Compassion for Draco?

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 16369

Echo:"Am I the only person in the world that just wants to give Draco 
a big hug and mother him?  Throughout all 4 books, I can't find one 
shred of evidence that L. Malfoy loves his son, or even cares about 
him past the whole "keeping the family honour" bit. IMVHO, I think 
that Draco is lonely. When he "hurts" his arm because he insulted 
BuckBeak, I don't think that getting Buckbeak killed or whatever was 
his only reason for acting more hurt than he was. I think that he was 
using it as an excuse, but deep down he just wanted compassion. I 
can't find many parts in the books besides that, that really show 
anyone showing him compassion. With a father like L. Malfoy, one would 
think it would hard to be anything than what Draco is. I'm not saying 
it excuses his behavior, but I do think it would be nice in future 
books to see, in the least, glimpses of another side of Draco."

You're probably right in the main, but Draco's still a despicable 
little @#$!  The same dynamic is likely true of Lucius also.  At some 
point reasons don't matter anymore.

Not everybody who grows up in that kind of environment ends up 
following in Daddy's footsteps.  Some people are cowed, whipped, and 
end up more like Neville.  A lucky few rebel against what they see in 
their fathers and go to the good side. The thing about Draco and 
Lucius, though, is there is some kind of bond.  Several times Draco 
talks about things his father has told him and advice he's gotten from 
Daddy. It's not the kind of love that turns someone towards the light, 
but a kid will seize on just about any kind of attention.

We haven't seen anything good about Draco.  The final scene in GoF 
showed Draco in about his worst light ever, gloating over the death of 
a good person and taunting good characters with it.

Draco's actually fairly popular, especially in the fanfic world, where 
he's basically reinvented to make him acceptable. IMO it's very hard 
to find hope for him in canon.

How might Draco be saved? Maybe, just maybe, when Draco sees evil up 
close and personal, and some of the blood spatters his own robes, the 
reality of it will wake him up. Then he might become a reluctant good 
guy, like Snape. Up till now it's been "the bad guys are cooler" 
abstract kind of thing. I'm not holding my breath.