Bad Blood to Mad Love: The Dramione Ship
A little over a month ago, I found myself browsing Pinterest like any respectable college student would into the wee hours of the early morning. Because I pin an embarrassing amount of Harry Potter pictures, anything revolving around Harry Potter usually pops up on my Pinterest news feed. However, this particular night, something out of the ordinary popped onto my screen.
Typically, I see movie stills or a Buzzfeed article stating why the Harry Potter series is the best thing to ever hit Earth (which it is), but that night, I saw a picture of Draco and Hermione, romantically involved. Interested, I clicked on the picture, and it took me to a whole world filled with images of the “Dramione” ship.
From photoshopped images to fan fiction stories, many people around the world have embraced the Dramione ship. It got me thinking about something that I’d never considered while reading the series or watching the movies: Should Draco and Hermione have ended up together?
Many shippers of these characters argue that it would’ve been the next generation of Snape and Lily. Though Draco and Hermione were never friends during their time at Hogwarts, they were complete opposites; just as Snape and Lily were. Like Snape, Draco was sorted into Slytherin, and like Lily, Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor. Snape and Draco took an interest in the Dark Arts, while Lily and Hermione fought for the betterment of the wizarding world. Lily and Hermione both ended up marrying a fellow Gryffindor. Though Snape wasn’t a pure-blood like Draco, both Lily and Hermione were born to Muggle parents. Maybe it was coincidental, but it appears as though J.K. Rowling wrote Draco to be the next generation Snape and Hermione to be the next generation Lily. Though Draco and Hermione never ended up together – like Snape and Lily – should Rowling have given these two characters a chance? Could Draco and Hermione be the “redeemers” for Snape and Lily?
The idea of Draco and Hermione resembles a modern day Romeo and Juliet, set in the wizarding world instead of the world of the Capulets and Montagues. Draco and Hermione, like Romeo and Juliet, would’ve been star-crossed lovers. There would’ve been dueling and arguments, just as there was in Shakespeare’s original tale, between the two families. Draco’s family was vehemently against mixing blood — pure-bloods were to remain with pure-bloods. Obviously, if Draco and Hermione would’ve taken an interest in each other, there would’ve been animosity toward Hermione from the Malfoys. There would’ve also been inevitable sneaking around to meet, as there was with Romeo and Juliet, because Hermione’s friends loathed Draco Malfoy. Nevertheless, the idea of a secret, forbidden love seems to attract audiences, which makes for a strong case as to why the Dramione ship is popular among Harry Potter fans.
Finally, though it is up for debate whether or not J.K. Rowling ever considered pairing Draco and Hermione, a wide group of Dramione shippers have pegged Rowling for saying,
I considered for a long time a romance between Hermione and Draco. They’re both strong-minded people, and Hermione could have helped pull Draco towards the light — been his saving grace — much like Lily was to Snape. However, in the end, I thought it was too much of a plot twist and decided that Ron was her best match.
Whether the statement is true or not, perhaps we will never know.
What do you think? Do you think that Rowling made the right choice by pairing Ron and Hermione, or should she have given Draco and Hermione a chance to form a relationship?
Are you for Romione or Dramione? Let us know in comments!