Chapter 87: Her Feelings

At first, Ginny consulted me primarily on academic matters, and I answered her questions perfectly using my accumulated knowledge, which made her begin to trust me and try asking emotional questions.

Ginny had many troubling issues, but the first one she asked about was family: whether having so many brothers had negatively affected her.

I told her that growing up in a household full of brothers inevitably leads a girl to pick up many habits typically associated with boys. Most boys don’t mind—or even enjoy—seeing a girl understand them, but a small number of overly dominant men expect their partners to be sufficiently “feminine.”

In Ginny’s mind, Harry Potter was an immensely powerful figure; since childhood, she had heard from the news that he was the hero who defeated a dark wizard, and through Ron’s retellings, she gradually imagined a Harry of her own: erudite, magically potent, driven by noble ideals and goals, tirelessly striving to improve everyone’s life, and even in Quidditch—a hobby—he was a once-in-a-millennium genius Seeker at Hogwarts.

Ginny assumed, from the outset, that such a great hero would prefer a girl like Ivy—gentle, quiet, and refined—and when she arrived at school, she found this to be true: the girl beside Harry was Zhang Qiu, a beautiful girl from the East. As she came to know Zhang Qiu better, Ginny grew increasingly disappointed in herself.

She noticed Harry enjoyed reading and studying with Zhang Qiu in the library; Zhang Qiu had a master rivaling Dumbledore and a vast knowledge of mysterious Eastern magic, while Ginny had learned mostly prank spells from her brothers. How could the great Harry Potter possibly be interested in pranks?

She saw that Zhang Qiu practiced swordplay alongside her spells, and Harry trained in gunplay beyond magic, both constantly improving their strength to prepare for future threats. Ginny had considered learning swordplay too, but Ron was already a powerful knight—Harry didn’t need a second Ron—and she didn’t know how to keep pace with Harry.

Malfoy told Ginny that the Zhang family were ancient pure-blood nobles of Tianchao, specializing in exploring ancient wizards’ tombs, and thus had accumulated countless riches, secret spells, and magical artifacts over generations. That Zhang Qiu had become a disciple of Xuan Jun proved she possessed exceptional qualities—perhaps even the Zhang heir. This left Ginny nearly hopeless; she knew how meager her own family’s vault was, and how shallow the Weasleys’ collection.

What finally crushed Ginny was Harry’s family: he lived with Ivy in a luxurious Muggle manor, had private tutors since childhood explaining complex Muggle knowledge, and though the Weasleys prided themselves in the wizarding world as “Muggle-lovers,” Ron told her that Harry’s understanding of Muggle objects and society was profoundly deep—even their father couldn’t match him.

Ginny, utterly insignificant, adored such a perfect Harry—she had almost no chance of success.”

Harry finished reading the entire analysis and felt both irritated and amused: Ginny didn’t love the real Harry, only the “hero” she had imagined. Contrary to her fantasy, Harry actually preferred girls who understood Quidditch, loved jokes, and were lively and approachable. Though Zhang Qiu told many Eastern jokes, she had no interest in Quidditch; living for years with her master gave her an aloof, otherworldly air, and she always focused on grand, heavy topics like fate, struggle, and international politics. Harry swore he felt no real romantic feelings for her—only a slight attraction, purely because she was undeniably beautiful.

But if I told Ginny this, her image of the hero would collapse.

Harry gave a self-deprecating smile and turned to the next page of the journal.

“Coincidentally, I was always an excellent student of human nature in school—I once made a woman reveal an eighteen-year-old secret with just three sentences.”

To help Ginny get closer to Harry, I gave her many suggestions. Systematically summarized, they were as follows.

The practical foundation is this: to gain someone’s affection, you cannot constantly hover around offering favors—only those starved for affection are moved by such tactics, and Harry is clearly not one of them. For Ginny to catch Harry’s attention, she must first become radiant herself; and precisely how she becomes radiant depends on identifying the traits Harry truly values.

In achieving this goal, Ginny’s advantage over Zhang Qiu lies in having many “allies” who can help her. Thus, the overall strategy is to skillfully leverage her friends’ help, especially Ron’s.

The first trait, from her description, I believe is “ladylike grace”—something that can be cultivated later in life, and at Ginny’s age, it’s not too late. But to surpass Zhang Qiu in this, Ginny must grasp the essence of “ladylike grace” more deeply. Powerful men desire partners with more femininity because they no longer need their partners to provide practical value—they seek emotional value. Ginny must ask Harry for help, making him feel he is an indispensable hero to her. And because she is Ron’s sister, she can ask Harry to do things Ron cannot do—Harry will find it hard to refuse, and after succeeding, he will increasingly realize “Ginny needs me.” I shared these simple methods with Pan Xi too; if Pan Xi could win a boy’s heart this way, how could Ginny, who is even more beautiful, fail?

Harry suddenly remembered: Ginny occasionally came to him asking about homework, but to avoid the nuisance, he always told her to ask her teachers or Tang Mu.

“The second trait should be ‘value’—that the partner can offer tangible assistance. This conflicts slightly with ladylike grace, but it’s also Ginny’s advantage. When she occasionally can help Harry, she must never do it herself—she must have Ron do it. This way, Harry will grow to trust Ron more, and thus care for Ginny, while Ginny’s ladylike grace remains untouched.”

Harry nodded silently. Ron had helped him greatly—he swore Ron was his most trusted friend. But ladylike grace? At this age, cultivating ladylike grace only made Harry see Ginny as Ron’s still-growing little sister.

“The third trait is family—more precisely, the worldview, consumption habits, and life planning shaped by upbringing: these implicit qualities. Unlike Ginny’s own belief, I think this is precisely her advantage over Zhang Qiu. No matter how luxurious Harry’s life was in the Muggle world, once in the wizarding world he had little wealth, which would create distance between him and Zhang Qiu, but resonate with Ginny. Moreover, Zhang Qiu is ultimately a foreign wizard; Ginny and Harry are both British, sharing similar thoughts and natural alignment. If that terrible dark wizard returns, Zhang Qiu can flee back home at any moment—but Ginny will stand shoulder to shoulder with Harry. That is crucial.”

On this point, Tang Mu’s analysis was sound, but he didn’t understand the meaning of the Communist International—this wasn’t his fault. Harry thought most wizards wouldn’t understand it anyway.

“The fourth point is uniqueness: how can Ginny distinguish herself from other young witches and make Harry feel he cannot do without her? The Weasley family’s uniqueness in the wizarding world lies in two things: their large family size and their closeness to Muggles. Ginny mentioned that Ron once invited Harry to visit during summer vacation—that was a brilliant move; few can resist the warmth of a large family. And as for Ginny feeling inferior because Harry is a Muggle-lover, that’s unnecessary—indeed, it can even help cultivate ladylike grace. Ginny can show interest in Muggle knowledge, beg Harry to introduce her to it, or even ask Ron to take her to Harry’s home. If Harry still has any lingering affection for the Muggle world, he will prefer a witch interested in Muggles over one indifferent to them.”

Harry had to admit: apart from the misjudgments caused by incomplete information, Tang Mu was truly a student with deep insight into human nature. He had precisely analyzed Ginny’s advantages, and even Harry himself was moved by the reading.

Moreover, Harry thought: Ginny was still young, appearing merely a rather cute girl. And cute girls in childhood usually grow into stunningly beautiful women—he was already looking forward to it.

“Of course, under Ivy’s interference, Ginny did not fully follow my advice—this was unavoidable. I promised to find an opportunity to convey her feelings to Harry, hoping it might help.”

Help enough, Harry nodded silently—he was already planning to start dating Ginny in fourth or fifth year.

“Ivy never fully trusted me from the start. She has always influenced Ginny in her own way, with the same goal: to win Harry’s heart. In fact, I warned her repeatedly: the more scheming you are, the more likely you are to fall into unexpected trouble—but she seemed to pay no attention.”

Ivy asked me only once how to bridge the gap between her and Ginny’s social standing. I told her: in the wizarding world, pure-blood versus Muggle-born is like heaven and earth—but this does not apply to the Weasleys. The Weasleys are a pure-blood family deeply close to Muggles; to other pure-blood nobles, they are no different from Muggle-borns. So if Harry cares about blood purity, neither Ginny nor Ivy has a chance. But if Harry doesn’t care about blood purity, then these differences cease to exist.”

Harry rubbed his face, momentarily forgetting about Ivy’s meddling. Though he and Ivy weren’t blood siblings, if they got together, Sir Crawley would never approve.

When he was ready to start dating in a few years, Harry thought, besides spending more time with Ginny, he’d also have to find a way to get Ivy interested in some other boy.