Draco's suffering

8

For the most part, the Weasley's seemed to enjoy his presence. Much more than he enjoyed theirs that was for sure. It was not that that he did not enjoy them as people, more that he was unaccustomed to the bouncy, boyant personality that most of them seemed to have. It was too confusing to deal with and if he was being perfectly honest, he would much rather just be alone in his bedroom. 

Unfortunately for him at least, that was not happening. It was really frustrating how they all insisted that he go and 'play' with the others. He was not a playing type of person, even before all the stuff with Lucius started getting really bad. It was a typical Slytherin thing. He doubted that he would EVER be a 'go play' type of person.

That is, until the Weasley Twins helped.

You see, Draco was a Slytherin at heart. Not just because he was raised in a family of slytherins, otherwise he would have been placed somewhere else. But the whole point was that people seemed to forget the the core atributes of a slytherin were cunning, manipulation, ambition, deviousness, mischief, and intelligence, also a sense of loyalty-but nobody really understood how. The Weasley Twins would have made great Slytherins, but Draco also saw the truth. They were clearly gryffindors, at heart that is. Draco most certainly was not. Give him a choice to save a stranger or save himself, he would probably end up saving himself, unless said stranger was a child, than he would go wand raised and all out dueling. Safe to say he had a soft spot for children.

Draco remembered an essay he had written earlier that year, for some sort of assignment from Dumbledore, it was a school wide assignment.

Slytherin was not evil, and no, not everyone who was ever placed in, or will ever be placed in or is currently placed in slytherin is evil. That is just something that people believed after the First Wizarding War with Voldermort because most of his followers were Slytherin. Was it the second and third generations fault? After the first war with Voldermort, most of Voldermort's followers were people from his own class, in Slytherin, because that was where he had the most influence. After that, parents would be pushing their children to become death eaters, and really what where they going to say? No and get tortured to near death before finally caving in? Let's get real here. 

Now, some of the Second Generation Slytherin followers were true followers, like Draco's father, but some where not, like Avery the second, and the Parkinsons. Many were either tortured into it, or imperius'ed. It was incredibly difficult to figure out which was which. 

After the first war, though, with the first Generation Followers, most began to believe that Slytherins were evil, so they shunned the second generation followers. How in the world did they assume that that was a good idea, Draco had absolutely no clue, but in the end all that did was push the Second Generation followers TO Voldermort, not away. You are never supposed to judge a child from the acts of his father, Draco is living proof of that.

Draco really just did not understand what the school thought was going to happen. Eleven year olds are still impressionable, and therefore, they have the capability to see things differently than the way their parents taught them, but only if you show them that their parents are wrong. Problem was, the parents told the Slytherins how horrible and awful mudbloods, blood traitors, and halfbloods were, and how if they were in any house other than slytherin they could not be trusted, and guess what, that is exactly what happened. 

Slytherins getting picked on and bullied by kids years older than them, being sent to the hospital wing, being ignored by teachers, getting shunned by any other than their own house, being hexed, cursed, and jinxed, while their back was turned. And when they went to defend themselves, getting placed in detentions. Points being added and taken away unfairly, gryffindors being generally favored among all the houses, but especially more favored than Slytherin. 

So, instead of teaching these second generation slytherins how wrong their parents really were, the school instead managed to teach these wizards that their parents were right, not wrong. And in an effort and desperate attempt to find somewhere where they belonged, someone who would not judge them, who would give them a purpose and show them that they had a reason to live, and take their revenge, because a Slytherin will avenge themselves no matter what, they joined Voldermort. The pretty words, and lovely promises too tempting to ignored. 'I will show you your place in the world.' 'you will have power over those who hurt you.' 'I will help you gain your revenge' 'you are not powerless, I know it' and even the simple 'I believe you' or 'I believe IN you' caused many to turn right to voldermort, and ignore all morality, because honestly, they were treated like monsters, why not show the world that they were exactly who they believed them to be?

That kind of mentality turned so many Slytherins to the dark side, the simple encouragements. If Slytherin had not been shunned just by being in placed in a specific house, than half of the war would have gone differently. But the thing was, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, instead of helping Slytherins see things differently from the way their parents had beat into them, only confirmed it for these children, which in turn, cause them to give up, and turn to the only side they believed would be capable of truly giving them something to live for, because that was all Voldermort promised, and that he would believe in them, and help them, and care for them in a way that nobody had before. 

And let's be true to ourselves here, if you are kid who, at home is told about the horrid stories and awfulness of bloodtraitors, mudbloods, and halfbloods, and than you go to school, and are treated horribly by bloodtraitors, mudbloods, and halfbloods, do you really expect them to turn to you for help when Voldermort asks to join his army? Or for any type of help at all? Would you even give them help? Or write them off as some sort of spy, because that is all they are capable of? Think about that, and then tell me, because I doubt you would even bat an eyelash at a Slytherin, showing up bloodied on your doorstep begging for sanctuary from Death Eaters, because you, in your prejudice, would believe, this is just a trick, and than would slam the door in their face.

So, really, it is your fault. And not the Slytherin, because Slytherins are not born evil, nobody is ever born evil. Evil is created, from the way a person is treated, how they are treated, and  who would listen, would anyone care. It is a dangerous slope. And Slytherins have been treated horribly for hundreds of years. Is it really that much of a surprise when someone comes in saying that he can promise peace from the agony and pain that they were treated for so long that anyone and all would follow him?