Draco & Hermione (was Re: Draco & Harry - Nature of Friendship)

[heather the buzzard]

No: HPFGUIDX 130178

bboyminn:

>In the first part of the post I referrenced, I discuss how it 
>is possible to despise Draco for his actions, but knowing his 
>backstory, still have sympathy for him. 
>
> <snip> 
>  
>I suspect that under the best conditions, there will alway be an
>element of sadness to Draco's life; whether he sees it or not.


This brings to mind an interesting dream last night, which actually led 
me to some serious speculation.

I watched the PoA movie last night -- we only just bought the movies 
since my son is now reading the books.  I hadn't seen it since the 
theatres, and watching it I was being mindful of how JKR said that there 
were some interesting insights, some accidental foreshadowing in the 
movie that was very interesting.  I was trying to figure out what it 
might have been.  I did notice Lupin's fondness for Lily, for instance, 
as well as all the Hermione/Ron interactions.  There is of course that 
cute scene after they've left the shrieking shack where Ron is putting 
up the brave face about his leg, maintaining that it's injured beyond 
repair and will have to come off -- seemingly trying to get sympathy 
from Hermione, who sits with him and soothes him.

In my dream, it was not Hermione and Ron, but Hermione and Draco.  It 
was not exactly the same situation, but Draco was injured and Hermione 
was being kind to him.  In my dream, this was a small and unimportant 
scene in the movie, which I took to be an important foreshadowing of 
future events.

Of course this is all totally speculative, since it's based not only on 
the movie (which can lead to 'contamination') but on a dream about 
something that never even happened in the movie!  But, it did get me 
thinking.

James was a show-off, a knowitall, a bully, and Lily called him on it.  
She wouldn't give him the time of day.  But later, he settled down a 
bit, she softened to him, they ended up all right. 

With the discussions of Draco possibly being redeemed... I'm now 
envisioning a scene where something bad happens to Draco, something 
seriously bad.  Not like when the Hippogriff attacked him, which was his 
fault and he totally played it up.  Not like the ferret-bouncing, which 
he also 'earned'.  Something that even he did not deserve.  His 
'friends' (being just as cowardly as he is) abandon him.  Hermione at 
first was going to do nothing, revenge is sweet and all that, but when 
she sees him abandoned and helpless (actually helpless, not just being 
drama-queeney), she can't help but do the noble thing.  "Here, Malfoy, 
let me help you".  He resists at first, let a filthy mudblood like her 
touch him?, but acquiesces when he realizes he has no other choice.  
He's proud, but I doubt that when push came to shove he would rather die 
than be helped by a 'mudblood.'

This could be the beginning of Draco's 'transformation', if indeed that 
is going to happen.  A mudblood shows him kindness -- true kindness, 
which he has rarely been shown in his life -- when the DE offspring all 
abandoned him.  Hermione sees him at his weakest, maybe he says some 
things about his past, his sadness and loneliness, and she softens 
towards him as well.

I'm not expecting a H-D pairing out of this, but a change in their 
relationship.  The start of Draco's change of heart, and Hermione's 
support of him.  It would take time, and Harry and Ron would NOT 
understand at first.  They would believe he was faking, that Hermione 
was being stupid.  Draco would go through a lot of soul-searching, 
back-and-forth, confusion and disillusionment.  But eventually, he'd do 
something noble to help Harry and Ron, who would finally start to see 
that he was in fact changing.

So now I'm wondering if there might be anything in the books 
foreshadowing anything like this.  I think there is precedent in the 
Lily-James situation, so who knows?   Any thoughts?

heather the buzzard