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Did Dumbledore and Draco Malfoy have a discussion in the entire Harry Potter series? Aside from at the Astronomy tower, when Draco doesn't want to kill his Headmaster, that is?

Do they have any discussions in either the books or the movies, prior to their discussion at the Astronomy Tower?

4 Answers 4

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Yep.

It's not in the movies and it wasn't a one-to-one chat but Dumbledore and Malfoy do have one private(ish) conversation before the end of Half-Blood Prince. When Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle dress up as Dementors to try and distract Harry during a Quidditch match McGonagall says that she's going to talk to Dumbledore about the incident.

"An unworthy trick," she was shouting. "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"
(Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 13, Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw).

The conversation takes place off-screen but, since Dumbledore appeared at that very moment, it seems likely that McGonagall would've quickly collared him and that he would've dealt with the situation immediately. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, McGonagall and Dumbledore therefore all took part in a conversation where the latter possibly handed out some form of (additional) punishment or words of discipline to the three miscreants. This is the only personal conversation that Malfoy has with Dumbledore until they meet at the lightning-struck tower.

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  • 2
    Now that's a nice catch!
    – DavidS
    Jun 30, 2017 at 13:41
  • 1
    Really nice find! This answer should be accepted.
    – elrond
    Jun 30, 2017 at 13:52
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I'm quite sure that there is no mention of a one-to-one discussion in the books. As for the movies, having cut out much more important parts of the books, I doubt that such a dialogue would have remained (it would be pointless and not helping advance the plot).

This is not unexpected, as we do not see the headmaster discussing things with his students as he does with Harry (with whom he has a rather unusual relationship), except as part of a celebration (as in the Christmas lunch in Prisoner of Azkaban where the few students who stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas eat with the professors).

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We never see such a conversation on-page, but the books tightly focus on Harry. So if we ever saw such a discussion, it would have to be one that Harry witnessed. Given that Dumbledore is implied to be able to detect Harry even when he's wearing the Cloak, Dumbledore would not have a private conversation with Draco while Harry was listening.

Thus, it may well have happened, but we should not expect to see it in the books. Indeed, it is likely that at least one such conversation did occur - Draco was a Prefect and an excellent student, as well as a significant power within Slytherin. He would have almost had to have spoken with Dumbledore a time or two.

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In the movies, they only talk to each other at the tower before Dumbledore dies. Prior to that, they don't have any discussions.

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