Two AWESOME interviews by JKR: MUST READ!

This one is after the 6th book and before the 7th:

Yeah, I know, it's awesome how she already had the whole series planned out before she started Sorcerer's Stone.😃 My fav interview was the 2nd one, because sooo many of my questions were answered and it totally made my day when she implied that Lily never really hated James, and the Harry/Ginny coupling had been planned since the first train ride in SS, when Harry was spying on the Weasley family.

JKR: Well I always knew that that was going to happen, that they were going to come together and then part.

ES: Were you always -----ing it? [We can't figure out what Emerson actually said here.]

JKR: Well, no, not really, because the plan was, which I really hope I fulfilled, is that the reader, like Harry, would gradually discover Ginny as pretty much the ideal girl for Harry. She's tough, not in an unpleasant way, but she's gutsy. He needs to be with someone who can stand the demands of being with Harry Potter, because he's a scary boyfriend in a lot of ways. He's a marked man. I think she's funny, and I think that she's very warm and compassionate. These are all things that Harry requires in his ideal woman. But, I felt — and I'm talking years ago when all this was planned — initially, she's terrified by his image. I mean, he's a bit of a rock god to her when she sees him first, at 10 or 11, and he's this famous boy. So Ginny had to go through a journey as well. And rather like with Ron, I didn't want Ginny to be the first girl that Harry ever kissed. That's something I meant to say, and it's kind of tied in.

MA: How did they get together? She hated James, from what we've seen.

JKR: Did she really? You're a woman, you know what I'm saying. [Laughter.]

I think she meant that she wanted to make the relationships kind of realistic. It would have been too sappy if Ron & Hermione and Harry & Ginny became couples from the start and did not date anyone else. Also, I think they all learned to appreciate each other more when they went out with others, learned to explore their feelings, and in the end found out who they really loved.

You're welcome.😳