Draco

[geoviki]

I have to say it was no surprise to me that Jo and I have differing views of Draco. Hell, half of my flist and I have differing views of Draco! In DH he did what Jo needed him to for her purposes - mainly to get a couple of wands in place and provide some UST in Harry's life. And she put him back on the shelf when he was done. Her call.

But...

But...

Even she gave us something in canon that I didn't even pick up on until I reread the fire scene more slowly.

First, she gives all the bad business in that scene to Crabbe, not Draco. Crabbe's the one who says they stayed behind to catch Harry and deliver him to Voldy, he's the one casting all the Unforgivables, he's the one who starts the fire. And he dismisses Draco in front of everyone, telling him: Who cares what you think? I don’t take your orders no more, Draco. You an’ your dad are finished.

In contrast, Draco's all talk (no surprise) -- how he wants his wand back, how he got in. Then he focuses on stopping Crabbe from destroying the room and killing Harry, although it's never made clear why he's doing this. He never casts a single spell, although he loses his (mother's) wand early on, so he didn't have much opportunity. Then the Fiendfyre is let loose and everyone runs:

Malfoy grabbed the Stunned Goyle and dragged him along....

Wow. He didn't just run full-tilt toward the door, as we would expect a selfish coward to do. Instead, he runs while dragging a stunned and, we already know, ginormous guy. Not at all easy. Or predictible. Not the action of someone looking out for number 1.

The fire worsens, Harry hears a thin, piteous human scream from amidst the terrible commotion, the thunder of devouring flame, and he turns to see:

Malfoy with his arms around the unconscious Goyle, the pair of them perched on a fragile tower of charred desks, and Harry dived. Malfoy saw him coming and raised one arm, but even as Harry grasped it he knew at once that it was no good. Goyle was too heavy and Malfoy’s hand, covered in sweat, slid instantly out of Harry’s –

So he's carried Goyle somehow to this precarious island in a sea of flame, and here comes Draco's one chance to be saved...and he doesn't let go of Goyle. He doesn't abandon Goyle to save himself in what might be his only chance to live.

Ron and Hermione make it possible to save both of them, and what's the first thing out of Draco's mouth when they're safe:

"C-Crabbe," choked Malfoy as soon as he could speak. "C-Crabbe…"

I don't think Jo planned to have us all think Draco's the coolest thing since the iPhone. I'm just saying she doesn't condemn him as much as we think, and that there's still a lot of wiggle room for us Draco fans to work in.

What say you?

Comments

[bloodyrose82.livejournal.com]

I will try to stop commenting on this thread...promise. I just wanted to pick out something touched upon here.

Draco blagging his way around whether he knew it was the trio. I agree, it was brave. In a Slytherin context. :D I think he did it, not so much because he gave a crap whether they lived, but he definitely cared about whether they lived FOR HIM. He'd have to be a bit of a dunderhead not to realise his best chance of survival was Harry surviving, by the time he reached this point.

Which is exactly why I'm pissed the whole four houses thing wasn't really touched upon. You can be brave AND a Slytherin, intelligent AND a Hufflepuff, cunning AND a Gryfindor.

*shakes fist*

[rogue-sheep.livejournal.com]

I agree that he cared about whether or not they lived for his own benefit, but I can't agree that he didn't care about their lives anyway. Draco showed us in HBP that he couldn't kill, and I don't think he would change his mind now after Voldemort's shown just how unstable he is. Draco knows that if he identified them it would surely lead to their death, and that isn't something he can deal with. I'm sure there are much better words to explain this than the words I chose, but I'm really not feeling eloquent tonight. Sorry about that.

[bloodyrose82.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't think he did care. At least not in the active sense of the word. He wouldn't want to see them die in the same way he didn't want to see the Muggle teacher die (added to by his knowing them for years, and his weird connection with Harry. Regardless, the 'care' wouldn't be the same type he would have for his mother's life, for instance).

So whereas I agree that he would find it hard to see them die, his motive was to keep them alive for his own needs, and not out of some strange sudden empathy.

His inability to kill Dumbledore, I see in a similar way: he wasn't harbouring any tender feelings for the old man, he simply can't commit the act of ending another's life and feeling the weight of responsibility for it.

What I find most amusing about our entire conversation, is the two different angles we are coming at this from - it makes me wonder where we'd truly be sorted at Hogwarts.

[lemonade8.livejournal.com]

It's late where I am right now, so my brain is only half firing, but I truly am interested in your idea, but don't know how it came to be.

I don't see him gaining much by Harry being alive, do you mean that he hopes Harry wins because then his family will be rid of Voldy? I actually agree with that, but I'm thinking also that he's seen enough of the vile murder etc.. to make him just not want to see it, regardless of who it is. I'm wondering if his realization of the horribleness of it all even extended to muggles. While that wouldn't necessarily make him a hero, it would certainly make him someone I could like and respect a bit, all things considered.