Hello everyone! This is my first post here. I stumbled upon the leaky cauldron site by chance, and chose this essay from the list as the first one to read - mostly because I have always, always thought that Ron/Hermione were meant to be, and from pretty early on had an inkling that Harry/Ginny were, as well. It was the Cupid Valentine from Ginny that first got me on the track, and I was decided by the time that Harry asked Ginny to the Yule Ball in desperation.

I just want to add my two cents to this discussion - someone suggested earlier in the thread that Ron and Hermione were like mini versions of Molly and Arthur - and this is exactly my point for Harry and Ginny. We know James and Lily were friends and then a couple at school - we know that Harry has a striking resemblance to his father - Lily was a pretty, fun redhead - as is Ginny... That whole idea about the Mirror of Erised, and Harry wanting his parents back... with Ginny, he gets the closest he can to recreating the relationship his parents had. He is reliving their romance, following in their footsteps... And let's not forget that Harry has ways of feeling close to his dad already - Quidditch, Sirius. Maybe falling for Ginny is just an incredible tribute to his admiration for his mum. I mean that in the least Freudian way I possibly can!