[HPforGrownups]Harry and Draco WAS: Dumbledore WAS: Re: Love and Joy vs. Hate and Despair

[Birgitta Karlsson]

No: HPFGUIDX 190948

> Geoff:
> Draco obviously wanted to show off at Madam Malkins and also on the 
> train. But it is feasible that the two of them could possibly have got to 
> know each other at least a little better if Harry's views had not already 
> been coloured against Slytherin.
>
> Harry is eleven; he is a new member of a strange world; he is 
> impressionable. Any child of eleven is. Most children of eleven will 
> want to gravitate towards someone they can identify with when in a new 
> situation. Hagrid is almost a father figure at that point in time. He has 
> "rescued" Harry from Privet Drive, taken him around Diagon Alley, and
> talks about his parents. So he is someone whose information is to be 
> valued. Ron is the same age and is willing to be friendly so Harry is 
> also taking in all that Ron has to tell him and also subconsciously 
> absorbing information which could be biased. Just remember Ron's 
> reaction on first meeting Hermione. It was a long time before the 
> founding of the Trio.
>
> So why disastrous? Because even at these initial meetings, the 
> foundations are laid for what became a long running dislike and 
> feud between the two which was to waste time, lead to attempts 
> to harm each other, even cloud their judgements. 
>
> I believe that Draco was lonely. He is an only child and Crabbe and 
> Goyle were poor company for him; he is intelligent and resourceful 
> and also brainwashed to an extent by his father. Who knows what 
> might have happened if at least some sort of truce had existed 
> between them? There was evidence later in the books that there 
> it could have happened if Draco had had time to react to 
> Dumbledore's offer. Narcissa probably saved Harry's life and Draco 
> was in turn saved by Harry.
>
> OK, OK, I know it would have demolished the plot. Our characters 
> have to do what they do because the author said so. But a little 
> AU (Alternate Universe) speculation can be fun sometimes. It might 
> have got rid of the epilogue <vbg>.

  
Birgitta:
Let's see. At that first meeting at Madame Malkin, Harry hasn't even 
heard the name Slytherin so he can't be coloured against Slytherin. 
After Draco has said a couple of sentences "Harry was strongly reminded 
of Dudley." And I don't think Harry meant any physical resemblance so it 
must be Draco's behavior/attitude that he found was similar to Dudleys.
Then Draco goes on to insult Hagrid, and when he founds out that Harry's 
parents are dead he seems more interested in making sure that "they were 
our kind" than feeling sorry for Harry. And then Draco says all that 
about how they shouldn't let the other sort in to the school and that 
they should just keep it in the old wizarding families.

Yes, I can see why Harry would want to be friends with Draco. /sarcasm.

Yes, Hagrid then says that line about how every dark witch and wizard 
has been in Slytherin, and Ron says something on the train that he hopes 
he's not sorted into Slytherin. That's all that's beeing said about 
Slytherin before the next encounter with Draco.

Yes, at that second meeting Draco sounds more interested in Harry than 
in that first meeting, but that's just because now he knows who Harry is.

Harry and Draco not being friends has little or nothing to do with any 
biased views Harry may have had against Slytherin and more to do with 
Draco himself and his behaviour/attitude.

And brainwashed? Really? Do you have any canon evidence that Draco was 
brainwashed by his father?

And I liked the epilougue.

Birgitta