You know, I think it's really interesting how in book 6, Harry is the only one who takes Draco seriously. Ron and Hermione laugh the first time he suggests Draco could be a Death Eater or that he could be capable of doing anything for Voldemort. Arthur too is dismissive of the idea. Dumbledore knows that Draco has been tasked with killing him but doesn't believe that he could pose any danger. Even Voldemort himself doesn't actually expect Draco to succeed or even come close. Only Harry believes in him and sees his potential, even though obviously he doesn't see it as a good thing in this context.
In a way it kind of parallels, though also contrasts with, the way that in book 2 everyone thinks Harry is the Heir but Draco immediately knows that despite the compelling evidence to the contrary (after the Parseltongue incident) Harry couldn't possible be the culprit and would never harm Muggleborns.
They both always see and understand each other so keenly and instinctively.
There are many reasons why I think Draco is so interesting, but if I had to choose one that is most compelling to me, it would be his contradictory nature. He is an emotional and sensitive person, yet he is good at occlumency. He is mean-spirited and loves to antagonize people, but he is also averse to violence. He wants to seem cool and aloof, but his natural personality is expressive and reactive. There are so many layers to his character, which makes him really fun to explore.
But I also think his contradictions make him quite difficult to understand, even for those close to him. In a drarry context, I don’t think Harry would ever fully understand him either, and there would always be sides of Draco that surprise him, even after years of knowing each other. But that might be a good thing for them because Harry thrives on curiosity, and Draco being a puzzle would keep things interesting for him.
All the romance of Harry and Ginny’s first kiss just vanishes when you realize it occurs - out of all chapters - at the end of the very same chapter as Sectumsempra, at a moment when Harry is feeling so mortified and overwhelmed with guilt that he is suddenly desperate to not think about Draco, after spending the whole rest of the book obsessed with him. Poor Ginny is canonically a total rebound.
... and yet, his eyes keep finding him across the room.
I’ve noticed that some people like to bring up the characters Harry actually describes as beautiful or attractive — almost like it’s some kind of argument against Drarry. Like, "See? He never says Draco is good-looking, so case closed."
But there are a few big problems with that logic.
First. You’re basically saying Harry likes Ginny because she’s pretty.
Yeah, yeah, I know. “He likes her for other reasons too!”
Sure. But those other reasons are vague at best… and honestly, those same traits apply to all the other Weasleys siblings.
So what makes Ginny “the one”? It kind of feels, to ME, like she just got lucky, lucky to be a Weasley-GIRL and lucky to conveniently turn out to be as attractive as Cho.
Second. The implicit idea that you can only fall in love with someone if you find them physically beautiful. When in fact, it’s love that makes someone beautiful in our eyes. And as for attraction, not everyone experiences attraction the same way. And sometimes, especially when feelings are confusing or complicated, that attraction doesn’t come through in obvious terms.
Third. Draco’s physical appearance — whether Harry found him handsome or not — does not erase the clear emotional pull or fascination Harry seemed to have toward him.
Maybe Draco isn’t as handsome as Cedric, Tom Riddle or young Sirius. But it’s remarkable how Draco is the only Slytherin classmate whose appearance Harry doesn’t describe using insulting terms.
Compare how Harry talks about other Slytherins:
Pansy’s pug face,
Crabbe and Goyle as apes,
Flint looked like a troll.
The only other Slytherin Harry gives objective, neutral, and non-offensive descriptions of is Zabini.
“a tall, dark-skinned boy with high cheekbones and long eyelashes.”
And everyone immediately assumes Zabini is handsome.
Instead, about Draco, what we do get are oddly detailed, almost poetic descriptions:
His sleek, platinum-blond hair catching the sunlight.
His pale skin and pointed features.
His light gray eyes, described as bright or flashing.
The drawl in his voice, the way he moves, the way he talks...
These aren’t necessarily compliments. But they’re not insults either. These are not neutral observations. They’re intimate. Focused. Sensory.
They don’t scream “I hate this guy,” they whisper “I’m watching him. Closely. All the time.”
And that’s exactly what Harry does, he notices Draco. Constantly. Even when there’s no plot reason to. Even when Draco isn’t talking to him. Even when he’s just there.
Over and over again throughout the books, we’re told that Harry could recognize “that blond head” anywhere, even in a crowd. Or that “that voice, that specific cadence” is unmistakable to him.
We don’t know if that’s true for anyone else. But it’s definitely true for Harry.
And meanwhile…
Harry can’t even recognize the scent he smells in the Amortentia — supposedly the potion that reveals your deepest desires — as being Ginny’s. When he later catches a whiff of the same scent around her, he doesn’t even make the connection.
So… What?!
We're supposed to interpret these scenes as "Harry likes Ginny, but he doesn't realize it yet," but it seems much more like he's oblivious to her and little details about her.
And in my opinion? That whole Amortentia moment felt less like Harry realizing he loves Ginny, and more like the narrative trying to convince us that he does.
(Personally, I don't think the third scent Harry smells in the Amortentia is specifically about Ginny — I see it more as a reference to the Burrow and the Weasley family in general. But that’s a discussion for another post.)
So maybe Harry doesn’t think Draco is traditionally handsome or attractive.
But the way he sees him, with that level of attention and vivid detail, says a lot more than just physical attraction.
It speaks to fascination. Obsession, even.
He’s not staring at Seamus’s hair in the sunlight. He’s not recognized Ron’s voice in a crowd.
He’s not even describing Ginny in that much visual detail or frequency.
But Draco? Draco gets all of it.
Maybe it’s not love, certainly not at that time. But it’s something. Something that could grow and be explored by Harry when he was older, after the war, when he and Draco could interact on new ground, without the prejudices that would alienate Harry. But Harry didn't get the chance to explore this, because JKR tied him to his very convenient and boring girlfriend.
Well...
To conclude, the fact that Harry never openly thinks of Draco as handsome or uses more flattering terms could very well be the result of unconscious — or even deliberate — denial. After all, he sees Draco as a rival, as someone he should dislike.
But his behavior, and the frequency of that behavior, tells a different story: it speaks of a deep fascination. One so intense that it can’t be explained away as mere rivalry.
who do you reckon falls first / falls harder in drarry?
ok so my headcanon is draco falls first but harry falls harder
something like draco’s love would start quietly, almost against his will. say, he’d catch himself staring too long at harry’s hands, the way his fingers curl around a mug or the way he pushes up his glasses when he’s thinking. he’d notice how harry listens when people talk, really listens, and how his laugh fills a room like light. It would feel wrong at first, like something he hasn’t earned. but, the guilt would gnaw at him, whispering that harry deserves someone unstained. so he’d swallow it down. act untouched and pretend.
harry’s fall would come later, but it would wreck him. he’d start noticing draco in every small, human way. the way he kneels in the mud and moss to feed the scruffy cats behind andromeda’s house, whispering to them like they understand. the way teddy clings to draco’s robes and he never seems to mind. the way he hums absentmindedly while restocking andromeda’s pantry, or debates theories with hermione over tea, or apologizes to george with shaking hands but steady eyes.
harry would realize one day that draco’s voice has become part of the background of his peace. that every moment of quiet feels incomplete without it.
and i think that draco would have fallen first but harry would never stop falling.
one of my favourite pieces of drarry canon is the fact that draco's sectusempra scars go all the way up to his face. harry can't forget about them, he will never be able to see him again without being reminded of what he did to him.
"Blood spurted from Malfoy's face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword." (HBP, ch. 24)
I didn’t like Draco before reading the books. In the movies, they just portrayed him as a bully so I didn’t care for him. In the books he def hits different. :‘V
I mean, he’s still a “bully” in the sense that he messes with Harry, but he’s not actually bullying Harry. He picks on Harry, in the same way you’d mess with your crush, and Harry can more than hold his own. Harry even scares him:
“Missing your half-breed pal?” he kept whispering to Harry whenever there was a teacher around, so that he was safe from Harry’s retaliation.
So… he was scared but so gay, he couldn’t resist becos this is literally the only way he could keep Harry in his life. x’D Imagine being afraid of your crush’s wrath but you just.. can’t help it lol >///<
And literally picking on Harry is the only way he can continue to talk to Harry because after the rejected handshake (and being in different Houses), Draco is too prideful to grovel for friendship. Harry basically condemned their relationship to schoolyard 'enemies’ who will risk their lives again and again for each other. Who’s mutual obsession becomes so obvious that everyone just knows that they look out for each other, despite outwardly acting like they hate each other. When other characters can see it, you know it’s real.
Despite being schoolyard 'enemies’, Harry absolutely falls for Draco so hard. Harry can’t ever stop staring at Draco no matter what Draco is doing (whether he’s acting suspiciously or just eating his lunch), and Draco likewise cannot stop watching him. Draco can’t stop talking about Harry either, in the same way when you have a crush, you can’t stop talking about that person. When i have a crush, i am talking about them literally nonstop. Every little thing your crush does is absolutely fascinating. That is Draco with Harry. Draco’s dad had to tell him to shut up about Harry LMAO. Draco not realizing how obvious he is being:
“… everyone thinks he’s so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick — ”
“You have told me this at least a dozen times already,” said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son.
Like, bruh, just pls STFU XD it’s no wonder Voldemort became suspicious of his feelings for Harry:
"He did not come and join me, like the rest of the Slytherins. Perhaps he has decided to befriend Harry Potter?”
lmaoo.
And of course how Narcissa just assumed that Harry, a kid who she must’ve known wasn’t exactly friends with her son (them being on opposite sides of the war) would know or care to take notes about the whereabouts of her son in the middle of a goddamn war:
“Is Draco alive? Is he in the castle?”
The whisper was barely audible; her lips were an inch from his ear, her head bent so low that her long hair shielded his face from the onlookers.
“Yes,” he breathed back.
And of course she was right. Harry did know. In fact, both of them had just finished saving each others’ lives.
Yep.
Harry saved the life of a Death Eater. In the middle of the war. Against Voldemort.
At a time when the less Death Eaters there were, the better. Even Ron had thought Harry was being ludicrous for going back in the fiendfyre that Draco’s friend started in an attempt to kill them:
“It’s — too — dangerous — !” Ron yelled, but Harry wheeled in the air.
“IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I’LL KILL YOU, HARRY!” roared Ron’s voice.
Harry risked his FRIENDS’ LIVES.
For Draco.
Draco, who had at this point, openly admitted to being a Death Eater. Draco, his supposed sworn enemy in school and outside of it.
Harry could care less about Goyle or Blaise, he was all about saving Draco. Harry didn’t even notice that Crabbe was long gone at this point LOL.
And right before the fire, Draco did the same for him. After Draco confronted Harry instead of surprise attacking him (knowing full well that Harry is too formidable in an open confrontation), Draco refused to let his friends hurt him as Crabbe was about to unleash a non-killing hex:
STOP!” Malfoy shouted at Crabbe, his voice echoing through the enormous room. “The Dark Lord wants him alive —”
“So? I’m not killing him, am I?”
And then:
“Don’t kill him! DON’T KILL HIM!” Malfoy yelled…
Draco NEVER yells. Ever. He is always so calm and collected (when he’s not obsessing over Harry). So this is honestly incredible to me that he is yelling….. He is straight-up panicking because his friends might hurt Harry.
And then of course in Malfoy Manor, even at great risk to himself and his family, he doesn’t reveal Harry’s identity. When asked if Harry was in fact Harry Potter:
“I don’t know,” he said…
Although he has no problem giving away Hermione or Ron’s identity.
Look, Draco, isn’t it the Granger girl?”
“I … maybe … yeah.”
“But then, that’s the Weasley boy!” shouted Lucius, striding around the bound prisoners to face Ron. “It’s them, Potter’s friends — Draco, look at him, isn’t it Arthur Weasley’s son, what’s his name — ?”
“Yeah,” said Draco again, his back to the prisoners. “It could be.”
Draco had never been just another Death Eater to Harry. Draco was someone Harry had grown to fall slowly in love with over the years, despite their animosity. And Draco, for his sake, had fallen so hard for Harry, THE sworn enemy of Voldemort.
In the books, he and Harry are obviously hopelessly in love with each other. Countless passages showcase their obsession, including Harry’s constant thinking about Draco’s looks, like his eyes or his hair, or his smirks (Draco’s version of winking). Harry doesn’t think about anyone’s eyes as often as he does Draco’s (Ginny’s eyes we only know are brown.. What shade? idk, DRACO’S EYES HOWEVER). He knows Draco so well, which is shocking because they’re not even friends or in the same House. He knows Draco better than he knows all of his actual friends, except for Ron & Hermione.
He can read Draco so well, even though Draco is a pro at Occlumency because he had learned from a young age to shut down his emotions and present a cold, strong exterior. This again, goes back to his pridefulness due to his rough upbringing under Lucius. But Harry can see through that. And Harry is likely one of the very few that can. (On a side note, Tom Felton said that if Draco had been raised by Hagrid, he would’ve turned out much differently, even been perhaps a hugger. lol.)
Draco’s obsession, then, is even more incredible when you consider that he is actually really good at hiding how he feels. But with Harry, he just cannot for the life of him, hide it. You can’t help who you love, after all. Despite Draco’s obsession being more obvious because he’s just so damn aggressive with it, Harry’s tiny, shy expressions are utterly endearing…. like that time Draco was in the middle of an OWL exam and Harry merely *walked into the room*:
Harry distinctly saw Malfoy throw a scathing look over at him; the wine glass Malfoy had been levitating fell to the floor and smashed. Harry could not suppress a grin.
How adorable is that?!?!?! (from BOTH of them!!!! you’re really telling me that Draco went from getting an O to an E grade in his Levitation portion of the exam just becos of Harry lol. and Harry’s tiny little shy smiles aweee) *squeals* and what’s more:
Malfoy elbowed past Hermione to block Harry’s way up the stone steps to the castle, his face gleeful and his pale eyes glinting maliciously.
“Shove off, Malfoy,” said Ron, whose jaw was clenched.
Harry just stayed quiet. How gay is this scene? Like, a guy who’s blocking your path is a total romance movie trope LOL. I’m just imagining Harry standing there blushing. >///< Ron is often a cockblock, ngl (more on that in my analysis of DH). Harry’s personality in the books is pretty outgoing, and he most definitely has a temper too, towards others. But when it comes to Draco, it’s Ron that gets overly aggressive, even when Draco isn’t messing with Ron. In fact, often when anyone talks badly about Draco, Harry doesn’t. He does talk non-stop shit about Umbridge, Snape, or Rita Skeeter, but not Draco lol……. He hates Snape too, and often compares Snape and Draco, as he thinks about how he hates Snape far more than Draco lol.
Snape had emerged from the staircase leading down to his office, and at the sight of him Harry felt a great rush of hatred beyond anything he felt toward Malfoy…
Even though Draco messes with him far more than Snape does. He loves the attention he gets from Draco, so much so that once Draco has his own shit to deal with in HBP and stops messing with him as much, Harry takes to literally *STALKING* him with a magical map all around the school………….
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.
Lmao. Remember, at this point, he still had no concrete evidence Draco was doing anything sus. None of his closest friends who had both been witnesses to Draco’s supposedly sus activities agreed it was anything worth worrying over. But nope, Harry can’t drop it. It’s to the point where even Arthur Weasley knows about his crush……
“I think you missed something,” said Harry stubbornly.
‘Well, maybe,’ said Mr Weasley, but Harry could tell that Mr Weasley was humouring him.
lmaooooo. Arthur’s reaction to his baseless accusations towards Draco was hilarious. x’D It’s truly fascinating how the adults around them just know. Both Draco’s parents and Voldemort, just as Arthur knows for Harry.
The story of Harry and Draco is an accidental horribly tragic love story for both repressed gay boys who are too afraid to actually admit how they feel. :( Their untold love is truly the epic forbidden love story of the entire goddamn series. It had the best most perfect build-up and chemistry, and JKR just like, totally overlooked that due to her irrational dislike of Draco Malfoy for some reason. 😮💨
Welp, that’s it for now. I’m in the middle of getting through HBP with my notes. I’ll make a new post once I finish taking the rest of my drarry notes with the series. I still had a ton more to say about DH but i’ll leave it for once I’m actually finished with the DH notes.
