I think it's time to address the elephant in the room. IMO, Ginny and H/G are increasingly getting ripped to shreds on r/harrypotter, and I think it's plausible that it could be happening elsewhere. This is gonna be a meta post in three parts: 1) whether it is happening; 2) my opinion on why it is happening and finally 3) what, if anything, do we actually do about it.

I've participated intermittently in fandom since 2024 (life will do that to you!), but I'm slowly getting back into the HP community as the series draws nearer. I've got to admit, what I am seeing on r/harrypotter is quite concerning.

Take, for example, this thread from just a few days ago, where you see the most nonsensical takes get plenty of upvotes, such as "Ginny doesn't really do anything" "H/G is extremely forced in the books" "Harry barely thinks about Ginny" "there wasn't much to ruin of Ginny in the movies" "Ginny has no visible development" "they hardly talk". Admittedly, this is a post explicitly focused on shipping, so let's include here a post from February 2026 that just talks about a beautiful moment but doesn't engage with the shipping discourse... oh that's right, it also descends into the same old talking points. Or about Ginny herself... this post from September 2025 that complains about Ginny's portrayal in the movies... and yet the top 3 comments, as well as their replies, are blatantly anti-book!Ginny, if not downright vitriolic towards her (not to speak about many of the other comments).

I wasn't around for the absolutely massive HP shipping wars during the 2000s, when Ginny hate truly was at its absolute peak, especially after the release of HBP. I've been in fandom since roughly 2013-2014, when Ginny bashing was still quite prevalent, so when I joined I was convinced that Ginny was massively hated in the fandom, but looking back at it objectively, we were already in the tail-end of the phenomenon. Especially since we were already a few years after the release of DH, so support for the canon pairings had time to solidify, especially since many people were starting to reread the books by that point.

But about r/harrypotter, I definitely don't remember this happening to this extent in, say, 2016-2022. Okay, maybe on an unpopular opinion thread every month or so, you would see people with, um, spicy takes on all HP fandom topics congregate on one thread, and inevitably an anti-Ginny take would get upvoted: because that's the purpose of the thread: where those with unpopular opinions can congregate and determine which plot point, character, or ship is underrated or overrated. And maybe exceptionally, you would see a post that is explicitly about Ginny or H/G that would get a lot of debate. But nowhere near what we are seeing now, in my opinion.

Because the truth is that nowadays, for the past 3 years, it feels like on r/harrypotter, literally every single thread that has anything to do with Ginny, H/G, or shipping in general, will get hijacked to relitigate every single nonsensical opinion on Ginny and H/G. Even a recent Fleur thread, on Ginny's birthday no less (!), got hijacked by certain committed Ginny haters.

Now, this might just be me, but it is something that I've noticed, so I want to draw attention to it.

And this, to me, raises another question: is this something happening only within r/harrypotter? Or is this a fandom-wide trend where on multiple platforms, forums, etc. one can see the same shallow takes being constantly churned out? I wouldn't know, since I do not really use Tumblr, TikTok, Threads, Instagram, or Twitter. From the little I've seen, YouTube is still relatively... alright? Most of the discussion about Ginny over there still seems OK, but admittedly I haven't really consumed that much HP content recently, so that might just be me.

And I also don't know what the situation in fanfiction looks like, on AO3 for example (and FFN.net, though I clicked on that site this month for the first time in a few years, and it has absolutely gone down the drain). I haven't read fanfiction consistently in quite some time, but what I do remember is that while Ginny bashing was obviously prevalent even 5-10 years ago, it looked worlds better than what one could see from 2005-2012.

So is r/harrypotter a bellwether/Litmus Test for everything else that is happening in fandom, or is it something that is localised on that sub? Like, I somehow would be less concerned if this was happening on, say, r/HPfanfiction (which I haven't really visited in quite some time), because people within the fanon community have traditionally been more likely to bash Ginny and despise H/G, so it should kind of be expected. However, r/harrypotter is by definition the generic HP sub. That's what makes it concerning. It is without a doubt one of the main spaces for discussing HP. In my opinion, aside from this sub, today it is really only on r/HarryPotterBooks where you can discuss Ginny without being brigaded. And even there, there have been posts about Ginny where a lot of the comments just go full in on Ginny bashing (like in this one where some posters outright call her "toxic") earlier this year.

So, at least from my personal perspective, while it's not 2005 all over again (yet...!), I don't think it's been this visibly prominent to dislike Ginny and H/G since, say, 2014 - at least on r/harrypotter.

Part II:

Now, as to my opinion on why it is happening. I've had a hypothesis since 2024, which is when I first noticed this trend: that this has mostly to do with the new HP series being announced. And that this has essentially activated three overlapping groups: 1) casual/lapsed fans returning to HP discourse; 2) old-school veterans of the shipping wars resurfacing; and 3) newer, more online audiences approaching HP primarily through modern cultural and even political trends.

For the first group, the casual/lapsed fans: they would have read the books when they were released, may have participated casually in fandom at the very most, and may primarily remember the films. So they are far less likely to have consistently participated in the shipping discourses, though (and this is crucial) they would have had opinions on them.

They did not have a great opinion of Ginny or H/G when they read the books in 2003, 2005, and 2007; and the movies definitely did not help improve their opinion. Hypothetically, these are the types of people one may have seen in the Amazon Reviews for HBP in 2005 leaving 1 or 2 stars for the book: Ginny being a part, but not the only part, of their criticism of that book. They are more likely to remember the adventure and mystery of PoA and GoF. This faction, in my opinion, is likely to have a higher proportion of Harry/Luna shippers than the one below, but this is just a hypothesis though.

Years and decades go by... and then the new series is announced, which activates these fans (because they do like the HP series, after all), who had retained whatever impression they formed during the original release period. They are not necessarily rediscovering anti-Ginny sentiment, they're simply bringing an old opinion back with them.

The second type are the old-school shippers. The TV series, I believe, provides an incentive for people who were deeply invested in the shipping wars during the 2000s to reenter the conversation. In this sense, the adaptation, for them, is not about "faithfully doing the books", it is potentially a second chance to relitigate the argument they lost 20 years ago. It explains why the discourse can feel straight out of another era. We are literally seeing arguments that sound like they're from 2005, because, in many cases, they essentially are arguments from 2005.

In my opinion, these tend to be Harry/Hermione shippers in large part. They are militant Ginny haters who were very active in the pre-DH era of the shipping wars, and spewed bile about Ginny non-stop after the HBP release in 2005. They will have hurled all the usual fangirl, Mary Sue, bully, slut, mean girl, gold-digger insults at Ginny's character, especially on their threads over on the H.M.S. Harmony forums.

I believe that they view the TV series as a final chance to change the fandom's perspective on Ginny and H/G, especially with younger/newer fans coming in. They think that if the books are shown faithfully, it will show Ginny and her relationship with Harry in a far, far worse light than the movies did. (As an aside, I have literally seen this opinion, but applied to Ron and R/Hr, on more than a few threads about the new TV series on the r/HPharmony.)

The truth is that for decades, many Harry/Hermione shippers have viewed their ship not as a fanon ship that they like, but as a ship that is more worthy of canon status than every other fanon ship. They view that there was a grand romantic narrative that was building for five books between the two, and then "SUDDENLY" they were artificially spurned when Harry fell head over heels for a certain redheaded girl. When the truth is, Harry/Hermione substantatively is no different from Harry/Ron, Neville/Luna, Ginny/Luna etc.: cute fanon ships, but fanon ships all the same.

And third: there also appears to be a newer audience that is encountering HP discourse primarily through social media and the algorithm, influenced by broader cultural, social and political trends. This has been the case since 2019-2020, for reasons I don't want to get into here. And this has meant that many people online are trying to go through the books with a fine comb and definitively prove that the books as a whole are deeply flawed at best, and more often than not horrible. Whether it be on the issues of elves, goblins, giants, Cho Chang's name, Hermione's place in the Trio, etc., they seize on them to definitively prove just how bad the books actually are.

And obviously H/G and Ginny are not the exception.

Whether it be on the issues of elves, goblins, giants, Cho Chang's name, Hermione's place in the Trio, etc., they seize on them to show just how bad the books actually are. With respect to H/G, they take issue with how "heterosexual" they are, that they dared to have a stable marriage and have 2.5 kids. They call Harry/JKR sexist for writing him to like Ginny because she is emotionally strong and rarely weeps. And with respect to Ginny... oh, don't get them started. These are the types of people that will go on constantly about how Ginny was misogynistic and even racist for daring to not like Fleur's behaviour and personality. The number of times I have seen Ginny referred to as being "toxic" "NLOG" or as a "pick-me"... yeah. She gets hated on for actually being an appealing girl to Harry, believe it or not.

Either they were HP fans back in the day, and felt betrayed or "grew up"; or they never were fans to begin with and are more so acting on a 'mercenary' basis. I wouldn't say that they are a part of the current fandom to begin with -- except, perhaps, for nostalgia-shipping Harry and Draco together -- they simply view that bashing HP is the "in-thing" to do. And they view the TV series as an opportunity to cancel the books all over again, and of course, that means that Ginny and H/G are gonna be on the chopping block.

And this is not to say that it's only non-HP fans that complain about Ginny in these terms. Rather, what I think is going on is that these specific talking points are transmitted to the HP fandom through osmosis, and then fans that are already in the HP fandom who hate Ginny begin using them. Because it is only in the past 5-6 years that I've heard the specific complaints of "NLOG" "pick-me" "toxic" "misogynistic" levied against Ginny, as opposed to the more "classic" vitriolic terms that are only from the HP fandom like "shallow" "Mary Sue" "mean girl" etc. etc.

And importantly: these categories can overlap. Someone can have both been an old-school H/Hr shipper and a lapsed fan; someone can have been a long time HP fan and now approach the books through cultural criticism.

I do wonder, also, about whether this is a genuine increase in anti-Ginny vitriol (even on r/harrypotter), or whether we should actually distinguish between an actual increase in the bashing/dislike/hatred, and an increase in its visibility. I'm not only talking about Ginny haters being "militant" (to borrow a term from the 2005 MN/TLC HBP interview), I'm also thinking about algorithms and social media dynamics potentially systematically amplifying all three of the anti-Ginny "factions". The truth is that in our current social media ecosystem, hot takes will drive discussion, will drive visibility, will drive clicks,... and of course will drive revenue. And as an aside on the online topic: I have legit seen anti-Ginny and anti-H/G posts and essays on Tumblr and Reddit that literally use quotes from the books... that were in fact fabricated by AI.

Honestly, the explanation for why we could be seeing a rise in anti-Ginny vitriol could actually be quite simply that there is a feedback loop: the TV series announcement ---> increased attention on HP ---> both old and new fans returned ---> increase in controversial discussion ---> algorithms amplify controversy ---> they become more visible ---> other people perceive them to be one of the prevailing fandom opinions ---> more people feel emboldened to repeat them. So in a sense, it could actually be as simple as: anti-H/G shippers and Ginny bashers are more militant than H/G shippers and Ginny fans. Which is something that has literally been the case in 2005... minus the social media/algorithm dynamics.

Which means there could be more anti-H/G shippers and Ginny bashers than 5 years ago in the current fandom... but that their proportion has not changed, because other fans, including those who love Ginny... also joined or returned to the fandom. So there's a plausible case that:

• anti-Ginny fans being more militant + more anti-Ginny fans in absolute numbers + social-media algorithms favouring controversy = more visible anti-Ginny discourse, without necessarily meaning a larger anti-Ginny proportion = perception that the anti-Ginny contingent of the fandom has grown as a proportion of the overall fandom.

Let me illustrate it as a hypothetical example (these numbers are not at all scientific, it's just for the sake of the argument):

2021 on r/harrypotter: 100,000 active fans, 10% are anti-Ginny = 10,000 anti-Ginny fans 2026 on r/harrypotter: 300,000 active fans, 10% are anti-Ginny = 30,000 anti-Ginny fans

So honestly, while I do think that the visibility of Ginny and H/G bashing has increased... I'm genuinely undecided on whether this is something real that is happening.

And finally part III - what do we do about it?

Because I feel like part of the reason why it's gotten so bad, at least on r/harrypotter, is because we've kind of taken our eyes off the ball. After all, we're canon. And, again, while it is not 2005 all over again, at least on r/harrypotter it hasn't been this popular to be anti-Ginny and anti-H/G.

That said, there is also an argument that with the TV series on the horizon, that things will naturally play themselves out to be a safe haven for Ginny fans and H/G shippers in the long run. Because unlike in 2005, there are several structural reasons why I remain optimistic:

+++ The first thing going for us is that for many years, love for Ginny and H/G has become cemented within the book fandom. That's just the reality. It's not for nothing that the "book Ginny vs. movie Ginny" is almost as popular of a fandom meme as the "Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire". When comparing why the books are so much better than the movies, Ginny is literally in the top 3 of the complaints.

+++ The second is that the producers and Rowling are determined for this to be an adaptation faithful to the books, and the series has been repeatedly placed in opposition to the movies. (Rowling tweeted, for instance, that part of the reason she wants the TV series is to have Peeves in it, which is an interesting "control variable" to show that this is the aim.) Moroever, in 2023, I remember that Rowling liked tweets concerning doing justice to book!Ginny and focusing on the Weasleys. And with the news about Bonnie Wright wanting an accurate book!Ginny, there is even more impetus to actually do justice to her character.

(I also believe that if they get Ginny's character and the H/G relationship absolutely spot on, it will, in my view, decisively end the shipping wars in a way that did not happen in 2007 after the books, or 2011 after the movies: partly because screen is a more popular medium than the page.)

+++ The third reason is that, even in 2005, H/G was the most popular Harry-ship in fandom, it's just that the people against her and her relationship with Harry were much higher in proportion of the fandom, as well as being far louder. So, at least we are not at that point. Because the truth is that if you don't focus on the fanfiction communities which are smaller than the fandom writ large (where by default the impetus is to change things, and that includes relationships), by virtue of being canon, Ginny Weasley will always remain the preferred option by a wide margin for Harry.

But from a personal perspective, I do think that it is important to go and confront these talking points, using evidence that is from the books. Not in an effort to convince the most entrenched haters and bashers, because they are in all likelihood beyond hope. Rather, because there are constantly new fans that will be entering the fandom, and this trend will accelerate exponentially once the TV series hits the shelves (or screens, rather). It's thus important, I believe, to show that there is a different point of view out there. There are going to be fans that are genuinely undecided, or are indeed anti-Ginny / anti-H/G but that their opinion hasn't fully crystallized yet.

Apologies for the essay/manifesto lol, I tend to get pretty verbose, especially when it comes to defending Ginny and H/G. And yes, I've spent too much time thinking about this, especially considering the fact that I haven't really been in the fandom all that much recently.

PS - /u/zzrtz /u/Don_T_Beakunt45 /u/Spirited-Analyst3628 /u/Particular-Ad1523 /u/suverenseverin I'd be interested in your takes on this tbh!

Lack of on screen/on page build up was always a major criticism against them. But that can be shrugged off by simply mentioning that JKR sucks at writing romance. So that's not my major critic about them.

What particularly bothers me is what happened to them after the war. Ginny joined professional Quidditch and according to JKR made a name at it. And then she decided to quit it to start a family with Harry.......at the bare age of 22!at the height of her quidditch career!?

I wouldn't mind if it was something like James Sirius was an accidental child and rejoining the team after his birth made her realize she isn't enjoying Quidditch as much as she used to and perhaps now it's time to start a family. Otherwise starting a family at the bare age of 22 doesn't go with her character from any angle. She came from a large family,so I think she would want to enjoy the privacy she had with Harry as long as she could. And it's not in Harry's nature to force someone of something against their will,let alone to someone he love. He might want a family as soon as possible,but if Ginny tells him to wait a few more years,he is gonna respect that. Rather than seducing her into it.

I have always fought to the nail that Harry and Ginny's kid's names were decided by both of them,rather than deciding them all by himself. But in recent days I can see what other fanbase and even some of the Hinny fanbase are coming from. Staff like gives the feeling that Ginny is somewhat a trophy wife for Harry who's entire life is adjusted around his comfort.

I’ve been watching a lot of Harry potter videos online about the movies and the tv show and it’s just really stands out how badly they wrote Ginny. What are your theories about what happened in the room where he wrote Ginny’s lines and her relationship to Harry in HBP? Because it was so horrible like what were they thinking? Why did he not include most of the hinny moments from the books?

Something had to have happened my theory is that Kloves wrote all the Harry and Hermione moments together and then he showed someone it and they were like but Harry doesn’t end up with Hermione. He was like oh I’ll just leave those scenes and write silly things for Ginny.

Just for fun 😅

I recently re-watched the movies and I am shocked that Ginny only has 30 minutes across 8 films. That is completely unforgivable. They easily could have doubled the amount of screen time and it would have greatly improved the movies. I really hope they don't make the same mistake in the HBO adaptation.

IF YOU NEED A GOOD CRY AND HAVE A LOTTA TIME, READ QUIDITCH IS FOR LOSERS BY GINFIZZ. I HAVE NOT STOPPED CRYING AND IT HAS BEEN 30 MINUTES.

edit: here's the link for ao3 : D

you need tissues for the first 11 chapters, TRUST

My wife, after 10 years of my bothering and badgering, finally consented to read the Harry Potter series, which she had started as a child but never finished. To her suprise and my delight, she enjoyed it.

"What the hell am I supposed to read now?" She asked.

"Well, now you know why I started reading fanfiction," was my response.

In a shocking (to me) twist, she agreed and asked for a recommendation. I linked her to "These Cuts I Have" by the wonderful Melindaleo and, to my further jubilation, she is loving it.

So I turn to all of you- what do you think are some good recs for a newcomer to this fine community?

(Sorry if I used the wrong flair, it has been a while since my last post)

Lately, I have been reading so much angst.
I need some fluff, my life is already hard I need fics to light up my mood!

Hi all! Just wanted to shout out two fics that I've just finished reading! (No affiliation) Both of these are great for those that love cannon compliant "book accurate" fics with a lot of extra throw in! Take that obvs with a pinch of salt but I'm sure you understand what I'm getting at!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - AU Rewrite by Killerat. Amazing fic would highly recommend, binged read it in about a week. (I'm a slow reader) Sadly the following Fic (Part 2) isn't finished but would still highly recommend as an independent Story.

The In Betweens (6th Year) By Honeydukesheroine. Not sure how the author captures the relationship and the build up between Harry & Ginny so well but it is honestly fantastic. Would honestly say its one of the best I've read. Still a few chapters to go but pretty much complete. The Author has slowly been updating it over the past 2 or so years.

Those are my shout outs just wanted to thank the authors if they see this and let others know if they haven't stumbled across these Must reads! I'm not entirely sure on the rules when it comes to links on this sub-reddit, so i shall refrain from doing so for the time being.

If anyone has any recommendations for anything similar to these two it would be highly appreciated!

I was listening to HBP audiobook and just noticed a Hinny moment that I think doesn't get talked most of the times. It isn't him smelling her in amortentia or the train moment.

But the moment after the quidditch tryouts, when Slughorn Invited Harry and Hermione, right after which they were discussing whether Draco smuggled anything inside the castle.

Hermione was talking to him how they were searched the first day but Harry instead of paying attention to her, was Momentarily looking at Ginny who was playing with her pygmy puff Arnold, and he continued to stare at her for quite sometime before getting into his head what Hermione was talking about.

I think it's such a cute moment, where Harry put everything else, even Hermione behind just to look at Ginny. And then people say he had better chemistry with Hermione lol.

I recently finished These Cuts I Have by Melindaleo and absolutely loved it. It honestly felt like such a natural continuation of canon that I completely fell into it.

I know Some Cuts Leave Scars is the continuation, but while browsing author’s other works, I came across The Seventh Horcrux and the summary looks really intriguing.

The problem is that both are pretty long, and I have limited reading time so I need to pick one. 😭

For those who have read them, which should I go for next, Some Cuts Leave Scars or The Seventh Horcrux? I’d love to hear your thoughts, especially on the angst, Hinny romance, and overall story…

Just wanted to recommend a fix I have binged over the last few days.

The Chamber Witch by ttbear112. I've been reading on AO3

Relatively unique premises Ginny being a death eater ( for reasons), but still Hinny and follow canon plot points. Not finished but being regularly updated. I highly recommend, characters are very well written, and the changes make it a great read.

As someone who only searched for completed stories via search engines, I have realised I've been missing out on great fics that while not complete yet are still being completed.

Looking for a war re-telling with Ginny being more active and powerful/almost an equal to Harry and them taking more of a lead on hunting the Horcruxes.

A bit of smut won't hurt! 😉

Also preferable: Sirius being alive and mostly completed stories

What I've read:

Return of the Marauders

Remember

A second chance