Anyone who has seen the Harry Potter movies, read the books or gone anywhere near any social media platform knows that Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter are sworn enemies. From the time they met as first years at Hogwarts to their encounter during the battle of Hogwarts, Draco and Harry are presented to be opposites of each other. Dark and light. Good and evil. Brave and cunning. But when you examine their lives separately, you’ll find that they are much more alike than they seem. Here are five reasons why Harry and Draco are two sides of the same coin.
1. A Legacy to Uphold
Harry and Draco may be on opposing sides, but they each have a legacy to uphold. For Harry, his mother and father left big shoes to fill, as they were both members of the original Order of the Phoenix, a group founded by Albus Dumbledore in order to take down Voldemort and his Death Eaters when they originally rose. He is also deemed “The Chosen One” to save everyone from Lord Voldemort when he has fully risen.
For Draco Malfoy, his father and aunt are high in the ranks of Voldemort’s horde of Death Eaters, and everyone expects him to become as loyal a follower as his father even if that’s not what he wants.
2. A World of War and Hatred
Both Harry and Draco are thrust into a world of hatred at a very young age. People taught Draco to hate and Harry has had to deal with the hate coming from those surrounding him (particularly the children of notorious Death Eaters, like Crabbe and Goyle). They are later forced into a war that stems from the hatred being taught and received, all while dealing with average teenage problems.
3. Protecting Their Families
During “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” we see Draco being coerced into killing Albus Dumbledore due to the fact that his family is threatened. Now, he may not be his father’s biggest fan, but he loves his mother dearly and is willing to do anything that it takes to protect her from the forces of evil surrounding their lives.
While Harry’s parents were killed when he was a baby, his family extends to his group of friends, his friend’s family, and his parents’ oldest friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, and he will do anything it takes to protect them. For example, during “The Order of the Phoenix” we see that Harry has been seeing what Voldemort wants him to see, including a vision on Sirius about to be killed by Voldemort. Harry immediately rushes to save him, even though in the end it was a trap and Sirius dies. But you can see how Harry was willing to go against Lord Voldemort to protect a member of what he considers to be his family.
4. Dark and Light
Draco and Harry have both been to hell and back during the course of their Hogwarts education. They end up experiencing so much death and sadness, that despite their good qualities, they have a dark side. It's a side that they are willing to use to protect their friends and family, but they also learn when and if they even need to use it.
5. Manipulation
The last, and probably most important, similarity between the two is that they have been manipulated almost their entire life by powerful men. For Draco, it’s Lord Voldemort, possibly the most dangerous (and scary) wizard alive. He manipulates Draco by threatening his family and using him to do his dirty work (like killing Dumbledore). For Harry, it’s Dumbledore. Now I know that Dumbledore is supposed to be the good guy, who guides Harry to his true potential, but again he manipulates Harry by repeatedly implanting into his head that he is the only one who can kill Lord Voldemort. But what he doesn’t tell him that he has to die before he can save everyone else. He lies to him his entire life and to quote Severus Snape “raises him like a pig for slaughter.” Now that seems like a massive amount of manipulation to me.
It is easy to assume that Draco and Harry are complete opposites by looking on the surface. One is in Gryffindor, the other in Slytherin. One works against Voldemort, while the other works for him. Yet when we analyze their lives on a deeper level, we see that they are more alike than they seem.
