ESE!Draco (was: Re: [HPforGrownups] Re: Sirius and Draco; was James and Snape.

[annegirl11 at juno.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 113827

Alex said:
> it could be that [Draco] isn't *trying* to be cruel to Harry, Neville,
> etc., he's trying to be *funny* to his Housemates, and simply 
> doesn't care (or notice) whether he's *also* being mean or not.  

Yes, I think this is very true. I don't think he's ever been taught that
his behavior is inappropriate; if anything, Lucius' sharp tongue has
given Draco the sense that teasing people is okay, part of socialization,
etc. 

> I don't see  Draco
> as having necessarilly crossed the line between being an "arrogant
> berk" and being ESE! 

I think he has. I didn't want to, but the riot in GoF changed my mind. I
read that scene before bed, and the whole Nazi/KKK overtones gave me
nightmares. Any kid Draco's age should have been terrified, by the chaos
if nothing else. But Draco wasn't. He thought the way the DEs were
treating the muggles was funny. He knew what was going on, who was
causing the violence and danger, and he not only condoned it, but was
entertained by it. To me, that said that JKR was deliberatly taking
Draco's character beyond "irritating bully" to "miniature bad guy."
Functionally, as far as the story is concerned, Draco is as evil as his
father.

Not to say he may not be reformed. I'd really like to see something that
was best summed up in this drabble:
http://www.angelfire.com/anime3/winner01/war01.html (scroll to
"Aftermath", second from last)

btw, re: James and Sirius *causing* lasting psychological harm to Snape:
while I don't mean to belittle the impact of childhood bullying into
adult life, I think no bully can cause the kind of emotional problems
Snape must have if those problems weren't already there, or beginning to
be there. Snape's just a mess, for a variety of reasons.

 > Now, there is the last major Malfoy scene in OoP (p. 851 in the US
> hardback).  He says "You're dead, Potter," <snip> I think
> reading this scene depends on whether we see Draco at this point as 
> a child or as an adult.  <snip explanation>

But Draco isn't a child or an adult - he's a teenager, inbetween those
ages. He can be both picking sides and being petulant. He could be
*planning* on exacting some sort of revenge on Harry or his friends (I
didn't think about that, but now that you mention it, I can see Draco
getting back at Hermione for slapping him as a way to get back at Harry)
but, since he's a kid, will probably botch it up. 

> When a parent is  arrested,
> it's normal for a child to respond with rage against authority 
> figures or anyone else the child sees as responsible for the parent's 
> arrest (including victims or witnesses), in order to avoid the
> psychologically unbearable realization that the parent chose to 
> break  the law and is responsible for his/her own arrest. 

IMO, the only anger Draco would have against his father is for *getting
caught.* I think Draco knows that Lucius breaks the law, but Malfoys are
above the law. Any Malfoy cruelty is excusable as long as said Malfoy is
slytherine enough to get away with it.

Read that way, Harry's crime isn't being the cause of Lucius getting
arrested, but that Harry brought shame upon the family by causing Lucius
to get caught. Draco would never forgive Harry for humiliating his
family.

Aura

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