ACID POPS and Teenager Draco

[Mike]

No: HPFGUIDX 157485

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Magpie" <belviso at ...> wrote:
>
> > Neri:
> > Yes, well, that would kind of give things away, don't you think? 
> > But you have to see that "nobody can help me" is totally OOC for 
> > Draco.
> 
> Magpie:
> It wouldn't give things away, it would just put things in the 
> story.  It's not like there's a mystery here we're wondering about
> Snape and Narcissa. In fact, if there is Snape/Narcissa going on  
> it's the two of them who are acting OOC when they don't refer to  
> it (except through author narration that fits the non-romantic but 
> equally intense scene just as well) <snip>

Mike:
I'm not a SHIPper and therefore HBP was only half a book for me. I 
really don't care about who SHIPs with who. But even I could read 
the sensual tension in that scene between Snape and Narcissa. As 
Betsy noted, this is a children's series, JKR couldn't have written 
that scene any more lustily than she did without getting herself in 
trouble with her young audience (or more likely, their Parents).

Still, I think you must be denying the obvious to not see the S&N 
undertone. Whether you want to classify it as romantic, idolization, 
or simple lust, well, I'll leave that to the SHIP-ers. Though,  ever 
since Snapes twitch in GoF I've wondered what's going on between 
Snape and the Malfoys and ACID POPS works as well as anything else, 
for me, for now. 

> Magpie continues:
> Draco himself is not acting OOC, he's reacting to new  
> circumstances.  (Not that help has much helped him in the past-- 
> the character is perpetually disappointed in canon.) Things have  
> changed for Draco, his storyline in HBP is all about isolating him
> so that he has to be alone with his thoughts and ultimately be 
> able to learn who he really is and make a decision standing on 
> his own (I got this far...they all thought I'd die). <snip>

Mike:
I do agree with Neri in as much as I see Draco acting ooc, but I 
think that was the whole point. We are suppose to notice the 
contrast between Harry and Draco. IOW, "you need your friends" 
vs. "nobody can help me". Both of them get assigned tasks in this 
book, Draco in the beginning, Harry at the end. But Draco only sees 
the glory that will be his, while Harry only sees the peril. Draco 
won't even tell his two goon friends what he's doing, Harry tells 
Ron and Hermione everything. Draco won't accept help when it's 
offered, Harry solicits help from everybody (though he doesn't get a 
lot of cooperation).

So what is ooc for Draco? He may be a bungler but he's suppose to be 
smarter than what he's exhibiting. And he knows fixing the cabinets 
is NOT what's going to bring him glory, killing Dumbledore is. Plus, 
he has already solicited help from Borgin and whoever is suppose to 
be applying the pressure on him. Even he should be able to figure 
out that LV doesn't care who helps him fix the cabinet as long as he 
remains discrete and doesn't reveal the plan behind the repair. And 
he *knows* Snape is on his side ("he isn't working for you, you just 
think he is"). He's a Slytherin and he's a Malfoy, surely he could 
figure out how to bring Snape aboard without spilling the whole 
story.

> Magpie again:
> In the story there are plenty of reasons give for this that are 
> far more connected to the plot and things Harry can relate to 
> than a minor love subplot. <snip>

Mike:
Yes, but you've only come to that conclusion because *you* don't see 
a good reason for it, not because it isn't plausible. And how is 
the 'minor love subplot' of Tonks-Lupin suppose to be helping Harry 
at this point in the story? And since when has JKR limited the 
number of reasons for a character's actions, especially Snape's?
I'm not saying that Draco is motivated by any suspicion of a Snape-
Narcissa love affair, but that doesn't preclude it being a factor 
for Snape. (IMO there's way too mant love themes in HBP, and I don't 
think that's why most people read HP. JKR just isn't a romance 
novelist so why is she trying to play one?)

> Magpie:
> In the last scene Draco's literally surrounded by DEs who don't  
> act because the Dark Lord says Draco's got to do it. And he  
> doesn't ask any of hem for help either, despite their not having  
> an affair with his mother.

Mike:
I'm betting that you wish you hadn't written these two lines. Since 
the rest of your argument is reasoned, why add these two silly 
sentences? Draco doesn't ask this 'brutal force' to "steal his 
glory", because this IS where he would get his glory, not fixing a 
cabinet, and you know that.

<huge snip> 
> > Neri:
> > So in order to explain Draco's irrational behavior here you 
> > must introduce the Teenage Irrationality Factor.
> 
> Magpie:
> I introduced the Draco Emotional factor. Most characters in HP  
> have an emotional factor that is a bigger motivation than the  
> logical thing to do. Of course, HP is also fond of "teenagers are 
> idiots" being an important thing to remember.

Mike:
I agree with Magpie here. Far more likely that Draco's deteriorating 
emotional state has led him to act irrationally. 

<snip>
> Magpie:
> I think the whole storyline is about a fundamental change in Draco 
> as a character.  He's not only reacting to outside complications,
> he's left alone with himself--his true self--for the first time.
> 
<snip> 
> If Draco's been betrayed by a family member that family member  
> would be LUCIUS.  The one whose claims about what it was like 
> being a Death Eater were completely false, the one who got himself 
> arrested, the one who got Voldemort focused on killing Draco to   
> begin with, the one who didn't prepare Draco for what he was going 
> to face.  The one whose place he's got to take. Draco has been 
> betrayed by the adults in his life, but not by Narcissa 
> fooling around on Lucius.

Mike:
YESSS!! IMO, These two are the most important reasons and basis for 
Draco's actions throughout the book. The first is JKR contrasting 
Draco with Harry, the second is Draco's the character getting 
blindsided.



As I have admitted, I'm not a Shipper. I find the love themes 
tedious even if JKR needs them in her story, so maybe I'm going to 
show my ignorance here. See PoA is my favorite book, must have read 
it 20 times if I read it once, but if this is where LOLLIPOPS got 
started I just don't see it. OK, there, I said it. I may feel stupid 
but I also feel better. <g>

Mike, feeling glad he got that off his chest.