What's with all the Draco love in fanon?

[Leeloo Volusia]

No: HPFGUIDX 153201

sistermagpie <belviso at attglobal.net> wrote:    
Magpie before:
No, it's not the actor. It was around before the movies and even 
since then I don't think the actor is so important in himself.  I'd 
say the reasons for it are as numerous as the number of people who 
like the character. There are probably some "I want to change him" 
people in there, but there's no reason fans of one character should 
be reduced to dismissive stereotypes more than any other.
  <end snip>
   
  Leeloo now:
I suppose I am one of those Draco fangirls.  But the character 
absolutely fascinates me.  And as for Tom Felton... I'm a Felton 
Fangirl too, but for different reasons than I like Draco. I think 
Felton as an actor nails the portrayal of Malfoy so perfectly that 
some people have a hard time distinguishing between who is Tom and 
who is Draco.
   
  <snip Magpie before:>
Draco's always been a character in an interesting situation.  Many 
people argued long before HBP that his situation and set up meant he 
had to play a part somewhere.  
  <end snip>
   
  Leeloo now:
  This I totally agree with.  No author puts that much effort into 
a character to have him not play a major role in the outcome of the 
story.  Draco is a fascinating character from his excessive 
idolization of his father, the obvious fear of disappointing his 
father, the spoiled baby that is coddled by his mother, to the young 
man he is forced to become in HBP that can barely handle what has 
been asked of him.  But, ultimately he succeeded, in what I view was 
all that was realistically expected of him, in getting the DE into 
Hogwarts.  As for killing Dumbledore, even JKR said that Draco was 
not a murderer.
   
  <snip Magpie before:>
  There aren't a lot of kids in canon that have any characterization 
that are in his type of situation; he offers a lot of things for a 
fanfic writer to explore.  Fanon can do different things with a 
character so that people can keep things they like, lose things they 
don't like, shade things one way or another.  I mean, the funny thing 
about all the "why would people write about him?" is that of course 
ultimately the author was one of them.  He's not the hero of a fanfic 
story or anything like that, but her story definitely echoed plenty 
of Draco fics (though given fanon's obsession with romance, in fanfic 
it was more often played out via shipping).  Iow, many Draco fanfic 
authors were interested in the same things about the character that 
seem to interest the author.  
  <end snip>
   
  Leeloo now:
  I think that is the point of fan-fiction.  It allows us to keep the 
characters as we want to see them, bring them back to life, alter 
their canon universe, and explore the sides of the character that we 
may not get to see in canon.  I speak as a writer of fan-fiction and 
a person who role plays Malfoy's character in RPG.
   
  This character is beautifully designed for a fan-fic writer because 
he could go any number of ways.  He is a multi-dimensional character 
(dare I say nearly as much as Snape) and he is at a very dangerous 
crossroads in his life.  He is quite obviously scared out of his mind 
without his father's guidance, he's just failed half his mission 
given to him by the Dark Lord himself, and he was unable to kill 
Dumbledore.  Tack on the brutal attack by Harry with sectumsempra AND 
the fact he was caught crying in a bathroom talking to Moaning Myrtle 
(which in and of itself is enough to send someone over the edge), 
what's not to like for a fan-fic author?  It's a perfect set up.
   
  Draco could be pure evil and end up worse than his father.  He 
could be redeemed with the help of "good" Snape when Voldemort is 
finally vanquished.  Or he could fall in love and change his ways. 
The possibilities are infinite.  He's a beautifully fascinating 
character and I, for one, completely understand why.
   
  Just my two cents...  
   
  ~ Leeloo