Draco ships and why I don't get many of the more popular ones

[author_by_night]

Note: This isn't an attack on the ships themselves, nor the shippers. It is simply my thoughts on the ship. That said - feel free to tell me if you disagree (or feel I was harsh).

In this essay, I'm going to focus on the two most popular Draco ships: Hermione/Draco and Harry/Draco. (Though I'm not sure if Hermione/Draco's as popular as it used to be).

The main problem with those two, in my opinion, is that they have both been hurt by Draco immensley.

According to Draco's current philosophy, Hermione is a no-good "Mudblood," with no-good parents. She shouldn't be allowed a wand - and perhaps not even allowed to exist.

Lily Potter, Harry's mother, was also supposedly a no-good "Mudblood", whose death was well deserved. She and James asked for it, and Draco has not hesitated to remind Harry of this now and then.

For Hermione/Draco, the counter-argument to that I often see is, "but he'll be redeemed!" With Harry/Draco, it's often "they work past that."

There are people who will work past that, yes. But again, two issues arise.

First, Hermione takes pride in who she is, and Harry's parents are the meaning of his life. They died to save him. So I don't think either of them are going to get over that, especially Harry. His parents are his world.And Hermione, while she doesn't seem particularly close with her parents, does seem to think highly of them. People who have stable relationships with their parents aren't going to date men who would gladly have witnessed their murders - even if they've "come clean." That's not something you'll forget.

Second, Hermione and Harry are two of the most unforgiving people we see in canon, except for Sirius and Snape. Harry pretty much stalked, and even nearly murdered (albeit on accident) Draco throughout HBP. Hermione, to her defense, didn't take part in the stalking, but she led Umbridge into the forest (which, while that was self defense, was still disturbing because of the lack of fear later. Nearly killing someone isn't something to shrug off, no matter what).

Even if Draco did redeem himself - and to be honest, after HBP I'm not sure he won't - he isn't going to ever be a nice person, and I definitely don't ever see him being forgiven enough by Harry and Hermione for a stable romance.

 

 

 

Comments

[linda-lupos.livejournal.com]

Good essay. You're right, a romance with Draco would take an enormous leap for both Harry and Hermione. It MIGHT be possible in the hands of a very good writer, and if the story's set several years from now when both are adults, but even then it'd take a lot of forgiving and changing on Draco's part - I just can't see Hermione and Harry changing to Draco's ways of thinking.

[purple-ladybug1.livejournal.com]

I have read some very believable Draco/Hermione fics, and with recent essays on Draco's character, I do believe they are entirely possible. (Although, with R/Hr confirmed, you'd have to deal with that, which could be tricky). They all boiled down to Draco not really believing what he said. He was just spouting off what his dad had always said. (Look at the DS for a link to the essay/discussion on Draco). One fic had Draco sort of being a double agent like Snape (Roman Holiday, witchfics.org, by Anna). The other had him delaying actual involvement with the Dark Lord, using the excuse that he would be more useful if he was considered on the good side. Then eventually openly defying Voldemort. Also, in this one (can't recall title), he was Head Boy and Hermione was Head Girl, and he started the year off being polite to her.

This is sort of jumbled thoughts, sorry. But if Ron was handled well, I think Draco/Hermione is plausible. (Oh, and those two fics were pre-HBP, so R/Hr wasn't canon, but the authors still handled Ron pretty well).

[askani.livejournal.com]

whoa, when did R/Hr become confirmed? i must have missed it.

[bhriste.livejournal.com]

Icon Loff!

[jan-aq.livejournal.com]

What about Draco/Ginny?

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I think it's more plausible than H/D and Hr/D, because Ginny doesn't have as much to hold against Draco, but that it still isn't overly plausible.

[abbers44.livejournal.com]

I don't totally get Hermione/Draco, but... *whips out H/D flag*

I understand what you mean, but I think that's a big part of the allure of H/D. It isn't easy, it isn't pretty, but it's there. The most popular H/D fics are the ones that hurt to read. There's very little popular H/D fluff out there, if you look.

After OotP, there was a whole freakout from the H/D fandom because it seemed like Draco didn't matter to Harry at all. But the thing is, and as we can see in HBP, Draco matters so much to Harry. Harry needs that consistancy he finds in Draco, the voice of that one person who doesn't regard him as a hero.

And yes, Harry isn't one to forgive and forget and neither is Draco - Harry denies him friendship and look what happens. But that's the beauty of it all. It isn't easy, it isn't safe, it isn't that warm, comforting idea of love. It's dangerous and impossible and angry and that's what makes it work.

I think bookshop said it best: Shipping H/D is about stripping prejudice and preconceptions away until you are left with a Harry who is willing to see Draco as Draco wants him to see him.

You're right, it isn't stable, but that's why it's so great.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

See, I think instability makes for a bad relationship that won't work. I've known people in instable relationships, and they ended up hurt.

[norwegianblue47.livejournal.com]

Well, I think both ships would require a big personality change from both people involved. I never did get Draco/Hermione or Draco/Ginny. Generally, both fics make my brain confused with the universe. But Harry/Draco is one of the few slash ships with fics where both characters aren't completely OoC. I'm not defending it. 99 times out of a 100 I'd rather read Harry/Ginny, but there are fics out there with Harry/Draco where if the author is really good, it actually works. Granted, most of these were writtn pre-HBP. However, I did see some stuff in HBP that suggests that Draco could, possibly, (minute chance in hell, really, but it's there), that he could be redeemed.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Oh, I think in a sense, Draco will be. But not to a point where he'll ever be remotely close with the trio. And I don't think he'll turn, but I think he'll hesitate.

[maplesugrrrl.livejournal.com]

I apologise for interjecting with a blatant pimp so please forgive me, but I co-moderate the dmhgficexchange and for our current exchange we have 126 participants, and considering our previous two exchanges have hovered at about 80 participants, this is a pretty big leap.

Draco/Hermione tends to go in waves, but I think that the 'ship is sailing pretty strongly if I may use the most overused cliche ever. The thing I have most noticed is that there is usually a huge influx of "type" of fics based on popular or influential authors who are writing at any given time. For a while it was Romance, then PWP, then really abstract, then a very "real life" voice style, and right now it seems to be a mishmash but I find the "no hope" ending to be quite in right now. I think it has to do with people working out their feelings on HBP and Draco's role.

Following HBP there was a real lull in new fics. Prior to the release of the book, there had been a cliche list floating around and "Draco and Hermione are Head Boy and Head Girl" - in SOME capacity (be it currently, in the past, etc), and book six put a huge dent in the way that the gross majority of writers chose to put these two together. Authors are now adapting and I find that the ship is really gaining in momentum and popularity (after a definite downtime).

[a-white-rain.livejournal.com]

As a fan of both pairings, you point out exactly WHY I love them both. They make no sense, they hurt and they probably won't work out in the long run. A train-wreck, they both are.

And hot.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what you mean - do you mean, the complexity? Or something else?

[askani.livejournal.com]

there's also Ron/Draco which is along the same lines as the other ships. hopeless but yet so fun to read.

[bunney.livejournal.com]

To piggyback on what maplesugrrrl said above, Draco/Hermione is, in my opinion, going very strong. The thing is, unless you're active or even just pay attention to the pairing, you may not realize how popular it is. I write almost solely Draco/Hermione and while it's a challenge, I think I do a fine job putting them together in a believeable fashion. I mean, let's face it...is Snape/Hermione believeable? No. Harry/Snape? Absolutely not. Yet these are very popular pairings with writers who do a fine job with them.

You don't have to understand the pairing to understand that it *works*

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

But see, I see there being as much anger between Hermione and Draco as Snape and Harry.


That said, I am sure there are good D/Hr fics out there, I just haven't come across any (though I've seen Draco/Ginny written well, I believe).

[astralis-lumen.livejournal.com]

(Here from hogwarts_today)

I 'ship Draco and Hermione. You do raise good points (and I am so glad that you're respectful and polite about it, unlike a lot of people I've come across), but I must disagree on some of them.

For Hermione/Draco, the counter-argument to that I often see is, "but he'll be redeemed!"

IMHO, Draco doesn't need to be redeemed (because I can't see him as truly evil, only spouting propoganda and what he's been taught all his life, not to mention he's too wussy for evil) so much as he needs a good kick in the head and a change in perspective. HBP has done a lot of Draco-head-kicking, what with his breakdown in the washroom and hesitance to kill Dumbledore. It's a little late, but it'll do. I think Draco is truly beginning to change his perspective and the way he sees the world, especially as he's on the run with Snape, his parents' life is in danger and he's no longer in the sheltered world of Hogwarts or the Malfoy Manor. So maybe we'll see the results of a summer's worth of his life being in danger (if he doesn't die, which would really really suck) in Book 7.

First, Hermione takes pride in who she is...And Hermione, while she doesn't seem particularly close with her parents, does seem to think highly of them. People who have stable relationships with their parents aren't going to date men who would gladly have witnessed their murders - even if they've "come clean." That's not something you'll forget.

Second, Hermione and Harry are two of the most unforgiving people we see in canon...Hermione, to her defense, didn't take part in the stalking, but she led Umbridge into the forest (which, while that was self defense, was still disturbing because of the lack of fear later. Nearly killing someone isn't something to shrug off, no matter what).

Draco's hatred of Hermione's heritage is a huge obstacle, I will give you that - but people change. As I mentioned before, Draco is going under a huge amount of growing up and having to face everything he's been taught.

Hermione's manipulation of Umbridge and her almost killing of her is rather Slytherin like of her, don't you think? Hermione is definitely not the innocent, completely studious Gryffindor a lot of people seem to think she is (in my opinion, anyway), and actually has a rather high amount of Slytherin qualities - ambition (for I can't see Hermione sitting around at a low level job where she isn't intellectually challenged or helping the world in a big way, especially not with all her talents), manipulation (see: Umbridge), cleverness (she's done tons of crafty and clever things, like the coins or the DA list) and so on. As well, she has a lot of Draco's qualities - intelligence, creativity, sort of socially inept... They're more like each other than you might think.

And as for forgiving, Hermione's always been more forgiving of Draco, concerned for his safety and doubting of his evilness than Harry or Ron ever were. She gets all anxious when Draco is attacked by Buckbeak, thinks that maybe Moody went too far with the bouncing ferret incident ("He could've really gotten hurt!" or something like that). I think she'd be more willing to accept Draco's change than either of the boys - although bk11 had Harry and Ron be the ones who first accepted Draco's change in her 'Happy Hour' and Hermione bringing up a lot of the same points that you did here, yet they still get together in the end. (Definitely rec that one).

Even if Draco did redeem himself - and to be honest, after HBP I'm not sure he won't - he isn't going to ever be a nice person, and I definitely don't ever see him being forgiven enough by Harry and Hermione for a stable romance.

I don't see Draco as a nice person either. I really hate most of the stories that have Draco as this smooky wookie sweetie pie who is really Just A Gryffindor At Heart. And the path to forgiveness for Hermione will be a difficult one, despite her inclination to think better of Draco than Harry or Ron. But that is what makes the ship so interesting - the way Hermione and Draco will overcome their hatred and prejudices for each other and have lots of hot steamy sex. ;)

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

See, here's the thing - I do think Draco is definitely not evil. But he's probably never going to be a nice person, and Hermione has definitely way too much against him to forget that.


I do see your point about her being more forgiving of him - but I think there's a fine line between not thinking someone's evil, and being in love with them. (Still, very good point, it has sent me into some thought, andstill is doing so).

As for Hermione not being innocent and studious - the "innocent studious girl" is purely fandom. YOu're right; Hermione is manipulative, and definitely far from innocent.

[mistersean.livejournal.com]

I get the impression that most fans of the various Draco 'ships don't particularly care about canon plausibility...

I mean, if you stick to canon then Draco is due for some time in Azkaban for the things he did in HBP, although I guess that could lead to some sweet Draco/Dementor action :)

[bhriste.livejournal.com]

I get the impression that most fans of the various Draco 'ships don't particularly care about canon plausibility...

Okay, on the first point I'd like to concur. I mean, with all due respect to the authors, since when have the shippers of any pairing decended to explain why exactly they have put aside their differences and shag?

I'm not denying that some do, but the majority work on a premise somewere along the lines of "the got together because they just felt like it..."

Which, I hasten to point out is fine by me. Who cares, so long as the writing's hot good quality.

Some sweet Draco/Dementor action

To this second point I'd like to say...eww!

[silver-osiris.livejournal.com]

If we're going with current canon -to be fair, I honestly think the idea of any Draco ship will suffer from some instability at some point. Even in the probably closest-to-canon ship of Draco/Pansy and especially after HBP since he's basically on the run.

He's tried to walk the walk after talking the talk and ultimately is just not cut out for the role of a murderer. Does that make him more stable and nice because he couldn't off the ol' man? No. But I think it does give him something to think about. He's not perfect and will never come even close to being so.
I don't think he's nice boy at heart. I think he's cunning and more concerned about saving his own hide- but that doesn't necessarily mean it's impossible for anyone to maintain a relationship with him.

And no I'm not promoting abusive relationships in any way, but my idea of a good relationship might not be someone else's idea. I like a guy that can keep me on my toes and knows how to push my buttons. Someone I can argue with basically and who keeps things interesting. But on the outside, that to someone else may look like a bad relationship.

As far as the issue of being forgiven goes, I do think Harry and Hermione are both types to forgive, but not forget. They may eventually be like..okay the past is the past but I don't believe for one minute they would turn their back on him. And I certainly don't think Draco trusts easily if at all.

Beyond that, we haven't seen much evidence of Draco really going out of his way to hurt Hermione in a while. I think he just mostly ignores her and she's definitely past the point of being hurt (although she's probably still offended) when he throws the slurs her way. In Harry's case- I think this is a pairing of more equal footing. Harry gives it back as good as he gets. For every figurative punch Draco throws, Harry throws one back. I think that makes it more easy for Harry to forgive because he's done some nasty stuff to Draco that he has actually felt guilty for in canon (sectumsempra). Not that Draco hasn't deserved it and occassionally I've felt vice versa. I don't think one has necessarily outdone the other in being unpleasant to each other.

I'm not a fan of turning Draco into some "happily frolocking through the fields" boy. I think the key with these ships with Draco is just realizing there are somethings you'll never agree on and moving past that. All in all- if people waited around to be with someone they agreed on every little thing in the world about, they'd wait forever. I think they would just agree to disagree and so forth.

Over in all, it would never really matter to me if my ship was canon (H/D) because I'm perfectly content with the way it is now.

If anything else... all the dislike and angry tension makes for some great hatesex. ^_^

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

They may eventually be like..okay the past is the past but I don't believe for one minute they would turn their back on him. And I certainly don't think Draco trusts easily if at all.

The problem is that, in Harry's case specifically, it wouldn't be that easy. Draco hasn't just insulted Harry; he's pretty much said Harry's parents deserved death. Harry thinks the world of his parents, and I think thatatthe very least, unless Draco weree to fully apologize, he'd always feel that way.

The reverse is also true. Harry pretty much said Lucius deserved jail. Yes, that's true - he did. But Draco probably sees his father like Harry sees James, and sees Dumbledore like Harry sees Voldemort. They are both on completely different ends of the spectrum there.

Here via something

[furiosity.livejournal.com]

and I definitely don't ever see him being forgiven enough by Harry and Hermione for a stable romance.
And the Harry/Draco and Hermione/Draco shippers do. Just because you don't see something doesn't mean everyone else shouldn't. As you said, these are your thoughts, but you are not the authority on which ships can work and which can't. Shippers write fan fiction, where they invent their own storylines with the help of which their characters of choice can and do get together. Of course most Harry/Draco and Draco/Hermione shippers don't think their ship's going to happen in canon -- JKR sank Draco/Hermione years ago in an interview, and if H/D becomes canon, I will probably die of sheer surprise.

Shipping is for fun, not for serious, in short.

Re: Here via something

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I was just saying why I didn't think it worked. I never meant to convert anyone - and I happen to find the other opinions interesting.

And no, most D/H and D/Hr shippers don't think it's canon. And I agree it's for fun, I just don't see how it really makes sense.

[karaz.livejournal.com]

I could argue why Hr/R and H/G shouldn't work either. It's really all about the author's ability to create a plausible senario that keeps the characterizations accurate. I'll admit that a lot of fan-fic doesn't bother... but that is a global problem, not just these two pairings. Lazy writers are to blame.

As far as I am concerned: Snape is NOT a sexual being. I can't see him paired with anyone. I rarely read a fic where his relationships are in the foreground. Snape/Harry and Snape/Hermione make no sense to me at all. Those are pairings that are all about irrational hate (even if I think Snape isn't evil). That said, several authors have written brilliant fics that I stumbled onto accidentally or via a rec and they made me believe it.

I like the H/D pairing because I think they are equals. They've both done some really mean things to each other and for the most part their hate is based on what other people told them to think (Lucius and Ron, Hagrid). The best part of their story is the resolving of their issues, dealing with the past, accepting that they may have more in common than previously thought and learning to accept differences in other people (both are terrible at this). Let's not forget how much fun their dialogue and interactions can be...

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Oh, writers of all ships can be implausible. I ship R/T, yet find half the time, I'm going, "is this JKR's Remus? I don't remember him being a suicidal cocaine addict..."

Draco and Harry are definitely alike in some (albeit odd) ways. But I think that's why the ship doesn't work easily - they also are exact opposites. Harry's good is Draco's evil,and vice versa.

Also, Ron and Hagrid never really made Harry dislike Draco. Draco did, after insulting Hagrid and muggleborns. (I won't deny that both probably did further Harry's anger,though, but Draco's also hit soft spots for Harry).

[thistlerose.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree. Completely. I number of my friends ship H/D and I don't understand it, but I try not to give them a hard time about it. *g* I'm sure plenty of them don't understand my ships, either.

Draco/Hermione is impossible for me to believe. She loathes him and he loathes her. He's hurt her and her friends and I don't see her forgiving him anytime soon, even if he does switch sides. Draco seems pretty well indoctrinated into the snotty pureblood mentality. He may not even see her as completely human. His parents certainly don't.

As for Harry...again with the mutual loathing and the hurting of friends. I can sometimes see hatesex (I occasionally enjoy a good, angry Sirius/Bellatrix) but not in this case. Besides...frankly, I don't find Draco interesting. He's gained some depth since HBP, but in my opinion he's still completely unworthy of anything from Harry.

[woman-ironing.livejournal.com]

I don't find Draco interesting

Gasps! Draco has been a complete bratty pain throughout the books but he's obviously very important in the story, as HBP confirmed. He's Harry's opposite, physically and spiritually: dark Gryffindor/blonde Slytherin. That's attractive and intriguing in itself. And at the very beginning of the whole story he offered Harry his friendship and Harry refused. Draco's offer was no doubt as calculated and manipulative as Harry's response was impulsive and instinctive, but still there's something shocking about not accepting a hand held out in friendship. Sometimes I think this is the single most important scene in the books because if Harry were ever able honestly to shake Draco's hand then Voldemort would be well and truly vanquished.

[malaleen.livejournal.com]

You know, I agree and disagree with what you've said in this post. I've read both H/D and Hr/D fics, and agree that the pairings have no chance canon-wise.

You mentioned some very valid points that I think, or at least in my random readings of H/D (I haven't read D/Hr in years) that few authors attempt to address in fics. Most H/D fics I've read have seemed wildly out of character and implausable in my mind. Though I will freely admit I've never read many long, highly reccomended fics, as the pairing doesn't interest me enough to read long fics in and I find the pairing too trite to enjoy. If I'm going to read slash, I'd much rather read a more rare pair than popular pairing.

The Draco ship I've had the most problem with is D/G. At least H/D and D/Hr can site canon interactions to base a fic on...where have D/G ever interacted in canon? Frankly, the reasoning that they have so much chemistry and potential escapes me, as we've never really seen them interact at all. From what I've found, D/G is solely based on fan fic, not canon.

[juju-bean.livejournal.com]

The way I think Draco/Ginny shippers might explain it (I don't ship it, so I don't know the rationale behind it and therefore can only guess), is that that Ginny is a pureblood witch and thus perfect for Draco, since Hermione is muggleborn and Harry is a wizard. It ships Draco with someone without necessarily having to compromise his prejudice, or change his orientation; while at the same time setting up a Romeo/Juliet premise. Of course, Pansy also fits that requirement, is of Slytherin house, and is already canon, so I really don't know why Pansy/Draco doesn't have a larger following. (I support Draco/Pansy, though I do love my Draco/Hermione and Pansy/MacNair.)

[ardestrain.livejournal.com]

The funny thing, at least in my eyes, about Harry and Draco is that the two of them seem to go through alternating "complete apathy" stages towards each other.

OotP: Harry's turn in the "Apathy" spot. Harry's got bigger things on his plate, and Draco, despite his best efforts, is just an irritating little snot. (With the notable exception of the aftermath of the first Quidditch match, but I'd tack that up to Harry's shorter temper that year as anything else...)

HBP: Draco's turn - and things are basically the same, just reversed. Draco focused on Harry long enough to deliver a bit of vengance - and then he deals with bigger matters, because he just doesn't care about it any more.

And by the end of HBP? The circle's complete, and BOTH of them are in the apathy spot. Harry's got the Horcruxes to take care of, and he can't muster more for Draco than some pity. Draco's probably going to be too busy watching his own ass among the wolves to care about a schoolyard rivalry.

Really, even before OotP, I've always seen the whole dynamic between Harry, Ron, and Draco as sort of screwy. Harry thinks Draco's irritating, yeah, but Ron's usually the one who rises to it. Draco, meanwhile, snipes at Ron, but focuses mainly on Harry. Hermione, meanwhile, gets upset at it once in a while, but she has enough self-control to chant "ignore him, ignore him" and move on with things.

I don't really see H/D happening pretty much ever. It just... doesn't ring true on some level, I suppose.

[juju-bean.livejournal.com]

[Reposted because of bad HTML tags.]

sistermagpierecently had an essay/discussion about Draco and his role as a Slytherin (http://www.livejournal.com/users/sistermagpie/111162.html). I think the essay itself and the subsequent comments address just how plausible Draco/Hermione could be. I found mistful's musings on Draco and Hermione and their interaction (http://www.livejournal.com/users/sistermagpie/111162.html?thread=3665210#t3665210) to be particularly good in terms of explaining why the ship does make more sense than some people think.

The way they play off of each other in HBP, not in person but rather inspiration-wise, does show that there's a lot they could learn from each other. As a couple, I think they could do a lot of great things that Hermione might not otherwise be able to do, say with either Ron or Harry. (But then, I'm a fan of dark, manipulative Hermione.)

Draco and Hermione aren't that different. I mean, where they clash they explode in problems, but their ambition, their cleverness/resourcefullness mark them as two of a kind. Just look at the first book; Draco wanted to be Harry's friend because he thought Harry was the "right kind" of person to associate with, and Hermione pretty much wanted to be friends for the same reason. She certainly went out of her way to become friends with Harry (and Ron, by extention), rather than with the girls in her year.

here from the Snitch

[amihan-811.livejournal.com]

I view Canon!Draco's future as ending up similar to Snape's. While they're both not evil, they're still nasty and unpleasant to others. I think Draco will continue to harbor resentment at Harry and Co., especially when Voldemort is defeated, and will end up bitter and irrationally prejudiced towards muggles and muggleborns for a long while. At this time, I don't see him as ready for redemption, nor does he seem willing to work with the good side, which seems necessary for establishing a relationship with Harry or Hermione in the first place.

Which is why I see any Draco/Harry and Draco/Hermione pairing as tough to successfully pull-off if the author was focused on making the characters as similar to their canon counterparts as possible. I think that in fanfic, any pairing requires some suspension of disbelief especially when one or both characters are unrecognizable from canon. Draco paired with either Hermione or Harry is not going to happen in canon, but that's why fans turn to fandom and fanfiction to explore the possibilities in these kinds of ships. That said, I've read Draco/Harry and Draco/Hermione fics where no one was recognizable, yet ended up enjoying them still for what the author has chosen to do with the characters.

Re: here from the Snitch

[woman-ironing.livejournal.com]

I view Canon!Draco's future as ending up similar to Snape's.

I hope it won't be, but it depends on where JKR is going with the story. In PoA it was sad to see what had happened to the four childhood friends James, Sirius, Remus and Peter - how their friendship had been twisted and destroyed with terrible consequences - and it made you worry that a similar fate might await Harry, Ron and Hermione. If the point of the story is that this is what always happens then Draco could be another Snape. If the point of the story is that it is possible to change things then Draco could have a very different future. I hope so!

[rurounihime.livejournal.com]

This contains HBP spoilers, just in case you haven't finished the book. ^_^

I can't really understand why you think Draco is not ever going to be a nice person. For one thing, he is a teenager at this point in time, and obviously very, very focused on his family -- whether that means emulating his father to a fault (very understandable for a child-father dynamic where the parent is hard to please), or protecting his family from the threat of Voldemort (as we see him devote himself to in HBP). I think it's a little harsh to say that because of how he acts as a teen, he will never ever grow as a person, decide to possibly look at things a little bit differently, or take a separate path from that of his parents. It's already clear that he has departed somewhat from his father's behavior, in that he could not bring himself to kill Dumbledore, even when the obvious result of his inaction would be Voldemort's anger, and in turn, his parents' deaths. I think that says a lot about who he really is, versus who he is trying so hard to be.

Yes, Draco is a royal brat to Hermione and Harry (and just about everyone else not associated with Slytherin or Voldemort) in books 1-5. In book 6, he comes to a turning point where he almost "grows up" a touch: he stops focusing on childish remarks and tricks, and instead throws himself fully into a task that could determine his entire future, and that of his family. I'm not saying this task in particular shows him to be a nice person. Letting Death Eaters into Hogwarts is certainly not nice. But in a way, he behaves in more of an adult fashion than Harry at least. Gone is the simpering, bratty kid whose main issue is who will win the next Quidditch match. Suddenly Draco Malfoy has a purpose, a bigger scope to worry about... and it changes him noticeably.

That said, I think that in every ship you will find fics that do not manage the transition from enemies to lovers well. The ones I like are the ones that do not cut corners, that let both characters be who they are fundamentally, while still allowing for personality alterations due to life experiences. Because I must say that if all the adults I know behaved now as they did when they were teens and kids, I would know a whole bunch of bratty, self-absorbed people... myself included. I think there is a lot of room for growth and change in Draco Malfoy. He's a kid; kids make mistakes, and that's how they learn to be better people.

[netbyrd.livejournal.com]

Ah, I don't like either of the pairings, though I wish I did so I could have more to read. Especially the Harry/Draco, since there's so much of it out there. But I am primarily a Ron and Neville centric reader, with several others, and I have a hard time stomaching the bashing of either of them. I also don't like when Harry, Ron, and Hermione are suddenly not friends because of something completely stupid, and that seems to pop up frequently in the fics I've tried to read in those pairings. So does homophobic, abusive, traitor Ron, which is why I have a hard time with a lot of it.

But for plausiblity purposes, I think there's a way to make a lot of seemingly inplausible pairings work and still keep their canon characteristics. I like Arthur/Lucius for example, and that's pretty well damn near impossible.

I think, for me, the characters HAVE to keep their canon characteristics, or logical extrapolations from them. If they don't, than it's not really them any longer and is more the realm of original characters in JKR's universe that happen to have a canon name.

[lanjelin.livejournal.com]

A bit late, but I felt like making a contribution, heh.

I agree to the point that they can't have a relationship as things are, but most H/D (I know next to nothing about D/Hr and won't take it up here) start off in canon and build from there.

H/D shippers (like myself) see something in the characters that makes them fit together. The challenge is to make them work through their differences in a believable way.

Harry will never be able to reconcile with Draco as long as Draco still believe in that pure-blood supremacy rubbish. In this case, Draco is going to have to be the one to change. After HBP, this has become a lot more likely, since he has come to a turning point, and actually defied a bunch of Death Eaters and a crazed werewolf. He chose what was right above what was easy, which I found interesting and hopeful.

Harry also has some prejudice to work through. I actually think Harry is one of the most forgiving characters in canon. He doesn't hold a grudge to any of the students in the school, despite the fact that they have called him a murderer, insane and in love with his fame. The only ones he hasn't forgiven are Draco, Snape and the Dursleys; people who continuously picks fights/demeans him. Even after knowing that Draco was the one to let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts (not to mention Greyback), Harry starts feeling a bit of sympathy for him, after seeing that Draco really didn't want to kill Dumbledore.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

True, Harry is forgiving - of non-Slytherins.

And Snape is on the same level as Draco - well, worse now (in Harry's view), but still. I don't think Harry would ever forgive him.

And sadly, Harry is (disturbingly) anti-Slytherin.


But, interesting points, and I do agree that Draco definitely didn't kill DD in HBP, and I don't really think it was just "meh, it's too tiring." I think he honestly realized what death would mean. But that doesn't mean he'll ever be fully redeemed, imo. I think he'll always have a certain snobbery, but in the end, it might be closer to Slughorn's snobbery than his father's.

(Yes, I think Slughorn is a bit biased. He seems to think of Lily and Hermione as "exceptions", a notion I'm not crazy about.)