Author: Rockygirl
*Warning - HP6 Spoilers*
Draco Malfoy has long been a one dimensional villain to those who know him. Harry Potter has, in fact, spent much of his time in The Half Blood Prince obsessed with the deep evil Malfoy was surely perpetrating right under everyone's noses. In each and every book that's come we've seen how the Ferret can sink to back attacks on his enemies (though not without paying a price if Barty Crouch jr. is around), malicious verbal assaults on anyone he deems unworthy, which includes all of Gryffindor, and how he would say anything to make Harry Potter look as bad as possible. Indeed, we might be able to say that Draco has spent time in the past similarly obsessed with Harry. How many people do you know would deliberately try to get you to chase after a dangerous criminal in the hopes of getting rid of you permanently?
But therein lies an important question: Was Draco trying to get Harry killed, or was his comprehension limited to Harry getting badly hurt and, consequently, out of Hogwarts? At the end of Order of the Phoenix I was pretty certain Draco would have no problem screaming Avada Kadavra, but now we know differently. As Dumbledore himself proclaimed that Draco was no killer, I have been forced to re-examine much of what I thought I knew.
Of course, I never saw the King of Hair Gel in an utterly bad light. I was often arguing that he had been brainwashed and didn't really understand evil. More than anything I speculated on what in the world could make such a young child (he was eleven when we met ) so cold, distant, and hateful. Even eleven year olds laugh and joke, yet I have trouble picturing Malfoy doing either, unless it's to make fun of someone. Indeed, I had time to concoct all sorts of excuses as to why he seemed like a miniature of his father, from abuse to brainwashing. And in some ways, I know I was right.
But I was wrong, too. Power is an aphrodisiac, and from a young age we can learn to crave it if it gets us whatever we want. Children are very simple in their wants and desires, and without discipline these wants can become consuming. Being frustrated in the pursuit of their desires can make a child aggressive and demanding, and, again, lack of discipline could exacerbate the situation. Observing success in the pursuit of power can make the child admire the figure greatly. Add to this the fact that it's your own father, in whom the child already has a predisposition to love, admire, and respect, and you have a child with an almost feverish desire to emulate. My dad is stronger than your dad. He's richer, got more friends, more money, and I want to be just like him! Imitation becomes the norm as the child struggles to attain what his father has, and swaggering arrogance can be the result of even partial success.
I have no doubt that this is what Lucius wanted; a son who would emulate him and take his place seamlessly when the time came. He passed along all of his values and prejudices, which Draco obviously drank in without question. So let's face it, Draco has been something of a peacock, with a marked tendency to brag, posture, and generally make himself appear greater than he is. His dislike of Harry, who spurned his offered friendship, has made him anxious, or rather crazed, to make Harry look as stupid, low, and unworthy as possible. Draco needs to be the center of attention, he craves the power and influence his father so effortlessly flaunts, and Harry is a reminder that not everyone is fooled by his posturing. There are some who see the kid who has a rich father and a nasty attitude, and nothing more.
Perhaps we could say that some of Draco's need to stomp on the self esteem of others is, in fact, an attempt to throw attention off of his own failings. Potter is a git, so you should hang out with me. I can get you six new brooms for Quidditch, I know lots of important people, I'm a pureblood! I have always found Draco's continued jokes on the few mistakes Harry's made to be tiresome. How many times can you make fun of Harry for fainting on the train (when the Dementors boarded) before it gets REALLY old? How often can you continue to crack the same jokes about the same person? More importantly, why are you? Feeling a little inadequate, maybe? Heard yet another story about how Potter saved the school, or the wizarding world, and need to compete?
Enter Lord Voldemort, the evilest of the evil, the baddest of the bad, and someone Draco has been taught to revere as the giver of power and influence. Ironic, since I always thought that his followers came from rich families who already had influence, but never mind that. Lucius Malfoy has failed the Dark Lord twice now in doing his will, and as Dumbledore pointed out, he should feel quite thankful he's in Azkaban and safe from Voldemort's vengeful hand. But Draco is free and eager to do anything that will bring him glory and power such as he's always dreamed of. In what I imagine is a completely smooth and seductive speech, Voldemort offers sixteen year old Draco the opportunity of a lifetime: Do my bidding, and earn my praise. The rewards will be beyond your wildest dreams! To a sixteen year old, I'm sure this sounds just fabulous. The job might be hard, but the motivation is priceless.
Until the job begins, and Draco begins to see that his task is not only difficult, but damn near impossible. All throughout the book we see instances of Draco losing interest in all of his previously favorite pastimes, such as bullying younger students, trying to beat Harry at Quidditch, and insulting others (usually the Trio) as much as possible. All of his attention is focused on his task, and even Harry begins to see the physical toll it's taking. Furthermore we see Draco withdrawing from a previously favorite teacher in secretive resentment, fearing to lose even a drop of his glory to another. Draco is beginning to see how hard it is to gain favor successfully, and perhaps is beginning to see - though unwillingly - that everything he's going through isn't worth any reward. By shoving Snape away and clinging to his delusion of lone success, he's trying to convince himself, I think, that every decision he's made, from becoming a Death Eater to accepting this assignment, wasn't a huge mistake.
By the time we get to the bathroom fight we are shown that any choice Draco might have had, or thought he had, has been stripped away. He will do the assignment or he will die. Or his parents will die. One might ask if our dear, dumb ferret hadn't realized that this was how it was going to be all along. It doesn't matter, he knows now. Malfoy has seen the truth of the Death Eater's existence: You are at the whim of a madman, and anything could cause you to fall out of favor. Your existence has become as unpredictable as his moods. I truly doubt Draco understood or was even aware of this little fact. His attempts to first smuggle a cursed necklace in the school, then to poison mead that was meant for Dumbledore, are just clumsy. What, he didn't think Filch would catch Katie with that necklace on her, and that soon after everyone would realize she'd been placed under the imperius curse? As Harry observed, Draco's never been a great thinker. But this is bad even for him, and it's made worse by the knowledge that he can't back out, I think.
Failure is imminent, Draco's health is suffering through his fear of Voldemort, and he has only Moaning Myrtle to comfort him. Yes, things have hit rock bottom. One would think that slogging on to the conclusion of the task might be worth it just to save some dignity, but I've always secretly suspected that Draco's dignity-free.
Regardless, the moment came, and Draco simply couldn't do it. Now in his defense I will say that I believe there were two overall reasons he did. One, he was terrified of Dumbledore, of looking into his eyes and killing him, or of being killed by the much more powerful Headmaster, as has already been suggested by others here. But the other reason is that I think he finally realized that being at the whim of a cold and heartless madman wasn't worth it. Better to be miles away from Voldemort than anywhere else. And perhaps he'd finally realized that his family's position in the Inner Circle was tenuous at best. He still had his mother, but for how long? Quite simply, I think he just wanted out, like Regulus Black before him.
It will be interesting to see what fate has laid out for him in book seven. Will he escape, become a double agent like Snape? Or will he resign himself to his fate and become the killer his Lord wants him to? Only JKR can tell. . .
Posted by Madmaxime at July 26, 2005 03:59 AM