Draco redeemed?

[Sharon Hayes]

No: HPFGUIDX 176929

Hi all,

After many readings of DH and going back to reading from Book 1 again, I have 
been thinking a lot about Draco and his character development. I think I have 
come to the conclusion that, while not in Snape's league in terms of redemption, 
he does develop his moral sense quite a bit throughout the series. I also have 
been thinking about what life must have been like for the young Draco Malfoy 
and it makes me all the more surprised that he made any progress at all towards 
the moral point of view.  Judging from what his relationship with his father was 
like, he must have led a very confined childhood, with his father directing his 
every move, so that he would be sure to follow in the Malfoy tradition in every 
way, from being a death eater to probably even having an arranged marraige 
with another pureblood (specualtion of course, but seems to fit in with what 
Lucius would have wanted).

I can't imagine that Lucius would be bouncing Draco on his knee, reading him 
stories, or palying catch (or anything else for that matter). Rather it would be 
more like scare tactics to get Draco to conform to what Lucius sees is what a 
Malfoy should be. There are quite a few hints to this, especially in the form of 
Lucius bullying Draco.  In COS, he tells Draco to "Play Nicely", in GOF he pulls 
him up for boasting - -all this in front of not just others, but the "enemy" so to 
speak.

So it is my conjecture that Draco really had no choice but to be a smirky, nasty 
little ferret. He had it drummed into him from birth at muggle-borns and blood 
traitors were dirt, that money could buy him everything, that his status as a 
Malfoy could get him anything he wanted.

In short, the poor kid never had a chance. To my mind, the fact that he rose 
above all that and shows even a small amount of mercy to Harry and friends in 
DH, never worked a spell in the ROR, and tried to save his friend Goyle, etc, is all 
the more amazing given the brainwashing he had to go trhough as a kid.

Comments in these thoughts would be gratefully accepted.

Sharon