S'mores (some-mores) / Draco and Lucius / Peter's Wand

[catlady_de_los_angeles]

No: HPFGUIDX 35440

Eloise wrote:

> And what are Smores anyway? Can I try one, please?

Take two Graham Crackers. Put a Hershey bar (plain, not almond) on 
one, cover it with marshmallows that have been burnt on a stick held 
over a campfire, put the other Graham Cracker to make a sandwich. 
Yum!

Unc Mark wrote:

> Draco has two accomplices in bullying, but I wouldn't call there 
> him and C&G friends on the level of HRH. Could you see any of them 
> facing death for Draco? Could you even see them letting Draco stun 
> them continuously for practice? Example of their 'friendship' ChofS 
> Ch. 12: Draco to Harry (polyjuiced as Goyle) "Honestly, if you were
> any slower, you'd be going backward."

Crabbe and Goyle might be willing to die for Draco, and to submit to 
endlessly Stunning for practice, out of a kind of dog-like loyalty, 
even if Draco is not a very good master (still less a friend). 
Furthermore, Draco might be a pretty good master, fond of them in a 
patronizing way, and helping them out with brains the way they help 
him out with brawn. Maybe doing their homework for them, drilling 
them in enough rote memorization that they can pass their exams with 
the lowest possible mark simply by regurgitating the memorized facts, 
telling them what excuse to use when they get in trouble for 
something...

> As for Harry and Ron? Example of their 'friendship' ChofS Ch. 16: 
> Harry to Ron when they discover the hidden entrance to the Chamber 
> in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom: "I'm going down there," he (Harry) 
> said. He couldn't not go, not now they found the entrance to the 
> Chamber, not if there was the faintest, slimmest, wildest chance 
> that Ginny might be alive. "Me too." said Ron.

Well, Ginny IS Ron's sister. It wouldn't speak very well for Ron if 
he was less concerned about his own sister than Harry is about a girl 
he hardly knows.

Jenny from Ravenclaw wrote:

> I can't understand why so many people speculate that Draco may be
> abused physically. Where is the evidence of that? Lucius is 
> disappointed in his son's performance in his classes; very parental
> and caring, IMO. Lucius and Narcissa are also very giving - Draco 
> gets the best brooms to fly with and lots of sweets from home.

1) If the way we heard Lucius snark at Draco about grades seems 
'parental and caring' to you, then I'm very glad I'm not your child. 
(God, *how* I always hated my parents telling me that I'm no good!)   

2) There is no contradiction between giving a child a lot of material 
things and physically beating the same child. Some physically abusive 
parents give their children gifts as bribes not to tell, or in an 
attempt to make up for the physical abuse committed in fits of lost 
temper, not that I think Lucius would stoop to either of those: his 
level of self-confidence is such that he wouldn't feel he had 
anything to make up for and he couldn't imagine that Draco would be 
so disrespectful and sissy as to go whining to Children's Protective 
Services about him.

3) I read the nagging about grades, the gift of first-rate
broomsticks, and several other gifts, as a parent who believes that 
he has the right to own a prize child, a child who is the best at 
everything (Quidditch, grades, attractive appearance, etc) and will 
be admired by all the other parents, and takes out his resentment at 
having been stuck with a less-than-perfect child on the child. 

4) As for evidence of Draco having been abused: it seems to me that 
Draco is pretty sensitive/observant in terms of noticing what other 
people are touchy about, so he can insult them on those points that 
hurt the most. It is said that very often abused children grow up 
very perceptive about people, because they spent their early lives 
watching their parents for every little clue about when the parent is 
dangerous, so the child can avoid the parent at those times.  

Gwen/Lee wrote:

> ... fanfic, right? So I think it's time to trot out my Lucius 
backstory,

<sniffle> No one ever cares about MY Lucius backstory! Yours is very 
cool, but MINE has Lucius inheriting so young via murdering his father 
and much older brother...

All the people who suggest that Peter dropped his wand (along with 
his finger) before fleeing as a rat, and the Law Enforcement picked 
it up as Sirius's, so if they PI'd what they thought was Sirius's 
wand, it would show the dozen-killing curse as the latest spell cast
.... are you taking into consideration that wands look different? 
They're different woods and different lengths, even if they don't 
have the individual & unique decorative carving that I imagine they 
have. It doesn't take Ollivander to tell an Oak, thirteen inches, 
from a Mahogany, eight inches. DMLE had Dumbledore give some kind 
of presumably-sworn statement (he said 'I myself testified', but 
according to GoF there wasn't a trial) that Sirius had been the 
Potters' Secret-Keeper, but they didn't have any witness identify the 
wand?