Dramione: The Truth Behind The Obsession

Part Four: The Golden Years

Of course there will always be people and things that prevent the Dramione relationship from happening, but even more so at Hogwarts. They are, to all intents and purposes, Yin and Yang, and, as much as they would probably deny it, a huge part of each others' lives - as they represent everything that Harry, Ron and Hermione are fighting.

He is proud, conceited, prejudice and a Slytherin. He is unnecessarily horrible to everyone that does not meet his extremely high standards – purely because they aren't like him. This is the kind of person they stand against. Nobody wants a world with evil in it, and yet without dark there can be no light. What Rowling fails to mention is that after the annihilation of every Death Eater, Voldemort and any other vile creature working for him and his cause, there will be nothing left to fight. Unfortunately, this is true of absolutely everything. If there were no terrorists, we would have no-one to wage war with, and end up turning on one another.

But Draco and Hermione are not conflicting countries. They are two people, and despite how the books are written, they are actually extremely reliable. I always interpret Hermione as someone who would run almost entirely on routine, and so Draco would play an enormous part of that monotonous schedule, even if his part is to insult her until she cries or curse her so her teeth grow to an unspecified size.

Therefore, when he (preferably not suddenly) stops being so hideously nasty to her, she is thrown into turmoil. She over-analyses everything from her dinner to the reasons behind Voldemort's attempted world domination, so of course this would require a mountain's worth of thought-time; which is mostly what the stories are based on.

The build up, the declaration and the consequential fallout. Never the 'happily-ever-after'.

In my opinion, fics based at Hogwarts are the best, because that is where there is opportunity for most damage to be done. Nobody knows what Draco and Hermione would be doing ten years after their education, so writers begin to get less and less plausible in a last ditch attempt to be 'original'. Of course the plot needs to be original, but some are bordering ridiculous.

Rowling has made it very clear throughout the books how she thought Draco and Hermione should behave towards each other, so it is our job to put in writing the transition from mutual abhorrence to convincing attraction, and then perhaps even onto believable passion.

This is the real challenge.

How does one even begin to reverse seven books worth of loathing and near constant odium that the two have shared since their very first train ride to Hogwarts? Some might call it impossible, but where's the fun in that? As clichéd as it is - and the number of times I have said it doesn't affect its validity - there is an extraordinarily thin line between love and hate, and so it is surprisingly straightforward to use Rowling's work as the base for a credible relationship.

Of course the main reason behind the success of Hogwarts fics is because there are so many people around to witness their respective falls from grace.

If they were both living alone with very few friends, where would the story be? It makes terrific fluff to write about their slow progression to the altar, but that is not a love story. A love story begins and ends with heartbreak. Not necessarily immediately obvious, but heartbreak nonetheless.

Heartbreak is an extremely delicate thing to write about, especially if you have never experienced it yourself. Not to beat about the bush, I've had my heart broken many times over by the same man, but even now I couldn't even begin to describe the acute pain experienced, so I shall borrow the words of another.

"A broken heart, when put under a microscope and observed for everything it could possibly be, can be simplified down to one thing. What once was, and what always has been; history repeating itself, if only for just one more time. It's happened before and it's bound to happen again. Maybe to that same person, maybe to a friend. Never in the same way; because every heart is unique in the way it's broken. The one factor, the one similarity between the millions of broken hearts lies not in how it's broken, but in how it's mended. It's a process that happens on its own, in its own time. It's not a feeling I'd recommend, but the same truth goes for a broken heart as goes for a sunken ship. Once the vessel has resurfaced, all damages set aside; it has the possibility to float once more. A heart that has loved shall love again.* "

Consider for a moment that you are a student at Hogwarts. You have studied both Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger from afar for some time, and now, all of a sudden, they are together.

What does one think? Yin and Yang are a couple. To simplify, it would be like… Prince Charles and Katie Price getting married. Absurd. Ludicrous. Impossible.

In fact, so impossible that it becomes possible.

But what would the neighbours think? The entire student body would scorn them, condemn the relationship from the beginning, though as I mentioned in "Repercussions", surely this would only fuel Hermione's fire as she strives to 'break the mold'? Would she not want to escape the appearance of perfection that she has spent so long building up?

I'm repeating myself. What I'm actually trying to say is that Hogwarts is the perfect place to stage a mutiny. Who wouldn't find out about something that happened there? Nobody that deserves to know anything, clearly.

Next time: "Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love."

A/N: It's been far too long, I know, but I've been revising for exams (groan), so this kind of took a back seat. Also, I finished "Clair de Lune: A Love Story". I'm actually quite proud of myself, and I like the way it's turned out. This is back on now, and I've got a few ideas for my next actual fiction fic as well… so watch this space!

*- Okay, I know I got this from a fic somewhere, and I really hate the idea of not giving credit where credit's due, so if anyone knows who wrote this or where it's from, please tell me!

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