The Problem with Most Harmony Fics
Many avid Harry Potter fans were confused when Harry fell in love with Ginny, and became even more confused that Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione had successful marriages after the Battle of Hogwarts. I, myself, was once of them. In my mind, Harry and Ginny's relationship was fling, not a long-lasting partnership. In The Half-Blood Prince, Harry himself says to Ginny, "It's been like... like something out of someone else's life, these last fe weeks with you," (Rowling 646). Ginny also says to Harry, "I knew you wouldn't be happy unless you were hunting Voldermort," (Rowling 647). Harry's statement shows that his relationship with Ginny was a form of escapism, a way to remove the burdens the Wizarding world has places on him. However, he must come to face the truth sooner or later, and he can't do that if he's in a dream world with Ginny. Ginny also shows that she doesn't truly understand Harry when saying that he would be most happy hunting Voldermort. Throughout the books, Harry has shown that it is the thing he is least happy about. Long time, this couple would not be compatible.
That is why I ship harmony, or huna. To me, either of those relationships blossoming in canon would have made the most sense, because both women have a deep emotional friendship with Harry that could have easily grown into something more. I decided to read some harmony fanfiction in the hopes that writers would portray the harmony relationship as it should be. However, I was to be sorely disappointed. Many of the harmony Fics I read had Harry and Hermione establishing a "soul bond", or magical marriage, at the age of fourteen. Even in the magical world, where most couples are married at eighteen after graduation, that is very young. Suddenly, the story veers of anything that could be considered cannon. Harry automatically becomes emancipated, owns at least half of magical Britain, and becomes a ladies man, magically. Harry and Hermione become the ultimate power couple by becoming friends with the goblins, automatically becoming hot, and both are able to do super-powerful wand less magic that even Dumbledore, Britain's strongest wizard, can't do. Furthermore, Ron is outed as a traitor, Molly is accused of using love potions to get Harry to have a baby with Ginny so she can inherit the Potter fortune, and Dumbledore is evil. Probably one of the most ridiculous plot outlines, behind "My Immortal" to have come up in fanfiction. And yet this same basic plot is used repeatedly.
It mostly destroyed my hopes that fanfiction writers would portray the harmony relationship in a well-balanced, beautifully written way. There have been a few that I have come across, such as "Harry McGonagall", "Mage Kinghts", and "More Important than Any Broomstick", but those stories are few and far between. So to all of you guys writing the next harmony fic, please, please, avoid these clichés!