Draco's crime ( Repost of Amy Z post)

[nrenka]

No: HPFGUIDX 128884

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "phoenixgod2000" <jmrazo at h...> 
wrote:

> I think she is refering to the way that he played up his 
> *relatively* minor injury for sympathy which kept the incident 
> alive and escalated the backlash to both Hagrid and Buckbeak beyond 
> what would have otherwise happened. IIRC, Draco also bragged about 
> what his father was going to do. If he didn't deliberately seek to 
> frame buckbeak he certainly manipulated the aftermath pretty 
> ruthlessly. I don't think it would be out of bounds to lay BB's 
> death squarely at his feet--at least in part.

"I'm afraid he won't be a teacher much longer," said Malfoy in a tone 
of mock sorrow.  "Father's not very happy about my injury--"
...
"--he's complained to the school governors.  *And* to the Ministry of 
Magic.  Father's got a lot of influence, you know.  And a lasting 
injury like this"--he gave a huge, fake sigh--"who knows if my arm'll 
ever be the same again?"

"So that's why you're putting it on," said Harry, accidentally 
beheading a dead caterpillar because his hand was shaking in 
anger.  "To try to get Hagrid fired."

"Well," said Malfoy, lowering his voice to a whisper, "_partly_, 
Potter.  But there are other benefits too.  Weasley, slice my 
caterpillars for me."  (PoA, US HB, p. 125)

It's an extremely uphill argument if you want to make the case that 
Draco is not malingering.  As in, you have to deal with both the 
potentially biased perceptions of other characters but also a lot of 
plain fact.  There's no lasting damage to his arm mentioned in 
canon.  He admits to what he's doing and what benefits he derives 
from it here.  

So what we have is a boy who has a degree of malice or at minimum 
lack of empathy to feign injury to get a teacher fired and a sentient 
creature *executed*.  He hides behind the authority of others in a 
refusal to take responsibility for his own actions.  Definitely 
lacking in the virtues (such as compassion, honor, and honesty) and 
other aspects of character, Draco is.

I forsee a sticky end, without drastic change.

-Nora keeps playing her virtue ethics card for now