https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookwormByNight | she/her | 20 | I tend to hop in and out of fandoms ✨ current obsession: HP but specific ✨ | yes I KNOW what fandom I'm in rn but if you are willing to spend money that in any way goes to JKR (or worse, are actively a TERF) we are not friends
Where on earth did the absolute ubiquity of "casting a tempus charm" come from in all these fics because the most I can remember on the subject is all wizards very explicitly needing watches to tell the time on the go, to the point where it becomes a running annoyance to Harry in book four after his watch is ruined in the lake, and The Quintessential Gift in the wizarding world is a watch for your seventeenth birthday
As much as I love Hermione, the movies ended up using her to completely undermine just how bad both her AND Harry require their Emotional Support Ron. Why would they dethrone him like that. What because she's a girl she's the emotional heart of the trio. WRONG.
I guarantee you the Forbidden Forest was a normal ass forest that was off limits to students only because of the arrow-happy centaur herd which had claimed it as territory before one Rubeus Hagrid put a bunch of things in there that made it So Much Worse
Im new to the fandom, Harry is my BABYGIRL, and I am having a shocking amount of troubling just finding fanart that attempted to make him look attractive... which is baffling to me, because Harry literally has two separate books in the series where major subplots of said books involve hoards of girls accosting him bc they wanna fuck!!! On top of his parents, both Lily AND James, being explicitly mentioned in the narrative as total smoke shows?? There's no way that boy was even average looking, no matter what his self esteem tells (or doesn't tell) the readers 😭
Anyway rant aside, needed to let you know that you are a shining star in my sky and you are doing the good work <3
Tysm! And yeah, it baffles me too. I know that my Harry is far from canon...but it's glaringly obvious when an artist likes the other character in the ship far more than him and Harry's design is an afterthought. Sometimes he's just a white guy with a bowl cut and it makes me want to shake the artist and tell them Byler is the other direction, bc he should be hot! Carelessly messy hair! Striking, intimidating eyes! Cute nose!! Athletic! Even in canon TOM ARISTOCRATICALLY HANDSOME RIDDLE says "we look something alike". You think his ego would let him say that to an uggo? I don't think sooo
Yo why have 2 out of 2 of my concrete tomarrymort fanfic ideas now had VOLDEMORT time travelling to the FUTURE where is this pattern in my brain coming from bro
Actually after thinking about it the obvious answer may be that out of all of the many, many fics I've plowed through within the last few months after discovering this ship, two of my absolute all time favorites are Aurora Polaris and Contrapasso, neither of which are that in particular but ARE post-war explorations of Harry's (and Voldemort's) mental states after experiencing all of the bullshit the books have to offer. Actually I could chuck in Thy Will Be Done for that too, another one of my all time favorites.
Yo why have 2 out of 2 of my concrete tomarrymort fanfic ideas now had VOLDEMORT time travelling to the FUTURE where is this pattern in my brain coming from bro
Sometimes I randomly think about how much Harry’s childhood probably affected his personalities and relationships.
We know Harry was abused as a kid—it glaringly obvious in the books—, but my question is what exactly did this abuse do to him in the long run?
I think for Harry it wasn’t as obvious as it could have been, but to me he seems like a wonderful example of an abuse victim in a way. When he gets angry it’s usually cold and calculated, Harry usually not being too loud as not to draw attention but to let his anger be known. He doesn’t like attention, usually avoiding it if he can and getting uncomfortable from it, I think it could be traced back to attention usually having negative consequences.
While he may go to an adult first when a problem arises (McGonagall and the Philosophers Stone) if the adult proves incompetent he will take matters into his own hands and not bother getting their help again. He also doesn’t respect them like he could and treats those who treat him badly the same, Snape a wonderful example of this. To him he is on the same level as them and thinks lowly of them at the same time.
When Ron and Hermione are bickering it annoys him and often causes him to blow if it goes on too long or he’s pulled into it. I think raised voices or arguing are a type of trigger, not one that’s very strong but can makes him feel more on edge and slightly more antsy. I also think him being treated as “less than”—or like a child—is also a slight trigger because that’s how the Dursleys would treat him.
He also usually is very unaware of the people around him that don’t make a difference in his life, failing to know the names of kids he’s gone to school with for years. To me it seems like someone that’s always only relied on themselves is too busy caring for themselves that they don’t have time to care about people that don’t matter. These people also fade to the back because they don’t pose a risk in any way nor do they bring him any joy. At the Dursleys he wouldn’t have had time to care about kids at school because he’s too busy thinking about how to escape Dudley and his gang and not get on his aunt and uncles bad side.
The sorting hat also mentioned how Harry had a thirst to prove himself, something that’s common among abused kids because they want to be treated better. His risk taking behavior could have been mixed with this because a subconscious part of his mind thought it the only way to be liked due to him being a celebrity.
I also noticed how he doesn’t really branch out when it comes to meeting people, simply going with the flow. It could be because as a kid if he went up to Petunia, Vernon or Dudley for attention it never ended well and the kids at his primary school probably shied away because he was a target for bullying. The logical decision is to let people come to him and prove they want to be around, so he let Ron and Hermione come around without really reaching out.
Emotions also make him uncomfortable, seen with Cho crying around him. He doesn’t understand them likely because he was forced to push his away because he wasn’t allowed to ever be upset or too happy. Something that’s common in emotionally neglected children, it also points to his lack of empathy. While Harry may seem to care he does not come across as very empathetic for the average person unless it’s people he’s close with.
Harry is a wonderful example of an abuse victim in a way, but only if you look really closely.
re. him usually being "cold and calculated" when angry i would say yeah... except when he's not in control of the situation.
for example, with rita skeeter he's very cold (yeah you can have a word: GOODBYE) because he controls the moment. with draco malfoy he's full of snappy comebacks and sarcastic observations because he's, again, able to handle the situation.
but... when he's not in control? when he's being mocked by everyone and can't change their perception of him? ("YEAH THATS RIGHT!! IVE JUST BEEN CRYING MY EYES OUT OVER MY DEAD MUM AND IM JUST OFF TO DO A BIT MORE." "no - it was just - you dropped your quill" "oh.") or when he's left out of the loop by dumbledore and the order? (CAPS LOCK HARRY FTW)
then he tends to get caught up in his own head and feelings, get overwhelmed by HIS perception and (usually valid) feelings of victimization. when he's flustered, embarrassed, or feeling infantilized or powerless and not liking that feeling, that is when he gets defensive, out of control, blows up. also, he tends to assume the feelings of others, assume what everyone is thinking, and then run with it like a train off the tracks. ...he often regrets these crashouts when he cools down a moment later and feels awkward. my poor blorbo :((
Idk if this has a name but I love the harrymort fic trope where nagini takes one look at Harry and goes "yep mine now" entirely independent of whatever the fuck Voldemort is doing. Mostly because my boy desperately deserves affection and protection and I trust Nagini to accomplish this task but also because Snake Cuddle.
JKR you're telling me that one knut is a 493rd of a galleon, a galleon was roughly equal to a 5 pound note at the time of writing, and Harry could successfully pay for a newspaper with five 493rds of 5 pounds. That's just a little more than a 500th of one pound. I'm calling bullshit.
You know what WOULD make sense here? If a galleon was roughly equal to 50 pounds instead. But I know that would fuck some shit up down the line :/
So.... a lot of this fandom likes to call one Harry James Potter a Bi disaster. Personally, I think he's gay and I can use book text to prove he isn't actually attracted to women at all.
So here goes:
How Harry Describes Men
Harry describes many men as attractive and handsome in the books, not only that but in general Harry goes into more detail when describing male characters. I'll mention it again in a later section in this post, but when describing men, even those Harry doesn't find attractive, he tends to describe much more details about them than about girls he supposedly does find attractive. Something that to me suggests, he doesn't find these girls attractive at all.
Here are some examples of Harry finding men attractive:
Charlie Weasley:
Charlie was built like the twins, shorter and stockier than Percy and Ron, who were both long and lanky. He had a broad, good-natured face, which was weatherbeaten and so freckly that he looked almost tanned; his arms were muscular, and one of them had a large, shiny burn on it.
(Goblet of Fire, page 52)
Bill Weasley:
However, Bill was — there was no other word for it — cool. He was tall, with long hair that he had tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing an earring with what looked like a fang dangling from it. Bill’s clothes would not have looked out of place at a rock concert, except that Harry recognized his boots to be made, not of leather, but of dragon hide.
(Goblet of Fire, page 52)
Cedric Diggory:
Cedric Diggory was an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen.
(Goblet of Fire, page 71)
Sirius Black:
Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs. He was very good-looking; his dark hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance neither James’s nor Harry’s could ever have achieved, and a girl sitting behind him was eyeing him hopefully, though he didn’t seem to have noticed.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 642)
Sirius stared around at the students milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored, but very handsomely so.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 644)
Firenze:
white-blond hair and astonishingly blue eyes, the head and torso of a man joined to the palomino body of a horse.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 598)
Professor McGonagall turned next to Parvati Patil, whose first
question was whether Firenze, the handsome centaur, was still
teaching Divination
(Half-Blood Prince, page 174)
Blaise Zabini:
He recognized a Slytherin from their year, a tall black boy with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes
(Half-Blood Prince, page 143)
Draco Malfoy:
It was Draco Malfoy. He had pushed to the front of the crowd, his cold eyes alive, his usually bloodless face flushed, as he grinned at the sight of the hanging, immobile cat.
(Chamber of Secrets, page 133)
Malfoy, who had a pale, pointed, sneering face
(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 79)
A pale boy with a pointed face and white-blond hair
(Goblet of Fire, pages 116-117)
Tom Marvolo Riddle:
There was no trace of the Gaunts in Tom Riddle’s face. Merope had got her dying wish: He was his handsome father in miniature, tall for eleven years old, dark-haired, and pale
(Half-Blood Prince, page 269)
The door creaked open. There on the threshold, holding an oldfashioned lamp, stood a boy Harry recognized at once: tall, pale, dark-haired, and handsome — the teenage Voldemort.
(Half-Blood Prince, page 364)
Harry recognized Voldemort at once. His was the most handsome face and he looked the most relaxed of all the boys.
(Half-Blood Prince, page 369)
followed by a tall young man Harry had no difficulty whatsoever in recognizing as Voldemort. He was plainly dressed in a black suit; his hair was a little longer than it had been at school and his cheeks were hollowed, but all of this suited him; he looked more handsome than ever.
(Half-Blood Prince, page 434)
I don't think anyone would argue Harry isn't attracted to men... He's kind of obvious. What I want to go more into detail about is him not being attracted to women, as that's what I think I disagree with most of the fandom about.
How Harry Describes Women (for comparison)
So, we saw how Harry describes men, specifically men he finds attractive, so, let's compare to how he describes a girl he thinks is pretty, like Cho Chang:
Harry couldn’t help noticing, nervous as he was, that she was extremely pretty. She smiled at Harry as the teams faced each other behind their captains, and he felt a slight lurch in the region of his stomach that he didn’t think had anything to do with nerves.
(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 259)
“Good luck, Harry!” called Cho. Harry felt himself blushing.
(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 304)
She was waiting for him a little to the side of the oak front doors,
looking very pretty with her hair tied back in a long ponytail.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 556)
These are all the physical descriptions I managed to find of Cho, the girl Harry supposedly has a crush on from 3rd to 5th year... yeah, I don't see it. Sure, he mentions she's pretty, and he blushes around her, but he doesn't describe anything else about her. Not eye color, not hair color, skin color, eye shape, physique — nothing! Compare this to how he describes Bill Weasley or Blaise Zabini even, with so much more detail in their description.
Now, details in descriptions when writing from a character's POV are very important. Because a character would use more words to describe what's most important or striking to them... and in Harry's case Cho isn't it.
We know she's pretty and Harry's nervous around her, but the descriptions are just so stale and distant compared to: Tom "handsomest face in the room" Riddle, or Sirius "handsome handsomed handsomely" Black.
And I want to talk about Harry's crush on Cho more, but first:
Fleur Delacor:
I want to talk about Fleur for a bit. Because Harry's reaction to Fleur is very interesting, specifically because Fleur is a quarter veela.
Ron was still goggling at the girl as though he had never seen one before. Harry started to laugh. The sound seemed to jog Ron back to his senses.
“She’s a veela!” he said hoarsely to Harry.
…
many boys’ heads turned, and some of them seemed to have become temporarily speechless, just like Ron.
(Goblet of Fire, page 252)
Veelas are literally magically attractive, if you are attracted to women, you'll find a veela woman attractive and be mesmerized. We see it with Ron and other boys, as Harry notes in the above quote. Ron and many other boys all stare, speechless at Fleur because that's how her magic works.
Harry, on the other hand, isn't affected at all. To the point, he's confused by Ron's drooling over Fleur. He later in GoF wonders why Ron wanted to go with Fleur to the Yule Ball so much, as he didn't see the appeal.
Harry is literally not attracted to a woman who is magically attractive to anyone who's attracted to women.
Looking careworn, she [Fleur] left the room. Ron still seemed slightly punch-drunk; he was shaking his head experimentally like a dog trying to rid its ears of water.
“Don’t you get used to her if she’s staying in the same house?” Harry asked.
“Well, you do,” said Ron, “but if she jumps out at you unexpectedly, like then . . .”
(Half-Blood Prince, page 93)
It continues in his later interactions with Fleur, like when he arrives at the Burrow in HBP in the above quote. Harry asks Ron if he shouldn't get used to Fleur and stop drooling whenever he sees her, to which Ron responds that you do to a degree. The thing is, Harry isn't used to being around Fleur, he just arrived, after not seeing her for over a year. But still, he isn't affected at all, like in 4th year, he seems to not get what all the fuss is about.
That being said, Harry does react to the full veela in the Quidditch World Cup:
But a hundred veela were now gliding out onto the field, and Harry’s question was answered for him. Veela were women . . . the most beautiful women Harry had ever seen . . . except that they weren’t — they couldn’t be — human. This puzzled Harry for a moment while he tried to guess what exactly they could be; what could make their skin shine moon-bright like that, or their white-gold hair fan out behind them without wind . . . but then the music started, and Harry stopped worrying about them not being human — in fact, he stopped worrying about anything at all.
...
And as the veela danced faster and faster, wild, half-formed thoughts started chasing through Harry’s dazed mind. He wanted to do something very impressive, right now. Jumping from the box into the stadium seemed a good idea . . . but would it be good enough?
“Harry, what are you doing?” said Hermione’s voice from a long
way off.
The music stopped. Harry blinked. He was standing up, and
one of his legs was resting on the wall of the box. Next to him, Ron
was frozen in an attitude that looked as though he were about to
dive from a springboard.
(Goblet of Fire, page 103)
I'm not sure exactly about the full veela's effects. Mostly because Arthur Weasley doesn't seem as affected as Harry and Ron, and Harry describes the crowd in general reacting to them, not just the men. Hermione doesn't seem affected though.
Something I want to note is that Harry only becomes affected once they start dancing, and not just by looking at them the way Ron and some of the boys are described as being with Fluer. Only when the music and dance start Harry becomes mesmerized. Before that, he is wondering how their hair moves behind them without wind... Additionally, after the music stops, Harry snaps out of it quickly, Ron on the other hand doesn't and proceeds to tear his Ireland merch.
So, while full veela, can influence him, it isn't by their appearance alone but by magic beyond their regular magical attractiveness.
Note that even with the veela, Harry barely describes anything about them. his descriptions of them aren't as detailed as his descriptions of men he finds attractive.
So even if he is attracted to women, it's very minor and barely there.
Harry's Disastrous Relationship with Cho
So, Harry and Cho... I don't think it's a pairing that has fans, but I might be wrong about that. Regardless of your opinion about it, I don't think Harry actually liked Cho. Like, at all.
They looked at each other for a long moment. Harry felt a burning desire to run from the room and, at the same time, a complete inability to move his feet.
“Mistletoe,” said Cho quietly, pointing at the ceiling over his head.
“Yeah,” said Harry. His mouth was very dry. “It’s probably full of nargles, though.”
“What are nargles?”
“No idea,” said Harry. She had moved closer. His brain seemed to have been Stunned. “You’d have to ask Loony. Luna, I mean.”
Cho made a funny noise halfway between a sob and a laugh. She was even nearer him now. He could have counted the freckles on her nose. “I really like you, Harry.”
He could not think. A tingling sensation was spreading throughout him, paralyzing his arms, legs, and brain. She was much too close. He could see every tear clinging to her eyelashes. . . .
(Order of the Pheonix, page 456)
Cho, the girl Harry is convinced he's crushing on since he was 13, is about to kiss him under the mistletoe, and he's thinking about nargles and Luna... And how does he feel about kissing Cho?
"a burning desire to run from the room"
He wants to run away from kissing Cho. And, well, it doesn't get any better than that.
“What kept you?” he [Ron] asked, as Harry sank into the armchair next to Hermione’s.
Harry did not answer. He was in a state of shock. Half of him wanted to tell Ron and Hermione what had just happened, but the other half wanted to take the secret with him to the grave.
“Are you all right, Harry?” Hermione asked, peering at him over the tip of her quill.
Harry gave a halfhearted shrug. In truth, he didn’t know whether he was all right or not.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 457)
He is not sure he's alright after kissing Cho. Harry thinks about kissing Cho like it's a traumatic experience... He's happier talking about Voldemort's resurrection than about his first kiss. (WTF Harry?)
Harry doesn't like Cho. Not even a bit.
“Did you kiss?” asked Hermione briskly.
Ron sat up so fast that he sent his ink bottle flying all over the rug. Disregarding this completely he stared avidly at Harry.
“Well?” he demanded.
Harry looked from Ron’s expression of mingled curiosity and hilarity to Hermione’s slight frown, and nodded. “HA!” Ron made a triumphant gesture with his fist and went into a raucous peal of laughter that made several timid-looking second years over beside the window jump. A reluctant grin spread over Harry’s face as he watched Ron rolling around on the hearthrug. Hermione gave Ron a look of deep disgust and returned to her letter.
“Well?” Ron said finally, looking up at Harry. “How was it?”
Harry considered for a moment.
“Wet,” he said truthfully.
Ron made a noise that might have indicated jubilation or disgust, it was hard to tell.
(Order of the Pheonix, pages 456-458)
I don't need I need to add anything here... Harry speaks for himself.
“You just had to be nice to her,” said Hermione, looking up anxiously. “You were, weren’t you?”
“Well,” said Harry, an unpleasant heat creeping up his face, “I sort of — patted her on the back a bit.”
Hermione looked as though she was restraining herself from rolling her eyes with extreme difficulty. “Well, I suppose it could have been worse,” she said. “Are you going to see her again?”
“I’ll have to, won’t I?” said Harry. “We’ve got D.A. meetings, haven’t we?”
“You know what I mean,” said Hermione impatiently.
Harry said nothing. Hermione’s words opened up a whole new vista of frightening possibilities. He tried to imagine going somewhere with Cho — Hogsmeade, perhaps — and being alone with her for hours at a time. Of course, she would have been expecting him to ask her out after what had just happened. . . . The thought made his stomach clench painfully.
“Oh well,” said Hermione distantly, buried in her letter once more, “you’ll have plenty of opportunities to ask her. . . .”
“What if he doesn’t want to ask her?” said Ron, who had been watching Harry with an unusually shrewd expression on his face.
“Don’t be silly,” said Hermione vaguely, “Harry’s liked her for ages, haven’t you, Harry?”
He did not answer. Yes, he had liked Cho for ages, but whenever he had imagined a scene involving the two of them it had always featured a Cho who was enjoying herself, as opposed to a Cho who was sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 460)
Okay, so I have two things to mention about this quote.
The first, Harry realizes he doesn't like Cho and probably never did. He didn't consider dating her until Hermoine mentioned it. He doesn't want to date her. He's terrified and grossed out by the notion.
This isn't a boy with a crush. I'd argue this proves he isn't straight at all. I mean, a guy who is attracted to girls, even if not crushing on Cho specifically, wouldn't be horrified to a painful degree at the thought of going on a date with a pretty girl. Or kissing a pretty girl. His reaction is just too viscerally grossed out.
The second is Ron's response. Not really related to Harry being gay, but I love Harry and Ron's friendship so I want to mention it. Hermione and a good chunk of the fandom dunk on Ron for having "the emotional range of a teaspoon", but he clearly doesn't. Ron is Harry's best friend, he knows Harry better than anyone else, yes, better than Hermione even, and this scene proves it. Hermione is flippant, ignoring Harry's responses to his kiss with Cho, just saying he should ask her out as if it's obvious.
Ron on the other hand, Ron notices Harry's expression and the turmoil thinking of dating Cho causes him. Ron is the one who speaks up that maybe Harry doesn't want to date Cho. He immediately defends Harry and his option to choose not to date Cho. (Ron would be very supportive if Harry ever came out, is what I'm saying)
They sat down at the last remaining table, which was situated in the steamy window. Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, was sitting about a foot and a half away with a pretty blonde girl. They were holding hands. The sight made Harry feel uncomfortable, particularly when, looking around the tea shop, he saw that it was full of nothing but couples, all of them holding hands. Perhaps Cho would expect him to hold her hand.
…
In the time it took for their coffees to arrive, Roger Davies and his girlfriend started kissing over their sugar bowl. Harry wished they wouldn’t; he felt that Davies was setting a standard with which Cho would soon expect him to compete.
(Order of the Pheonix, page 559)
The above quotes are from Harry's disaster of a date with Cho. I think no one needs me to explain that the date went badly, but what I want to note is how uncomfortable and grossed out Harry is by the very notion of holding Cho's hands. That he'd have to kiss her again.
Like, again, even if he isn't crushing on her, a guy who's attracted to girls wouldn't be grossed out and pained at the thought of kissing or holding hands with a pretty, attractive girl.
Harry has never been attracted to Cho, and I don't think he's attracted to girls at all.
But What About Ginny?
So this post has gotten quite long already, but I don't think Harry actually likes Ginny. And I have evidence for it in the sequel to this post that is taking a while to write.
No hate for Hinny shippers, but I don't see the pairing, like, at all. I did write some of my thoughts about Hinny here until I finish with the more comprehensive post about them.
But in general, let's just say Harry never uses the word pretty (or good-looking, or nice-looking, or attractive) to describe Ginny. Ever.
And when I looked for his descriptions of her all I found were descriptions of her hair:
He felt a strange twinge of annoyance as she [Ginny] walked away, her long red hair dancing behind her
(Half-Blood Prince, page 136)
she was the only real thing in the world, Ginny, the feel of her, one hand at her back and one in her long, sweet-smelling hair
(Deathly Hollows, page 103)
(There are more descriptions of her hair in the books, but they follow the same lines as these and don't add more information)
Again, contrast these descriptions to the ones of the guys earlier. No eye color, face shape, eye shape, or descriptions of her body or clothes — nothing.
I have more to say about their relationship, but that's for another post.
I kinda want to add a few more qoutes here for completions sake:
“Yes, my tiara sets off the whole thing nicely,” said auntie Muriel in a rather carrying whisper. “But I must say, Ginevra’s dress is far too low cut.”
Ginny glanced around, grinning, winked at Harry, then quickly faced the front again. Harry’s mind wandered a long way from the marquee, back to afternoons spent alone with Ginny in lonely parts of the school grounds. they seemed so long ago; they had always seemed too good to be true, as though he had been stealing shining hours from a normal person’s life, a person without a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. . . .
(DH, Ch8)
Harry doesn't notice Ginny's low-cut dress, which she's clearly wearing for him. Aunt Muriel needs to be the one to mention it to Harry for him to notice. Like, a guy who finds Ginny attractive would 100% have noticed her low-cut dress (corroborated by my straight brother).
Harry actually doesn't mention girls' clothes almost at all unless someone else mentions it or it's something unique (like Luna's dress for the Slugclub) or very ugly (everything Umbridge wears or Pansy's Yule Ball robes). It's not something he pays attention to. Compare this to Tom or Draco whom he pays a ton of attention to what they're wearing:
A teenage boy with a pale, pointed face and white- blond hair appeared from behind the rack, wearing a handsome set of dark green robes that glittered with pins around the hem and the edges of the sleeves.
(HBP, Ch6)
To his relief, Malfoy seemed to decide that he had imagined the noise; he pulled on his robes like the others, locked his trunk, and as the train slowed to a jerky crawl, fastened a thick new traveling cloak around his neck.
(HBP, Ch7)
Voldemort had entered the room. His features were not those Harry had seen emerge from the great stone cauldron almost two years ago: They were not as snakelike, the eyes were not yet scarlet, the face not yet masklike, and yet he was no longer handsome Tom Riddle. It was as though his features had been burned and blurred; they were waxy and oddly distorted, and the whites of the eyes now had a permanently bloody look, though the pupils were not yet the slits that Harry knew they would become. He was wearing a long black cloak, and his face was as pale as the snow glistening on his shoulders.
(HBP, Ch20)
I also want to note that, like I mentioned here, when Harry thinks about Ginny, he's thinking about the normal life Ginny represents for him, not Ginny herself as a person. Which is interesting and again, it shows he likes the normalcy Ginny allows, not Ginny herself.
There is also this quote from DH, which I find relevant to this discussion:
“There,” said Hermione, “how does he look, Harry?”
It was just not possible to discern Ron under his disguise, but only, Harry thought because he knew him so well. Ron’s hair was now long and wavy; he had a thick brown beard and mustache, no freckles, a short, broad nose, and heavy eyebrows.
“Well, he’s not my type, but he’ll do,” said Harry. “Shall we go, then?”
(DH, Ch18)
Oh, Harry, you have a type? I didn't notice...
(I did, and it's tall, dark, and handsome for the most part...)
Was this definitely JKR struggling to put herself into a straight man's shoes in a consistently convincing way across the narrative spanning seven books? Yes. Am I taking this evidence and running with it regardless? Abso-fucking-lutely, Harry is gay to me now
You know there's not a LOT of canon content featuring Lily Potter nee Evans but good god do I like what there is to see. Ten out of ten woman. The fact that she is not a bigger focus character for the people who fixate on the marauders and marauders era is an abject tragedy on the same scale as her very unfortunate death
