W h y   d o   y o u   s h i p   D r a c o / H e r m i o n e
by Pixiezombie @
26 August 2004

Well, I think the Pride & Prejudice potential of the ship certainly plays a strong part in my reaction to it. It's not really a "bad boy" pull that causes me to react to Draco, although it is an interesting piece of him as the most taboo student for Hermione to fall for. Darcy wasn't exactly a bad boy either.... proud but honorable and certainly misunderstood after his early stupidity. *huggles P&P boxset* There are things that I find about Draco in the books that put him more firmly into the grey than just in with the bad boys though, and that is something that has me digging in the books all the time for answers. I keep finding strong Darcy parallels and potentials. For me, the books would all need a serious rewrite for Draco to be strictly a bad guy, and the movies would all have to be redone as well, because wanted or not there is much to put Draco on the cusp if not good at a Snape-like level or better.

As a couple D/Hr challenge and expand each other. Hermione challenges all the Mudblood crap that Draco has been raised with and puts him in his place when he gets out of hand. Draco pulls Hermione out of her 'safe zone' and constantly causes her to act unexpectedly and with strength or thoughtfulness. There is a gravitation between them. We see it in the impulsiveness of the slap and the surprise of her missing class because the incident left her thinking about Malfoy. We see it in the way that she will suddenly be willing to break 50 school rules to interrogate Draco unbeknost to him, even though she DOESN'T believe he's the Heir of Slytherin. We see that same unexpectedness and growth in Draco every time he backs down at her order or doesn't seek revenge for Hermione getting the better of him. They learn off each other and get ideas from one another... everything from the leglocker bit in book one, to the S.P.E.W. and Potter Stinks badges, to the werewolf howl in movie 3. They affect each other in significant ways in the books, and I don't feel that pull and dynamic with her and most of the other guys. It's like we are looking at an iceburg; the biggest part of it is beneath the water line and outside our sight.

Their arguments are fiery and interesting, and they don't lead to our beloved Hermione being compared to a shrew. *shudder* That's one of the things that kills R/Hr for me. Ron is frequently terrible to her, and they seem to be bringing out the worst in each other rather than expanding each other with their fighting. I don't date men who get me acting like a shrew, thank you. I am old enough to know the value of the nice guy, and Ron just isn't it. (I think the only completely nice guy is Viktor, who comes in right behind Draco for me in what I'd like to see actually.)

Ron's made her cry and feel miserable more than Draco ever has. Excuse me, four months of not speaking to her over a broomstick and a rat? He's condescending about her studies yet takes advantage of her intelligence when it can help him. Draco, despite all the bloodline crap, gives greater respect to her intelligence just by saying, "Very clever, Granger," than Ron does in 5 books. To Ron it's either an annoyance or a chance to get out of doing his own school work. Where as, Draco constantly drops some hint in his little barbs to the group that helps Hermione... yet we're supposed to write him off as doing it accidentally or idiotically because he is a Slytherin and the son of Lucius Malfoy.

I've said it before and probably will have to say it again. D/Hr is the only pairing that crosses the Muggle-born/Pureblood line and unites both sides. It is a pairing that can espouse peace and tolerance. It destroys the hypocritical message in the books that we should not judge people by their appearance or bloodline--unless they come from Slytherin. It has potential for unique beauty, and that's why I hold the pairing in very high esteem.

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