[HPforGrownups] Re: The Train Scene GoF / Draco's Crying (long)

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 162566

BetsyHP:
While working through Snape's worst memory Harry thinks that the twins doing 
something similar to Draco would have been alright.  But in the bathroom 
scene he's horrified when Draco is so badly hurt.  It's like Harry is forced 
to see beyond a line here to a place where his hitting Draco can actually 
cause Draco damage.  And Harry doesn't like it.

So, I'm not sure that book 7 will have Harry thinking back to the train 
scene in GoF and regreting his behavior once Draco was down.  But perhaps 
there'll be a moment where he could behave in such a way
again, and this time he chooses not to?  And um, explains to Ron and 
Hermione why he's hesitating?

Magpie:
I feel like there should be something...because I'll also add something else 
that really struck me today. I've been re-reading PS a chapter a week and at 
Chapter 8 Harry's behavior towards Draco is a really good illustration of 
James' "it's more just that he exists" or whatever James says of Snape. 
Harry's anger at Snape is something different--it's more a reaction to 
Snape's behavior towards him.  He hasn't gotten down to the nitty gritty 
with Snape yet--that's the big kahuna, I think.

It's not that Draco is never nasty to Harry, obviously.  But in their early 
confrontations Harry is completely beyond Draco in hostility immediately. In 
their first scene Draco seems unaware that he's making such a bad 
impression--Harry injects the first bit of open hostility, to which Draco 
responds with the beginnings of a sneer, but he's not quite sure enough as 
he will be in the future.  In their second meeting Draco doesn't seem to 
have had the negative reaction to Harry that Harry had to him. He insults 
Ron and Harry humiliates him--to which Draco responds with open animosity, 
but then the scene ends with Harry the clear winner.

You'd think that the only thing that would keep Draco in the game after that 
would be his own efforts, but actually Harry keeps it up all on his own, 
watching Malfoy and hating him.   I just read the Rememberall scene, and 
Harry goes from 0 to 60 in seconds, calling him out. Draco's always 
obviously the worse boy in terms of character, but that doesn't always 
translate into aggression in every scene. It's actually different than the 
way Snape bothers him.

It's really kind of brilliant the way it's done.  Draco seems like he's 
doing more than he is, because Harry describes behavior of Draco's that's 
got nothing to do with Harry and imbues it with aggression.  Harry sees 
Draco's behavior as being intentionally offensive to Harry, thus Harry's 
behavior always seems defensive--it's a common thing (popular on the 
Internet, especially on anonomemes). But perhaps that's part of Harry's 
shock--it's quite possibly the only time in canon when Harry can't slot 
Malfoy's behavior into one of his two categories: intentionally annoying or 
paying for such in some way. That's one thing missing in the bathroom--for 
the first time Harry can see Draco as playing a different role, with his own 
defense being more than defense.

Oddly, noticing the way Harry describes Draco in those scenes in PS added 
something to Draco's usual behavior for me, because I just never buy the 
idea that Draco's just so stuck up he can't get it through his head Harry 
always beats him because that's just not Draco's character. Draco's 
*particularly* sensitive to getting hurt--twitching at the mention of 
Moody's name, getting jumpy in Hagrid's class.  There's no way he doesn't 
remember getting hit by Harry and his friends; but his need to provoke is 
stronger.  What suddenly struck me in reading (with amusement) ickle!Harry's 
immediate and true hatred of Malfoy was that I could actually suddenly see 
what part of the appeal might be. Sure nobody likes to get beaten up, but if 
you've got somebody who always seems so close to blowing his stack around 
you, I can see making it into a show to give yourself a little more control.

Obviously that's not meant as some claim that Malfoy's provocations of Harry 
are Harry's fault or *only* coming out of what I just described. I was just 
kind of pleased to for once be able to imagine them from Draco's pov and do 
something besides cringe. It's a believable-especially for this 
character-attempt at turn around.

Not that this make Harry James--I don't think any parallels in canon are 
supposed to work perfectly, and these two pairs reflect each other in lots 
of different ways.  Harry doesn't pick on Malfoy the way James picked on 
Snape--though perhaps that's also got to do with Malfoy not reacting like 
Snape as well. But Harry does, I think, as early as PS have Malfoy firmly 
slotted into the place that readers often put him as well, as someone who's 
so full of himself that he's always due to be brought down a peg--and can be 
without any real hurt because his ego is so incredibly huge to begin with 
how could it ever be bruised?  (We maybe see a similar cycle with Percy and 
the twins.)

With Snape the situation's interesting because the vulnerability is 
different.  Harry is seeing Snape without dignity being bullied, but Snape 
is still in public so he's covering his personal vulnerability as much as he 
can. Draco crying is the next level up because Draco's alone. Harry 
sometimes has to be reminded that even his friends have their own inner 
lives and problems, so it's got to be even more difficult for his enemies, 
who are even more different (and that's what Harry named Draco as by using 
the spell).

-m