Apologia pro Draco (was Re: Wizarding Top Ten)

[bboyminn]

No: HPFGUIDX 188504



---  "Geoff" <gbannister10 at ...> wrote:
>
> ---  sistermagpie@ wrote:
> 
> Magpie:
> 
> > So based on the "rules" I sort of get from the books, I'd say Draco's more in the "he's not evil, and has the potential for goodness" category rather than the "he's one of the great and good" category. I feel--and this is just a feeling so don't take it as a canonically based fact--that the author wants him in exactly that place.
> 
> Geoff:
> Which, curiously, makes me lean more towards him. Mark you, it 
> depends who the "great and the good" are. I'm not even sure I'd 
> place Harry in that category; at least he appears to know and 
> accept that. In the case of some folk, like Dumbledore, the 
> revelation of feet of clay makes me want to look askance at 
> almost everyone.
> :-(
>

bboyminn:

There is no denying that Draco is a nasty rat of a bully, 
filled with arrogance and self-importance, not to mention
a sense of privilege that always come with growing up in
extreme wealth. 

But to use the slightly obnoxious Nazi analogy, it is easy
to sit in England sipping tea and hating Hitler. But it is
quite another thing to be the guy who serves Hitler his tea
everyday in his bunker. If you are thrust into that situation,
you're not really in a position to be criticizing Hitler, at 
least not if you expect to survive the war. 

True Draco made some stunningly bad choices; positively
misguided, illogical, irrational, and stupid. But, I don't 
think we can deny that he grew up somewhat isolated from 
life harsh realities, and in the house of a hard core
bigot, Dumbledore hater, and dark arts supporter.

It is extremely hard for a young kid moving into his teens
to divorce himself from the rhetoric he has grown up with.
How many Catholics become Jews? Not very many. Its the same
with Draco, the role he is playing is the role he has assumed
was right from the time he was an infant.

But once he moves into his teen years and starts to get an
understanding of the real world, the old family rhetoric
doesn't hold up so well. 

Then he is thrust into a situation where he must prove himself
to Voldemort, and to save his family. If he succeeds, he and
they live, if he fails, then they don't. Once that sinks in,
he realize that being a Death Eater is more than sitting
around the mansion getting drunk and complaining about 
muggles. 

Once the harsh reality of being a Death Eater set in, it is
too late. Once the moment of Dumbledore's offer of protection
passes, what can Draco do, what are his options? Voldemort
is living in his house, and it become crystal clear that
Voldemort is ruthless, evil, and deadly. That's not exactly
the time to take a stand against him. 

But I think we see enough to know that if Draco had his way,
he would divorce himself from the whole mess. He would just
walk away. But as we all know, once you are in, it is a 
lifetime of service or DEATH. I'm sure neither of those look
all that appealing to Draco. But again, what can he do? 

Far better wizards than him fall before Voldemort before they
even have a chance to marshal a defense. His killing is so
arbitrary, that you could be killed simply because Voldemort
is in a bad mood. 

So, I think within the limits of his ability, and the fact 
that he is living with Voldemort, Draco tries his best to 
stay out of it. To stay in the background as Geoff suggests.
But again, when you are in the same room with Voldemort with
only a few other people, there just isn't much background to 
hide in. 

So, when the Trio are caught he does his best to be non-
committal. He give the most basic information, just enough to
keep himself alive. 

Sure, he could stand on the table, claim allegiance to 
Dumbledore, and blow a big raspberry at Voldemort. But that
would be throwing his life away to no good end. 

As long as he stays alive, another opportunity might come
along to find a way out of the mess he is in. But given how
close he is to Voldemort, those opportunities are going to 
be few and far between. 

Someone else suggested that maybe when Draco, Crabbe, and
Goyle stayed in Hogwarts, Draco's goal may not have been to 
stay and fight for Voldemort on the inside, but to do his 
best to stay out of the fight altogether. The extension of
this is that he was in the Room of Requirement, not leading,
but following Crabbe and Goyle, and trying to restrain them. 

Still, he is not fighting them, so I think he is still just
trying to step out of the whole mess. He doesn't want to 
fight for Voldemort or against him, he just wants out.

Sadly though, that is not how war works.

I'm about to reread the ROR scene again, it will be interesting
with this new perspective to see if I see Draco's actions in
a different light. 

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn