15 PM

I think if Harry/Hermione did happen, many people would cry character derailment on one end or the other.

New User Handle
FurikoMaru Reverse the Curse from The Arrogant Wasteland Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: He makes me feel like I have a heart
Reverse the Curse
#618: Oct 5th 2010 at 9:36:46 PM

You know who annoys me? People who think any serious attempt to point out flaws in Rowling's execution of her ideas is automatically unworthy of consideration.

I mean, there's a difference between saying, "Rewrite this because you killed off Fred and didn't make Snape heroic enough and you put Ron with Hermoine, you idiot!" and saying "Harry's childhood abuse is never realistically addressed even in the darkest books beyond his reluctance to turn in Umbridge, and it really weakens the character; it makes it look like you just tossed in asshole relatives to make him seem more tragic without thinking about what the consequences would be. Also, having him return to Privet Drive every summer strains credulity and makes your grand mentor figure look like kind of a douche."

edited 5th Oct '10 9:36:59 PM by FurikoMaru

A True Lady's Quest - A Jojo is You!
Drakyndra Her with the hat from Somewhere Since: Jan, 2001
Her with the hat
#619: Oct 6th 2010 at 12:03:31 AM

^I actually agree with this point.

Also, for the Harry/Hermione thing, apart from the fact that Ron/Hermione was blatantly set up very early on, the fact that the story is from Harry's POV and yet, despite being the most prominent female, he almost never thinks of her in terms of attraction or romance (and flat out states she's less fun to be around than Ron) means it'd probably come out of nowhere.

At least with Ginny (or Luna or whoever), there's the argument about not previously thinking about them romantically because they weren't actually there for him to think about.

The owner of this account is temporarily unavailable. Please leave your number and call again later.
FurikoMaru Reverse the Curse from The Arrogant Wasteland Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: He makes me feel like I have a heart
A_H_R Resistance is Futile from Crevice of your Mind Since: Feb, 2010
Resistance is Futile
#621: Oct 6th 2010 at 2:46:22 AM

@Furiko: Elaborate. Umbridge. Child abuse. Now.

New User Handle
FurikoMaru Reverse the Curse from The Arrogant Wasteland Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: He makes me feel like I have a heart
Reverse the Curse
#622: Oct 6th 2010 at 4:26:39 AM

If one grows up in an environment where one is used to just 'dealing with' things, one may start to think that were one to go to someone outside the situation for help, one would have 'lost', somehow. Not giving one's tormentor the satisfaction of giving up becomes very important to one's identity - after all, ignore-the-bully-and-they'll-go-away is a pervasive cultural thing by now.

Harry, being used to having frying pans thrown at him and being spoken to like shit and just generally having an ass time of it, sees Umbridge's little pen stunt and says to himself, "Hmph. I can take it, bitch; I'm not afraid of you," because like most kids, he doesn't think of himself as a kid. He doesn't think of it as an adult abusing her position of power over a minor, but as a personal insult between two grown people.

He still sees it as wrong, but not as wrong as if, say, Ginny were the one carving her hand up.

edited 6th Oct '10 4:30:57 AM by FurikoMaru

A True Lady's Quest - A Jojo is You!
Drakyndra Her with the hat from Somewhere Since: Jan, 2001
Her with the hat
#623: Oct 6th 2010 at 5:51:19 AM

Isn't that kind of a plot point in Oot P? I mean, it isn't framed in terms of abuse, of course, but the fact that Harry is unwilling to look to others for help and insists on trying to solve things himself is set up as a major character flaw of Harry's in that book (and it gets exploited by Voldemort and indirectly leads to Sirius's death.)

The owner of this account is temporarily unavailable. Please leave your number and call again later.
FurikoMaru Reverse the Curse from The Arrogant Wasteland Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: He makes me feel like I have a heart
Reverse the Curse
#624: Oct 6th 2010 at 6:11:30 AM

Indeed it was. That's part of the reason OotP's my favourite book in the series.

edited 6th Oct '10 6:11:43 AM by FurikoMaru

A True Lady's Quest - A Jojo is You!
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#625: Oct 6th 2010 at 7:40:22 AM

At least with Ginny (or Luna or whoever), there's the argument about not previously thinking about them romantically because they weren't actually there for him to think about.

Ginny's been there since the second book (technically the first, but she wasn't actually at the school until the second). He's just never paid any attention to her until he spontaneously decides he's in love with her in book six, which is no different than if he'd spontaneously decided he was in love with Hermione.

Luna's the only one that has the defense of having just been introduced in book five.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.

Total posts: 23,960
Top