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| | Flourish and Blotts (Books) Step into the pages of Harry Potter! Discuss the books, analyze your favourite characters and passages, and relive the magic. | 
07-30-2026, 11:58 PM
| | |  What If Harry and Draco Had Become Friends?
One of the first friendships Harry was offered at Hogwarts came from someone he rejected: Draco Malfoy. From that moment onward, the two found themselves on opposite sides of nearly every situation.
But stop to ponder upon this: what if things had gone differently?
What if Harry had accepted Draco's hand of friendship aboard the Hogwarts Express, or shortly after arriving at Hogwarts? How might that single decision have changed the subsequent story? For instance, would Harry have still ended up in Gryffindor, or could his relationship with Draco have influenced his choice between Gryffindor and Slytherin Houses? Could Harry's friendship have changed Draco for the better, or would Draco have pulled Harry toward different values? If Harry had been Sorted into Gryffindor regardless, would his and Draco’s friendship bridged the gap between their Houses?
With so many possibilities, so many ‘What If’ situations, we can have a lengthy and respectful discussion on this topic! Your Potterdom mods highly encourage this!   | |
08-01-2026, 11:39 PM
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#2 (permalink)
| | Snidget
Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Middle Earth
Posts: 2,903
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 
But stop to ponder upon this: what if things had gone differently?
Well, the first thing that came to mind when I read the question was that we would have a lot more insight into Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle! I always felt like viewing the story entirely from Harry's perspective was a bit of a disservice to those characters.
What if Harry had accepted Draco's hand of friendship aboard the Hogwarts Express, or shortly after arriving at Hogwarts?
This would also mean that we would have less of an insight into Ronald and Hermione. However, it could also be that Harry just has a much larger friend group as a result.
How might that single decision have changed the subsequent story? For instance, would Harry have still ended up in Gryffindor, or could his relationship with Draco have influenced his choice between Gryffindor and Slytherin Houses?
His relationship with Draco would have influenced his choice. Remember, it was Ronald in his ear that convinced him to choose Gryffindor. Ronald told him "there wasn't a single witch or wizard who went bad that was not in Slytherin," with Ronald not by his side to say that to him, his perception of Slytherin is not tainted immediately before he puts the Sorting Hat on.
Could Harry's friendship have changed Draco for the better, or would Draco have pulled Harry toward different values?
As I said, this depends on what new insight we get into Draco. Draco only treats Harry the way he does in canon because of Harry's rejection of him. Take away the rejection and, from Harry's perspective, Draco is immediately better.
If Harry had been Sorted into Gryffindor regardless, would his and Draco’s friendship bridged the gap between their Houses?
I am going to go with no. Gryffindor and Slytherin already seemed to be at odds, without Harry or Draco's help, from the previous years. Slytherin seemed to have been alienated from everyone already. If you take the line that Ronald said, and, assume that that is how the rest of the wizarding world feels as well, nothing short of Harry defeating Voldemort that very second, as a member of Slytherin house, was going to bridge that gap in Year 1.
Okay mind you I only just as I am writing this finished the first book, but I thought I would take a stab at this anyway.
Last edited by DeanThomassSpectacle; 08-01-2026 at 11:47 PM.
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08-08-2026, 12:59 PM
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#3 (permalink)
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^ I do like the idea of readers getting more insight into Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle if Harry had chosen to become friends with Draco. That said, I could also see Draco only wanting Harry as a friend in the loosest sense of the word. He may have been more interested in having Harry by his side because of Harry's popularity and reputation.
Draco could also have tried to influence Harry, mostly when it came to Voldemort and the beliefs surrounding him. However, I really do think that Harry's moral compass would have probably been too strong for him to be influenced forever. Once he began to understand just how extreme some of those beliefs were, I could see him eventually questioning them. Probably even finding his way to Ron and Hermione.
So, overall, I don't think Harry and Draco would have developed a particularly strong friendship. It could have been interesting to learn all about it, yes, but I think there would have been plenty of cracks in that 'friendship' that could have eventually caused it to fall apart.
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08-08-2026, 03:40 PM
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#4 (permalink)
| | Snidget
Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Middle Earth
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I actually believe that Draco's offer of friendship at the beginning was sincere. Although I suppose that could be open to interpretation.
The key would be how would this have gone if it were written in canon. Meaning, inevitably, Draco and Harry would have a disagreement, likely a fairly significant one, and that would have the potential to end their friendship.
However, by that point it will be too late. Harry will already be sorted into Slytherin and he already will have openly accepted Draco's offer of friendship in front of their entire year. He, unfortunately, will probably have ruined his chances of being friends with the others. Anything is possible, though, of course.
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