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The Draco Trilogy

Title: The Draco Trilogy (Draco Dormiens, Draco Sinister, Draco Veritas)
Author(s): Cassandra Claire
Date(s): 2000-2006
Length:
Genre:
Fandom: Harry Potter
External Links: (offline)
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Contents

The Draco Trilogy is a Draco-centric epic[1] written and posted in installments by Cassandra Claire over a period of six years. The series consists of three novel-length stories: Draco Dormiens, Draco Sinister, and Draco Veritas. Although the Draco Trilogy started as het, it was unusual in that it included plenty of intentional Harry/Draco subtext that straddled the divide between slash and het in the last part, Draco Veritas, even if the story never crossed that line.

The series begins with an accident in potion class where Harry and Draco bodyswap after drinking a botched Polyjuice potion. The need to keep this a secret, the even greater need to find an antidote, and a love triangle where both Draco and Harry are interested in Hermione, power the plot of the first novel, Draco Dormiens. By the end of the series, the resolution of the romantic entanglements confirms the pairings Draco/Ginny and Harry/Hermione.

The trilogy contributed to the popularization of Fanon Draco, called "Leather Pants Draco"[2] after a famous scene in Draco Sinister where Draco ends up looking good in incredibly tight leather pants.

Draco Dormiens, Draco Sinister, and Draco Veritas are, someone's calculated, almost one million words[3] (or 207, 996 and 1697 pages[4]) and the fics were many fans' first introduction to fanfiction. The trilogy is hailed by some as the fanfiction of all Harry Potter fanfictions[5], but like all things that are hailed, others couldn't or didn't believe the hype.[6]

Since the launch of Cassandra Claire's profic career, the stories have been taken down, although it is possible to find them circulating by email and file sharing sites.

Draco Dormiens

Cover art by Taylor

Summary from Goodreads via The Clock Monkey: "When an accident in Potions class turns Harry into Draco and Draco into Harry, each is trapped playing the part of the other. Romance, mistaken identities, really Cunning Plans, evil bake sales, a love triangle, and snogs galore. A must-read to all Harry Potter fans."[7]

Reviews:

  • "I love reading Fan Fiction, and was looking for a good Harry Potter one, and came across this one. Everyone called it "THE Harry Potter Fan Fiction". And they were right. It was like reading something J.K. Rowling had written herself! [...] The story revolves around Harry and Draco, which are stuck in each other's bodies as a result of a Polyjuice Spell gone wrong. They have to play the role of the other, so as not to raise suspicion. Like this, they both get to see what it's like to be the other. Draco, who's always envied Harry thinking his life was great, whereas his was not, finds that this is not the case. Harry, who's always hated Draco, and thought he was the most evil of students at Hogwarts, discovers that Draco actually has a heart. This piece of Fan Fiction is written in novel-length, at 207 pages. A warning: It includes the Harry/Hermione pairing, and while I'm a big Harry/Ginny - Hermione/Ron fan, I have to say, this is so well written, that I love this couple way too much! It also plays with the Draco/Hermione pairing, and we all know that this isn't too far off the actual books. One thing that makes this so amazing, and loved in the HP fandom, is, I think, the completely accurate characterisation of J.K. Rowling's characters. Yes, the pairings are changed but, the characters remain the same. Draco is still too full of himself, Harry pushes everyone whom he loves away in fear they might end up dead, Hermione is the brightest young witch of them all, and Ron... he's Ron. Only, he isn't in love with Hermione. The ending of Draco Dormiens leaves you wanting to read the sequel right away!"[7]
  • "Definitely the best Harry Potter fanfiction I've ever had the chance of reading! Thinking back, I must've read this at the time that Claire has already started on the second book of this now famous trilogy. Her work is what got me a tad more obsessive about Harry Potter than a person normally has the right to be. [...] Before you begin to get utterly confused, please remember that Claire's story takes a rather unusual turn as the students enter year five of their Hogwarts education, so this trilogy's definitely an AU (Alternate Universe). [...] For those who thought they really knew the family relationship of the Malfoys, think again. Here you'll glimpse the story of Narcissa's past and of why she married and stayed with Lucius after all this time. Does Sirius have feelings for Narcissa and vice versa? And what is an Epicyclical Charm; why must it be protected at all costs? Why is it that only Harry and Draco are the ones who can touch a sword that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin? Who are the Magids in this tale? [...] Throughout the three stories, the reader will discover that there is more than a physical connection between the two boys. Inasmuch as Harry is connected to Voldemort through his scar, he is now connected to Draco via the failed Polyjuice Potion. For the first time in his life, Draco finds what it is like to be loved as a friend and as a brother. Risking their lives for each other in the quest to destroy Lord Voldemort and Salazar Slytherin, they become dependant on each other."[8]

Draco Sinister

Cover art by Taylor

Summary from purplycookie: "When Hermione is kidnapped, Harry and Draco must team up to rescue her from a thousand-year-old evil that threatens the entire wizarding world. Cursed demon swords, love potions, time travel, dementors, flying dragons, Draco wears leather, and everybody dies at least once. Except when they don't."[9]

Reviews:

  • "I must warn you, because the fifth book ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") was not yet published when this was written, Claire has taken on a dfferent twist. Sirius is still alive, as is Dumbledore. Luna Lovegood does not exist. Ginny is short for Virginia instead of Ginerva. Fudge is still Minister of Magic and that nasty Slytherin boy Blaise Zabini, is actually a beautiful and mysterious red-headed witch (more about her in the last installment of this trilogy). [...] The story opens up with Harry and Draco as roommates in Magid School located in Ireland, currently housed in a fortress used to be owned by Godric Gryffindor. Professor Lupin is teaching there, a position secured influenced perhaps by Professor Dumbledore and owing to the fact that a werewolf can easily deal with magid powers compared to an ordinary wizard. Fleur Delacour is a magid as well, and has immediately attached herself on Draco upon his arrival. [...] Trouble starts with the sudden disappearance of Hermione after receiving a message from Victor Krum for them to meet up. She sends a letter to Harry breaking up with him and stating that she has decided to run away with Victor to live in Bulgaria. Ron & Ginny (back from her exchange program from Beauxbatons Academy) appeal to Harry and Draco for help, from what they suspect to be kidnapping. Meanwhile the two are faced with a little bit of trouble of their own: mainly the arrival of a demon in their dormitory room who searches for its "other half". Add to the mix that the Ministry of Magic is in chaos, for nobody could explain why dementors suddenly left their posts at Azkaban. It was Professor Lupin who later uncovers what the demon meant, that it was searching for the Living Blade, specifically Terminus Est. This sword used to be encased in adamantine within the Malfoy Mansion, freed due to the Whirlwind Charm cast by Hermione in the first book of this trilogy. [...] The thing is, only Harry and Draco can withstand touching Terminus Est, remarkable since it is only the Heir of Slytherin who has the ability to do such. To further complicate things, Hermione was forced to take a love potion, with Draco being the first person she sees. She makes Draco promise not to tell Harry, but what do you think will happen when Harry finds out? How does Draco truly feel towards Hermione, knowing that he has given her his Epicylclical Charm for safekeeping? Is there really an antidote to the most powerful type of love potion brewed by a Hogwarts Founder? Or is Professor Snape telling the truth: that only death serves as an antidote? As mentioned in "Draco Dormiens", Sirius has decided to legally adopt Harry as his son and plans to marry Narcissa (now that Lucius is in Azkaban). Guess what that means? Draco and Harry would legally become brothers! Harry, Draco, Ron & Ginny decide to rescue Hermione resulting of course in a squabble between Malfoy and Weasley. [...] In the course of one adventure after the next, Ron confronts Harry with the former's jealousy over the friendship between Draco and Harry. [...] Another thing Ron should be worrying about is the building attraction between Ginny and Draco. Oh, and the reason why everyone who has read fanfiction may it be from Fanficction Alley to Mugglenet now knows of Draco wearing leather trousers :) Other important developments includes the discovery of Slytherin's journal written in Parseltongue, an attack on Minister Fudge, Headmaster Dumbledore in the hospital and bound in magical stasis, The Burrow supposedly a castle of Hufflepuff descendants, Mr. Weasley becoming the new Minister of Magic, the Mirror of Judgement (counterpart of the Mirror of Erised), Sirius pretending he's a vampire, Professor Lupin becoming the general of the Slytherin werewolf army, etc. And of course that of Draco confronting Lucius Malfoy of who they are, of their destinies intertwined with that of Salazar Slytherin's and of Voldemort's."[9]
  • "This very dark and alternative universe of Harry Potter is really really good. 996 pages, wow now that's what book pages should be. The thicker the better. Claire did another spectacular job. The book centers of course of Draco Malfoy, battling the evil inside him with goodness that came from the ones he now called friends. Harry, Hermoine, Ron and Ginny. I love the bickering of Ron and Draco, the very sarcastic dialogues and the smug reactions. The constant lines from Buffy, Blackadder and Angel fits perfectly. This 2nd book explores more about the Four Founders of Hogwarts. Something that I was watching for on the Harry Potter books but never really got emphasize. The Heir business was very appealing."[10]

Draco Veritas

Cover art by Bhanesidhe
Reviews:

"The final installment to the famous "Draco Trilogy" by Cassandra Claire and she couldn't have finished it more beautifully than she had. Featuring a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, witty and ascerbic wit with dialogues delivered and the tying up of all loose ends--including who really ends up with whom. [...]

The story opens with Draco and The Golden Trio return for their last year in Hogwarts wherein Ron’s been made Head Boy and Hermione as Head Girl. [...] Draco and Harry were both made Quidditch Captains (no surprises there) but insists on keeping up appearances of hating each other which irritates Hermione to no end (since she's the one who has to mend their bruises for both boys refuse to drop by the infirmary) and piques Blaise Zabini’s curiosity. Blaise happens to be Draco's new girlfriend, much to Ginny's intense (and badly hidden) jealousy. [...]

Still in the romance department, Harry doesn’t want to spend time alone with Hermione nor wants to talk about what happened last summer. This leads to Harry being confronted by Draco and the two ending up in The Sleazy Weasel (a Wizards’ Strip Club, deftly hidden behind The Three Broomsticks, complete with a veela bartender. Unfortunately, Harry ends up drunk as a lord, with Hermione finding out where he has been. [...]

The one great thing about being on your senior year at Hogwarts is The Seventh Year Pub Crawl, wherein, you guessed it, seventh years are allowed in Hogsmeade Village for most of the night while the rest of the lower years stay in the castle for the Yule Ball. Seamus summons his courage to invite Ginny as his date, to which she surprisingly agrees. [...] Draco decides to stay at the castle and "oversee" the Yule Ball--all handsomely dressed up, may I add--and ends up kissing and then talking to Ginny outside by the rose bushes. [...] It seems that it's not only Ginny who's having secret rendezvous, but her brother Ron as well. Unfortunately, Malcolm Braddock caught Ron and his mysterious girlfriend in bed. [...]

It seems that Lucius and Voldemort are not yet done toying with Draco's life. We find out about this when Snape made Draco drink a Soporus Potion (to make a person remember his most recent dreams) during a Potions lesson. Draco saw his father and Voldemort talking about him and the Terminus Est sword (or the Weapon of Death as referred to by the Dark Lord). Over time he, along with Hermione, found out about The Four Worthy Objects: the Mirror, the Dagger, the Cup, and the Scabbard. They uncovered Voldemort's plan of using these for a spell which could be anything than good. They then needed to steal the Cup from the unplottable Stonehenge Museum (which then involved Draco creating a "distraction" indeed, a couple of burly security trolls, a very furious Ginny, a sputteringly mad Ron and a scruffed-up Seamus).

In an effort to leave his past behind him and to focus on the task ahead, Harry decides to visit his parents' graves, taking Draco with him. Upon coming back to Hogwarts, he apologizes to Hermione due to his behavior for the last few months. [...]

When Ginny decides to make Seamus her new boyfriend (and introduced him to her parents), she finds herself caught in a complicated and not clearly defined love triangle between Draco and Seamus. [...] It is in "Draco Veritas" where we witness the biggest fight Harry, Ron and Hermione ever had. One can't say whether the rift made can be mended. [...]

Finally, the wedding of Sirius Black & Narcissa Malfoy (since Lucius "died" in the last book) is to take place at the Malfoy Manor. The newlywed's plan was to legally adopt Harry as Sirius's son--effectively making Harry and Draco brothers! One could never have imagined that happening. But it was not to be the blissful wedding ceremony that everybody expected it to be. Instead, all the wedding guests were confronted of the truth regarding the real identity of Ron's girlfriend; the Death Eaters make an appearance and took Harry, Draco and Ron with them; Ginny time travels and runs into an 11 y/o Draco; and Ron finds out what makes him so special. Also, as a treat, I get to learn of Rhysenn Malfoy's life story--she who is the daughter of a female demon and a Malfoy ancestor 600 years ago.

The jarring truth of the true father-son relationship of Lucius and Draco is finally revealed. [...]

Christmas morning finds us with Draco as he lies dying in the infirmary. All the same, there was an exchange of gifts that had sentimental value to the two boys: Harry receives the Malfoy Family Code of Conduct while Draco gets The Marauder’s Map.

Meanwhile, the Slytherins had their own rowdy party at Pansy Parkinson's house where she gets drunk due to the many cups of Dementor’s Kiss consumed--deemed to be the most powerful cocktail in wizarding creation. Blaise finds out exactly what her so-called friends were planning for Draco due to his traitorous treatment of them. [...]

On more disconcerting news, Seamus has finally came out of the closet and informed his parents that he's gay--except he's not. I can't any more than that without giving the plot away. But this I tell you, Seamus realizes that if Ginny dies, then he'll die too. After all, it is Ginny's use of Sympathetic Magic which binds their lives together.

Harry decides to go and fulfill his destiny: that of confronting Voldemort for the final battle and defeat him. But things don't go as planned since Hermione insists on finding him; accompanied by Draco who made a promise based on his honor and family name to always take care of Harry. A funny bit was when they were going over their game plan, she finds out that he has a map of wizarding strip clubs instead of a map of wizarding London she originally asked for. Where do they ultimately end up but in The Midnight Club–-a logical extension of the uses of Polyjuice Potion. Try to guess the connection between these two things. Add to the mix a place called The Shrieking Teacup in Diagon Alley.

But in teaming up together to find Harry, will Hermione and Draco instead seek comfort with each other? From such tiny beginnings do doubts grow like seedlings in the heart, putting forth their branches, unfurling their leaves, until even the memory of love is suffocated.

In the end, you'll just have to guess who proposed to whom; whether or not Draco dies, the question of Harry following him to the afterlife, whether Pansy suffers for her part in the plan against Draco, if Victor Krum is truly writing a book and whether his relationship with Fleur Delacour is the real deal, and whether Hermione truly needs to die--but then who'll accept Harry's marriage proposal?

Other than the demise of Voldemort which is secondary to this plot, the question in the minds of the fans of "Draco Trilogy" is whether or not do Draco and Ginny end up together? [...]

And now, I finally have to bid adieu to my most beloved fanfiction ever. I have been a fan since it first came out years and years ago and I do not regret having an alternate, romantic and angsty dimension added to the "Harry Potter series".[11]
*"That was a loooong read. 2 weeks before I finish it. I must say the book doesn't deserve to be written that long. There was too many unnecessary scenes. But that did not make me read it less. I love the books. If you think the Potter books got darker towards the ending, think again, this book is probably 25x darker than that. In here comes a very complicated lives of our beloved teenage wizards. There was killing or should I say decapitating, jealousy, betrayal and lots and lost of drama. But there is also an equal amount of comedy, sarcasm, mystry, thrill, adventure and love. This is very Cassandra Clare, I was so surprised to have read the story of a boy and his pet Falcon, and I mean the exact same story (if you have read the Immortal Instruments) from Jace's childhood with Valentine. [...] I did not really agree with the ending, she seems to ran out of ideas, for such a long book I was expecting more on the ending, but I think I can let go of that, after all I have read so many adventures. A book that I wish has never ended until they are with families, and career... "[12]

Fanart

The now-defunct fansite The Draco Trilogy Archives had a fanart section that linked to hundreds of Draco Trilogy-related art and organized the links by chapter and character. Though the website no longer exists, fanart for the Draco Trilogy still can be found all over the net.

The PoU-Art Yahoo! group also hosts a large number of fanart for the Draco Trilogy.

Controversy

The series incorporates an intricate web of dialogue pieces and text passages from popular genre television shows and books. Two characters might have a lengthy conversation which Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans will recognize as dialogue from the show, or Harry might answer a question with the words of a character from Babylon 5.

The practice of hiding quotes from other media sources in the text of the story was accepted in parts of HP fandom as normal[citation needed] and it was used as a way of engaging the fans on a mailing list the story was posted to. Readers would guess which parts were quoted and what the source was, they would suggest lines to include from different sources that would fit this or that character, and there were unofficial "quote-nabbing contests" with other fanfic writers.[13] However, as fun as these practices might have been, they contained huge potential for trouble because they relied heavily on context to be understood.

Another major issue, related to the use of pop culture dialogue, was that Cassandra Claire reproduced concepts, rough scenes, descriptive phrases and dialogue from several fantasy novels. These borrowings were often uncited (or cited in such a way as to make the amount of borrowed text appear far less extensive than it actually was.)

For instance, in Tanith Lee's "Magritte's Secret Agent," a character description reads:

"The skin of his face had the sort of marvellous pale texture most men shave off when they rip the first razor blade through their stubble and the second upper dermis goes with it forever."

Cassandra Claire rephrased this line in Draco Dormiens, chapter 6:

"I'll be sorry when you start shaving," she said dreamily (she was quite lightheaded now), "I love that translucent quality your skin has, I always have. And when you rip that first razor through your stubble, that'll go with it forever." [14]

Unlike the TV quotes from Buffy and other shows, which were usually altered very little from their original form, Cassandra Claire's repeated borrowing from classic fantasy authors like Roger Zelazny, Tanith Lee, Gene Wolfe and Pamela Dean was both more extensive, and harder to pick up on, as descriptive passages and particular turns of phrase were inserted subtly into paragraphs of Cassandra Claire's own work.

Again, citations were either nonexistent or failed to fully account for the amount of material that was borrowed.

The story first became the subject of major controversy when it was posted to Fanfiction.net where it found a different and larger audience. The first charges of plagiarism may have concerned extensive sequences of action, description and dialogue lifted from The Hidden Land, an out-of-print fantasy novel by Pamela Dean. The borrowed text appeared in Draco Sinister, Chapter 9.

The story and author were removed by Fanfiction.net admins in June 2001.[15] That could have been the end of it, but the emotional investment of Claire's fans caused tremendous upheaval in the wake of the decision.

Draco Dormiens happened to be one of the most popular Harry Potter stories at Fanfiction.net.[16] The story was posted as a WIP and the serial format invited readers to speculate about what might happen next, who might end up with whom, and they were looking forward to updates. When it was deleted, fans were cut off from their favorite fannish crack. Someone took it and they wanted it back! The same kind of impulse leads to "Bring Back My Show" campaigns, which makes it less of a surprise that people reacted in a similar way.

To this day the conflict remains unresolved in many corners of fandom. Many fans are firmly of the opinion that Cassandra Claire is a plagiarist. On the other hand, many fans still enjoy the Draco Trilogy and her other works. Fittingly enough, the controversy had two major results: The wank surrounding the plagiarism accusation was so immense as to give Cassandra Claire the nickname "She Who Must Not Be Named"[17] in the Cult-of-Meaner circles in Harry Potter fandom, in the belief that even mentioning her name was enough to derail any wank report into a discussion of whether or not what she had done was plagiarism. At the same time, it led to the creation of FictionAlley, a major Harry Potter archive that became the new home of the Draco Trilogy.[18]

All this overshadowed tensions of a different kind. Het fans and slashers don’t always get along, especially in a fandom known for impressive shipwars, and the Draco Trilogy was a huge het flagship. The idea that this story might turn into slash (any slash, even a minor pairing) was not one all shippers felt comfortable with. Cassie Claire had already written Harry/Draco slash and she was friends with slashers, so it was always a possibility that was difficult to ignore.

References

  1. ↑ According to The Longest Harry Potter Fanfics by pokey1984, posted 27 October 2006, the word total was 896,762. (Accessed 04 November 2008)
  2. ↑ The phrase (also known as Draco in Leather Pants) has become a catchphrase for "tak[ing] a controversial or downright villainous character and downplay[ing] his flaws, turning him into an object of desire". TV Tropes Wiki. Draco In Leather Pants. Accessed 4 November 2008.
  3. ↑ amanuensis1. The Draco Trilogy by Cassandra Claire. Complete. 04 August 2006. (Accessed 27 December 2010)
  4. ↑ The numbers refer to the illustrated PDF version of the stories that's available on the net if you search for it.
  5. ↑ Clarriscent. What is Draco Trilogy?, 21 March 2010. (Accessed 27 December 2010)
  6. ↑ Yemi-Hikari, (2010). Classic Sues: The Draco Trilogy. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Clock Monkey. Fan Fiction Review: Draco Dormiens, by Cassandra Claire (Draco Trilogy, #1), 26 July 2010. (Accessed 27 December 2010)
  8. ↑ purplycookie. Draco Dormiens (Draco Trilogy, Book 1), 21 September 2008. (Accessed 27 December 2010)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 purplycookie. Draco Sinister (Draco Trilogy, Book 2), 31 July 2009. (Accessed 27 December 2010)
  10. ↑ PeaceLove&Pat. Draco Sinister by Cassandra Clare, 10 September 2009. (Accessed 27 December 2010)
  11. ↑ purplycookie. Draco Veritas (Draco Trilogy, Book 3), 31 July 2009. (Accessed 27 December 2010)
  12. ↑ PeaceLove&Pat. Draco Veritas by Cassandra Clare, 10 September 2009. (Accessed 27 December 2010)
  13. ↑ See excerpts of mails posted to the mailing lists ParadigmOfUncertainty and cassie_and_rhysenn, reproduced here and here. (Accessed 07 November 2008)
  14. ↑ Avocado's Bad Penny account, http://www.journalfen.net/community/bad_penny/10481.html Posted August 06, 2006.
  15. ↑ For more information, see the comprehensive account of events by Avocado. The Cassandra Claire Plagiarism Debacle, posted to the journalfen community bad_penny, 04 August 2006. (Accessed 07 November 2008)
  16. ↑ According to the recollection of one reader, the story had more than 6,000 comments before it was removed.
  17. ↑ "I give you the Pottersues FAQ," Accessed 03 November 08.
  18. ↑ According to Avocado's 2006 bad penny report, "The official story, cited by ignatius and Charlotte Lennox, is that the Fiction Alley archive was already underway at the time Cassandra Claire was blacklisted from FanFiction.Net, but that the deletion of her account accelerated the release of the archive." However, Avocado says that "It appears that, prior to her account deletion, individual fans had plans to develop their own fansites to host fanfiction. However, after her account was deleted, they decided to work together and create an archive with a much wider scope. Thus, the existence of Fiction Alley as a large collaborative archive resulted from the deletion of Cassandra Claire's account from FanFiction.Net. To my mind, this is not the same thing as the archive 'being in the works' and its release being accelerated."[1]
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