Draco/Hermione Is Possible!
written by Tripzy
We'll begin with Sorceror's Stone/Philosopher's Stone:
I. Introductions
A. We first meet Draco at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions (p. 77, paperback edition). He talks of bossing his parents around ("I think I'll bully father...") and of how good he is at Quidditch ("...it's a crime if I'm not picked to play..."). He asks Harry what house he thinks he will be in, and he insults Harry's friend ("He's [Hagrid is] sort of a servant, isn't he?"). It does not seem this way to Harry, but he is quite obviously trying to become friends; Harry does not like him.
B. We first meet Hermione on the train, (p. 105, paperback edition). She insults Harry's friend (Ron, this time- "...it's [Ron's spell] not very good, is it?"). She brags about how good she is doing with her schoolwork ("I've learned all our course books by heart, of course...", "...it's [spells she's tried] all worked for me..."). She asks them what house they think they will be in, just like Draco did. She bosses them around ("You two had better change, you know..."). We can tell that in an inexperienced, shy way she is trying to make friends with them. Harry does not like her either.
II. More Similarities
A. As discussed in Introductions, Draco and Hermione are both bossy. They both insult Harry and his friends. They are both pompous and brag about their skills. They even both ask the same questions! Neither is, quite obviously, experienced at making friends. This is evidenced by the roundabout way in which they hint that they would like to be Harry's friend. It is also evidenced by the friends that they have already chosen- Draco has picked Crabbe and Goyle because he is better than they and they do not mind his bragging tendency. Hermione has chosen Neville for the same reasons (as well as her nurturing tendency- I never said she and Draco were clones of one another).
B. They are both liked by teachers who are usually very hard to please- Hermione has charmed Professor McGonagall ("...[McGonagall] gave Hermione a rare smile..."), and Draco has pleased Snape ("...criticizing... except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like...", "... look at the perfect way Malfoy had..."). Both have done so by doing exceptionally well in the subject.
C. Harry does not like either of them (in the beginning)- "[on Hermione] Harry could not believe anyone could be so interfering" and "[on Malfoy] ...liking the boy less and less every second."
D. Both are very controlling. Draco is shown to be controlling, obviously, because of his choice in friends- he has picked friends that he can boss around. Also, he tells Harry about how he bosses his parents around. Hermione is constantly telling Harry and Ron what to do before she even knows them! Admittedly, this could lead to a power struggle in the relationship, but I believe that since both of them are so pompous and self-important, they would very much enjoy being around someone who was so much like themselves.
E. Clever and manipulative. Draco thinks of a plan to get Harry and Ron in trouble (the fake duel); Hermione flatters Hagrid in order to milk information out of him (p. 231-232, paperback- it's too long to quote). They also both like to eavesdrop to find out about others' plans (Hermione- "I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying...", Draco- "Malfoy...had stopped dead listening."). There are several other examples of both Draco and Hermione being manipulative in the other books, but since this is the PS/SS bit...
III. Misc./Other
A. Hermione worries for Draco's safety in the forest ("You don't think they've [Neville AND Draco] been hurt, do you?").
B. When Draco sees Voldemort, he screams (and runs for his life). When Harry tells Hermione what he was under Quirrel's turban, she also screams; Hermione is scared of Hagrid's dragon and the mountain troll (obviously); Draco is scared of the creatures in the forest. This one is sort of insignificant, but I think it shows that neither of them is as self-assured and confident as they come off as.
IV. Conclusion: SS/PS had very little D/Hr interaction, but it showed that they have LOADS in common.
Chamber of Secrets time!
I. In Relative to Each Other
A. Draco mentions Hermione, calling her by her first name (almost), when the subject of school comes up with his father. Lucius becomes upset that she beat him in every exam, which implies that he was probably second in his class (or otherwise close to Hermione's level). That means that they are equal in intelligence.
B. Hermione likes blondes. There is a chance she might try to get to know Draco simply because of his looks- as evidenced by how blindsided she was by Lockhart- and then realize how much they have in common, allowing the relationship to last.
C. When Crabbe!Ron and Goyle!Harry are in the Slytherin common room, Malfoy says "[on Muggle-borns being let in] A decent headmaster would never've let slime like that Creevey in" (p.222). Why is this significant? Hermione is not his example. Yes, he does mention her later, but only as an insult. He does not choose her to represent the worst of Mudbloods. (Later on, of course, he says he hopes the creature will kill her. Anti-D/Hr-ers like to point to this passage as though it broke our entire case. But, really, how many times have you wished death upon someone? Did you honestly want them to die?)
II. Interactions
A. The first time Draco calls Hermione a Mudblood-
1) When Hermione insults Draco on the Quidditch patch ("No one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in." p. 112, hardcover edition), Draco is more insulted than he is when Ron or Harry fights with him ("The smug look on Malfoy's face flickered." p. 112, hardcover- we've never seen that happen before. Also, he makes a desperate attempt to defend himself by calling her "the most insulting thing he can think of." p. 115). This implies that he is caught offguard by Hermione's seeing through him, that he cares that she insulted him, or both.
2) He has never called her by this before, so it is obvious that the scene with his father in the beginning sparked it (when he talks about how Muggle-borns are lesser wizards, p. 50-51). He is only repeating what his father said, not necessarily what he would find that he believed if he ever thought about it for himself.
B. Hermione does not think that Draco could be the Heir of Slytherin (" 'Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?' said Hermione skeptically." p. 158). Obviously, she does not think he is pure evil the way Harry and Ron do. Yes, she agrees to make sure it isn't him, but she does not think it is.
C. Though this is not an interaction between Draco and Hermione, Hermione smiles at Millicent Bullstrode when they are partnered up for dueling club: she obviously does not hate Slytherins just because of their House. She even suggests to Harry that he might be related to Salazar Slytherin on page 196.
III. Conclusion: Draco and Hermione do not have much potential for romance at this point. We know from the PS/SS analysis that they are very compatable, and we know now that there is a potential for physical attraction as well; but now that Draco has been taught to look down upon Muggleborns, he might stop himself from engaging in a relationship with her later on due to his lack of paternal approval (for the relationship).
Continuing our journey through the series, our next stop is Prisoner of Azkaban ...
I. Interactions
A. When Draco comes into their train compartment, as he always does, he says, "Well, look who it is... Potty and the Weasel." (p. 80, hardcover edition) He does not insult Hermione.
B. "Malfoy elbowed past Hermione..." (p. 87, hardcover) Physical contact.
C. Hermione does not respond to Malfoy's teasing. This is why, throughout the book, he keeps moving it up a notch in order to get her attention.
D. "Hermione ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily." (p. 118) Hmm? HMM? (My margin note for this one says, "SQUEEEE!!!") And that's not even all: afterwards- " 'D'you think he'll be all right?' said Hermione nervously." (p. 119) I know she was also scared for Hagrid's job, but if that was the only concern on her mind, she would have phrased this statement very differently.
E. THE SLAP. Draco can't forget it. Hermione can't forget it. We most certainly can't forget it. It's unforgettable, that's why:
quote:
Hermione pulled out her wand. Malfoy stepped backward..."C'mon," Malfoy muttered... all three of them disappeared... (p. 239)
Why is this a hugely good sign for us? She left him speechless. I'd venture that no one in Draco's entire life has ever rendered him speechless before. He didn't even attempt to fight back, either. Of course, later on we have, "Oh, it was Malfoy, I was thinking about him and I lost track of things" (p. 295) to explain why she MISSED CHARMS. Can I get a, "SQUEEE"? As Molly585 said in a reply, it is very Out-Of-Character of her to miss a class. And she missed her only class ever thinking about Draco.
II. Conclusion: The hints to pointing to D/Hr are becoming more and more common and obvious as the story goes on. PoA contains physical contact and many other favorable interactions for us.
Goblet of Fire is next!
I.Interactions
A. "Mr. Malfoy's eyes returned to Hermione, who went slightly pink, but stared determinedly at him" (p. 101, hardcover edition) Harry assumes that Mr. Malfoy is glaring at Hermione because she is a Mudblood. He might not know the whole story, though. For all we know, Hermione could've come up in conversations back at Malfoy Manor...
B. The Warning. This, along with The Slap, is a favorite of the D/Hr shippers:
quote:
"You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?" He nodded at Hermione...
"What's that supposed to mean?" said Hermione defiantly.
"Granger, they're after Muggles," said Malfoy. "D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around... they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh." ...
"Keep that big bushy head down, Granger."
Excuse me? Did he just say he wanted to see Hermione's knickers? Not to twist his words... either way, he is reciprocating her concern from third year (see PoA, section one, part D). Some of you may say that he insulted her, but come on! He had to! Harry and Ron were there, and he had an image to maintain.
C. " 'He could have really hurt Malfoy, though," she said. 'It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it.' " What's this, more concern? This seems to happen a lot... also, I'd like to point out that Draco just got turned into a ferret by a psycho and bounced around the Great Hall in front of everyone. What did he do? He stood up and and threatened Moody. And yet The Slap left him speechless for several minutes, and he never even tried to fight back.
D. "Really witty." This phrase has been used by only two characters in the entire series- Draco (PoA p. 113, hardcover) and Hermione (GoF, p. 299).
E. Draco asks Hermione if she wants a "Potter Stinks" badge. He does not ask Ron. Yes, this could be because he knows Ron would attack him- but, as she has proven in the past, so might Hermione. When he fights Harry, his spell hits Hermione. It was quite obviously never meant to hit Harry- why would he curse Harry to make his teeth grow larger? Perhaps he wanted Madam Pomfrey to fix them. That, admittedly, is rather far-fetched; but teasing a girl about something that is wrong with her appearance is common in young boys who do not know how to act around a girl that they like.
F. Pansy makes fun of Hermione because of the "stunningly pretty" quote from Skeeter's article (p. 316). Draco doesn't - not even once. He also does not make fun of her for being Harry's "girlfriend." Only Pansy does.
II. Misc./Other
A. Draco cares that Hermione has a date to the ball (p. 404). When he makes it into a joke, her reply is to play a trick on him (who else plays tricks? Oh right...) by waving to an invisible Moody. Then, she says "Twitchy little ferret, aren't you, Malfoy?" which is positively dripping with sexual innuendo.
B. "...even he [Draco] didn't seem able to find an insult to throw at her." Look at that... Draco has just noticed that Hermione is pretty as well as smart (as he told his father she was in CoS) and brave (because she stands up to him).
III. Conclusion: There is quite a bit of Draco/Hermione interaction in this one, but it is apparent that Harry is noticing Draco less and less due to his depression. Since the books are from Harry's point of view, it's understandable that we won't be seeing much Draco in OoTP.
Order of the Phoenix:
I. Interactions
A. On the train, the fight is mainly between Draco and Hermione (p. 194). When Hermione tells Draco to leave, he does so without another word.
B. When Hermione kisses Ron good luck, she is not affected by it. She does not turn red, have trouble wishing Harry good luck, or act embarrassed in any way. This is part of my firm belief that, yes, Ron has a crush on her; but she does not reciprocate his feelings. (Yes, I know she does not kiss Harry. This is because he is neither nervous nor in need of good luck. Before the R/Hr shippers all jump down my throat, I acknowledge that we probably cannot get through the series without an R/Hr relationship. It cannot last, however, because the two have absolutely nothing in common.)
II. Misc./Other
A. When Ron and Hermione come back from prefect duties on the train, Ron is very upset that Draco has been made a prefect. Hermione makes no comment about this, however, instead complaining about Pansy (" 'And that complete cow Pansy Parkinson,' said Hermione viciously. 'How she got to be a prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll...' " p. 188, hardcover edition).
B. The Sorting Hat says that the Houses must unite. This could mean something for Slytherins and Gryffindors, which Hermione is in favor of- "Well, I think it's a pity we're not trying for a bit of inter-House unity."
C. Hermione and Draco both stand up to teachers they do not like. Draco does with Hagrid (PoA p. 112); Hermione does with Umbridge (OoTP p. 241).
D. Hermione tells Harry not to fight with Draco ("Harry, don't go picking a row with Malfoy..." p. 261). I know this is not exactly a display of romantic feelings, but it shows that she, unlike her friends, did not graduate from the "Hurt Malfoy as bad as we can, as often as we can, in any way we can because we hate him!" school of thought.
III. Lily/James-Hermione/Draco
A. This is a great parallel. To emphasize it, I'd like to put in some quotes:
1) "...you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone." -Lily Evans, p. 647 OoTP; "Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic- you foul- you evil..." -Hermione, p. 293 PoA.
2) "She [Lily] had her own wand out now. James... eyed it warily." -p. 648, OoTP;" "Hermione pulled out her wand. Malfoy stepped backward." -p. 293, PoA.
B. The obvious flaw in this logic, of course, is that James is openly showing Lily that he is interested in her. Whether Draco is interested in Hermione or not, he would not openly show romantic feelings for a Mudblood... bringing me to the other flaw: James says that he would never call Lily a Mudblood. But James did not grow up having it beat into him that Muggle-borns are below him (whereas Draco has, as evidenced by CoS p. 51-52, hardcover edition); he was obviously taught that such thinking was unacceptable.
C. This parallel (Lily and James), however, could not even remotely apply to R/Hr: Ron and Hermione bicker, yes, but they certainly do not hate each other. Lily can't stand James: she isn't his friend, and she thinks he is an arrogant bastard. That is exactly what Hermione thinks of Draco. Also, Draco and Snape are not a parallel. I see the Snape in this story as more of a Neville, or a representative of Harry and Ron. Draco picks on them without having any reason to do so- just to be mean and because he is bored. James picks on Snape because he is mean and bored.
IV. Conclusion: it is not a surprise at all that we saw less Draco in OoTP- the books are from Harry's point of view, and he obviously would not notice Draco as much now that he has so much on his mind.
... see Pixyzombie's, 'D/Hr Moments in OotP' essay for more details!
