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On the Prospect of Draco Malfoy
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His character never made sense to me.
He needed redemption, and I think all of us can agree on that. I mean, Draco was smart- I think. He was prefect for a reason. Snape could've favoured other Pureblood Slytherins but Draco was incredibly bright, maybe falling slightly short of Hermione Granger's standard. I've been reading Pottermore's writing on Draco Malfoy, and there's a paragraph from J.K. Rowling I want to add:
"For all this, Draco remains a person of dubious morality in the seven published books, and I have often had cause to remark on how unnerved I have been by the number of girls who fell for this particular fictional character (although I do not discount the appeal of Tom Felton, who plays Draco brilliantly in the films and, ironically, is about the nicest person you could meet). Draco has all the dark glamour of the anti-hero; girls are very apt to romanticise such people. All of this left me in the unenviable position of pouring cold common sense on ardent readers’ daydreams as I told them, rather severely, that Draco was not concealing a heart of gold under all that sneering and prejudice and that no, he and Harry were not destined to end up best friends. "
I personally disagree with this, because 1) It's not only girls who like to see the good in people, and 2) We're allowed to believe that he did have a heart of gold. In the entire rest of the article we see that he was trying to impress his father and be valued by his superiors, and that broke him a little bit, especially when a certain Harry Potter was better than him at a lot of things- this is one reason I think he likes Potions so much. He spends all his time trying to be better than Harry Potter, and he always falls short, and I hate that. I also hate that he never got better until the Cursed Child. I also think in older books the bully stays a bully. Draco even had moments of vulnerability; ex. crying in the bathroom, not identifying Harry in the 7th book, etc., so his redemption arc was set up perfectly, but J.K. Rowling refused to give him help in the books, whether it was through Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, or even Harry Potter himself. I think Draco was misunderstood even by J.K. Rowling, and I resent her a little for that. I know the author must know her own characters, yes, but the way I see it, Draco becoming better would've helped Harry so many ways so many times. J.K. Rowling even says at the end of the article:
"His Christian name comes from a constellation – the dragon – and yet his wand core is of unicorn.
This was symbolic. There is, after all – and at the risk of re-kindling unhealthy fantasies – some unextinguished good at the heart of Draco."
I think there was always good in him, and we see it in his love for his son. We also see how much better of a father he was than Harry. Draco grew up with a father who always wanted more from him and Draco always tried to be better, but as Scorpius' father he always tried to make Scorpius feel like enough. Harry's guardians were awful, and you would think Harry would try to be the father he'd never had, but instead...
Anyway, another point I want to bring up is the shipping- which if you don't know what that is, it's kind of setting two people up together, I guess. I've heard with Luna Lovegood, and Pansy Parkinson, and even Harry Potter (you never know if Draco was gay), but I think the one I can see the most is Hermione.
Wait, let me explain. Like I mentioned before, Draco was smart. Hermione is too. They've also been in the shadow of Harry Potter for a long time, and they both understand more about the world than they should. I mean, it might be farfetched, but it's also not hard to see.
What do you guys think?
-Queenie
submitted by queen.of.the.library, age old enough, not in kansas anymore
(February 22, 2019 - 12:00 pm)
(February 22, 2019 - 12:00 pm)
Ooh, a Draco debate? Cool!
Let's start with the shipping. I absolutely do not ship Draco/Hermione. I mean, he calls her a Mudblood in the second book! Like, why on Earth would she like him after that?
Now, Luna/Draco is a bit more possible. I can see Luna forgiving Draco for his mistakes, but I think Draco would have to go through a bit more thought-changing to be able to live with someone so... creative. Then again, Crabbe and Goyle weren't particularly smart. So, in conclusion, possible.
Draco/Pansy? Well, I think we just don't know enough about Pansy Parkinson to be able to determine whether or not that would work.
Draco/Harry? They're pretty much enemies from the beginning of the series. Their first encounter is Draco complaining about Muggle-borns. Their second is Draco taunting Ron for being poor and Harry for being friends with Ron. So, no, I don't think Draco/Harry works.
Do you even remember who he ended up with? I don't...
Alright, moving on to the other side of the conversation. I think that if Draco hadn't grown up in a pureblood, Muggle-born-hating, Death Eater family, he would have been an amazing, smart character. Unfortunately, he grew up being taught to hate anyone who wasn't quite as "good" as him. This was what ruined him.
What do you think?
(February 23, 2019 - 2:00 pm)
YES YES YES DRACO IS THE MOST MISUNDERSTOOD, FASCINATING, INTERESTING PERSON IN THE SERIES AND TRUTH BE TOLD I HAD A CRUSH ON HIM EVEN BEFORE I SAW THE MOVIES!
I mean, what?
Well, basically, I just want to say that I agree with pretty much everything you say, Queenie, and as for the shipping, I have frequently thought that Draco/Hermione would be perfect. Oh, and just so you know, whenever I talk about the Harry Potter series I TOTALLY ignore Cursed Child because I HATE HATE HATE IT NO OFFENSE JK ROWLING.
(February 23, 2019 - 4:33 pm)
Hm, I don't have much of an opinion on this. I feel like Draco honestly doesn't like Harry, but feels downed by his father. And, now that you mention it, I can totally see Draco being gay.
(February 23, 2019 - 4:47 pm)
No! Not Draco and Hermione! Noooooooooooooooooo...
Would you want to be in a relationship with someone who thinks you are inferior and frequently calls you extremely offensive names that make you want to punch him?
(February 23, 2019 - 8:28 pm)
Well Draco was sort of induced by his dad. Just look up "malfoy life story."
(February 24, 2019 - 4:45 pm)
Actually, Rowling doesn't think he's completely unredeemable.
"I imagine that Draco grew up to lead a modified version of his father’s
existence; independently wealthy, without any need to work, Draco
inhabits Malfoy Manor with his wife and son. I see in his hobbies
further confirmation of his dual nature. The collection of Dark
artifacts harks back to family history, even though he keeps them in
glass cases and does not use them. However, his strange interest in
alchemical manuscripts, from which he never attempts to make a
Philosopher’s Stone, hints at a wish for something other than wealth,
perhaps even the wish to be a better man. I have high hopes that he will
raise Scorpius to be a much kinder and more tolerant Malfoy than he was
in his own youth.
Draco had many surnames before I settled on ‘Malfoy’. At various
times in the earliest drafts he is Smart, Spinks or Spungen. His
Christian name comes from a constellation – the dragon – and yet his
wand core is of unicorn.
This was symbolic. There is, after all –
and at the risk of re-kindling unhealthy fantasies – some unextinguished
good at the heart of Draco."
(as a note, this is not exactly what she wrote, as she misspelled "artifacts")
(February 24, 2019 - 9:01 pm)
I totally agree with Kitten on the most recent thing she said.
Vaph
(February 25, 2019 - 5:22 pm)
Wow I like that thx Catsclaw
(February 25, 2019 - 11:08 pm)
What do you all think of Narcissa? I never knew what to make of her.
(February 25, 2019 - 11:10 pm)
Quick fanfic idea: A world where for some reason Voldemort killed Draco’s parents, his mum died to save him, and he grew up with abusive Muggle relatives. Basically Draco’s character in Harry’s place.
Draco would be a fantastic main character in a situation like this... I imagine once he found out about the Wizarding world he’d become a Muggle-hater because of his relatives. But he’d also hate Voldemort for killing his parents. He might get over his hatred if he makes the right friends... And in this fanfic Slytherin of course would actually be an alright house...
I need to read this. Or write it.
Oh, anyway, you can see I kinda like Draco as a character. On the subject of shipping, I intensely dislike DracoMione. They’re so incompatible in their current states. In an alternate universe like the one above, perhaps. Draco/Luna is a bit better, but I think Draco would always ridicule Luna’s illogical beliefs in any universe, really. Draco/Harry is, again, preposterous in the canon world. They’re very systems of thought absolutely contradict. But if Draco was the Boy Who Lived, and Harry was just some kid who’s parents opposed Voldemort... In that case, plausible.
(February 26, 2019 - 1:00 am)
I'm actually going to try writing that. He'd be a good protagonist.
(February 26, 2019 - 4:12 pm)
Ehh, I . . . can't reedem Draco.
He's more of a gray character than Snape is - I admit that much (please note that I don't view Snape as much of a gray character either, Snape sucks). However, his actions and his choices just don't convince me that he's deserving of forgiveness.
Was he raised in a high-pressure household? Yes, absolutely. He had ideologies shoved up his throat that were not good ones, and he believed them, and that's not his fault. He has the potential for good in him - CD's AU idea is interesting, and I like it, and agree with it. But in this universe? He's in too deep.
He does good things in the last book, but they're not good enough. Tumblr expresses this better than I can, but Draco has choices. He is very often offered a road to redemption, and he chooses the other path, every time. The most obvious thing I can think of is when he's with Dumbledore on top of the tower and Dumbledore offers to protect him and keep his family safe. Draco refuses. He knows Dumbledore can do this for him. But he refuses anyway.
The cordial, tense relationship Harry and Draco end up having by the end of the novel is accurate, I think. The Malfoys are interesting characters, and they have the potential for good, but they don't act on it. They get better, but they don't get good. They just get less bad.
As for shipping, Pansy makes the most sense to me. They have a few hints about it in the series. I am ADAMANTLY against Dramione and Drarry - I believe they both would be either abusive relationships, or just wouldn't work out; Draco is a bully, he's cruel, and he would view both Harry and Hermione as inferior to him. (however, between the two, I prefer Drarry. Some of the AUs are cute. But Draco doesn't act like canon Draco in them, so the point is moot.) Luna/Draco I've never heard of before, but it definitely wouldn't work. Not only because Luna is definitely aroace, but also because they're very different people and they don't compliment each other - Luna is spacey, odd, and wouldn't tolerate Draco's crap, while Draco would find Luna infuriating.
(March 10, 2019 - 7:52 pm)