Why Harry/Draco is more canon than ever
Hello all!! ^_^*
I have gotten to a computer, even in the hundred degree weather, because I have finished HBP and have had time to process my love of it. So, the rest of this entry is a spoiler. Click at your own risk.
So instead of just typing randomly, I've decided to use text from HBP. Here's my thoughts on the ever-changing relationship of Harry and Draco during and post-HBP. ^_^*
"'Severus,' she whispered, tears sliding down her pale cheeks. 'My son . . . my only son . . .'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 33
Okay, I don't know about you all, but when I read that I was like, "WHAT?!" I think that entire scene is a great way of showing us, right at the beginning of the book, that Draco and Narcissa have a close relationship, and that we really aren't getting the full story from just Harry's POV.
"'Harry looked mockingly all around the shop. ;Wow . . . look at that . . . he's not here now! So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!'
Malfoy made an angry movement toward Harry, but stumbled over his overlong robe. Ron laughed loudly.
'Don't you dare talk about my mother like that, Potter!' Malfoy snarled."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 113-114
So, in their first meeting in HBP, both Harry and Draco are still involved in their petty feuding. For the rest of "Draco's Detour", Harry shows that he knows Draco extremely well.
"Judging by the movements of Malfoy's hands, he was talking animatedly."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 124
Harry could only see the movements of Draco's hands, but just by that he could guess at what was going on. That shows that Harry has been paying attention to Draco's habits over the years. It also shows that Harry knows Draco well enough to guess at how he's behaving with just his hand gestures to go by. This is also a nice characterization for Draco, as well. He's always struck me as the sort of person who talks with his hands.
"'No?" said Malfoy, and Harry knew, just by his tone, that Malfoy was sneering."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 125
Once again, just by hearing his voice, Harry can guess at what Draco's facial expression is. It's not even a guess, it says that Harry knows. It's not often you can listen to a person's voice and know exactly what their expression is. It shows, again, that Harry has, in fact, been paying attention to Draco all this time, and that now he's finally putting all that knowledge to good use.
"Harry lay curled uncomfortably under the cloak to ensure that every inch of him remained hidden, and watched Pansy stroke the sleek blond hair off Malfoy's forehead, smirking as she did so, as though anyone would have loved to have been in her place."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 149
Here we have Harry, hiding in the Slytherin train compartment. You know he's concentrating on not being seen, and he really doesn't have time to be paying attention to Pansy stroking Draco's hair. Yet he is anyway. And it's interesting that Harry thinks she's smirking "as though anyone would have loved to have been in her place." Anyone, such as Harry himself, perhaps? Does Harry know Pansy well enough to guess at what her smirk could mean? Is he, possibly, inserting a meaning into it? Possibly.
"'Potter, precious Potter, obviously he wanted a look at 'the Chosen One,'' sneered Malfoy, 'but that Weasley girl! What's so special about her?'
'A lot of boys like her,' said Pansy, watching Malfoy out of the corner of her eyes for his reaction."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 150
This is interesting. Draco seems to take it for granted that Slughorn would want to see Harry, which does make sense, yet he then seems so annoyed about Ginny being invited as well. You could argue that he doesn't understand why a Weasley was invited when a Malfoy was not. You could also argue that he already knows that Harry and Ginny might end up dating, and is looking for ways to smear her name. Jealousy, perhaps? And then Pansy says that lots of boys like Ginny, and she watches Draco for his reaction. Sure, it shows that Pansy likes Draco, but it could also show that she knows what he's thinking about Harry, and wants to test her theory.
"Harry was so busy staring at Malfoy, he did not notice Goyle reaching up for his trunk; as he swung it down, it hit Harry hard on the side of the head. He let out an involuntary gasp of pain, and Malfoy looked up at the luggage rack, frowning.
Harry was not afraid of Malfoy, but he still did not much like the idea of being discovered hiding under his Invisibility Cloak by a group of unfriendly Slytherins."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 152
Okay, three important points here. First, Harry is busy staring at Draco. Staring. When he is supposed to be hiding from all of them. In fact, he is staring so much that he does not notice when someone is reaching up towards him. That is some serious staring going on.
Second, Harry gasps and Draco is the only one who notices. If you're in a train compartment, there's noise from the tracks, other people outside, people inside talking, etc. How come Draco is the only one to notice Harry gasping? Shouldn't there be someone else who's paying attention, who says "Hey, someone's here"? But no. Draco notices, and no one else does. More than that, he doesn't do anything about it right away. He's waiting for the right moment, when no one else is around. Take that as you will.
Third, Harry's not afraid of Draco. Doesn't seem that important, but I think it is. It shows that Harry realizes, on some level, that Draco wouldn't ever really hurt him. They might beat each other up, hex, curse, and jinx each other into unconsciousness, but Harry believes Draco would never do anything truly harmful to him. Or at least nothing that he should be afraid of. An interesting opinion for someone who's supposed to be a loathed enemy, no?
"Now Harry and Malfoy were alone in the compartment." - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 153
A line I never thought I would read in canon. Oh, the unadulterated joy. ^_^*
"He couldn't move a muscle; he could only gaze up at Malfoy, who smiled broadly."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 153
Okay, taken out of context, this line is rife with UST. Of course, in context we know Harry is petrified and literally can't move. Still, it's interesting how that entire scene plays out. If Draco really wanted to do something horrible to Harry, he could have then. Instead, he broke Harry's nose as revenge for Harry getting Lucius locked up in Azkaban (and we all knew there would be some vengeance there, I think a broken nose is Draco letting Harry off pretty easily, considering how petty and vengeful Draco can be), and then he puts the Invisibility Cloak back over Harry. He doesn't cast and Unforgivable on him, he doesn't hex or jinx or curse him. He leaves him there, in the compartment, with the hope that Harry won't go to Hogwarts that year.
Draco already knows he's supposed to let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts sometime during the year. Why would he want Harry to not be there? You could argue that he doesn't want Harry to kill the DE's, but that doesn't make much sense. Harry's never killed anyone, and if Draco really hates Harry he should be overjoyed at the opportunity to have Harry battle DE's bent on murdering him. Yet Draco's intent seems to be for Harry to go back to London and not even go to Hogwarts at all. It seems more like protection of a sort, to me. Protection under the guise of hatred, maybe?
And yes, Draco steps on Harry's fingers on his way out. Did you really think he wasn't going to? They're still only 16, and the rivalry is still going at full speed for both of them. A borken nose and stepped-on fingers aren't too bad, though, considering Harry is petrified, at Draco's mercy with no one to interfere. Is Draco losing his touch at being a schoolyard bully? Or is it just Harry he's not so keen on attacking anymore?
"Harry had never hated Malfoy more then as he lay there, like an absurd turtle on its back, blood dripping sickeningly into his open mouth." - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 155
There it is again, that hatred. All Harry can do, instead of thinking of a way out of his predicament (which is what he should have been doing, I mean honestly), is focus on Draco and loathe him. He knows he can do wandless magic, he's done it before, maybe he could have thought of something. Instead he hates Draco. Passionately.
"Draco Malfoy was miming the shattering of a nose to raucous laughter and applause. Harry dropped his gaze to his treacle tart, his insides burning again. What he would not give to fight Malfoy one-on-one . . ."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 164
Yes, Draco is retelling the story to his court. Of course he is. He enjoys the attention, wants the spotlight, and likes having people think highly of him. That's unsurprising. Then you have Harry, embarrassed and angry, desperate to fight Draco again. Why? There's never been a time when they've fought that it's ended well. Sometimes it ends better for Harry than for Draco, but it's never good for both sides. He wants to prove himself, wants to show everyone that he can take Draco in a fight.
But aren't there more important things to be thinking about? Like Voldemort and the war? Yet still he's thinking about Draco.
Also, he's looking at treacle tart. That's going to come up again a little later.
"The silence seemed to tauten and strain as Dumbledore spoke. Harry glanced at Malfoy. Malfoy was not looking at Dumbledore, but making his fork hover in midair with his wand, as though he found the headmaster's words unworthy of his attention."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 168
Dumbledore is in the middle of an important speech, one that Harry should be paying close attention to. So what does Harry do? Look at Draco, of course. Don't you always look at people you despise when your mentor is peaking about something extremely important to you? No? Well, apparently Harry does.
"They chose the one nearest a gold-caolored cauldron that was emitting one of the most seductive scents Harry had ever inhaled: Somehow it reminded him simultaneously of treacle tart, the woody smell of a broomstick handle, and smoething flowery he thought the might have smelled at the Burrow."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 183
The potion he smells is Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world, as we learn from Hermione on pg. 185. She states that it smells "differently to each of us, according to what attracts us."
So here again we have the treacle tart, which is something that attracts Harry. It's first appearance was just after he had stared at Draco. JKR does things like that -- leave us small clues and hints that you need to read into. Harry looks from Draco to the treacle tart. Could both be things that are attracting to him?
Then you have the broomstick handle. You could go three ways with this one. One, he loves Quidditch. The end. Two, he's attracted to broomsticks, which is both a represntation of Quidditch and a phallic object. Three, he's attracted to something he smells while playing Quidditch, which he associates with catching the snitch, which he associates with beating Draco. So he's attracted to beating Draco? Makes sense to me.
Last is the flowery smell at the Burrow. Two ways here. One, and the most obvious, is that he's already crushing on Ginny. I won't deny it. Harry and Ginny go out in this book. I'll talk more about that at the end, though. The second way is that Harry is attracted to the Burrow because it's the home he's never had and wishes he could have. I think both ways make sense, although the first is the one that most people will point to. Still, I think having a happy home life is something that appeals to Harry.
"'Sir, I think you knew my grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy?'
Harry looked up; Slughorn was just passing the Slytherin table."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 189
Other people were talking throughout the lesson, and Harry was only talking to Ron and Hermione and concentrating on his work. Then Draco speaks, and Harry looks up. Harry pays attention when Draco speaks.
"'Can you think of any way Malfoy--?'
'Oh, drop it, Harry,' said Ron."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 235
Ron is getting annoyed with Harry talking about Draco all the time. This continues throughout the book. Why would Harry harp on and on about Draco? Obviously Harry is becoming more focused on Draco than he ever has been before.
"There had been a hex that caused toenails to grow alarmingly fast (he had tried this on Crabbe in the corridor, with very entertaining results)"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 238
Why not Draco? They normally walk down the corridor together, don't they? Was Crabbe walking down the corridor without Draco, or did Harry just not want to use it on Draco? We find out later that, although Harry thinks Crabbe and Goyle are not hanging out with Draco much anymore, they actually still are. So we can assume Draco was there. Normally, Harry and Draco attack each other if they attack anyone. Why Crabbe, and not Draco?
The end of "Silver and Opals", Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 249-257, show how Harry is becoming more and more obsessed with finding out what Draco's doing. He even tells McGonagall his suspicions, which he's never done before. Harry is starting to really become involved with Draco now. He gets teachers involved, as well as anyone else he can talk to that will listen to him.
"'Oh, and Malfoy knows, of course,' said Harry to Ron and Hermione, who continued their new policy of feigning deafness whenever Harry mentioned his Malfoy-Is-a-Death-Eater theory."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 258
Harry's talking about Draco so much that both Ron and Hermione are ignoring him. Normally, Ron would agree with Harry and Hermione would tell them not to get into trouble, although she as well would eb disapproving of Draco. But no. Harry has gotten to the point where his friends won't even comment when he talks about Draco anymore. That's a lot of time talking about someone, if you ask me.
"Harry lay awake for a very long time in the darkness. He did not want to lose the upcoming match; not only was it his first as Captain, but he was determined to beat Draco Malfoy at Quidditch even if he could not yet prove his suspicions about him."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 292
Harry stayed up at night thinking about Draco. I don't often stay awake at night thinking about people I hate. Also, and this goes back to the love potion, Harry does relate Quidditch to beating Malfoy, so maybe the broomstick smell had more to do with Draco than Quidditch after all.
"'And even better than that -- Malfoy's gone off sick too!'
'What?" said Harry, wheeling around to stare at her. 'He's ill? What's wrong with him?'
'No idea, but it's great for us,' said Ginny brightly. 'They're playing Harper instead; he's in my year and he's an idiot.'
Harry smiled back vaguely, but as he pulled on his scarlet robes hsi mind was far from Quidditch. Malfoy had once before claimed he could not play due to injury, but on that occasion he had made sure the whole match was rescheduled for a time that suited the Slytherins better. Why was he now happy to let a substitute go on? Was he really ill, or was he faking?"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 294
Wow, so much here. Ginny, who Harry's crushing on, is talking to him. But then she mentions that Draco's ill, and Harry immediately turns about face and asks what's wrong with him. It seems like a mixture of surprise, concern, and curiousity to me. If he really despised Draco, shouldn't he be happy he's not playing Quidditch? Happy that he's ill? And if he really wanted to beat Draco at Quidditch, why would he ask Ginny what's wrong with him? That seems like a concerned question.
"'So why couldn't Malfoy have brought the necklace into the school --?'
'Oh, Harry . . . not that again . . .'
'Come on, why not?' demanded Harry."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 307
Now Hermione is becoming exasperated with how much Harry is going on about Draco.
"Emerging from his goblet, he saw something calculated to raise his spirits even higher: Draco Malfoy being dragged by the ear toward them by Argus Filch."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 320
Two ways to take this one, too. One, he's happy to see Draco in trouble. Two, he's happy to see Draco coming towards him. Both work in the context of the book.
"Harry stared at Malfoy. It was not the sucking-up that intruiged him; he had watched Malfoy do that to Snape for a long time. It was the fact that Malfoy did, after all, look a little ill. This was the first time he had seen Malfoy close up for ages; he now saw that Malfoy had dark shadows under his eyes and a distinctly grayish tinge to his skin."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 321
Again with Harry staring at Draco. And what's this? Harry's paying attention to how Draco looks. He's noticing that Draco does look ill, and he seems somewhat curious about it. Possibly concerned. Also, he knows the color of Draco's skin enough to tell when it's off, and he can tell when Draco's eyes look different as well.
"'I don't know how much longer, all right?' Malfoy shot at him, oblivious to Harry standing right behind him."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 383
Now that's new. Draco not noticing Harry standing behind him? Normally Draco's obsessed with Harry. But now that Draco's got other things on his mind, he doesn't have as much time to pay attention to Harry as he used to. And how does Harry feel about that? Read on.
"'I tell my friends what I'm up to, if I want them to keep a look-out for me,' Harry said, just loud enough for Malfoy to hear him.
Malfoy spun around on the spot, his hand flying to his wand, but at that precise moment the four Heads of House shouted, 'Quiet!" and silence fell again. Malfoy turned slowly to face the front again."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 383-384
Well, seems to me that Harry has been trying to get information out of Draco all year. So, when he's standing right behind Draco, spying on a private conversation during which he might gather some information, what does he do? Speak loudly enough for Draco to hear him, of course. Harry can't bear to be so close to Draco and not have Draco know he's there. Harry's so used to the attention he gets from Draco, that now that it's gone he misses it. So he gives up a golden opportunity in his quest to find out what Draco's up to, just to get Draco to pay attention to him. And then Draco is shocked that he didn't notice Harry there, almost like he's wondering how he could have missed Harry standing right behind him. Then, Draco only turns to face the front when the four Heads of House shout about it. Draco seems unwilling to turn now that he knows Harry's there, and Harry seems quite satisfied that he got Draco's attention.
"Despite his determination to catch Malfoy out, Harry had no luck at all over the next couple of weeks. Although he consulted the map as often as he could, sometimes making unnecessary visits to the bathroom between lessons to search it, he did not once see Malfoy anywhere suspicious."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 388
Then, for "the next couple of weeks" Harry consults the map as often as he can, even in-between lessons, just to find out what Draco's doing and where he's going. For a couple of weeks. Well, if that's not obsession, I don't know what is. And he's determined to catch Malfoy. Determined. Before HBP, he was only mildly interested in what Draco was doing, if at all. Now he's determined to find out about it. And interesting change.
"'No problem,' said Harry absentmindedly, as he searched the Slytherin dormintory closely for Malfoy. 'Hey . . . I don't think he's in his bed. . . .'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 390
So Ron, Harry's best friend, is talking to him, and Harry still cannot keep his eyes off that map. Still he's looking for Draco.
"'Cool,' muttered Harry, sparing the watch a glance before peering more closely at the map. Where was Malfoy? He did not seem to be at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, eating breakfast. . . . He was nowhere near Snape, who was sitting in his study. . . . He wasn't in any of the bathrooms or in the hospital wing. . . ."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 390
Ron gets a really nice gift, and Harry spares a glance for it before returning to look for Draco. He's ignoring his best friend to look for Draco. And what's more, Ron doesn't seem disturbed or surprised by this. Could it be that Ron is already used to this type of behavior from Harry? Has Harry been doing this so often that his best friend is used to it, and has even given up on trying to change his behavior?
"The best way of finding out would be to tail him, but even with the Invisibility Cloak this was an impractical idea: Harry had lessons, Quidditch practice, homework, and Apparition; he could not follow Malfoy around school all day without his absence being remarked upon."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 391
It's not that Harry couldn't follow Draco around all day because he was busy, or it would be ridiculous, like stalking him. Oh, no. It's because his absence would be remarked upon. Honestly now. You'd think he'd come up with a better reason. If the only thing that's stopping him from following Draco around all the time is that people would wonder where he was, it's obvious that Harry's gotten to the point where he can't think about much else besides finding out what Draco's doing. That's obsession.
"Harry, however, had never been less interested in Quidditch; he was rapidly becoming obsessed with Draco Malfoy."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 409
And finally JKR admits it. Harry is obsessed with Draco. In canon, printed in black and white, written by JKR and read by fans everywhere. If there were any doubts left in anyone's mind, this should get rid of them.
"Malfoy stopped short at the sight of Harry, then gave a short, humorless laugh and continued walking."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 412
Draco, who normally stops and mocks Harry, sees him, laughs humorlessly, and continues on his way. Harry asks him where he's going, and Draco doesn't tell him. It's like now that Draco's got other things to do besides obsess over Harry, Harry's finally started obsessing over him.
"One of the girls gave an unwilling giggle. Harry stared at her. She blushed. Malfoy pushed past Harry and she and her friend followed at a trot, turning the corner and vanishing from view.
Harry stood rooted on the spot and watched them disappear. This was infuriating; he was already cutting it fine to get to the match on time and yet there was Malfoy, skulking off while the rest of the school was absent: Harry's best chance yet of discovering what Malfoy was up to. The silent seconds trickled past, and Harry remained where he was, frozen, gazing at the place where Malfoy had vanished. . . ."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 412
Draco pushes past Harry with the two girls and leaves. And Harry, who's already late to the game, stays there, gazing after Draco. Gazing after him. Not glaring after him, or staring, or even looking. Gazing. When he's late and has no time to waste.
"'So I wanted to know how come he's up at the castle with a couple of girlfriends while everyone else is down here. . . .'
'Does it matter right now?'
'Well, I'm not likely to find out, am I?' said Harry, seizing his Firebolt and pushing his glasses straight. 'Come on then!'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 413
Oh, is that a bit of jealousy and anger I detect there, Harry? Ginny, who he's crushing on, is in front of him, talking to him, and Harry's ticked off that he couldn't follow Draco. I like the way he says "a couple of girlfriends". Can't you just hear the annoyance and jealousy?
"'Wish I'd followed him now, the match was such a fiasco. . . .'
'Don't be stupid,' said Ron sharply. 'You couldn't have missed a Quidditch match just to follow Malfoy, you're the Captain!'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 417
But apparantly Harry was thinking about missing the game to follow Draco, regardless of the fact that he's the Captain and is supposed to be there. Ron tells him he's being stupid, but Harry doesn't seem to care.
"'You're getting a bit obsessed with Malfoy, Harry. I mean, thinking about missing a match just to follow him . . .'
'I want to catch him at it!' said Harry in frustration."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 418
His friends are telling him he's getting obsessed with Draco, and Harry gets mad about it. He's annoyed and frustrated, and still he can't help himself.
"'Okay then . . . I want you to tail Draco Malfoy.'
Ignoring the look of mingled surprise and exasperation on Ron's face, Harry went on, 'I want to know where he's going, who he's meeting, and waht he's doing. I want you to follow him around the clock.'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 421
Harry even orders Dobby and Kreacher to tail Draco. That's how desperate he is for information.
"He had just found an incantation ("Sectumsempra!") scrawled in a margin above the intruiging words 'For Enemies,' and was itching to try it out, but thought it best not to in front of Hermione."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 448
This will come into play later, but for now keep in mind that Harry was "itching to try it out" and that it's "For Enemies".
"Harry did not sleep well that night. He lay awake for what felt like hours, wondering how Malfoy was using the Room of Requirement and what he, Harry, would see when he went in there the following day, for whatever Hermione said, Harry was sure that if Malfoy had been able to see the headquarters of the D.A., he would be able to see Malfoy's . . . what could it be? A meeting place? A hideout? A store-room? A workshop? Harry's mind worked feverishly and his dreams, when he finally fell asleep, were broken and disturbed by images of Malfoy, who turned into Slughorn, who turned into Snape. . . ."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 455-456
Once again, Harry stays awake at night thinking of Draco. That's the second time in this book. For those of you keeping count.
And, an interesting thing JKR did here, putting Draco, Slughorn, and Snape in his dream. Draco, who he's obsessed with, Slughorn, the new Potions teacher, and Snape, who he doesn't trust. All three of them are Slytherins that have important roles in this book. Is it possible Harry is starting to think of Slytherins as more than just one-sided evil-doers? Even more shocking, could Harry finally be growing up and maturing enough to understand that Slytherins are like the other houses? There's different levels of students in each house, and maybe Harry's starting to realize that. Finally.
"Harry tried every variation of 'I need to see what Draco Malfoy is doing inside you' that he could think of for a whole hour, at the end of which he was forced to concede that Hermione might have had a point: The room simply did not want to open for him."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 458
Okay, the words "Draco Malfoy is doing inside you" had me excited for a few moments, I won't lie. ^_^* More interesting, though, is that Harry stayed there for an hour trying to get in. A whole hour. That's a long time to be pacing back and forth in front of an empty wall, hoping that you'll get lucky.
"'No,' said Myrtle defiantly, her voice echoing loudly around the old tiled bathroom. 'I mean, he's sensitive, people bully him too, and he feels lonely and hasn't got anybody to talk to, and he's not afraid to show his feelings and cry!'
'There's been a boy in here crying?' said Harry curiously. 'A young boy?'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 462
I have to say, I knew she was talking about Draco when I read this. And doesn't this show a side of Draco that Harry's never seen, the side of Draco that Voldemort is using to his advantage? You can almost hear Harry's mind thinking, "A young boy? Could it be Malfoy? Nah. Malfoy doesn't have feelings; Malfoy doesn't cry." Little does he know.
"Laughing, Harry turned to contemplate the blank wall behind which, he was sure, Draco Malfoy was now standing frozen, aware that someone unwelcome was out there, but not daring to make an appearance. It gave Harry a most agreeable feeling of power as he tried to remember what form of words he had not yet tried.
Yet this hopeful mood did not last long. Half an hour later, having tried many more variations of his request to see what Malfoy was up to, the wall was just as doorless as ever, Harry felt frustrated beyond belief; Malfoy might be just feet away from him, and there was still not the tiniest shred of evidence as to what he was doing in there. Losing his patience completely, Harry ran at the wall and kicked it."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 464-465
Harry felt powerful when he was able to control, to an extent, what Draco was doing. Harry likes having power over Draco. He likes being able to control what Draco does. It's "agreeable" to him. Yet then, after half an hour, Harry is frustrated. Why? Because Draco is standing so close to him, and yet he still can't get to him. He still has no clue about what Draco's doing, and he gets so mad he kicks the wall. So not only does Harry want power over Draco, but he alos wants to be able to know everything Draco's doing.
"'For the last time, just forget about Malfoy,' Hermione told Harry firmly."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 469
Once again, Hermione tells Harry "firmly" to forget about Draco.
"Draco Malfoy was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed.
'Don't,' crooned Moaning Myrtle's voice from one of the cubicles. 'Don't . . . tell me what's wrong . . . I can help you. . . .'
'No one can help me,' said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. 'I can't do it. . . . I can't. . . . It won't work . . . and unless I do it soon . . . he says he'll kill me. . . .'
And Harry realized, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying -- actually crying -- tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin. Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror ans saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder.
Malfoy wheeled around, drawing his wand. Instinctively, Harry pulled out his own. Malfoy's hex missed Harry by inches, shattering the lamp on the wall beside him; Harry threw himself sideways, thought Levicorpus! and flicked his wand, but Malfoy blocked the jinx and raised his wand for another --
'No! No! Stop it!' squealed Moaning Myrtle, her voice echoing loudly around the tiled room. 'Stop! STOP!'
There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wlll behind Malfoy's ear and smashed the cistern beneath Maonign Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, 'Cruci --'
'SECTUMSEMPRA!' bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.
Blood spurted from Malfoy's face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. He staggered backward and collapsed onto the waterlogged floor with a great splash, his wand falling from his limp right hand.
'No --' gasped Harry.
Slipping and staggering, Harry got to his feet and plunged toward Malfoy, whose face was noe shining scarlet, his white hands scrabbling at his blood-soaked chest.
'No -- I didn't --'
Harry did not know what he was saying; he fell to his knees beside Malfoy, who was shaking uncontrollably in a pool of his own blood. Moaning Myrtle let out a deafening scream: 'MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM! MURDER!'
The door banged open behind Harry and he looked up, terrified: Snape had burst into the room, his face livid. Pushign Harry roughly aside, he knelt over Malfoy, drew his wand, and traced it over the deep wounds Harry's curse had made, muttering an incantation that sounded almost like song. The flow of blood seemed to ease; Snape wiped the residue from Malfoy's face and repeated his spell. Now the wounds seemed to be knitting.
Harry was still watching, horrified by what he had done, barely aware that he too was soaked in blood and water. Moaning Myrtle was still sobbing and wialing overhead. When Snape had performed his countercurse for the thired time, he half-lifted Malfoy into a standing position.
'You need the hospital wing. There may be a certain amount of scarring, but if you take dittany immediately we might avoid even that. . . . Come. . . .'
He supported Malfoy across the bathroom, turnign at the door to say in a voice of cold fury, 'And you, Potter . . . You wait here for me.'
It did not occur to Harry for a second to dispobey. He stood up slowly, shaking, and looked down at the wet floor. There were bloodstainds floating like crimson flowers across its surface. He could not even find it in himself to tell Moaning Myrtle to be quiet, as she continued to wail and sob with increasingly evident enjoyment.
Snape returned ten minutes later. He stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
'Go,' he said to Myrtle, and she swooped back into her toilet at once, leaving a ringing silence behind her.
'I didn't mean it to happen,' said Harry at once. His voice echoed in the cold, watery space. 'I didn't know what that spell did.'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 521-524
This is my favorite part of the book, by far. I had to include it all. There's just so much here.
Okay, first of all, we have a great description of Draco -- white-blond hair, people. ^_^* He's feeling lost and troubled, his body's shaking, he's obviously in some serious distress. And then Harry is shocked that Draco is crying. It finally smacks him in the face that Draco has feelings, just like everyone else. Then Draco realizes Harry is spying on him, in this extremely embarrassing and private moment. And what a great mental image, of Draco looking up into a cracked mirror and seeing Harry standing there, behind him. Is this what Draco thinks of Harry? A cracked reflection of himself? Does JKR mean for us to think that Harry and Draco reflect each other, but on a cracked mirror, where the edges distort the images and it's almost impossible to tell truth from illusion? Maybe they are reflections of each other, one raised Muggle, one raised Wizard; one strong and surrounded by friends, one weak and lonely; one despises the Dark Arts, one loves them; both obsessed with each other, yet neither being able to see what the other's really like. I think that's one of the best lures of the Harry/Draco ship, their complicated and conflicting relationship. Anyway... *smacks self for tangent*
They start to duel. Notice that nothing they throw at each other hits the other. Draco's upset that Harry saw him crying, Harry's probably still shcoked at what he saw. Then, and this is vital, Draco attempted to use Crucio on Harry. Would it have worked? I don't know. We know, from previous books, that you have to be able to really hate in order to use the Unforgivables. We also know that Harry is both willing and able to cast them, as he did on Bellatrix at the end of PoA, and as he attempts to on Snape at the end of HBP. Draco is obviously willing, but would he have been able to do it? Hopefully we'll find out in book 7. Another issue here is, do you have to hate the person it's directed at, or just have the ability to hate in you? Obviously, an important question in the Harry/Draco realtionship.
If Draco could have cast it, if he hates Harry that much, I still think Harry/Draco works. It's just that they're still at that stage of hating each other passionately. If he couldn't have cast it, either he doesn't hate Harry or he just isn't as capable of hate as Harry is. Thoughts, anyone?
So, in a move made to block Crucio, Harry casts the spell that's "For Enemies" that he's been "itching to try out". In a fight, the opposing person, your opponent, is your enemy. It makes sense that Harry would consider using a spell for enemies on someone he's duelling against. The Leg-Locker Curse is also a spell made for enemies, and Harry attempted to use that on Draco. Besides, Harry wanted to know what the spell did, and this was a golden opportunity for him.
As an aside, I think the cuts that appear depend on how you wave your wand. Anyway...
The cuts appear and blood spurts from Draco's chest. Harry, obviously upset, says "No --" and goes to Draco. Harry says "No -- I didn't --", and he falls to his knees next to Draco. This whole scene screams guilt, remorse, shock, disgust, and sadness. It's almost like Harry can't even imagine that he just performed that spell, and that he can't imagine Draco might die because of him. He even falls to his kness besides Draco after plunging toward him. In his mind, his only thought is to get to Draco. That's it.
Snape performs the counter-curse, and Harry remains horrified at what just happened. Draco now has scars over his face and chest from where Harry performed the spell, and all Harry can do is shake at stare at Draco's blood on the floor. And from then on, he just says he didn't want that to happen, that he didn't know what the spell did.
I think this proves, more than anything, that Harry is not ready to deal with killing Draco, has never even contemplating killing Draco, and in fact would have hated himself if he had killed Draco. Harry can't even imagine a time when that would be an option, which goes way back to the beginning of this essay when Harry says he's not afraid of Draco. It goes both ways. Harry's not afraid of Draco because he knows Draco won't ever kill him, but at the same time he knows he won't ever kill Draco. They are supposed to be enemies, but it's like that is off-limits. Why? Harry is more than ready, by the end of HBP, to kill Voldemort and Snape, possibly Pettigrew and Bellatrix as well. What's different about Draco?
That's the question readers should be asking. Why is Harry, who is so ready to kill other people who have antagonized him, ready to let Draco live? In fact, will go out of his way to make an effort not to kill Draco? It seems like he wants Draco alive. And after being obsessed with him for so long, can you really blame him?
"'I mean, I'm not saying that spell you used on Malfoy was great -- '
'Nor am I,' said Harry quickly.
'But he healed all right, didn't he? Back on his feet in no time.'
'Yeah,' said Harry; this was perfectly true, although his conscience squirmed slightly all the same."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 539
Harry's showing guilt over what he's done. Obviously he never wanted that to happen to Draco. Obviously he never wanted to do that to anyone.
"'I've got to be quick,' Harry panted. 'Dumbledore thinks I'm getting my Invisibility Cloak. Listen. . . .'- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 551
By this point, Harry is supposed to be going with Dumbledore on this important mission to destroy a Horcrux, so what is he doing lying to Dumbledore to talk to Ron and Hermione?
"'. . . so you see what this means?' Harry finished at a gallop. 'Dumbledore won't be here tonight, so Malfoy's going to have another clear shot at whatever he's up to. No, listen to me!' he hissed angrily, as both Ron and Hermione showed every sign of interrupting."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 552
He's telling them to spy on Draco, to see what Draco's doing when he can't. Even though Dumbledore is giving Harry an important job and letting him come along on this mission, Harry still makes an excuse to get away to make sure that someone is paying attention to waht Draco is doing, especially when he has a clear opportunity to do it.
"There was silence. Harry stood imprisoned within his own invisible, paralyzed body, staring at the two of them, his ears strainign to hear the sounds of the Death Eaters' distant fight, and in front of him, Draco Malfoy did nothing but stare at Albus Dumbledore, who, incredibly, smiled.
'Draco, Draco, you are not a killer.'
'How do you know?' said Malfoy at once.
He seemed to realize how childish the words had sounded; Harry saw him flush in the Mark's greenish light."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 585
So, the big scene. The climax, if you will. Harry petrified and invisible, Dumbledore disarmed and injured, Draco armed and unsure of himself. Harry pays such close attention to Draco in this scene. Draco stares at Dumbledore, tries to make himself seem like a killer, and then flushes. Harry notices all of this, especially about Draco being unsure about killing Duimbledore.
"Somewhere in the depths of the castle below Harry heard a muffled yell. Malfoy stiffened and glanced over his shoulder."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 586
Harry sees that Draco is uncomfortable and worried about what's going on in the castle, and still he's watching Draco.
"But Malfoy said nothing: He was still listening to whatever was happening below and seemed almost as paralyzed as Harry was."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 586
Another example of Harry seeing what Draco's really like, what Draco's really capable of. He's not a killer, and Harry's finally starting to see that.
"Malfoy looked as though he was fighting down the urge to shout, or to vomit. He gulped and took several deep breaths, glaring at Dumbledore, his wand pointing directly at the latter's heart."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 586
Draco is extremely distressed, and Harry can see that.
"'Enchanted coins,' said Malfoy, as though he was compelled to keep talking, though his wand hand was shaking badly."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 589
Harry notices Draco's hand is shaking.
"Malfoy did not speak. His mouth was open, his wand hand still trembling. Harry thought he saw it drop bya a fraction --"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 592
Harry sees Draco lowering his wand. He knows Draco is not going to kill Dumbledore. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Without Harry seeing this, he might have thought Draco woiuld have gone through with it. But instead, he now knows that Draco really would never have killed Dumbledore, and was in fact seconds away from accepting Dumbledore's offer of switching sides and protection for him and his family.
Oh God. Those stupid bloody Death Eaters just had to come in and condemn Draco to staying on Voldemort's side, didn;t they? *smites Death Eaters* *cuddles Draco*
"'Out of here, quickly,' said Snape.
He seized Malfoy by the scruff of the neck and forced him through the door ahead of the rest; Greyback and the squat brother and sister followed, and the latter both panting excitedly."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 597
And thus begins what I like to call The Abduction of Draco Malfoy (TADM, for short). Snape "seizes" Draco and forces him through the door. Then the chase begins.
"He leapt the last ten steps of the spiral staircase and stopped where he landed, his wand raised: The dimly lit corridor was full of dust; half the ceiling seemed to have fallen in; and a battle was raging before him, but even as he attempted to make out who was fighting whom, he heard the hated voice shout, 'It's over, time to go!' and saw Snape disappearing around the corner at the far end of the corridor; he and Malfoy seemed to have forced their way through the fight unscathed. As Harry plunged after them, one of the fighters detached themselves from the fray and flew at him: It was the werewolf, Fenrir."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 598
The battle's going on around him, and Harry's focused on catching Snape. Not Draco. Snape. I'll get back to this later.
"'M'all right,' muttered Neville, who was clutching his stomach, 'Harry . . . Snape 'n' Malfoy . . . ran past . . .'
'I know, I'm on it!' said Harry, aiming a hex from the floor at the enormous blond Death Eater who was causing most of the chaos."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 599
Harry still chases after them, leaving Neville, who's injured, behind to do it.
"He pelted toward a shortcut, hoping to overtake the brother and sister and close in on Snape and Malfoy, who must surely have reached the grounds by now."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 600
He's really going full tilt after them.
"Harry flew across the entrance hall and out into the dark grounds: He could just make out three figures racing across the lawn, heading for the gates beyond which they could Disapparate -- by the looks of them, the huge blond Death Eater and, some way ahead of him, Snape and Malfoy . . .
The cold night air ripped at Harry's lungs as he tore after them; he saw a flash of light in the distance that momentarily silhouetted his quarry. He did not know what it was but continued to run, not yet near enough to get a good aim with a curse --"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 601
Harry seems almost desperare to catch them now. He ignores a flash of light, which could be anything, a curse, a jinx, someone he knows and cares about in trouble, to continue chasing after Draco.
"Snape and Malfoy, however, were still running; they would soon be beyond the gates, able to Disapparate --
Harry tore past Hagrid and his opponent, took aim at Snape's back, and yelled, 'Stupefy!'
He missed; the jet of red light spared past Snape's head; Snape shouted, 'Run, Draco!' and turned. Twenty yards apart, he and Harry looked at each other before raising their wands simultaneously."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 602
Harry finally catches up to them. He aims at Snape, not Draco, and in fact lets Draco escape. If Harry really thought Draco was to blame, he wouldn't let him escape. Instead, Harry focuses his anger and hate where it belongs, on Snape, the man who killed Dumbledore.
"Over at the Slytherin table Crabbe and Goyle were muttering together. Hulking boys thought they were, they looked oddly lonely without the tall, pale figure of Malfoy between them, bossing them around. Harry had not spared Malfoy much thought. His animosity was all for Snape, but he had not forgotten the fear in Malfoy's voice on that tower top, nor the fact that he had lowered his wand before the other Death Eaters arrived. Harry did not believe that Malfoy would have killed Dumbledore. He despised Malfoy still for his infatuation with the Dark Arts, but now the tiniest drop of pity mingled with dislike. Where, Harry wondered, was Malfoy now, and what was Voldemort making him do under threat of killing him and his parents?"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 640
Another good description of Draco- tall, pale, and bossy. In the days since Dumbledore's death, Harry's been focused on getting revenge for his killer. He hadn't spared Draco much thought because he didn't believe Draco was to blame, nor did he hold Draco accountable for what had happened. Instead, he despises Draco for liking the Dark Arts, but now he pities him for his situation as well. And yes, Harry, we all are wondering what Draco's doing now.
I think that basically speaks for itself, but before I finish, I wanted to say something very shortly about Harry and Ginny.
Ginny has had a crush on Harry since they first met. Harry had a crush on Cho, and that didn't work out, and now he's got a crush on Ginny. They go out, even though Harry is obsessed with Draco. In canon, he talks about, thinks about, and wonders about Draco more than Ginny. That's just canon. Draco can handle himself in battle (one way or another), Harry wouldn't have to stop and help him. Harry had to stop and help Ginny, and he lost valuable seconds he would have otherwise had in which he could have caught Snape and Draco. Whenever Harry wanted to talk about important things, like the Horcruxes, he always waited until Ginny left before discussing it with Ron and Hermione. Harry didn't trust Ginny enough to tell her about such serious issues; he trusts Ron and Hermione more than her. Ginny didn't realize Harry had something important to say, ever, she always left. She doesn't know how to read Harry. At the end, when they break up, Ginny doesn't fight it, nor does she seem too upset. I'd imagine she's pretty upset, but it's like she doesn't love Harry enough to insist that they should stay together. At the end, Ron and Hermione insist that they're staying with Harry no matter what. Ginny doesn't. Obviously, Harry and Ginny did have crushes on each other, and they liked each other, but Ginny also liked Dean and Michael Corner, and Harry alos liked Cho. I think it makes sense that Harry and Ginny would eventually get together in canon, and I'm actually extremely happy it happened now, when they're only 16 and 15, and that it happened the way it did. Everyone goes through a few people before they end up with the person they spend their life with, and since I want Harry and Draco to end up spending their lives together, I'm quite satisfied with the Harry/Ginny aspect of this book. Now it's ovewr with, thank God. Hopefully Draco and Pansy have had their relationship as well, and everyone can move on to bigger and better things.
I've always said that Harry and Ginny weren't good for each other, and I think HBP proves me right. There's not enough love or trust there for a relationship to work. So they made out and had fun. Good, I'm happy for Harry. He needs some fun in his life.
As for Pansy stroking Draco's hair, well, hopefully it was fun for Draco while it lasted. Draco's life looks like it's taking some pretty bad turns now. Maybe Pansy was a good distraction for him.
I think HBP is the best book Harry/Draco shippers could have asked for. Harry is obsessed with Draco, even while he's dating someone else, and Draco almost joins Harry's side. Harry and Draco learn more about each other and become more involved in each other's lives. Harry realizes that Draco has a peronsality and feelings. He also realizes that he's used to Draco obsessing over him, and that he misses it when it isn't there.
In short, Harry/Draco is more canon than ever. Don't you just love it?
^.~*
P.S.- Please ignore spelling errors and un-italicized items. I just wrote this quickly, I will be fixing it later. ^_^*
I have gotten to a computer, even in the hundred degree weather, because I have finished HBP and have had time to process my love of it. So, the rest of this entry is a spoiler. Click at your own risk.
So instead of just typing randomly, I've decided to use text from HBP. Here's my thoughts on the ever-changing relationship of Harry and Draco during and post-HBP. ^_^*
"'Severus,' she whispered, tears sliding down her pale cheeks. 'My son . . . my only son . . .'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 33
Okay, I don't know about you all, but when I read that I was like, "WHAT?!" I think that entire scene is a great way of showing us, right at the beginning of the book, that Draco and Narcissa have a close relationship, and that we really aren't getting the full story from just Harry's POV.
"'Harry looked mockingly all around the shop. ;Wow . . . look at that . . . he's not here now! So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!'
Malfoy made an angry movement toward Harry, but stumbled over his overlong robe. Ron laughed loudly.
'Don't you dare talk about my mother like that, Potter!' Malfoy snarled."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 113-114
So, in their first meeting in HBP, both Harry and Draco are still involved in their petty feuding. For the rest of "Draco's Detour", Harry shows that he knows Draco extremely well.
"Judging by the movements of Malfoy's hands, he was talking animatedly."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 124
Harry could only see the movements of Draco's hands, but just by that he could guess at what was going on. That shows that Harry has been paying attention to Draco's habits over the years. It also shows that Harry knows Draco well enough to guess at how he's behaving with just his hand gestures to go by. This is also a nice characterization for Draco, as well. He's always struck me as the sort of person who talks with his hands.
"'No?" said Malfoy, and Harry knew, just by his tone, that Malfoy was sneering."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 125
Once again, just by hearing his voice, Harry can guess at what Draco's facial expression is. It's not even a guess, it says that Harry knows. It's not often you can listen to a person's voice and know exactly what their expression is. It shows, again, that Harry has, in fact, been paying attention to Draco all this time, and that now he's finally putting all that knowledge to good use.
"Harry lay curled uncomfortably under the cloak to ensure that every inch of him remained hidden, and watched Pansy stroke the sleek blond hair off Malfoy's forehead, smirking as she did so, as though anyone would have loved to have been in her place."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 149
Here we have Harry, hiding in the Slytherin train compartment. You know he's concentrating on not being seen, and he really doesn't have time to be paying attention to Pansy stroking Draco's hair. Yet he is anyway. And it's interesting that Harry thinks she's smirking "as though anyone would have loved to have been in her place." Anyone, such as Harry himself, perhaps? Does Harry know Pansy well enough to guess at what her smirk could mean? Is he, possibly, inserting a meaning into it? Possibly.
"'Potter, precious Potter, obviously he wanted a look at 'the Chosen One,'' sneered Malfoy, 'but that Weasley girl! What's so special about her?'
'A lot of boys like her,' said Pansy, watching Malfoy out of the corner of her eyes for his reaction."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 150
This is interesting. Draco seems to take it for granted that Slughorn would want to see Harry, which does make sense, yet he then seems so annoyed about Ginny being invited as well. You could argue that he doesn't understand why a Weasley was invited when a Malfoy was not. You could also argue that he already knows that Harry and Ginny might end up dating, and is looking for ways to smear her name. Jealousy, perhaps? And then Pansy says that lots of boys like Ginny, and she watches Draco for his reaction. Sure, it shows that Pansy likes Draco, but it could also show that she knows what he's thinking about Harry, and wants to test her theory.
"Harry was so busy staring at Malfoy, he did not notice Goyle reaching up for his trunk; as he swung it down, it hit Harry hard on the side of the head. He let out an involuntary gasp of pain, and Malfoy looked up at the luggage rack, frowning.
Harry was not afraid of Malfoy, but he still did not much like the idea of being discovered hiding under his Invisibility Cloak by a group of unfriendly Slytherins."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 152
Okay, three important points here. First, Harry is busy staring at Draco. Staring. When he is supposed to be hiding from all of them. In fact, he is staring so much that he does not notice when someone is reaching up towards him. That is some serious staring going on.
Second, Harry gasps and Draco is the only one who notices. If you're in a train compartment, there's noise from the tracks, other people outside, people inside talking, etc. How come Draco is the only one to notice Harry gasping? Shouldn't there be someone else who's paying attention, who says "Hey, someone's here"? But no. Draco notices, and no one else does. More than that, he doesn't do anything about it right away. He's waiting for the right moment, when no one else is around. Take that as you will.
Third, Harry's not afraid of Draco. Doesn't seem that important, but I think it is. It shows that Harry realizes, on some level, that Draco wouldn't ever really hurt him. They might beat each other up, hex, curse, and jinx each other into unconsciousness, but Harry believes Draco would never do anything truly harmful to him. Or at least nothing that he should be afraid of. An interesting opinion for someone who's supposed to be a loathed enemy, no?
"Now Harry and Malfoy were alone in the compartment." - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 153
A line I never thought I would read in canon. Oh, the unadulterated joy. ^_^*
"He couldn't move a muscle; he could only gaze up at Malfoy, who smiled broadly."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 153
Okay, taken out of context, this line is rife with UST. Of course, in context we know Harry is petrified and literally can't move. Still, it's interesting how that entire scene plays out. If Draco really wanted to do something horrible to Harry, he could have then. Instead, he broke Harry's nose as revenge for Harry getting Lucius locked up in Azkaban (and we all knew there would be some vengeance there, I think a broken nose is Draco letting Harry off pretty easily, considering how petty and vengeful Draco can be), and then he puts the Invisibility Cloak back over Harry. He doesn't cast and Unforgivable on him, he doesn't hex or jinx or curse him. He leaves him there, in the compartment, with the hope that Harry won't go to Hogwarts that year.
Draco already knows he's supposed to let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts sometime during the year. Why would he want Harry to not be there? You could argue that he doesn't want Harry to kill the DE's, but that doesn't make much sense. Harry's never killed anyone, and if Draco really hates Harry he should be overjoyed at the opportunity to have Harry battle DE's bent on murdering him. Yet Draco's intent seems to be for Harry to go back to London and not even go to Hogwarts at all. It seems more like protection of a sort, to me. Protection under the guise of hatred, maybe?
And yes, Draco steps on Harry's fingers on his way out. Did you really think he wasn't going to? They're still only 16, and the rivalry is still going at full speed for both of them. A borken nose and stepped-on fingers aren't too bad, though, considering Harry is petrified, at Draco's mercy with no one to interfere. Is Draco losing his touch at being a schoolyard bully? Or is it just Harry he's not so keen on attacking anymore?
"Harry had never hated Malfoy more then as he lay there, like an absurd turtle on its back, blood dripping sickeningly into his open mouth." - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 155
There it is again, that hatred. All Harry can do, instead of thinking of a way out of his predicament (which is what he should have been doing, I mean honestly), is focus on Draco and loathe him. He knows he can do wandless magic, he's done it before, maybe he could have thought of something. Instead he hates Draco. Passionately.
"Draco Malfoy was miming the shattering of a nose to raucous laughter and applause. Harry dropped his gaze to his treacle tart, his insides burning again. What he would not give to fight Malfoy one-on-one . . ."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 164
Yes, Draco is retelling the story to his court. Of course he is. He enjoys the attention, wants the spotlight, and likes having people think highly of him. That's unsurprising. Then you have Harry, embarrassed and angry, desperate to fight Draco again. Why? There's never been a time when they've fought that it's ended well. Sometimes it ends better for Harry than for Draco, but it's never good for both sides. He wants to prove himself, wants to show everyone that he can take Draco in a fight.
But aren't there more important things to be thinking about? Like Voldemort and the war? Yet still he's thinking about Draco.
Also, he's looking at treacle tart. That's going to come up again a little later.
"The silence seemed to tauten and strain as Dumbledore spoke. Harry glanced at Malfoy. Malfoy was not looking at Dumbledore, but making his fork hover in midair with his wand, as though he found the headmaster's words unworthy of his attention."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 168
Dumbledore is in the middle of an important speech, one that Harry should be paying close attention to. So what does Harry do? Look at Draco, of course. Don't you always look at people you despise when your mentor is peaking about something extremely important to you? No? Well, apparently Harry does.
"They chose the one nearest a gold-caolored cauldron that was emitting one of the most seductive scents Harry had ever inhaled: Somehow it reminded him simultaneously of treacle tart, the woody smell of a broomstick handle, and smoething flowery he thought the might have smelled at the Burrow."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 183
The potion he smells is Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world, as we learn from Hermione on pg. 185. She states that it smells "differently to each of us, according to what attracts us."
So here again we have the treacle tart, which is something that attracts Harry. It's first appearance was just after he had stared at Draco. JKR does things like that -- leave us small clues and hints that you need to read into. Harry looks from Draco to the treacle tart. Could both be things that are attracting to him?
Then you have the broomstick handle. You could go three ways with this one. One, he loves Quidditch. The end. Two, he's attracted to broomsticks, which is both a represntation of Quidditch and a phallic object. Three, he's attracted to something he smells while playing Quidditch, which he associates with catching the snitch, which he associates with beating Draco. So he's attracted to beating Draco? Makes sense to me.
Last is the flowery smell at the Burrow. Two ways here. One, and the most obvious, is that he's already crushing on Ginny. I won't deny it. Harry and Ginny go out in this book. I'll talk more about that at the end, though. The second way is that Harry is attracted to the Burrow because it's the home he's never had and wishes he could have. I think both ways make sense, although the first is the one that most people will point to. Still, I think having a happy home life is something that appeals to Harry.
"'Sir, I think you knew my grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy?'
Harry looked up; Slughorn was just passing the Slytherin table."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 189
Other people were talking throughout the lesson, and Harry was only talking to Ron and Hermione and concentrating on his work. Then Draco speaks, and Harry looks up. Harry pays attention when Draco speaks.
"'Can you think of any way Malfoy--?'
'Oh, drop it, Harry,' said Ron."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 235
Ron is getting annoyed with Harry talking about Draco all the time. This continues throughout the book. Why would Harry harp on and on about Draco? Obviously Harry is becoming more focused on Draco than he ever has been before.
"There had been a hex that caused toenails to grow alarmingly fast (he had tried this on Crabbe in the corridor, with very entertaining results)"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 238
Why not Draco? They normally walk down the corridor together, don't they? Was Crabbe walking down the corridor without Draco, or did Harry just not want to use it on Draco? We find out later that, although Harry thinks Crabbe and Goyle are not hanging out with Draco much anymore, they actually still are. So we can assume Draco was there. Normally, Harry and Draco attack each other if they attack anyone. Why Crabbe, and not Draco?
The end of "Silver and Opals", Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 249-257, show how Harry is becoming more and more obsessed with finding out what Draco's doing. He even tells McGonagall his suspicions, which he's never done before. Harry is starting to really become involved with Draco now. He gets teachers involved, as well as anyone else he can talk to that will listen to him.
"'Oh, and Malfoy knows, of course,' said Harry to Ron and Hermione, who continued their new policy of feigning deafness whenever Harry mentioned his Malfoy-Is-a-Death-Eater theory."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 258
Harry's talking about Draco so much that both Ron and Hermione are ignoring him. Normally, Ron would agree with Harry and Hermione would tell them not to get into trouble, although she as well would eb disapproving of Draco. But no. Harry has gotten to the point where his friends won't even comment when he talks about Draco anymore. That's a lot of time talking about someone, if you ask me.
"Harry lay awake for a very long time in the darkness. He did not want to lose the upcoming match; not only was it his first as Captain, but he was determined to beat Draco Malfoy at Quidditch even if he could not yet prove his suspicions about him."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 292
Harry stayed up at night thinking about Draco. I don't often stay awake at night thinking about people I hate. Also, and this goes back to the love potion, Harry does relate Quidditch to beating Malfoy, so maybe the broomstick smell had more to do with Draco than Quidditch after all.
"'And even better than that -- Malfoy's gone off sick too!'
'What?" said Harry, wheeling around to stare at her. 'He's ill? What's wrong with him?'
'No idea, but it's great for us,' said Ginny brightly. 'They're playing Harper instead; he's in my year and he's an idiot.'
Harry smiled back vaguely, but as he pulled on his scarlet robes hsi mind was far from Quidditch. Malfoy had once before claimed he could not play due to injury, but on that occasion he had made sure the whole match was rescheduled for a time that suited the Slytherins better. Why was he now happy to let a substitute go on? Was he really ill, or was he faking?"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 294
Wow, so much here. Ginny, who Harry's crushing on, is talking to him. But then she mentions that Draco's ill, and Harry immediately turns about face and asks what's wrong with him. It seems like a mixture of surprise, concern, and curiousity to me. If he really despised Draco, shouldn't he be happy he's not playing Quidditch? Happy that he's ill? And if he really wanted to beat Draco at Quidditch, why would he ask Ginny what's wrong with him? That seems like a concerned question.
"'So why couldn't Malfoy have brought the necklace into the school --?'
'Oh, Harry . . . not that again . . .'
'Come on, why not?' demanded Harry."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 307
Now Hermione is becoming exasperated with how much Harry is going on about Draco.
"Emerging from his goblet, he saw something calculated to raise his spirits even higher: Draco Malfoy being dragged by the ear toward them by Argus Filch."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 320
Two ways to take this one, too. One, he's happy to see Draco in trouble. Two, he's happy to see Draco coming towards him. Both work in the context of the book.
"Harry stared at Malfoy. It was not the sucking-up that intruiged him; he had watched Malfoy do that to Snape for a long time. It was the fact that Malfoy did, after all, look a little ill. This was the first time he had seen Malfoy close up for ages; he now saw that Malfoy had dark shadows under his eyes and a distinctly grayish tinge to his skin."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 321
Again with Harry staring at Draco. And what's this? Harry's paying attention to how Draco looks. He's noticing that Draco does look ill, and he seems somewhat curious about it. Possibly concerned. Also, he knows the color of Draco's skin enough to tell when it's off, and he can tell when Draco's eyes look different as well.
"'I don't know how much longer, all right?' Malfoy shot at him, oblivious to Harry standing right behind him."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 383
Now that's new. Draco not noticing Harry standing behind him? Normally Draco's obsessed with Harry. But now that Draco's got other things on his mind, he doesn't have as much time to pay attention to Harry as he used to. And how does Harry feel about that? Read on.
"'I tell my friends what I'm up to, if I want them to keep a look-out for me,' Harry said, just loud enough for Malfoy to hear him.
Malfoy spun around on the spot, his hand flying to his wand, but at that precise moment the four Heads of House shouted, 'Quiet!" and silence fell again. Malfoy turned slowly to face the front again."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 383-384
Well, seems to me that Harry has been trying to get information out of Draco all year. So, when he's standing right behind Draco, spying on a private conversation during which he might gather some information, what does he do? Speak loudly enough for Draco to hear him, of course. Harry can't bear to be so close to Draco and not have Draco know he's there. Harry's so used to the attention he gets from Draco, that now that it's gone he misses it. So he gives up a golden opportunity in his quest to find out what Draco's up to, just to get Draco to pay attention to him. And then Draco is shocked that he didn't notice Harry there, almost like he's wondering how he could have missed Harry standing right behind him. Then, Draco only turns to face the front when the four Heads of House shout about it. Draco seems unwilling to turn now that he knows Harry's there, and Harry seems quite satisfied that he got Draco's attention.
"Despite his determination to catch Malfoy out, Harry had no luck at all over the next couple of weeks. Although he consulted the map as often as he could, sometimes making unnecessary visits to the bathroom between lessons to search it, he did not once see Malfoy anywhere suspicious."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 388
Then, for "the next couple of weeks" Harry consults the map as often as he can, even in-between lessons, just to find out what Draco's doing and where he's going. For a couple of weeks. Well, if that's not obsession, I don't know what is. And he's determined to catch Malfoy. Determined. Before HBP, he was only mildly interested in what Draco was doing, if at all. Now he's determined to find out about it. And interesting change.
"'No problem,' said Harry absentmindedly, as he searched the Slytherin dormintory closely for Malfoy. 'Hey . . . I don't think he's in his bed. . . .'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 390
So Ron, Harry's best friend, is talking to him, and Harry still cannot keep his eyes off that map. Still he's looking for Draco.
"'Cool,' muttered Harry, sparing the watch a glance before peering more closely at the map. Where was Malfoy? He did not seem to be at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, eating breakfast. . . . He was nowhere near Snape, who was sitting in his study. . . . He wasn't in any of the bathrooms or in the hospital wing. . . ."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 390
Ron gets a really nice gift, and Harry spares a glance for it before returning to look for Draco. He's ignoring his best friend to look for Draco. And what's more, Ron doesn't seem disturbed or surprised by this. Could it be that Ron is already used to this type of behavior from Harry? Has Harry been doing this so often that his best friend is used to it, and has even given up on trying to change his behavior?
"The best way of finding out would be to tail him, but even with the Invisibility Cloak this was an impractical idea: Harry had lessons, Quidditch practice, homework, and Apparition; he could not follow Malfoy around school all day without his absence being remarked upon."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 391
It's not that Harry couldn't follow Draco around all day because he was busy, or it would be ridiculous, like stalking him. Oh, no. It's because his absence would be remarked upon. Honestly now. You'd think he'd come up with a better reason. If the only thing that's stopping him from following Draco around all the time is that people would wonder where he was, it's obvious that Harry's gotten to the point where he can't think about much else besides finding out what Draco's doing. That's obsession.
"Harry, however, had never been less interested in Quidditch; he was rapidly becoming obsessed with Draco Malfoy."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 409
And finally JKR admits it. Harry is obsessed with Draco. In canon, printed in black and white, written by JKR and read by fans everywhere. If there were any doubts left in anyone's mind, this should get rid of them.
"Malfoy stopped short at the sight of Harry, then gave a short, humorless laugh and continued walking."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 412
Draco, who normally stops and mocks Harry, sees him, laughs humorlessly, and continues on his way. Harry asks him where he's going, and Draco doesn't tell him. It's like now that Draco's got other things to do besides obsess over Harry, Harry's finally started obsessing over him.
"One of the girls gave an unwilling giggle. Harry stared at her. She blushed. Malfoy pushed past Harry and she and her friend followed at a trot, turning the corner and vanishing from view.
Harry stood rooted on the spot and watched them disappear. This was infuriating; he was already cutting it fine to get to the match on time and yet there was Malfoy, skulking off while the rest of the school was absent: Harry's best chance yet of discovering what Malfoy was up to. The silent seconds trickled past, and Harry remained where he was, frozen, gazing at the place where Malfoy had vanished. . . ."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 412
Draco pushes past Harry with the two girls and leaves. And Harry, who's already late to the game, stays there, gazing after Draco. Gazing after him. Not glaring after him, or staring, or even looking. Gazing. When he's late and has no time to waste.
"'So I wanted to know how come he's up at the castle with a couple of girlfriends while everyone else is down here. . . .'
'Does it matter right now?'
'Well, I'm not likely to find out, am I?' said Harry, seizing his Firebolt and pushing his glasses straight. 'Come on then!'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 413
Oh, is that a bit of jealousy and anger I detect there, Harry? Ginny, who he's crushing on, is in front of him, talking to him, and Harry's ticked off that he couldn't follow Draco. I like the way he says "a couple of girlfriends". Can't you just hear the annoyance and jealousy?
"'Wish I'd followed him now, the match was such a fiasco. . . .'
'Don't be stupid,' said Ron sharply. 'You couldn't have missed a Quidditch match just to follow Malfoy, you're the Captain!'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 417
But apparantly Harry was thinking about missing the game to follow Draco, regardless of the fact that he's the Captain and is supposed to be there. Ron tells him he's being stupid, but Harry doesn't seem to care.
"'You're getting a bit obsessed with Malfoy, Harry. I mean, thinking about missing a match just to follow him . . .'
'I want to catch him at it!' said Harry in frustration."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 418
His friends are telling him he's getting obsessed with Draco, and Harry gets mad about it. He's annoyed and frustrated, and still he can't help himself.
"'Okay then . . . I want you to tail Draco Malfoy.'
Ignoring the look of mingled surprise and exasperation on Ron's face, Harry went on, 'I want to know where he's going, who he's meeting, and waht he's doing. I want you to follow him around the clock.'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 421
Harry even orders Dobby and Kreacher to tail Draco. That's how desperate he is for information.
"He had just found an incantation ("Sectumsempra!") scrawled in a margin above the intruiging words 'For Enemies,' and was itching to try it out, but thought it best not to in front of Hermione."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 448
This will come into play later, but for now keep in mind that Harry was "itching to try it out" and that it's "For Enemies".
"Harry did not sleep well that night. He lay awake for what felt like hours, wondering how Malfoy was using the Room of Requirement and what he, Harry, would see when he went in there the following day, for whatever Hermione said, Harry was sure that if Malfoy had been able to see the headquarters of the D.A., he would be able to see Malfoy's . . . what could it be? A meeting place? A hideout? A store-room? A workshop? Harry's mind worked feverishly and his dreams, when he finally fell asleep, were broken and disturbed by images of Malfoy, who turned into Slughorn, who turned into Snape. . . ."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 455-456
Once again, Harry stays awake at night thinking of Draco. That's the second time in this book. For those of you keeping count.
And, an interesting thing JKR did here, putting Draco, Slughorn, and Snape in his dream. Draco, who he's obsessed with, Slughorn, the new Potions teacher, and Snape, who he doesn't trust. All three of them are Slytherins that have important roles in this book. Is it possible Harry is starting to think of Slytherins as more than just one-sided evil-doers? Even more shocking, could Harry finally be growing up and maturing enough to understand that Slytherins are like the other houses? There's different levels of students in each house, and maybe Harry's starting to realize that. Finally.
"Harry tried every variation of 'I need to see what Draco Malfoy is doing inside you' that he could think of for a whole hour, at the end of which he was forced to concede that Hermione might have had a point: The room simply did not want to open for him."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 458
Okay, the words "Draco Malfoy is doing inside you" had me excited for a few moments, I won't lie. ^_^* More interesting, though, is that Harry stayed there for an hour trying to get in. A whole hour. That's a long time to be pacing back and forth in front of an empty wall, hoping that you'll get lucky.
"'No,' said Myrtle defiantly, her voice echoing loudly around the old tiled bathroom. 'I mean, he's sensitive, people bully him too, and he feels lonely and hasn't got anybody to talk to, and he's not afraid to show his feelings and cry!'
'There's been a boy in here crying?' said Harry curiously. 'A young boy?'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 462
I have to say, I knew she was talking about Draco when I read this. And doesn't this show a side of Draco that Harry's never seen, the side of Draco that Voldemort is using to his advantage? You can almost hear Harry's mind thinking, "A young boy? Could it be Malfoy? Nah. Malfoy doesn't have feelings; Malfoy doesn't cry." Little does he know.
"Laughing, Harry turned to contemplate the blank wall behind which, he was sure, Draco Malfoy was now standing frozen, aware that someone unwelcome was out there, but not daring to make an appearance. It gave Harry a most agreeable feeling of power as he tried to remember what form of words he had not yet tried.
Yet this hopeful mood did not last long. Half an hour later, having tried many more variations of his request to see what Malfoy was up to, the wall was just as doorless as ever, Harry felt frustrated beyond belief; Malfoy might be just feet away from him, and there was still not the tiniest shred of evidence as to what he was doing in there. Losing his patience completely, Harry ran at the wall and kicked it."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 464-465
Harry felt powerful when he was able to control, to an extent, what Draco was doing. Harry likes having power over Draco. He likes being able to control what Draco does. It's "agreeable" to him. Yet then, after half an hour, Harry is frustrated. Why? Because Draco is standing so close to him, and yet he still can't get to him. He still has no clue about what Draco's doing, and he gets so mad he kicks the wall. So not only does Harry want power over Draco, but he alos wants to be able to know everything Draco's doing.
"'For the last time, just forget about Malfoy,' Hermione told Harry firmly."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 469
Once again, Hermione tells Harry "firmly" to forget about Draco.
"Draco Malfoy was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed.
'Don't,' crooned Moaning Myrtle's voice from one of the cubicles. 'Don't . . . tell me what's wrong . . . I can help you. . . .'
'No one can help me,' said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. 'I can't do it. . . . I can't. . . . It won't work . . . and unless I do it soon . . . he says he'll kill me. . . .'
And Harry realized, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying -- actually crying -- tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin. Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror ans saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder.
Malfoy wheeled around, drawing his wand. Instinctively, Harry pulled out his own. Malfoy's hex missed Harry by inches, shattering the lamp on the wall beside him; Harry threw himself sideways, thought Levicorpus! and flicked his wand, but Malfoy blocked the jinx and raised his wand for another --
'No! No! Stop it!' squealed Moaning Myrtle, her voice echoing loudly around the tiled room. 'Stop! STOP!'
There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wlll behind Malfoy's ear and smashed the cistern beneath Maonign Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, 'Cruci --'
'SECTUMSEMPRA!' bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.
Blood spurted from Malfoy's face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. He staggered backward and collapsed onto the waterlogged floor with a great splash, his wand falling from his limp right hand.
'No --' gasped Harry.
Slipping and staggering, Harry got to his feet and plunged toward Malfoy, whose face was noe shining scarlet, his white hands scrabbling at his blood-soaked chest.
'No -- I didn't --'
Harry did not know what he was saying; he fell to his knees beside Malfoy, who was shaking uncontrollably in a pool of his own blood. Moaning Myrtle let out a deafening scream: 'MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM! MURDER!'
The door banged open behind Harry and he looked up, terrified: Snape had burst into the room, his face livid. Pushign Harry roughly aside, he knelt over Malfoy, drew his wand, and traced it over the deep wounds Harry's curse had made, muttering an incantation that sounded almost like song. The flow of blood seemed to ease; Snape wiped the residue from Malfoy's face and repeated his spell. Now the wounds seemed to be knitting.
Harry was still watching, horrified by what he had done, barely aware that he too was soaked in blood and water. Moaning Myrtle was still sobbing and wialing overhead. When Snape had performed his countercurse for the thired time, he half-lifted Malfoy into a standing position.
'You need the hospital wing. There may be a certain amount of scarring, but if you take dittany immediately we might avoid even that. . . . Come. . . .'
He supported Malfoy across the bathroom, turnign at the door to say in a voice of cold fury, 'And you, Potter . . . You wait here for me.'
It did not occur to Harry for a second to dispobey. He stood up slowly, shaking, and looked down at the wet floor. There were bloodstainds floating like crimson flowers across its surface. He could not even find it in himself to tell Moaning Myrtle to be quiet, as she continued to wail and sob with increasingly evident enjoyment.
Snape returned ten minutes later. He stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
'Go,' he said to Myrtle, and she swooped back into her toilet at once, leaving a ringing silence behind her.
'I didn't mean it to happen,' said Harry at once. His voice echoed in the cold, watery space. 'I didn't know what that spell did.'"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 521-524
This is my favorite part of the book, by far. I had to include it all. There's just so much here.
Okay, first of all, we have a great description of Draco -- white-blond hair, people. ^_^* He's feeling lost and troubled, his body's shaking, he's obviously in some serious distress. And then Harry is shocked that Draco is crying. It finally smacks him in the face that Draco has feelings, just like everyone else. Then Draco realizes Harry is spying on him, in this extremely embarrassing and private moment. And what a great mental image, of Draco looking up into a cracked mirror and seeing Harry standing there, behind him. Is this what Draco thinks of Harry? A cracked reflection of himself? Does JKR mean for us to think that Harry and Draco reflect each other, but on a cracked mirror, where the edges distort the images and it's almost impossible to tell truth from illusion? Maybe they are reflections of each other, one raised Muggle, one raised Wizard; one strong and surrounded by friends, one weak and lonely; one despises the Dark Arts, one loves them; both obsessed with each other, yet neither being able to see what the other's really like. I think that's one of the best lures of the Harry/Draco ship, their complicated and conflicting relationship. Anyway... *smacks self for tangent*
They start to duel. Notice that nothing they throw at each other hits the other. Draco's upset that Harry saw him crying, Harry's probably still shcoked at what he saw. Then, and this is vital, Draco attempted to use Crucio on Harry. Would it have worked? I don't know. We know, from previous books, that you have to be able to really hate in order to use the Unforgivables. We also know that Harry is both willing and able to cast them, as he did on Bellatrix at the end of PoA, and as he attempts to on Snape at the end of HBP. Draco is obviously willing, but would he have been able to do it? Hopefully we'll find out in book 7. Another issue here is, do you have to hate the person it's directed at, or just have the ability to hate in you? Obviously, an important question in the Harry/Draco realtionship.
If Draco could have cast it, if he hates Harry that much, I still think Harry/Draco works. It's just that they're still at that stage of hating each other passionately. If he couldn't have cast it, either he doesn't hate Harry or he just isn't as capable of hate as Harry is. Thoughts, anyone?
So, in a move made to block Crucio, Harry casts the spell that's "For Enemies" that he's been "itching to try out". In a fight, the opposing person, your opponent, is your enemy. It makes sense that Harry would consider using a spell for enemies on someone he's duelling against. The Leg-Locker Curse is also a spell made for enemies, and Harry attempted to use that on Draco. Besides, Harry wanted to know what the spell did, and this was a golden opportunity for him.
As an aside, I think the cuts that appear depend on how you wave your wand. Anyway...
The cuts appear and blood spurts from Draco's chest. Harry, obviously upset, says "No --" and goes to Draco. Harry says "No -- I didn't --", and he falls to his knees next to Draco. This whole scene screams guilt, remorse, shock, disgust, and sadness. It's almost like Harry can't even imagine that he just performed that spell, and that he can't imagine Draco might die because of him. He even falls to his kness besides Draco after plunging toward him. In his mind, his only thought is to get to Draco. That's it.
Snape performs the counter-curse, and Harry remains horrified at what just happened. Draco now has scars over his face and chest from where Harry performed the spell, and all Harry can do is shake at stare at Draco's blood on the floor. And from then on, he just says he didn't want that to happen, that he didn't know what the spell did.
I think this proves, more than anything, that Harry is not ready to deal with killing Draco, has never even contemplating killing Draco, and in fact would have hated himself if he had killed Draco. Harry can't even imagine a time when that would be an option, which goes way back to the beginning of this essay when Harry says he's not afraid of Draco. It goes both ways. Harry's not afraid of Draco because he knows Draco won't ever kill him, but at the same time he knows he won't ever kill Draco. They are supposed to be enemies, but it's like that is off-limits. Why? Harry is more than ready, by the end of HBP, to kill Voldemort and Snape, possibly Pettigrew and Bellatrix as well. What's different about Draco?
That's the question readers should be asking. Why is Harry, who is so ready to kill other people who have antagonized him, ready to let Draco live? In fact, will go out of his way to make an effort not to kill Draco? It seems like he wants Draco alive. And after being obsessed with him for so long, can you really blame him?
"'I mean, I'm not saying that spell you used on Malfoy was great -- '
'Nor am I,' said Harry quickly.
'But he healed all right, didn't he? Back on his feet in no time.'
'Yeah,' said Harry; this was perfectly true, although his conscience squirmed slightly all the same."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 539
Harry's showing guilt over what he's done. Obviously he never wanted that to happen to Draco. Obviously he never wanted to do that to anyone.
"'I've got to be quick,' Harry panted. 'Dumbledore thinks I'm getting my Invisibility Cloak. Listen. . . .'- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 551
By this point, Harry is supposed to be going with Dumbledore on this important mission to destroy a Horcrux, so what is he doing lying to Dumbledore to talk to Ron and Hermione?
"'. . . so you see what this means?' Harry finished at a gallop. 'Dumbledore won't be here tonight, so Malfoy's going to have another clear shot at whatever he's up to. No, listen to me!' he hissed angrily, as both Ron and Hermione showed every sign of interrupting."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 552
He's telling them to spy on Draco, to see what Draco's doing when he can't. Even though Dumbledore is giving Harry an important job and letting him come along on this mission, Harry still makes an excuse to get away to make sure that someone is paying attention to waht Draco is doing, especially when he has a clear opportunity to do it.
"There was silence. Harry stood imprisoned within his own invisible, paralyzed body, staring at the two of them, his ears strainign to hear the sounds of the Death Eaters' distant fight, and in front of him, Draco Malfoy did nothing but stare at Albus Dumbledore, who, incredibly, smiled.
'Draco, Draco, you are not a killer.'
'How do you know?' said Malfoy at once.
He seemed to realize how childish the words had sounded; Harry saw him flush in the Mark's greenish light."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 585
So, the big scene. The climax, if you will. Harry petrified and invisible, Dumbledore disarmed and injured, Draco armed and unsure of himself. Harry pays such close attention to Draco in this scene. Draco stares at Dumbledore, tries to make himself seem like a killer, and then flushes. Harry notices all of this, especially about Draco being unsure about killing Duimbledore.
"Somewhere in the depths of the castle below Harry heard a muffled yell. Malfoy stiffened and glanced over his shoulder."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 586
Harry sees that Draco is uncomfortable and worried about what's going on in the castle, and still he's watching Draco.
"But Malfoy said nothing: He was still listening to whatever was happening below and seemed almost as paralyzed as Harry was."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 586
Another example of Harry seeing what Draco's really like, what Draco's really capable of. He's not a killer, and Harry's finally starting to see that.
"Malfoy looked as though he was fighting down the urge to shout, or to vomit. He gulped and took several deep breaths, glaring at Dumbledore, his wand pointing directly at the latter's heart."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 586
Draco is extremely distressed, and Harry can see that.
"'Enchanted coins,' said Malfoy, as though he was compelled to keep talking, though his wand hand was shaking badly."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 589
Harry notices Draco's hand is shaking.
"Malfoy did not speak. His mouth was open, his wand hand still trembling. Harry thought he saw it drop bya a fraction --"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 592
Harry sees Draco lowering his wand. He knows Draco is not going to kill Dumbledore. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Without Harry seeing this, he might have thought Draco woiuld have gone through with it. But instead, he now knows that Draco really would never have killed Dumbledore, and was in fact seconds away from accepting Dumbledore's offer of switching sides and protection for him and his family.
Oh God. Those stupid bloody Death Eaters just had to come in and condemn Draco to staying on Voldemort's side, didn;t they? *smites Death Eaters* *cuddles Draco*
"'Out of here, quickly,' said Snape.
He seized Malfoy by the scruff of the neck and forced him through the door ahead of the rest; Greyback and the squat brother and sister followed, and the latter both panting excitedly."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 597
And thus begins what I like to call The Abduction of Draco Malfoy (TADM, for short). Snape "seizes" Draco and forces him through the door. Then the chase begins.
"He leapt the last ten steps of the spiral staircase and stopped where he landed, his wand raised: The dimly lit corridor was full of dust; half the ceiling seemed to have fallen in; and a battle was raging before him, but even as he attempted to make out who was fighting whom, he heard the hated voice shout, 'It's over, time to go!' and saw Snape disappearing around the corner at the far end of the corridor; he and Malfoy seemed to have forced their way through the fight unscathed. As Harry plunged after them, one of the fighters detached themselves from the fray and flew at him: It was the werewolf, Fenrir."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 598
The battle's going on around him, and Harry's focused on catching Snape. Not Draco. Snape. I'll get back to this later.
"'M'all right,' muttered Neville, who was clutching his stomach, 'Harry . . . Snape 'n' Malfoy . . . ran past . . .'
'I know, I'm on it!' said Harry, aiming a hex from the floor at the enormous blond Death Eater who was causing most of the chaos."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 599
Harry still chases after them, leaving Neville, who's injured, behind to do it.
"He pelted toward a shortcut, hoping to overtake the brother and sister and close in on Snape and Malfoy, who must surely have reached the grounds by now."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 600
He's really going full tilt after them.
"Harry flew across the entrance hall and out into the dark grounds: He could just make out three figures racing across the lawn, heading for the gates beyond which they could Disapparate -- by the looks of them, the huge blond Death Eater and, some way ahead of him, Snape and Malfoy . . .
The cold night air ripped at Harry's lungs as he tore after them; he saw a flash of light in the distance that momentarily silhouetted his quarry. He did not know what it was but continued to run, not yet near enough to get a good aim with a curse --"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 601
Harry seems almost desperare to catch them now. He ignores a flash of light, which could be anything, a curse, a jinx, someone he knows and cares about in trouble, to continue chasing after Draco.
"Snape and Malfoy, however, were still running; they would soon be beyond the gates, able to Disapparate --
Harry tore past Hagrid and his opponent, took aim at Snape's back, and yelled, 'Stupefy!'
He missed; the jet of red light spared past Snape's head; Snape shouted, 'Run, Draco!' and turned. Twenty yards apart, he and Harry looked at each other before raising their wands simultaneously."- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 602
Harry finally catches up to them. He aims at Snape, not Draco, and in fact lets Draco escape. If Harry really thought Draco was to blame, he wouldn't let him escape. Instead, Harry focuses his anger and hate where it belongs, on Snape, the man who killed Dumbledore.
"Over at the Slytherin table Crabbe and Goyle were muttering together. Hulking boys thought they were, they looked oddly lonely without the tall, pale figure of Malfoy between them, bossing them around. Harry had not spared Malfoy much thought. His animosity was all for Snape, but he had not forgotten the fear in Malfoy's voice on that tower top, nor the fact that he had lowered his wand before the other Death Eaters arrived. Harry did not believe that Malfoy would have killed Dumbledore. He despised Malfoy still for his infatuation with the Dark Arts, but now the tiniest drop of pity mingled with dislike. Where, Harry wondered, was Malfoy now, and what was Voldemort making him do under threat of killing him and his parents?"- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, American edition, pg. 640
Another good description of Draco- tall, pale, and bossy. In the days since Dumbledore's death, Harry's been focused on getting revenge for his killer. He hadn't spared Draco much thought because he didn't believe Draco was to blame, nor did he hold Draco accountable for what had happened. Instead, he despises Draco for liking the Dark Arts, but now he pities him for his situation as well. And yes, Harry, we all are wondering what Draco's doing now.
I think that basically speaks for itself, but before I finish, I wanted to say something very shortly about Harry and Ginny.
Ginny has had a crush on Harry since they first met. Harry had a crush on Cho, and that didn't work out, and now he's got a crush on Ginny. They go out, even though Harry is obsessed with Draco. In canon, he talks about, thinks about, and wonders about Draco more than Ginny. That's just canon. Draco can handle himself in battle (one way or another), Harry wouldn't have to stop and help him. Harry had to stop and help Ginny, and he lost valuable seconds he would have otherwise had in which he could have caught Snape and Draco. Whenever Harry wanted to talk about important things, like the Horcruxes, he always waited until Ginny left before discussing it with Ron and Hermione. Harry didn't trust Ginny enough to tell her about such serious issues; he trusts Ron and Hermione more than her. Ginny didn't realize Harry had something important to say, ever, she always left. She doesn't know how to read Harry. At the end, when they break up, Ginny doesn't fight it, nor does she seem too upset. I'd imagine she's pretty upset, but it's like she doesn't love Harry enough to insist that they should stay together. At the end, Ron and Hermione insist that they're staying with Harry no matter what. Ginny doesn't. Obviously, Harry and Ginny did have crushes on each other, and they liked each other, but Ginny also liked Dean and Michael Corner, and Harry alos liked Cho. I think it makes sense that Harry and Ginny would eventually get together in canon, and I'm actually extremely happy it happened now, when they're only 16 and 15, and that it happened the way it did. Everyone goes through a few people before they end up with the person they spend their life with, and since I want Harry and Draco to end up spending their lives together, I'm quite satisfied with the Harry/Ginny aspect of this book. Now it's ovewr with, thank God. Hopefully Draco and Pansy have had their relationship as well, and everyone can move on to bigger and better things.
I've always said that Harry and Ginny weren't good for each other, and I think HBP proves me right. There's not enough love or trust there for a relationship to work. So they made out and had fun. Good, I'm happy for Harry. He needs some fun in his life.
As for Pansy stroking Draco's hair, well, hopefully it was fun for Draco while it lasted. Draco's life looks like it's taking some pretty bad turns now. Maybe Pansy was a good distraction for him.
I think HBP is the best book Harry/Draco shippers could have asked for. Harry is obsessed with Draco, even while he's dating someone else, and Draco almost joins Harry's side. Harry and Draco learn more about each other and become more involved in each other's lives. Harry realizes that Draco has a peronsality and feelings. He also realizes that he's used to Draco obsessing over him, and that he misses it when it isn't there.
In short, Harry/Draco is more canon than ever. Don't you just love it?
^.~*
P.S.- Please ignore spelling errors and un-italicized items. I just wrote this quickly, I will be fixing it later. ^_^*