(Fwd) RE: [HPforGrownups] A relayed post from a 'wou

[Tammy Rizzo]

No: HPFGUIDX 55205

I forwarded Dina's message to my sister, offlist, and she sends this in reply.  
Unfortunately, she didn't send Dina's message, so I'm afraid this has to be taken on 
its own, rather than with full context.

"Tammy"


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Dear Dina:

Wow!  Good questions!  I'll address them, here.

As for Draco's popularity in the House, I am comparing it more to
Harry's popularity within his own.  As you know, the books are written
mainly from his point of view.  He sees Draco hanging out with Crabbe,
Goyle, and Pansy, and they are undeniably thick as thieves.  He does
have lots of classmates who like to join him in "Harry Stinks"
buttons, and such.  However, I have never seen, that I can easily
recall, any instances of OTHER classmates actually seeking out Draco's
company.  Harry, of course, has Ron & Hermione as his "team," but he
also has various other members of his house, as well as some in other
houses who will come up and talk to him, seek out his company, or even
just talk about the great things he's done lately.  You never SEE any
of that for Draco.  Or if you do, it's so minor that you forget about
it.  Kids of that age may often join in particular teasing activities,
such as "Harry Stinks," and they'll laugh at the joke that Draco is
making, while he's there entertaining them.  However, that alone is
not an indication of popularity.  It could simply be the average
attention students give to someone while he's in the process of making
the jokes, or running the game.  In short, they might act that way
with anyone.  Harry, on the other hand, is obviously popular, at least
in his house.  Moreover, when Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff students are
called on to take sides, they generally choose Harry, which puts his
popularity level high above Draco.  Compared to Colin Creevey, Draco
is undoubtedly more popular, but not compared to Harry. At least, I
have not seen them.  Granted, my focus in reading has been more on
Harry.  One of these times, I'll take my sister's advice and get some
colored pencils, to take notes.

I agree that Pansy certainly likes him.  I think, though, that if the
match was not subtly forwarded by his parents, he wouldn't give her
much of his time.  After all, from the first meeting there in the robe
shop, he made it clear that he only wanted friends from the best
families.  And who tells him who are acceptable families?  His father,
of course.  He chose his friends based on family name, as is evidenced
by the very first time Draco encountered Ron, and judged him harshly. 
"You must be a WEASLEY!"  He'd already been indoctrinated.  Pansy is,
obviously, acceptable to his parents, or else he would have been
indoctrinated against her, as well.

With such indoctrination against mudbloods, and the 'wrong' families,
surely he must have the same attitude against other members of his
house.  It is practically impossible for them ALL to be "pureblood"
families of the proper caliber.  I mean, what are the odds?  This
attitude toward some, if not many, of his housemates, must serve to
make him less popular among them. You'll note at the end of Book 4,
when he, Crabbe, and Goyle remained sitting, while the others stood,
even Pansy defied him and stood up.  The rest of the house stood up,
completely disregarding his lead.  If he was highly popular, surely
there would be at least one or two others, besides his particular
flunkies, who would follow his lead, or at the very least, waffle a
bit before giving in to the crowd at large.

These are, of course, only my observations.

As for his being an average student, again, we only have it from
Harry's point of view.  I think we can all agree that Draco is good in
potions, and not just because he's Snape's pet.  You never read about
Draco's potions going bad, as you do with Neville's, for instance. 
Draco seemed to exude, in the very first class, an excitement for the
subject, not just the teacher.  Possibly, because potions class is as
close as they get to the dark arts?

I don't recall, exactly, if I said he was an average student, or if
the "average" I mentioned referred to his scores, in a Dungeons &
Dragon mock-up.  I think it was more that.  As I said there, Hermione
is practically off the charts on intelligence.  Harry would have a 16,
at least, and his wisdom, constitution, charisma, dexterity, are all
markedly high.  I do not see that for Draco.  He is naturally good on
a broom, true, which would indicate a high-ish dexterity.  But he
never gets wounded enough to show how high his constitution is.  I
don't know his true rate of healing, since he milks every paper cut
for all it's worth.  His charisma is moderately high, I suppose, but
his wisdom is flat out pathetic!  As a D&D character goes, he's
average.  I really couldn't say about his grades as a student, though.
 They aren't really mentioned, one way or the other.

I think Lucius expects high marks simply because Draco is his son, and
nothing less than perfection is acceptable.  Lucius does not strike me
as an understanding man, who judges people on their character and
abilities.

You make excellent observations.  I have to go on memory here.  Do you
have the books in front of you, to look things up?  :-)  Thanks for
your comments!  I enjoy the debate.


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