So, I Know How Much Everybody Loves Pretend-dating/pretend-marriage Fics, But Have You Considered ‘pretend

Ok, so here we go.

Today I lost someone from my family and I also started shit in here without meaning to. Since I can’t bring people back from the dead, I can at least clear the air with the person I offended (and I already did it). So anons, please stop sending me messages of support or calling me a bitch. It literally makes no difference to me.

What I would like to do then is share my views on the topic because I do think we need to discuss it. It’s extremely relevant right now.

And I do this because it’s what I should have done from the beginning: express my POV without lowkey saying “you’re wrong”. It’s a lovely process to be part of this fandom and we can disagree (as we usually do in everything) but respect each other’s POVs.

So here’s my personal experience with “Draco Malfoy is an analogy for Nazi youth” and I hope you can share yours and we can grow together.

It is common knowledge that the Death Eaters are an analogy to Nazis. I mean, it’s freaking obvious. So yes, sometimes I find it bizarre when people romanticise them and tattoo dark marks and shit. At the same time, though, I understand that fiction is not real life, so that doesn’t really mean they are Nazi sympathisers. Actually, most HP readers are just the opposite.

Now talking about Draco specifically: for a looooong time I felt like SHIT for liking this ship. It’s nothing new if you follow my personal posts. I used to literally ask God to cure me from this disorder. So yeah, highkey self-loathing.

The thing that made me make peace with this pairing was Deathly Hallows. I don’t think I would still be a shipper without it. Both because it developed their relationship and because it gave me a glimpse of hope for Draco’s redemption.

I love Draco. He’s one of my favourite characters in the whole of Literature. I am literally obsessed with him. And at the same time I am a crazy activist who wants to punch Nazis in the face. So how can I be both?

First of all, because I have so clear to me the difference between fiction and real life. And that’s something that I can only vouch for myself. Young girls don’t always have that. Even 40-something women don’t sometimes (50 Shades of Fake-BDSM, anyone?).

So yeah, I get why it’s a problem.

JKR said that several times and, although the way she said it was not cool at all (and she blocked a bunch of real HP fans for asking her about Draco and complaining about the way she was saying things) I can still see why she’s concerned.

But to be honest, I think Draco is not the best example of Nazi or alt-right in HP that people love and admire. Snape, for instance, never had real redemption. He was just in love with this ONE PERSON. Also, he was a 30-something yo man, not a 16 yo boy. And still JKR herself loves him.

So I don’t see how she really understands the problem. Her issue is with Drarry in particular - and she apparently changed her mind before Cursed Child, so really, it’s in the past.

Back to the issue: Draco is indeed a born and raised Nazi in that analogy. I do think we have to be careful when discussing fiction, even when problematic, because it’s really not the same as real life. But I can see where this point comes from. And I respect it, because I saw it like that for a long time.

How did I forgive him?

I am 25 yo right now and let me tell you, I was a child when I was 16. I didn’t know ANYTHING. In fact, my bullies/enemies didn’t know anything as well. I actually am friends with one nowadays and he’s a completely different person (a much better person). So yes, 16 is early to have a completely formed character.

From HBP you can see his redemption being slowly added into the main plotline and it’s a beautiful thing to see. Loving Drarry is about loving redemption and coming-of-age and to me that’s one of the most beautiful and addictive aspects of this pairing. It wouldn’t be the same at all without it.

But to be honest, in my head any fanfic I read has this same POV, so even if they don’t address it throughout the fanfic, to me it happened at some point. Because I do believe people need to address the things that happen to them before they can move on.

And come on, pretty dark shit happened between them. Harry tried to kill Draco, Draco tried to kill Ron AND Dumbledore. It’s something very dark and in MY personal experience, I would have to deal with it to be able to look the other person in the eye.

So yeah, I agree that to me, right now, these kinds of fanfics are the most relatable and I almost don’t consider anything else plausible TO ME. But also, if you feel forgetting is better, hey, be my guest. Liking fluffy Draco doesn’t mean you love Nazis. I think that should be obvious to you guys.

That was my point the whole time and I think she never said anything different from that: liking Draco DOES NOT make you a Nazi supporter. But thinking about it and trying to explore real redemption can be the best way to make peace with the actual political climate and our favourite characters.

And also, PLEASE try not to start shit with each other in here. Just because we disagree about something, it doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. It’s not like any of you are actual Nazi supporters, right? (In that case, please fuck off forever).

lmao love how in the fiendfyre scene Ron is so desperately trying to convince Harry to not die for Draco and Harry is not having it.

Ron just like 'oh no. not his Malfoy thing. not NOW. I hate my life.'

What even is this bit lol?

Harry: I hate when my friends are in danger.

Harry when Draco's in trouble: ... but it's a risk we have to take.

The fact that this is canon is WILD.

Harry: *a full paragraph of thoughts about Draco*

Ron: *practically in tears* Please. Now is not the time. Can you at least introspect about him when were are not LITERALLY IN A ROOM THAT IS ON FIRE?! PLEASE????

Harry: Where's Draco? Burning to death is such a terrible way to go. I can't bear it. I must find him.

Ron: Remember me and Hermione? Your best friends in the whole world? WHO ARE CURRENTLY ALSO ABOUT TO BURN TO DEATH IF YOU DON'T LEAVE?!?!

And then he finds Draco holding Goyle who's unconscious and he just tries to grab Draco and ignores Goyle. Even though it would make sense to help the unconscious person first. Goyle probably only lives because Draco won't let go of him so finally Ron and Hermione come and get him so that Draco can get on Harry's broom.

Ron & Hermione must be so Done by that point.

WAIT WHAT. the spouse-ification of chloe?? omg i never noticed this in canon?? PLS expand!!!

@tumblingxelian this is your topic go crazy 🫡

There's so much drarry content to comment on in this passage I hardly even know where to start.

1) Harry's animosity is all for Snape. The only time we really see him feel true anger towards Draco is at the end of 4th year. Otherwise he's rarely deeply angry at him. It would certainly be unsurprising if Harry blamed Draco for what happened, even if Snape struck the killing blow. But he doesn't. Quite the opposites in fact. He feels sympathy for Draco's plight and actively worries about him. Because he knows Draco so well that he can see right through him to the kind of person he really is - not a willing acolyte of Voldemort. And because Harry is drawn to and cares about Draco a lot more than his is willing to acknowledge, even to himself...

2) The thing Harry picks that he still blames Draco for is...his infatuation with the Dark Arts. Not his role in Dumbledore's death. Not anything he's ever done to Harry. Harry's nice but he's not usually THIS forgiving. Certainly not with people he doesn't care about or dislikes... And for all that Harry claims to dislike Draco he spends an awful lot of time worrying about him. Both here and in later passages as well as in book 7. In this section of book 6 he also claims Crabbe and Goyle look "lonely" without Draco but given the interactions we see between them in book 7 it's pretty unlikely they miss him so if anyone misses Draco and feels like his presence is something that has always been part of his life and that it's strange with out him...it's probably Harry.

3) It's also notable that even though Draco only had the chance to lower his wand a little bit Harry is utterly sure he wouldn't have killed Dumbledore. And instead of thinking about how Draco missed his chance to come back to the Light and now will fall deeper into the Dark, he worries about what Voldemort is "making" him do. Thus accepting that any further acts Draco carries out on Voldemort's behalf are against his will. He really understands Draco. And cares about his welfare. A lot more than an enemy or casual acquaintance would.

4) As an aside, it's also pretty hilarious that Harry's like 'Draco Malfoy? No I haven't thought about him much' *proceeds to spend an entire paragraph thinking about him and worrying if he's ok and then brings him up again a few paragraphs later*

Miraculous Ladybug Lore Theory: Master Fu’s Past, Symbolism, and Emilie Agreste and the Miraculous

After watching “The Collector” again, I have noticed a few strange things.

But before I do that, let’s do a recap.

We know that:

1. Master Fu is the last living member of the Order of Guardians, which protects and distributes the Miraculouses. Children are chosen to train for this grave duty from a young age.

2. When he was young, Master Fu made a world-changing mistake that led to the demise of the Guardian’s temple.

3. He was able to salvage the Miraculouses and the Grimoire, a book containing the secrets of Miraculouses.

4. He lost the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculous, along with the Grimoire on the same day of his escape.

5. Assuming that what Gabriel says is not a lie, he found the Grimoire, Peacock Miraculous, and Butterfly Miraculous when they went on their trip to Tibet.

6. Assuming that Gabriel is not lying to guilt trip Adrien, the Grimoire was Emilie’s last gift to Gabriel before her disappearance.

With these 6 facts laid out, I want to point out the 3 things that I found interesting:

1 - As young Master Fu escapes from the burnt temple, he is holding the box containing the Miraculouses AND the Grimoire.

This means that wherever he lost the Grimoire and the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses, it was NOT the temple. It may be close to the temple, but it is NOT buried underneath the ruins of a millennia old civilization dedicated to the harmony of the world. It was buried somewhere in the middle of nowhere, most likely, where no one would be able to find it unless they happened to find it by pure, pure dumb luck or set out to find it.

No wonder no one found it for 170 years.

(Master Fu is 186, and he looks to be around a tween to 16 in the picture.)

However, there is something even more interesting about this. Because, as you know, Master Fu ended up losing the Grimoire, Butterfly Miraculous, and Peacock Miraculous on the very same day he was forced to depart from his childhood.

But, Master Fu had the Grimoire in his hand when he departed. How could have been lost?

I’m going to make a guess as to what happened, using two pieces of the puzzle:

The picture has what seems to be a winter storm in the background.

The existence of the man.

Explaining number 1, it is possible that young Fu, after his escape, lost the Grimoire and the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculous because of a particularly bad storm.

Oh! The storm must have knocked the Grimoire off his hand, thus leaving Mother Nature to guard the secrets of the Miraculous for more than a century. Yea.

It sounds plausible, until you consider more things into account.

Because if it was only the storm that made Master Fu lose the Grimoire, how do you lose ONLY the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculouses and not the entire box?

Assuming that the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculous wasn’t taken when Master Fu had decided to flee with the world in his hands, the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculouses should have been snuggled safely in the box. (Because if people were going to take a Miraculous, wouldn’t it be the Ladybug and Black Cat that would be the first to go?)

Why would ONLY the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculous go missing, without any outside help?

The answer is probably that, it couldn’t.

It did have help.

My guess is that, after young Fu had escaped from the reminders of his failure, he had an… encounter with someone he knew. Someone who was probably after the Miraculouses after the temple fell:

his teacher.

I assume that the man who gave young Fu the bangle was his teacher, because of

this picture.

In this picture, we see one master, who is in a visibly different stance and colored clothing from the others. Moreover, he is taller and has a beard, implying (not at all subtly) that he is the adult in this school. The teacher.

As you can see, the man that gives Master Fu a bangle has similar features as him.

An adult, has a beard, and wears a red robe. He also has what I assume to be is a Miraculous on his hand. Something that I can conclude with no doubt that no commoner or just a regular teacher can just get.

Even if he isn’t young Fu’s teacher, this man must have been in the higher-ups of the Guardian society. A man who commands respect from the people. Whether that is from just the fact that he is the teacher of the future Guardians or because of his deeds is something that only the creators would know.

Anyways, this man asks for young Fu’s help, which sets a sequence of domino effects and leads (intentionally or unintentionally) to the demise of the Guardian society. Only the Miraculouses and the Grimoire survive, thanks to the effort of Master Fu.

(Come to think of it, I remember saying that Master Fu chose the wrong person for a Miraculous. If the bangle is a Miraculous, maybe the teacher asked young Fu to choose a person, which ended up in disaster?)

Of course, Master Fu being Master Fu, he corrects himself saying “We made a mistake” to “I made a mistake,” shifting the blame away from both of them to solely himself. So characteristic for a person who chose our two cinnamon rolls as the balancing force.

Anyways, back to the topic.

I imagine that the teacher had an idea to save the society or some other noble goal (We see the octopus in the back, so maybe there were attackers from the outside? Or people who were abusing their Miraculouses? I dunno.), which Master Fu may have carried out to perfection with terrible consequences or carried out disastrously (Unplanned or as planned for the man, we don’t know). Anyways, it ultimately led to the downfall of the Order of the Guardians, leaving Fu as the lone survivor.

(OR maybe his chosen was intoxicated by the power that he had, that it led to the chosen being power-hungry and thus leading to the burning of Fu’s home?)

Maybe the teacher had had good intentions, or maybe he had selfish ones. Maybe he was trying to set something right in a world full of what seemed wrong, or maybe he was trying to do something wrong to destroy something right. Maybe he succeeded in his intentions, or maybe it had HORRIBLY backfired. Only the creators may know at this point.

If the power-hungry chosen story is incorrect, I have a few guesses of what the man could have wanted, but all of these are speculations. We don’t know anything about this man, so it could have been that he just wanted to poop rainbows and needed the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses to do that:

Getting rid of a foreign invader or inside enemy.

Wanting power (maybe also lowering the chances of getting repercussions, if he was truly evil and wanted to pull the strings). For a wish or any other selfish purpose, maybe.

Setting something he deemed in the society as wrong, right. I imagine this to be one of those political goals that would require a lot of worldbuilding for the Guardian society.

Destroying all the Miraculouses. Because of typical “better not to have them at all” logic.

Anyways, whether or not it is the man or the chosen, I think it would be a great flashback episode. Just think of the drama! Thinking that everyone who you knew was dead, and then finding the person who had driven you to the demise of the world blocking you once again. Denying you of grief, of sorrow for everyone you knew, who you grew up with and talked freely about your fears and desires for the future. This person declaring that they need the Miraculouses and the Grimoire. They are the world to you and hold the secrets to the world. They are your only relic of the existence of you and everyone else you knew. You being anchored only by the box in your hand. Gripping it tighter in the hopes that it infects you with some reckless bravery for the sake of your loved ones. You refuse the person’s demands of handing over the box. Commence fighting.

Due to lack of experience, you are overpowered by the man easily. You hold onto the box protectively, desperately, selfishly, not caring whether or not you bleed to death. You expecting to die that moment. Apologies to your loved ones for being such a big letdown. Then suddenly, as the man almost gets his way, a storm so big blows up that the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculouses, as well as the Grimoire, are knocked out of sight and into oblivion. Destined to lie dormant for 170 years, until a couple from France stumble upon them. The man gone from your sight. Unable to know for sure whether or not they are alive.

You’re still alive, able to feel your fingers and see your breath intermingling with the cold air. You look at the situation with speechless shock, as the storm subsides and the sun begins to shine again. Warmth radiates back into your face, illuminating the tears dripping down your cheeks. Your heart pounds, begging you to stand, but your hands do not move from where it is placed protectively around the box. Your hands curl into fists, punching the ground mindlessly. Your eyes cannot see the snow underneath you. Your eyes only see black. Stifling, hopeless black.

You eventually getting up, limping side to side. Leaning more towards the side you carry your box, as if the box is the only thing that gives you support.

The drama!

Okay, I got carried away lol.

But do you just SEE the potential in this?! It could be one of the best scenes in Miraculous Ladybug. Seriously. With good music, it would be one of those unforgettable scenes in cartoon history.

AND, if the man really WAS after destroying the Miraculous permanently, wouldn’t that REALLY step up the game from Hawk Moth, making him look “like a baby”? It would be like Le Paon would be taking on his will and all that anime stuff. It would be GREAT.

Every movement would be done to permanently erase Tikki and Plagg off existence, to destroy the Miraculouses. Once the enemy finds out about the identity of the heroes, we’re done. Game over. More Love Square dynamics. More stakes. Who cares about the life of the heroes? As long as the Miraculouses are gone, the world will finally be put into balance again logic.

Even if the Miraculous Cure does set everything back to normal, it doesn’t work if Ladybug is dead. Thus, every attempt to kill her, every single fight, every move of the villain calculating and without a hint of mercy even when not in a suit. Chat Noir becoming overprotective and paranoid that she will be gone the next day. HELLA interesting fight scenes.

God, I really hope they go this route. Even though it is a kid show. It would be wonderful. The sheer depth of emotion that they could show, from grief, to fear, to hopelessness. OH MY GOSH. (What can I say? I love angst. Not the unnecessary kind though.)

Anyways, I’m rambling now. Let’s do the other two.

2 - The Clothing Colors

Sort of a continuation of the last. But this is something else that I have noticed.

If you see the background characters, you see that they are wearing blue. Even some of the adults in the background are wearing blue. The same color that the students of the Guardian school was wearing.

Meanwhile, young Fu and the man are wearing red robes. The same color that the teacher of the school at the beginning was wearing.

What could this mean?

My guess is that the common folks wear the blue garments while those who are more in the upper class, who are more respected, get to wear red.

What i really like about this is that this correlates to the colors that ancient Chinese (and Korean too :)) government officials used to wear in history, by rank. A color would mean a specific rank, and you were required to wear the color that made your status visible. What color symbolize nobility always changed, from black to red to yellow, etc. However, the important thing was that color revealed the status of the individual in question.

And I think that is what the Guardian society did.

Therefore, by the time that the man gave young Fu the bangle, it would have been that Master Fu knew enough about being a Guardian to officially be a member of the upper class. Or, he was already born in the upper class. Whichever one. Still, he was well-respected, even as a kid.

Which makes the escape scene even more interesting. Because he wore blue robe with a red cloak when he was fleeing the temple.

It may have been accidental for young Fu that he was dressed like this, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t for the producers.

Because if we take the blue = common man, red = well-respected and upper class into account, the symbolism is ripe here.

Him being the last hope for humanity - both the people and the dignity and honor of the people. Both red and blue with him.

Him being the representative for the common people. Carrying on the torch for those who was born with the privilege of having the Miraculouses nearby. Him being, ultimately of the common people and human and full of flaws and mistakes in the inside even though he may have been higher than others in this society, due to birth or skills.

It could also symbolize his newfound humility. Red symbolizes fire, which is passion. Which could have been something that he was, passionate to serve something for the greater good. To change the world. Etc. Everything gone awry exactly because of that passion.

Learning to internalize the lessons of humility, of the value of being calm under situations. Of valuing harmony, stillness, depth not breadth, and becoming a Jedi.

3 - Of how the Agrestes all fit into this

What especially intrigues me is how the Agrestes fit into all this. Because Gabriel has the Butterfly Miraculous, Adrien has the Black Cat Miraculous, and it is usually thought that the Peacock Miraculous was Emilie’s. That’s an insane concentration of power in one family. 3/3 members have Miraculouses. Wow!

But it is especially even more intriguing is because: WHY THE HELL DID THEY GO TO TIBET IN THE FIRST PLACE?!

Gabriel, if he is telling the truth, said that he found the Grimoire with his wife in a trip to Tibet. Which is strange, because:

Why didn’t Adrien go too?

Why Tibet?

Why this specific hunk of ruins on a random ass mountain? Why this mountain where there doesn’t seem to be any sign of LIFE, let alone civilization? Even if a storm blew the Miraculouses away, it doesn’t seem to be a good place for humans to live in anyways.

What was their goal with this trip? Why would the reserved, strict, and fashion designer Gabriel agree to such a trip? There is no inspiration for clothes. No movies to be filmed. It was a VACATION.

Let’s assume, for a second, that they knew what they were doing when they went on this trip, that everything was purposeful.

They didn’t bring Adrien because they feared that the trip would be too dangerous.

They knew what they were doing. They had at least a vague idea of what they were looking for. Otherwise, why would you go to a random (maybe?) country? And go look for a random book and two pieces of jewelry that could be anywhere in an endless maze of mountains?

There is a very little to no chance that you can get “accidentally” lost and stumble upon a Miraculous in a place like that. No sane human would go and make themselves lost there without having a specific goal in mind.

I’m really starting to doubt the fact that it was a “vacation.” More likely that they weren’t there to have fun. There was an objective that they had to reach.

My guess is that Mrs. Agreste either had a tie to Guardians other than Master Fu, knew the wrong chosen for Master Fu, or was into conspiracy theories and Chinese culture. But take the last one less seriously.

She had something that she had wanted to do there. But what?

(Dang… Emilie is entangled so much in the Miraculous Ladybug lore. I’m starting to wonder whether we’ll even get to know her as a person before the lore starts kicking at full speed.)

I think this quote may help out a lot in answering this question:

Gabriel says that the book was a gift from Emilie.

Meaning, that it was Emilie’s. Then, she gave it to her husband, effectively making it his.

But they had found it. Together.

What one found, should have been the other’s as soon as long as one found something that they both interest in.

But Emilie owned it. Gabriel, the person who must have been by her side (whether or not he was discouraging of this whole trip to begin with, nonchalant, or supportive) the whole time they were looking for the jewelry and fancy book, should have had equal ownership.

But he didn’t. It was Emilie’s. Most likely because Gabriel didn’t care too much for the book.

So, what does this mean?

Emilie was very invested in this trip. Even if Gabriel had no care for this trip, she cared so much to make up for it. She also likely had connections to a Miraculous wielder or a Guardian, who could lead her in the right direction of where to go, and she personally made it her mission to retrieve the missing Grimoire, Butterfly Miraculous, and Peacock Miraculous.

She probably thought of the book as important, and before she “disappeared,” made sure that Gabriel would think so of it too.

After all, it was the last gift that she ever gave to him. Even if Gabriel hadn’t become Hawk moth, it should have enough reason to be important to him.

Everything relating to Miraculouses, it must have mattered to her. It mattered to her intensely. To the point that you would want to go to a mountain in Tibet, out of all places, for VACATION.

Ironic how she had to exert so much effort for her get a Miraculous (which she couldn’t even use afterwards, because she “disappeared.”), while her son just had to help an old man up to get one.

As to why she wanted it and why she would know something like a Miraculous and Grimoire and know someone who knows about them is beyond me.

Oh god please let Marinette be either related to Fu,the man who gave the bangle to Fu, or one of the (surprising plot twist) alive ones after the fall of the temple.

Oh wait. I know.

What if she was related to the maker of the Miraculouses.

Now THAT would be something.

Every canon Dramione moment

I have compiled here a list of every single time Draco and Hermione interacted in canon, talked about one another, or could have conceivably interacted for all your Hogwarts-era fanfic needs! 

If I left anything out, please don’t hesitate to comment or DM me! There are some really obvious ones I left out e.g. the fanfic classics: prefects’ bathroom, Astronomy Tower, Black Lake, Potions lesson…

I haven’t included page numbers because every edition is different and it would be confusing. This list is intended as pinpoint references for you to check out the scene in your own books, which is why they’re not super detailed.

Enjoy!

Keep reading

Draco's Motivations in the Book 7 Room of Requirement Confrontation

I just reread the Fiendfyre sequence and based on a close reading Draco's motivations and actions are a lot more complex and sympathetic than I remembered. Not to mention, once again, here there be drarry.

First, the context:

After the incident at Malfoy Manor, we know from Harry's psychic connection to Voldemort and from the Carrows' overheard discussion that Voldemort's wrath was exceptionally terrible. The Malfoy family became virtual prisoners in their own homes for months and were subjected to especially brutal (even by Voldemort's standards) torture that was also likely quite protracted. Lucius has visible marks on him months later - which, given what we know about magic in that world, really speaks to the level of what has been going on. While he probably got the worst of it, it's certain that none of his family members escaped unscathed. After their other failings they have at this point probably permanently fallen out of favor and have nothing but a (likely short) life of misery to look forward to.

Draco bears a lot of responsibility for this state of affairs since it was he who chose not to identify Harry. This likely adds to his sense of conflict as his conscience tells him one thing and everything he has ever been taught tells him something else. He presumably feels responsible for the suffering his family (we know from book 6 that he does genuinely care about them) has to endure.

Not to mention that he himself is suffering along with them. It would be unsurprising therefore if he felt tempted to "rectify" his earlier moment of what he probably perceived as weakness and made a last ditch attempt to save his parents' (and his own) lives and prestige. While Harry has been taught that love and mercy are noble and valuable impulses, Draco has not. In his world love and mercy are called weakness.

Quite possibly as he suffered and faced death alongside his family, part of him must have felt ashamed of the impulses that led to his choices when Harry was a prisoner at the Manor. Everything he has been taught tells him that Voldemort's victory is inevitable and that his moment of shameful weakness has accomplished nothing except to fail his own family and condemn them (and himself) to a likely short life filled with suffering.

At most what we see in the Room of Requirement is a replay of what we saw on the Astronomy Tower - where Draco is deeply conflicted and when confronted with the reality of violence in support of Voldemort cannot go through with it even under tremendous pressure and even though his failure to carry out these acts of violence will inflict danger and suffering on himself and his loved ones.

But, is that even what actually happens? In my opinion, the answer is "no."

The scene in question:

If we actually look at the text it's not even clear that's what's going on at all. Draco's motives are ambiguous at best here. The scene starts when Harry is stretching out his hand to take the diadem. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle come up behind him and he is completely unaware of them. Draco then announces their presence, alerting Harry that he is being watched. He could've very easy simply stunned Harry or attempted to put the Imperius Curse on him (or killed him) while his back was turned. But he didn't do any of those things. Instead he talks, thereby ruining the element of surprise.

And that's not typical of Draco at all when he actually wants to attack Harry. He's never beaten Harry in a face-to-face confrontation. (In fact, the last time he tried - in 6th year - he almost ended up dead.) The two times he has managed to incapacitate Harry - when he petrified him on the train in 6th year and when he hid and caught Harry for Umbridge with a tripping jinx in 5th year - he did so by using the element of surprise to his advantage.

Given that Draco knows that Harry is a very formidable opponent (AND that Harry's friends are nearby) if he truly simply wanted to capture or kill him, announcing his presence is the last thing he would ever do. Then he says "That's my wand you're holding." He still doesn't cast any spells - not even to try to disarm Harry. He also doesn't say he wants to hand him over to Voldemort. He doesn't even tell Harry to drop his own wand, attempt to take him prisoner, or even threaten him.

It is Crabbe, not Draco who says "We're gonna be rewarded...We decided to bring you to 'im." Draco doesn't say anything about his own intentions other than that he wants his wand back - and we certainly know that even in 6th year he didn't trust Crabbe and Goyle, much less now, and thus is unlikely to speak openly in front of them. 

At this point Ron comes to investigate and Crabbe tries to use magic to cause a mountain of debris to fall on Ron and crush him. Harry counters the spell and Draco then grabs Crabbe's arm when he tries to repeat the spell. He gives as his justification the need to avoid the diadem being crushed but since we know he doesn't trust Crabbe it's likely this isn't truthful. Especially since Voldemort has not said anything about wanting the diadem (and even if it wasn't a Horcrux it likely wouldn't be damaged in any case).

Crabbe points out this very thing and Draco argues with him at which point Crabbe says "Who cares what you think? I don't take your orders no more, Draco. You an' your dad are finished." So arguably he was not even including Draco in the "We" he imagined would be rewarded. Crabbe then tries to use Crucio on Harry.

Draco then again intervenes and tries to stop him. 

"STOP" Malfoy shouted at Crabbe, his voice echoing through the enormous room. "The Dark Lord wants him alive--"  

He doesn't even just say it. He shouts. We rarely see Draco shout. He is someone who generally keeps his deeper emotions hidden - it's why he's so naturally gifted at Occlumency to the point that he is powerful enough at a young age to lie to both Snape and Voldemort.

What he says here doesn't really even make sense because Goyle isn't even trying to kill Harry; he's just trying to hurt him. However Draco is so distressed by this that he actually starts yelling, something we NEVER see him do at ANY other point in the book. "The Dark Lord wants him alive" is also exactly what Snape says to Bellatrix as they flee in book 6, and we know that Snape's real intent was to protect Harry with a believable excuse. It's the only thing Draco could reasonably say in that moment as a justification. 

Crabbe (rather sensibly) points out that 1) he didn't even try to kill Harry and 2) Voldemort ultimately wants Harry dead so it probably doesn't matter that much. This makes perfect sense. And yet Draco is inordinately concerned with preventing harm to Harry & Co rather than with taking any action to capture or even disarm any of them.

Clearly he did not expect to lose control of Crabbe and Goyle like this and as a result is now losing control of the situation (and himself). (Unlike Harry, Draco is more of a planner and is not as good at reacting in the moment.) Also the possibility that Harry could be killed seems to drive him nearly to the point of hysteria - rather like how Ron reacted to Hermione being in mortal peril at the Manor. This is not just a general aversion to killing. This is something more. He finds the idea of Harry dying truly unbearable. (I don't need my ships to be canon; this one just happens to be.)

At this point they start fighting and Draco loses Narcissa's wand. Wandless, he STILL tries to intervene. Crabbe and Goyle are both aiming their wands at Harry and Draco once again starts yelling -  "Don't kill him! DON'T KILL HIM!" and is obviously in significant distress and is not at all happy with what is going on. 

After that the Fiendfyre gets loose and the rest of the scene goes down without much dialogue.

At NO POINT does Draco 1) actually say he wants to hand Harry to Voldemort OR  2) attempt to attack Harry or Ron or Hermione at all OR 3) use his Dark Mark to call Voldemort OR 4) tell anyone he's seen Harry after they get out of the Room of Requirement - even in a later scene when he's been cornered by a Death Eater who is considering killing him he doesn't reveal this information even though that probably would've proven his loyalty or at the very least distracted the Death Eater.

Conclusions about Draco's motivations:

So, where does that leave us? What went down there and what was Draco trying to do?

We really have 3 options.

Option 1: Draco tried to hand Harry over to Voldemort in order to save himself and his family, got cold feet and couldn't really go through with it, and then lost control of the situation due to Crabbe and Goyle's changing loyalties. 

Verdict: Possible but unlikely given the remarkably bad job he does of it and how inconsistent his approach is with his usual MO. Even if we assume his heart wasn't in it you'd think he'd at least have got as far as disarming Harry before announcing his presence. Especially since Harry almost killed him last time they fought (and Draco probably doesn't know Harry didn't know what the Sectum Sempra curse would do.)

And if his heart WAS in it then then this makes even less sense since he not only didn't attack Harry while his back was turned but also didn't call Voldemort or even inform anyone that he'd seen Harry. 

Option 2:  Draco wanted to get himself captured in a way that looked convincing so that he could take the chance Dumbledore offered in 6th year, only it went quite badly wrong.

Verdict: This would be an interesting possibility but I think it's also unlikely as it's simply too risky. He doesn't know Harry was there on the astronomy tower or that Harry would make the same offer. His family would also likely be murdered if Voldemort realized this had happened.  

Option 3: Draco wanted to cut a deal in order to improve his family's situation without actually handing Harry over - perhaps he hoped for some kind of exchange where he could get his wand back and bring Voldemort the diadem as some kind of consolation prize - but overestimated his control over his cronies and lost control of the situation. 

Verdict: I actually think this works best given his behavior during the scene. He initiates a conversation because he wants information about what and where the diadem is (and what value it would have to Voldemort) and because he wants to make some offer along the lines of 'give me my wand and the diadem and we'll let you go.' This could get him what he wants and help his family without actually harming anyone.

Also it hedges his bets a bit because if Harry wins he will owe Draco. The problem of course is that Crabbe and Goyle aren't happy to just take orders anymore and have their own goals. At that point, instead of caving and going along with what Crabbe and Goyle want to do instead, Draco actually tries to intervene, albeit in a way that doesn't actually expose him as questioning Voldemort.  

Draco made his choice at the Manor. If he wanted to hand Harry over he would have. But he couldn't. He cares about him too much. But he also feels tremendous guilt and fear over the price he and his family are still paying for that decision. This is his attempt to try to fix things - to try to find a middle ground between the conflicting imperatives that are tearing him apart. The reality though, as he shortly discovers, is that there is no middle ground. And when he sees that, once again he chooses Harry.

Draco Malfoy hated Harry Potter so much that he…

Tried to befriend him in Madam Malkin’s even though he didn’t know who he was at the time, and Harry probably looked a bit raggedy

Tried to befriend him again on the train once he realized who he was

Was so upset that Harry didnt take his hand when they were 11 that he spent most of the next 5 years holding a grudge

Constantly talked about Harry to his friends

Even when he didn’t know Harry was listening, so it’s not like he was just doing it to annoy him

Spent the entire summer between first and second year talking about Harry Potter, to the point that his father actually lost his temper with him because he was so sick of hearing about Harry Potter all the time

Knew a startling amount about Harry despite the fact that they are 1) in different Houses and 2) decidedly not friends

Remember when Rita Skeeter recruited him as a source about Harry Potter and he was actually pretty good at it because he knew so much about Harry’s life?

Remember when everyone thought Harry must be the Heir of Slytherin but Draco knew that couldn’t be the truth because he instantly understood Harry wouldn’t do that?

Started avoiding Harry as soon as he (albeit unwillingly) became a Death Eater, even though then he should’ve wanted to go after Harry more than ever

Failed to seriously harm Harry or deliver him to Voldemort when he had him paralyzed, defenseless, and completely at his mercy on the train at the beginning of 6th year, even though killing or capturing Harry Potter would certainly have saved him and his family from Voldemort’s wrath, and probably would have ensured they received a rich reward beside. 

Refused to identify Harry at Malfoy Manor, thus buying him enough time to escape, even though he knew that he was risking certain torture and quite possibly death for both himself and his family

He had Voldemort living in his house. He knew the price he was paying and he knew how valuable delivering Harry Potter could be for him and his family. And his still chose not to.

And he paid the price. Harry could feel Voldemort’s wrath and weeks later at the Battle of Hogwarts Lucius still bore visible marks from what Voldemort did despite the healing powers of magic in that world

Could not harm Harry in the Room of Requirement even though taking him in was probably the last chance he had for salvation for him and his family

Turned his back on the beliefs he had been raised with as soon as he was free to

Yeah. Seems legit. 

So it seems that not only did Harry shift blame away from Draco in book 6 in the immediate aftermath of Dumbledore's death (x) but apparently based on this bit from book 7 it looks like when Ministry officials arrived he didn't implicate Draco at all and instead only gave evidence about Snape's guilt despite the fact that he heard Draco confess to a number of crimes.

The lengths he goes to to shield Draco are actually wild. Guess all our headcanons where he testifies on Draco's behalf don't go far enough lol.

Fanon Harry: Yes Draco made terrible mistakes but he shouldn't go to Azkaban because if you look at the whole context it's clear he was coerced and didn't want to do it and subsequently changed his mind and even risked his life to save mine so he deserves a second chance.

Canon Harry: Idk what you all are talking about. I was on the Astronomy Tower the night Dumbledore died and I only saw Snape. And sure someone Imperiused Rosmerta and made her pass on poisoned mead and a cursed necklace but anyone could've done that. If we had a witness who overheard the perpetrator confess their guilt then we'd know. But. Sadly. We don't. :)

Draco sitting in his own trial listening to Harry's version of events:

Death Note: The musical JP 2015

Where is the justice?- Urai Kenji

—

JP

>>2015 Kakizawa Hayato, Koike Teppei ver.<<

>>2015 Urai Kenji, Koike Teppei ver<<

>>2020 Shouma Kai, Fu Takahashi ver.<<

KR

>>2017 Han Ji Sang, Xia ver<<

>>2022 Hong Kwang Ho, Xia ver. <<

>>2022 Ko EunSung, Xia ver.<<

>>2022 Ko EunSung, Kim Sungcheol ver.<<

EN

>>2015 Jeremy Jordan Jarrod Spector ver. <<

>>2023 Joaquin Pedro Valdes, Dean John Wilson ver.<<

RU

>>2017 Alexandr Kazmin, Yaroslav Bayarunas ver.<<

>> [Eng cover] Alexandr Kazmin, Yaroslav Bayarunas <<

INSTRUMENTAL

>>Instrumental ver.<<