1. Harry/Luna - It's hard to write though.
2. Harry/Rowena Ravenclaw - the witty elegant black haired.
3. Harry/Helga Huffelpuff - The mysterious one that everyone underestimates, blond and determined and I've not seen even ONE!

 

Yeah, but Fleur's mom does that thing with her tongue...

Anyways, my top three would be:

Harry/Nobody- The majority of the writers out there absolutely suck balls at writing a functional, realistic relationship. Maybe they've never actually had a boyfriend/girlfriend, so they don't actually know what it's like, but I would much prefer a lonely Harry to a smitten!pussy!Harry. There are those out there who write romance remarkably well, though, and I'll happily read those stories, despite the fact that I dislike romance in the majority of the fics.

Harry/Ravenclaw girl- It doesn't matter if it's Cho, Padma, Lisa Turpin, Penelope Clearwater or Mandy Brocklehurst, but I would vastly prefer a Ravenclaw girl over most other pairings. My view of Ravenclaws is that they are knowledge-obsessed, but unlike Hermione, they go the extra step in their learning, seeking to really understand what they're reading/learning about. It's sort of like the difference between being intelligent and being smart. Hermione may be one of the most intelligent witches in Hogwarts, but she doesn't seem to apply the knowledge to other things, nor connect it to other concepts. I think that Harry needs that kind of influence to realistically get on the right track with studying and such.

Harry/Moaning Myrtle- She's called "Moaning" Myrtle for a reason...

 

I've seen stories with both Patil Twins - but except for a few oneshots, none were that good. As for the Harry/Lily business, I kind of like one of two possibilities - younger Harry meets younger Lily (still in school), or Harry is older and meets an older Lily (up to 20's).

And I think I agree with the intelligent but not always appying knowledge Hermione - but hey, she is in Gryiffindor.

Those people are nuts!

-J

 

My thoughts on the matter of pairings for Harry?

#1 - I don't care what girl you pick, if you can write it well I will consider reading it. In contrast, I likewise don't care what girl you pick, if it's badly written i won't read it. (as a corrolary, I become more lenient in my 'sounds like it might be worth reading' judgment as it gets later and I really, really should have gone to bed by now. Something that I wouldn't read at 6pm might get read at 1am-I-should-be-in-bed.)

Regarding Hermione - Sometimes. In her favor, Harry isn't the sort to judge a person entirely on their appearance or their heredity, unlike certain pureblood obsessives coughMostofSlytherincough. Harry hasn't shown any sign that he wants a stupid woman/girl, and Hermione (at least through OotP) isn't stupid. Quick to take a stance, and occasionally not looking as deeply as she should (S.P.E.W. comes to mind), but not stupid. She's been (again, up through OotP) fairly loyal to Harry, and has believed him/in him consistantly. She doesn't expect him to automatically know and understand Wizarding culture because he's the famous Harry Potter. Harry needs a mate that will be willing to stand up to him as well as standing up with him, and I can't see Hermione afraid to let the person she's with know what she's thinking, even if it's that he's being an annoying, arrogant twit.

Counter to the pairing, she's amazingly stubborn, and they could end up stating angry for a very long time over something insignifigant. She's quick to take up underdog causes (defending Buckbeak, Crookshanks, S.P.E.W., the DA) and slow to stop and think if this is really a good thing or the right way to go about it. With Harry and Hermione as parents, any children would have horrible hair, but should be good at magic (and that's a petty reason to advise against a relationship). She is easily - perhaps too easily - caught up in academic problems and pushes herself too hard. She is awfully uninterested in Quidditch for someone who thinks that flying is the greatest thing about the wizarding world.

Overall, while I can go with it from a decent writer, I don't consider this the best possible match for Harry.

Besides, I always figured that she'd see her constant arguing with Ron as a sign that there was something, Ron'd finally get the courage to ask, and they'd decide to date. This would be about a week or so (as a guess) before Hermione and Ron would discover that they make a really bad couple, even if Ron did think she looked good in her dress for the Yule Ball.

Ginny? On the 'for' side, Harry likes most of her family. They don't (apart from fics which suddenly turn them into evil blood supremists using Harry for his money) care that he is a muggle-raised half-blood. Considering the diary in CoS, she understands that Rillde must be stopped, and shouldn't object too much to Harry doing so. On the 'against' side, Ginny wasn't really mentioned much until HBP (which I was dissatisfied with and have only become more unhappy about at time has passed), in which she went from perhaps a bit plain, shy, and scarred by Riddle's diary and interested in Quidditch, to dating a few not-Harry boys in OotP and being willing to work hard in the DA and go into danger with Harry (a good thing) to Ginny-Sue in HBP. Mary-Sue in all her incarnations should die. This includes Ginny-Sue (and Hermione-Sue as well.) The idea that Ginny(-Sue) was dating other boys to show Hary that she's old enough to date and be attractive (not to get into the whole love-potion Ginny and the chest-monster mess) is repulsive to me, showing a lack of respect for Harry, the other guys, and herself. And the idea that 'all Potter men marry redheads' is non-sensical. We only know for a fact that James Potter married a red-head. Grandpa Potter could have married a blond, or a brunette, or a metamorphamagus who could make her hair any color she wanted.

Tonks (Nymphadora). On the 'for' side, she's an Auror, which is (should be) a sign that she's reasonably intelligent and capable, both magically and in a fight. As such, she won't be trying to keep him out of danger because he can't handle the darkness. This also gives her a respectable status as someone who goes forth to fight her own battles, instead of a damsel-in-distress or society-wife like Narcissa Malfoy or Petunia Dursley (who lacks the society part. But apparently has no job other than spoiling Duddy-Dinkums.) She (as seen in OotP) knows how to relax and have a little fun with life, and if she's perhaps a bit youthful for her age, harry acts a bit old for his much of the time, and that could balance out. As a half-blood, or at least not 'pure-blood' herself, she wouldn't be worried about the blood-purity stance except as indicating possible enemies. She doesn't/didn't believe that his godfather's a criminal.

On the 'against' side, the age gap could be a problem, depending on the time a fic is set. As an Auror, she might try to convince Harry that he should leave things to the professionals (though they don't seem to be having much luck). We have a limited range of knowledge about her, she could be someone that Harry just couldn't stand to live with (though this does give us more freedom to play).

Please save me from poorly written Harry/Tonks fics where Harry is the only wizard in England who hasn't asked Tonks to change into someone else for his own pleasure.

Cho Chang? 'For' the pairing, she's pretty, reasonably intelligent or she wouldn't be in Ravenclaw, and enjoys Quidditch. being a year (or was it two?) older than Harry might make her more mature emotionally than some of the other students. 'Against', she wept all over him about Cedric (an obstacle, though not insurmountable), her friend Marrieta betrayed the DA to Umbridge, and she hasn't shown a great deal of backbone/durability in the face of disaster.

Fleur Delacour? On the 'for' side, she's part-Veela, and therefore gorgeous. As she was the Beauxbatons TriWizard champion, I think it reasonable to assume that she's both fairly intelligent and magically capable. She shouldn't be joining in with any pure-blooded nonsense as she is part non-human. She would also probably march into danger with him. In the 'against' side, she's arrogant and a bit condecending to him in GoF, and comes across as underwhelmed in all/most ways by Hogwarts and everything in it. They have had little interaction that could be used to launch a relationship from, and I seem to recall that Fleur called him a scrawny little boy in GoF.

Gabrielle Delacour? 'For', we can repeat that as part Veela, she is/will be attractive, there's no reason to assume she'll be stupid, and the fact that Harry saved her life should give her a good opinion of him. 'Against', there's a signifigant (at this point) age gap, she lives in another country, and we know very little about her.

Susan Bones or Hannah Abbot - both Hufflepuffs in Harry's year, who we know little about. We can reasonably assume that they are not unatractive (or it would have been noted), at least average intelligence, and are developing in a house known for loyalty and hard work. Harry needs someone loyal and hard working to put up with him and his life. With her aunt in law enforcement (and do we actually have anything from canon about Susan's parents?), she shouldn't be as afraid of things as some, though she would also have a better idea of the potential dangers. She would also already be used to her family being in danger from Voldie & his minions. In the 'against', I don't have much more than the limited past interactions.

Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, & Alicia Spinnet - all of whom Harry worked with on the Gryffendor Quiddith team. Arguments 'for' would be that they'd understand and value an enjoyment of flying, they'd know that there's more to Harry than fame & fortune, and he's got a good basis for spending time with them. 'Against' we have an age gap, limited description of the girls' personalities, and I think that the later two later dated the Weasley twins, though that may just be too many fanfics leaking into things. Quidditch would also be a prime candidate for encouraging and emphasizing house rivalries, and Harry will need to pull together people from more than just gryffendor.

Pansy Parkinson - on the 'for' side, she's the right age, and not too commonly used in fics. 'Against', she's got a history of cooing over Draco, she's from the rival house, has at points been described as unappealing in looks, voice, and behavior, and may have connections to current or former Death Eaters.

Blaise Zabini (when a girl) - 'for' is the idea that a Slytherin girlfriend could encourage Harry to be more careful, she should be able to help him with wizarding custom & behavior, and until HBP we had little to count against 'her'. Blaise didn't appear to be one of Malfoy's loyal minions. 'Against' is the fact that we had little information. Zabini may be dark/evil or of a dark family.

Millicent Bulstrode - also of Harry's year and in Slytherin. Let's start with 'against', on account of it being the larger list. She's of the rival house that is led by Snape. Many guys are intimidated by larger girls, and I've never seen Millicent described in such a way as to make me think she's delicate or particularly pretty. She got into a fight with Hermione during Lockhart's duelling fiasco. Again with the unknown relatives, they could be DE's, the could also be shop-keepers. 'For' the idea, crossing the house divides can be good, she hasn't been portrayed as a lapdog to Malfoy, and we have no mentions of her being particularly vicious towards non-pure-bloods.

As for Tracey Davis (if Tracey's a girl), most of what we have is a house and many questions.

Marrieta Edgecomb of Ravenclaw. Cho's friend. Betrayed the DA. Jinxed by Hermione's cursed parchement. That's not much to go on, and none of it promising.

Luna Lovegood, Ravenclaw. 'For' is that she's interesting and doesn't follow along with the Prophet's occasional Harry-is-mad spates. She joind the DA and went with him to the Ministry. She doesn't appear to have any pushy or evil relatives. She beleived him about the Thestrials. 'Against' is her reputation as a loony, her general oddness and belief in creatures that may or may not exist, and the potential that she has problems with reality. Luna might also have (or had) a crush on Ron (points again to Luna's oddness).


Any of them could be written well into a relationship with Harry (though Marietta or Pansy might take an exceptional writer), and any of them could all-too easily be written badly in a relationship.

So, can anyone recommend or write some decent stories featuring Harry with Katie, Angelina, Alicia, Cho, Millicent, girlBlaise, girlTracey, or Gabrielle? Maybe Tonks, Luna, or Cho?

 

As I've said before, Harry/Tonks is my favorite pairing. Now, I know that it has been done, to death even, but it hasn't been done very well. I'm trying to write a decent Harry/Tonks, but its got Cho in there, too, so that kind of detracts from my effort.

So, the three pairings I'd like to see done well are:

Harry/Tonks
Harry/Fleur - as stated previously, she IS the only canon-proven babe. If she can be written as an intelligent character, with strength of will, a good handle on her magical skills and more than just a comfort-providing fuck-toy, it'd be great. And for god's sake...people need to STOP making Fleur become the new Hogwarts Nurse or Pmfrey's apprentice. Jesus fucking Christ, its irritating to have to read that shit over and over again. Yeah, she'd look sexy in a tiny little uniform. But I'm sure that there's porn around that will satisfy those needs. Fleur needs to be written well, and written as something other than a useless woman who provides no use to the plot or story except to get Harry off ever once in a while.

Harry/Daphne - I want to see a good Daphne Greengrass. There just aren't any. There was one that started, where Harry was a cocky little shit, and it looked good. Then, it stopped, and it hasn't updated in months. So I want to see one that has Daphne as more than the 'Slytherin Ice-Queen'. For fuck's sake...just because they're Slytherins doesn't mean that they've had this aloof, superioristic attitude engendered into them from birth. Look at Pansy Parkinson...she's little more than a whore in canon. They don't have to be mysterious, erudite young politicians...they're kids.

 

Why am I retching like a pregnant woman?
Well the H/Hr pairing doth squick me so!

 

k here we go top 2 pairings id like to see more of/done well
HARRY/Slytherin Babe
Blaise/Daphne preferably. This is pretty much a clean slate in which you can write her as a normal OFC. so i suppose you can replace This with Harry/OC but im a sucker for a Harry/Slytherin relationship that isnt slash or harry is really a female. Not only does it cause conflict with the whole school who cant understand that houses dont really matter which can lead to some funny scenes but also Harry dating a slytherin slowly makes harry more slytherin-ish which is always better in my book (unless its slash haha)
Harry/Tonks
Harry with an older woman. Not just any older woman though tonks is the only one who i could see harry getting away with cause the age difference isnt huge also Not much is known about tonks so her character wouldnt be too hard to have fun with but some people have done everything in their power to destroy this ship but a well written Harry/Tonks has always been a fav of mine just holds a special place in my heart haha. Though as far as older woman go Bellatrix and Narcissa are good choices except for the fact that they are easily 18+ years on harry and they also go with Harry/Slytherin babe!

see i can only think of these cause they are the only ones that i prefer.
Harry/Ginny and Harry/Hermione hold a place in my heart for worst ships ever. Mainly because im just disgusted by the both of them. Ginny because well shes a stalker slut that might as well be a gold digger, and Hermione cause shes a bitch (in my eyes) that seems to think the only people smarter than her are teachers. Yeah theres my two cents.

 

My absolute favoriteto read, even thoug there arn't many is Harry/Pansy. We actaully don't know much about her. Her being ugly and or lose is manily a fannon concept. Hermione descibes her as pug faced but it was meant to be an insult, and in POA she is described as a hard faced girl. I'm forming my opions on her looks baised upon the movie so she'd not Milicent, run the other way unatractive. The fact that she's so firmily attached to Draco makes the pairing all the more interesting to read as it provides a huge amount of drama. My second favorite pairing is Harry/Luna and for third, well i've been convienced. We need more Harry/Hedwig aorund here.
Redeye, the worst pairing ever can never be Harry/Hermione, or even Harry/Ginny. It's simply not possible with 50,000 or so Harry/Draco's floating around like the little shits they are. And some of those aren't slash.

 

harry/female slytherin
Harry/not-attending-hogwarts person
harry/oc

harry/hedwig- sooo wrong, that's just disgusting, I mean how can harry/hedwig be accepted and not slash, seems kinda odd, I mean bestiality is worse than homosexuality

Harry/lily- any children would be really disformed and disturbed ( they share halfa a genepool!), not to mention it being disgusting

 

According to Rowling's classlist shown in the Harry Potter and Me special, they both be half-bloods.

 

So you dislike homosexuality?

 

I am thoroughly disgusted by bestiality

 

Are you trying to make a point? Or is that pointless flamebaiting?

She was questioning the fact that slash is looked down upon on the forum, but not bestiaility, bestiality being far more taboo than homosexuality.

 

I guess a little bit of both. Mostly out of curiousity, but I was slightly mad so I decided to try a pathetic attempt at flamebaiting. So I apologize.

 

Personality interaction and love, etc can be made between any two characters even when there's no positive feelings between them at all (Harry/Draco or Snape). As for being canon, well if you want canon read the books. Fanfiction is about using the characters how you see fit, even if they are disgusting (slash). I'll just list who I think would make a better ally for NonBitch!Harry.

1) Harry/Hermione
Hermione seems like the best fit for any plot driven story, especially dark/evil Harry. Bellatrix or Tonks would be just about as good but as they're both much older it always seems a bit weird. Hermione is supposedly the "brightest witch of her age (which book is that from by the way?)", and she seems to be the best ally that Harry could have considering her knowledge and natural ability to learn new spells.

2) Harry/Tonks
Auror, Order member, I've read a couple good stories (Summer of Changes, etc) which were Harry/Tonks but also plot driven and Harry wasn't so helpless like he is in the books.

Bonus:
Harry/Fleur
Only if it's post HBP and post wedding, and it completely fucks up every ship that JKR forced down our throats in that book.

 

Welcome back, David9, haven't seen you post in a while.

I don't get what you mean with the first one...how does H/Hr help dark/evil!Harry? D'you mean that Harry can go dark after she dies, or does she follow him down the dark path or whatever?

 

I got sick of being forced to wade through page after page of "Oh Draco you're my knight in shining armor" Harry/Draco threads when I didn't feel like using the character filter on FF.net. Stopped reading HP for awhile, and got into some other genres instead.

Well it'd be really easy to write her as being corrupted by something she's not supposed to have learned/inquired about. I imagine that's how Bellatrix ended up going dark, being the most feared witch on the planet she would have to be very knowledgable as far as spells go. Considering how studious Hermione is, and her natural ability to learn new things, it wouldn't take much for her to end up going dark as well (hopefully minus the craziness).

 

It's not accepted in a "oh look how cute that ship is" way, it's accepted in a "so bad it's good" way.

You watch too much x-files. One generation of inbreeding won't produce deformed, etc people. The Pharoahs of Egypt commonly married their sisters, the royal families of england consistantly marry first cousins and second cousins, etc. Genetic problems do arise after a certain amount of inbreeding, but for the first couple of generations you won't notice any marked difference.

 

HarryFem!Blaise, What's not to like. It's best when she's sarcastic and kinky. Also adding Blaise can let you involve her family more which sometimes makes some interesting O.C.s, like Apprentice and Journeyman Potter.

Harry/Bellatrix She used to be beautiful and is insane. Also HP/BB usually means Ruthless!harry Evil!Harry Dark!Harry and my favorite Insane!Harry

I would love to see a fic where voldemort has a lover, wife, Veela would be best and Harry starts banging her. He could be like "Yeah, you killed my parents my godfather and all my friends but I gave your wife syphilis AND gonorrhea, yeah I bet hurt it to pee this morning, that wasn't because of blue balls. By the way did you know there's no cure for herpies magical or otherwise?"