You're gonna be bothered by how cool I am.

I basically feel the same way redwood7 feels, but I'd like to add a little bit. I like H/G and ship it, but R/Hr has always been my primary ship because it started developing first, had more page time, and helped the reader get to know both Ron and Hermione better. Of course, we get to know Ron and Hermione because of their friendship with Harry, but their interactions with each other really rounded them out as characters, too. Their "romance" with each other became a huge part of their own stories. On the other hand, H/G was only a small part of Harry's story until HBP, and then a lot of it happened off the page.

I wouldn't call R/Hr the "real" romance, though. J/L, A/M, H/G, R/T, B/Fl, etc are all "real." I wouldn't even say R/Hr was the most important ship because I think that would be Snape/Lily. But, I do think R/Hr was supposed to be the ongoing, most prominent ship since the very beginning. I've been saying for a long time that R/Hr is THE ship of the series, meaning when the average reader (not the obsessed shipper) looks back many years from now and think whichs ship from HP sticks out in their memories the most, it's going to be R/Hr. There's just more of it.

When I think of Harry, I think about Voldemort, his parents, and his relationships with Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore. H/G is his future, not his story. When I think of his two sidekicks, on the other hand, I think of their role in Harry's life first, and then I think about their relationship with each other. That's how I think, and I have a feeling a lot of readers would say the same, even a lot of H/G shippers.

I ship H/G for the same reasons I ship R/T and B/Fl. It makes the characters happy. It gives them a reason to fight. Ginny gave Harry a future, and I love that. But when I'm reading the books, especially the earlier books, I'm not thinking about that. I'm thinking about Harry and his mission. R/Hr is just more "in your face."

I have no bitterness towards H/G shippers, and I hope it doesn't seem like I'm gloating over R/Hr having more page time. I love the idea of OBHWF, and it seems like the Teddy/Victoire hints in the epilogue do give you the idea that a lot of the surviving characters are linked to the Weasleys now.

And while I have no bitterness and don't want to gloat, it does make me feel vindicated. So many times I was criticized for my primary ship not involving the protagonist. I heard it all the time from a lot of H/Hr shippers and from a few H/G shippers. "R/Hr won't be the most prominent romance because it doesn't involve Harry." It just feels good to not have to apologize anymore for my OTP not involving Harry.

We're all on the same side. We shouldn't have to defend our primary ships against each other.