SHIP: Hermione and Draco

[bystardust]

No: HPFGUIDX 38803

Sarah wrote:

>>>>Ok, I honestly do not understand why so many people even consider 
this as a possible future relationship.  No matter where you look, 
when the topic of romantic pairings is being discussed, the Hermione 
Draco approach always finds its way in.  Lets be real people, Draco 
Hates Hermione!  His attitude towards her is not along the lines of 
adolescent teasing, like Hermione and Ron.  Draco is insults are 
personal, and harsh.  He constantly refers to her as 'Mudblood'.  
Which is supposedly a repulsive term, and this shows even a lower 
level of disrespect since it avoids using her own name.  How 
degrading.<<<<

I'm not necessarily a big Draco/Hermione shipper, but I don't think 
it's nearly as implausible as you're saying it is. But I want to 
focus on defending Draco rather than go into that. As far as we've 
seen, Draco has been taught -his entire life- to look down on and 
hate people like Hermione. From his family's point of view, she's 
even worse than a muggle because she's a muggle "imposing" on the 
wizarding world. But just because he's been taught to spit out 
insults like the ones you quoted doesn't mean he believes them. If 
anything, it's his family's fault. I'm not saying this justifies his 
actions, and yes, the way he treats Hermione is very degrading and 
hateful. But just because he's a horribly spoiled brat doesn't make 
him a horrible and unredeemable person. I think that there's a lot 
more to Draco than meets the eye; I don't necessarily think that he's 
going to turn out to be a really great guy, but I don't think he's 
evil either. I'm sure we'll find out loads more about him as the 
series progresses.

>>>>And you still think that there is a chance for a romantic 
relationship here? I don't even see room for a civilized relationship
[...]How do you think his family would react to his DATING 
Hermione!?  He would be disowned as far as I can tell... and seeing 
how his family and his wizard heritage is one of the things Malfoy 
most highly values about himself.... I don't see him giving it all 
up.<<<<

Maybe Draco's desire to uphold his family honor isn't as simple as it 
seems. I'm sure he worships his father, but that doesn't mean he 
agrees with everything his father says; he does what he's told 
because he wants to please him. I think you're making Draco's 
character too one-sided, and that doesn't really do justice to him. 
He's a lot more complex than simply the token bully.

Also, who says relationships have to begin as civil ones? As far as I 
know, most Draco/Hermione shippers don't operate off the notion that 
they're perfectly friendly with each other. Look at the Pride and 
Prejudice theory (who came up with that, by the way?).

--Doldra