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sareaGood, Evil, or Gray -- What do you think J.K. Rowling has in store for Draco Malfoy? Is he to be a two-dimensional foil for Harry, never amounting to anything more than the snotty brat we've seen thus far? Might he grow to be a truly malevolent force of evil? Will he be redeemed in the end? We want to know what YOU think!
I rarely thought about this before I got into the HP online fandom, and now
that I'm into it, I feel I'm probably biased. Still, I have to say that I
think JK *has* to have something in store for him, if only because if she
doesn't, Draco will become utterly pointless, and she'll have wasted a
prominent character.
So far in canon, Draco's been a two-dimensional bully. From the start, he
was made out to be Harry's foil, his peer arch-nemesis. When they were all
11, this didn't take much for us to believe. The fact that Draco was rude,
snotty, rich, and out to thwart our heroes was quite enough to make Draco
Public Enemy #1. As they have gotten older, however, and as they continue
to *get* older, Draco starts to lose his effectiveness. As we've seen in
every succeeding book, Harry's got bigger problems than Draco's spitefulness
-- he's battling Voldemort, for pete's sake. After what Harry, et al have
to go through, Draco's not threatening; he's an annoying gnat buzzing
angrily around them. When you're battling the greatest, evilest wizard of
your time, what's a 15-year-old boy with an attitude problem to you?
Nothing.
So at this point, there are only three paths I can see Draco taking: 1) He
continues to lose effectiveness as an arch-nemesis for Harry, eventually
dropping off almost completely; 2) He ups the ante by becoming more of a
threat in terms of his family's association with Voldemort and the dark
side; 3) He starts to become more of a gray character, perhaps eventually
becoming a Snape-like figure. (I definitely don't see Draco ever making a
complete switch to the light side ... nor do I want to.)
As to what I think will actually happen, I honestly have no clue. OotP may
provide a lot of insight when it comes to Draco. If he goes gray, I don't
think he'd get the same sympathetic treatment that he gets in the fandom; I
doubt he'll ever be noble or self-sacrificing (nor should he be). If JK is
going to gray him, it needs to happen fairly soon, I should think. In fact,
I'm surprised elements of it haven't been introduced already; in GoF, he was
still was much of a snot as he ever was. That fact does not seem to signal
that he's going to change any time soon, but even OotP would not be too
late. You could argue that it might not happen until the climax of the
final book, but the 11th hour switch-around is no fun, and given how well
JK's planned everything else out, I'd be disappointed if Draco didn't get
the same treatment.
It's *because* of how meticulous JK has been that gives me hope for Draco.
And when I say "hope" I'm not talking about him turning completely to the
side of good and fighting the good fight along with Harry -- that takes away
from all the reasons why I find him compelling (at least in fanfic) -- but
rather the hope that we'll see his character fleshed out a lot more. He's
one of the highest-profile characters in the books, and of that lofty
designation, is arguably the least three dimensional. I'd love to see him
grayed -- the way Snape is. I choose to believe that JK made Draco a
high-profile character for a reason. I choose to believe that nothing in
the HP world is mere coincidence -- including the use of the word "draco" in
variations. Case in point: The word "draco" is part of Hogwarts' school
motto, appearing on the school crest; "caput draconis" is Gryffindor's first
password; and of course, Harry's arch-nemesis is named Draco. If the former
two examples are merely coincidence, then why choose that name for Harry's
foil? Why not Stephen or Paul or any other name that isn't also used
elsewhere in the text (and in extremely visible areas, imho)?
It's quite possible that JK simply liked the name and thought it suited
Malfoy's snotty character, but since we're speculating, I thought I'd put it
out there.
There is also the fact that Draco really is Harry's foil. Voldemort might
be the Big Bad, but Draco is the one who is Harry's antithesis, in looks,
temperament, and behavior. Surely JK did that on purpose, which hopefully
means that Draco has a higher calling than just being the mean bully the
other kids get to make fun of once in awhile and feel justified for doing
so. Surely she won't consign Draco to a fate of childish pranks and grudges
-- especially when eventually they'll all be 17 years old in canon. To
stagnate Draco in the role of frustrated harpy would be a true injustice not
only to his promise as a more interesting character, but to Harry, who, in
my opinion, needs a *worthy* foil.
To conclude, I'd like to end on a concept that I read somewhere months ago,
but can't seem to find the exact comment or the author. This is a poor
paraphrase, but the sentiment is this: At the climax of the series, it is
almost certain that Harry will need every friend and foe to stand with him
to have any hope of vanquishing Voldemort. And that's an idea I like very
much.
I rarely thought about this before I got into the HP online fandom, and now
that I'm into it, I feel I'm probably biased. Still, I have to say that I
think JK *has* to have something in store for him, if only because if she
doesn't, Draco will become utterly pointless, and she'll have wasted a
prominent character.
So far in canon, Draco's been a two-dimensional bully. From the start, he
was made out to be Harry's foil, his peer arch-nemesis. When they were all
11, this didn't take much for us to believe. The fact that Draco was rude,
snotty, rich, and out to thwart our heroes was quite enough to make Draco
Public Enemy #1. As they have gotten older, however, and as they continue
to *get* older, Draco starts to lose his effectiveness. As we've seen in
every succeeding book, Harry's got bigger problems than Draco's spitefulness
-- he's battling Voldemort, for pete's sake. After what Harry, et al have
to go through, Draco's not threatening; he's an annoying gnat buzzing
angrily around them. When you're battling the greatest, evilest wizard of
your time, what's a 15-year-old boy with an attitude problem to you?
Nothing.
So at this point, there are only three paths I can see Draco taking: 1) He
continues to lose effectiveness as an arch-nemesis for Harry, eventually
dropping off almost completely; 2) He ups the ante by becoming more of a
threat in terms of his family's association with Voldemort and the dark
side; 3) He starts to become more of a gray character, perhaps eventually
becoming a Snape-like figure. (I definitely don't see Draco ever making a
complete switch to the light side ... nor do I want to.)
As to what I think will actually happen, I honestly have no clue. OotP may
provide a lot of insight when it comes to Draco. If he goes gray, I don't
think he'd get the same sympathetic treatment that he gets in the fandom; I
doubt he'll ever be noble or self-sacrificing (nor should he be). If JK is
going to gray him, it needs to happen fairly soon, I should think. In fact,
I'm surprised elements of it haven't been introduced already; in GoF, he was
still was much of a snot as he ever was. That fact does not seem to signal
that he's going to change any time soon, but even OotP would not be too
late. You could argue that it might not happen until the climax of the
final book, but the 11th hour switch-around is no fun, and given how well
JK's planned everything else out, I'd be disappointed if Draco didn't get
the same treatment.
It's *because* of how meticulous JK has been that gives me hope for Draco.
And when I say "hope" I'm not talking about him turning completely to the
side of good and fighting the good fight along with Harry -- that takes away
from all the reasons why I find him compelling (at least in fanfic) -- but
rather the hope that we'll see his character fleshed out a lot more. He's
one of the highest-profile characters in the books, and of that lofty
designation, is arguably the least three dimensional. I'd love to see him
grayed -- the way Snape is. I choose to believe that JK made Draco a
high-profile character for a reason. I choose to believe that nothing in
the HP world is mere coincidence -- including the use of the word "draco" in
variations. Case in point: The word "draco" is part of Hogwarts' school
motto, appearing on the school crest; "caput draconis" is Gryffindor's first
password; and of course, Harry's arch-nemesis is named Draco. If the former
two examples are merely coincidence, then why choose that name for Harry's
foil? Why not Stephen or Paul or any other name that isn't also used
elsewhere in the text (and in extremely visible areas, imho)?
It's quite possible that JK simply liked the name and thought it suited
Malfoy's snotty character, but since we're speculating, I thought I'd put it
out there.
There is also the fact that Draco really is Harry's foil. Voldemort might
be the Big Bad, but Draco is the one who is Harry's antithesis, in looks,
temperament, and behavior. Surely JK did that on purpose, which hopefully
means that Draco has a higher calling than just being the mean bully the
other kids get to make fun of once in awhile and feel justified for doing
so. Surely she won't consign Draco to a fate of childish pranks and grudges
-- especially when eventually they'll all be 17 years old in canon. To
stagnate Draco in the role of frustrated harpy would be a true injustice not
only to his promise as a more interesting character, but to Harry, who, in
my opinion, needs a *worthy* foil.
To conclude, I'd like to end on a concept that I read somewhere months ago,
but can't seem to find the exact comment or the author. This is a poor
paraphrase, but the sentiment is this: At the climax of the series, it is
almost certain that Harry will need every friend and foe to stand with him
to have any hope of vanquishing Voldemort. And that's an idea I like very
much.
