Chapter 94:
Harry was surprised by Pansy, he had honestly believed the mask she portrayed, but then again he had believed Draco's in his last life as well.
"I think I will get on with your friends, but why do you have to pretend to be underestimated?"
"Everybody expects Slytherins to be evil, to automatically be Death Eaters. The other Houses exclude us and bully us, we have to act this way to protect ourselves. Even the teachers to an extent treat us differently and sure some of them try not to, but it's still there. We're automatically viewed as being Dark, so we act to be underestimated; that way, if we ever are bullied or attacked, then we can surprise them. I'm not going to lie: we are sneaky and cunning, we cheat and manipulate, but we're not evil," Draco explained.
Harry nodded. "The hat was torn between Ravenclaw and Slytherin for me. I picked Ravenclaw because I knew Dumbledore wouldn't leave me alone if I went green."
Draco's eyes went wide. "So the Light's golden boy was almost a snake?"
"Yes, the hat thought me very cunning."
Draco laughed. "You would have been good in Slytherin, but I suppose Ravenclaw is okay." He knew not to dismiss Gryffindor and Hufflepuff now and, having met the rest of Harry's, and now his, friends, he could see the benefits of the other houses - even Gryffindor.
Harry was pleased Draco was learning and no longer thought the other Houses were automatically jokes. Now he just had to work on his muggle views....
"It's stupid - what people think about Slytherins. You're not all bad. Judging you just because the Dark Lord was in Slytherin and a lot of his Death Eaters came from there is ridiculous. I mean, come on! Look at that rat Pettigrew, he was in Gryffindor." "I know, but everybody just sees a Slytherin and thinks evil. Dumbledore doesn't help; I mean, he goes on about the greater good and so called fairness but he never does anything to actually help," Draco ranted.