A (long) Draco musing

[Aja Fair Romano]

No: HPFGUIDX 31962


Liquidfire liquidfire at mindgate.net wrote: 

> If the Harry-Draco rivalry stayed at the level it was on in Book 1
(pranks and stuff, nothing nasty) and not to that point it reached in GoF,
it could have been possible.  

On the other hand, I believe that the deliberately accelerating tension of
this rivalry at the end of book 4 in the scene on the train home from
hogwarts is too pointed not to indicate some kind of impending conflict
arising specifically between Harry and Draco that only a choice by Draco
will resolve. It could be a simple inner choice either to continue blindly
accepting his father or to step back and rethink his position. Or it could
be a choice furthered by an action, perhaps in response to Harry or
Hermione doing something heroic to help him in some way. 

> Regarding Draco as Head Boy, why not?  My only problem with that is that
> Draco isn't exactly a model student himself.  I mean, he has gotten into
> loads of trouble before and stuff.  He might actually have the grades
> (we don't know for sure; Snape isn't actually the most objective teacher
> out there), but I think being Head Boy takes more than grades. 

I think whoever pointed out that Tom Riddle was also head boy was very
accurate in suggesting the parallels between him and Malfoy.  They
were/are both ambitious, clever students.  The only real obstacle I see in
Draco's way is Dumbledore's suspicion of Tom Riddle from the start-- and
this brings up a point that has always interested me: we've never seen
Dumbledore interact with Draco in any way.  How can we know how Dumbledore
really feels about him? Perhaps Dumbledore too is withholding judgment on
Draco's character until he has made the choice to step out from under his
father's thumb.  Making him head boy, or even a 6th-year prefect, would be
an excellent way to observe this.

Catherine Keegan <keegan at mcn.org> wrote:

> While it would be lovely if all of the kid characters turn out to be 
little angels in disguise, I think it would be rather sad if JKR took the
easy way out and let the silver lining show.  Kids reflect their
upbringing.  Draco has been brought up listening to his father and
possibly his mother talk about the purity of their blood and the eliteness
of their kind, how it's proper that their kind should run things, blah
blah blah...  Give me your children until they are five...  At 14 in GoF
he sounds like he's bought the whole thing. 

This is exactly my logic for thinking he *won't* turn gung-ho Death-Eater:
it's too easy. In Book 2 Harry and Ron were so eager to believe Draco was
the Heir of Slytherin, only to find they were wrong. I believe that
instance sets up a parallel for the series as a whole--and we know how JKR
loves parallels.  Setting up a circumstance where Draco must think for
himself and decide between rejecting or upholding the teaching of his
upbringing, whatever the nature of his final choice, would be far
more interesting than just watching him slide into the predictable nasty
patterns of his father before him.

> I'm rather hoping that Draco holds to his rather nasty viewpoint and
doesn't become yet another cardboard redeemed character once he either
falls in love with a good woman or sees the error of his ways.

*has to laugh*  I certainly agree with you on the latter point, but I'm
very hopeful it will be done much more subtly than that. After all, just
because *we* read HP fan fiction doesn't mean JKR does! :)

...and then jennyandraul wrote:

> I think JKR already has very subtly set up the possibility for a Draco 
> redemption.  She has shown us times when Draco just may not be DE 
> material.  The best and most used example is when Draco runs screaming 
> from the "thing" drinking the unicorn blood in SS.  

Also, he took the coward's way out in shirking the wizard's duel with
Harry in book 1.  This has puzzled me for some time, because in the
wizard's duel the following year, he proves himself more than capabale of
fighting, and even produces a snake from his wand, something I doubt most
2nd years could do so easily. I suggest that one reason Draco might have
had no intention to participate in the wizard's duel with Harry the
previous year is because he *knew* he would have more experience than 
Harry, and didn't want to run the risk of being expelled after harming him
in some way.

> I also get a general sense about Draco that he just isn't as strong as
he'd like to be.  To be a DE, one probably needs a strong stomach, 
bravery to break laws and to fight others - things I have trouble seeing 
Draco doing. 

All excellent points.  It's easy to overlook Draco's own insecurities
concerning Harry because Ron's are much more prominent, but Malfoy really
does have serious jealousy issues concerning the Boy Who Lived.  It's very
possible that Draco secretly *admires* Harry for all the traits that he
outwardly loathes in him.  That means that unlike Harry, who constantly
does battle with the world around him, Draco's battle is constantly with
himself.  

> Just as I question Hagrid's blind loyalty, I question Draco's near
worship of his father.  Draco is fast approaching the age where children
seriously question their parents' authority and opinions.  Draco hasn't
yet done that, but I wonder if he will witness his father make a mistake
or witness his father in a position that is far less than what Draco is
used to seeing.  It may make Draco look at things differently.  Of
course, on the other side, if Draco sees his father in pain or being
treated badly by Voldemort or DEs, Draco wouldn't exactly rush to join
in either. 

This leads me to ask a more general question related to Lucius Malfoy: how
well did he know Voldemort before the fall? We know he was one of his most
prominent supporters, but how long had that support lasted, since it
certainly didn't hold up for long after Voldy was vanquished?  I'm one of
those readers who believe that Draco knows very little about his father's
involvement with the Dark Lord.  He knows, after all, nothing about either
the existence of the diary or Tom Riddle.  He has no idea that Sirius
Black didn't betray Harry's parents (in Book 3, he taunts Harry by telling
him that if he were in his shoes, he'd want "revenge" on Sirius), so
obviously he's not aware that Peter Pettigrew is alive and well.  I tend
to think that if he were ever made fully cognizant of just how deeply his
father's actions went beyond talk, he'd be horrified and frightened. I
also wonder what Lucius' motives are in keeping so much from his son, but
that opens up a whole new can of worms...

> Draco may not come out of the series a regular sweetie pie, but he 
> might learn to be more objective about things.  Perhaps he'll be more 
> like Snape: not bad, but definitely not nice, either.  I find that 
> also to be more real; people experience life changing situations but 
> don't necessarily come out of them lovely people.  They just change 
> for the better but still have the same nasty personality.   

Hear, hear! I too believe JKR isn't going to write off Draco to the bad
guys just yet.  Even if she does eventually consign him over to his innate
evilness *wink*, I firmly believe Draco will have a lot of growing up to
do, and a day of reckoning in the future. 

Whew! Sorry that was so long, but you all had such interesting things to
say!!!

Aja :)

"i would love to be marinated in draco angst stories for about an hour
before doing anything slightly unpleasant, and then i would never whine
about anything except withdrawal."   --Masoumi, Diagon Alley
(http://home.nyu.edu/~amw243/fiction/writers/masoumi.html)