9 Harry Potter facts about Bonnie Wright / Ginny Weasley

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Do you know Bonnie Wright/Ginny Weasley as well as you think?

Ginny Weasley. The youngest and only daughter of the Weasley family and a Gryffindor through and through. Labelled by many as the one who “got Harry,” Ginny is actually much more than that.

One of the big problems with the character of Ginny is that not much is known about her. A lot about her has gone amiss and unknown, both during her time at Hogwarts and after. Bonnie Wright, who played Ginny throughout the Harry Potter franchise, did a fantastic job as she gave us a Ginny that will always be remembered.

1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was Bonnie Wright’s debut performance

Bonnie Wright was only 10 years old when she first appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. She was only nine years old when she was cast for the part of Ginny Weasley and prior to that she had never acted before.

That’s right. When we all saw Bonnie Wright as Ginny for the first time it was her debut performance. She had never appeared on camera or stage prior to her audition, which J.K. Rowling had a high amount of involvement in.

Whatever it was that Wright did to catch their attention, it must have been magical. She featured in all the remaining Harry Potter movies and has done such a fantastic job playing the youngest Weasley sibling that we couldn’t imagine anyone else in her shoes.

2: Ginny’s Patronus is a horse that reflects her perfectly

This is one of the few times where the films managed to be a little bit better than the books. In fairness, the films had the advantage of visual effects, whereas books are limited to the imagination. So maybe it is me.

We all know that the Patronus charm is labelled as one of the most difficult spells a witch or wizard can cast. Some witches and wizards never manage to perform it. It is also one of the most beautiful spells, as each Patronus is unique to the individual.

Ginny was able to cast a full Patronus in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix but it is never truly discussed in the books. The movie adaptation took the opportunity to show what Ginny’s Patronus properly, which is a horse.

Pottermore goes into this in more detail, explaining that Ginny’s Patronus is unique.The horse represents her by being strong-willed, energetic and caring.

3: Wright and Radcliffe had to kiss each other over and over again

The first time that Wright and Daniel Radcliffe had to kiss as Harry and Ginny must have been weird. They had met when they were little, grew up and worked together and then they were told they had to perform a kissing scene. Full credit to the two of them. They pulled it off and did a wonderful job.

However, the scene took a rather awkwardly long time. Wright spoke about this moment in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and explained that it took two whole days to film. That brief, maybe 30-45 second scene, took two whole days!!!

It was all down to few factors, not just the Radcliffe and Wright. With so much going in the scene that had to perform numerous takes to get the scene just right.

4: Dumbledore’s Army was only Dumbledore’s Army because of Ginny

I bet you can remember Dumbledore’s Army in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. But, do you remember what it was going to be called initially and who renamed it to Dumbledore’s Army? Well, the “who” is pretty easy because this is all about Ginny, but you might have forgotten that Dumbledore’s Army was almost called The Defense Association.

In an attempt to try and learn proper Defence Against the Dark Arts, thanks to Professor Umbridge and the Ministry of Magic’s attempt to interfere with the teaching at Hogwarts. The group was formed and Cho Change suggested naming it The Defence Association.

Ginny then stepped and made the suggestion that the DA was good but it should be called Dumbledore’s Army instead.

5: “Good Luck”

It might not be your favourite Ginny quote from the Harry Potter movies, but when Wright was asked what her favourite Ginny quote was she answered with the very simple “good luck.”

Those words are actually the very first words Ginny ever said. It was just before Harry ran towards the hidden entrance to the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾.

Why exactly this is her favourite line I have no idea. It could be because it was the first thing she said to Harry. It could be because it was her first time appearing as Ginny Weasley.

6: The bat-bogey hex is Ginny’s signature spell

It should be pretty obvious what the bat-bogey hex does. It will make the victim of the hex suddenly find their bogeys turn into bats and then fly out of their nose. You probably have a few people you would like to cast it on and there would be no one better than Ginny Weasley to perform it.

The bat-bogey hex has became a signature spell. Ginny became widely known for being exceptionally good at performing it. She used it on Draco in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to aide in the escape of Umbridge’s office and on a few other separate occasions. She even got invited to Professor Slughorn’s Slug Club because he was so impressed by how she performed the spell.

What is still unknown however is what qualifies as being so good at this spell. Is it the amount of bogey turned bats coming out of the nose or how big they are?

7: Bonnie Wright is a Gryffindor

When I heard this for the first time I was shocked. I wasnt aware you could be actually sorted into your Hogwarts house on Pottermore. So I went and did that almost immediately. When Wright was sorted she was sorted into the same house as Ginny.

A Weasley through and through. Gryffindor represents bravery with its lion house crest and scarlet and gold house colors. Wright is not the only one to be sorted. Several other actors from the Harry Potter movies have completed the quiz on Pottermore and found they too belong in the same house as their characters.

8: Ginny, the professional Quidditch player

After her time at Hogwarts Ginny went onto play professional Quidditch. When you think about it, this should not really be that surprising. She played both Chaser and Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. There wasn’t anyone else who played two separate positions.

She ended up playing for the Holyhead Harpies as Chaser and when she retired from the sport she stayed involved by becoming a Quidditch reporter for the Daily Prophet. Quidditch clearly runs through Ginny’s blood and it is clear she is the best player out of the Weasley family and even better than Harry.

9: Bonnie Wright believes Ginny Weasley would have been fine without Harry

While some view Ginny as the girl who bagged Harry, Wright has always held the position that if Ginny had never got together with Harry she would have done fine. And yeah, we can totally see that.

Ginny may not have featured a huge amount in either the books or movies as some would have liked, but at the end of the day, it is based on Harry’s point of view. Why should she have been in more?

When Wright spoke about Ginny being completely fine without Harry, she made the point that she had dated other people before Harry (like Dean) and is a tough character. Ginny ultimately didn’t need Harry to succeed in life. She is a witch, who is powerful, gifted, athletic, strong, etc, etc. If anything Harry needs Ginny more than she needs him.

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So what did you think of these Bonnie Wright/Ginny Weasley facts? Which one is your favourite? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

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9 Harry Potter facts about Bonnie Wright/Ginny Weasley you might not have known.

By Callum Gunn | Feb 17, 2018