[HPforGrownups] Re: Draco is quite the wizard

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 160551

Carol:
There are also the badges he made in GoF, changing from "Support Cedric 
Diggory, the real Hogwarts champion" to "Potter Stinks!"

Magpie:
This is something I really appreciated more in re-reading GoF after OotP. 
JKR's set up a subtle little minor arc for Draco/Hermione (not the ship, 
just the two characters).  I agree the badges are Draco's creation (a nice 
way to forshadow his ability to fix the Vanishing Cabinet in HBP which may 
have taken all year but was unable to be fixed for years before that), and I 
have come to think the "Potter Stinks!" was possibly put in specifically for 
Hermione.  Draco calls her attention to the badges specifically (she herself 
has made SPEW badges) and I can easily imagine that he booby trapped them 
with the idea that Hermione would be the one to try to turn them against 
him.

Hermione may not concern herself with Malfoy, but I think it's a good choice 
for Draco to be aware of this sort of thing.  One of the things that CoS 
sets up about what's wrong with the Pureblood ideology is how it's not 
really empowering.  According to Lucius anything Draco does right is 
expected because of his blood, but if he fails it's his own fault and he's 
betraying his blood.  He can't just honestly be beaten by someone like 
Hermione because she's Muggleborn.  So I like that in the character's 
limited page time he seems to have never let go of Hermione's real 
competence and smarts in his mind, even consciously learning from her in HBP 
after Lucius set that conflict up in B&B. It's a good area for him to be 
testing on his own.

It makes him an interesting favorite for Snape too, imo.  I agree Snape 
doesn't coddle him; I think they both bring something to the relationship 
the other likes.  Snape's favor, the fact that he seems to believe Draco has 
talent, probably spurs Draco to work harder, and Draco's respect of Snape 
and desire to please him probably makes Snape more inclined to teach him. 
Snape's own personality was very different--he seems to in some ways have 
had a different conflict with blood.  If he felt inadequate as a Half-blood 
he also seemed to have an exceptional mind.  (He may still have felt 
overlooked, though, in favor of students like James and Sirius.)

I've just always found the Draco/Snape dynamic interesting, and always 
thought their affection was geniune.  They are both very different 
personalities with different strengths and I like thinking about places 
where they might truly have an understanding.

-m