Oh, don't worry about proclaiming your Harry love here! He's da man!
I mean, Draco is a secondary character and as such he really doesn't exist without Harry. And I do think that one of the things that fascinates me about him is that on some level I honestly do think of Harry and Draco as the same boy. Draco is the personality one would almost expect Harry to have given his situation. He takes a lot of Harry's characteristics and twists them in a bad way while Harry remains good, just as you said. So it's like a lot of Harry's bad potential is nicely dumped into this other character he can't quite get away from. When Harry becomes more aggressive and angry in OotP, Draco not only fades from view but seems happier in comparison. Is it just that Draco is happy because things are going badly for Harry, or does Draco appear more gleeful to Harry because Harry is so miserable? It's like...if the books were from Draco's pov they'd probably be all be at least as angry as OotP. Their emotions are pretty much always a see-saw: when one is happy the other is miserable. Harry is always made happy to see Malfoy miserable--in OotP it's one of his few moments of satisfaction.
Some people will say that it's Ron and Draco who are really mirrors and in many ways they are--both Purebloods but with different beliefs, one rich, one poor; family feud, one friend, one enemy etc. But I think the books do make it clear that Harry is the one who is tied to Draco for whatever reason. Ron, as much as he hates Draco when Draco insults him, honestly does not seem to care about him when he's not around. As much as people like to claim that Harry's completey forgotten Draco by Book V (and I think Harry certainly wants that to be true), Harry has always been the character shown to be more sensitive about him in general. Ron casually suggests that Harry could get a Nimbus 2001 like Malfoy's got and Harry snaps he would never get a broom he had. Hr&R are both surprised by Harry's listening to Draco on the issue of Sirius. Ron really does seem to be able to hate what Malfoy does but not be as concerned with him at other times. If Ron were the main character I think Malfoy would come across differently. He's Harry's demon child, somehow.
So I think in a way I'm maybe most fascinated with exactly the things about Harry you mention here, because they are the things reflected in Draco. That's why I like the two of them together. It's the parts that are angry and put down and starving for affection, having grown up in a cold, hard world. Draco's all about desperation--you said it exactly. And desperation is something I think Harry more fears than experiences. It's only at extreme moments facing Voldemort that we see Harry desperate, but it's sort of hovering at the edges all the time. Harry never wants to *appear* desperate. Even their reactions to Voldemort are perfect: Malfoy runs away, Harry wants to but is frozen in fear.
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Date: 2004-03-11 09:34 pm (UTC)I mean, Draco is a secondary character and as such he really doesn't exist without Harry. And I do think that one of the things that fascinates me about him is that on some level I honestly do think of Harry and Draco as the same boy. Draco is the personality one would almost expect Harry to have given his situation. He takes a lot of Harry's characteristics and twists them in a bad way while Harry remains good, just as you said. So it's like a lot of Harry's bad potential is nicely dumped into this other character he can't quite get away from. When Harry becomes more aggressive and angry in OotP, Draco not only fades from view but seems happier in comparison. Is it just that Draco is happy because things are going badly for Harry, or does Draco appear more gleeful to Harry because Harry is so miserable? It's like...if the books were from Draco's pov they'd probably be all be at least as angry as OotP. Their emotions are pretty much always a see-saw: when one is happy the other is miserable. Harry is always made happy to see Malfoy miserable--in OotP it's one of his few moments of satisfaction.
Some people will say that it's Ron and Draco who are really mirrors and in many ways they are--both Purebloods but with different beliefs, one rich, one poor; family feud, one friend, one enemy etc. But I think the books do make it clear that Harry is the one who is tied to Draco for whatever reason. Ron, as much as he hates Draco when Draco insults him, honestly does not seem to care about him when he's not around. As much as people like to claim that Harry's completey forgotten Draco by Book V (and I think Harry certainly wants that to be true), Harry has always been the character shown to be more sensitive about him in general. Ron casually suggests that Harry could get a Nimbus 2001 like Malfoy's got and Harry snaps he would never get a broom he had. Hr&R are both surprised by Harry's listening to Draco on the issue of Sirius. Ron really does seem to be able to hate what Malfoy does but not be as concerned with him at other times. If Ron were the main character I think Malfoy would come across differently. He's Harry's demon child, somehow.
So I think in a way I'm maybe most fascinated with exactly the things about Harry you mention here, because they are the things reflected in Draco. That's why I like the two of them together. It's the parts that are angry and put down and starving for affection, having grown up in a cold, hard world. Draco's all about desperation--you said it exactly. And desperation is something I think Harry more fears than experiences. It's only at extreme moments facing Voldemort that we see Harry desperate, but it's sort of hovering at the edges all the time. Harry never wants to *appear* desperate. Even their reactions to Voldemort are perfect: Malfoy runs away, Harry wants to but is frozen in fear.
(con't)