Draco and Intent: Re: Snape and Harry’s Sadism (was: Lack of re-examination)

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 186809

Montavllla47 wrote:
<snip>
> I never once connected the Troll incident to the James/Snape relationship.  Probably because we didn't know anything about the situation where James saved Snape.  From the beginning, it sounded like something that happened later in their school days--and the clear parallel was drawn by Dumbledore between James/Snape and Draco/Harry.  
> 
> Which, when you think about it, practically screams foreshadowing for Harry or Draco to save the other--so that we can the new generation creating a happier outcome.
> 
> Which is what happens--Harry does save Draco from the fiendfyre, and, although they never become friends, Draco doesn't seem to be holding a grudge about it.

Carol responds:
I don't see a connection between Harry and Ron's saving Hermione and James's saving Severus, chiefly because one happened in first year to a girl who apparently already wanted to be friends with Ron and Harry and the other to a teenage boy saved by his enemy. Had *James* held Harry's view that you can't face a mountain troll/werewolf together without becoming friends, perhaps matters would be different, but, of course, as an Animagus, he had the upper hand. (The only thing I can figure out is that he must have Stunned Severus from behind before transforming since even the adult Snape didn't know that any of the four were Animagi.) At any rate, James, who had apparently saved Severus for exactly the reason that Snape says later, to keep himself and his friends out of trouble, thought nothing of sneaking up on Severus two against one only a week later. Severus had little reason to be grateful to a rescuer like that, much less to desire to befriend him. As for James, he hadn't changed his opinion of Severus; unlike Harry in his rescue of Hermione, his reasons had nothing to do with Severus's worth as a human being or concern for his safety or his life. It was all about himself and his friends.

Harry's rescue of Draco is also different from James's rescue of Severus. He didn't care at that moment who Draco was, he simply didn't want him or Goyle to die. And he understood Draco better than James understood Severus; he had seen him fail to kill Dumbledore and had felt a touch of pity for him; he had himself nearly killed Draco through his foolish use of an unknown spell labeled "for enemies" the previous year and knew that he didn't want him dead; and now he sees the wandless, helpless Draco cradling his unconscious friend in his arms (a revelation in itself--Draco actually cares about Goyle and even "C-Crabbe," who has nearly killed them all). We see Harry's moral superiority to Ron (and I like Ron, so it pains me to say it), who only reluctantly rescues Goyle when Harry can't hold both him and Draco. (At least Ron does say later that he would have been sorry that Crabbe had died if he hadn't tried to kill them all.)

Draco has the grace to acknowledge Harry with a nod rather than remaining his enemy, but, then, Harry has saved the whole WW from Voldemort. It's very different from James, whose next act after saving Severus for wholly selfish reasons is to publicly humiliate him.

I think that the contrast is not so much between Draco and Severus (or Hermione), the rescued victims, as between Harry and James, the rescuers, one an arrogant toerag who eventually developed more noble qualities and the other a humanitarian hero who can pity even an enemy.

Carol, noting that both Harry and Ron had tried vainly to rescue Wormtail from the strangling grip of his silver hand, in contrast to Lupin and Black, who would have killed him had Harry not stopped them