Draco as leader

[rbookworm46]

No: HPFGUIDX 144459

Betsy Hp:
I'm not saying Draco's a great leader overall. But he *is* the face 
of Slytherin within Harry's peer group. So if JKR *does* address the 
Slytherin issue, it'll be beyond jarring if some other random 
Slytherin is brought in to do the job. (Plus, it'll be a total waste 
of Draco's development in HBP.)

Bookworm:
I agree. <g>   Harry has conflicts with three people that he will 
have to resolve by the end of the series.  Draco is one of them.  
Obviously Voldemort and Snape are the others.  After Hagrid, Draco 
is the first person from the wizarding world that Harry interacted 
with (not counting all the handshakes in the Leaky Cauldron).  It is 
interesting to me that JKR chose him for that role – perhaps a 
negative to counterbalance Hagrid's optimism?


Betsy Hp:
Because calling Hermione a mudblood was not a natural instinct for 
Darco. In the first book he completely ignored her, choosing to pick 
on Neville Longbottom (the pureblood) instead. And it cannot be that 
Hermione was unnoticable as a target. She was incredibly overeager 
in PS/SS. Everyone around her noticed and was a bit annoyed or 
amused by it.

But it wasn't until Draco's father said, "Look, there's a mudblood!  
Go get her!" that Draco turned on Hermione. And even then, Hermione 
tended to be his only target for those sort of attacks.


Bookworm:
I hadn't noticed that Draco didn't start picking on Hermione until 
later.  However, I was struck by his first (anonymous) conversation 
with Harry in Madam Malkins when Harry thought Draco reminded him of 
Dudley.  Coming from an 11 y/o, that kind of arrogant self-
importance sounds like a mask for insecurity.

To me it has been obvious since CoS that Draco is desperately 
seeking his father's approval.  Especially in the earlier books, it 
seems like half of what he says starts with, "My father...."  

IMO he joined the DEs only because that is what his father would 
have wanted.  A scene I would like to see in HP:EotS (HP and the End 
of the Series!) is Draco standing up to his father and making a 
decision for himself.  I don't expect a gushy, I'm-now-Harry's-best-
friend, kind of transformation.  Just Draco becoming his own man.

Ravenclaw Bookworm