Draco's fear?? (was: Draco's Unlikely Redemption)

[blpurdom]

No: HPFGUIDX 33428

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "ftah3" <ftah3 at y...> wrote:
> Barb wrote:
> > Right now Draco acts chiefly out of fear: fear of his father...
> 
> I've seen this mentioned before, and I just keep wondering, where 
> on earth in the canon texts does anyone see evidence that Draco is 
> afraid of his father?  

When Harry overhears Draco and Lucius Malfoy in Borgin and Burkes 
(Chapter 4 of Chamber of Secrets), several times Lucius reprimands 
Draco.  He desists each time.  It could just be that he is being a 
good, obedient son, or it could be that he has a fear of punishment 
(or loss of a privilege) if he does not comply.  This is admittedly 
open to interpretation.

First instance: 
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"...everyone thinks he's so *smart*, wonderful *Potter* with his 
*scar* and his *broomstick*--"

"You have told me this at least a dozen times already," said Mr. 
Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son.  "And I would remind you 
that it is not--prudent--to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, 
not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark 
Lord disappear..."
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Mr. Malfoy is obviously smarter than Draco about keeping up 
appearances, but there is also an undercurrent to his speech that is 
somewhat chilling.

Second instance:
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I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer, 
Borgin," said Mr. Malfoy coldly, and Mr. Borgin said quickly, No 
offense, sir, no offense meant--"

"Though if his grades don't pick up," said Mr. Malfoy, more coldly 
still, "that may indeed be all he is fit for--"

"It's not my fault," retorted Draco.  "The teachers all have 
favorites, that Hermione Granger--"

I would have though you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family 
beat you in every exam," snapped Mr. Malfoy.
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I think it's clear here that Draco has some fear of his father or he 
wouldn't be making excuses about his grades.  Again, it's an 
undercurrent.  He isn't quaking in his boots; he's blustering, 
trying to shift blame for something he knows has displeased his 
father (that's not undercurrent--Lucius says as much).  And Draco is 
supposedly Snape's favorite, after all, which would mean--if this is 
completely accurate--that Snape gave Hermione higher marks than 
Draco.  IMO, Draco would not be making excuses if he didn't fear 
Lucius.

We also see Lucius Malfoy lunge at Harry in anger when he 
accidentally frees Dobby, so although this isn't Draco at whom he's 
lashing out, we see a possible demonstration of what Draco could 
experience if he really infuriated his father.  He's not someone to 
mess with, and Draco probably knows that.  He could very well be in 
complete agreement with his father on everything.  Or it may never 
have occurred to him to disagree because he knows that would not 
be "prudent."  This is less clear, but his making excuses about his 
grades IS pretty clear.

> He's been afraid, certainly ~ in the Forbidden Forest, and when 
> being messed with by Crouch/Moody, for instance.  But never as a 
> result of his father; and never has fear been implied as a 
> motivating factor for him.

Back to CoS, when Ron and Harry are talking to him about the attacks 
(disguised with Polyjuice Potion) Draco expresses the wish that 
Hermione will be one of the victims.  I believe this goes deeper 
than his simply disliking her as a person or disliking "Mudbloods" 
in general; if we hark back to his complaint about her and his 
father's response, we see that life would clearly be simpler for 
Draco without Hermione around as academic competition.  Which takes 
us back to his making excuses because he fears his father.

As for other fears, early on in PoA, Malfoy et al come to the Trio's 
train compartment, which also contains Lupin, ready to make trouble, 
and succeeds in riling Ron.  But then he notices Lupin...

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Chapter Five: The Dementor

"Who's that?" said Malfoy, taking an automatic step backward as he 
spotted Lupin.

"New teacher," said Harry, who go to his feet, too, in case he 
needed to hold Ron back.  "What were you saying, Malfoy?"

Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed; he wasn't fool enough to pick a fight 
right under a teacher's nose.
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Whereas Ron WAS fool enough, evidently, since he was the one who 
needed to be held back.  But we already knew Ron was brave from the 
chess scene in the first book.  (And he's gotten a howler from his 
mother, too, in CoS.)  We also see in Chapter six that he's not 
physically brave when he is wounded by Buckbeak:

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"I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled as the class panicked.  "I'm dying, look 
at me!  It's killed me!"
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Good grief.  How much physical pain has Harry had to withstand?  
Broken arm, growing all the bones back in said arm, broken leg, 
Cruciatus Curse...And think about it: if Malfoy can blame Buckbeak 
and Hagrid for this, aside from the satisfaction of distressing 
Hagrid and the Trio, he can avoid his father blaming him for this 
(even though it WAS all his fault).  In my experience, people who 
tend to shift blame don't do it for no reason.  No one at the 
school, even Hagrid, would probably have done anything much to Draco 
for the hippogriff incident (assuming he'd already been punished 
enough by being wounded) so the only motivation he has for shifting 
blame is if his father would come down on him otherwise.  It might 
not even be more drastic than denying Draco a new toy (it doesn't 
have to be physical punishment), but any potential punishment seems 
to be too much to Draco, based on this behavior.

--Barb