Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
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?”