Draco Malfoy-- The Center of the HP Universe?

[pacificlippert]

No: HPFGUIDX 45150

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Fyre Wood" <fyredriftwood at y...> wrote:
> Have you ever just thought to yourself that perhaps Draco Malfoy 
has 
> more of a *key* part in the Harry Potter book series? No? Oh well, 
> that's why I'm here to influence you all into believing this little 
> theory. 

While I'm sure that someone out there will be 
writing a much better response, I'm going to
forge ahead with my own take on your examples.
 
> All information will be paraphrased the best I can. I'm too lazy to 
> find the *actual* text and attempt to piece together four books 
worth 
> of information
> 
> 1. Ron's friendship with Harry 
> If Draco hadn't insulted Ron on the train ride during Harry's first 
> year, then perhaps Ron and Harry wouldn't be such close friends. 
The 
> only reason why they became such good friends is because of Draco's 
> insult toward Ron and Harry sticking up for Ron. They might have 
> *gasp* remained only acquantinces if this didn't happen. Oh the 
> horror in that thought =p

However, Harry and Ron were on their way to
close friendship _before_ Draco showed up in 
their compartment (SS, p. 99, U.S.):  "...Harry
found Ron just as interesting as as Ron found
him."
Harry bought sweets for the two of them, and 
they spent most of the train ride alone talking.
If you must have a catalyst <g>, Hermione showed
up before Draco (SS, p. 106), and the boys were
united against her over-achieving (; to begin with.
In fact, Draco only showed up shortly before the
end of the train ride, because Hermione returned
just as they left, and the announcement that they
were five minutes from the station came shortly
after that. (p. 110)

> 2. The Hippogriff and Sirius Black
> Draco's injury from the Hippogriff caused Buckbeak to be tied up 
and 
> almost executed by Walden MacNair, Head of the Disposal of Magical 
> Creatures. Harry and Hermione were able to save Buckbeak and Sirius 
> Black because of Buckbeak. If the Hippogriff wasn't tied up, then 
> Hermione and Harry couldn't have saved Sirius--due to he's too high 
> off the ground to be rescued. And it's all thanks to Draco's injury.

Because the Hippogriffs wouldn't have still
been there? (;  (a little _gentle_ sarcasm...)
If Malfoy hadn't been whining and crying, they
would likely have still been studying the 
Hippogriffs, and they would have had access to
them anyway.  Do we ever hear what Hagrid did
with all the others, anyway?

> 3. CoS Dueling Club
> If Draco and Harry hadn't dueled with each other, the Snake 
wouldn't 
> have come out of Draco's wand-- revealing Harry was a Parseltongue. 
> This means that Hermione wouldn't have been able to do her research 
> and Ginny Weasley would have been murdered-- allowing Tom Riddle to 
> return. (Gosh I would have loved that.. Riddle, YUM). Harry and Ron 
> were able to save the day all because of Draco's dueling at Dueling 
> Club.

One could rightfully argue that it was _Snape_,
who seemingly provided the spell/idea to Draco,
_not_ Draco, who was the catalyst there.  Or perhaps
Lockhart, who frightened the snake.  After all,
until Lockhart scared it, Harry didn't even try
to deal with it, and Snape was merely going to
get rid of it.  

> 4. GoF Rita Skeeter.
> By having Draco talking into his hand to the illegal Animagus form 
of 
> our "beloved" reporter Rita SKeeter, Hermione was able to figure 
out 
> who she really was. This became essential to part of the plot 
because 
> all of the lies she caused throughout the fourth book. (ie: 
Hagrid's 
> past, Hermione being a Scarlet Woman, and Harry Potter's secret 
> heartache).

Except that Hermione's vendetta against Rita 
Skeeter had nothing to do with the information
Malfoy and Co. fed Rita (Hermione laughed about
that), it had to do with the articles about 
Hagrid--and the important information she used
against Hagrid didn't come from the Slytherins--
and with the fact that Rita _herself_ was listening
in on conversations.  Malfoy's scene with Rita in
his hand was only one of several clues Hermione
used to decipher the mystery.
And Rita's only real importance to the plot was
revealing Hagrid, which enables him to later become
an emissary to the giants.  The slander about Harry
might become important later, however we have no
reason to believe that Fudge would have believed 
Harry if the article hadn't been published.  He's
shown a marked tendency to ignore things before.
  
> 5. Quidditch
> All thanks to Neville's remembrall and Draco stealing it, Harry was 
> able to make the house team. Was this a ploy so that Draco would 
make 
> the team the next year and play the same possition? In any case, if 
> Draco hadn't done that, Harry wouldn't have been made the new 
seeker 
> and won the house cup during his third year.

Well, Draco _did_ steal the Remembrall, and precipitate
Professor McGonagall's intercession on Harry's behalf at
that point, however, saying he's the center of the 
inverse for that is as likely as claiming it revolves
around Prof. M <g>.  After all...it's thanks to Prof. M
that Harry was on the team--_she_ contacted the captain,
and _she_ arranged for the broom.  You might say that
she only did it because of Draco, but since we don't 
know what the flying lessons entail, we don't know if
Harry would have had opportunity to show his talent in
class anyway.  
We have signs that she had seen most of the flying episode,
(SS p.151) because she told Wood that Harry had caught
the Remembrall after a 50 foot dive.

Anyway, the Draco Center of the Universe theory 
made me laught, at least (:
Karie