Of Mudbloods and Ferrets

01Mar08

Take one look at any fanfiction site out there, and judging by the overwhelming number of stories written about them, one will find that Hermione/Draco is by far one of the most popular ships in Harry Potter fandom (the term “ship” stems from relationship). This is ironic, for JK Rowling herself has inveighed this particular pairing in countless interviews, and the epilogue of the last book is bittersweet testimony to her words (cue Mrs. Hermione Weasley). And for those of us that remain faithful to Potterverse canon, the mere possibility of a romance between Harry Potter’s best friend and worst enemy is nothing short of heretical. Why then, do so many passionate shippers continue to write and support the drivel? Further inspection shows that there is more to the couple than opposites-attract. It is a pairing that can espouse peace and tolerance; it destroys the hypocritical message in the books that says society will not tolerate discrimination unless it is aimed at “evil” persons (which in this case is Draco Malfoy, all-around Slytherin bad boy).

Hermione Granger is a witch, the cleverest of her age. To her, every effect has a cause, every cause a sensible explanation. She relies on logic and rationality to work her way through life’s problems. Despite her reputation as a bossy know-it-all that disapproves of rule-breaking, Hermione does not hesitate to infringe her moral standards in order to protect her friends. She blackmails and manipulates to win her causes, which suggests that the ends are sometimes more important to her than the means. Hermione is also a philanthropist and egalitarian – she embarks on a massive campaign for House-Elf liberation and equality during her fourth year at school. One could assume that her unwavering determination in her crusade to ameliorate the lives of others precipitated from the prejudice she’d experienced firsthand due to her Muggle (nonmagical) heritage. In a society where those of the purest magical blood are more esteemed, Muggleborn-Hermione is exactly the kind of person that Draco Malfoy, pureblood extraordinaire, loves to hate.

Draco is the epitome of the bombastic exhibitionist – spoiled, ambitious, dark, and blue-blooded. He represents all things Slytherin and is Harry’s chief antagonist at school; he does everything he can to upstage his rival, unafraid of confrontation. To him, family, status, and power are one and the same. But he’s not a genuinely evil person. He’s more of a Mr. Darcy – proud, but honorable and certainly misunderstood after his early callowness.

So what happens when you cross a bossy know-it-all with a power-hungry drama queen? Not quite what you’d expect, even from their first significant interaction in the books. Hermione challenges all of the prejudice that Draco had been raised with and puts him in his place. Their arguments are fiery and interesting, very unlike the annoying bickering that goes on between Hermione and Ron. 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. He has made her cry and feel miserable more than Draco ever has in the books. He is condescending about her studies, yet ingratiates and takes advantage of her intelligence when it can help him.

The books provide a basis for a relationship between Draco and Hermione. Hermione doesn’t have the same intrinsic hatred for Draco that Ron and Harry possess; she dislikes his antagonistic behavior of course, but most of the time she tries her best to ignore him when he’s at his most hostile. Hermione treats him like she would any other student, admitting the validity of his arguments when she agrees with him, realizing he could have been hurt during the Buckbeak and ferret bouncing incidents, etc. On Draco’s part, with all of his Pureblood posturing, one would think that he would hate Hermione more than he does Harry or Ron for her Muggle heritage, that she would be the target of his most vicious ridiculing, that he would try to maneuver her closer to harm instead of warning her away. But he doesn’t.

The books give a basis for a Draco-Hermione relationship, something to build upon in fanfiction, and as we’ve seen in the books, these two characters provide no shortage of conflict to explore, whether from internal conflict stemming from their respective needs for control, their conflicting moral codes, or their similar ambitious natures, or from external conflict from Harry and Ron’s hatred of Draco, and his returning hatred on them. The Draco-Hermione relationship is one of keen observation and cutting remarks, of continual surprises and ambiguous motivations, of passion, pride, and prejudice.

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