I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_pansy]

Harry's furious. I don't think I've seen him this angry since...

Well, since the Frost Faire.

Umbridge made him write lines for the second day in a row, and I think he's planning to just keep going. Sally-Anne's been helping, of course, but it's still not easy to see him doing that to himself.

Hermione, I know... I mean, it's dangerous. But everything we've been doing lately is dangerous, and I think Harry needs us.

I think Harry needs this.

Can we talk about letting him on again?

Comments

[alt_pansy]

And I'm honestly not sure if there will ever be a time when he'll meet your standards.

I wonder if I ever would have either. Before.

Remember, I wasn't invited. I found out by accident. When would've been the right time to tell me yourselves? A year later? Two? How long do you think it would've taken for me to prove myself to you?

[alt_hermione]

I don't think we can compare the two situations. You're not him, you're not motivated by the same things that cause him to act. And you were already showing signs that you disagreed, that you thought muggleborns should be treated better and so on.

Yes, you found out but you're a different person. And I'm not saying he'd betray us. I don't think he would do. But I also don't think that just plunging him into the lock is the right way for him to find out.

[alt_pansy]

And has he given any sign to you, the way he treats you, that shows that he thinks you deserve better?

I'm just saying that until we take the chance and ask him to join, it's always going to be a risk. And there's nothing he could do that would make it absolutely clear to everybody that it'd be all right.

So if we sit around and wait until we decide he's ready, or wait for him to take it upon himself to pass a test he doesn't even know he's taking, it's never going to happen. And he deserves more than that.

[alt_hermione]

Will you listen to what I am actually saying instead of what you think I am saying?

I am not saying that he needs to pass a test about whether he thinks I or any other muggleborn deserve better. I am not saying that he needs to prove that he's not going to run and tell his father everything. He shan't. I KNOW that he would not do that.

I am not talking about not telling him or not inviting him to the lock. I am talking about HOW to invite him and tell him about it.

And I really think that the WAY to tell him about it and invite him to it is to bring Harry in FIRST so that Harry can HELP us--ALL of US--to help Draco adjust to the idea of trusting ten other people WHOM HE DOES NOT KNOW with HIS secrets.

[alt_pansy]

Fine.

It is clear that you have a very specific way that you want to do things.

So you can keep on making the decisions about how exactly it would be best to tell Draco, and what exactly to tell him, and how long we'll keep him at arm's length, because you clearly know more about his capabilities than I ever could.

[alt_ron]

Um.

Yeah.

Deserves doesn't seem like the right kind of word for this. I mean. It's not like anyone has a right to know all these secret things. And...

Yeah, okay.

Shutting my gob now.

[alt_neville]

About Draco Malfoy....

I dunno, I don't know what to think. Because I just don't know him as well as the Slytherins do.

He's...he's not as actively cruel as he used to be when he was younger. (Sorry, but he was. Going on about me being too stupid to live, and a rotten flyer, and giving me grief about coming from a blood traitor family, for example. Now he just ignores me, really.)

Maybe getting to know Hermione a bit better has made him think about things. Maybe he's more open-minded about things than the Protectorate thinks he should be.

I dunno, but some of you, especially the ones in his House, would have a much better idea than me.

[alt_terry]

I don't know what to think, either. Maybe my magic could give me an idea if I were in his vicinity, because it usually will give me a feeling about whether people are trustworthy. But I haven't seen him in several years, and he could have changed a lot since then.

The thing is...I have the feeling that Sirius Black would say that people have the right to be judged for who they really are. Not for their family or their blood status. They should have the chance to do what they want to do, on their own merits.

I just don't know if Malfoy has entirely figured out who he is yet. And if he ends up going the way we hope he doesn't, then 'giving him a chance' may just mean giving him a chance to betray us all.

[alt_terry]

I think Neville's right. A bit more weight in making this decision should be given to the people who know him best. And that might include Marvolo, if he joins first.

Private Message to Pansy

[alt_ron]

I don't know, Pans.

The thing is you, you did find out, and we've turned out differently because you're here than we would have if you hadn't been. We'd have been more about protecting Terry and Hermione, and about having a safe place for the rest of us when there's trouble over our being bloodtraitors or about Sally Anne's being a halfblood. Anywiz, I think if you hadn't found out, we'd've just stayed smaller. Maybe no one else would've got added if you hadn't.

So I can't say I think Malfoy should be here yet, but I don't know it won't ever happen.

And when it does, it'll because you kept us talking about it. And maybe Harry will, too.

Only, I think Hermione may be right that it needs to be one of them at a time.

I mean, even you know that, right? Or you'd have asked about both of them to begin with, yeah?

Re: Private Message to Pansy

[alt_pansy]

The reason I didn't ask about both was because I assumed he would be in if Harry was. Because he's been supporting Harry all this time, and I thought

I don't know. I thought that it'd be easier for people to accept Draco if they thought about Harry.

But apparently it didn't quite turn out as I'd hoped.

Never mind.

I'd really rather stop talking about it for now, because I'm not feeling terribly civil.

Re: Private Message to Pansy

[alt_ron]

Yeah.

I am sorry.