Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. I hope you all had a happy holidays.
In today’s video, we’re going to be discussing what would’ve happened in the series if
one of Harry Potter’s most well-known antagonists, Draco Malfoy, had been sorted into Gryffindor
House, instead of Slytherin.
For this particular hypothetical scenario, I must admit that the first question I found
myself asking was: If sorted into Gryffindor, would Draco have been more of a Peter Pettigrew
or a Sirius Black? That is to say, would he have played the part of a Gryffindor, only
to betray his loyalties later and serve Voldemort in secret as Pettigrew did. OR, coming from
a pure-blood family infamously known for their ties to the Dark Lord and Dark Arts, would
he have openly and with pure intentions shirked his family’s affiliations and ideologies
in favour of the “greater good” and doing “what was right,” similarly to Sirius
Black. Personally, I believe it would’ve been the former. Sorry to any Draco fans out
there but I just can’t see young Malfoy outright abandoning his anti-muggle sentiments
and pure-blooded favouritism with the drop of a hat – Sorting Hat that is (sorry, couldn’t
help myself!).
That said, I think his time at Hogwarts wouldn’t have been nearly as pleasant for him had he
been sorted into Gryffindor. I think, eventually, he would’ve found his footing and been just
as confident in his beliefs as he was pre-Sorting-Ceremony. But, at first, filled with shock and horror
at NOT having been placed in Slytherin – as his entire family had been before him – his
arrogance and self-confidence would’ve been at least a little bit shaken. Because, as
you may recall, he was SO certain he would be sorted into Slytherin. In fact, well in
advance of the Sorting Ceremony, he went so far as to boast to Harry that he would MOST
DEFINITELY be placed in Slytherin, saying, “Well, no one really knows until they get
there, do they, but I know I’ll be in Slytherin, all our family have been…” So, can you
imagine how completely shattering it would’ve been for a young Draco to have been placed
in the rival house of Gryffindor? His certainty in his future, his sense of self, his very
identity – which had been infuriatingly boastful before – would’ve been put into
question. Not to mention what his mother and father would say about this absolutely “TERRIBLE”
news!
So, I believe that if Malfoy had been sorted into Gryffindor, we would’ve been presented
with a more fragile version of Draco – at least at first. To begin with, he’d feel
isolated and alone, having snubbed several of his fellow Gryffindors almost immediately
before the Ceremony. Of course, I’m referring to Ron and Harry. I mean, how could we forget
how Draco ruthlessly insulted Ron right before offering Harry that handshake outside the
Great Hall. And prior to that, Draco was so utterly rude to Harry in Diagon Alley before
he knew that he was THE Harry Potter. Needless to say, these two boys wouldn’t have been
lining up to become best mates with the young wizard who had so recently slighted them both.
So, at least for the first little while, I think Draco would’ve been a bit of a loner
within Gryffindor House. Perhaps, he would’ve tried to bridge the gap between the Houses
to keep his “friendships” alive with Crabbe and Goyle, the two Hogwarts students who were
previously his goonies and who were, of course, sorted into Slytherin. Sadly for Malfoy, most
likely, both of these boys wouldn’t have had any interest in keeping company with a
Gryffindor – and they certainly wouldn’t have wanted to go back to following Draco’s
every command – imagine, following the orders of a Gryffindor! Highly unlikely. So, after
a failed attempt to retain some semblance of his pre-Hogwarts life and status, Malfoy
may have decided to approach some of the first-year wizards in Gryffindor – perhaps a few students
who he thought could be easily manipulated – like he did with Crabbe and Goyle – in
an effort to rebuild a new little crew for himself. I could see him approaching a pure-blooded
witch or wizard like, say, Lavender Brown or Neville Longbottom. Now, I can’t really
see Neville falling in too tight with Draco, considering his parents had been tortured
to insanity by Death Eaters, one of whom was Bellatrix Lestrange – Draco’s AUNT. But
it’s possible someone like Lavender may have been interested in building a friendship
with a potentially powerful young wizard from a pure-blooded family like Malfoy. And so,
Draco could’ve made an ally or two in this way within Gryffindor.
Eventually, I’d like to think that Harry and Ron would have decided to give Draco a
second chance. After all, it wasn’t in either of their natures to be deliberately cruel.
So, perhaps in second or third year they would’ve started including Malfoy in more things, talking
to him during mealtimes – that kind of thing. Perhaps they would’ve even taken it upon
themselves to encourage Draco to be more open-minded about bloodlines, pushing him to give Hermione
and others a chance, despite their blood status. And for survival reasons, I think Draco would’ve
accepted Harry and Ron’s efforts, even tolerating Hermione as a “friend.” BUT I also think
he would’ve continued to look down on her and most likely lied to his family about having
any “mudblood” friends at school. After all, how could he go home each holiday and
NOT retain his misguided perceptions of the wizarding world when his ENTIRE family was
so steadfast in their beliefs and loyalties to the Dark Lord? And as briefly mentioned,
Bellatrix Lestrange was his AUNT – and she was, of course, quite terrifying. With relatives
like this, who were so close with Voldemort himself, it’s hard to imagine Draco being
able to fully embrace the Gryffindor ideologies and relinquish his family’s loyalties and
anti-muggle beliefs. If he had – and been found out – best case scenario, he may have
been banished from his family. Worst case? Killed.
So, what would this have meant for Draco? Personally, I think it would’ve resulted
in somewhat of a double life for him. Pacifying the likes of Harry at school with the perception
that he’d become more open-minded – and hey, maybe sometimes he even believed it himself
– but, for the most part, I think Draco would’ve still felt above “mudbloods”
and would’ve felt duty-bound to uphold his family’s “honour.”
Ultimately, I believe this would’ve meant that we wouldn’t have heard as much about
Malfoy for the majority of the novels and films. Perhaps, he would’ve been featured
about the same amount as, say, Neville Longbottom. Then, as we progressed through the series,
he would’ve become more of a focal point, as I do think Draco would’ve still been
selected by Voldemort to assassinate Dumbledore. He might have been an even more desirable
candidate for this task, actually, with his increased accessibility to Harry, who was,
of course, very close with Dumbledore. What’s more, there likely would’ve been less suspicion
about Draco being involved in a secret task for the Dark Lord. Snape, being the TRIPLE
agent that he was, still would’ve taken on the Unbreakable Vow to protect Malfoy.
But since he wouldn’t have been the head of Draco’s House anymore, they would’ve
had to communicate more secretively.
Personally, I think it would’ve been really interesting to have not known too much about
where Draco’s true loyalties lay throughout the series. Similarly to Snape, it would’ve
been quite intriguing to have always been guessing whether or not we could trust Malfoy.
We may have been constantly asking ourselves whether he had actually changed – even just
a little. In the actual events of Harry Potter, we do get glimpses of Draco wavering in his
loyalties to Voldemort later in the series. So, it’s possible that he could’ve converted
to fully supporting the likes of Dumbledore, Harry, and the Order of the Phoenix, instead
of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. However, just because someone doesn’t want to blindly
follow the orders of a mass-murdering dark wizard, doesn’t necessarily mean that they
are moral and good, does it? And, as we’ve already discussed, I think it would’ve been
VERY difficult for Malfoy to outright abandon the beliefs he’d held for so long, especially
with the views of his parents, Lucius and Narcissa, with whom he remained close as a
young wizard.
All in all, if Draco had been sorted into Gryffindor, I think Malfoy would’ve been
a more complex and mysterious character earlier in the series. He would’ve kept us guessing
– just like Snape – but he mostly would’ve remained the same person in terms of his beliefs
and been involved in the same major events that occurred, such as his attempted assassination
of Dumbledore.
This, of course, brings us to the end of this video! Do you agree? How do you think the
series would’ve differed if Draco had been sorted into Gryffindor? Would he have been
a Peter Pettigrew or a Sirius Black? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
And, as always, if you enjoyed this video, don’t forget to like it and subscribe to
the channel!
Until next time…
“IMAGINE BEING IN HUFFLEPUFF, I THINK I'D LEAVE, WOULDN'T YOU?”