Hope you don't mind me joining in a little late in the game. Those touchy Gryffindors.
But for the sake of argument, I don't really recall anything aggressive starting up from the Norbert fiasco between Draco and the Trio, passive-aggressive or otherwise. They never confronted him about what he'd seen, and to the best of my knowledge, the only time Draco confronted them was when he visited Ron in the hospital wing (and I don't think we're ever given the full description of what happened there). Yes, they reacted defensively, concocted a scheme to get Norbert out of the school ASAP, but this was also in reaction to a very real concern -- Malfoy could have gone to a professor at any time, and if not him, someone else could easily have done so too.
And about the infamous robe-shop scene...surprisingly, I do agree that Draco was not being a bully there in the least, though I do feel that there were underlying issues there that prevented Draco and Harry from becoming friends, issues that aren't placed solely on Harry's shoulders. To C&P something I once said to onlyinfatuated (though it has more to do with the Hogwarts Express scene than the robe shop scene):
Next meeting on the Hogwarts Express: for all the griping about how little Harry said to Draco during their first meeting, it must be pointed out that he didn't even open his mouth to the first two lines Ron said to him -- even though Ron was also asking him questions about himself, as Draco did. This wasn't instant preference. Harry didn't just fall madly in love with the Weasley-red hair and decide "that's it, I'm going to be their friend". He was just as socially repressed with Ron as he was with Draco.
Which is why I think the differences in Ron and Draco's characters (at least back then) played a huge part in the "Final Decision". As opposed to hopping from subject to subject trying to get Harry to talk so that he could find out as much about him as possible, Ron was quiet and actually let Harry talk, let him ask the questions himself so he could determine Ron's character on his own, and actually feel like he could become a friend. It's NOT Draco's fault that he was more talkative and less shy than Ron was at this point, and it definitely isn't a bad thing that he was, or that he came off that way. It's just that, you [onlyinfatuated] accuse Harry of being socially crippled, and then rant about the fact that he acts socially crippled instead of like a normal, talkative human being when he talks to Draco. This makes no sense. You have to know that if he was really socially awkward, he wasn't going to feel comfortable with an almost-inquisition, that he is better with having to offer the information himself (as he did about his own situation at the Dursleys) rather than having it pressed out of him. This is what I think doomed the Harry/Draco first interaction; the fact that Draco didn't know this, and on some level (maybe because he was a little socially awkward too), Ron did. You'll notice in the Harry/Ron first-meeting, Ron barely asked Harry any questions, but rather let him ask, and reveal what he wanted to.
People go on about Harry having seen something significant and key in Draco's and Ron's characters from the very beginning, or about Harry having refused to give Draco a chance while he gave Ron one; I just think it came down to Harry and Draco's being too different.
I do think it can be said that even if he were trying to be friendly, Draco was rather careless in his speech in that robe shop, and there was no way for Harry to know that Draco actually wouldn't get his broom, but ultimately, this is what I think that scene came down to.
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Date: 2006-01-20 08:55 pm (UTC)But for the sake of argument, I don't really recall anything aggressive starting up from the Norbert fiasco between Draco and the Trio, passive-aggressive or otherwise. They never confronted him about what he'd seen, and to the best of my knowledge, the only time Draco confronted them was when he visited Ron in the hospital wing (and I don't think we're ever given the full description of what happened there). Yes, they reacted defensively, concocted a scheme to get Norbert out of the school ASAP, but this was also in reaction to a very real concern -- Malfoy could have gone to a professor at any time, and if not him, someone else could easily have done so too.
And about the infamous robe-shop scene...surprisingly, I do agree that Draco was not being a bully there in the least, though I do feel that there were underlying issues there that prevented Draco and Harry from becoming friends, issues that aren't placed solely on Harry's shoulders. To C&P something I once said to
I do think it can be said that even if he were trying to be friendly, Draco was rather careless in his speech in that robe shop, and there was no way for Harry to know that Draco actually wouldn't get his broom, but ultimately, this is what I think that scene came down to.