Harry/Draco (Harry Potter)

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Title: A Peculiar Faith
Author: dorrie6
Spoilers: All books released to present (addendum written post-HBP)
e-mail: dorrie6@dorrie6.com
Website: emotionalperil

I admit that while writing this essay, I experienced a sort of crisis of faith. The closer I looked at the pairing, the less I found my own arguments held up, and it came to the point that I actually asked my friends list to remind me why I believe in this ship. In the end, I'm glad that happened, because if there is one thing it reminded me of, it is that there are so many different ways people come to love and believe in this pairing. Harry/Draco is probably the most widely read and written slash pairing in the Harry Potter fandom, and for this reason I think it is also one of the most difficult to pin down. It is not possible for any one person's interpretation of this ship to satisfy one and all, and I'm not even going to try. What I will try to do is to give a bit of an overview of the various popular interpretations as well as my own, in an attempt to represent all factions as fairly as possible. I'm going to quote and link to several people who are not me in order to facilitate this.

First, let's talk about who these boys are. Harry Potter is The Boy Who Lived, the hero of the wizarding world, though as the series begins he has no idea at all what that means. Loved by many (and reviled by some) for something he had no active part in, he is faced with a destiny that few would willingly choose as he struggles to deal with his own realities: a wretched home life, the violent loss of his parents, his life as a wizard, the realization that everything he'd known before age eleven was a lie. At a very young age, he has known both true sorrow and true darkness, yet he does not have enough capacity for cruelty in him to cast Cruciatus on Bellatrix Lestrange, even to save his own life. He has been abandoned, lied to, laughed at and feared, sometimes even by those who he's loved the most, those who he should be able to trust. Still, he remains true to the best of what both his parents gave him. He has his mother's gift for compassion and his father's disregard for rules. He has uncommon talent in defense against the Dark Arts, and he knows how to love. Of course, as a fan devoted to Harry, I love him as much for his faults as for his strengths. He's often secretive and a poor judge of character. He is stubborn and frequently rash. At times, he fails to appreciate the things he has, as he resents what he does not. He is wonderfully human, and that is why he is so easy for us to love. It is Harry who brought me into the fandom, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

Draco Malfoy is in many ways everything Harry is not. He is the pampered only son of wealthy, pureblood parents. He has been raised to be sure of his place in the wizarding world. He is both a coward and a bully, who uses the influence of his money and name to keep his cronies loyal to him. He can't stand up to fear or pain. He has been well schooled in Death Eater ideals, if not so well in how to hide these beliefs. We have never seen compassion on his part, though we've often been witness to his own vulnerabilities. His consuming hatred of both Mudbloods and Harry seems to be fueled by jealousy more than anything else. He is terrified of being humiliated, especially in front of his father. He can't stand to be shown up by Harry, or even worse, Hermione. For me, Draco is interesting because of these vulnerabilities, and because they offer us a glimpse of the person he might have been (and possibly could grow to be one day) without his father's influence. It may have been Harry who brought me to the fandom, but it was Draco who brought me to H/D. Draco has been poisoned by his parents, but he is still so much a child in canon that we really haven't seen who he could be on his own. He, unlike Harry, has not known real sorrow, or even real darkness. The kid's all talk. He has never seen anyone killed (as demonstrated by the fact that he can't see Thestrals), and I very much doubt he's ever met Voldemort, or that he has any real idea of what goes on at Death Eater gatherings. He thinks he'd like Mudbloods to die, and most definitely Harry Potter. He can talk about these things with passion and even real longing. But who he really is has not been tested, and that's where I think most of us who ship Harry/Draco are focusing our energy. We want to know what Draco Malfoy could be. We want him to learn something his parents never did. We want him to be better than he's been taught to be, and we want Harry to see that possibility in him too.

Draco's first opportunity to be something more was actually struck down by Harry himself. Harry's refusal to shake his hand on the train to Hogwarts made certain that he would not benefit from knowing Harry. Of course, it also made certain that the worst parts of Draco would not influence Harry, but we'll never know what might have happened there. Since that time, Draco has been obsessed with Harry. He is obsessed with besting him, obsessed with humiliating him. His desperation to hurt Harry is almost painful to watch. It even works some of the time, mostly by getting Harry angry enough that he does something to hurt himself, such as earning detention or getting banned from Quidditch. Harry seems to forget about Draco whenever he is not presenting a direct aggravation, which only makes Draco's efforts more and more desperate.

This is where the ship gets tricky. It is easy to see where Draco's obsession must lead. What's more difficult is getting Harry to the same place, and yet so many of us are consumed with the need to do so. And so we do. When I asked my friends list for help in this area, they came to me with a number of different theories. Most said that it has to come from Draco. Many classic stories employ this means beautifully, such as Ivy's Origins, in which Draco realizes what his own obsession is really about and he is the one who pursues Harry. As for why Harry would or should respond, some thoughts put forth were Draco is Harry's Jungian shadow, Harry is trying to repair the negative aspects of his childhood, Harry needs someone who does not think he's a hero and Draco is the only person who can really understand him. They were even likened to Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade. A couple of people responded that it doesn't work except in our heads, and if we try to analyze it, it falls apart. And maybe this is so. Maybe this is why I had my own doubts as soon as I was forced to pick it apart. As these people posted to me, however, I found myself jumping up to defend my ship. I think Harry does need someone outside his self-made "family", someone who does not see him as a perfect hero to be worshipped or protected. He needs someone who isn't afraid to face his flaws and to fight him when he's letting those flaws get the better of him.

The most beautiful response I got to my request for help came from Aja. She really put her finger on why many of us are here, and I don't think I could say it as well, so I'm going to quote from her:

To me, what H/D all comes down to is love, the sheer force and strength, faith and hope that is present in love, doing battle with everything else in the world--every circumstance of situation, every toil of war, every personal and societal prejudice and prejudice of background and fate-- that could possibly stand up against it. The more the odds are stacked, from that first non-handshake to "I'll have you" and beyond, the more the thing that H/D is at its core is *vital*. Because when you ship something like this you aren't shipping something that is easy, or superficial (the first mistaken assumption non-shippers make about our ship). You are shipping something that becomes more essential even as it's becoming more difficult. All of the things that make it so difficult for us to imagine H/D after OotPare the things that make it necessary that we should ship Harry/Draco even *more* after OotP, because to ship H/D requires getting to the core of prejudice and personal bias, and turning it into something approaching grace and understanding and compassion.

That's it. That is exactly it for me, and for so many. Something else she addressed briefly is something I'd like to talk about here as well. That is the subject of "redeeming" Draco. A lot of H/D shippers see Draco as a dark character who must be redeemed and brought into the light to be worthy of Harry. This is a popular subject of H/D fanfic, and something that I personally do not subscribe to. I see Draco in canon as a child. He is a bully, yes, and someone who spends a lot of time wishing ill on Harry and others. I agree with that completely. What I don't see is darkness. How can a child who hasn't seen darkness himself possibly have that in him? He's certainly been motivated by selfishness and a desire to prove himself and have power over others (something that ultimately backfired in the case of Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad). You could say the same of almost any kid who seeks praise from his/her elders. I'm not saying he is a sweet little child. I'm saying that he simply is a child, and not a dark wizard or evil being of any sort. The closest thing he's had to a grown-up moment where he's actually had to deal with something truly awful in his life, is his father being sent to Azkaban at the end of book 5. And I think it is obvious how deeply it affects him, though clearly we don't know the extent of what that might mean for him. I honestly don't see at this point how he needs to be redeemed. Not yet, anyway. He needs to be removed from the hateful influence of his family, certainly, but the kid has never even really hurt anyone. He's tried (sort of), but he's mostly talk. On that topic, Aja said this:

Draco has never been as important to Harry as Harry has always been to Draco, but Draco also has never written Harry off the way Harry writes Draco off. For all the emphasis that is given in H/D fics of the way that writers have to "redeem" Draco, or give his character depth to make him seem more kind, compassionate, human, whatever, all of the *real* impetus on change has to be in Harry. It's Harry who couldn't give a damn about Draco, especially by the end of book 5. It's Harry who has no qualms hexing Draco unconscious and shoving him in a luggage bin to ooze. It's Harry who refuses to take Draco seriously--it's also Harry who repeatedly wields the power he has to humiliate Draco, time and again.

The most violent thing we've ever seen Draco do to Harry was shoot a curse at him over his left ear when his back was turned, and we all know what happened next. If there's anything Draco shows towards Harry in canon it's a tendency towards futile threats and a marked restraint towards actually acting on those threats, no matter how many times Harry actually gets the better of him. If anything, the end of OotP marks a change on Draco's part towards actually *acting*, himself, to avenge his father on Harry. GoF seemed to herald a similar threat on Draco's part, but where, "You'll be next, Mudblood!" is remarkably passive, where "I'll have you" is about the most basically active statement we've ever seen Draco make in canon. It's very significant that it's only *Harry* who can create this emotional investment in Draco. But for Harry Draco has never actually appeared to make a mark.

That said, there is a huge amount of fanfic written with this pairing in which Draco is dark, or being redeeemed from such, and I wouldn't be presenting a very balanced view of the fandom if I ignored this fact. One of my favorite stories when I first started reading HP fanfiction, in fact, was Fearless Diva's Tissue of Silver, which absolutely features "redeemed" Draco, and furthermore, represents one version of the oft-maligned "fanon!Draco" who is brilliant and beautiful and occasionally wears leather trousers. This is not the Draco I write, or the one that I most often read, however, when he's done well (as he is by Fearless Diva), I know few H/D shippers who can resist him. The question of whether fanon!Draco is in character or not is one that I've seen bashed around so often that I doubt I need to mention it to anyone, but I will offer my own opinion. I think that especially in the case of post-Hogwarts fics, there can be a hell of a lot lf leeway in the characterizations of any of the HP kids. They are so young in canon, and people change dramatically between the years of fifteen and twenty-five especially. I think an argument can be successfully made for most adult or older teenaged characterizations that deviate from what we currently see in canon. There are limits to that, of course, but in general I think it is difficult to go too far wrong. I certainly hope nobody would wish to condemn me to my fifteen-year-old self, and I have no reason to do it to these poor souls, who are certainly going to experience levels of drama in their lives during those years that I could not have even dreamed of. There are definitely characterizations that I prefer, and there is a lot of fanfiction out there that isn't what I'm looking for in the pairing, but I find myself hard pressed to say that they are wrong.

One of the questions I was asked when writing this essay was what appeal this pairing has for me as a writer, and I think this is directly related to the appeal it has for me as a reader. One thing I love about this pairing is that it takes work, and that's something I'm drawn to as both a reader and a writer. I want to take everything I've talked about above, all the difficulties and challenges in getting these two boys to realize what they could be together and make it work. This is why I prefer to read about that part of their story. Some shippers prefer reading about them after they're already together. They like them happy and loving and having lots of sex. I have no problem with that idea, but it doesn't hold a lot of interest for me. I'd actually rather read or write a story where they don't manage to get together at all than one where they are together without having to do the work to get there. That is what is hard about writing these two, and that is why I'm writing it. I think one of the greatest misconceptions held by those who are new to the pairing is that it is easy to write H/D fic and make it believable. It really isn't. And those who try to get out of the work end up writing stories that ultimately can't make me believe it. It's been suggested that the reason that so many people write Redeemed!Draco is that they find it easier to bring him to Harry, to make Harry see that he is someone that he could love. While I think Harry does need Draco to not be actively fighting alongside Voldemort to ever truly love him, I think Harry has to make as much of a journey as Draco does in order for the relationship to be balanced, which is yet another challenge.

There is so much I love about writing Harry/Draco. I love both characters more than I can possibly express. I love their dynamic at every point in their relationship. I love their failures and their triumphs, and taking them through both. It is such a challenge to bring them past their childish rivalry, even if the story begins with them as adults, and I love taking them on that journey. One thing I've learned in my own life is that the things that are important to us as children often aren't anymore when we're adults, but that it sometimes requires a real shock to make us realize what things we're holding on to only out of habit and what things actually matter. This is something I've enjoyed working with in this pairing, and I think it has helped me recognize those things more easily for myself.

With that in mind, I think there is a lot that any reader can take away from this ship. I think we all enjoy exploring opposites, and what that really means. I have a theory that everyone's greatest strengths are also their greatest weaknesses, that our best traits are simply the flip side of our worst traits, and that you can't have one without the other. I think anyone exploring this pairing for long enough will find that true of both these characters, and also find it to be a theme in their relationship with each other. What are opposites really but two sides of the same coin? I think it appeals to all of us on that level. Also, it keeps us on our toes. It is as challenging to us as it is to them, and I think readers enjoy having their intellects stretched in this way. And honestly, what kind of relationship could be inherently more passionate than this classic love/hate pairing?

This essay is getting lengthy, so I think I should move on to some links and fic recs. The volume of Harry/Draco fic out there is pretty overwhelming, and there are so many different reasons people have for being in this fandom, from a belief in the sheer force of love to the desire to see two Quidditch players getting it on. I'm going to try to present a range of fic that will satisfy everyone, or at least most everyone. (Newer stories and links added 12/30/05 and 10/21/06)

First of all, the classics. These are a few of the stories that everyone links to when asked what first-time readers of the ship should read. Some of them are beloved by me as well, some less so, but I can't deny their importance to the fandom.

Origins by Ivyblossom
Irresistable Poison by Rhysenn
Transfigurations by Resonant
Love Under Will by Aja (WIP)
Beautiful World by Cinnamon
A Season in Hell/After the Flood by Cassandra Claire
Tissue of Silver by Fearless Diva
Underwater Light by Maya
Red by Weatherby
Left My Heart by Emma Grant
A Thousand Beautiful Things by Duinn Fionn
Invisible to See by Pandarus

To this, I will add a few of my particular favorites:

The Reader by Aja
The Way of the World by zionsstarfish
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by November Snowflake
A Suitable Preparation by TromboneBorges
Anatomy of a Dysfuctional Relationship by Zahra
Your Every Wish by Maya
Worlds Collide by franthephoenix
Waking Your Ghost by Circe
Perspective/Where I Am by ljash
Eclipse by Mijan
Transformation by Amalin
Thin as Thimble by Kay Cricketed
The Properties of Being Lost/The Properties of Voyeurism by Aja
The Shadow of His Wings by Mirabella (WIP)

I also want to link to a few recs from others, as the fandom is so big, and my own taste can't begin to cover it.

Reena's favorite Harrys and Dracos in fanfic
Adela711's Harry/Draco long stories
Emma Grant's Post-Hogwarts Harry/Draco fics

For links to multiple H/D recs pages, see Glacia's Directory of Harry/Draco Rec Lists

Some LiveJournal resources: hd_prophet, armchair_slash, harrydraco, serpentinelion, big_bang_hd, hd_discussion, hd_wiki_project

Aja said: The H/D shipper is someone who allows Harry to give that one moment of full attention to Draco. That is the essence of any H/D fic, whether the moment is expanded to turn into love, whether the moment comes as a result of, or precipitates, lots of soul-searching and changing perceptions, or whether that moment comes as a frenzy of passionate quidditch uniform-ripping sex. Shipping H/D does not have to be about whether you see Draco as a reformed angel of light or a leatherclad bad boy with a dark mark on his arm. Shipping H/D is about stripping prejudice and preconceptions away until you are left with a Harry who is willing to see Draco as Draco wants him to see him.

I'll go a step further and say that the H/D shipper is someone who believes that Harry will see Draco, and that he even must see Draco outside of the boy his parents have tried to create in order to fully win his own battle against darkness. So many H/D shippers have said that the pairing became more difficult after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out, because in that book it became clear that Draco does not matter to Harry at all. That may be true, and that may be what we're all battling here. On the other hand, one of the most significant things in that book to me is the song the Sorting Hat sings that year. It sings that the four houses of Hogwarts must unite or crumble from within. By the end of the book, we've seen students from three of those houses learn to work together for a common goal. The house still left out is Slytherin. I think this is important. I think that Slytherin must be brought into the fold in order for Harry to defeat Voldemort. What better vessel for this than Draco Malfoy, the least likely of all?

We can't know what JK Rowling will do in the next two books, though I don't think any Harry/Draco shipper is suffering under the delusion that our ship will become explicity canon ever. Even if she wanted to do that, her publishers would never allow it. I do think, however, that there is a future for Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, that there is hope for them to live out at least a small part of what we wish for them. The common thread in most of the suggestions I received from other shippers while writing this essay was that in the end it simply boils down to faith. Faith that these boys might become the men we know they can be. If H/D shippers are anything, we are passionate about our ship, and whatever happens in canon, I think we'll be around to see it through.


*****

Many thanks to those who helped me find my way through the writing of this essay, including cheshyre, _jamjar, spiritkitty, aproposofnothin, ashkitty, xnera, florahart, nothingbutfic, reenka, oneminutemovies, roseeva, malafede, conversant, and of course, wayfairer. You all are among the huge number of thoughtful writers and readers that make this ship so worthwhile.

Addendum, 12/30/05:

Since the publication of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I think it is worth noting that JK Rowling has managed to do much of what we H/D 'shippers have been going on about all this time. She has shown Draco true darkness, and challenged him to his breaking point. She has brought Harry's focus back to Draco, and even let him see Draco at his most vulnerable. I recently wrote that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was my favorite H/D fic of 2005, and this was only slightly in jest. I don't feel the need to edit this essay, because it seems to me only strengthened by HBP. Aja said above, "The H/D shipper is someone who allows Harry to give that one moment of full attention to Draco." JK Rowling has now done that. There is a new wealth of fanfiction being written now, much of which is still in-progress. I hope to add a great deal of it to my recommendations here within the next year. For the moment, I will just say that the 'ship has been given new life by HBP, and we continue on, strengthened in our belief that Harry and Draco must learn to really see each other in order to bring about real victory.

Comments

[wisdomeagle]

That was lovely. And I say this as someone who does not see H/D. At all. And who will not read H/D. Ever. But as a love song to a 'ship, this was simply lovely, and that's what makes this comm so wonderful, seeing other people's passions like this, and realizing that the love I feel for my OTPs, some people really do feel for pairings I don't see at all, and that it's not just about Tom Felton being teh_hawt.

Thank you.

[conversant.livejournal.com]

I just have to pick up on your mention of Tom Felton to make explicit what I think you are suggesting. Even after three HP blockbuster films, there are still folks out here for whom the books are the inspiration and the substantial source material for writing HP fanfiction. I don't have anything more than casual observation and haphazard anecdotal evidence to support this, but I suspect that a great many H/D shippers fall in this category.

While each of the films contains a handful of scenes and screen-cap-able images that please the H/D crowd, the films necessarily cut a great deal of the interaction between these two characters. I don't doubt that there are folks who ship the pairing because they are inspired by Felton or Radcliffe or both, but if the films are the sole source of an author's sense of the pairing, I don't have much hope for the resulting fanfic.

The substantial material for this pairing lies in Malfoy's role in the books as the ubiquitous scoffer, who is present even when he's not because Harry always expects him to be just around the corner or just behind him in a corridor. It is only in the books (especially the first three) that we see Harry's reciprocal obsession with Malfoy, the always-lurking stalker. It is really only in the books that we have an opportunity to appreciate the extent to which Harry's insecurities crystallize around Malfoy, the one peer most likely to expose Harry's weaknesses. The films don't reveal the extent to which Rowling's Harry measures himself against Malfoy and is forever steeling himself against anticipated taunts from Malfoy -- the extent to which Harry Potter's sense of himself as a wizard is shaped by this indispensable antagonist.

[velvetandlace.livejournal.com]

Hi;

I just wanted to leave you a note. HP is not even remotely my fandom, though I am well aware of it and it's workings. I don't actively engage in HP ships or fandoms in any way.

But this was a beautifully, carefully, loving written essay, passionate and well-scripted that spoke of some of the deeper details within not only creating 'ships, but basic values, ideals, and snippets of humanity that can't help but evade everything we create.

What a wonderful job, and I can only hope that when it comes time to do my own manifesto for the appropriate fandom I can hit on at least a tiny bit of the cadence and beauty of this essay.

[velvetandlace.livejournal.com]

I've only had three hours sleep. So er:

*Evade = pervade
*Loving = lovingly

And the I apologise for the general grammatical structure!

[odyssea.livejournal.com]

What a wonderful, well thought out essay! I can tell that a lot of hard work and careful thought went into this, and I admire your reasoning for this 'ship. You've put your finger on exactly why I read some fanfiction from this ship while leaving others behind - there has to be that impetus for their relationship, not "OMG so hawt". I'm going to go through and read some of your recommended fanfiction.

Thank you and kudos!

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad my essay made a connection with you. I hope you enjoy the recs.

[arundhathi.livejournal.com]

You've done a wonderful job of this despite, or perhaps because of, the crisis of faith. I've been trying to explain some of this myself recently, and this has helped me get it much clearer in my head.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

You are too kind. Thank you so much!

[sakuracorr.livejournal.com]

I do love the way you just seemed to really get into your ship and give it depth. It was beautiful. Just *claps*.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate your comment!

[ravenfrog.livejournal.com]

This is an excellent essay, and it really reflects the thought you put into it. While I don't have an OTP, I do read a lot of H/D, and you've covered much of what I enjoy about it.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm glad it worked for you!

[conversant.livejournal.com]

Well done! I know that I will return to your analysis of the pairing, particularly your separate consideration of each of the characters. You did a nice job suggesting some of the variant versions of the ship -- no small feat!

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was quite nervous about you reading this, actually. I was quite shocked to be asked to write this essay to begin with, and there are certainly folks (you and Aja, for instance) who probably could have written more eloquently. It means a lot to me that you got something out of it. Really, thank you.

[malafede.livejournal.com]

I'd love to comment more in depth or more lucidly on this, but I think you've communicated what it is that - beyond our personal reading of their dynamics on both a personal and an universal level - really does bring H/D together. That idealism that has made me all sappy since you asked for help yesterday. I am so impossibly happy to have been part of this even tangentially.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for reading, and even more for the wonderful discourse that's going on in my journal even to this moment. This is what makes this ship so great. Thank you.

[gardendoor.livejournal.com]

Lovely essay; I've always been an H/D shipper (for different reasons than even the multitude you provided!) and it was great seeing all the different perspectives on why they should be together.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed this. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the pairing as well! :)

[ljash.livejournal.com]

Wooooowww now my brain is too full. Especially 'cause I went link hopping in the middle of the essay.

What's interesting is that when you were having your faith crisis you summed it up by saying that it's easy to find Draco obsessed with Harry, but why would Harry give him the time of day? And the answer to this seems to be that perhaps he never would, but that's not good. That his treatment of Draco is actually a big flaw in him that eventually he should deal with.

And Draco. I got into the HP fandom at all because of all this Draco-wondering. I liked the books and all, but I wouldn't have started exploring the cracks if not for Draco. When you really start killing yourself to flesh him out and make him comprehensible, he's just heartbreaking. As is Harry, though I admit I saw him second.

I think what might keep tugging me back to H/D is that they're both lacking something, both won't admit it, and both are surrounded by loyal people who would never want to cross them or upset them by pointing it out. Even without really being equal ('cause they're just not), they still rub each other raw in a way they can't ignore, not even Harry, a way that has to do with actual confrontation. That's why I sometimes think 'well, maybe Draco' when trying to figure out how to get Harry what he's desperately missing. Whether that's his shadow, or maturity, or someone who doesn't worship him or walk on eggshells for him, Draco is at least likely to give him something different.


For me it's nothing to do with faith, though. I have no faith. :) It's that sometimes I think the H/D tendencies are more honest, more real a story, than the way it sometimes goes in canon.


Now I wanna go read all the tangents but I"m out of time.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Heeeee... sorry for the thing with your brain. :) Thanks for coming over to read this, my friend. I'm thrilled as always to have your thoughts. Feel free to come back and talk about it more.

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥!!!!

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Dude, I can't thank you enough for your help and support in this. I couldn't have done it without you.

*heart*

[lil1pinay.livejournal.com]

You've just said it better than I ever could. Absolutely beautiful.

<333333333333

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much! You are a dear, as always. *loves*

[dreambastion.livejournal.com]

Excellent. As many people have, I'm sure, I've had ideas like this bouncing around in my head for ages. It's nice to see someone really get the idea of H/D shipping and put it out there for others to try to understand. Thanks.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad this struck a chord with you. Thank you so much for telling me so!

[balfrog.livejournal.com]

- gorgeous essay !!! - (in my memories for weaker times)
and such a balm for the shipper's faltering moments-

Personally, I always went for the "H/D are together and that's that"- but you and Aja putting the finger on the crux of the problem- Harry's interest, and why having this interest in another is so necessary to Harry himself, was just... well,... bravo....

*agrees* *agrees* *nods* *nods*

and the little character-quote voice in my head goes off to bring in geoviki's TBT Draco,
(hee hee, chukles)

"I am no fucking Redeemed Draco," he growled to Harry, mocking the headline before tossing the paper at him in disgust. "Can't they get it through their thick skulls that I wasn't evil in the first place? Why doesn't everyone give it a rest?"

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Oh that's wonderful! *heart* Anyone who invokes the voice of geoviki's Draco gets extra points in my book. Thank you so much for your comments!

just so you know...

[ixchelmala.livejournal.com]

A lot of H/D shippers see Draco as a dark character who must be redeemed and brought into the light to be worthy of Harry. This is a popular subject of H/D fanfic, and something that I personally do not subscribe to. I see Draco in canon as a child. He is a bully, yes, and someone who spends a lot of time wishing ill on Harry and others. I agree with that completely. What I don't see is darkness.

I just wanted to say that I read your essay and with the above statement, I totally agree. Also, there is one other fic rec I think you might want to add here, only because i think it speaks to the last part of your essay about Harry/Draco becoming canon. It's Friend Like Me by (http://www.livejournal.com/users/ladyvader/32223.html) (please forgive the linking)

Anywho, thank you for writing this up. I'm glad to see this pairing in particular so well written about.

Re: just so you know...

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Well, thank you. I'm so happy that section struck you. It's something I feel very strongly about Draco, and there are so many who do not agree. It's lovely to find people who do. :) Again, thank you!

Just to note: I'm not going to add more recs to the essay, because once I start, everyone will have a fic they want me to add. The H/D fandom is so big, I can't possibly include every beloved fic in my list. I'm pleased that you've linked it here, however, for passers by, and I'll encourage others to do the same.

[beatperfume.livejournal.com]

What a great essay -- this, and your thread asking for help have made me think about WHY I love H/D (or any pairing really), and then put it into the words I couldn't come up with.

I would like to point out that I think Invisible to See by Pandarus should be linked under the classic fics. To me, it is one of the few stories that really exemplifies two things brought up here and in your journal. One, that shift in perception on the parts of Draco, and especially Harry, that makes it possible for them to be together. Two, the fact that Draco is a child who hasn't been exposed to real 'darkness' yet -- the beginning of ItS hinges on his reaction to that first exposure.

Anyway, thank you so much for writing this -- it's going into my memories so that I can read it any time I start doubting.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

As I mentioned to the lovely commenter above, I'm not going to augment the fic rec list in my essay... the fandom is just to huge for me to include everyone's favorite fic. I'm happy to see people link in the comments, though, for passers by.

That said, thank you so much for your lovely comments. It really means a lot to me that it spoke to you. Thank you for telling me so.

[swmbo.livejournal.com]

Thank you for how beautiful this is. I'm new to the ship, but this captures so much of what has been appealing to me so far. The idea that they would be a pairing that would be able to see each other honestly, and balance each other's strengths and weaknesses, once they got passed the initial predjudice. And the fact that Draco wants to be seen by Harry, wants to know he matters is one of the strongest pulls I have. And that Harry needs somebody who would be willing to call him on his rashness.

Thank you.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Well, thank you so much for such beautiful comments. I'm so happy it touched you in this way. I hope you enjoy the H/D fandom for a long time to come. :)

[fearlessdiva.livejournal.com]

I'm very honored to have my story included in this, much less mentioned as one of the "must reads" of the pairing. I'm not really an OTP sort of person, myself - I started writing Tissue of Silver because I was intrigued by Fanon!Draco and wanted to see if I could write him so as to make him somewhat believable, not because I was committed to the idea of "H/D 4eva". But I H/D has always struck me as one of the major engines of the fandom. It has such energy behind it and such passion, and so many of the really striking stories, the stories that I've really loved, have been of that pairing. You've done an excellent job of explaining and justifying that passion and that love here, in both a comprehensive and concise way.

Congratulations on a job well done!

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Oh, how lovely! I was surprised and pleased to see that you'd read this, knowing that you aren't as interested in H/D as you might once have been. Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope that you know how much I love Tissue of Silver. No list of classics would be complete without it, in my view. Again, thank you. Your comments mean a lot to me.

[permetaform]

Very nice essay, I love how you've laid everything so clearly out and presented the multiple points of view and references. Part of why I love H/D so much is that it *is* this flexible, enough so that many people can get into the pairing for many different reasons and they could all mostly work.

Personally I love the pairing because Draco's probably the only one who wouldn't willingly ask for Harry's help (or would do so grudingly) and yet probably might need most the forgiveness that having Harry's help implies (along with whatever actual physical help he gets). I mean forgiveness here not necessarily as "redeemed" and more as "recognized", Draco spends so much of his time attempting to make a mark of *some* sort (on Lucius, on the school, on the world, or on Harry himself) and never quite proving to anyone that he's worth the air he's breathing. And now that I think on it, that's pretty much what you've already said except turned inside out: That Draco needs Harry, but is possibly the last one to ever ask for his help. It's the fact that Harry's wanted and needed, except Harry feels no guilt or obligation or is impelled by *anything* or *anyone* to bring himself to help Draco. And not only does this imply the journey that Harry himself makes to get to a point where he *wants* to help Draco, but in a way is part of Harry having a space to breathe, to choose, to find *himself* amoung all these forces that shove him around. And you're right, in a way it all really comes down to the strength of love, and it's power to lift beyond those emotions that are ugly into something that, while it may not be perfect, is a little better than before.

Or rather, this whole comment is a big huge "WORD." and a "YOU ROCK." and a "YES, YES EXACTLY *THAT*." ::hugs:: thank you for writing this.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm just thrilled that my essay got your mind going like this! Thank you so much for reading and sharing this all with me. Thank you, thank you. *heart*

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

Oh, simply beatutiful. I haven't been reading much H/D lately, thank you for reminding me what got me into the pairing. And the links are are a nice bonus too.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Oh thank you! You are so dear. Thank you for reading.

[coffeejunkii.livejournal.com]

a really wonderful essay. very inspiring also for me as i am currently in the middle of a h/d fic and am struggling with the boys a great deal :)

my two favorite points in your essay were, first, that it's work to get harry and draco together, no matter if it's a futurefic or set at hogwarts. while i read stories in which they resolve their differences quite quickly, i find stories that devote some time to this conflict, and in which the conflict never really goes away, more interesting.

secondly, i also believe that both harry and draco will change a lot as they grow up. so if you write a fic that's set ten years after they left school, they probably still have some of the same character traits as in the books, but experience will have changed them.

in any case, this was a wonderful reminder of why i like reading and writing h/d so much. thanks for all the thought and time you put into this essay.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments. I look forward to reading your H/D fic when you've finally gotten those boys to behave. :)

[shaggirl.livejournal.com]

I'm so very pleased you were selected to write this essay, because I don't think it could have been done any better. I will be referring to it when my own way feels lost, I'm sure. <333

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Oh, dude. I was petrified about writing this thing. Y'know, just the voice of whole freakin' fandom, no pressure or anything! Eek. Anyway. Thank you so much. What you've said means a lot.

[alizz.livejournal.com]

This is one of the best essays I've ever read, and beautifully written. I completely agree with you.


Oh, and this is so true... Even though I'm not an adult yet, I understand what you mean, especially the last bit.

One thing I've learned in my own life is that the things that are important to us as children often aren't anymore when we're adults, but that it sometimes requires a real shock to make us realize what things we're holding on to only out of habit and what things actually matter.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

What a wonderful thing to say. Thank you SO much. Really.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_rp_zeal_/]

Thanks for all the effort you've put into writing this beautiful essay.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

Thank you for taking the time to read it! It means a lot to me.

[ninkasa.livejournal.com]

You moved me to tears, darling.

Thanks for reminding me why I fell in love with this pairing in the first place.

[dorrie6.livejournal.com]

You are too kind. Thank you so much. I'm thrilled it affected you so strongly.