Blog Post #2: Draco, Shmaco

Draco Malfoy is easily one of the most disliked characters in the Harry Potter series, but he is overlooked as a victim of traumatic experience because most do not like him. From the moment we are introduced to Draco, we see him as disrespectful and spoiled. Once Harry chooses to deny Draco’s help so he doesn’t “go making friends with the wrong sort”, Draco loathes him. It is no secret that Draco, Crabbe and Goyle are the enemies of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but Rowling never chooses to explore the background of three Slytherins like she does the three Gryffindors.
All throughout the novels, we see Draco and his goons tease, taunt, and try to harm the other students. He has no remorse for how anybody else feels, and thinks him and his family are superior to most wizarding families because they are “pureblood”.
In The Half-Blood Prince, we are finally seeing Draco start to crack. He is panicky, worried, and obviously has a secret agenda that he won’t even tell Snape about who is his favorite teacher.
On top of the tower, when he is talking with Dumbledore, we finally learn that his secret agenda was letting in the Death Eaters into Hogwarts through the Vanishing Cabinet. During this conversation, he keeps his wand pointed at Dumbledore the whole time, despite Dumbledore’s weakened state. He keeps mentioning that the Dark Lord has chosen him to carry out this task, but is too afraid to do it. The moment that Dumbledore gets Draco to lower his wand is a breaking point. Draco realizes he does not have what it takes to kill Dumbledore, and therefore Snape must do it because he made the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa promising her he would protect Draco and perform the task if Draco could not.

SPOILER ALERT! Stop reading if you have not finished the 7th book!!

In the seventh novel, Draco is absent for a majority of it. From what we do see in the beginning, the Malfoy family is pretty much controlled by Voldemort, despite the subtle resistance of Narcissa and Draco. At the battle of Hogwarts, in the Room for Requirement, Harry Ron and Hermione are almost killed by Crabbe’s fire. Despite the fact that they are on the brink of death, Harry goes back for Draco. If that’s not empathy, I don’t know what is. Personally, I feel that Draco has lived the part of the evil Slytherin for so long, and now being part of the Death Eaters and Voldemort having control over his family, he is trapped. I think Harry recognizes this, and feels that Draco can and will change once this is all over. In the forest, Narcissa hides the fact that Harry is actually alive for the information that Draco is safe in the castle. This subtle union between Harry and the Malfoys gave me goosebumps when I was reading it. As much as I hated Draco throughout the novels, he lowered his wand and didn’t kill Dumbledore. Harry was gracious enough to see this, and therefore helped Draco escape the power of Voldemort so he can finally live his own life.