Rita - Luna and the Qubbler

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 169632

Marion wrote:
> > Yes, but the point I think sistermagpie was making is that if Rita
 had printed pure bollocks, and insulting, damaging and vicious 
bollocks at that, about, say, the Malfoys, then Harry and co would've
loved Rita Skeeter. Rita would be seen as an ally and a friend and the
fact that she prints lies for profit and political ends would not
matter to Harry and Hermione in the slightest.
> <snip>
> 
Charles replied:
> 
> Excuse me? We have already seen that Harry defends even those who
have hurt him. Including Draco Malfoy. In COS, when Malfoy is being
accused of being Slytherin's heir, and Harry is asked whether he
thinks it is possible, he responds with a resounding no. <snip>

Carol responds:

Um, erm, have you read CoS lately? Harry doesn't defend Draco when Ron
suggests that Draco could be the Heir of Slytherin. He accepts the
suggestion. It's Hermione who's skeptical, not because she's defending
Draco's goodness but because she doubts that he has that kind of
power. Here's the exchange:

"'Who can it be, though?' [Hermione] said in a quiet voice. . . . .
'Who'd *want* to frighten all the Squibs and Muggle-borns out of
Hogwarts?'

"'Let's think,' said Ron in mock puzzlement. 'Who do we know that
thinks all Muggle-borns are scum?' 

"He looked at Hermione. Hermione looked back, unconvinced. 'If you're
talking about Malfoy--'

"'Of course I am!' said Ron. 'You heard him. '*You'll be next,
Mudbloods*--come on. You've only got to look at his foul rat face to
know it's him.' (Oops, Ron!)

''Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?' asked Hermione skeptically.

"'Look at his family,' said Harry, closing his books, too. 'The whole
lot of them have been in Slytherin: he's always boasting about it.
They could easily be Slytherin's descendants. His father's definitely
evil enough." 

"'They could've had the key to the Chamber of Secrets for centuryies!'
said Ron, handing it down, father to son. . . .'

"'Well, I suppose it's possible,' said Hermione. 

"'But how do we prove it?' said Harry darkly" (SS Am. ed. 138-39,
ellipses in original).

The whole reason that HRH brew and take the Polyjuice potion is to spy
on Draco, suspecting or believing him to be Slytherin's Heir. (He, of
course, turns up his nose at the idea that *Harry* could be
Slytherin's Heir despite Harry's ability to speak Parseltongue.)

As of CoS, Harry regards Draco as his "archenemy" (8), and when the
Twins suggest that a fellow student could have sent Dobby to Harry as
a joke to prevent him from attending Hogwarts, both Harry and Ron
immediately suspect Draco as being the prankster. "He hates me," adds
Harry (29).

I think that Harry's attitude toward Draco is beginning to change as
of GoF: not that he likes him any better, but he sees him as less of a
threat, not so much an "archenemy" as an annoyance--someone who relies
on his father's power to make mischief to try to get Hagrid fired. But
I can't think of an instance in which he defends Draco. They're still
hexing each other in the hallways as of OoP. He thinks that it would
be a terrible thing to humiliate someone by turning them publicly
upside down to reveal their underwear--unless the person was Draco
Malfoy. In HBP, Harry (unlike Ron and hermione) stops underestimating
Draco, rightly suspecting that Draco has taken his father's place as a
Death Eater, but having been Petrified and had his face trodden on by
Draco after rather stupidly spying on him on the Hogwarts Express,
he's in no mood to defend him (not that he would defend such a
decision in any case).

As of CoS, Harry is as ready as Ron to suspect Draco of any crime
based solely on his being in Slytherin and his belief in pureblood
supremacy. (Ron adds his appearance, which on a rereading suggests
Peter Pettigrew without the fat body.) By HBP, he has better cause to
suspect him--knowledge that he supports Voldemort and wants revenge
for his father's imprisonment. But he also learns (by accidentally
almost killing him) that he doesn't want Draco dead and feels for the
first time a touch of pity for him when he sees that Draco, despite
the terrible pressure on him, can't bring himself to kill Dumbledore.
But he still holds Draco in contempt for his prejudice against
Muggleborns and his support of Voldemort.

Carol, expecting Harry and Draco to reach some sort of understanding
in DH but thinking that Harry's forgiveness of his enemies is still a
work in progress as of HBP