Draco and Daddy (was: Why did Draco do it?)

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 125457


>>Hannah:
<snip>
>I would also say that we don't really know how academically 
competitive Draco is or isn't - there's not enough information.<

Betsy:
I base my idea that Draco is academically competitive on a couple of 
things from canon.   There's the scene with his father where he's 
admonished for not beating a Muggleborn witch in CoS. Then there's 
the scene in OotP when Snape hands out Potion papers and Draco acts 
shocked when Snape says some of the class failed, IIRC.  He also 
mocks Harry for taking remedial potions.  None of this puts Draco on 
level with Hermione in academic interest, of course, but it shows 
that he does have *some* interest in grades, and sees failure as a 
bad thing.  It also shows that his father is interested in his 
grades, and if his father wants him to do well academically, I 
imagine Draco is interested as well.  Dudley, on the other hand, 
seemed completely uninterested in school work, and his parents, 
unfortunately, encouraged him in this.

>>Betsy:
>The sweets from home could be from Narcissa (out of love, out of 
appearances?), they could be from a house-elf.  We don't know.<

>>Hannah:
>I doubt the packages are from a house elf.  Dobby was the Malfoy's 
house-elf and at no point has he ever shown any interest in or 
affection for Draco.  I don't think that it's a case of poor-little-
Draco being looked after by the kindly elves.  Even if the elves 
make the packages themselves, it would be at the instruction of 
Narcissa, so she must have some interest in her son.<

Betsy:
I agree with you, Hannah.  I threw out the house-elf idea just as a 
random suggestion.  More than likely the packages come from Narcissa 
because she cares about her son.  I was just trying to point out 
that we really don't know what the mother-son relationship is like 
because we've seen so little of it.  And most of our information is 
second hand or open to interpertation.  JKR could take this side of 
the story in any direction, really, and not contradict herself.  
(Though I doubt we'll learn much more than we otherwise know.  Draco 
is interesting, but he's not the main character, and barely one of 
the secondaries.  Unless he becomes the much anticipated "good 
Slytherin" there's no knowing if his character will become more 
fleshed out, and more of his history shared.)

>>Hannah: 
>We only see Draco once in the whole of that holiday, for all of 
about ten minutes.  He might have been doing *anything.*  And Lucius 
is a governor at the school - I don't think he needs Draco's input 
to be able to find out if anything major happens.  And for 
everything else heir-related he has Snape - who should be reliable 
from Lucius' POV on this matter.<

Betsy:
I didn't think of Snape here (D'oh!).  He *would* be a good 
informer.  Unless, maybe Lucius was making absolutely sure that no 
one knew of his involvement?  It was a pretty dangerous game he was 
playing, and the less folks who knew, the more secure the secret.  
Lucius may have been the only person who knew about the diary and 
him putting it into play.  If that was the case, leaving Draco at 
school for Christmas would be a good way to stay informed.  Draco 
wouldn't even need to realize his father's role in anything.  Lucius 
could just act interested for curiousity's sake, and Draco would 
keep him in the know.  As to Lucius being a school-governor, I think 
the Hogwarts staff were trying to keep things as hushed as 
possible.  So they may have delayed getting information to the 
board.  

This is all conjecture, of course.  I don't think there's anything 
in canon to tell us one way or another. Same with the Draco as the 
Slytherin Sleuth.  I would think he and the Trio would have crossed 
paths at some point, if he'd been working the mystery too, but not 
necessarily.
 
>>Hannah:  
>We know nothing about what Lucius was trying to do in PS/SS, as we 
don't see him.  He is a school governor in CoS, and I suspect he was 
in PS/SS.  I doubt that he suddenly decided to enter politics at the 
start of CoS - I think he's been schmoozing his way in from the day 
he 'recovered from the Imperius Curse.'<

Betsy:
A lot of my ideas on Lucius come from this essay, which I've pimped 
here before and will not hesitate to do again <g>:

http://www.livejournal.com/community/hp_essays/7250.html

It's not the entire thrust of the essay, but the author talks about 
Lucius staying pretty low after his "imperius curse" tale, mainly 
because he made a deal with Crouch, Sr.  Though even if you don't 
buy the deal theory, it *does* make sense that if Lucius got away 
with being a Death Eater, he'd do his best to not rock the boat, 
unless he felt he had no choice.

When we are introduced to him in CoS he's suddenly selling off dark 
items and taking a huge risk to try and taint Arthur Weasley and 
possibly remove Dumbledore from Hogwarts.  It's around this time 
that he gets to know Fudge (we know they're not old buddies, because 
Fudge doesn't know his wife and son in GoF) and starts donating gobs 
of money to worthy causes, and making a general display of his 
wealth.  Why?  And why now?

I think the key to Lucius' behavior is given at the opening of CoS, 
when Arthur Weasley comes back from a midnight raid.  Weasley, and 
his folk, are raiding Malfoy, and his folk.  In a sense, Weasley has 
declared war on Malfoy, so Malfoy is fighting back, using the 
weapons at his disposal.  So I *do* think that Lucius has "suddenly 
decided" to enter politics, because he's been given no choice.  (Not 
that I'm saying Arthur should have left Lucius alone: sometimes you 
have to tickle the dragon. hee!  I punned the Hogwarts' motto!  I'm 
clever! <bg>)

>>Hannah:  
>It depends how subtly Lucius has planted the idea into Draco's 
head.  By your own argument, I doubt Draco would do anything that he 
thinks his father would disapprove of.  
<snip>
>But I can't see that he would have such an extreme adversion to 
Draco that he wouldn't be able to bear to spend a few minutes at 
least suggesting that he might want to get to know Harry Potter.<

Betsy:
There's truth to that. Lucius could have suggested Harry Potter as a 
friend in such a manner that Draco thought it was his idea.  And if 
it was something Lucius was interested in, he wouldn't hesitate to 
set his son to the task.  So yes, it *could* have happened that 
way.  I just doubt that it was Draco's prime motivating factor in 
approaching Harry, and I also doubt it was his prime motive for 
trying to become friends.  I think Draco was genuinely interested in 
befriending Harry Potter, both before he knew who Harry was, and 
after.

Betsy