"Time for us to finish our discussion from earlier, cousin." Harry said quietly.
Draco frowned but climbed into the boat.
Harry cast a privacy charm around their boat. "First of all what were you going to say about those redheads."
"Just that they're Weasleys. They're poor, and a disgrace to the name of wizards."
"Why?"
"I don't know, but my father says so."
"Draco, I can believe your father said that. But, is it possible that he was being prejudiced when he said it, or that he was spouting something his father had said? Have the Weasleys ever done or said anything to you?"
"No, the Weasleys have never done anything to me… and I suppose it's possible. The Weasleys are traditionally a light family and the Malfoys are generally considered dark."
"Okay. The Weasleys are undoubtably poor. That is a fault of the parents because, are the children in control of how many children their parents have or how much money their family has?"
"No."
"Therefore, is it polite or is it rude to rub their family's lack of funds in the faces of those children?"
"Rude."
"Precisely, Draco, I don't expect you to be perfect. But I do expect you to be the politically savvy boy I know you can be. Don't insult people because of who their family is. I'm sure they'll give you plenty of things to insult them about in their own actions. But I want to leave you with some food for thought. When you insult someone how will they feel about you? And does insulting someone make them more likely to be a friend or an enemy? Which do you need more of in life, friends or enemies?"
Despite the darkness Harry could see Draco's pale face well enough to know he was thinking about it. He figured that would be enough to start Draco on a different path at least for tonight, and he dropped the privacy spell.
"Harry, how come you understand all this?"
"Draco, how much time have you spent around Beth?"
"A couple of evenings," he said.
"Beth is a diplomat. I may have spent most my time living at school but Beth always pointed these things out to me and to Sirius since she became part of our lives. Manners, thinking from a seek first to understand then be understood viewpoint, find common ground, then of course there was all the conflict resolution training I got at Stuart-Cavanaugh. Sirius was very brash for a lot of years but because of what happened he learned how to solve conflicts with something besides the point of his wand. He's told me stories of his time here and he admits he was a git towards those in Slytherin.
"Hogwarts is meant to be a school a place of learning. But it's hard to learn when you're afraid because you don't feel safe, unless you're learning defense but even then it's not an optimal learning environment.
"Because of what I've inherited I'll eventually have lots of say in the school but I want to make it a better place while I'm here, better than it was when Sirius was here. To do that I need help and right now I have several factors working against me; first centuries of tradition and decades of prejudice between the Houses, second the blasted rumors and fears because Sirius took me and raised me abroad. Yes, he's been cleared and the fact he's the Duc deSable has helped, but there's still that suspicion because he's a Black. I actually hope to be sorted into Hufflepuff because it will be the least intimidating House."
Draco snorted. "Potters, like Weasleys, are almost always Gryffindors. But I suppose you could, maybe, after all you seem to share Susan's rosy colored vision for the future."
Harry snorted with amusement.
"I'll help, some of it because I've been told to by my father. And some, because you raised a valid point on the train. If I want to maintain my family's position I'll have to be able to function in our new society, sticking strictly to the old ways won't make that happen. I'll try to keep in mind what you've said, but I'm still a Slytherin and I will act like it."
"As long as you do so from a thinking standpoint, which means thinking before speaking and not spouting blind prejudice. Thinking not only of the past and its traditions but also of the future, and the fact that our society is moving towards a more inclusive one, fine."
"I'll do my best, but I'm human. I didn't grow up with that sort of thinking."
"I know, besides wasn't you who said the Malfoys are practically perfect. Just give it the Malfoy best, I'm sure you'll adjust to the new ways in very little time."
About this time they were approaching the cliff wall below the castle, they would call home for the majority of the next seven years, Draco looked at Harry for one more minute. The said one last thing, "Thank you for not saying all this when the others were there."
"No problem," Harry returned. Then they were climbing out of their boat.
...
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