Is Draco Redeemable?/Thematic Motifs

[heidi.h.tandy.c92 at alumni.upenn.edu]

No: HPFGUIDX 11543

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Ebony Elizabeth Thomas" <ebonyink at h...> 
quoted what
> Ginny wrote re: the Draco-Redemption Issue:
> I don't think he really *is* evil, but
> >growing up around death eaters. . . it messes with
> >your mind.

and then proposed: 
>
>*if*  Draco ever were to renounce his father and accept 
Muggles/Muggle-borns as 
> legitimate magical citizens, many wizards and witches would treat 
him with 
> suspicion at best.  Many would dislike him, distrust him, and never 
forgive 
> him for being Lucius Malfoy's son.
> <SNIP>
> I'm still reading this thread, and I still don't think that those 
who say 
> that Draco is a Dark Lord-in-training have made their case.  
Especially when 
> many Evil Draco proponents argue the case for Snape in the same 
breath.  If 
> anything, it's really making me reconsider my own original thoughts 
about 
> Snape, Draco, and Slyths in general.


Ditto. When I read book 1 the first time, I admit to being intrigues 
by Draco, but not at all by snape or any of the other slytherins - 
but by book 3, I was just generally ticked off at him whenever he 
appeared on the page. Ugh! and Jerk! were words that went through my 
mind when I saw his name.
But the ferret incident changed my mind - although by the end of Book 
IV I was just as horified as anyone else by what he said.
However, once I discovered the alterna-HP world of fanfiction, I 
started wondering about him again - even before I discovered 
Cassandra's amazing Draco Dormiens (I think it started with Masoumi's 
If you Kill The Bird...) and took my first stem on the long, dark and 
almost deserted road to the Land of Draco's Redemption (where I now 
have other fellow travelers, like Cassie & Rhysenn).
ANd then I started my own fanfic - and the reason I haven't posted a 
new chapter yet is in part because my son has an ear infection & 
isn't sleeping at night, therefore I'm not sleeping at night, and in 
part because I've been pondering *why* draco said those things about 
cedric & muggle-borns on the train - and I have an explanation 
(sorta) which I am still working through - it won't excuse it, but it 
will give different reasons for it which might make it 
understandable - I know it sounds cryptic (sorry!)

As I've said before, I will be troubled if JKR ends the series with 
Draco as completely evil (I will be equally troubled if she ends the 
series with him being completely nice & married into One Big Happy 
Weasley Family) because I don't think that showing us a character 
grow from age ten (or possibly eleven) to 17 and remaining evil, 
corrupted and (eventually, likely) homicidal is reasonable, 
especially as we've seen so clearly from Snape that it's possible to 
turn back from evil. But no matter how much backstory we get on 
Snape, even if it's a monologue from him, it'll never be the same as 
seeing a character become good (or at least become un-Evil) on the 
page, as part of the action. And I *want* her to show us that because 
it will be truly magical!