Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Draco Malfoy
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| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Character | |
| Draco Malfoy | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Hair color | White Blond |
| Eye color | Grey |
| Related Family | Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy |
| Loyalty | Unknown, appears to be to Voldemort |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Draco Malfoy, a boy with a pale, pointed sneering face, is a member of Slytherin house. He is always accompanied by Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, and occasionally Pansy Parkinson. He constantly boasts about being pureblood and his family's wealth.
According to the author's web site, he was born on 5 June; this would make him about two months older than Harry Potter. According to the Black family tree, he was born in 1980.
[edit] Role in the Books
[edit] Philosopher's Stone
We first see Draco Malfoy in Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions on Diagon Alley where he and Harry are being fitted for their school robes. Draco does not introduce himself, but expresses the hope that he will be placed in Slytherin house. He asks Harry's name, but is distracted by the appearance of Hagrid at the window before Harry can answer. Harry is somewhat dismayed by Draco's assumption of superiority of the pure Wizarding blood families, and asks Hagrid about this; Hagrid dismisses his concerns, saying he'd not act so superior if he knew who Harry was.
We next see Draco when he appears, with Crabbe and Goyle in tow, on the Hogwarts Express. Draco expresses some surprise that this truly is Harry Potter, makes an insulting remark about Ron Weasley who is in Harry's compartment, and suggests that Harry would do well to ally himself with Draco rather than Ron. Harry says he has a pretty good idea of the sort of people he wants to ally himself with, dismissing Draco. Draco then says that he's going to take some of the treats Harry has bought from the lunch cart on the train, but when Goyle starts to grab a cauldron cake, he is attacked by Ron's rat, Scabbers. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle retreat in confusion.
Draco is Sorted into Slytherin house, as he expected.
Harry and Ron have double Potions with the Slytherins on the first Friday of the school year. Draco and his sidekicks, Crabbe and Goyle, snigger when Professor Snape remarks, on seeing Harry's name, "Our new... celebrity." As the class proceeds, Snape seems to feel that Draco can do no wrong, though everyone else in the class comes in for criticism.
Harry, who has been able to avoid Draco except in Potions class, is dismayed to learn that flying lessons will be shared with the Slytherins. He had been looking forward to learning how to fly, and now he is afraid that he will make a fool of himself on a broomstick in front of Draco. Ron says that Draco likely knows no more about flying than Harry does, despite all his talk; and he certainly does seem to have a lot of stories about flying, all of which seem to end with narrow escapes from Muggle helicopters.
On the morning before the first flying class, Harry sees that again Draco's eagle owl has brought him a package of sweets from home. Neville also gets a package, containing a Remembrall. Draco, walking by the table, takes it out of Neville's hand, and Harry and Ron jump to their feet, hoping for an excuse to fight. Professor McGonagall arrives as well, and Draco returns the Remembrall to Neville.
At the flying lesson Harry and Ron are delighted when Madam Hooch corrects Draco's grip on the broom, saying he'd been doing it wrong for years. After Neville's accident, Draco jeers at Neville's expression; Parvati Patil tells him to shut up, and Pansy Parkinson accuses her of being sweet on Neville. Draco spots Neville's Remembrall on the ground, and plans to place it high in a tree for Neville to retrieve later. Harry follows, finding that he is a natural on the broom, and that Draco is not so brave without Crabbe and Goyle at his side. Draco, cowed, throws the Remembrall high in the air; Harry dives after it and retrieves it before it hits the ground. He is, however, caught in the act by Professor McGonagall, and has to endure seeing Draco's triumphant expression as, believing himself about to be expelled, he is led off in her wake.
That night, finding that Harry has not, after all, been expelled, Draco challenges him to a Wizard's Duel. Ron immediately volunteers to be Harry's second; Draco selects Crabbe to be his second. When Harry reaches the trophy room, however, it becomes apparent that Draco had not planned to meet him there; instead, he has told Filch about it, and Filch is looking for Harry and Ron. When they have managed, for a while, to evade Filch, Hermione says that Draco had never intended to actually duel Harry, but had simply informed Filch that Harry would be there.
Draco seems dismayed the following morning to discover again that Harry has not been thrown out of school, and more so a week later when a long, thin package is delivered by a half dozen screech owls at breakfast. Intercepting Harry after breakfast, Draco determines that the package is a broom, and denounces him to Professor Flitwick, who is passing. Professor Flitwick agrees that it is, and says he has heard about the special circumstances.
Draco, enraged at Gryffindor's win at Quidditch, makes jokes about Gryffindor's next seeker being a wide-mouth tree frog. When this fails, Draco reverts to making fun of Harry's home life, and Harry's plans to stay at the school over Christmas. Harry doesn't mind; he expects that this will be the best Christmas he has ever had, particularly as the Weasley children will also be staying at Hogwarts.
When Ron and Harry run into Hagrid bringing Christmas trees into the school, Draco happens to be there and makes remarks about Ron's poverty. Ron, enraged, dives at Draco and is penalized five House points by Snape, who has just arrived on the scene.
Shortly after Christmas, Neville Longbottom topples through the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, with his legs stuck together. Once Hermione frees him, he says that Draco had jinxed him just outside the library, saying that he had been looking for someone to practice that on.
Draco, with Crabbe and Goyle, sits directly behind Ron and Neville at the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. Within the first few minutes of the game, Draco has goaded Ron to the point that Ron jumps him; Neville hesitates and joins in. We hear later that Ron, though getting a bloody nose, had given Draco a black eye.
Draco may be within earshot when Hagrid sends a note to Harry to say that the dragon's egg is hatching; it does seem that he has stopped to listen. Harry, Hermione, and Ron go to Hagrid's hut to witness the hatching; Hagrid sees someone at the window, and Harry recognizes the figure vanishing back into the school as Draco. When Norbert bites Ron's hand, Ron ends up in the Hospital Wing; Draco visits him there, saying that he needs to borrow a book, but uses the opportunity to torment Ron by threatening to tell Madam Pomfrey what had actually bitten Ron. The letter from Charlie saying when they will pick up Norbert happens to be in the book that Draco borrows.
As Harry and Hermione, with Norbert under the Invisibility Cloak, head for the tallest tower, they see Professor McGonagall penalizing Draco house points and giving him detention for being out in the school after hours and making up some nonsense story about a dragon. The events of that evening land Harry, Hermione, and Neville in detention also, and it is a week before exams that the four of them are sent to the Entrance Hall to meet with Filch to serve that detention. Filch takes them off to see Hagrid, who tells them that they'll be going into the Forest. Draco protests, saying that that's servant stuff and he won't do it; Hagrid says if he'd rather be expelled, then fine, but if he wants to stay at Hogwarts, he'll be going into the Forest. When Draco acquiesces, sulkily, Hagrid says something has been killing Unicorns in the Forbidden Forest, and their job is to help Hagrid track a wounded unicorn and try to find what's doing it. Draco, despite his initial trepidation, apparently gets bored and scares Neville, who he is paired with, and Neville sends up a distress signal. Hagrid, responding to the signal, shuffles the groups so that Draco is paired with Harry, who presumably would not scare as easily. When they do find the unicorn, there is a dark shape apparently drinking its blood; Draco, scared, runs away.
We don't see Draco again until the end of year feast, where Harry is first sickened by the sight of Draco banging his goblet in celebration of Slytherin House's apparent winning of the House trophy, and then is cheered by the stunned and horrified look on Draco's face as victory is taken away.
[edit] Chamber of Secrets
Malfoy is taken on the Slytherin Quidditch team as Seeker, and is suspected of being the heir of Salazar Slytherin. Harry, Ron and Hermione disguise themselves as Crabbe and Goyle using Polyjuice Potion to find out, but he has no idea who is.
[edit] Prisoner of Azkaban
Draco is attacked by Buckbeak the Hippogriff during the first Care Of Magical Creatures lesson, and is later punched in the face by Hermione for laughing about Buckbeak's excecution.
[edit] Goblet of Fire
Draco first appears at the Quidditch World Cup with his parents, and later meets the trio in the woods during the Death Eater attack.
Throughout the school year, he is turned into a ferret by Alastor Moody for attempting to attack Harry when his back is turned, and is submitted to the Imperius Curse, but rescued by Professor McGonagall. He also passes spiteful information to unregistered Animagus Rita Skeeter about Harry and his friends.
[edit] Order of the Phoenix
Draco is appointed Prefect, along with Pansy Parkinson, for Slytherin House. Hermione reports at one point that he is being simply beastly towards the First Years, clearly abusing his Prefect's powers.
As they enter the horseless carriages to go up to the school from the train station, we see that Draco and his sidekicks are taking a carriage with Pansy Parkinson.
On the second day of classes, Draco, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle are laughing about something as they arrive at Care of Magical Creatures class. When Professor Grubbly-Plank asks if anyone can identify the creatures she has in front of her, Hermione puts her hand up, and Draco imitates her. Pansy shrieks with laughter, then screams as the little bundles of twigs on the table jump up, revealing themselves to be Bowtruckles. As he collects a Bowtruckle, Draco suggests to Harry that Hagrid, who is still mysteriously absent, could have run into something too big for him and gotten himself hurt. Although we don't yet realize it, and Harry never seems to draw the connection himself, this would indicate that Draco is aware of Hagrid's mission.
When Professor Umbridge is examining the Care of Magical Creatures class taught by Professor Grubbly-Plank, she says to Goyle that she understands there have been injuries in that class. Goyle does not answer; instead, Malfoy says that he was slashed by a Hippogriff.
The day that Educational Decree Number Twenty Four, banning all school organizations, is published, Draco is seen outside the Potions classroom waving a piece of parchment around and saying that getting the Slytherin Quidditch team reformed was pretty much automatic, given the influence his father has with the Ministry. He then suggests that before too long Harry will be sent to St. Mungo's, where they have a special ward for the incurably insane. At this, Neville tries to attack Draco, but Harry and Ron restrain him.
On the first school day after Hagrid's return, Hagrid tells his Care of Magical Creatures class that they will be working in the Forbidden Forest. Draco seems scared, needing reassurance that the creatures they are to look at are properly trained, and is not at all reassured when he sees how injured Hagrid is.
Dobby warns Harry that Umbridge has found out about Dumbledore's Army and is coming. Harry sends the rest of the students away, and is himself on the way to a bathroom when Draco, from concealment, catches him with a Trip Jinx. Umbridge, arriving, awards Slytherin house fifty points and sends Draco off to look for others. When Harry is taken in to the Headmaster's Office, Cornelius Fudge is there. Umbridge says that Draco had caught "the Potter boy;" Fudge says that he will have to let Lucius know.
With Umbridge becoming Headmaster, Draco is appointed to be a member of the Inquisitorial Squad, along with Montague and Pansy Parkinson. Umbridge has given the Inquisitorial Squad the power to take Points from houses, and Draco is quick to abuse this power.
Shortly afterwards, Draco is sent by Professor Umbridge to get Snape's assistance in extracting Montague, an Inquisitorial Squad member who has been missing for some time, out of a toilet. He interrupts Harry and Snape at the beginning of an Occlumency lesson. Draco is intrigued to hear Snape say that Harry is taking remedial Potions.
As OWL exams approach, Draco is heard loudly proclaiming that the mark on one's OWLs are more due to who you know rather than what you know, and talking of what close friends his father is with Griselda Marchbanks, head of the Wizarding Examination Authority. Neville, overhearing, quietly tells Harry and Ron that Griselda Marchbanks is a friend of his grandmother's, and has never mentioned the Malfoy family in any of her frequent visits.
In Harry's Charms OWL exam, his examiner, Professor Tofty, greets him as "the famous Harry Potter?" Draco, overhearing, turns a look of malevolence on Harry, and the wine glass he is levitating falls and smashes.
When Umbridge catches Harry in her office, where he has been trying to determine whether Sirius has gone to the Ministry, she brings two members of the Inquisitorial Squad, Draco and Millicent Bulstrode, with her. Draco assists Umbridge with Harry, while Millicent captures Hermione. When Harry refuses to reveal why he was in Umbridge's fireplace, and who he was communicating with, Umbridge sends Draco to find Snape. When Hermine "reveals" that they had been seeking Professor Dumbledore to tell him that the weapon was finished, Umbridge demands that Hermione lead her to the weapon. Draco suggests that he should go along as well; Hermione says that sounds like a good idea, everyone should know about it. Umbridge decides that she will take only Hermione and Harry, over Draco's protests.
We learn later that the other Gryffindor members' escape from the Inquisitorial Squad is helped by Ginny hitting Draco with a Bat Bogey jinx.
After Harry's return to school, Draco, with Crabbe and Goyle, threaten him with retaliation for having had Draco's father, Lucius, sent to Azkaban. The beginning duel is ended by the arrival of Snape on the scene before any spells are cast.
Draco again tries to Jinx Harry on board the Hogwarts Express, but he chooses to do so in front of a compartment containing a number of members of Dumbledore's Army. He, along with Crabbe and Goyle, end up looking like three gigantic slugs squeezed into Hogwarts uniforms, and Harry, Ernie, and Justin leave the three of them in the luggage rack.
[edit] Half-Blood Prince
Throughout this book, Draco is almost always hiding in the Room of Requirement, with the exception of Professor Slughorn's party, in which Harry overhears Snape and Draco arguing.
Later, Harry finds him in the boys bathroom, where he is crying. Apparently he is trying to do something and it is not going well, and he is afraid of what will happen to him and his family if he does not succeed. Catching sight of Harry in the mirror, Draco spins and starts firing curses at him. Harry, defending himself, uses Sectumsempra, a curse he found in the Half-Blood Prince's book, with only the notation "For enemies".
[edit] Deathly Hallows
Harry, Hermione, and Ron escape Death Eaters in an all-night café in the Tottenham Court Road, altering their memory so that they will not know who they had almost caught. The Trio then go to ground at Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Shortly after their arrival, Harry is once again dragged into Voldemort's mind by his rage, and he sees one of the Death Eaters, Thorfinn Rowle, being tortured for having failed to catch Harry. Harry is dismayed to realize that it is a sick-looking Draco who is being forced to actually do the torturing.
Snatchers, led by Fenrir Greyback, capture the Trio, but are uncertain of Harry's identity. They carry the Trio to Malfoy Manor, where Lucius calls on Draco to identify Harry. Possibly misled by Harry's horribly swollen face, which has stymied identification efforts by the Snatchers and by Lucius Malfoy, Draco balks at definitively identifying him. Narcissa does, however, identify Hermione, and is on the verge of summoning Voldemort when Bellatrix prevents it. Bellatrix has all except Hermione sent to the cellars, then tortures Hermione to find out where she got the Sword of Gryffindor. When Hermione says it is a fake, Lucius sends Draco to fetch the goblin Griphook, who can tell them whether the sword is real or not. It is as Draco is leaving the cellar that Dobby Apparates in; the sound of the cellar door closing masks the characteristic sound of House-elf apparation.
When Harry and Ron return to the main floor of Malfoy Manor, Ron, with the wand he captured from Peter Pettigrew, Disarms Bellatrix, but is forced to surrender his wand when Bellatrix holds a knife to Hermione's throat. Draco collects the fallen wands. In the confusion occasioned by Dobby's dropping the chandelier on Bellatrix, Harry physically wrests all three wands (Bellatrix', Pettigrew's, and Draco's) from Draco's hand before he and Dobby escape.
Surprisingly, when Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle corner Harry in the Room of Requirement, it is not Draco, but Crabbe and Goyle, who do most of the talking. Draco accuses Harry of having his wand, saying that he is using his mother's. When Crabbe starts knocking piles of junk over, Draco stops him, saying if they destroy the room, they may not find the Diadem. When Crabbe sets Fiendfyre, Harry, Ron, and Hermione escape on brooms; Harry circles back to save Draco and Goyle, but Crabbe cannot be found.
As Harry, Ron, and Hermione are making their way under the Invisibility Cloak out through the entry hall and off to the Shrieking Shack, they pass Draco, who is pleading with a Death Eater not to jinx him, he's on their side. Harry Stuns the Death Eater as they pass, and Ron punches Draco, saying that's twice they have saved his life, and calling him two-faced.
Facing Voldemort at the end in the Great Hall, Harry tells him that, though he holds the Elder Wand, holding it is not enough, because he does not own it. The wand, like all others, owes allegiance to the one who took it by force from its previous master; and as Snape had not taken it from Dumbledore, Snape had never been its master. Instead, it was Draco who had Disarmed Dumbledore; and Draco, in turn, had been Disarmed by Harry weeks before. The wand Harry had won from Draco was now in his hand. What it comes down to now is: does the Elder Wand know that Draco was disarmed? Because if so, Harry is now the Elder Wand's master.
In the Epilogue, we see Draco, who nods to Harry, with his wife and his son Scorpius. Draco's hairline is receding slightly, which makes his already-pointed chin appear somewhat sharper.
[edit] Strengths
Draco's family is particularly wealthy, and while Draco himself does not directly have any place in the resulting influence in the Ministry and elsewhere, he does benefit from it and have some indirect influence as well. It is likely this wealth and influence from his family that has won him his supporter / thug companions, Crabbe and Goyle.
Draco is a powerful wizard, and has been introduced, through his father, to aspects of the Dark Arts that most other wizards his age have not yet seen. This will give him some strengths that other wizards lack.
As a member of Slytherin house, Draco will have the alliance of Professor Snape, one of the more powerful wizards at Hogwarts.
[edit] Weaknesses
Draco's character seems to be entirely propped up by his wealth and his followers. In company with his enforcers, Crabbe and Goyle, he struts and acts the bully; but as early as flying lessons in the first book, we can see that he is effectively lost without them. Confronted, on his own, by Harry, who is on a broom for the first time in his life, Draco retreats with dishonour; and having challenged Harry to a duel, he sends Filch instead of keeping the appointment he has made. Even with Crabbe and Goyle in attendance, his own courage is not what it could be; we see that when Hermione slaps him, the three of them simply retreat. This weakness of resolve remains throughout the series; in the battle at Hogwarts, late in the final book, we see him pleading to be spared.
In fact, Draco, at least through the first five books, seems to be entirely without honour; he seems to be the epitome of what Slytherin stands for, "using any means to achieve their ends," as the Sorting Hat says.
In the seventh book, we see that there are some limits to what he is willing to do, though we see that he still lacks the force of character to protest them. In particular, Harry sees his revulsion at being forced to torture Rowle, and we see Draco's unwillingness to identify Harry, knowing as he does that if he does identify Harry, Voldemort will promptly murder him. In both cases, though Draco is unwilling, he is unable to prevent himself from being used.
Ultimately, Draco seems to be a pitifully weak character who is guided to the Dark side by his father.
[edit] Relationships with Other Characters
Draco has two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, who mostly follow him about taking orders. Malfoy despises Harry because he is a Half-Blood and for spurning his offer of friendship when they first met. He also resents Harry's fame and may be jealous over his power as a wizard.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry overhears Draco boasting about a mission he has been given by the Dark Lord. When he mentions it to Hermione, she believes Malfoy is only trying to impress Pansy Parkinson.
Also, though they never speak throughout the entire series, Draco is Nymphadora Tonks' first cousin through their mothers, Narcissa and Andromeda, who are sisters. Due to Andromeda's marrying the Muggle-born Ted Tonks, she has been disowned by her family, the Blacks, and neither she nor any of the Black family particularly cares to acknowledge the relationship.
[edit] Analysis
Draco is portrayed in the series as an enemy/rival of the protagonist, Harry Potter. It is possible that Rowling has used Draco as a direct contrast to Harry; Pure blood, 'evil', Slytherin, Death Eater: these are some characteristics that show this contrast. It is interesting, however, to note the change in Draco as the series progresses.
[edit] First Five Books
Through the first five books, Draco is very consistent in his behaviour. Apparently the archetypal Slytherin, Draco uses any means, fair or foul, to get ahead. He apparently buys his way into the Seeker position on the Slytherin Quidditch team. He consistently belittles other students, including Ron, Harry, and Hermione. He seems supremely self-confident, quite clearly believing that his father's wealth and his Pure-blood status will get him anything he wants. And we see also that he has surrounded himself with sycophants (notably Pansy Parkinson) and hired muscle (Crabbe and Goyle, who are presumably paid in status). Taking a leaf from Slytherin's book, Draco especially belittles those who are born of Muggles (like Hermione), born of wizards or witches who were children of Muggles (like Harry), or who profess to like Muggles (like Ron and the other Weasleys). Like most bullies, Draco immediately backs down when faced with a superior force; we see in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that Draco's father Lucius can be equally belittling when talking to his own son, and that in that situation Draco just takes it, not having any other choice. Additionally, at one point Hermione, goaded beyond her limits, slaps Draco, whereupon he and his thugs simply depart, rapidly. We very quickly see that Draco has been formed largely in the image of his father. Draco is, of course, chastened by the removal of his father from the Board of Governors of Hogwarts, but recovers; one supposes he has told himself that this is a mistake that will be rectified shortly when the Board sees the error of their ways. However, the arrest of Lucius at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix shakes Draco up. Initially, he retains his arrogance, blaming Harry for having his father arrested, which is in Draco's eye an inversion of the way things work: being a Pure-Blood, Lucius should be proof against any efforts by Muggle-borns or Muggle lovers, and here he clearly was not. However, the mere fact of Lucius' continuing imprisonment must have some effect on Draco.
[edit] Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Draco is now faced with problems that he may have trouble solving. We believe that he has been made a Death Eater, as he seems defensive about the location where the Dark Mark would have been placed on him; but this is never fully confirmed, as he never shows us the Mark. While he still puts up the same show of arrogance, we are starting to see cracks in his armour. In the Potions class he takes with Harry, he no longer takes the time to needle Harry. We find out that he has been commiserating with Moaning Myrtle about something he is trying to do and is not succeeding at. And in the end of the book, he quite clearly has accepted a job, murdering Dumbledore, that he is unable to carry out. His prevarication when faced with this job seems quite alien to the person we have, until now, believed Draco to be. His mother, Narcissa, of course, understands Draco as well, and we see her, early in the book, expressing a fear that Draco will fail, and be punished for that failure.
[edit] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
In this book we learn that Voldemort had a much better understanding of Draco than we did in the previous book. We learn that Draco had been set up to fail in the tasks he had been given, as a means of punishing him and his family for their earlier failures to carry out Voldemort's wishes. Voldemort understands what he sees as Draco's basic weakness, and that we recognize through the book as a basic remaining core of humanity. We are accorded several views of Draco and his family that show us that, despite what the first five books told us, Draco is not entirely evil. Draco is forced to torture a Death Eater who has failed Voldemort, and Harry sees, through Voldemort's eyes, his revulsion at the task. When Harry is captured and brought to Malfoy Manor, Draco is well aware that if he identifies Harry, Harry will die, and Draco balks at that identification. It is perhaps interesting that Draco, with Crabbe and Goyle, remains at Hogwarts to try and capture Harry for Voldemort; he seems to believe that doing so could restore him and his family in Voldemort's favour. Draco's bullying nature does seem more pronounced in the halls of Hogwarts, where he is not required to be subservient to his father, and where he has the support of Crabbe and Goyle. However, in the battle of Hogwarts, Draco seems to be trying to preserve his own hide rather than attacking either side in the battle.
[edit] Questions
- How will Narcissa Malfoy's love for her son affect his actions?
- Will Malfoy have a point of redemption, a point of realization that Voldemort's path only leads to destruction and death?
[edit] Greater Picture
He fears his father and what he may do to him. His largest weakness is his mother, even though he may not admit it.
Although he wants to be like Voldemort, the largest difference between the two is that he DOES know love, the love of his mother.
He also cannot actually bring himself to kill. In the sixth book, he is given orders by Voldemort to kill Professor Dumbledore, but when the time actually comes, he hesitates, and is talked down by the professor. Additionally, in the seventh book, he is asked to identify Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and again he hesitates, not giving a firm answer even when one is demanded by his father. Both of these cases show that Draco is not utterly without scruple, that he does still have a conscience.
It also appears that in the end, his hatred of Harry subsides, as in the epilogue he nods politely to The Trio and Ginny when he notices them looking at him.
