Solving the boy (or girl) next door problem--plot and character

The one and only part of Harry Potter that doesn't satisfy for me is the Harry/Ginny thread. I think it's set up from the very beginning to work out. Ginny is the very first girl Harry ever sees in the books, and that fact is the gun on the mantle that is waiting to go off later in the story--right?. Then he saves her from a giant snake--classic fairy tale dragon-killing, if you ask me. So twice over, you've got this built in foreshadowing. You know that, humorous and painful and realistic as it is, the thing with Cho is one of those romantic mishaps that don't last. And then you get to the sixth book where Harry supposedly has this revelation and realizes who the right girl really IS--and the book (and the movie) doesn't deliver. It's all off stage. We're told about it, and because of that (and maybe some other things), it never feels as solid and substantial as the rest of the Potter universe. I can't help going over it in my mind to figure out what would have worked better--and how to address the girl/boy next door issue should that ever come up in a story of my own. So these are some elements that I think might work, were I to try it.

1. As in the books, plant enough significant/exact details early on so that the reader knows, even if the MC doesn't yet, that this will be a Significant Character at some point.

2. Keep that character around, doing things in the background, so they don't slip from the reader's attention entirely.

3. Shortly before the MC starts to realize there might be something there they never saw before, have a brand-new experience that puts the MC and LI (love interest) together against a common adversary/problem. This is where I would have deviated significantly from HBP. I would have had some experience right up front that put Harry and Ginny having to work something out together, without Ron and Hermione or anyone else around. The Burrow attack from the movie was in the right direction--as was the bit from the books that both of them had had their minds invaded by Voldemort, and both had had bad experiences with a book. But it needed to go further. They needed to more consciously have to work together to figure it out, to depend on each other and pool thoughts and resources they hadn't been aware of the other person having until this point. They need to be on the same team, and therefore discover new things about each other they had previously not noticed or known. 

4. You can't have a serious relationship without actually sharing personal thoughts. Without actually spending time together, communicating, and working things out together (and I don't mean working out the details of snogging--I mean being on the same team to work out a common goal that is really important to both of you.) Ginny is never part of Harry's journey at all. Couldn't she be allowed to do something for the cause? Something other than being controlled by a Horcrux when she's 11, I mean. She's a strong character; I expected her to play an actual role in the fight against Voldemort somewhere along the way. Alas, no.

5. And then, of course, you need that click! moment, where the MC has this blinding realization that the reader has been waiting for, where they realize that their feelings are much, much stronger/different than they had originally thought.

6. And--it all needs to happen on stage. It is NOT enough for another character to say, "I see how you look at her." Not unless the reader/viewer has seen this, too.

I think one reason I feel the need to take this apart is that it was set up and then not fully followed-through in the books. But also, I ended up essentially marrying the boy next door. And it unfolded in the way that a novel properly should. I can't imagine things would have worked out very well if I'd been allowed to be a fellow Quidditch player, but not allowed to help save the world--if that was for his other friends to know about, but not me. You know?

Any other things I forgot? Anything else that should go in here about writing a convincing friend-turned-love-interest?

non-undead books?

I was "forced" to go into B&N today to look for a replacement copy of Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb for Perpetual Motion Boy (who wore out the last copy and still wants it). Since it was a rare moment of being ALONE, I of course quickly browsed the YA shelves. Look, I like Twilight, but um, could we see a few other titles? Since I've already read Twilight, and plan to read/own more than one book in my life? Uh, yeah. Aside from Edward, the shelves were pretty much nearly all about the undead. While there are exceptions, straight-up contemporary isn't my thing, nor are books about the it-girl. Anyone read any good books lately--fantasy, historical, SF, set somewhere interesting, or at least have a plot and something vaguely positive about them (ie, not a downer problem novel)--that DON'T involve a preoccupation with death? It's not like I'm opposed to the occasional book, but there were just so many it seemed they should have put up some tombstones and littered the place with garlic and stakes. Any recommendations outside of this, for a breath of fresh, living air?

Otherwise, I love the smell of bookstores. That fresh, papery smell is the smell of hope and of stories flicking among the pages...