Snape and Draco (Was: Despised Lackey or Social Equal?)

[eloiseherisson at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 90148

Sigune muses:

>Malfoy Jr may 
> have a certain talent for potion-making, but apart from that... Draco 
> strikes me as much too stupid (sorry Draco fans) for Snape to be able 
> to really respect him or care for him. Snape is very secretive and 
> discrete; he berates Harry for flaunting his emotions and stuff - 
> well, Draco is even worse than Harry in that respect, isn't he? He 
> seems to me to be the greatest danger to his father's reputation 
> also. Imagine Lucius Malfoy going through all the trouble of clearing 
> his name after LV's fall, and Dunderhead Draco keeps boasting of all 
> those things his father is trying to keep hidden. Draco misses all 
> the thoughtfulness, subtlety and cunning a man like Snape is likely 
> to admire in a person. I think.

I agree with all of that, actually.

But I don't think that Draco has a happy home life and I think Snape may well 
identify with that. There are hints (I'm not going down the abused child 
road) that Draco doesn't really get on with his father all that well. It's a cold 
relationship. I always envisaged Snape having a cold, distant (or absent) 
father, things that are strongly implied in OoP. I suspect that Snape knew Draco 
or at least his situation to some extent before his arrival at Hogwarts.

We're also not really certain of Draco's popularity at school beyond a amall 
circle of Slytherin hangers on (no indication of true friendship). Snape 
similarly had a "gang of Slytherins" yet is commonly *perceived* as a loner. He was 
apparently not popular beyond his own in-group.

As for Draco's intelligence. I'm not sure. We know Hermione beats him in 
exams, but then you'd expect her to beat anyone. Aside from Potions, we only 
really see him in COMC where he has such disdain for Hagrid that it's impossible to 
judge his intelligence. I mean, yes, the things he's done in COMC have been 
stupid, but intelligent boys *do* act stupid and fail to attend or try when 
they think the subject they're being taught or the teacher teaching it are stupid 
too.

He's not brave, though and that's a definite contrast to Severus. Though 
whizzing around at high speed on a broomstick must take some kind of courage.

I just have a feeling that if Severus had fallen off his broom, probably 
no-one would have worried about him or asked anyone to cut up *his* potions 
ingredients for him (hence perhaps part of his willingness to molly coddle Draco). 
Ability or not, Draco is the most prominent Slytherin in his year. Snape 
probably was too (all those curses, ability at potions, possible implications of 
flying ability). And given his character, he probably didn't feel he got the 
recognition he deserved. So it was part of my mental picture of Snape (who I think 
tends to project rather) that in his relationship with Draco he rather trieds 
to treat him as he wishes he had been treated. As I said, not a direct 
parallel. And of course he has good practical reasons for keeping in with Lucius.

But I don't know. You've made me think. :-)

~Eloise


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]