Redemption (was RE: [HPforGrownups] Re: Why Draco Malfoy Isn't Evil ... (a bit on strong female characters too))

[Doreen]

No: HPFGUIDX 14888

<big chunks>
And on the other side of the coin any of the 'good' side could go bad. Yes
even Harry, though where that would leave the canon is anyone's guess!

Simon

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(anyone for Pixie tic tac toe?)

Even Harry? What? Our child? Bad? Harry go bad?

Well, there is that instance where he held a grudge against his best friend
for way longer than I thought was necessary.
And then there was the time when he and that Weasley kid nicked the dad's
car and took it for a joy ride and wrecked it.
And how many times has he been caught, not only sneaking out of his room,
but indeed, out of Hogwarts itself, and this after explicit warnings not to
leave the grounds?
He has snooped thru the janitor's private mail.
He has illegally exported a dragon out of the school, and indeed out of the
country.
He and his friends have vandalized library books and tricked teachers into
helping them gain access to forbidden sections of the library.
He and his friends have thwarted Dumbledore's own instructions NOT to be on
the third floor in the room where the trapdoor is.
Harry and his friends have stolen property from the Potions Master's private
stock.

I am sure by now, that you have gotten my drift ...but the list could go on
& on...

Actually, I see all of this as amusing OTOH and eyebrow raising on the
other.
Yes, I do realize it is just a book ... and I dont know why people bother to
remind us of that. Sure, if they did not make these numerous infractions,
the story would be boring as hell and no self-respecting kid would bother
reading it. When I shut off my computer or close my books, then, and only
then is HP just a book. When I am reading, listening to Jim Dale, or sharing
with this group, it is real ... very real.

Why does Harry Potter work for kids? (and when I say "kids" I mean the short
people below the ages of say 16... and also all of us who are old enough to
realize that the more of your childhood you can retain in your heart, the
happier you can be in your life)

Harry Potter works for kids because all kids want to have adventures and get
away with breaking the rules.

So, does this make Harry a bad kid? No, it just makes him a normal kid. I
guess, as far as Draco goes, he is not a bad kid either, more a product of
his stinking environment.  He is not evil, but rather lives with evil. He is
a bully, though. I will give you evil ... but I am not gonna budge off of
bully.

Doreen, who is glad that she is not Harry Potter's mom when it comes time
for teacher/parent meetings.
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