Draco the Death Eaters and Voldemort (was: Re: Draco's culpability...)

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 139692

 
> Betsy Hp:
> 
> In GoF, Snape tells Fudge:
> 
> "Every Death Eater has the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord." 
> (scholastic hardback p.710)
> 
> So it follows, for me, that Voldemort must *accept* the hopeful's 
> pledge before they can call themselves a Death Eater.
> 
> Draco, in HBP, certainly seems to acknowledge Voldemort as his 
> master.  Throughout the first five books he seems to embrace the 
> Death Eaters ideology and look forward to Voldemort's ultimate 
> victory. However, I seriously doubt Draco was allowed to make a 
> pledge to Voldemort and receive the Dark Mark.  

a_svirn:
Our discussion started when I wrote that Darco was "for all intends 
and purposes a Death Eater". Meaning not literally, but as good as. 
Well, the above quoted snippet from your post seems to point in that 
direction too. But if you insist on the technicality let's say, that 
he is a "Voldemort's man through and through". Just like Harry who 
wasn't allowed to join the Order is Dumbledore's. Personally, I 
don't see how it makes things any better for him. 

> Betsy Hp:

>> 
> * Is Draco a volunteer? *
> 
> For me, this is the most important question.  It even outweighs 
> whether or not Draco was marked as a Death Eater, IMO.  

a_svirn:
And IMO. 

> Betsy Hp:
Did Draco 
> ask for his mission?  Was he given a choice?
> 
> The answer, to my mind, is an obvious no.  Because while Draco has 
> been steeped in the Death Eater philosophy since birth, though 
he's 
> been parroting the ugliest sort of Pure-blood propaganda since the 
> second book, though he's been set against Harry Potter from the 
> first book, Draco is not a fool.  And he's certainly not foolhardy 
> (more a Gryffindor trait, that).  I cannot, for the life of me, 
> imagine Draco eagerly volunteering to kill Dumbledore.  

a_svirn:

You substitute one thing for another, Betsy. I never said that Draco 
volunteered to kill Dumbledore. I maintain, however that he did 
choose to serve Voldemort. Whereupon he got his first assignment – 
to kill Dumbledore. Just like Harry who volunteered to help 
Dumbledore with Horcrux-hunting and then was given a 
horrifying "assignment": to force-feed his mentor with some ghastly 
potion. So it is with Draco: first he committed himself to the 
service and then tried to serve for the best of his ability.  They 
are the two different things and I don't understand why you are 
persistently trying to confuse them. 

As for Draco's not being a fool – it's debatable. Generally he is 
not, but when Voldemort was concerned he certainly laboured under 
some very dangerous delusions. 


Betsy Hp: 
> It is painfully clear to all who knew the plan that Draco was not 
> expected to succeed.  That was the entire impetus for the meeting 
in 
> chapter two of HBP, "Spinner's End".  

a_svirn:

It is also "painfully clear" that for one person concerned it wasn't 
clear at all. Namely, for Draco himself. 

Betsy Hp:
Draco would either attempt to 
> kill Dumbledore and die in the attempt (thereby punishing 
Lucius).  
> Or he'd attempt to kill Dumbledore, fail, and get killed by 
> Voldemort (thereby punishing Lucius).  Win-win for Voldemort; lose-
> lose for the Malfoy family.  

a_svirn:

Can you support this statement with "canon"? I seem to remember 
Snape saying that if Draco succeeded he would be honoured above all 
others. Not that it belongs to this discussion at all. Whatever 
Voldemort's plans concerning Draco might have been, Draco had no 
clue about them, so they couldn't weight with him in any way.   


Betsy Hp: 
> [It's interesting to me that Draco's major effort is fixing the 
> Vanishing Cabinet.  It has nothing to do with killing anybody, but 
> that's the work he throws himself into.]

a_svirn:

Actually it has *everything* to do with killing anybody. As Draco 
knew only to well and we, readers, too know. 

Betsy Hp: 
> After Christmas Voldemort has to resort to base threats to keep 
> Draco moving on his assignment.  If Draco fails not only his life 
is 
> forfeit, but his family's as well. So much for "diligently" 
carrying 
> out Voldemort's orders.  And I'll bet by the time Draco's sobbing 
in 
> the boys' room he's not so keen on Voldemort's ultimate success, 
> either.

a_svirn:
Yes, well, I quite agree. But it only shows that by that time Draco 
came to regret his choice. It doesn't negate the fact that he did 
it. 

Betsy Hp: 
> So, in answer to the second question, I believe Draco is *not* a 
> volunteer; he's been assigned his task.  And though he may have 
> wanted to serve Voldemort in some fashion before HBP, this is not 
> the service he would have chosen.  

a_svirn:

There is absolutely no basis for opposing the two. Volunteers *are* 
being assigned tasks. One volunteers to go and work in some obscure 
mission thousands miles away from one's home and then one is given 
one's first task: for instance, to clean the bathrooms. Quite 
possibly, also not what one would have chosen. But since one made a 
commitment one has to carry on. 

Betsy Hp:
By the end of HBP I think Draco 
> wants nothing to do with Voldemort or his Death Eaters. 

a_svirn:
It's true but not only for Draco. Most Death Eaters with the 
exception of Bellatrix and possibly Grayback would have been better 
off without their Lord and Master.