The good Slytherin (Draco Malfoy)

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 131570

>>Lupinlore:
<snip>
>But I doubt very much, despite the wishes of many readers, we will 
see an argument for the value of craftiness or ambition. I just 
don't sense that JKR has a great deal of respect for those traits.<

>>SSSusan:
<snip>
>In the end, what we want, hope or expect from JKR isn't going to 
make a difference, is it, to what we actually GET?<
<snip>
>And while I won't be surprised if JKR uses the student prejudice 
against Slytherins as a whole to make A Point with her readers, I'm 
definitely not convinced JKR will give us a whole new TAKE on 
Slytherin House.  In fact, I think Lupinlore is really likely to be 
proven correct on this issue – that JKR may well NOT particularly 
value the Slytherin characteristics of craftiness and ambition, 
particularly ambition of the "whatever it takes/watch out for 
yourself" variety.<  

Betsy Hp:
The thing is, JKR *has* shown that she approves of cunning, 
shrewdness and ambition.  Just about all of her heroes evidence such 
skills.  Harry is *constantly* manipulating the Dursleys.  Hermione 
has black-mailed Skeeter and out-thought Umbridge with amazing 
shrewdness.  Harry is highly ambitious on the quidditch pitch, and 
Hermione is probably one of the most ambitious witches currently 
attending Hogwarts.  And my goodness, Dumbledore is crafty enough to 
win praise from a Slytherin!

HOWEVER, I do think JKR feels that those skills need to be tempered 
by a certain amount of bravery and chivalry (for want of a better 
word).  There's a reason that the good Slytherins of past 
generations have a Gryffindor to lead them.  Niguellus is cool, but 
he needs a Dumbledore to keep him in line.  Snape too, benefits from 
Dumbledore's leadership (and may well need Lupin to prevent his 
early demise).  The good Slytherin of Harry's generation will, I 
think, need to follow Harry's lead, allow Harry's Gryffindor traits 
to keep his (or her) Slytherin traits in line.

I have a sneaking suspision that JKR feels a good person has traits 
from all four of the Hogwarts houses.  Bravery, intelligence, a good 
work ethic, and yes some measure of cunning and ambition, create a 
well balanced person.  And an army made up of those four traits 
would be very formidable indeed.

In fact, IMO part of CoS was to show Harry that, as long as he let 
his Gryffindor side take lead, the Slytherin side of himself was a 
necessary and good part of him too.  Dumbledore specifically lists 
Harry's Slytherin traits in a positive way while assuring Harry that 
he was indeed a Gryffindor.

>>Lupinlore:
>Thus, in the case of the "Good Slytherin," I think this will be 
someone who doesn't fit the Slytherin mold all that well. I doubt we 
will see this as someone who makes Harry realize that he has judged 
the values of Slytherin house unfairly, but rather someone who makes 
Harry realize good people can survive even in a hostile environment.<

Betsy Hp:
The thing that makes me uncomfortable with that sort of thinking is 
the prejudice it encourages.  It smacks too much of the "some Jews 
may want to convert!" type thinking.  And again, it demands that we 
accept that for hundreds of years a hot-bed of evil has been allowed 
to fester at Hogwarts, which strikes me as highly illogical.

>>SSSusan:
<snip>
>Again, I think LL is correct.  I've never quite been able to grasp 
(in spite of valiant efforts by Betsy hp) where people *see* the 
evidence for the likelihood of redeemed!Draco, *especially* since 
the different-in-tone and much-more-ominous-sounding threat against 
Harry we got from Draco at the end of 5th year.  I think a change 
has *already* happened in him – he's angry and he wants revenge and 
it's moved beyond schoolboy bullying & games... or so it read to 
me.  And to me this also makes Draco's likelihood for "The Good 
Slytherin" much less than others.<

Betsy Hp:
Well, if at first you don't succeed.... <bg>  Part of the reason I 
have hopes for Draco is that he strikes me as such a lonely little 
boy.  He spent most of PS/SS trying desperately to win Harry's 
friendship and failing rather spectacularly.  It's interesting to me 
that he was the only character to try and befriend Harry *before* 
realizing who Harry was.  I'd love it if Draco finally succeeded and 
won Harry as a friend.  (And I do think that if it happens, he and 
Harry could become friends.)

What keeps the hope alive is JKR's failure to really push Draco over 
the line into total evil land.  He's been truly obnoxious to Harry 
and friends, and he's said some incredibly hateful things to 
Hermione (at his father's bidding JKR has very carefully pointed 
out), but he hasn't hurt anyone and in fact he's often provided 
(completely by mistake, I think) vital pieces of information to 
Harry.  At this point in the game, if Draco did decide to come on 
board he'd have very little to make-up for, IMO.

There have also been textual hints, I think.  In OotP we learned 
that a character could be a totally obnoxious and cruel little bully 
and still choose the good side in the end (James).  We learned that 
a character could be raised in an intensely bigoted family that they 
adored and still be repulsed by Voldemort (Regulus).  And we were 
told that sixteen is an age when life altering choices can be made 
(James and Sirius, possibly Regulus and Snape).

Then of course, there's the neon flashing sign in the Sorting Hat's 
Song chapter in OotP where Harry tempts the gods with his 
flippent, "Friends with Slytherin? Never!" remark while looking 
Right. At. Draco.  Do I smell foreshadowing?  Oh yes I do!

Throughout OotP Draco treated the changes going on at Hogwarts as 
some sort of lark.  He sucked up to Umbridge to gain access to the 
quidditch pitch, he joined the IS to make life difficult for Harry, 
but he didn't really see, IMO, that things were getting a whole lot 
more serious.  It wasn't until his father landed in Azkaban that 
things stopped being a school-boy game for him, I think.  His 
demeanor, when he confronts Harry on the stairway at the end of OotP 
is like nothing we've seen from Draco before.  He refers to his 
father as Dad, he's quiet rather than declaiming.  Draco had his 
father on a very high pedestal and the end of OotP rocked the 
foundations of Draco's world.  I think he's going to go through some 
major changes in the upcoming book.  Where those changes will lead 
him, I can't wait to find out.
 
>>Lupinlore asked:
>What would be the purpose of changing Draco? It would show no one 
is born evil, which would be an effective message. It would show the 
value of redemption. But JKR already has several characters that may 
serve that purpose, including Percy, Snape, and Pettigrew.<
 
>>SSSusan:
>Yup, I think so, too.  I suppose the problem (if one wants to 
classify it that way) is that of these three, only Snape is a 
Slytherin... and so many really want this change to happen with a 
*Slytherin.*  My preference is also for that, whether it's Goyle, 
Knott, Zabini, or whomever... I just don't think Draco is very 
likely to fit the bill... and I won't be shocked if it's not a 
Slytherin JKR chooses.  Might be, might not be.<

Betsy Hp:
I for one will be *hugely* shocked, and majorly disappointed if JKR 
lets the series end with Harry *still* thinking all Slytherins are 
evil by default.  It's such a message of bigotry and prejudice... I 
seriously equate it with judging someone by a religion.  "They may 
seem nice, but they're *Catholic* you know."  It just doesn't seem 
to fit with the grand scheme of things.

Though, I don't really equate the "good Slytherin" with redemption 
anyway.  I see it as being more about *Harry* than the Slytherins.  
It's Harry who's been raised to hate all Slytherins, so I think it's 
Harry who will need to witness something that shakes up his current 
world-view.  Here's an analogy:  If I hate all Spanish people, it's 
not Spain or Spaniards that need to change, it's my own view of that 
country.  I see Harry's view of Slytherin in a somewhat similar 
light.  

And in that sense, I think Draco is *perfect* for the good Slytherin 
role, because to Harry, Draco *is* Slytherin.  Of course, if Draco 
chooses the wrong path (because I'm hopeful, but not certain) than 
it will need to be another Slytherin who is *very* Slytherin to 
serve that role.  Again, anyone coming out of that house saying "oh 
my house is so terrible, please take me under your wing oh great and 
kind Harry Potter" leads us right back to the Jew or Catholic 
converting "You're right! My religion *is* evil!" or the Spaniard 
rejecting his country "You're right! My country-men *are* evil!" 
Which I don't think is the message JKR is trying to send.  I hope.

Betsy Hp