Draco and Sirius (was Re: Apologies and responsibility)

[rlai1977]

No: HPFGUIDX 139323

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, <lady.indigo at g...> wrote:
> And I would usually agree with you there in terms of reality. I 
> just think that in Rowling's mind this is less so. Draco's never 
> been excused from how he acts based on who his father is, though 
> JKR's beginning now to flesh him out a bit with the fact that 
> while he talks a big evil game he doesn't have anything to back it 
> up with. 

The way I see it, Draco's arc is about a boy who has every reason to
become as bad as his father, and yet doesn't. People are product of
nature and nirture, and finally their choices. I think by the end of
HBP it would seem that while Draco, the son of a DE, has been
following daddy's footsteps for the past 17 years, is starting to
re-examine his stance and might, just *might* choose to walk a
different path.

>Besides, considering all the pressure put on Draco and 
> the way his father screams at him for being beaten by a Mudblood 
> female, I'm not sure that Draco's home life is as free of problems 
> as you think, whether or not he's been pampered.

Oh I agree! Instead of saying he has a "good" relationship with
Lucius, which would suggest that their relationship is "healthy" which
it definitely isn't, I should've just said that they er, "got along".
Draco doesn't seem to realize that what Lucius does to him is verbal
abuse/mind control, at least not to the extent it drives him to an
antagonistic position to Lucius. 

> I also don't know where I ever excused Snape his prejudices, 
> though since he himself was a halfblood and the only time we see 

Oh I don't think you *excused* Snape's prejudices, just that I think
you are cutting him more slack for reasons I don't quite agree with.
Firstly, being a half-blood necessary means not much prejudices to
begin with? Then what is Voldemort, a character from another series ^^?

> him expressing anything along those lines is towards Lily, which I
>believe was out of embarrassment/trying to save face (wrongly, of
course!), I doubt he even had those prejudices very much to begin >with. 

The first time Draco called Hermione a mudblood, which was
coincidentally the first time he ever used that word in canon, was
when Hermione humiliated him in front of the Griffindor and Slytherin
teams by pretty much saying he bought his way to the team instead of
on his own talent. Of course at that time Draco was already being mean
to the Gryffindor team (hence Hermione butted in), but nevertheless
the two situations were quite similar (I believed intentionally so)-
Draco, like Snape, was humiliated, and the first thing they thought of
to insult the girl with was a racist slur.

I am not excusing Draco nor Snape here, simply point out the similarity.

>He joined the Death Eaters out of a need for power and attention, 

The reason Snape joined the DEs was never revealed, nor implied, what
you are saying here is a *theory*. He could very well have joined
because he was at the time misguided to believe in pure blood
supremacy, nothing in canon goes against that. But the fact that he
had willingly joined a group that was all about blood prejudice, kind
of suggests to me he did have quite a bit of prejudice himself.

>in my mind, not because he wanted the wizarding world pure. Not to
mention I brought Draco up as completely separate 
> from Snape to begin with.

True, my bad to jump in and focus on just one segment of your post ;-)
It just so happens that Sirius being a good example of how one can
(implied: easily) fight off the prejudices their parents pass on to
them, and that Snape was never a big racist the way Draco is etc are
two of my biggest pet peeves in this fandom- I just don't get them.

RP