Draco's Unlikely Redemption (was: Why do readers love Draco?)

[blpurdom]

No: HPFGUIDX 33410

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "heiditandy" <heidit at n...> wrote:
> 
> Donna wrote:
> > Since we mostly see things in the books through  Harry's 
> > perspective, we don't know if Dumbledore or anyone else has 
> > tried to talk to him about this. 

Heidi wrote:
> Other than at the 4th year leaving feast, Dumbledore never 
> addresses the students on issues of bias and prejudice- not even 
> 2nd year when muggle-borns are being petrified and the students 
> are terrified. So where would Draco learn them from? In class? We 
> haven't seen any class where ethics are taught. 

This is why in my fic, I had Moody talking to the students in DADA 
about why people turn dark.  This was something I felt was absent in 
canon: REALLY addressing the fact that we don't make our decisions 
in a vacuum.  While Dumbledore did say to Harry that it is our 
choices that make us who we are (rather than heredity), those 
choices are made in response to the circumstances around us, which 
are out of our control much of the time.  I would love to know 
whether Lupin also had the third year Slytherins study boggarts, and 
if so, what Draco Malfoy's boggart turned into (many of us might 
speculate that it would be his father).  I would think he'd have a 
very hard time laughing at his really deep-seated fears.  Draco 
Malfoy will also need to make some difficult choices, and he was 
trying to influence some of Harry's at the end of GoF, but it is 
clear that thus far, he is making his choices based on 1) his 
father's influence and 2) wanting to be on the winning side 
(although his assessment of which side will win is obviously also 
influenced by his father).

Heidi said:
> One of the things I think is useful about Draco is that he *has 
> the potential* to be the character who changes his attitudes the 
> most. I think that if JKR makes him evil and keeps him that way, 
> it will be troubling, at least for me, to see a character who 
> we've "known" since he was 10 or 11 move lockstep towards Evil and 
> Darkness just because his parents are - in a series where an 
> underlying theme has been "choices" I see Draco, at present in 
> canon, as a character who's never had to make one - and possibly 
> never really been in a position where he could. 

On the contrary: he made the choice to help Rita Skeeter get 
information when she was banned at the school. He chose to call 
Hermione "Mudblood."  He made the choice to feign a greater injury 
than he really had when he had his run-in with Buckbeak, knowing 
that it would get Hagrid in trouble and also thus distress the 
Trio.  He chose to attempt to curse Harry and the curse bounced onto 
Hermione, making her teeth grow.  He chose to make those comments 
about Cedric on the train at the end of GoF, and he chose not to 
stand when the rest of the school was paying tribute to Harry in the 
Great Hall.

While it's possible that many of these events--if not all--are the 
result of his father's indoctrination, there were times when he 
could have chosen to fight against that indoctrination.  If one 
wants to see him as someone who is basically under Imperius all the 
time, one could also see him as someone too weak too break through 
that curse and defy the orders he's being fed (in stark contrast to 
Harry, who from the first was able to fight the curse).  Of course, 
most of the people in the wizarding world seem too weak to resist 
Imperius, or the Ministry wouldn't have had such a difficult time 
with it.  (Although many people could have just been using it as an 
excuse.)  In this way, Draco could be thought of as an 'everywizard,'
althought the same could be said of Ron, who also cannot fight 
Imperius.

Oddly enough, today Draco reminded me of the character of Rolf 
in "The Sound of Music."  (No, I'm not getting into WWII.)  He 
started off as a boyfriend for the eldest daughter, although she 
knew nothing about him.  He may already have been evil; we don't 
know either.  It may have been perfectly in character for him to 
join the army, and equally in character for him to betray his former 
girlfriend's family to people trying to kill them.  He had a chance 
to make a choice too, and he chose betrayal.  Why did we want to 
think he'd let the family go?  We had absolutely no basis for this, 
except the assumption that his previous attachment to the daughter 
would by extension mean an attachment to the whole family and the 
courage to defy orders and risk his own life.

Despite what I and others have written in fanfic (admittedly wishful 
thinking on my part--I can't speak for others), we really have no 
basis in canon for wanting Draco to be good.  If Draco is redeemed 
at all, the catalyst will have to be an earth-shattering event for 
him, perhaps Harry saving his life (as James saved Snape).  But 
remember--even James saving Snape didn't change him immediately.  It 
was after that event that he became a Death Eater.  We don't know 
what made Snape turn spy, but you never know; maybe it was finding 
out that the man who saved his life was being targeted, along with 
his wife and son.  That was years after school ended for them.  So 
the question is whether Draco will have sufficient time for 
redemption, given that the books will only chronicle their lives 
through the seventh year.  

Right now Draco acts chiefly out of fear: fear of his father, fear 
of Voldemort, fear for his life and reputation.  He has yet to do 
anything that shows the least bit of bravery.  Survival instincts 
are natural, but if he's ever going to be more than he is now, he 
has to find some courage somewhere.  It's possible that by doing 
something cowardly, Draco Malfoy will inadvertantly do something to 
assist the good guys, but I don't see it being intentional at this 
point.

--Barb

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